MUSIC.

Dominion, Volume 3, Issue 639, 16 October 1909, Page 11

MUSIC.

•/(By TriF.Bi.E Giii.) ' -. ■•>, Stage • Fright. '' :'■''<-'.'■';.:..[■,''.'- ■./'-' .''./. Stage fright is a subject of perennial interest to musicians, because most of them suffer ftpm it,', and' 6'ftoh their;'.'best-laid plans "gang agley" becauso of it../ But.there is one, aspect of.it to which'attention: has not been called. The greatest.artists almost always.suffer.from ; stage fright (says .the:' New -York "Post"), but in .tjieir cases it usually precedes the perfor-. mance and'' soon:. disappears.'-.Lilli LeUmaun. ."suffers, tortures" of anticipation"; Lillian Nordica "feels tempted'to run away when the fateful honi appears"; arid Murcelfa Sombrieh speaks of:''the dreadful times"-she.has "before almost - every performance." But as-soon as the work has begun in earnest the nervousness vanishes. --'Why ?/ Because' great singers have' a' habit—a; habit which Vis' the main secret of their success—of concentrating their mind entirely on <the music, '.forgetting - themselves ..as well as-the audience.'.. .Just as. a trained. mountain climber,-to avort dizziness, thinks not/of the deadly precipice,'; so i '.the singer or player must learn to control his attention.-. It is an instance of'exercising; will • power. .''.'-.: . In the'caso/of 'pianists, one •'of •■ the : .m'airi. sbUTces, ofvstage fright- is tho.habit of \ playing everything ; "by.,' heart.":..'; Things .nave come. "t0.. ; such.'; a' - ., nasi' !that. ,a.-. ; pianist -is. hardly, considered..,,iip/.to,.'"concert. pitch" an-,' less; he.plays everything-from .memory., .'Now,; there .is' Undoubtedly' an advantage 'in; t-hu.B playing—an'" advantage similar-to-that ...which an' -orator has. over -.one who./reads;' his .speech;. but - there l ;aro'.' - also- .g00d,.;, reasons, whyi, the; doings. of- giants should:-. not. be. imitated •by .'.those- of .'lesser;, stature /unless 'they are favoured, with a. particularly retentive memory. -The..'fear/of'.forgetting—of making a • "losing the place"..; altogetherr-is-.responsiblefor'the failure : of many promising ; debutants., ~lt • makes them so nervous that even .if they make .no technical mistakes they are unable to'play, with the :proper.abandon arid .emotional expression. The hard,'work of memorising:tempts thom : also to limit;their repertory; some' prominent pianists thus satiate' their-audiences,Vfor-'not<alf-. of them are like D'Albert, who once played from memory eleven different . concertos ■•'within l three .weeks;'. ■•'■ -■ ■'

Most pianists would- undoubtedly improve their- .chances; of-success if - they ' placed • the music.before them, Probably they'would never look' at it—for,: of course,' they should memorise everything they play in public—but' the knowledge that'.iri.' case of .accident- the musio' was before-their eyes would give-them, confidence and allay stage bright," -'If Rubinstein had followed vthis .plan, he would not; have been so- much tormented. in the last-years of his career by distrust' of his memory, which caused him-to refuse, an:-offer of 100,000 dollars for a second: American tour. I.- . : .'■".'-'•' .

Opera' singers- have a', prompter ' and a 'con'.' duotor to : come to their aid in a moment of uncertainty-; why • should pianists'.-bo- left .helpless? Pugno' always''has'the printed music before ; hira.< Anna Mchlig did .the s'anio thing, and'-'Clara '.Schumann :played her- husbands concerto, with the score before her,- though she knew,' of course, every note by heart. Before Liszt,,-.all; pianists used their notes,- and he dispensed- with: thpm partly'-because his-pieces were largely improvisations, varying from; concert to concert..-.; • '..-.-■■' : ; Cum.Grano Caruso,..'. ■.v „ .' ' .'A'humorist'defined salt, as that '•'wKiohV if not put in thc : soup, spbils'it.' Caruso'seems to be the-salt.'of-Italian -opera.> Withoufhim, the public, finds it ; spoiled: Caroline'-'V, Kerr writes'from London to'.the '.'Musical .Leader, and Concert-Goer": "In the memory- of the oldest inhabitant no Covent Garden, season-his been so uninteresting as .the present one. This generally expressed sentiment is no doubt-due to the; defection of Caruso, for since London' opera-goers have-made tno acquaintance :■ of 'the golden-throated '-. tenor, his ; singing, has become' the Alpha, and.- Omega of operatic, ideals,' and a., Caruso-less sea'son"con be> nothing but flat';, stale,' and' unprofitable— so say. tho Londoners.", .. .-

Grand' Opera for Australia, :'••/ '.'-. : :',v\ While at' Milan rwe'ritly,' MrIJ.C. William-son-met- Sienor, Robert, Hazoni a musical."director, .well-known in ! Australia, and he listened tb ; a large.number, of; voices, from'.which he selected and engaged : .sevoral ; lor, an important musical venture ...which!'."will shortly' b'e This- will 'include, the' production in■'■ English of ''Madame' Butterfly'-. and "'La Boheme." The dates for' tho, various'productibn's will.lie nuuoituced as.-soon as Mr. Williamson has time to consult with his'-partners In Sydney. ';• •.';■