Music Trade Review

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THE MUSIC TRADE REVIEW
THE nUSICAL nARTYRS.
on the ninety-nine years' system, and, if
Martyrs are dying out, but our instinct you be a man of average intelligence, you
for making martyrs of men still exists, will perceive at once the enormous differ-
and we have an uneasy conviction that ence between the genius of the two men.
Some day, perhaps, the average man
properly speaking all artists should be.
martyrs, says a writer in the Musical Stand- will understand that artists (musicians,
ard. Beethoven, deaf and ill-used by his poets and painters) hate poverty and dis-
ungrateful relations; Schubert, starving comfort in exact proportion as they love
and yet with his head among the stars; their art. I never yet met an artist worth
Chatterton, poisoning himself when young his salt who did not want to make money;
because he could not earn money by his the few who have openly adjured it have
poems; Mozart, hurried into the ground been would-be geniuses modelling their
as if he were a pauper; Berlioz, fighting life on the accepted martyrdom idea of the
for his opinions in Paris, embittered, un- persecuting Philistine. The work of such
successful— these are your true artists, as these is nothing worth; it is merely
because they were martyrs to their art. imitative, just as their conduct is based on
Wagner in his youth nearly obtained the an imitation of an ideal. The tragedy
martyr's crown; his journey from Riga really is that the artist from his very
with his dog, his early struggles in Paris, nature, from his sensitiveness and love of
his exile, the attacks made on him from all beauty, is influenced by his surroundings
quarters, should have secured him a very more than any other man is influenced.
fine nimbus, but unfortunately Wagner His ideas of luxury may not be the same
would not act his part. He was cast for a as those of the vulgar soul who, when rich,
martyr, and all the while he was under- waxes fat on the rare food of the earth; he
studying an emperor. And then, as a may not care to go forth in purple and fine
final touch, he borrowed money from Liszt. linen, nor may he desire to be half suffo-
That was unforgivable, for it placed him cated in drawing-rooms; but, nevertheless,
on the level of an ordinery human being he pines for comfort, refinement, beauty,
in some ordinary commercial occupation. and the peace of soul that such things
Besides Wagner died fairly well off, and bring with them, and his best work is done
was we are told, addicted to petty personal when his circumstances are anything but
luxuries just like any member of the Stock picturesque from the commonplace story-
Exchange. Contrast Schubert writing book point of view. The history of suc-
songs on the back of a bill of fare in a cessful geniuses in art show us that the
third-rate beer house, and Wagner dressed martyrdom idea is only an ideal set up by
in a velvet smoking-jacket with a quilted the average man, and has never been an
satin collar, surrounded by pianos obtained ideal of the artist himself.
£w>ori> of tbe
TWO SCHOOLS OF ORGAN PLAYING
Organ playing may be divided generally
into two schools. In one the organ is treat-
ed as an orchestra, the production of or-
chestral effects being sought, while the
other holds that the organ has so noble a
tone quality and so many resources of its
own that it need not servilely imitate the
orchestra. I belong to the latter school.
Berlioz said: '' The organ is Pope; the or-
chestra, Emperor." In other words, each is
supreme in its own way.
I am utterly opposed to the playing of
orchestral works on the organ. The ren-
dition of orchestral pieces on it, in an
attempt to reproduce the orchestral color
of the original scoring, is, to my mind,
deplorable enough.
As between orchestra and organ, each
has its great qualities and its faults. The
organ has a certain solidity of resonance,
while the orchestra's resonance is restless,
feverish. The organ holds, sustains. On
the other hand, one of the great faults of
the organ is its lack of attack, or slowness
of response. Here I may refer to a fault in
technique which is often found. Many or-
ganists think it wise not to press down the
key too quickly or too far. I think on the
contrary, that the full pressure of the fin-
ger should be made at once, and the key
held down solidly until released.
Alexandre Guilmant.
*
Martinus Sieveking, the well-known
pianist, will return next season for a series
of fifty concerts under the direction of
Victor Thrane.
By EDWARD
LYMAN
BILL
Those who delight in Military Tales and History blended with romance will take pleasure in
reading this novel.
" I have perused with more intense satisfaction 'THE SWORD OF THE PYRAMIDS,' than any work
of fiction I have recently had. I must say that the author has acquitted himself most creditably
General James R. O'Beirne, that famous
in treating the subject and describing military movements and great engagements. To a soldier who
veteran and distinguished citizen
has had experience in the field the book will not fail to prove most gratifying, and I know that no
soldier or veteran who will peruse its most interesting and rhetorically described scenes will put it
aside without a sense of great satisfaction and pleasure. I regard the author as having given us much ability in this work, one which I think will find its way to
the hetght of full standard among books that are recognized among military libraries as worthy and stanch."
j
It* Zeitung, and President of the German Press
::: c i b
•••
i:S
General T. M. Walker, who led the first
••• command up Lookout noun tain, in the " bat-
••• tie among the Clouds."
.
"The spirited author presents in the book, truth and fiction in piquant form, of which the events
and characters from the time of the First and Third Napoleons and also from the American war serve
as subject matter. The presentation is lively and sparkling, the style original, and the poetic descrip-
tions of the author show unusual talent. To every friend of the best English literature I would recom-
mend this book, as far above the usual standard of English literature."
"His hero is carried through the War of the Rebellion as a Southern officer, passing to the help
of Maximilian. He has portrayed and made exceedingly interesting, especially to an old army man,
many real incidents, notably his description of the Pickett charge at Gettysburg, the last rally at
Appomattox, and the hopeless defense of Queretero, Mexico. The climax comes with the execution of
Maximilian and is certainly a very dramatic ending to a very clever story."
" 'THE SWORD OF THE PYRAMIDS.' a story of many wars, is a more ambitious work than anything
that Edward Lyman Bill has yet written. Like the 'Last of the Danvers' it is fatalistic in tone, but
rich in dramatic tnterest. The opening scenes are laid in the Southern States at the beginning of the
Civil War, Here we are introduced to the hero. Armand Breton, a young federal officer, whose
adventures one follows with keen interest until the final scene and tragic death in Mexico. Breton is
the son of Napoleon's great General, Ney, but had been brought up in ignorance of the fact. On the
death of his supposed uncle and guardian, Pierre Breton, he received a letter from his dead father. Marshal Ney. The letter is of great length and detail, and con-
tains the finest passages in the book. It gives minutely the chief events in the life of that splendid soldier, and is a vivid pen picture of his fidelity to Napoleon,
and patriotism to France. The work as an historical romance will be welcomed by a large class of readers."
:::*
General C. H. Y. Agramonte, the dashing
•III military leader, and now Editor of the Anglo-
;:;• American, City of ilexico
Can be found everywhere, or sent postpaid on receipt of the price by the publisher. Cloth, $1.00. Paper, 50c.
F. TENNYSON NEELY, 114 FIFTH AVE., NEW YORK.