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THE
INFANT PRODIGIES IN MUSIC.
MUSIC TRADE
REVIEW
Reuter is just as clearly of the Ysaye. The first
plays with a sturdy calm, master of himself and
Von Reuter, the "Modern Mozart," a Composer his instrument; Von Reuter is more a boy of
moods. His intonation is not as certain, and he
at Twelve—Von Vecsey Conquers at Ten.
is more liable to make sMps; but he certainly
The musical season which has just come to an has more life, more emotion, more genius.
end has been more remarkable for the number of Vecsey plays as if he had been taught; the other
prodigies than for anything else, says E. A. as if he felt the music, young as he is. Still it is
Baughan in the London Outlook. The sisters perhaps a mistake to compare the two, for both
Hegner, one a pianist and the other a singer; are wonderful children, and each shows a natur-
Miss May Harrison, a fourteen-year-old violinist, ally musical mind. If they develop they will be
and her sister Marion, a ten-year-old 'cellist; more wonderful players than either Joachim or
Franz von Vecsey and Florizel von Reuter, both Ysaye, and there is everything to show that they
extraordinary geniuses, make up a very formid- have just as much genius for music. Indeed, I
able list. The public never seems to lose its in- am inclined to look on Florizel von Reuter as
terest in these prodigies, indeed, their popularity a modern Mozart. His "Symphonie Royale," if it
has a bad effect on the drawing powers of mature is all his own work, and there is no reason to
artists. It would be well if experts were to ex- suppose that it is not, is a wonderful achievement
amine the physiological and psychological ques- for a boy of twelve.
tions raised by the mental and emotional preco-
city of these young "freaks." At the same time
OF A PERSONAL NATURE.
it must not be forgotten that there always have
been musical prodigies, and I dare say it could
David Bispham will devote the season to ora-
be proved that the number of them is not really torio, concert and recital under the direction of
out of proportion to the increase of population of Mr. Charlton. He will give a dozen recitals in
the western world, nor, considering the facilities California, Oregon an"d Washington in next Feb-
for musical education of to-day, is there any rea- ruary and March, and he is booked with the
son for supposing that the increase of prodigies Philadelphia, Pittsburg and Washington orches-
is unaccountable. Rubinstein, Mme. Schumann, tras. Mr. Bispham has arranged for this tour
Liszt, Joachim, Sarasate and, in his way, Men- four song cycles by Beethoven, Schumann, Schu-
delssohn, were musical prodigies. And the most bert and Brahms, each of' which will occupy an
remarkable of all was Mozart. We see a Florizel evening, and will be heard in New York. The
von Reuter conduct a well-written and well-con- tour is from October to May.
ceived symphony, and we marvel that a lad of
twelve should be able to do such things. Yet Mo-
Johanna Gadski will make her first American
zart was commissioned to write an opera when he transcontinental tour in concert and song recital
was fourteen years of age, and before that he this coming season under the management of
had made a European reputation. A newspaper Loudon G. Charlton. Beginning in November
announcement thus introduced the prodigy to the with the Boston Symphony Orchestra, Mme.
public: "The boy, who is not yet seven, will per- Gadski will give recitals in New York and Bos-
form on the clavecin or harpsichord; he will ton, the Northwestern cities, the Pacific coast
also play a concerto for the violin, and will ac- from Vancouver to San Diego, and return by way
company symphonies on the clavier, the manual of Texas, or about eighty concerts, extending
or keyboard being covered "with a cloth, with as through next April.
much facility as if he could see the keys; he will
instantly name all notes player! at a distance,
Sig. Campanari, the baritone, has forsaken the
whether singly or in chords on the clavier or on metropolitan opera stage for the concert platform
any other instrument, bell, glass or clock. He He is camping with his family at Lake Placid,
will finally, both on the harpsichord and the or- working up new concert programmes for his tour
gan, improvise as long as may be desired and of one hundred concerts.
in any key, thus proving that he is as thoroughly
acquainted with the one instrument as with the
Herbert Witherspoon, basso, who has just
other as great as is the difference between them." closed his prolonged concert season with appear-
One can imagine the shocked indignation with ances at the Rockford (111.) musical festival, is
which such an announcement would be received to give a recital in November at Mendelssohn
nowadays. Grave critics would speak of the Hall.
child of seven as a charlatan, and would stig-
matize poor old Leopold Mozart as a monster of
Robert Grau has secured for the Nina David
avarice, working his tender slip of a son to death concert tour a new French contralto of the Brus-
for the sake of a few pounds. Of course, the sels opera, Mme. Antoinette Ravelli. Mme. David
prodigy appearances of Mozart in public may will give her first concert at Carnegie Hall on
have helped to kill him at an early age; but to October 17.
the plain man it is difficult to understand how
Among the foreign artists engaged by Henry
any composer could have written more than Mo-
zart wrote. His creative life at any rate did not W. Savage for his immense production of "Parsi-
suffer. Nor did the other prodigies suffer as far fal," in English, at the Garden Theatre next sea-
as we can tell. But nowadays there is certainly son, will be the great German tenor, Alois Pen-
more chance that a prodigy will be permanently narini.
harmed. If he conquers London, as Vecsey and
Josef Hofmann, from London, went for a six
Reuter have conquered it, he has to give four or
five recitals, and in addition he is engaged to play weeks' vacation in Switzerland. He comes to
in private during the season—a part of his career this country to open his tour under the man-
which, I should think, is much more harmful agement of Henry Wolfsohn in San Francisco
than his appearance in public. Then there is al- on October 4.
ways the inevitable American tour to be taken
Otto Voss is a new pianist, who will appear in
into account. Its hardships try the staying pow-
this country the coming musical season. He will
ers of even mature artists. Young Vecsey has
play the Steinway piano.
been engaged to give a number of recitals in
America in the winter, and the press has been
EULOGIZES STANDFORD'S OPERA.
teeming with paragraphs hinting at the extraor-
dinary fees that are to be paid. Those extraordi-
The conferring of knighthood on Edward El-
nary fees mean that the boy will have to play gar will still further confirm the impression that
more often than can be good for him.
he is at the head of British music. But he is
Whatever the future of music may be on its not, says Henry T. Finck, who adds: "There is
creative side, it is clear that we shall not lack more originality, more charm, more genius, in
great violinists and pianists if The prodigies grow Stanford's 'Shamus O'Brien' than in all of El-
to man's estate. Vecsey, by temperament and gar's works combined and a thousand more like
training, is of the Joachim school, and Von them. 'Shamus O'Brien' is one of the great
operas of the nineteenth century. It ranks with
RS. ETTA EDWARDS, Vocal Instruction, Stcinert Hall,
'Carmen' and 'Manru.' Its day will come."
Boston, Mass.
M
DVORAK MANUSCRIPTS.
Further details come from Prague regarding
the musical manuscripts left by the late Dr.
Dvorak. Among them are eight long composi-
tions, all of which belong to his first period and
were, doubtless for that reason, withheld by him
from the printers. There are three symphonies,
written in 18G5. 1872, 1874; two overtures; a sym-
phonic poem, a quartet, and a quintet marked
as opus 1 and composed in 1861. There are also
a few piano pieces and songs, and sketch books
including, among other things, material for the
opera Dvorak intended to com nose this summer.
Dvorak's successor as director of the Prague Con-
servatory is Prof. Karl Knittl.
THE TYRANT PRIMA DONNA.
It is the rarest thing to find that any famous
prima donna ever "created" a new role of any
artistic importance, or associated herself with
the interpretation of the music of any young com-
poser, no matter how gifted. Her choice of songs
in the concert-room alternates between hackeyed
favorites and aboslutely worthless novelties.
Alone among the great executants, the prima
donna has been conspicuous for her abstinance
from any efforts to achieve distinction as a com-
poser.
Handel had a short way with the prima donna,
and threatened to throw her out of the window
if she would not sing what he had written for
her. Wagner went further, and refused-to write
for the prima donna at all. An-1 Verdi, in "Fal-
staff" did throw her out of the window and gave
the leading part to a baritone. To the music
lover the prima donna is a nuisance, and a very
expensive one.
CARRYING OUT POPE PIUS X.'S PLANS.
The experiment of carrying out Pope Pius X.'s
intentions with regard to church music will be
tried on a large scale in an English speaking
community by the Archbishop of Dublin next
month. The essential changes in the regulations
which he has issued for the archdiocese consist
in the employment of male voices exclusively in
the passages in the ritual of the Mass that call
for music and the use in these of the Gregorian
chants; in the limitation of choice for other mu-
sic to a list authorized by the Diocesan, and in
the restriction of organ playing to the accom-
paniment of the voice.
Whatever the effect of the innovation on the
feelings of the congregations may be, the Arch-
bishop's regulations seem conservative and ra-
tional and calculated to introduce the Pope's re-
forms without too much friction. Nowhere else,
to our knowledge, has the effort to come close to
the idea of Pius X. been made in a great diocese,
so that the working of the Dublin plan will be
watched with interest by all English speaking
Catholic communities.
ADELE AUS DER OHE'S EUROPEAN TRIP.
Adele Aus Der Ohe, the well-known pianist,
sailed last week for a brief trip to Europe, in
response to a cablegram from her music publish-
ers regarding the copyright of several new com-
positions. She will return from Europe in time
for the coming concert season. During her tour
in this country Miss Aus Der Ohe is to play for
the first time in public a new violin and piano
concerto, besides giving a number of recitals. A
new piano concerto by Miss Aus Der Ohe is to
have its first public performance in Berlin in
October.
At a recent concert of the Royal Orchestral So-
ciety, Fritz Kreisler, the Austrian violinist, whom
the London critics now claim to be without a
peer, was presented to King Edward by the
Prince of Wales who presented him with a gold
medal of membership of the Royal Orchestral So-
ciety. The present president of this organization
is the Prince of Wales.