MUSICAL LIFE IN LEIPZIG.

New Zealand Herald, Volume XXV, Issue 9178, 6 October 1888, Page 1 (Supplement)

MUSICAL LIFE IN LEIPZIG.

The following extracts from private letters written by Mr. Sydney Francis Hoben, at present a student in the famous Leipzic Conservatorium, though not written with a view to publication, cannot fail to prove of interest from their bright and pleasant style. They are the random reflections of a colonial boy, wedded to his art, on being brought for the first time into direct contact with the musical life of the Old World in its most celebrated centre. The writer is well known to many in Auckland, having passed his boyhood here and at Tauranga :— IN LONDON. I saw Mary Anderson at the Lyceum in "A Winter's Tale." Report has not exaggerated her beauty, and she is a splendid actress, with a voice very sweet and low, but distinct. As the statue " Hermione" she was exquisitely beautiful, and, when the curtain rolled back and disclosed her posing on the pedestal, far back upon the stage, white and chaste as marble itself, under the glory of the white limelight, the audience gasped with delight. She remained thus, immovable, for a few moments, then a quiver passed over her limbs, her hands moved, her body swayed to and fro, and she stepped, queen-like and silent, to the front of the stage, the limelight throwing her wonderful beauty into relief against the dark curtains of the darkened stage, and making her appear as if cut in cameo. As Perdita, she acted naturally and girlishly, danced gracefully, and sang fairly.

EN ROUTE FOR LEIPZIC. After a miserably cold voyage, Rotterdam was reached in a state of freeze, and 1 spent the afternoon in wandering over the ice-bound canals and city, looking at the quaint houses, with mirrors fastened outside the windows, that callers may be identified before admission, and visiting the various " lions." Picturesquely-attired crowds skated on the canals or clattered in wooden sabots over the frozen streets, the women wearing head-dresses of white muslin, with great coils of yellow metal on each side. Here and there were small dogcarts, the dog harnessed under the body of the conveyance. At 5.15 p.m. I left in a comfortably-heated railway carriage for LEIPZIC, which was reached at 8.15 next morning. Failing to see Dr. Reinecke, who was away conducting a rehearsal at the Gewandhaus, 1 sent for Mr. Alfred Hill, of Wellington, as the only New Zealander I had heard of being in Leipzic, and, on his arrival, we secured lodgings in a characteristic dwelling, six storeys high, where I found that our flat was occupied by the brothers Alfred and John Hill, Herr Gumprich (who was in New Zealand as 'cellist with Simonsen's Opera Company), an English mother and three daughters, and a German mother and two daughters. Alfred Hill says he lias made great progress in Leipzic, and now plays concertos by Mendelssohn, &c., very well, while his brother has a tine baritone voice. I find that there are two other New Zealanders at theGonservatoriumtwo brothers Baddeley from Ghristchurch, very nice young fellows, and old Nelson College boys. [Sous of Mr. Baddeley, lately R.M. at Auckland.] During the -afternoon I attended a pupil's concert in the fine concert hall of the Gonservatorium, and heard solos for 'cello, piano, harp, horn, clarionet, organ, &c., wonderfully played— such playing as we do not hear in the colonies. A Beethoven sonata and Mendelssohn's " Variations Seriouse" were the piano solos, and they were given with splendid execution and brilliancy, and with perfect delicacy and expression. Most of the selections were long—the sonata lasted twenty minutesbut the audience was as quiet as though in a church. As a pupil of the Gonservatorium, 1 will be admitted to all the Gewandhaus rehearsals, to per formances in the concert hall, and to concert, opera, and drama. All the great pianists, violinists, &c., appear at the Gewandhaus during the winter. The students wear their hair long, and absently pass their fingers through it during a performance—possibly to keep them warm— but the effect of 700 hands thus solemnly moving is rather ludicrous. They are nearly all spectacled, and all citizens and students alike are punctiliously polite, and eternally bowing, smiling, and raising their hats. Even my landlady greets me whenever I meet her, and wishes me "a pleasant evening" as Igo out. She speaks "a lectle Engleesh." On entering a shop, you are expected to remove your hat, and, on leaving, to bid them adieu. Despite this politeness and consideration, duels are not uncommon. I find that, if I kill a man courteously, and under the "code of honour," 1 will receive a year's imprisonment, while, if I strike him, I am liable to ; three months' confinement for the first offence, with longer terms for each subsequent one. Under these distressing circumstances, it is more satisfactory to kill your victim outright.

A CONTINENTAL SABBATH. This is my first Sunday in Leipzic. I have a tire in my sittingroom, but, nevertheless, the cold is intense, and my lingers are so stiff that I cannot practice. The closed-in stoves used here do not seem to warm the room like an open fire. Outside, the streets and houses are covered in snow. Sleighing parties dash up and down, and crowds of holidaymakers are skating on the river. Everything is bustle and animation. Theatres and concert halls are all open and well patronised, and public and private balls are being held ; but, seemingly irreligious as the Continental Sabbath is, it is very pleasant, and I hope never again to spend such awful Sundays as I spent in London and Melbourne, with every place shut, and not even a cafe open. The streets are full of hatless peasants and servant maids, picturesque in their winter clothing, with woollen "clouds" draped artistically on their heads and shoulders. As in Rotterdam, dogs are used to draw the small carts and sleighs, but here they are harnessed in front, like horses, and not under the vehicle, like their Dutch fellowsufferers. Women sweep the street crossings, and drive carts, dig, &c., much as men. AT WORK.

To-day (Monday) I have commenced my term, and took organ and piano lessons, my piano professor (Herr Ruthardt) appearing pleased. The authorities of the Conservatorium do not care for your taking more than four hours' practice per diem on any one instrument, and the local laws are very strict, no practice being allowed after 10.30 p.m.— very necessary regulation in such a city as this. Fortunately, the walls are thick. I heard an anecdote which has consoled me much for my Hastings (Hawke's Bay) experience, when, after playing Beethoven, Chopin, and List/, for some hours, E was asked "if I was not tar enough advanced to play tunes and a deputation from the hotel employees was forthwith sent upstairs with a request that I should kindly play "tunes." A certain eminent pianist was recently stopping at a Continental hotel, and practising much. One day one of those very superior musical critics whom one sometimes meets—on this occasion a titled English lady tourist—sent in a request that he should "stop that noise," as he would "never make an artist." The reply was a card —"Anton Rubenstein."

MUSIC. We have had another hauptprufung, or public concert, this time of concerted music. The concert hall is lit by the electric light in flame-shaped glasses, 50 or til) lights to each chandelier, and is upholstered in dark, red velvet. The effect at night is very pleasing. Ceilings and walls are frescoed, busts of the great composers occupy every available niche, and everywhere is exquisitely-artistic carving and workmanship. The staircases and passages are padded, and the heaviest footfall makes no sound. During a performance not a whisper is heard, but directly the instruments cease a buzz of conversational criticism and comment breaks forth. I have attended also at the Gewandhaus one of the famous " Kammermusik" concerts. The quartette (Brodsky, Sitt, Becker, and Klengel) play with exquisite delicacy and expression. Their first selection was a beautiful composition by the young Norwegian, Grieg, who is so rapidly achieving the recognition of his genius. At the conclusion, he was led on to the stage—a slight youth, with long, flaxen —and bowed his acknowledgments. The composition was strangely weird and plaintive, and the last movement, a wild " salterella" dance, was so dramatically expressive that one actually' saw, aa they listened, the

hurrying forms of the dancers. Weidenbach, the best .pianist at the Conservatorium, played with Sitt a Rubenstein sonata for piano and viola. The selection is very difficult, and was well played, Weidenbach making much use of the open psdal. On the same night, 1 visited a variety show at the " Krystall Palast," a great building, containing many halls, devoted to various amusements. The variety business was good of its kind— than any I have seen in the colonies. The audience sat at small tables in the circus hall, drinking lager beer and smoking while the performance proceeded. This consisted of comic singing, acrobatic feats, tableaux, clowning (very coarse), and bicycle riding by a numerous family. Two young men and a woman impersonated various celebrities with much success, " making up" in view of the audience ; a troop of trained cockatoos sang, carried flags in procession, turned somersaults, rolled large balls about the platform, and fired pistols ; and the bicycling family rode on one wheel backwards, waltzed etc. Tyrolean and Viennese songs were pleasing, but the acrobatic feats were very painful, as one of the boys fell three times in attempting a leap, and was only caught by the legs by an adult performer. Amidst cries of "no more" from the spectators, he made a fourth attempt and successfully accomplished his feat. Leaving the circus hall we passed through another in which a sort of free-and-easy " was proceeding. Men and women sat drinking beer, and a loud chorus was being sung to an accompaninent of clattering glasses and stamping, cheering, and rattling of whips and sticks—all keeping good time. Barmaids in short skirts and fancy costumes flitted everywhere. Next morning, I heard a Gewandhaus rehearsal. The lower part of the beautiful concert room was fully occupied, and Prince George of Greece, a fair athletic youth, who is a Leipzig student, was sitting- near me. "Israel in Egypt " was the work in hand, and it was well sung, Dr. Reinecke, the conductor, frequently addressing the performers.

The Conservatorium pupils study their solos for a year before playing them in public, and the difficulty of a work is not so much considered as the manner in which it is rendered. The contrast between the finished performances which this _ system ensures and the crude productions at colonial concerts, where the performers probably never saw their songs or pieces a week prior to their public rendering, is of course most marked. The instrumentalists I have heard are superb ; the vocalists, however, do not please me so well, as there is generally too much shout and passion at the expense of sweetness. In the evening I visited the theatre, which keeps open for opera or drama all the year round, Sundays included. The theatre performances commence at 6.30. p.m., concerts at the Gewandhaus and Conservatorium at 6 p.m. I was provided with a pupil's ticket, but these only admit if the house is not full, and on this occasion it was crowded and I had to pay. All tickets bear a number corresponding to a seat, and to that seat the holder alone in entitled, no matter how often he leaves the building. The parterre corresponds to the colonial pit, but here, as in England, the cheap places are above. Even there the seats are numbered. No ladies wear hats in the house. There are extremely fine balconies and indoor promenades to which the whole audience retire during the intervals. Wagner's " Flying; Dutchman" was the bill on this occasion. The music I knew alreadysome of it is lovelyand the orchestra played with great expression, but I did not particularly care for the vocalists. Clothilde Kleeberg's piano recital I particularly wished to attend. It took place at 11 a.m. on Sunday and was extremely successful, but the crush was so great that I could not gain admission, as all the tickets had been sold out on Saturday. A ROYAL VISIT. We had a visit from the King and Queen of Saxony. Leipsic is en fete, and flags and streamers fly from all the houses. The Conservatorium has been decorated with greenery, and men were set to work to polish up the doors and place generally. A concert in honour of the royal visitors was to have been held at 3.30. p.m., but their majesties did not appear until 4.30., and during this time the performers stood ready with their- instruments, and the directors awaited the coming in evening dress. On the King's entering the concert hall, we all stood up, and after a little speech from a director, three cheers, accompanied by drums and trumpets, were given. Then there was an organ solo and a song, which of course no one applauded, and the King left the room, returning a few minutes later with Her Majesty and suite. We rose once more, a lady presented the Queen with a large bouquet of yellow rosesblue and yellow are the royal colours, but there were no blue roses in bloom just then —and once more our exuberant loyalty manifested itself in a glorious burst of cheers, and drums, and trumpets. Reinecke's " King Manfred" overture was now played, Brodsky conducting, and the concert ended. The King is grey and middle-sized. The Queen is' also of medium height and pleasing appearance, but is not grey. SARASATE.

Since writing last I have heard Sarasate, the great Spanish violinist, at the Gewandhaus. It was at a rehearsal, but instead of the usual "probe" audience, which only covers the floor, the building was filled, and on the artist's appearance he was received with a burst of applause. He is small, spare, very dark and sallow, with long black hair tinged with grey, and a habit of looking at the audience with blinking eyes, sometimes half shut. He is said to be the only great artist who does not find regular practice necessary, and occasionally takes a holiday during which he does not touch his violin for weeks. At other times, he plays as he lists, but as he is continually flitting from one European capital to another and performing in each, ho probably finds this sufficient practice. As this was a rehearsal, Reinecke, who seemed dissatisfied with his orchestra, had parts of the work repeated several times. On its conclusion, the applause was overwhelming, and Sarasate, after bowing once, returned and played one of his Spanish dances, very piquante and difficult, which was preferred by many of the Raff suite. Fraulien Wally Schauseil sang some solos, and a symphony by Schuman and Cherubim's " Die Abenceragen" overture were played. The latter I particularly liked.