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THE
RANDEGGER ON MODERN COMPOSERS.
An Interesting Talk With the Prominent Musician
and Composer, in Which He Takes up the Eng-
lish Composers.
"Of living composers," said Randegger in a re-
cent talk on modern contemporaries, "Blgar
stands head and shoulders over them all. It is
generally admitted by his fellows, and no jeal-
ousy need be feared by stating it.
The emo-
tional element is strong, and passages, though
Wagnerian, are not imitations but developments.
'Gerontius,' ah, what a work! Before its produc-
tion at Birmingham, Dr. Elgar said to me, 'You
must come to Birmingham and hear the very best
work I have ever done.' Though full of engage-
ments, I went to the rehearsal, and from that
day to now my admiration has been increasing.
When dining once with Dr. Richter and Mr. Jos-
eph Bennett, the former said to me:
" 'In Elgar, you have at last an English com-
poser. He does not compose music, he invents
it.' "
"In reply to my query about Richard Strauss,
Mr. Randegger said:
" 'Strauss is immensely clever. He uses lavish
colors; he seeks to express everything in music.
He will certainly be immensely popular, just as
is the big canvas in a picture gallery which peo-
ple stare at in preference to, perhaps, the minia-
ture masterpiece next to it. It is my prophecy
that the people who oppose Strauss will be his
devoted admirers ten years hence, while I think
his present admirers will not be so enthusiastic
then. I think he will do greater work than he
has at present.'
"Mr. Randegger is an intimate friend of Saint-
Saens whom he regards as the most marvelous
musician of the age.
"He can do anything. He can compose in any
style—Bach, Mozart, Gounod, Verdi. His music
is fascinating to the listener—his symphonies
and concertos particularly. 'Samson and Deli-
lah' is a great work, and I had the honor of pro-
ducing it for the first time in English at the
Queen's Hall."
Mr. Randegger has the greatest admiration for
the music of Sir Alexander Mackenzie, Sir Hu-
bert Parry and Sir Charles Stanford, whose lofty
aims cannot be too highly praised.
It was through Mr. Randegger's aid that Ed-
ward German gained his first footing in London
music. "He was at the Royal College," said Mr.
Randegger, "a very clever young man indeed. I
once asked him what he was doing, and he said:
" 'I am composing and composing—songs,
pianoforte, orchestral music, but no publisher
will look at them. I don't know what to do.' "
Soon after Mr. Randegger heard that Mr. Mans-
field was producing a Shakespearean repertory at
the Lyceum, and wanted a musical director. Said
Mr. Randegger:
"I know the very man for you. But you must
allow him full liberty in selecting his players,
and pay him his price. He is not to be treated
as an ordinary theatre director, for he is an
artist with ambitions."
German delightedly accepted the post. When
"Richard III." was produced, Gtrman wrote the
overture and incidental music, and soon after,
the same "Henry VIII.," the dances in which have
become so universally popular.
German's next work may quite possibly be a
cantata, and if so, it will be on the invitation of
Mr. Randegger that he produces it at the Nor-
wich Festival.
In his experience as a conductor,. Mr. Randeg-
ger has some curious incidents to relate.
"Composers vary much," he said. "If a work
is produced and is not successful, many of them
will say, 'it's all the conductor's fault.' For that
reason I always insist that a new work shall be
conducted by the composer. At a recent Nor-
wich Festival no less than ten composers con-
ducted their own works."
It is different with some composers, however.
With Liszt, for instance, the following will give
an idea of that great man's point of view. Mr.
Randegger wrote to him once, asking permission
for half an hour's chat, saying, "I want your
MUSIC TRADE
REVIEW
guidance on one or two points in conducting your
works." When he called, Liszt said:
"Do it just in your own way, Mr. Randegger.
Nothing interests me so much as to hear my
music interpreted in different ways. In fact, I
sometimes rather enjoy it played wrongly."
But this is by no means of frequent occur-
rence. Mr. Randegger is no believer in strict,
metronomic beat.
"A provincial conductor once called and asked
me to mark the metronomic tempo of certain
works. I said to him:
" 'If a conductor has not the metronome in his
heart, it is impossible to mark it elsewhere.' "
As an instance of this, Mr. Randegger showed
me his edition of "Elijah." Turning to "Oh!
Rest in the Lord," he pointed to Mendelssohn's
figure and his own, placed bracketed together.
"You see, if Mendelssohn's tempo were taken,
the song would go far too rapidly for the inten-
tion. No singer would sing it that way. In fact,
I expect Mendelssohn never thought about it at
all, as he was no believer in metronomes him-
self."
LOUIS C. ELSON DISCUSSES WAGNER
Does Not Consider "Parsifal" Wagner's Greatest
Work, Although It Has Great Moments.
A few weeks ago it was announced that the
John Church Company, of Cincinnati, had issued
an American edition of Wagner's four Nibelung
operas (vocal scores with English and German
text). The same publishers have now issued a
similar edition of "Parsifal," with an introduc-
tory chapter by H. T. Finck. Commenting on
this edition and on "Parsifal," Louis C. Elson
says in the Boston Advertiser: "We do not con-
sider this the greatest of Wagner's operas, but it
has its overwhelming moments nevertheless, such
great scenes as the "Good Friday Spell" and the
Meeting with the Flower Maidens, for example.
"The present excitement is sure to work tem-
porary harm to the work. After the excitement
has run its course; "Parsifal" will probably be
shelved for a time. But it will never lose its in-
terest to the music student, and the fact that a
good, well-printed, and inexpensive American
edition is in existence will aid greatly in its
study. Nor can one help rejoicing in the fact
that the Wagner monopoly is being broken; that
the close corporation which has controlled and
restricted his works and performances is losing
power.
"It might well be remembered, in this connec-
tion that, while thousands and thousands of dol-
lars have poured into the family treasury since
the death of the genius, Materna, who gave her
services to the Bayreuth cause gratis, over and
over again, is in abject poverty. But she re-
ceived a congratulatory postal card (one cent)
from the family on her recent birthday!
would contain a large auditorium, with a fine or-
gan, and small halls for chamber music, pupils'
recitals and other purpose. A committee would
be appointed to look after the proper housing and
protection of students coming from a distance to
be resident near the university. A circular
signed by Mrs. W. S. Packer, 2 Grace Court,
Brooklyn, has been issued.
IRISH MUSIC FROM A NEW VIEWPOINT.
There has long been a growing suspicion in
the minds of true Gaels that the Irish airs that
have been printed, played and sung at concerts
for nearly a century are not Irish at all, but
merely corrupt versions of the traditional airs
adapted to the modern scale. The suspicion, al-
though ridiculed by most professional musicians,
has, like Banquo's ghost, refused to be laid. Dr.
Henebry, of Dublin, in a recent book entitled,
"Irish Music," now attempts to settle this ques-
tion. He gives expression to what most musi-
cians would call a new theory of music, and,
while his opinions are not wholly original, few
would have had the courage to maintain them
in print; for the critics, while admitting that
traditional Irish airs, as played and sung by the
Irish peasantry, have certain characteristics
which modern musical methods do not reproduce,
maintain that this is merely because the "igno-
rant peasantry" sing out of tune. Dr. Henebry
is convinced that there is not only a traditional
style of singing among the Irish, but that the
scales used by them had different intervals to
those of the modern tempered scale.
TOO MANY MUSICAL GIRLS IN PARIS.
At the Paris Conservatoire the governing body
has been obliged to appeal to the Minister of Pub-
lic Instruction to protect the male pupils from
the encroachments of the ladies. The latter
threatened to monopolize the classes of stringed
instruments. The maximum number of pupils
of both sexes in each class is ten, and the propor-
tion of women or girls to men or boys has now
grown to six or seven in the classes for violin,
harp, violoncello and even double bass, leaving,
therefore, a miserable masculine minority of only
three or four per instrument. But the Minister
has now used his authority for the protection of
the overwhelmed men and has just issued a de-
cree limiting the number of feminine pupils to
four in each class of stringed instruments.
AIRS OF ALL NATIONS.
Here is a list of the National airs of all nations:
Argentina, "Oid, mortales, el grito sagrado"; Aus-
tria, "Gott erhalte unsern Kaiser"; Belgium, "La
Brabanconne"; Bohemia, "War Song of the Hus-
sites"; Brazil, "Hymo da Proclamacao da Repub-
lica"; Burman, "Thaya Than"; Chili, "Dulce Pa-
tria"; Costa Rica, "De la Patria"; Denmark,
"King Kristian stod ved hojen mast"; Ecuador,
MUSIC COLLEGE FOR AMERICA.
"Salve, O Patria"; Egypt, "Salaam, Effendina";
Its Plan and Scope—Building to Be Located in Finland, "Vart Land"; France, "La Marseil-
laise"; Germany, "Heil dir im Siegerkranz";
Brooklyn.
Great Britain, "God Save the King"; Holland,
Being persuaded that this country needs a "Wien Nierlansch"; Hungary, "Isten aid meg a
music centre of such importance that students Magyart"; Italy, "Royal March"; Japan, "Keemee
may pursue here the study of music under ad- gajo"; Mexico, "Mexicanos, al grito de guerra";
vantages equal to those which they now seek in Persia, "Salamati Shah"; Peru, "Sornos libres,
Europe, a number of citizens have organized seamosio siempre"; Roumania, "Traeasca Re-
themselves into an association for establishing gale"; Russia, "Bozhe, Zaria, chrany"; Salvador,
within the limits of the city of New York a uni- "Saludemos la Patria"; Servia, "God in His
versity of music to be situated in Brooklyn.
Goodness"; Spain, "Himno de Riego"; Sweden,
The plan proposed includes an authoritative "Ur Svenska hjertans"; Switzerland, "Rufst du,
college of music, with orchestra, to be under the mein Faterland"; United States, "Star-Spangled
direction of a man of world-wide reputation; a Banner"; Uruguay, "Nimno Nacional de la Re-
visiting jury of eminent musicians, a board of
publica Oriental del Uruguay"; Venezuela,
management competent to keep high the ideals "Gloria al bravo pueblo."—Memphis Commercial
of instruction and performance, and a finance Appeal.
committee of men who are worthy of the confi-
CHICAGO ORCHESTRA'S BEST YEAR.
dence of the community. The corps of teachers
would be selected by the director, the visiting
The Chicago Orchestra, under the management
jury of musicians and a committee on instruc- of Theodore Thomas, have just closed the most
tion.
successful season of the last five years. The de-
The college would have a four years course of
ficit this year will not exceed $15,000. The man-
study, with entrance examinations. The degree agement of the Orchestra is pleased with the
of B. M. would be awarded to those who should showing, particularly as it was feared that the
satisfactorily complete the course. The building season would result more disastrously.