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THE
REVIEW
flUJIC TIRADE
VOL. XL. No. 5.
Published Every Saturday by Edward Lyman Bill at 1 Madison Ave., New York, Feb. 4, 1905.
D'ALBERT'S INTERESTING CHAT.
MUSICAL COMEDY HAS HAD ITS DAY.
He Doesn't Want to Hear Any More Piano or
Concerts—Too Many People Play, He Says.
So Says George Edwardes, the Famous Theatri-
cal Manager of London, Now in This City—
Interesting Chat With Father of the Gaiety
Girls.
Eugen D'Albert, who was just introduced to
New Yorkers preparatory to making an extended
tour of the United States was a victim recently
The great difficulty of the theatrical manager
of the omnipresent newspaper man. In answer to-day, according to Geo. Edwardes, the London
to some questions he said: "I do not practice impresario, is that he must continually give the
the piano at all," said he later on, upon being public something better than has gone before.
asked his hours of work, "except when I have to Discussing the matter he said: "The limit has
play. There are weeks and months that I do been reached in musical comedy, both in elab-
not touch the piano. * * * When I am com- orateness of production and in excellence of ma-
posing I do not touch the piano at all. In fact, terial. Musical comedy has had its day, in my
it was Liszt who made me a pianist. I was com- opinion. It is played out. The public is tired
posing when I met him. He would have me of it, and the managers can make no improve-
play. My first concert was a very great success, ments."
and so I still play and play, but I would much
"And what will take its place?"
rather compose my operas.
"Comic opera. Real comic opera, as the
"I play at Berlin, at Leipsic, at Munich, all French understand it; comic opera of the style
through Germany, for six months out of the of 'Veronique.' "
year; then I go to my villa in Italy, at. Lago
"Is there anybody writing good comic opera
Maggiore, and stay there the rest of the time. to-day?"
There I composed my operas of 'The Improvisa-
"Yes. Messager, for instance, and Dr. Felix,
tor,' 'The Departure,' and 'Cain.'
of Vienna. I produced one of Felix's operas,
"O, yes; Italy is the country for composing 'Madame Sherry,' in London. It ran fairly well,
operas. No, I do not know why the skies are but was really too good; the public, satisfied
bluer there than elsewhere, but it is true. It is with musical comedy, had not yet had its appe-
difficult to explain, as difficult as why I like Bee- tite for first-class music sharpened. But it was
thoven best and why I do not practice unless I an immensely clever little operetta and full of
have to play, and why my fingers remain nimble pretty and catchy music."
even when I do not practice. All of it is very
Mr. Edwardes walked about his parlor in the
difficult to explain."
Holland House smoking a cigar almost a foot
"What is your opinion." inquired the reporter, long, and told the story of "Madame Sherry"—
"of modern pianists?"
a supposed nephew of Andrew Carnegie, who
Mr. D'Albert turned his head sidewise and lives in Paris, and by a series of deceptions in-
shrugged his shoulders. "To speak truthfully," duces his uncle to keep him well supplied with
he answered then, "I never hear them. I know money, pretending he is married, rearing a fam-
they play. Of course they play. I hear of their ily "and earning a hard living as a music teacher,
playing, but when I have finished playing myself whereas he is really leading a gay life with a
that is quite enough.
woman who is not his wife. The great scene
"I don't want to hear any more piano, any comes when Mr. Carnegie arrives unexpectedly,
more concerts. I go to the theatre or to the takes two pupils for his nephew's children and
opera, but never to a concert. Really, these days embraces the fat old landlady of the house un-
so many play well, fairly well; a great deal too der the impression that she is his nephew's
many. It is disgusting how mediocrily well wife.
everybody plays. Now in Berlin it is atrocious.
"Comic opera of this type," continued Mr. Ed-
It is, really. Any little pianist there can give a wardes, "will take the place of musical comedy,
concert. To empty chairs mostly, but he gives for the very reason that people like lyrics to be
it nevertheless. It is terrible on the critics in a part of the play and not merely injected with-
Berlin, that they have to hop about so; first to out rhyme or reason or congruity to fill out a
one concert and then to another the same even- slender plot and to exploit some singer. A lyr>c
ing. Sometimes to five in one evening. How can about—well, says, dolls, may be very pretty, but
they do justice to five? How can they criticise if it is stuck in the middle of a scene that has
more than one piece at each? Impossible!
nothing to do with dolls it is absurd."
"It is a pity that so many people play. It
would be better if a few played only, and some of
them very badly. Then there would be less play- HOFMANN, THE LION OF THE SEASON,
ing and fewer concerts.
Played at the Homes of Wealthy Americans—
"It is not so in New York. New Yorkers will
His Joint Recital With Kreisler.
not permit any little mediocre pianist to rent
Carnegie Hall or the Metropolitan Opera House
Josef Hofmann has been the musical lion of
and give a concert.
the social season here this winter and his many
"Quite right they are. They must have the public appearances are a sort of annoyance to his
best there is to be had for the money, New York- many social friends, who are only happy when
they are entertaining him or when he is playing
ers."
at their houses. In addition to the sixty con-
A new opera, "Buddha's Awakening," by the certs which Hofmann has already played since
Portuguese composer, Isidore de Lara, has been the opening of his tour he has found time to be
produced at Geneva.
heard in musicales at the homes of Mr. W. K.
SINGLE COPIES. 10 CENTS.
$2.00 PER VEAR.
Vanderbilt, both here and in Oakdale, L. I.; Mr.
R. J. Collier, Mrs. Payne Whitney, Mrs. W. D.
Sloane and several others, and he is not yet fin-
ished. He is now traveling in the West and
when he returns early in February he has sev-
eral more private engagements to fill before he
makes his next public appearance here which
will be on Sunday afternoon, February 12th, in
Carnegie Hall. Hofmann's appearances in this
city, both public and private, during the season,
will number twenty-five, which is a larger num-
ber than has ever been played by any pianist in
one season. In addition to this he has filled
over fifteen engagements in cities which are
within two hours' traveling distance from New
York. They include five appearances in Philadel-
phia, three in Brooklyn, two in Paterson, N. J.
and one each in Orange, Montclair and Newark,
N. J.; Yonkers and Briarcliff. N. Y., and Bridge-
port, New Haven and New London, Conn.
PRIZES FOR OPERAS IN ENGLISH.
The London Telegraph is responsible for the
rather surprising statement that the well-known
Italian publishing house of Ricordi in Milan, is
about to take an important step in the practical
encouragement of English opera and its compos-
ers by offering a prize of $2,500 for the best score
submitted. Massenet is expected to be one of the
judges. The successful opera is to be produced
at Covent Garden.
According to Rudolf Kastner, the latest prize
operas of Ricordi's rival the publisher Sonzogno,
do not amount to much. They had their first
performance outside of Italy at Zurich, the other
day, and were found flimsy. Dupont's "Cabrera"
seemed to have somewhat more merit than its
mate / Filiasi's "Manuel Menendez," which is de-
scribed as a lurid specimen of the vulgar "veris-
tic" school of Mascagni. Both lack melodic orig-
inality, a deficiency which no technical skill can
conceal. By a coincidence, the scene of both the
operas is laid in Spain.
CHOPIN AND HIS WORKS.
The January number of the Etude has several
good articles on Chopin and his works. Concern-
ing his influence Isidor Philipp says: "On the
one hand, Chopin; on the other, Liszt; the whole
art of modern piano playing rests on these two;
they created it." Edward Baxter Perry observes:
"A very frequent error among superficial judges
of Chopin is that of mistaking: his refined ele-
gance of manner for effeminate weakness of mat-
ter. They ignore the familiar fact that the great-
est strength is often combined with supple grace.
Since when has polish been a real detriment to
power? Since when has tempered steel been of
less strength and value than crude iron?
Chopin's genius in this respect reminds us of one
of those famous Damascus blades, potent yet
pliant, trusty and trenchant, despite its gold-leaf
tracery, its jeweled hilt, and its velvet scabbard."
Siegfried Wagner seems to be following the
example of his Italian colleagues in shaking a
new opera from his sleeves every year. His lat-
est work, "Bruder Lustig," is announced for per-
formance in Hamburg next autumn.