Music Trade Review
Issue: 1898 Vol. 26 N. 10 - Page 9
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THE MUSIC TRADE REVIEW
and melody, to invent" new and revolutioniz-
ing musical instruments, to introduce and to
learn to demand (as we demand the delicate
intermediate shades in colors) those fractional
tones that we now cannot tolerate. Must we
not come to regard all our monuments of past
musical genius as crude and unenlightened;
and so reach a knowledge, as the new century
advances, of a new series of composers, and
of a new music of infinite refinement? Such
music as this may be, sounds to-day—save as
a science—unintelligible. The drowsy East
has guessed at it and found some of it, long
ago. It is what seems now the only develop-
ment that will keep the coming musician from
marking the catalogue of masterpieces as we
have had them, from Palestrina to Brahms,
with the phrase belonging to a rondo or a
country-dance tune: " End. To be played
over and over again, at pleasure."
E. Irenaeus Stevenson.
0
W. PARIS CHAHBERS.
W. Paris Chambers, whose counterfeit pre-
sentment appears herewith, is one of New
York's leading cornet soloists—not merely an
expert in technique, but possessed of an ar-
tistic musical temperament which shows it-
self in his remarkable solo work. His play-
ing is noted for individuality of tone and ex-
pression.
On a "Wonder" cornet, manufactured by
C. G. Conn, it was our pleasure to recently
hear him play a melody which ranged fully
four octaves. Of course this feat was due
not alone to the player's skill, but 'to the
magnificent instrument which he uses.
Mr. Chambers is a native of Newport, Pa.,
and early in life exhibited an extraordinary
talent for music. He began studying at the
age of twelve,and soon had mastered the works
of the great composers. In 1881 he began to
play the cornet, making his debut in a seren-
ade tendered to General Grant. Later he was
The man who writes a new opera nowadays
has some trouble to have it produced as he
considers that it should be. Naturally he
desires to see it in the greatest opera houses,
sung by the highest priced singers. The
high price seems to be insisted on more than
voice, for it has been learned that that illu-
sive thing called fame follows the approval of
the people who pay high prices to artists for
any purpose.
The new opera "Hero and Leander," by
Mancinelli, is a case in point. Its composer
is well known here as a favorite conductor at
the Metropolitan ' Opera House, who was
much lamented when he did not come with
chosen leader of the Newville, Pa., Band.
the usual company. His opera was well
This organization was a feature of the
thought of by all the critics who heard por-
Knights Templar parade in June, '76, and
tions of it. A year ago it was sung in Eng-
created such interest that Frank Leslie's
land as an oratorio. Mr. Grau promised to
Weekly devoted to it a full page illustration.
give it at Covent Garden last spring, but the
Later Mr. Chambers was bandmaster of the
powers that be in London decided that they
State Capital band at Harrisburg, Pa.; bdnd-
did not want it.
master and soloist with "Alvin Joslin's" cele-
It had been given in Madrid, this winter,
brated band; bandmaster of the great South-
with great success. It remains to be seen
ern band, Baltimore, Md.; cornet soloist at
whether really good, modern operas are
the World's Fair, Chicago, and at the Mid-
desired by the high paying audiences of
winter Fair, San Francisco.
England and America, or whether they
Mr. Chambers was a favorite pupil of the
prefer old ones whose music is so familiar
late Matthew Arbuckle when he was in the
that it matters not whether they listen to it or
height of his popularity, and the good
not.
©
opinion which he held of Mr. Chambers'
The Lyric Club, composed of sixty women
ability was not ill-founded. Mr. Chambers'
prominent in musical and social affairs, gave
success to-day as a composer and executant
its first concert at Sherry's on the evening of
is proof of that.
February 24th. The proceeds of the concert
Mr. Chambers has resided in New York far
were devoted to the benefit of the American
the past couple of years, and is at present
National Institute of Women Students in
cornet soloist of Fanciulli's Seventy-first
Paris. The club is under the direction of
Regiment Band. He is also connected in a
Albert Gerard-Theirs, and its excellent work,
business capacity with C. G. Conn in his New
particularly in the Chaminade and Weil num-
York warerooms, 23 East Fourteenth street.
bers, were potent testimony of Mr. Theirs'
In this connection we may say that Mr.
effective training. The soloists were Miss
Chambers has been using the " W o n d e r "
Josephine Hartman, pianist, and Mile. Tarele,
cornet for the past twenty years, and to-
who sang airs from " Der Freischutz " and
gether, apart from business considerations,
the "Jewel Song" from Faust in a manner
considers it, as do thousands of others, su-
to evoke enthusiastic applause. There was
perior to anything made.
a large and select audience present.
Mr. Chambers is a genial, affable and cul-
Q
Some of Verdi's sacred works, upon which tured gentleman whom it is a pleasure to
©
he has occasionally been engaged for some know.
years past, will, it is said, be published by
That "music hath charms," etc., has al-
Messrs. Ricordi either late in the spring, or most been taken for an axiom. It is not one,
more probably in the autumn. They include however. To Mascagni and his " Cavalleria
a mass, and settings of some of the Psalms.
Rusticana " belongs the distinction of the ex-
ception.
The Signor directs the Rossini
Musical Lyceum in Pesaro.
Recently he
lectured on some subject or other, taking his
illustrations from his famous little opera.
He was interrupted by a quarrel between two
students, which arose in a corner of the room.
In a moment knives were out, and, before
the maestro could interfere, a man had been
stabbed. Signor Mascagni must have felt
flattered than otherwise, however, for the in-
terruption came in the midst of the bars
which interpret the stiletto duel in " La
Cavalleria Rusticana."
©
Mawkish sentimentality is evidently now
the rage in song making. The soul of the
average writer overflows with the love motive.
A few so-called negro melodies have relieved
the epidemic somewhat, but in the main our
authors nowadays wade knee deep in the
tender passion. Even the mother idea,
which is immortal, has been laid on the shelf
for a while.
The late lamented John W. Kelly once re-
gretted the fact that there were very few
songs written about father, and the few songs
that were written consigned the old man to
the fate of walking over the hills to the poor-
house, or alluded to the fact that the old man
was drunk again. It is impossible to analyze
the.causes for the different emotions which sway
song writers at different portions of the year.
During the past few months, a formidable
list of songs has been published which are
filled with crude tenderness and passion.
New York composers have contributed a
goodly number. If these compositions were
an indication of our musical standing and
progress there would be good reason to des-
pair of the future, but thank goodness they
are not.
©
Victor Herbert, the famous'cellist, operatic
composer, band master and all round good
fellow, has been elected conductor of the Pitts-
burg orchestra, succeeding Frederic Archer.
The latter will be continued as city organist.
With such a fine orchestra under his baton
Mr. Herbert will have a chance of making
known serious works of his own composition
as well as the cream of the world's latest and
best musical works. Everybody wishes Mr.
Herbert well, and if he gets support and en-
couragement in his new undertaking gratify-
ing results cannot fail to accrue.
©
London has about 2,000 orchestral instru-
mentalists (including upwards of 700 violin-
ists), besides more than 5,500 other teachers
or professors of music; while in the provinces
there are over 8,000 more. And yet acade-
mies of music are turning out new teachers
by hundreds a year. London is probably the
only city in the world which can boast up-
wards of seventy orchestral drum-players.
Paris, at any rate, is happy with only twen-
ty-four. London has ninety trombone-play-
ers and thirty-four teachers of the banjo.
O
The Misses Sutro, ensemble pianists, gave
a delightful concert at the Astoria last Wed-
nesday afternoon. Their chief number was
a Mozart sonata. These clever artists,whose
playing commanded most favorable notice in
Europe, were well received by New York
society. They were repeatedly encored.
THE MUSIC TRADE REVIEW
and melody, to invent" new and revolutioniz-
ing musical instruments, to introduce and to
learn to demand (as we demand the delicate
intermediate shades in colors) those fractional
tones that we now cannot tolerate. Must we
not come to regard all our monuments of past
musical genius as crude and unenlightened;
and so reach a knowledge, as the new century
advances, of a new series of composers, and
of a new music of infinite refinement? Such
music as this may be, sounds to-day—save as
a science—unintelligible. The drowsy East
has guessed at it and found some of it, long
ago. It is what seems now the only develop-
ment that will keep the coming musician from
marking the catalogue of masterpieces as we
have had them, from Palestrina to Brahms,
with the phrase belonging to a rondo or a
country-dance tune: " End. To be played
over and over again, at pleasure."
E. Irenaeus Stevenson.
0
W. PARIS CHAHBERS.
W. Paris Chambers, whose counterfeit pre-
sentment appears herewith, is one of New
York's leading cornet soloists—not merely an
expert in technique, but possessed of an ar-
tistic musical temperament which shows it-
self in his remarkable solo work. His play-
ing is noted for individuality of tone and ex-
pression.
On a "Wonder" cornet, manufactured by
C. G. Conn, it was our pleasure to recently
hear him play a melody which ranged fully
four octaves. Of course this feat was due
not alone to the player's skill, but 'to the
magnificent instrument which he uses.
Mr. Chambers is a native of Newport, Pa.,
and early in life exhibited an extraordinary
talent for music. He began studying at the
age of twelve,and soon had mastered the works
of the great composers. In 1881 he began to
play the cornet, making his debut in a seren-
ade tendered to General Grant. Later he was
The man who writes a new opera nowadays
has some trouble to have it produced as he
considers that it should be. Naturally he
desires to see it in the greatest opera houses,
sung by the highest priced singers. The
high price seems to be insisted on more than
voice, for it has been learned that that illu-
sive thing called fame follows the approval of
the people who pay high prices to artists for
any purpose.
The new opera "Hero and Leander," by
Mancinelli, is a case in point. Its composer
is well known here as a favorite conductor at
the Metropolitan ' Opera House, who was
much lamented when he did not come with
chosen leader of the Newville, Pa., Band.
the usual company. His opera was well
This organization was a feature of the
thought of by all the critics who heard por-
Knights Templar parade in June, '76, and
tions of it. A year ago it was sung in Eng-
created such interest that Frank Leslie's
land as an oratorio. Mr. Grau promised to
Weekly devoted to it a full page illustration.
give it at Covent Garden last spring, but the
Later Mr. Chambers was bandmaster of the
powers that be in London decided that they
State Capital band at Harrisburg, Pa.; bdnd-
did not want it.
master and soloist with "Alvin Joslin's" cele-
It had been given in Madrid, this winter,
brated band; bandmaster of the great South-
with great success. It remains to be seen
ern band, Baltimore, Md.; cornet soloist at
whether really good, modern operas are
the World's Fair, Chicago, and at the Mid-
desired by the high paying audiences of
winter Fair, San Francisco.
England and America, or whether they
Mr. Chambers was a favorite pupil of the
prefer old ones whose music is so familiar
late Matthew Arbuckle when he was in the
that it matters not whether they listen to it or
height of his popularity, and the good
not.
©
opinion which he held of Mr. Chambers'
The Lyric Club, composed of sixty women
ability was not ill-founded. Mr. Chambers'
prominent in musical and social affairs, gave
success to-day as a composer and executant
its first concert at Sherry's on the evening of
is proof of that.
February 24th. The proceeds of the concert
Mr. Chambers has resided in New York far
were devoted to the benefit of the American
the past couple of years, and is at present
National Institute of Women Students in
cornet soloist of Fanciulli's Seventy-first
Paris. The club is under the direction of
Regiment Band. He is also connected in a
Albert Gerard-Theirs, and its excellent work,
business capacity with C. G. Conn in his New
particularly in the Chaminade and Weil num-
York warerooms, 23 East Fourteenth street.
bers, were potent testimony of Mr. Theirs'
In this connection we may say that Mr.
effective training. The soloists were Miss
Chambers has been using the " W o n d e r "
Josephine Hartman, pianist, and Mile. Tarele,
cornet for the past twenty years, and to-
who sang airs from " Der Freischutz " and
gether, apart from business considerations,
the "Jewel Song" from Faust in a manner
considers it, as do thousands of others, su-
to evoke enthusiastic applause. There was
perior to anything made.
a large and select audience present.
Mr. Chambers is a genial, affable and cul-
Q
Some of Verdi's sacred works, upon which tured gentleman whom it is a pleasure to
©
he has occasionally been engaged for some know.
years past, will, it is said, be published by
That "music hath charms," etc., has al-
Messrs. Ricordi either late in the spring, or most been taken for an axiom. It is not one,
more probably in the autumn. They include however. To Mascagni and his " Cavalleria
a mass, and settings of some of the Psalms.
Rusticana " belongs the distinction of the ex-
ception.
The Signor directs the Rossini
Musical Lyceum in Pesaro.
Recently he
lectured on some subject or other, taking his
illustrations from his famous little opera.
He was interrupted by a quarrel between two
students, which arose in a corner of the room.
In a moment knives were out, and, before
the maestro could interfere, a man had been
stabbed. Signor Mascagni must have felt
flattered than otherwise, however, for the in-
terruption came in the midst of the bars
which interpret the stiletto duel in " La
Cavalleria Rusticana."
©
Mawkish sentimentality is evidently now
the rage in song making. The soul of the
average writer overflows with the love motive.
A few so-called negro melodies have relieved
the epidemic somewhat, but in the main our
authors nowadays wade knee deep in the
tender passion. Even the mother idea,
which is immortal, has been laid on the shelf
for a while.
The late lamented John W. Kelly once re-
gretted the fact that there were very few
songs written about father, and the few songs
that were written consigned the old man to
the fate of walking over the hills to the poor-
house, or alluded to the fact that the old man
was drunk again. It is impossible to analyze
the.causes for the different emotions which sway
song writers at different portions of the year.
During the past few months, a formidable
list of songs has been published which are
filled with crude tenderness and passion.
New York composers have contributed a
goodly number. If these compositions were
an indication of our musical standing and
progress there would be good reason to des-
pair of the future, but thank goodness they
are not.
©
Victor Herbert, the famous'cellist, operatic
composer, band master and all round good
fellow, has been elected conductor of the Pitts-
burg orchestra, succeeding Frederic Archer.
The latter will be continued as city organist.
With such a fine orchestra under his baton
Mr. Herbert will have a chance of making
known serious works of his own composition
as well as the cream of the world's latest and
best musical works. Everybody wishes Mr.
Herbert well, and if he gets support and en-
couragement in his new undertaking gratify-
ing results cannot fail to accrue.
©
London has about 2,000 orchestral instru-
mentalists (including upwards of 700 violin-
ists), besides more than 5,500 other teachers
or professors of music; while in the provinces
there are over 8,000 more. And yet acade-
mies of music are turning out new teachers
by hundreds a year. London is probably the
only city in the world which can boast up-
wards of seventy orchestral drum-players.
Paris, at any rate, is happy with only twen-
ty-four. London has ninety trombone-play-
ers and thirty-four teachers of the banjo.
O
The Misses Sutro, ensemble pianists, gave
a delightful concert at the Astoria last Wed-
nesday afternoon. Their chief number was
a Mozart sonata. These clever artists,whose
playing commanded most favorable notice in
Europe, were well received by New York
society. They were repeatedly encored.
Future scanning projects are planned by the International Arcade Museum Library (IAML).