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THE MUSIC: Tf?HDE
WHAT LONDON SAYS.
HUGO HEERMANN, VIOLIN VIRTUOSO.
TTHE London reviewers are much excited
over the first performance there of
Strauss's tone poem, "Em Heldenleben,"
which he conducted himself. The opinions
are various, as was to be expected. The
Times cherishes doubts as to the value of
Strauss's musical ideas, and as to the pro-
priety of his cacophony. The Telegraph
pays tribute to the extraordinary enchain-
ing power of the mu-
sic, the originality and
daring with which the
composer bends to his
purpose the devicesof
his art and the splen-
did air of mastery, but
also has doubts about
many of the passages.
Ernest Newman in
The Speaker criticises
the two .conflicting
purposes that he finds
in t h e work—the
purely objective paint- .
ing of a hero, and
the apparent attempt
to draw the hearer's
attention to Strauss
himself as the hero,.
In painting the gen-
eralized picture he
has come to grief,
and he has "mud-
dled up his t w o
plans"; he has been
unfortunate also in
not keeping the more
descriptive s i d e of
h i s genius within
proper bounds. The
critic of The Pall
Mall Gazette recog-
nizes in "Ein Helden-
leben" "the sign man-
ual of magnificent ge-
nius," and considers
it a work "transcen-
dental in its interpretation of modernity";
"since the day when Richard Wagner died
nothing has been given to the world so glo-
riously assured in its significance, so splen-
didly certain in its utterance as this score
by this exceedingly fine master."
LJ UGO HEERMANN, the distinguished
German violinist, will make his debut
at Carnegie Hall with Mr. Wetzler's or-
chestra on Feb. 5. Of this artist the Neue
Musik-Zeitung said: "When the masters of
the noble art of violin playing are marshalled,
to Hugo Heermann must be given a place
in the front rank. The great triumphs which
he has won for years in his second home,
AMERICANS SUCCEED ABROAD.
A MERICAN singers and musicians are *
-**• making a great record all over Europe !
this year, according to a cable this week
from Paris. The list opens with Miss Bessie ;
Abbott, of New York, at the Grand Opera;
Mary Garden, of Chicago, and Elizabeth
Parkinson, of Kansas City, at the Opera.
Comique, while Lulu Morse, the daughter
of the inventor, and Geraldine Farrar are
winning laurels at the Grand Opera, Berlin. -
Glowing accounts reach Paris of Miss.
Applegate's singing at the Royal Opera
House, Dresden. Delia Rogers, of Denver,:
and Clarence Whitehill are doing well at
Elberfeld.. Louise Ormsby, of San Fran-
cisco, and Madame Methot, of Chicago, are
highly thought of in London, while Yvonne
de Treville stirs the wind-swept souls of
the inhabitants of Marseilles..
Gustin Wright, the only American organ-
ist who has a standing engagement in Paris,,
goes next week to the Court at Budapest to
give a series of recitals. Mr. Wright has
recently returned from Cornell University,
where he gives a series of fifteen concerts.
PUGNO'S NEW YEAR DATES.
HE first great American tour of Raoul
Pugno, the distinguished pianist, will-
soon come to end, and Manager Henry'
Wolfsohn regrets this more than anyone else.
"Had I been able to have his European
dates changed," said Mr. Wolfsohn, the
other day, "I cculd have kept Pugno play-
ing until the middle of March, almost con-'
tinuously, so numerous were the offers made,
to me. Before he has finished tour he will'
have played thirty-five sold-out engagements,
nearly all of which were booked before he
arrived in this country. Though he has-
played nine times in this city, and has still
one more New York ^engagement to fill, it
was only the latter part of last week that I
was compelled to refuse two more concerts
in this city; one with orchestra and another
privately. I expect that M. Pugno will re-
HUGO HEERMANN.
turn here again in about three years."
The following are the engagements that
Frankfurt-on-Main, and on his many artis-
he
has yet to play: Jan. 5, Chicago, Ama-
tic tours, insure him a place of honor in the
teur
Club; Jan. 6, Cleveland, recitals; Jan..
history of virtuosity. It is with just pride
7,
Troy,
with Chromatic Club; Jan. 9 and
that he can look back at the more than en-
10,
Cincinnati,
with orchestra; Jan. 12, Pat-
thusiastic reception with which he was re-
erson,
N.
J.,
recital;
Jan. 13, New York,
ceived a few months ago in the imperial cap-
with
Kaltenborn
Quartet,
farewell here; Jan.
ital, Leipsic, and England, and still more
14,
Baltimore,
private
club;
Jan. 15, New
recently in Paris and Marseilles."
York;
private
musicale;
Jan,
16, farewell
Heermann was born at Heilbronn in 1844
reception
at
Brevoort
House;
Jan.
17, sails
and studied in turn with Maschek, Meert,
for
Europe.
de Beriot, Vieuxtemps and Joachim.
MLLE. DE LUSSAN TO WED.
LLE. ZELIE DE LUSSAN, the prima
donna, who has had a notable career
in concert and opera, has just announced
that she would marry Henrico Robeldo of
J*
Brazil and leave the stage, The marriage
MANCINELU'S NEW OPERA.
will take place some time in April, 1903, in
New York City, where the couple will live.
IGNOR MANCINELLI finds during
Mile. De Lussan is a universal favorite and
his work at the Metropolitan Opera
every good wish will follow her into private House little time to devote to composition
life.
and practically all he does in this field is
accomplished while he is in Italy.
A WAGNERIAN CORRECTION.
"Francesca da Rimini," on which he has
A CCORDING to the music reviewer of
The London Times, the name "Liebes- been engaged for two years, is almost com-
tod" which has been applied by all good pleted. During the summer, or perhaps later
Wagnerians to the finale of "Tristan und in the season, he expects to begin work on
Isolde," is now to be applied to the prelude, the orchestration.
the name "Verklarung" being given to
The libretto is, according to the composer,
Isolde's death song. This is on the strength quite unlike Gabriel d'Annunzio's play, and
of a program recently discovered of a con- the role of the heroine is highly dramatic.
cert got up by Tausig and conducted by It will, of course, have to be sung by a dra-
Wagner in 1863.
matic soprano.
BURGSTALLER COMING TO THE OPERA HOUSE.
A LOYS BURGSTALLER, the Wagner-
** ian tenor, cabled Saturday to F. G.
Latham, who is acting in Mr. Grau's ab-
sence at the Metropolitan, that he would
reach New York on Jan. 10, in time to
make his first appearance here in the per-
formance of the Nibelungen Ring. Herr
Burgstaller, who was trained at Bayreuth
by Mme. Cosima Wagner, is unique in that
his repertoire comprises only three roles.
He sings only Siegmund and the two Sieg-
frieds. Louise Bruss-Belce, who is also to
join the company next week, will make her
appearance as Fricka in "Das Rheingold,"