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VOL. XVIII. No. 4 5.
published Every Saturday.
OUR EUROPEAN
BUDGET.
JOSEPH HOFFMAN THE ARTIST—HENRY IRVING
ON THE UNITED STATES—WAGNER CONCERT
AT QUEEN'S HALL—DALY'S " A S YOU
LIKE IT " A GREAT SUCCESS—PADER-
EWSKI AT THE PHILHARMONIC
CONCERT — SIR AUGUSTUS
HARRIS PRESENTED
'-
•
WITH A TESTI-
. ,
MONIAL.
NINE CHIEF MUSICAL FESTIVALS—PLAY WRIT-
ING VERSUS NOVEL WRITING—HOW
DO THEY DO IT ?
LONDON, May 2t>th, 1894.
The return of young Josef Hofmann was
awaited with some interest, because musical
amateurs were, of course, anxious to discover
whether the prodigy of ten would develop into
an artist at seventeen, The answer must he
emphatically in the affirmative. After a period
of much required rest, the boy resumed his
studies first at Berlin under Professor Urban,
and later at Dresden under no less a master
than Rubinstein, whose magnetic influence was
strongly perceptible at the first of three recitals
on Saturday last at St. James's Hall. Hofmann
is no longer a child wonder ; he is a splendid
pianist, and I fancy Paderewski will have to
look to his laurels.
•X-
Mr. Henry Irving has been quite enthusiastic
in praise of his recent visit to your country. In
speaking to him a few days ago, he said : " It
was truly a glorious six months' tour and
from one and all we received the most enthusi-
astic support and the greatest kindness." Mr.
Irving seemed specially pleased at the marked
•interest shown by the people of the far West in
the Shakespearean productions, and had many
kind words for " dear " New York, as he ex-
pressed it, and its hospitable people. Mr.
Irving's reapearance at his own theatre was the
event of the season, and he received a very
warm welcome.
#
The last Wagner Concert at the Queen's Hall
drew an immense audience, and I heard the
entire third act of "Tannhauser," to which a
large measure of justice was done by the choir
+
|\feu/ Yoi%J
and orchestra, and Miss Ella Russell, Mr. Lloyd,
and Mr. Andrew Black as the principal artists.
On this occasion the stage directions were very
properly given in the book of words ; but there
were some amusing clerical and printer's errors.
I thought I knew the German tongue pretty
well, but I never heard the word "Waldeve-
ben ; " and I do not know what " Interval and
Closing Scene " means. A story is told of a
man who went to a classical concert and was
asked how he liked it. His reply was that he
enjoyed the ten minutes' interval very much
indeed. But then he could not have been a
Wagnerian.
* * *
There is something ironical in the fact that
Mr. Daly has found more patronage for his
Shakespearean revivals than for any of the
plays of foreign origin which he has presented
to notice since he first came among us. After
an unprecedented run of " Twelfth Night," the
season has closed with a few performances of
"As You Like It," which may be regarded as
among the most artistic ever given in London
within living memory. Miss Ada Rehan's
Rosalind has been so fully discussed, that
nothing more remains to be said respecting an
impersonation full of vitality and beauty. But
she was by no means the only star in the
firmament for the other members of the cast
all spoke and acted with distinction. Shake-
speare will never spell ruin when he is treated
in this manner.
* * *
Paderewski has still further reduced his
locks, but he was in glorious form on Wednes-
day, May 9th, at the Philharmonic Concert, and
his performance of his own fresh and sparkling
Polish Fantasia was as invigorating as a glass
of good champagne. He has decided not give
any recitals in London this summer.
$3 00 PBR YEAR.
SINGLE COPIES. 10 CENTS.
house. Certainly there was no great fortune
to be made out of the idea, nor, indeed, out of
opera of any kind. But as some men went
shooting and yachting, so he, who had no great
love for " the briny," preferred managing an
opera house. During the proceedings Mr.
Henry Russell and Lord Londesborough also
said a few words.
NINE CHIEF MUSICAL FESTIVALS.
I find that nine musical festivals were held
last year, two of which are held annually, namely,
the Gregorian Musical Festival, at St. Paul's,
London, and the Eisteddfod, or Welsh Musical
Festival, held last year at Pontypridd. The
other seven, which are held triennially, were:
Bristol, Cardiff, Cheltenham, Hovingham (two
days), Yorkshire, North Staffordshire, Norwich,
Worcester (held alternately at Gloucester, Here-
ford, and Worcester). Three other musical festi-
vals are held triennially in this country, namely,
the Handel Festival at the Crystal Palace, Syd-
enham, and the Musical Festivals at Chester
and Leeds. The two first recur this year and
the third in 1895. At the Norwich Festival last
year, five new works were presented. These
were Mr. Cowen's cantata, the " Water Lily " ;
Mr. Gaul's cantata, " U n a " ; Mr. J. F. Barnet's
cantata for female voices, the " Wishing Bell " ;
Mr. German's Second Symphony ; and a Polish
Fantasia for piano and orchestra by M. Pad-
erewski.
PLAY WRITING VERSUS NOVEL WRITING.
The amateur writer of fiction who reads that
the late Mr. Pettit has left personal estate to the
value of ,£47,090 will probably conclude that the
writing of plays is a "good t h i n g " ; small
blame to him if he deserts his three-volume
labors-—so hard to complete, so barren when
completed—for this and other incomparably
more remunerative field of endeavor. Indeed,
Sir Augustus Harris was presented last Friday it is a wonder Mr. Pettit has left no more, for
at the Drury Lane Theatre with a beautifully- the rumor of intimates credited him with the
illuminated album in recognition of his services yearly income of a Prime Minister. And Mr.
to opera in this country. The testimonial was Pettit was but one of many successful play-
initiated by Mr. Henry Russell (the octo- wrights, and was aged forty-five. A certain
genarian composer and singer) last year. It Mr. W. M. Thackeray died in 1863, aged fifty-
was intended to make a suitable gift in silver, eight, leaving rather less than Mr. Pettit, and
but at the request of Sir Augustus it was de- of his fortune only a part had been made in
cided to substitute three Steinway grand fiction (which was his calling), and the rest by
pianos, to be given as prizes to the students at lecturing. Now Mr. Thackeray is believed to
the Royal Academy of Music, the Royal have been not only one of the greatest but the
College of Music, and the Guildhall school. second most popular of novelists. Here is a con-
Sir E. Lawson made the presentation. trast Indeed. No doubt it will be said that Mr.
In thanking the large assemblage, the Pettit got his princely piece of pudding by rea-
popular manager said he was, so to speak, son of arts precisely the reverse of Thackeray's.
born on the operatic stage, for it was during But the sneer is not enlightening, as indeed
the time his father was managing the Italian sneers seldom are. In short, the theatre " pays."
opera in Paris that he saw the light amid the If you write a really successful play your reward
shots of the coup d'etat. As a youth in Germany,
may run into thousands; if you are peculiarly
no less a man than Bismarck gave him the
right of attending every night the theatre at successful as a novelist a few hundreds are the
Hanover, which then boasted one of the best most you can hope for. Which truth let the
opera houses in Germany. The height of his youthful genius lay to heart, and, if possible,
ambition was not yet attained, for he desired act on.
to see established in England an English opera
NIRVANA.