Music Trade Review

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THE MUSIC TRADE REVIEW.
a movement to endow a second chair at
Columbia so that both the theory and the
practice of^music may be taught.
The terrors of a creaking door have been
abolished in many fashionable New York
homes. This instrument of nerve torture
may now be made to evolve sweet sounds.
This is accomplished by the combination
of a door harp the notes of which are made
by little balls striking the strings of a deli-
cate little instrument as the door is opened
or shut. If the door be opened abruptly
N the trial of Victor S. Flechter for the the balls fall irregularly against the strings,
alleged larceny of a $4,500 Stradivarius which resound in a pretty series of aeolian
violin, which has been occupying the courts sounds like the music of distant bells.
for the past two weeks, some remarkable
*
testimony has been given which shows how
Messrs. William Steinway & Sons have
very young and green violins could be
made to look like products of the skill of long been beneficent "angels" for the fra-
old Stradivarius at a very moderate expense. ternity of musicians.
The tender-heartedness of Mr. William
It seems that by means of a little varnish-
Steinway,
and his willingness to help, are
ing, staining and scraping and by pasting
proverbs
in
musical circles.
on an old label, worth about one-half cent,
There
is
scarcely
a long-haired pianist
that any kind of an old fiddle may be con-
or
a
slender-fingered
violinist who has not
verted into a "genuine Strad" of almost
been
financially
saved
by the good-natured
priceless value.
piano
manufacturer.
Oscar Schildbach, who works for Mr.
The majority of musicians regard a loan
Flechter, said that the violin in dispute was
from
him as a matter of course, and from
turned over to him to be properly "an-
experience
the lender has come to regard
tiqued." He did his work so well that the
the
matter
in
the same light. He also has
French violin which came to his hand not
learned
to
his
sorrow to take as a matter of
worth, in his opinion, more than $50, is
course
absolute
forgetfulness of all indebted-
supposed to have been sold by Mi. Flechter
ness.
for $900.
Of all the money he advanced, up to a
The violin "antiquer" was a sallow
week
ago none has ever returned, says the
young man, with hair like a forest of weep-
Recorder.
One day last week Mr. Rafael
ing willows and a poetical droop to his
Joseffy,
who
has made Mr. Steinway his
mustache. He testified that he took this
banker,
appeared
before that individual,
violin, a French instrument, made by Ni-
and,
producing
$8,000
in greenbacks, said:
cola, and under the direction of Mr. Flech-
"Here,
credit
me
with
this."
ter, stained over the name of the maker and
A
physician
arrived
and
saved Mr. Stein-
pasted on the place an imitation of an old
way
from
succumbing
to
heart
failure. It
and time-yellowed label, which read "An-
was
the
first
case
of
its
kind,
and
a novel
tonio Stradivarius fecit, A. D. 1725." He
one.
also did a little scraping and treated it with
some good "antique" varnish.
* *
" "Have you made many violins antique
*
I understand that there
was an indigna-
in this way?" asked Assistant District At- tion meeting of pianists and violinists to
torney Osborne.
inquire into Mr. Joseffy's unparalleled con-
"Oh, yes," replied the witness. "Per- duct.
haps a thousand."
They couldn't understand why any one
"Did you think that anybody would be- should repay Mr. Steinway, when that
lieve that this one was a genuine Stradi- large-hearted gentleman didn't particularly
varius?"
care whether he was paid or not.
"Many persons," said the witness, grave-
Joseffy's explanation was characteristic:
ly, "cannot distinguish between a new and
"Suppose my little boy grows up to be a
an old violin. There are many fools."
man, and some one says to him, 'Your
Mr. Schildbach said that he had learned father owes Steinway money, 1 how would
his trade in Germany, and had pursued it he feel?"
for many years.
This is the selfsame boy about whose
fondness for Camembert cheese and caviare
The Paderewski prize fund was an intel- I told you about a year ago.
ligent gift gracefully made. If the pur-
*
pose of the eminent musician is faithfully
Commenting on the selection of Rufus
carried out—as it undoubtedly will be—by
W.
Blake to represent the New Haven
Messrs. Steinway, Higginson and Mason,
County
Republicans in the National Re-
the cause of music will receive a decided
publican
Convention, the Evening Leader
impetus in' this country.
of that city said in a recent issue: "Mr.
Blake is a Republican who thoroughly ap-
There is a possibility of further steps in preciates the necessity of a Republican ad-
the direction of musical culture. Mr. Stein- ministration, and who will do his part
way with his usual liberality is arranging toward electing a candidate that will per-
I
form the duties of President of the United
States ably and acceptably. Mr. Blake's
friends made an excellent canvass in his
behalf. They worked early and late to en-
list sympathies of delegates. The Ansonia
and Derby hustlers very seldom get left,
and notwithstanding the fact that they had
as opponents some of the most popular and
shrewdest workers in the county of New
Haven, they won fairly, and we congratu-
late them."
The exact cost of goods is a question of
prime importance to a business man, no
matter in what particular branch of indus-
try he may be engaged, wisely remarks
Facts. The history of the trade during the
past few years is, unfortunately, too large-
ly made up of the record of those who did
not give sufficient attention in the direction
indicated, and who realized too late that no
profit had materialized from what were per-
haps large operations involving vast sums
of money. In the factory, for example,
the deterioration of the value of machinery
and necessary accessories is very rapid.
With the retailer there are a hundred items
of expense which must all be calculated to
a nicety before it can be determined just
what is the cost of stock. It is always best
to err on the side of figuring the expense
account a little too high than the contrary,
and in this connection it is a consolation to
know that the general public often does not
draw as fine distinctions in regard to the
matter of prices as it is given credit for.
What is needed is more courage all along
the line to ask prices which will net a rea-
sonable profit.
* *
*
The land of the Sultan would not be a
pleasant place for piano tuners to reside
these da3 r s, judging from the following ac-
count of two students who were recently
placed in durance vile on suspicion of
treason:
The exact reason for their arrest could
not be learned at first, but it subsequently
appeared that one of these students had
written a letter to a brother in America de-
scribing a choir to which he belonged, and
speaking of it as a "singing army," and in
another letter had asked his brother to send
him a "tuning fork."
These letters were opened by officials,
who scented treason in them. What
schemes of sedition and murder might not
be hid away under these terms "singing
army" and "tuning fork!"
But after nine days' imprisonment and a
close examination, the officials decided that
probably these letters meant no more than
they said, and the poor students were re-
leased.
* * *
P. J. HEALY says that the piano business
of his house is in quite a satisfactory condi-
tion, considering all the adverse elements
of trade to-day. The Indicator reports that
their piano trade so far this month shows a
gain of 20 per cent, over the same period
of last year. Their small goods business is
flourishing.