MUSICAL EUROPE

Evening Post, Volume CX, Issue 11, 12 July 1930, Page 10

MUSICAL EUROPE

I TAUNTS OF THE

MASTERS

SICNOR CESARONI'S TOUR

For almost six months of this year Signor Lucien Ccsavoni has been touring tlic musical centres of Europe, hearing the | great works being performed in London, I Paris, Brussels, Cologne, Berlin, Dresden, Vienna, Munich, Zurich, Milan, Venice, Florence. Rome, and Naples, and visiting such places as Bonn, where Beethoven spent part of his life, and Salzburg, where Mozart wrote some of his greatest works. Siguor Cesaroni was deeply impressed with the great interest being shown in music throughout Europe, and states that the works of the great masters are being received with greater enthusiasm to-day j than ever. , In London Sign or Cesaroni accompanied j Sir Thomas Wilford. the High Commissioner, to hear the Wellington memorial carillon at Hyde Park. He said that the music of the bells had created a profound impression. The carillon would be a wonderful acquisition to Wellington. At the Covent Garden Opera House he heard 1 several Pucctni operas sung in Lnglisl), and extraordinarily well done, in Ins opinion there is nothing to prevent opera beinc sung in English, and there was no doubt that the innovation at Covent Garden had done a great deal of good. In London also he heard Kreisler play to an audience of about 10.000 people in the Albert Hall. Signor Cesaroui met the two great conductors, Sir Thomas Bcccham and Sir Henry Wood, and fair Henry Wood told him that he was thinking o£ visiting New Zealand at an early date. At the Royal College ot Music he 'interviewed Ttosina Buckman, the New Zealand soprano, and Maurice D'Oisley, her husband, and spent some time" with the professors of the college. Some very- fine performances were given by the student?. In Paris he heard 01Tenbach.s lales of Hoffman" at the Trocadero and Les Hirmenots" (Meyerbeer) at the Opera House. He also attended performances by Thibaud (violinist) and Cortot (pianist) In Paris Signor Cesaroni met Mr. Fraser Mackenzie, who is well known in musical circles in Wellington, and who is at present studying at the Sorbonne University. In Brussels he attended a performance- of "Tannhauscr" (Wagner), in which- the principals were even superior to those in Paris, and Massenet's "Wer- j tlier-" -On another evening an orchestra of SO played big works by Weber, Strauss, and Beethoven, and the vocalist^ on the programme was the famous Elizabeth Schumann. Signor Cesaroni inspected the great museum of musical instruments at the Brussels Conservalorium. BEAUTIFUL CHURCH CHOIR. He moved fo Cologne, where at the Catholic Church he heard some wonderful singing by 40 male voices, unaccompanied. The absence of the organ went unnoticed with such magnificent singing. Berlin was the next city on the to\ir, and here, Signor Cesaroni maintains, he heard the best music of his trip. He heard performances of "Aida and lannhauser" under Dr. Blech. There were 60 men and CO women in the chorus, 90 instruments in the orchestra, including 0 'cellos, 8 contra-basses, 23 . first violins, 20 seconds, and 2 harps. The acting, the singing, and the staging were most impressive. One of the reasons for the InVli standard of the performances in Berlin was the excellent work done at the Conservatorium, where only the most talented were admitted. The standard ot the pupils there was the highest iv the world. Beethoven's house at Bonn was visited, and there Signor Cesaroni _ inspected some of the personal belongings of the great composer. Leipzig was his next destination, and here he heard performances pi "Cavalleria Eusticaua, I Pagliacci," "Don Juan," and "Lucia di. Lammerraoor," and visited the church at which Bach was the organist for many years. VIENNA AND MOZART. Vienna was a little, disappointing. It was not the musical city that Berlin was, but during Signor Cesaroni's stay there he attended a very fine production of Beethoven's only opera. "Fidelio, under the conductorship of Strauss. ,In Vienna also he heard Friedman, the pianist who was in New Zealand three years ago, and the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra' under Mendelbevg. Schubert's houf-e and museum and the house iv which Beethoven lived for ninny years and wrote the "'Kroica1' Symphony also made the visit to Vienna interesting. On lie went to Salzburg. Mozart's native city. This was his fourth visit to the Mozart Museum, and he also inspected again the little house where the composer wrote "The Magic Flute." This house was kept very sacred by the people of Salsburg. At the beautiful concert hall there, the Mozarteum. there was an all-Mozart programme by accomplished musicians. In both Munich and Zurich Signor Cesavoni heard further great performances of instrumental music, and then proceeded to La Scala, the headquarters of Italian opera. Here; he witnessed productions of "Boris Godounov'' (KimskyKorsakoiV). in which Clialiapiu took the title role, and 'Ml Trovatorc." He also met the Oonsalez brothers, who stated that they intended to make another tour of New Zealand and- Australia. In Naples he hoard the world-famous Toscoiiini conducting the New York Symphony Orchestra, "which was touring Europe. The ! performance whs^ magnificent and memorable. In Naples also he heard C'oucato, the soprano who. visited New Zealand with Grauforte, singing in some new operas at the St. Carlo Opera House. The operas were written by a young Italian composer, and the settings were Indian. The1 road then led to Rome. Here. Signor Cesaroni spent many days browsing amongst the historical places and museums, and especially in the environs of the Vatican. At St. Peter's he heard the famous Sistine Choir, which included Bellini '(bass) and Fucchini (tenor), who visited New Zealand a few years ago. On a tour that could truly be called a musical pilgrimage Signor Cesaroni collected many relics from the Old World, and he has brought back with him several new , works.

.\ new blue rabbit has been brad, the fin- of which is almost exactly like that of (.he valuable South .American chinchilla. The skins of those rabbits sell for as much as :iOs ench.