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THE MUSIC TRADE REVIEW
46
Conducted by B. B. Wilson
HELLER CO. BUYS FLANNER ASSETS.
Heller Piano Co. Makes Purchase at Auction
and Will Continue to Publish and Retail
Music—Dividend for Flanner Creditors—
Claims Exemption on Four Songs.
(Special to The Review.)
MILWAUKEE, Wis., August 5.—The Heller Piano
Co., of this city, purchased the entire assets of
Joseph Flanner, well known sheet music publisher
and general music dealer, 417 Broadway, at the
auction sale conducted by Julius J. Goetz, the trus-
tee, on July 31. The property, consisting of sheet
music, music plates, copyrights, musical merchan-
dise of all kinds, furniture and office fixtures,
broug'.it only $4,100, although the schedule filed
by Mr. Flanner soon after he went into involuntary
bankruptcy, placed the assets at $31,922.49.
The Heller Piano Co., representing many well-
known lines of pianos, intends to conduct a pub-
lishing and retail business in the sheet music field,
besides carrying a general line of small musical
instruments. The stock has been moved to the
company's big store at the corner of Grand avenue
and Seventh street, where ample quarters have
been provided on the first floor. Paul M. Trom-
now, for many years manager of the sheet music
department at the Flanner Music house and a man
well known in the sheet music field, has been re-
tained as manager of the new department by the
Heller people and is now arranging the new quar-
ters and getting the stock in* shape. Most of the
employes from the Flanner store have been se-
cured by Mr. Tromnow, so an excellent working
organization will be provided at the very start.
The first meeting of the Flanner creditors was
held in the offices of E. Q. Nye, referee in bank-
ruptcy, on August 1, when a dividend of 20 per
cent, was declared. It is expected that a second
dividend will be paid within three months. Mr.
Flanner's liabilities were scheduled at $17,297.63.
Among the exemptions claimed by Mr. Flanner
were the music plates and copyrights of four of
his leading publications, including "On the Wis-
consin," march; "On the Road to Mandalay," a
song; "Pickles and Peppers," a rag, and "The
Herd Girl's Dream," instrumental. Other exemp-
tions included the sum of $1,500, the proceeds
from the sale of the Flanner homestead at 221
Twenty-fifth street, which Mr. Flanner intends to
invest in another home.
Hugo Heller, head of the Heller Piano Co.,
which purchased the assets, declares that the new
department of his business will be pushed to its
utmost, special attention to be given to the teach-
ers, the schools and conservatories.
NEW HUMPERD1NCK OPERA.
Prof. Engelbert Humperdinck, the composer of
"Hansel und Gretel" and "Konigskinder," is at
work on a new opera dealing with the life and
times of Field Marshal Bliicher, the man who all
patriotic Germans assert was the real hero of the
battle of Waterloo. The work is so far advanced
that the first performance may take place in the
present, year, probably at the Royal Opera in Ber-
lin. The libretto was written by Robert Misch.
THE MAINE MUSIC FESTIVAL.
The Maine Music Festival, which annually is
given in Portland, under the direction of William
R. Chapman, will take place this year on October
(I, 7, 8. The list of soloists includes Mme.
Schumann-Heink, Lillian Blauvelt, Mildred Faas,
Roberta Beatty, Cornelia Rider-Possart, George
Harris, Cecil Fanning, John Finnegan, Max Sal-
zinger, Mr. and Mrs. Ernest J. Hill. The festival
chorus includes 800 voices from the cities and
towns of Western Maine, and the orchestra is that
of the Boston Opera House.
PEOPLE'S CONCERTS "DOWN EAST."
HERE'S A REALJTRUST BUSTER.
Albert M. Steinert, of Providence, Largely In-
strumental in Perfecting Arrangements for
Giving High Class Concerts at Low Prices in
the Cities in the New England States.
Dayton, N. Y. F Music Dealer Appeals to Public
Service Commission Against Competition of
Music Department of Local Ten Cent Store.
Albert M. Steinert, manager of the M. Steinert
& Sons Co.'s branch in Providence, R. I., is in-
terested in a plan of bringing good music within
the hearing and means of the masses of the people,
and in this connection a series of concerts have
been arranged for in the New England States, at
which, for a moderate sum, say from fifty cents to
one dollar, artists of international fame can be
heard in concert.
The movement is a most moderate one, and Mr.
Steinert deserves the commendation of all inter-
ested in the development of good music. A move-
ment of this kind should do much to counteract
the moving picture theater craze. . The great
trouble now is that high-class concerts and operas
are too expensive for the people, and any move
that will bring good artists within the hearing of
the masses of the people at a low price deserves
the warmest encouragement.
Mr. Steinert's series will include concerts in
Worcester, Portland, Me.; Providence, R. I., and
Springfield, Mass. In each of these cities the con-
cert will be under the immediate management of
the managers of the Steinert piano stores. The
lists of artists engaged for the entire series is as
follows: Mme. Gadski, Mms. Maud Powell, Mme.
Yolanda Mero, Harriet Barrows, Inez Barbour,
Mme. Nevade Van der Veer, Marie Caslova, Marie
Rappold, Edith Thompson, Alice Eldridge, Evan
Williams, Reinald Werrenrath, George Harris* Jr.,
Edwin Schneider, Herbert Witherspoon, Felix
Fox and Lambert Murphy.
MAY CUT OFF MUSIC SUPPLY.
Chicago Musicians Make New Demands
Trouble Is in Sight.
and
After a short period of quiet following their
recent strike, the union musicians of Chicago
threaten further trouble to secure an increase in
wages and an agreement on the part of the man-
agers to deposit a specified sum of money to insure
a full season's work for members of the union.
The managers naturally demur at the demands of
the musicians, and the prospects are that a large
section of Chicago will be musicless temporarily
within the near future.
CENTURY CO. JNJ)PERA TRADE.
Will Have Chicago-Philadelphia
Opera Co.
Singers—English Performances to Be Given.
The Century Opera Co. announces that it will
have members of the Chicago-Philadelphia Co.
here from time to time this season. In return the
Century will lend to the Chicago-Philadelphia or-
ganization some of its members, who will appear
in grand opera in English at the Chicago Audi-
torium on Saturday nights.
The Century season of thirty-five weeks will
open at the Century Opera House on Monday
night, September 15, with Verdi's "Aida." Eight
performances in English will be given and one in
Italian on Monday night of the second week. All
other operas will have their first performance on
Tuesday night, running in English up to Saturday
night, and will have one performance in the orig-
inal language of the opera, French, German, or
Italian, on the following Monday night. By this
system "La Gioconda," the second offering, will
have seve'n presentations in English, beginning on
Tuesday night, September 23, and will end its run
in Italian on Monday night, September 29. The
same schedule applies to other selections through
the thirty-five weeks.
The tenacles of the great live and ten cent store
syndicates shall not throttle the legitimate and
regular dealer in music if John Meredith, a music
dealer in Dayton, N. Y., has his way, for John
is a born octopus fighter and has ambitions to
modernize the story of St. George and the Dragon.
When the pinch of the music department of the
Dayton five and ten cent store began to be felt
by Meredith he immediately began to light and
looked around for effective weapons. As the sell-
ing of music is really a service to the public
the music dealer naturally figured that the Public
Service Commission was the proper body to appeal
to to put the kibosh on the competition, and so he
appealed, and appealed strongly. The commis-
sion, as a body, however informed Meredith that
stopping a ten cent store from selling music was
a trifle out of its range of authority and that the
desired assistance must be refused with regret.
The music dealer states that he brought the matter
to the attention of the Public Service Commission
at the instigation of the president of the local
chamber of commerce. In the natural order of
events the next step should be an appeal to the
Interstate Commerce Commission, and if necessary
the calling out of the militia.
BARS JACOB ALTSCHULER.
Orchestra Manager, and Not His Brother, Sus-
pended by Union.
The musician to whom Justice Goff last week
refused an injunction restraining the Musical
Mutual Protective Union from interfering with
his engagements, was Jacob Altschuler, manager
of the Russian Symphony Orchestra, and not his
brother, Modest Altschuler, conductor of the same
orchestra, as some of the newspapers of this city
said. Jacob Altschuler asked for the injunction
pending court action on his suspension from the
union. The union suspended him, he said, because
of his inability to pay in full members of the
union whom he had hired.
Jacob Altschuler said that he took the Russian
Symphony Orchestra on a tour of the Middle West
in the early spring of 1912, and that owing to the
floods there he was unable to fulfill his engage-
ments, and lost so much money that he could not
pay the full salaries of the members of the or-
chestra. His offer to pay in instalments, he as-
serted, did not satisfy the union and he was SMS-
pended. In asking for the injunction Altschuler
alleged that the union had prevented him from
playing in orchestras in New York.
In denying the application of Jacob Altschuler,
Supreme Court Justice Goff said:
"When the plaintiff joined the union and sub-
scribed to its constitution and by-laws he helped
to build up the power which now oppresses him.
For years he enjoyed the safety and benefit of its
protection, and now that through his own action
he is made to feel its weight, his cry for relief
cannot be heard in a court of equity."
TWO NEW FEIST NUMBERS.
Goodwin and Brown have recently added two
new live numbers to the Feist catalog which art
being pushed to the limit as an indication of the
confidence felt in their success. The numbers are
"He's on a Boat That Sailed Last Wednesday," a
lively rag that sounds right, and "Kiss Ate Good-
night," a comedy song with a thoroughly pleasing
melody and lyrics of an original order. The latest
additions to the Feist catalog look as though they
would bear watching.