MUSIC.

Dominion, Volume 2, Issue 550, 3 July 1909, Page 12

MUSIC.

• (Bi Theblb CtKr.) , x RMljlpd by Pirates, . At fho, ago of Milton iWoUinCT, the oom'pqspr pt "spniq Day," thel Ferry," "pro*iningi" anil scores of'othpr. popular Bopgs, is almost poniiilpsa, and., tho news-: papers rplaip' thf t ha. wa? ruined by music "pirates.! . Ten,years ago Mr. AVelhngjj ocr' cupipd a large house in Uarapstcad, paid inopitoptax annually on n eum pf over £10001 rpdp bis own htirso in' 'ttqtten Eowj and owned/ property/ in thp hp lives alone in'a bed-sitting room in Fulnam., It was. at tho height of his. peosperity .that the "mnfiic pirates" : began their attack, and in a, very short space .of .time Air. Weir lings's income was swept away. The twopenny pirated' copies' Pf nis songs completely ousted the Kigher-price^'authorised; copies, and the author vahishod. From a positioii of afflupnco hp was" quickly reduced to 1 thp nooewity-of coming e modest living bytonring under an as9umpdnan\e as pianist or manager with small theatrical' companies: Then his health began ■to fail, his' aayings disappeared, and things went frpni bad to wpree, till.ho found, himself \yi|hout a roof to shelter hith. Ho slept for sevpral on the Embarikment, and knew what it was to.hunger for hours on end. Now ho has a roof over his head,: hut 1 his ppsitipn is parlous,.for heroes know'.^liefp-,tp lay his hand on as much as a single sovereign., Conccjrning .''Some Day," wlii6h 'was perhaps his moit'popular son§,' Mr. Wcllings fells an| interesting story. He had, found great' diffi'culty in getting, a :satisfactory '.'setting"for the words;,but one, day,'whilst his' wifo was holiday-making in ihp Islp" : of Wight' he heard that" a yacht had off thq coast of thp jsland. As he knew Mrs. Well-' ings fond pf , yachting," and had expressed her intention ; qf:inciulgirig'in that pleasure, the opmpbsor was'naturally anxious as. to heir 1 Bafqty..■ H9 \telegrapbed," asking whether' she was W\< right, but. no • reply came. Then oreiy hour he dispatched.a telegram, and sent eight or nine altogether. The words of the running iii,his mind, and to distract attontiqri from, the possibility that a calamity'had overtakori him, he spent the night; in: writing the music of the' song; The morning. brought, the. assurance of ; his wife's'safety. ■•;'..-, ■;. . ~■■■:,■ •'' '. :: '; . :;-,' : :: ; ..:\

.^UI. ; An9^V^iCT»;o'A^-:;v; ; Little ,Kilman Rot| tho list thing in vwlin-playing prodigies, turst Al-;' bers Hall : (London)."■ audience oV Sunday, , ;. :Mdr^': j 2B)' : like. ; a\^Mt'Vfrom^fhq.; , 'bluei':.i Very' few people had; heard of' him, andfewer' still knew that anything out of the' way was, ifti storor foV- them:', xhe> little follpw'ri appear- ; .aqce; } however,-, aa ; he i up. the 1 Steps! •froin i \ the artistta' ; fboiii,' arreEted; attention.' He •:•■ is- an odd Mowgli-likeL personage, 'with ■ his \ darky , sallow f«» heavy, blaok hair,! tallior^hisager-he'is"'.only looking taller in the ridieulpuS, velveteen -suit ?oid deep laco collar th4t ard;"derigueur'V wilh: prodigies.;.' The: first few 'notes •Mm His' bow j settled the question pi .his; ;connpissenr \w°o 'heard; the, opening of.the'Paganini , concerto, sq| ; ,crisply and cleanly attackodi and phrased torljf, breadth of style,.knew that [ie was in' the presence of a geni\is.' Kalmah IloviTvent' from strength to- strength, and by the'end of the , concerto ithe- audience was -worked up; toy.^.'pitch; of ■something"like hysteria. , sln sober earnest,.thei boy is amazing. '■':, His tone : 'is wonderfully rich •and' ; pur'eV'a n d i ;}ie';dpe3; everything,"that" ho chooses: in'; tho''.way J'.of, teohnibal-gymnastics with cpnsyn>mato,6aeei andwitii that complete j'aplomb'l'and'.■'a'ssur»," anco which; we epoakiof as"arnlp aebelongr iag to maturity,' though as a matter',,of faot' , it is the special property, of extreme iyouthj. After the concerto' Tie played 'Wieniawski'B. "Airs' Busses," 'and-triumphed pnpe' more.; Kalman Rev: will'soon |bp the darling of inusical;.London; : yT ''.""•'.' '■■- h ;^T:: '-!-: ■■■■•■•'■■ -■^''■^;

Gpun^'s' "pairat.v ;,;,;; .i^^^'-'yV/j;"- , -Th« 30ptli, performance at ,; Cpyent JGarden of; ."Fftust'l last month haa/ naturally ,called forth, reminiscences of that opera's eventful history. Looking >t the universal .popular? ;ity : it has since enjoyed,.it to'realr iso'.that'.ofl, its. production' in'Pftfis: i in 1859 Gounod's work'H;as' far from a success.' The critjos, for their part, condemned' it almost' unreservedly, and nobody' seonied,; to bolievo in tSb. opera's futur'o. . In tho dircumstanccs it w«»s' small wonder that the; composer liad : difQculty in finding a publisher Soi Jiis score. One, llqwever, more discriminating'tbeh : tho rest, byname Ohoudens, bought opera for ,8000 francs, thus laying the foundations of a f<TOPua firm's prosperity.. WheflJ'redenclc Gyo heard ."Fa'uat". in. Paris it coniamed only two really good numbers, the ' 'Soldiers' Qhorus 1 ' being one of them, ■ Nor did Tom Chippell , rate it'at all 'highly! but, as a ho agreed to £160 for the EnglisH performing'riglits.i toe work was first brought to>a hewitig in London'at; Her Majesty's Theatre on Jrine 11; 1863, with Titiens as Marguerite,' and (Jiuglini in the title-part; Sir ; Oliarles Santley beipg the VaJ-, entine.\ In this country Goußod's opera fafed .hotter, in tho early;. stages , of/its' cirfser'-tlian, it did abroad.; For: instance, Darmstadt,which was the first Gormajibity to'heivr the, ivork, pronounced' against'it, tho. critic's,"describing it as'«n •"■outrage"'on.Goethe; but, all the same,: it became popular \yith th'epublio.. In Berlin '"'Faust" was- givoii >. for. fh'o first time in Januarj-, 1863, hiidit is, ing to note' that reoently it was performed a.t the Royal Opera tliorefor, the 356 th timo' so that the orwrahpuso in the Gerii)an capital enjoys the, distinction of nayiW mounted Gounod's , masterpiece more often even-'ih'an has our, Cojcnt; 'Gardop.—London' "Talo-' graph." ■ .;'■ v - ; .j : : ' ■■: ::■,■ ■ \-^'\

Notes. , . '..■; [i- ; ■■',:':.;,-. '^-..'■■■■'■'■]■%:■■ ; Mr. Peter'Pawson, ope of the twp. leading, basso singer? on.thpari^ish,,ballad pla,t-; fprm to-day; lias'been engaKcd byMessrs.-'J. andN. Tait for' the fbrt()cpmiiig'. Australasian tour, of .Miss r Amy ; J , et ?r Dawson's. voice 'is already.- wcirknbw.n through, the ageqey of'gram'a'phqnd.recbrds/. i?nd to |tpar ,tt|fl originaj., singer ■will'bp'a'iv oyent socpnd only itl .importance to the turn, visit offMjss Gastlcs;.' 1 Tho tejipr "of tho; company will bo llr. 'Anderson Njcol," a singer who has becbinq very popular ; throughput .tlia balad concert circuits of. Great Britain au'd Ireland. •■IT , ' '.:': .'■''■ ■'.-. ::' r : :■;"'• .:■■/■;'• '■': : ; iV '■ Madnmp. Clara Ijutt and Miss Mario. Hajl,. bpph of \yhom verb intro<juccil to Australian, and, New' Zealnjid; audieiiccs ' Messrs. .'J,; a M Mi $ a tyi' recently, nnnejircd,' at the. s|anHqijs.q, , . London'. '■■' Tl]e ocpasion was' a cliarjty.concqrt prganispd liy tlio Lord.'Maypr of Lontlpn njfl'of tlip. British National Society for tho. l'royontipn of■ Crucjtv to philr. (lrp't\./. IVladanip VvX\x nlso apßpared,' liuji; tho ?]n!iiina,(lt ferjtiirqs nf'tihe epheort ,werp,::th'6 ; siiicjng'.pf ;^i)tt''ni)'d,.tlio'yQijng ; . riplinist's. playjhs'..' Owing to ahahdortc(l!hpr winteip tp,ur^an : d spoilt tup fiti'.e nt pqnnps <\n<l Puvritz'.' Bfpwr ov6r, latest 'advjees ■ sfiitp flip ((irn/w, .'•■pfltrjiltp ajid Mr. Kpii'up'rley Bunjfprd' gjjyp 1 l(!i r -W3\ Afei Pal!■-fionwrt, f-lnso qf May- I'qr tlies,q t.Wfl .sjiiKCMrt pPllr in Loiidpn, ! s fanious be,twppfl V £]sX) , ; gnd. ; ( ;:;.' 7 :h