A MONEY-FIRST COMPOSER

Nelson Evening Mail, Volume LXIV, 14 June 1930, Page 9

A MONEY-FIRST COMPOSER

■Dvorak, although he wrote in a vastly different manner from Wagner, was a great admirer of that master’s works. {Among his friends, however, was a com--poscr of a very different type, whose one object in writing music was that of making money. Shortly before the production in Berlin of Wagner’s “The Valkyrie,” this composer, Karl Weiss by name, had produced a work, “The Polish Jew,” which had had a tremendous popular success. Dvorak whs pool - , but he went to hear “The,Valkyrie” and got into a great state of excitement as the work proceeded. During the interval he left his humble seat in the pit and went to the foyer where he set Meiss, resplendent in a new fur coat. Good friends as they were,-Dvorak was a keen critic of Weiss’ work and he now went up to him and seizing him by the arm, exclaimed: “That-is the way you must' compose!” For’a moment Weiss stood looking at him and then, slowly' putting his hand into his pocket, , he drew out a well-filled purse and, holding ’it in one hand while he calmly tapped, it with the other, replied: “No, Master; this is the way one must com-; pose!” *( i ,' '■ cf minor nf <1 * * MI( \I 1 111* \ I-1 rtf.