Music Trade Review

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THE MUSIC TRADE REVIEW
for concerts, was an overwhelming suc-
cess, a veritable triumph, indeed, for the
world-famed bandmaster, who received
the warmest praise from both press and
public for the magnificent work of his or-
ganization. The coming tour, which will
be in the nature of a farewell for Lieut.
Godfrey, will open in New York the latter
part of October, thence to Philadelphia,
Baltimore, Washington and Boston. In
the latter city the band will participate in
a Peace Festival which will recall in a
measure the triumphs of Godfrey and
his Grenadier Guards Band in that city in
1872, where they were such a prominent
feature in the World's Peace Jubilee which
the late P. S. Gilmore conducted at that
time. After this engagement, the prin-
cipal cities will be visited west to San
Francisco, no return visits being booked
for any city, and the American tour will
close on the Pacific Coast, after which the
band sails for Australia and other portions
of the British Empire in the far east.
*.••
P M I L vSAUER, who will make his
*—' American debut at the Metropolitan
Opera House next season, and whose por-
trait appeared in last month's Keynote-
Review, is occupying considerable atten-
tion from the paragraphers and writers in
the daily papers. One of our local papers
said recently: " A new idol of the piano
has arisen. In hair he is as far ahead of
Paderewski as that fiery Pole distances an
ordinary baldhead key-banger. So potent
is the spell he casts over his audiences, so
wrapped in ecstacy are the women who sit
spellbound by the magic of his music and
the waving of his mane, that he has been
charged with being a musical hypnotist.
European critics pronounce him the great-
est genius of the day, and the raving of
the women for him puts Paderewski in the
shade. The name of this genius is Emil
Sauer. The price which he set upon his
services has made him for years the de-
spair of American managers."
*
A RGENTINA has produced its first
**• operatic composer, Alessandro Cane-
pa, who wrote "The Laughing Mar-
quise," sung for the first time recently at
Buenos Ayres.
There was naturally
much rejoicing over the awakening of the
national genius, and the work was^highly
praised in some quarters. There was one
decidedly discordant note in the critical
opinion of the opera. That was supplied
by a critic who wrote that the majority of
the audience felt when the curtain fell
that it would be a safe precautionary meas-
ure to lock up the composer in a madhouse
and send the impresario to the galleys.
The opera was sung in Italian.
*
A N observer of the ways and customs of
•**• the metropolis reports that the negro
and negro songs are dominating the
vaudevilles and theatres. The observa-
tion is a true one, especially true of the
vaudeville and variety theatres, so-called.
The negro cult has been growing at an
amazing pace for the last half dozen years,
until now it is in such full swing that the
impetus threatens to carry it through the
winter and disseminate it through the
land, after the manner in which the fash-
ions of the metropolis are filtered through-
out the country. It would be difficult, if
not impossible, to say when this develop-
ment began. It is entirely distinct and
separate from the negro minstrel idea,
which no longer amuses or entertains New
York, but which still appeals, as "Uncle
Tom's Cabin" and "Ten Nights in a Bar-
room" do, to rural and suburban assem-
blies. Perhaps, like Topsy, the coon song,
arid the coon singer, as they are popularly
called, "jes' growed." At any rate, they
are here, by ones, twos and dozens, and
any theatre which escapes them this year,
either on its stage or in its orchestra, will
be marked from the rest.
\ \ 7 E learn that the noted pianist, S.
"*
Becker von Grabill, has been en-
gaged; for a. ; long series of recitals to be
given through the South, and the Mexican
Republic. We have already mentioned in
our columns the interesting fact that
Mr. Von Grabill's programs contain sev-
eral works of Beethoven and Chopin,
taken from the original manuscripts. Mr.
Von Grabill is at present on a visit to
Galveston, Texas.
*
J OLA BEETH has returned to the Im-
*~^ perial Opera in Vienna, whence she
started on her travels to other cities. She
appeared as Marguerite, and the Vienna
critics found that she had lost nothing in
voice, while her acting had improved. She
is to remain permanently with the com-
pany. Another American girl made her
debut at the Opera House in the same per-
formance.
This was Miss Fellwock, a
pupil of Lucca's, who appeared in the
rather unusual rule of Martha. Miss Edith
Waeher is still the leading contralto of the
company. Frau Schumann-Heink is still
presenting her new roles in Berlin. Her
last appearance was as Ortrude.
*
'"THE preparations for the presentation
*• in Paris of Saint-Saens's " Dejanire "
have been made on a magnificent scale.
The amphitheatre at Beziers is to be used.
The four orchestras comprise 350 players,
and the ballet and chorus are as large.
The actors of the Odeon and the singers
from the Opera who are to have the lead-
ing roles have been rehearsing the work
for months, and have only to accustom
themselves to the great arena. The per-
formances are to begin at 3 o'clock in the
afternoon. Saint-Satins will conduct.
*
pvAUDET, the French novelist, gave it
*-^ as his opinion some time ago that
literary men generally had a horror of
music. This would appear to be more
true of his own countrymen than it is of
other countries, particularly Great Britain
and America. Of the many Englishmen
of letters, as far as their biographies show,
there have been very few who have
absolutely hated music, though on the
other hand many have found very little
pleasure in listening to it, and still more
have known nothing about it as an art.
Dr. Johnson's musical perception only
went as far as knowing a "drum from a
trumpet " and " a bagpipe from a guitar."
Sydney' Smith, on the contrary, was a
great lover of music and a singer of some
ability. Chas. Lamb had no knowledge
of music, but he admits a liking for the
art. Darwin had no ear for music and
could not recognize one tune from another.
Kingsley knew nothing of music though
he was exceedingly fond of listening to
and enjoying good vocal and instrumental
concerts.
Carlyle has to be numbered among the
music-lovers. Rossetti found music "cool
unto the sense of pain." Ruskin is pas-
sionately fond of certain kinds of music,
including especially that of bells. Brown-
ing, it has been said, would have been a
musician if he had not been a poet.
Barham, the celebrated author of the
Ingoldsby Legends confesses a prefer-
ence
for the simple old tunes to
the more modern compositions.
Lord
Caeb, jgycbanoe, IRentet), also
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