A TOUR WITH LISZT

Evening Post, Volume CXXIII, Issue 12, 15 January 1937, Page 18

A TOUR WITH LISZT

THALBERG AND GRISI

ORLANDO PARRY'S DIARY

TRAVEL IN ENGLAND

The earlier diaries of John Orlando Parry, recently published, were an amusing record of boyish enthusiasm over travels both in England and abroad, says a writer in the "Manchester Guardian." In the later diaries, hitherto unpublished, we have the same enthusiastic outlook, the same intense enjoyment of every detail of his daily life, but they are the records of a man already assured of his position, a favourite, though an unspoilt one, of the elegant society of his period. One of Parry's earliest successes was a tour of the Midlands with Liszt. In this tour he arrived on November 28, 1840, at Newcastle-under-Lyme. He lodged at the Roebuck.

"Horrible dirty bad rooms (he writes). The Concert Room in the house. Dinner at i past 5. Queer Fish. Bad Pork. Underdone Pease Pudding and Potatoes. Horrible veal cutlets. Decent Tart and Sago Pudding. Dined on Sage, Cheese, and Salary. , Liszt got excited. Concert badly attended (80). The Editor of the Pottery Mercury gaping up as the orchestra was very high. Great fun with the Steps, both for audience and performers—obliged to chance them four times before the ladies could reach them! Liszt played the last piece in my spectacles!"

The next day he was in Chester, lodging in capital bedrooms at the Boyal Hotel, where he found his old friend the chambermaid, aged fifty, had just married a young man of twenty-flve. Liszt came up to his room and smoked and wrote, but the following day grew very excited, giving dissertations on birth and education, and frightening the Welshmen whenever he went out by his Hungarian coat and cap. A few days later, December 4, Parry was at Manchester, going straight to the Morley Arms.

A GENTLEMAN'S CONCERT. "Saw old Deaf Tom (he writes) and then took a walk and called at Himes ('Wanted a Governess' selling well). Dined Champagne—not good tho.' At 8 we were in The Athenaeum Large Room, which holds 800, but there were only about 400 there. The Concert was received with immense applause. Liszt encored three times. Home by Eleven—Toasted Cheese and Egg Flip, and a friend of Liszt, a German, joined us. The Concert was half composed of Germans. Queer dreams of eggs, etc." Of his journey back to Manchester, ten days later, we have an amusing glimpse:— , "York to Manchester 70 miles by railway writes on December 15, 1840). At i past 8 we left for the train and arrived at Hampden Bridge, a beautiful place in summer. Took a walk with Liszt to The White Horse—No go! Went to The White Lion and had breakfast —comfortable tho* countrified, eggs, ham, etc. Liszt a little lonely. Left directly after, passed thro' a most beautiful country. We were a comical load. We had a coach-

man, not Postillions, driving four horses, there being no seat he and Marchant sat upon the roof while Richardson, Lewis, and Bassano were crammed behind in the rumble, our four selves inside. We made a very heavy load besides all the additional luggage. Arrived at the Railway again 10 miles which soon carried us by Rochdale into Manchester, where we arrived at i past. It was a long tedious journey. Put up at The Morley Arms'and the Concert at The Great Room at The Athenaeum received much applause, Liszt playing .on one of Broadwood's instruments. Returned home very much tired. —Gin and Vater!" , Two years later, on November 10, he was present at a "Gentlemen!? Concert at the Concert HalL No Gentleman residing within six miles of Manchester or having a , permanent place of business in Manchester being adr missible without having been previously elected as a subscriber." Parry had an audience of 1300, but his remarks are not complimentary. "Horrid —nil my words printed—Ruined and undone —No effect! No (real) attention—No applause—No encore—No nothing. Won't sing at a Gentleman's Concert again in a hurry!" » SUPPER AND DANCE. After some gratifying comments in the "Manchester Guardian," Parry was

again in the Midlands in 1845, visiting during his tour the room at the Morley Arms, Preston, where his good friend Malibran died. On, November 24 Parry gang under Mr. Carte's management at the Lancaster Music Hall; He gives us one of those intimate little glimpses into his life:— I wrote a letter to Anne in the little Parlour of the King's Arms, facing the street with the nice old lady that looks after the Hall, &c.—stone floor sanded —funny pictures, 'The Parting," "True I Love," "False Love," &c., &c. The old] cat sitting on Missus shoulder, See., the i nice clean kettle boiling away. I

On November 25 of that year he was at Newcastle-under-Lyne, where, after a successful concert, he went to supper: After a good deal of pressing to Mr. Mason's, a regular splendid turn out The Company! Good Gracious! After supper danced a Quadrille but my Part* nerl Miss Mares!!! The headdress! The curls!! The flirt!!! Killed us all with laughter. She made violent love to me in front of all the people till I was torn away. Early in that year (1845) Parry stayed with Thalberg for the first time at Manchester's magnificent new hotel, the Queen's, arriving by the new Leeds and Manchester line from Bradford. In spite, however, of a good audience at the Athenaeum Concert Room, Thalberg received no encores, and amongst all his countrymen, too, got very excited, no letter from his wife—"un. poco crackato, molto Bado." STILL MORE IMPRESSED. In his next visit to the Queen's Hotel he was even more impressed. 'Beautiful dinner—the jelly was placed over a painted tin shape, and a Watteau picture shewed thro" the jelly—'twas very original and pretty." Parry was often again at'the Queen's Hotel, and his visits to Manchester were always a blaze of. triumph. In the same year" Mr. Carte arranged a visit to the Theatre Royal, Preston: It was a most wretched place behind and had a most fearful heartburn. Charlotte was bit by a not-to-be-men: tioned. Very queer Collard—half a note below pitch and out of tune. The Porters of the Railway all came to the Gallery. Carte let them in, they applauded immensely of course. Parry was at Wolverhampton in 1840 and again on November 12, 1845. "The Concert went off, though very long." In a cutting from the "Wolverhampton Chronicle" inserted in his diary there is this description of Parry: Of his singing and performance we need say no more than that it was the same excellent performance that it ever has been. It is the perfection of refined humour and he fills the pianoforte as full of humour as himself. His style is peculiarly his own, not vulgarly comic, for the. gentleman is

seen throughout, yet presenting comic incidents with rare richness and fidelity. SENSATIONAL DEPARTURE. Parry visited Wolverhampton again in 1846 and gave a performance at Mr. Hayward's Concert at the Theatre Royal to a very fine house: We created quite a sensation when we left the Lion at Shrewsbury, as we had one carriage with 4 horses and 2 others with 2. Great row with poor Chappell who is certainly too slow but La Madama is too quick. .We stopt at Haygate. Grisi in great rage about something—everything wrong. Rather unpleasant. We reached Wolverhampton about 3. Had a very nice dinner. Could get a letter from the Post but they said there was nothing for me and I did not get it till Friday morning. We travelled 30 miles today m flys and 32 yesterday. The Concert well attended but the theatre not full. Grisi in a thundering passion, had to walk to the t:hea'tr coad from his fly and stepped in a puddle in the dark! Poor Chappell again. He kicked the fender over m his rage and sang very b f. dly l n^f/ he Grisi's misfortunes continued till tne next day, for we read of him almost missing the trMn from WolverhmnP g ton, only catching it by being "clawed through the gates.