MUSIC

New Zealand Mail, 29 January 1902, Page 29

MUSIC

NOTES BY G STRING

j Mr W. Gill has been elected Presi-' ! dent of the Wellington Liedertafel for' the coining year, and Messrs J. A. Plimmer and J. W. Joynt vice-presi-dents. The problem of the smoke concert was discussed at the adjourned annual meeting, and it was decided to adopt the plan in vogue at home—namely, to hold these concerts at one of the . leading hotels if this can be arranged. | It is possible that John P. Sousa and ■ p ls famous American band, which has ; 311st concluded a visit to England; will . come to Australia within the next year jor two. Sousa and his men left England oh December 13. The band has j everywhere met with astonishing sucj cess in England, considering the immense prestige of the British Military | Band. It even invaded Sandringham, j ynere the King conferred the Victorian j Order upon Mr Sousa. This year Sousa j undertake a 25 weeks’ tour through I Europe, including a visit to England i m June for the coronation festivities. *■* * * * Miss Elsie Hall, the well-known pianist, is to leave Sydney for England on February 3rd. j** * * ® , Young Raimund Pechotsch, of Sydney, I now on tour with Madame Belle Col® in America, is said to be attracting j much attention by his playing. * * * • ■ Good reports come from Leipsic of ! Miss Constance Usher, of Sydney, a talented pupil of Herr Benno Scherek. She appeared at a concert in the Conservatorium Salle last month, playing the Rubenstein “Barcarolle” and the “Bal- . lade in A flat” by Reinecke. Miss Maud Hogg, a violinist, who hails, I believe, from Auckland, played Weinawski’s “Souvenir de Moscow” at the same concert with marked success. | Miss Alice Hollander is in Dunedin, j*** « * - i The brilliant Italian Opera Company brought to Australia by Mr J. C. Williamson, is playing a return season in Sydney before leaving for Italy. It is ino secret that while Sydney has re- ! sponded by satisfactorily supporting the I large amount of opera provided within j the la sfc few months, the Melbourne j people have not given that adequate support which would justify a repetiI tlon °f the enterprise, in the near fu- | ture at least. Of the fifteen .operas ani nounced in the Williamson prospectus i °f last August, all, but two have been presented, the unperformed works beinoj Gounod’s “Romeo and Juliette” and ! Lea Huguenots.” Notwithstanding these exceptions, the task of thirteen , including such new works- as I Otello,” “La Boheine.” and “Fedora ” was a giant undertaking, even with the imposing array of talent mustered under I the baton of Signor Hazon ***** I J® 3 , 11 Gerardy is to return to this j the world in May or June next. !d i • a vlsl .t to liis mother in Liege, [ Belgnim, M. Gerardy went to America, i and a Boston paper, records the opening ot the twenty-first year of the celebrated boston Symphony Concerts, with Jean Gerardy as the star soloist in Beethoven’s Seventh Symphony. The Boston critic writes thus —“Jean Gerardy, the young Belgian ’cellist, is always welcome here. When he first came to this city, several years ago, a youth in knee breeches, he displayed remarkable abilities as a ’cellist, and since then, in company with Ysaye and Marteau, he showed that with maturity came a further development of his great gifts. Yesterday it seemed as if he were a greater artist than ever before; as if he had subdued a youthful enthusiasm, which sometimes caused him to force his tones, and had gained the poise and self-com-mand of a finished artist, with his emotions under admirable control.” * * * .

The death is announced of Madame Patey s husband, Mr John G. Patey, who visited New Zealand with his wife about twelve years ago. Mr Patey was at one time widely known in England as an oratorio and concert room singer, but when he sang at his wife’s concerts in New Zealand it was seen that his voice was worn, though his dramatic style w r as very effective. Ho accompanied Mac.anie Patey from this part of the world to Japan, and thence returned to Eng‘and ’ ‘where tho great contralto died suddenly a few years later. In expectation of Madame Patey’s retirement, they liad acquired a beautiful property at Falmouth, and it was on this estate that Mr Patey died last month.