Classic Mode

Music Trade Review

Issue: 1881 Vol. 4 N. 2

Music Trade Review -- © mbsi.org, arcade-museum.com -- digitized with support from namm.org
THE
(Critic &
With which is incorporated THE MUSIC TRADE JOURNAL.
VOL. IV.
NEW YORK, FEBRUARY 20TH, 1881.
No. 2
done. In London they have their own pompous way of making a subscription
HO! FOB CONEY ISLAND.
a fund which shall enable Mr. Frank J. Amor to go to America. They
AURICE STRAKOSCH is full of plans, schemes and ideas, and as he for
want $750, and to raise this sum they make a great deal of fuss in the
understands how to treat continental reporters who lend him their only
and mention the name of every person who contributes a shilling
willing ears, the newspapers in Germany and France are full of him. While papers
the purpose. A publisher, Mr. W. Duncan Davison, gives $10.50,
traveling with Emma Thursby, he conceived new plans in every city or towards
and has the great pleasure of seeing his name in print with the amount.
town he passed, made his campaign document in the railway car, and Imagine
Mr. G. Schirmer contributing $10 for a charitable purpose, and we
handed it over as a fait accompli to the chief newspaper man of the next sure his
first and only condition would be, that his name should not be
town. These fellows in Germany are in this regard so unsophisticated, that are
A great injustice is done to Mr. Amor. This gentleman, who
they take Strakosch's rodomontades as full-weighted, genuine coin, and the mentioned.
the violin and piano, may be in needy circumstances, but we do not see
next morning tells the astonished world what great deeds Maurice Stra- plays
reason why all the world must be acquainted with this fact. If his friends
kosch is going to commit. For the last four months European files carry any
want to help him, let them do so among themselves and their friends. They
important news across the water in regard to Strakosch's enterprises; they think
he can do better in America, and pronounce their opinion so publicly,
all arrive here, are reproduced in American newspapers, and—the charm has that every
musician in this country will know beforehand that Mr. Amor
vanished. On this side of the Atlantic only very few people believe any- comes to settle
among us by help of those who contributed to the fund.
thing of Maurice Strakosch's schemes before they see it with their own eyes. This feeling must
be unpleasant to Mr. Amor, who wants to begin a fresh
The history of Maurice Strakosch's enterprises in this country is not so well start on new ground.
It cannot be agreeable to know that everybody in
shaped as to produce special confidence in his assurances.
the profession to whom Mr. Amor may be introduced here, can say to him:
During the period of his European peregrinations, Mr. Maurice Stra- "Oh, Mr. Amor; yes, I recollect; you are the man who could not make a
kosch touched Leipsic, the town on the banks of the rivulet Reisse, cele- living in England, and your countrymen sent you over here to try America."
brated through Poniatowski, the Fair and the Gewandhaus concerts. The Nobody actually will say so, but as thonghts cannot be prevented, Mr.
Director of the Leipsic Opera is Angelo Neuman, years ago third baritone Amor's position in this country is made awkward through the ill-behavior of
of the Vienna Opera, then a very handsome man and a singer of fair abilities. his English friends, who cannot give up their pompous way, We do not
This very Neuman is now director of the Leipsic Opera, and ambition think less of Mr. Amor on account of his financial embarrassments, and shall
is his weak point. Strakosch met Herr Neuman, treated him to some of his judge him upon his arrival in America solely according to his merits. But
grand schemes, and the result of this treat was an announcement in the Lon- it must appear strange that London assurance will admit that musicians can
don papers, in January, that Herr Maurice Strakosch has the honor to have a greater opportunity of exercising their talents in America than in
announce that he has made arrangements with Herr Angelo Neuman, of the England. The English are the very people who are obstinate and prejudiced
Leipsic Opera House, to direct the performance of Richard Wagner's Great in favor of their own country, and generally will not allow any advantages to
Tetralogy of the '' Nibelungen " during the forthcoming season in London. other nations. Facts, that musicians are starving in London, or at least are
Among some other announcements, it is promised, that the performances not looking into a brighter future, must have become too obvious to allow any
will be under the immediate supervision of the "Great Master." The further denial. Only a few weeks ago Mr. Frederick Archer arrived in New
advertisement closes with the words: "Further particulars Avill be duly York, and introduced himself to the musical public of this city. This gentle-
announced." The whole scheme breathes Strakosch in every letter of the man left his country because his country did not give him satisfaction.
advertisement. Unfortunately, Strakosch forgot the most important thing Whether America will give him this satisfaction remains to be seen. If
for such an enterprise—the theatre. London journalists sneer at Strakosch musicians would not insist upon settling in New York, they would act
and ridicule him for advertising something which is impossible to accomplish. wisely. The West needs active men, and new-comers will find it in their own
Angelo Neuman, who seems to have blind confidence in Maurice Strakosch's interest to settle in regions which may be less advanced in art, but are sure
sagacity, was interviewed in Leipsic, and stated, that in February an agent to promise a richer harvest. Things may look very bad in England, and we
was to be dispatched to London to secure a theatre and make arrangements. have to expect an immigration of musicians from that country. If they have
The three houses in which a production of Wagner's " Tetralogy " were pos- talent, they will find the soil of America fertile and their new homes a plea-
sible, are Covent Garden, Drury Lane and Her Majesty's Theatre. All sant change, even if New York or Boston is slow to acknowledge their
three are engaged, and if Maurice does not create a coup d'etat, we are afraid individual merits.
he must give up the idea of performing the " Nibelungen" the before Eng-
lish people. It really seems as if Strakosch had already given up the idea,
for, when being asked about it, he answered: "If the Leipsic troupe can-
A RHYME FOE MUSICIANS, BY ELIZABETH LEMEE.
not come to London, I shall be happy to take them to the United States."
Hansen, Jansen, Jensen, Kiehl,
United States, of course, means in the first place New York, and opera in June Hsendel, Bendel, Mendelssohn,
Brendel, Wendel, Jadassohn,
Stade, Gade, Laade, Stiehl,
in New York, means in reality Coney Island.
Naumann, Neumann, Hiihnerfiirst,
Ho! For Coney island! The idea is one of the most brilliant and Mau- Miiller, Hiller, Heller, Franz,
Niemann, Riemann, Diener, Wiirst.
rice Strakosch alone could be capable of it. Of course, he must have a big Plothow, Flotow, Burtow, Gantz.
opera house facing the Atlantic, but Strakosch is well-known in New York,
Geyer, Meyerbeer,
Kochler, Dochler, Rubenstein,
and can easily find the capital to lay the corner stone between Manhattan and Meyer,
Heyer, Weyer, Beyer, Beer,
Himmel, Hummel, Rosenkeyn,
Brighton Beach. It may be reasonably supposed that the railroad com- Lichner,
Schachner, Dietz, Lauer, Bauer, Kleinicke,
panies of Coney Island will contribute to the scheme, which promises large Hill, Will, Lachner,
Bruell, Grill, Drill, Riess, Romberg, Plomberg, Reinecke.
returns to the impresario, consequently to them too. We do not know what
Rietz.
t
the expenses of Maurice Strakosch's enterprise will be, but expenses never
have troubled this genial man, and he can expect that one of the German
steamship lines will do for him, what the Inman line does for Colonel Maple-
Mr. Carl Feininger gave* his third chamber music concert on Wednes-
son, namely, not insist upon cash payment for transportation of artists, day evening last. The same string quartet, composed of Messrs. Feininger,
orchestra, scenery, stage carpenters. As to salaries of the troupe, that is Roebbelen, Risch, and Miiller were present, and Miss Florence Copleston
entirely Mr. Neuman's business. Strakosch may have told him, that on fine pianiste, and Mr. Georg Henschel took part in the performance. The pro-
days about 100,000 people congregate on the Island, and Neuman decides gramme contained a string quartet by Beethoven, op. 18, No. 5, in A major,
upon giving three performances a day, to increase the receipts and reduce two piano solos by Miss Copleston, an original violin solo by Mr. Feininger,
the expense. Why not three performances a day? The man with the three songs by Mr. Henschel, and Raff's quintet in A minor, op. 107, by the
Punch and Judy show gives ten exhibitions in one afternoon. The plan of string quartet and Miss Copleston.
Maurice Strakosch is undisputably excellent, and we only hope that he will
At the concert of the Mendelssohn Glee Club on Tuesday last, Mr. Gil-
not change his mind in the eleventh hour. Ho! For Coney Island!
christ's prize song, " Ode to the Sun," was performed for the first time.
The Strakosch-Hess English Opera Company will begin their season at
LONDON ASSURANCE.
Fifth-Avenue Theatre on the 28th inst. Mine. Marie Roze and the other
T ONDONERS have a good deal of assurance, which in our less civi- the
will perform in a repertoire which includes English versions of
I J lized atmosphere is generally called cheek. More or less this feeling artists
"Mefistofele,"
"Aiida," "Mignon," "Lohengrin," and "William Tell," be-
of assurance exists in every metropolis. Viennese have it, you find itjin Ber-
lin, Parisians are full of it, and New Yorkers cannot claim to be entirely free sides some lighter works.
from it. If London assurance becomes more conspicuous than that mani-
The Oratorio Society's third concert of this season will be given on Sat-
fested in other cities, it is their own fault. They have a certain pompous urday evening, Feb. 26, with a preliminary public rehearsal the previous
way of doing everything, even if it tells against them. As we mentioned in afternoon, at Steinway Hall. For the first time in this country Handel's
our last issue they want to send a musician to this country, evidently on the " L'allegro, II Penseroso ed H Moderato " will be performed, with the assist-
ground that this man cannot make both ends meet on British soil. Such ance of the orchestra of the Symphony Society. The soloists will be Mme.
things may happen in every country, and even America, known as the best Julie Rosewald, Miss Whinnery, Misa Emily Winant, Mr. Theodore Toedt,
supporter of men and women of capability, can show some instances in which and Mr. Henschel.
talented people had to fight their way through in order to earn their daily
The Mapleson Opera Company will] return to j New York and give the
bread. If some friends here want to do something for a musician in distress,
they can easily manage to collect a pretty snug sum among the members of first performance of the spring season on the evening of March 7. The opera
the musical profession and the music trade, without bringing it to public will be Flotow's " Martha."
notice at all. Cases have been known here in which the amount of several
Miss Blanche Roosevelt is announced to give a concert in Chickering
thousand dollars has been brought together, and nobody knew how it was Hall, with the assistance of a number of artists, on the 11th of March.
M
26
Music Trade Review -- © mbsi.org, arcade-museum.com -- digitized with support from namm.org
February 20th, 1881.
THE MUSICAL CRITIC AND TRADE REVIEW.
THE THROAT IN ITS RELATIONS TO SINQING.
A SERIES OF POPULAR PAPERS BY WHITFIELD WARD, A.M.,
TO THE METROPOLITAN THROAT HOSPITAL.
M.D.,
PHYSICIAN
MUSICAL NOTES,
AT HOME.
Mr. Franz Eummel's first series of four piano recitals is announced for
the afternoons of February 17 and 24, March 5 and 10. The programmes
VI.
cover a wide range of piano music.
How WE SING.
Miss Amy Sherwin and Mr. Theodore Toedt, from this city, appeared at
The Action of the Vocal Cords and Larynx.—The human voice is the the concert of the Philharmonic Club in Washington, D. C., on the 8th inst.
most perfect of all musical instruments, and has for centuries served as a
Mr. George Werrenrath announced a series of three afternoon concerts
model for the construction of many contrivances whose sounds have
delighted the ear. The action of the larynx during vocalization is one of at the new hall of the Long Island Historial Society, corner of Clinton and
Pierrepont streets, Brooklyn. The dates were fixed for February 17 and 24
the most beautiful of all sights, and must be seen to be appreciated.
March 3. At the first concert Mr. Werrenrath sang selections from
For the production of the various tones which constitute the voice, six and
Schubert, Gounod, Liszt, Wagner, and Rubinstein, and was assisted by Mr.
elements are necessary:
Thallon.
1. Adduction of the vocal cords.
2. Formation of the glottis.
Mr. Kortheuer, the well-known pianist of Brooklyn, proposes to give a
3. Vibration of the cords.
series of chamber music concerts similar to those of last winter in which he took
4. Uniformity of action in the several sets of vocal muscles.
part. Mr. Kortheuer will have the aid of a string quartette, composed of
5. The action of the air current.
Mr. Carl Feininger, first violin; Roebbelen, second violin; Risch, viola, and
6. The movements of the voice-box.
Miiller, violoncello.
Adduction of the Vocal Cords.—During ordinary acts of breathing,
Mr. John Lavine's sixth annual concert will take place at Steinway Hall
whether air be drawn in or forced out of the lungs, the two vocal cords lie
along the sides of the larynx in a perfectly flaccid and relaxed state, and no on the 28th inst. On this occasion Miss Louise D. Reynolds, soprano, will
sound is heard except the faint whisper of the air passing through the wind- make her debut, having returned to New York after studying with Lamperti.
pipe. When, however, a sound is to be produced, the cords leave the sides
An afternoon reception and musicale was given by Mr. James B. Town-
of the air tube, and approach each other in the middle of this passage. send and Mr. Clark Evans at their studio, No 107 East 23d street, in the
This movement, as I have already stated, is called "adduction," and is afternoon of Feb. 4th. The rooms were decorated with flowers, and on the
brought about by the direct action of the adductor muscles, the aryte- walls were some late works of American artists. The music included a trio
noidens and the lateral-crico-arytenoidei.
for piano, 'cello and violin and solos for sopranos and baritone which were
The ordinary breathing tube is thus transformed into a musical one.
sung by Miss Earle and Mr. Coxe. Among the guests were Mrs. General
The Formation of the Glottis.—When the cords are adducted, a narrow McClellan and Miss McClellan, Mrs. T. B. Musgrave, Miss Potter, the
interval is left between them. This opening extends throughout the whole Misses Marquand, the Misses Smith, Mrs. De Neufville, Mrs. Marie, the
length of the vocal bodies, and is called the glottis. The existence of the Misses Marie, Miss King, Miss Neilson, Miss Duane, Mrs. Dwight Town-
glottis is absolutely necessary to vocalization, for it is through this space send, the Misses Lawrence, the Misses Livingston, the Misses Hewitt, Miss
that the air current, a most important factor in the production of sound, Sharpless, Mrs. Schack, the Misses Schack, the Misses Waldo, Mrs. Jona-
passes.
than Edwards, the -Misses Edwards, Mrs. Joshua Henry, the Misses Henry,
If the cords approximated closely throughout their whole extent, Mr. Paltus, Mr. Jas. D. Livingston, Mr. Minton, Mr. Russel, Mr. Aspin-
entirely abolishing the glottis, then the exit of the air would be prevented, wall, Mr. Merritt, Mr. Satterlee and Mr. Le Roy.
and the production of sound would be an utter impossibility. This very
The composers of the United States who intend to send in works to
thing happens quite frequently from a neglected sore throat brought on by
exposure to cold or sudden atmospheric change. At first the cords swell a compete for the $1,000 prize offered by the Cincinnati Musical Festival Asso-
little from inflammation; if at this stage of the affection the condition is not ciation are notified that all manuscripts must be in the hands of the Com-
recognized and treated properly, the swelling changes to a thickening from mittee on Prize Composition, Musical Festival Association, Cincinnati, on
the formation of new tissue in the cords, and if this condition is not mas- or before Sept. 1, 1881, as such manuscripts have to be forwarded to Saint-
tered, it leads to what is known as chronic catarrh of the windpipe, a very Saens, of Paris, and Reinecke, of Leipsic, for examination of their merits,
persistent and troublesome disease. The simple swelling which I first and return in season for preparation and study by the chorus for the great
alluded to can be speedily cured by the application of remedies directly to festival of May, 1882.
the cords, by means of little brushes, which can only be introduced into the
Mrs. Hannah Ann Galbreath Thursby, the grandmother of Miss Emma
throat by means of the laryngoscopic mirrors. When the swelling has C. Thursby, the vocalist, died at 226 Ainslie street, Brooklyn, on Thursday,
passed on to thickening, a similar but much more prolonged course of treat- Feb. 3d, aged 84. She was born in Brooklyn.
ment'has to be adopted. Before proceeding any further, I wish to utter a
Marie Geistinger has signed an agreement with Manager G. Amberg to
warning against the pernicious habit of singing when the voice is roughened
or hoarse. Hoarseness, when it comes on suddenly, is always a sign that perform next season for forty nights in London, this being the first opera
the cords are more or less inflamed, and that they should be kept .perfectly bouffe troupe and German comedy company that will have appeared in the
British metropolis in the Teutonic language.
still.
There is another condition of the vocal cords which very frequently
Mme. Julia Rive-King came to rehearsal in Cincinnati, in the afternoon
occurs, and that is when they come together the glottis is too wide for the of Feb. 8th, with a painful trouble with a finger threatening to become a
production of a musical tone; this state is known as non-approximation, and felon. In her response to a doubt of her ability to appear at Pike's to-night
may be very slight when the voice is only a little impaired, or very great she tore the covering from the finger and went heroically through her role.
when the voice is entirely lost. In this latter condition, when an attempt at Then she insisted that she would come and play, notwithstanding the pain.
singing is made, the cords do not leave the sides of the windpipe, but It was not until 7 o'clock that severe physical suffering compelled her to
remain perfectly relaxed as in ordinary breathing. The vocal cords are then give notice that she could not appear.
said to be paralyzed. For the cure of paralysis of the cords, a very inge-
The north bound express was wrecked nine miles north of Hempstead,
nious instrument has been devised. When this instrument is introduced
into the windpipe, a spring is touched in its handle which allows a current on the Texas Central Railroad, on the evening of Feb. 5th. The engine fell
of electricity to pass directly into the substance of the cords. The voice has through the Cedar Creek bridge, throwing an express, two baggage, and
been frequently restored by a few applications of electricity in this manner, two passenger cars down a 15-foot embankment, bottom upward, the sleep-
when all ordinary methods have failed. The glottis varies in size according ing car only keeping the track. The Strakosch and Hess English Opera
to the tone produced; when the lowest note of the register is sounded it is Troupe were among the passengers. Eighteen persons were injured, those
widest and open throughout the whole length of the vocal cords; and as most seriously being Conductor Littig, who had his side and hip hurt;
each successive tone in the ascending scale is reached, the diameter of the Rose Marion, a chorus singer, who was thrown through a window and badly
glottis diminishes both as regards length and width, and this diminution cut; a cornet player had his arm broken, and Mr. Levi, of New York, had
increases until the highest notes are reached, when the opening is very small his nose broken. The injured persons were sent to Houston to be cared for.
and narrow, and only confined to the central point of the edges of both vocal
Mr. Charles Harris, the London manager, has arrived here, and assumed
cords.
control of the rehearsals for the new operetta: " Billie Taylor," to be pro-
duced at the Standard Theatre.
Major Charles E. Pearce, a lawyer and well-known military man of St.
Louis, has brought a suit against Charles A. Spaulding, proprietor of the
Olympic Theatre, and J. H. Mapleson, the opera manager, for. refusing to
sell him certain seats in the theatre for the opera season beginning on Mon-
day last. Pearce alleges that he was the first one at the box-office on Mon-
day, Feb. 7, when the tickets were advertised to be sold, and found five rows
of seats stricken off of the box-sheet, and he now proposes to test the ques-
3
tion whether seats in a theatre can be disposed of privately before the pub-
lic sale is made. Mr. Pearce asks $1,000 damages.
Fig. 11.—Image of Larynx, show-
Fig. 10.—Image of Larynx, showing
ing
Cords
brought
together
or
ad-
Vocal Cords widely separated, as in or-
ducted, and the formation of the
The Central Campaign Club Chorus will give a concert at Chickering Hall
dinary breathing. 1. Vocal Cords. '2.
Glottis. 1. Vocal Cords. 2. False
False Vocal Cords. 3. Arytenoids. 4.
on Friday evening, February 25th, under the auspices of the Republican
Vocal Cords. 3. Glottis.
Epiglottis.
Central Club. Miss Ross, Mrs. De Lano, Messrs. Fritsch, Belfort and Pratt
and Signor Liberati will take part in the concert, the proceeds from which
By a careful study of these two drawings, the two elements already will
be devoted to defraying the expenses of the Chorus Club in attending
described, namely, adduction of the vocal cords and the formation of the the Presidential
Inauguration ceremonies at Washington.
glottis, will be readily understood.
It has been asserted in some works on the voice that during the produc-
Seven performances are to be given during the week of the May Music
tion of musical tones, the first act of the vocal cords is to approximate closely, Festival in this city—four in the evening and three in the afternoon. The
thus destroying the opening of the glottis, and that these bodies are forced programme includes choral compositions, purely orchestral works, ensemble
apart by a strong current of air.
pieces and solos. There are announced Handel's Dittingen "Te Deum,"
This statement according to my experimentation is a fallacy; for the Rubinstein's "Tower of Babel," Berlioz's "Grand Requiem," Handel's
only persons in whom I have seen this preliminary obliteration of the glottis, "Messiah," and Beethoven's "Ninth Symphony," for solo, chorus and
were those whose vocal organs were in some way affected by disease. I have orchestra. The committee entered into correspondence with a number of
many times seen this phenomenon in cases where the vocal bodies were singers, and among those already engaged are Signor Italo Companini, Miss
Annie Louise Cary, Miss Emily Winant, Mr. Franz Remmertz and Mr. Myron
relaxed or congested.

Download Page 3: PDF File | Image

Download Page 4 PDF File | Image

Future scanning projects are planned by the International Arcade Museum Library (IAML).

Pro Tip: You can flip pages on the issue easily by using the left and right arrow keys on your keyboard.