Music Trade Review
Issue: 1899 Vol. 29 N. 6 - Page 7
Music Trade Review -- © mbsi.org, arcade-museum.com -- digitized with support from namm.org
THE MUSIC TRADE REVIEW
established by the announcements he sent
to New York, there will be some curiosity
to discover why so much secrecy was
exhibited in the whole affair. Nobody
believes that it was intended to keep the
marriage permanently secret, so the use-
lessness of the contradictions so soon to be
discounted by the pianist's formal announce-
ments seems especially striking. It is true
meanwhile he had not been married when
the first reports of the incident were pub-
lished. Mme. Paderewski, who is said to be
somewhat older than her husband, is not a
beauty, according to the description of
persons who have seen her, but she is said
to be a women of great fascination. There
will be some consolation in that fact to the
army of his feminine admirers here, who
would have found it difficult to reconcile
themselves to his marriage to any wholly
ordinary member of their sex. On the
wedding cards she is described as "Baro-
ness Helen von Rosen. M. Gorski, the
former husband of Mme. Paderewski, is a
violinist of considerable reputation in
Paris and London.
*
T H A T was a wonderful collection of old
* and valuable instruments which was
represented in the great orchestra that
celebrated the Joachim jubilee. It ap-
pears: there were ten Strads worth $7,500
each and six varying in value from $2,500
to $4,000. There were also many Amatis,
one of them Wieniawski's favorite, pur-
chased of his widow for 35,000 francs.
There were also several splendid Guar-
nerius violins. Of the ninety violins in
the orchestra all but two were valuable old
Italian instruments, and their combined
value was $260,000. There were also many
costly violas and cellos.
*
T F numerous writers are to be taken seri-
* ously "Yankee Doodle" at some period
in its long and varied history was known
and sung by the Latin, Teutonic and Anglo-
Saxon races long before it became nation-
alized and "settled down " in this Yankee
land. According to a recent contribution on
the subject, Yankee Doodle is one of the old-
est songs in the world and at different periods
of an unparalleled career has belonged to
England, to the once vast empire of Holland,
and to the Roman Catholic Church, where
it probably originated, somewhere about
the year 1200 A. D. "If you happen to be
a musician," says the writer, "and do not
believe that such an undignified ditty could
ever have been intended for religious pur-
poses, play it over on a pipe organ very sim-
ply and slowly, and as the majesty of a
grand old papal chant fills your soul, all
your doubts will vanish away."
Many charges have been laid at the door
of the Papacy but in this instance we fear
a verdict has been rendered without suffi-
cient evidence.
*
A FEW years ago Mascagni, the famous
**• composer of "Cavalleria Rusticana,"
was asked to entertain the royal court in
Rome. He did so, and delighted his audi-
ence. When he had finished playing he
started a conversation with a little princess
who had stood near the piano during the
recita), and had shown every sign of deep
interest. As a matter of fact, she had been
instructed by her mother to say, if any
question should be asked, "that Mascagni
was the greatest musician in Italy."
The composer asked her which of the
great living masters she liked best, and the
proud mother turned toward the child to
hear the pretty little speech which had
been taught to her. Instead of the com-
pliment came the withering remark:
"There are no great masters living.
They are all dead."
The musician gave a little start and then
said:
"Your Excellency, permit me to con-
gratulate you. You are the most truthful
critic in Europe. 1 '
extent and richness of this collection. A
correct impression is conveyed best by the
statement that it would probably be diffi-
cult to duplicate this library for less than
$200,000. For seventeen years one man
has devoted his time to its care, and when
it was removed to the south side, where it
remained during the World's Fair, its con-
veyance to and installation in new quarters
required the labor of four men for five days.
These facts only vaguely suggest some-
thing of the volume of the collection. Its
quality and comprehensiveness can be ap-
preciated only by the master musician who
is familiar with the whole range of musical
composition. To such a visitor the oppor-
tunity to put hands upon the full
orchestral parts of 300 overtures,
160 symphonies, and hundreds of
concertos without leaving t h e
room means much more than the
words would seem to imply.
of eminent musi-
A NUMBER
cians were asked by a Lon-
HENRI MARTILAU.
T H E Musical Art Society of New York
* offers a prize of $250 for an "a capel-
la" chorus for mixed voices, the work be-
ing set to English words of secular charac-
ter, and being suitable for about fifty
voices, the time of performance not to ex-
ceed ten minutes. The competition is
open to any one who for five years or
longer has been a resident of the United
States or Canada. All works should be
sent before September 1, to the president
of the society, Dr. Frederick E. Hyde.
The judges will be Horatio Parker, B. J.
Lang and Frank Damrosch.
*
L J E N R I MARTEAU, the famous young
* * French violinist will return to this
country in the Spring for a short concert
tour under the direction of Henry Wolf-
sohn. He is one of the few violinists who
is always welcome in this country. On
each trip he compels more and more re-
spect for the wonderful progress he has
made in his chosen art. Since last he
played here he has made several trips
through Europe and was last heard in St.
Petersburg where he had a phenomenal
success.
*
PEAKING of Theodore Thomas' musi-
cal library a friend says that the element
of compactness renders it almost impossible
for the ordinary observer to appreciate the
S
don (Eng.) m u s i c a l paper to
answer the question, "What is
the best way for a professional
musician to enjoy his summer
holiday?" In reply, E d w a r d
E 1 ga r suggested sarcastically
that '' the ordinary p r o f e s s o r
might study music, if not too
violent a change." Mr. Corder
wrote in a similar vein: " I go
for a fort-night to Bayreuth, fol-
lowed by six weeks of perfect
seclusion. I cannot imagine a
more complete change for an
English musician." A n o t h e r
satirist suggests a vacation in a
deaf and dumb asylum ; while
t h e utmost Coleridge Taylor
v e n t u r e s to hope for is some place
where "not more than one piano-organ
plays at the same time in the same
road."
JT IS a general custom in European coun-
tries to honor their great men with mon-
uments. The liberality with which this
custom is carried out has been in the last
few years unexampled. Recently in Berlin
there was unveiled a monument to the great
scientist Helmholtz, to whose labors, as
embodied in his work " Lehre von den
Tonempfindungen," the musical world owes
so much. The event was made one of
national importance, and the emperor him-
self lent his gracious presence to the occa-
sion. American cities cannot do better
than imitate the communities of the Old
World in this, the most effective method of
perpetuating the memories of their famous
sons.
T H E Bayreuth Festival of 1899 opened
* July 2 2d with "Das Rheingold " in
the presence of an enormous assemblage
of musicians from all parts of the world.
The second cycle will be started on Mon-
day, August 14th. The first of the five
performances of "Die Meistersinger" oc-
curred on July 28th, and on the day follow-
ing "Parsifal" was given. It is with the
THE MUSIC TRADE REVIEW
established by the announcements he sent
to New York, there will be some curiosity
to discover why so much secrecy was
exhibited in the whole affair. Nobody
believes that it was intended to keep the
marriage permanently secret, so the use-
lessness of the contradictions so soon to be
discounted by the pianist's formal announce-
ments seems especially striking. It is true
meanwhile he had not been married when
the first reports of the incident were pub-
lished. Mme. Paderewski, who is said to be
somewhat older than her husband, is not a
beauty, according to the description of
persons who have seen her, but she is said
to be a women of great fascination. There
will be some consolation in that fact to the
army of his feminine admirers here, who
would have found it difficult to reconcile
themselves to his marriage to any wholly
ordinary member of their sex. On the
wedding cards she is described as "Baro-
ness Helen von Rosen. M. Gorski, the
former husband of Mme. Paderewski, is a
violinist of considerable reputation in
Paris and London.
*
T H A T was a wonderful collection of old
* and valuable instruments which was
represented in the great orchestra that
celebrated the Joachim jubilee. It ap-
pears: there were ten Strads worth $7,500
each and six varying in value from $2,500
to $4,000. There were also many Amatis,
one of them Wieniawski's favorite, pur-
chased of his widow for 35,000 francs.
There were also several splendid Guar-
nerius violins. Of the ninety violins in
the orchestra all but two were valuable old
Italian instruments, and their combined
value was $260,000. There were also many
costly violas and cellos.
*
T F numerous writers are to be taken seri-
* ously "Yankee Doodle" at some period
in its long and varied history was known
and sung by the Latin, Teutonic and Anglo-
Saxon races long before it became nation-
alized and "settled down " in this Yankee
land. According to a recent contribution on
the subject, Yankee Doodle is one of the old-
est songs in the world and at different periods
of an unparalleled career has belonged to
England, to the once vast empire of Holland,
and to the Roman Catholic Church, where
it probably originated, somewhere about
the year 1200 A. D. "If you happen to be
a musician," says the writer, "and do not
believe that such an undignified ditty could
ever have been intended for religious pur-
poses, play it over on a pipe organ very sim-
ply and slowly, and as the majesty of a
grand old papal chant fills your soul, all
your doubts will vanish away."
Many charges have been laid at the door
of the Papacy but in this instance we fear
a verdict has been rendered without suffi-
cient evidence.
*
A FEW years ago Mascagni, the famous
**• composer of "Cavalleria Rusticana,"
was asked to entertain the royal court in
Rome. He did so, and delighted his audi-
ence. When he had finished playing he
started a conversation with a little princess
who had stood near the piano during the
recita), and had shown every sign of deep
interest. As a matter of fact, she had been
instructed by her mother to say, if any
question should be asked, "that Mascagni
was the greatest musician in Italy."
The composer asked her which of the
great living masters she liked best, and the
proud mother turned toward the child to
hear the pretty little speech which had
been taught to her. Instead of the com-
pliment came the withering remark:
"There are no great masters living.
They are all dead."
The musician gave a little start and then
said:
"Your Excellency, permit me to con-
gratulate you. You are the most truthful
critic in Europe. 1 '
extent and richness of this collection. A
correct impression is conveyed best by the
statement that it would probably be diffi-
cult to duplicate this library for less than
$200,000. For seventeen years one man
has devoted his time to its care, and when
it was removed to the south side, where it
remained during the World's Fair, its con-
veyance to and installation in new quarters
required the labor of four men for five days.
These facts only vaguely suggest some-
thing of the volume of the collection. Its
quality and comprehensiveness can be ap-
preciated only by the master musician who
is familiar with the whole range of musical
composition. To such a visitor the oppor-
tunity to put hands upon the full
orchestral parts of 300 overtures,
160 symphonies, and hundreds of
concertos without leaving t h e
room means much more than the
words would seem to imply.
of eminent musi-
A NUMBER
cians were asked by a Lon-
HENRI MARTILAU.
T H E Musical Art Society of New York
* offers a prize of $250 for an "a capel-
la" chorus for mixed voices, the work be-
ing set to English words of secular charac-
ter, and being suitable for about fifty
voices, the time of performance not to ex-
ceed ten minutes. The competition is
open to any one who for five years or
longer has been a resident of the United
States or Canada. All works should be
sent before September 1, to the president
of the society, Dr. Frederick E. Hyde.
The judges will be Horatio Parker, B. J.
Lang and Frank Damrosch.
*
L J E N R I MARTEAU, the famous young
* * French violinist will return to this
country in the Spring for a short concert
tour under the direction of Henry Wolf-
sohn. He is one of the few violinists who
is always welcome in this country. On
each trip he compels more and more re-
spect for the wonderful progress he has
made in his chosen art. Since last he
played here he has made several trips
through Europe and was last heard in St.
Petersburg where he had a phenomenal
success.
*
PEAKING of Theodore Thomas' musi-
cal library a friend says that the element
of compactness renders it almost impossible
for the ordinary observer to appreciate the
S
don (Eng.) m u s i c a l paper to
answer the question, "What is
the best way for a professional
musician to enjoy his summer
holiday?" In reply, E d w a r d
E 1 ga r suggested sarcastically
that '' the ordinary p r o f e s s o r
might study music, if not too
violent a change." Mr. Corder
wrote in a similar vein: " I go
for a fort-night to Bayreuth, fol-
lowed by six weeks of perfect
seclusion. I cannot imagine a
more complete change for an
English musician." A n o t h e r
satirist suggests a vacation in a
deaf and dumb asylum ; while
t h e utmost Coleridge Taylor
v e n t u r e s to hope for is some place
where "not more than one piano-organ
plays at the same time in the same
road."
JT IS a general custom in European coun-
tries to honor their great men with mon-
uments. The liberality with which this
custom is carried out has been in the last
few years unexampled. Recently in Berlin
there was unveiled a monument to the great
scientist Helmholtz, to whose labors, as
embodied in his work " Lehre von den
Tonempfindungen," the musical world owes
so much. The event was made one of
national importance, and the emperor him-
self lent his gracious presence to the occa-
sion. American cities cannot do better
than imitate the communities of the Old
World in this, the most effective method of
perpetuating the memories of their famous
sons.
T H E Bayreuth Festival of 1899 opened
* July 2 2d with "Das Rheingold " in
the presence of an enormous assemblage
of musicians from all parts of the world.
The second cycle will be started on Mon-
day, August 14th. The first of the five
performances of "Die Meistersinger" oc-
curred on July 28th, and on the day follow-
ing "Parsifal" was given. It is with the
Future scanning projects are planned by the International Arcade Museum Library (IAML).