MUSIC

New Zealand Mail, Issue 1675, 6 April 1904, Page 47

MUSIC

(BY “G STRING.”)

Miss Lilian Foulis, the youthful violinist who is shortly to visit New Zealand, is receiving favourable notices from the Australian critics. The “Sydney Morning Herald” says that she has a fine tone and accurate executive powers. Her performance of the “Concerto in D” of Vieuxtemps, showed her as lacking at present in artistic individuality and interpretative power, but carefully instructed in the proper reading cf the music, and fitted for a platform career by her accuracy in passages of colossal difficulty, and by the posseusioii also- of a large pure tone. Mr J. C. Williamson, whilst in England, tried to induce Madame Clara Butt to visit the colonies. She cannon do so now, but may come later on. “By far the most beautiful voice I heard : n London,” said Mr to a representative of the Sydney "Herald,” was that of Elizabeth Parkins, an American soprano, 23 years of age, who was singing everywhere, ana ivas quite the. rage. Siie had only left Mine. Marchesi a few mouths, and had made a great stir in Paris. In mid-February she made her debut with the London Philharmonic Society, and six or seven weeks lienee she will sing at Co vent- Garden. Miss Parkins has signed with me for early in 1905 when she will be supported by Miss Margaret Thomas, a welsh contralto with a rich voice. Mr Theodore Mitten, a favourite tenor, and Herr Foldcsley. a ’cellist of note. I passed through New York during the furore created bv the production of Wagner’s “Parsifal” at the Metropolitan Opera House. It was a solemn, artistic function. Also the few performances realised £BOOO profit. Now at is impossible to produce this colossal work in Australia just yet. But I think we ought to be a little ‘in the- movement.’ so 1 have secured a spoken dramatic version prepared by Messrs David Belasco and Fitzgerald Murphy, which will be rendered on a great spectacular scale, with a big orchestra to play a great deal of Wagner’s incidental music. This artistic scheme will be one of considerable magnitude, and will require tlie co-oper-ation of a number of very talented people. lam approaching it- cautiously, and shall refer to the, matter again.” The Richard Strauss Festival, which was originally arrange cl for the summer in London, will not be held until the end of November. At tlie first concert “Helcleiileben” and “Taillefer” will be performed, and at tlie second the composer’s new “Sympiionia JJomestica” will be introduced to Londoners.

In the February number of the “Musical Times” an interesting article appears concerning the Russian composer, Tschaikowsky. The writer shows that Tschaikowsky, tliough, as a rule, very self-critical, was pleased with Iris “Pathetic symphony.” “The best thing 1 ever composed, or ever shall compose,” was liis verdict. After the first performance of the work by the Russian Musical Society on October 28. 1893, his brother found the composer with the score of the symphony before him. Tschaikowsky had agreed to sell it to a Moscow publisher that very day, and could not decide oil a title. He did not wish to designate it merely by a number, and lie had abandoned liis original intention of describing it as a “programme symphony.” “Why programmer 1 ” lie said, “since Ido not intend to expound any meaning p” Modeste Tschaikowsky suggested “tragic” as an appropriate label; but this did not quite please the composer. Just as he was leaving the room the word “pathetic” occurred to M. Modeste. “Bravo, splendid!” exclaimed his brother, and immediately added to the score the name which has now become so familiar in musical circles.

Two child-performers of marvellous powers are reported to be drawing crowded audiences in Vienna at the Grosser Musik-Vercin Saale, an immense concert hall. One of these children is Miecio Hoooszowski, a pupil of Leschetitzsky only 9 years of age, and the other Florizel Von Reuter, a chubby, curlyheaded violinist, of 11. Horszowski, who is described as possessing large dark eyes and a melancholy little face of genius, played at a recent concert Mozart’s “Coronation Concerto," with a cadenza composed by himself. He proved in every way except power wonderfully perfect, and his display of musical feeling in Chopin was astounding.

Interviewed concerning his American impressions, Mr Henry Woo), the English conductor, described the New York Philharmonic as a splendid all-round bond “and! the Boston Symphony Orchestra struck me as being superb in its string players; the first oboist is also l a magnificent player. Bub the American orchestral player is almost invariably a foreigner,- real native American players are very scarce. The Boston Orchestra, far instance, are nearly ail Viennese. I think that in the matter of musical en-

j thusiasm New York p-uts London to tin? blush. Every season over there the symphony concerts are all subscribed for before tlie season commences- —a tiling I which we have never been able to do ! here.” Mr Wood was struck with thel dee-p impressic ! n Elgar has made in | America. “I listened to the rehearsals ! of ‘The Apostle ?,’ which Mr Walter Dam- ! resell is conducting, and they will give j a very fine performance of it. The I American people are longing to see Fli gar, and if he went over there they would literally worship- him.” The band cf the Grenadier Guards is to visit America in August to play at the St. Louis- Exhibition.

Mr Cfi-l'e-ridge-Ta-y 1 or. tlie conn,poser of “Hiawatha,” proposes to- visit America

next- year. This will be li-is first tour in the United States, although lie has had many invitations, especially from Washington, where there is a Cpleridge-Tiaylor Choral Society.

The success of “Parsifal” in New York has been phenomenal. I'ndee-d, it is said that there has been nothing to- equal it

in all the history of opera performances in America-. This, the last of Wagner s music dramas, liis “sacred festival play,” was produced at- the Metropolitan Operahouse, New York, on Christmas Eve :iov the first time outside of the- Wagner Theatre at Beyrouth. Ten thousand persons besieged the doors; 7,000 were admitted; the receipts for the first performance were £4OOO. “Parsifal” was to b-o sung five times this season; it lias filled the great- opera-house ten times, and the receipts for these performances, with those of a matinee near at hand, will be about- £40,000. Of course the prices have been high : but people were very willing to pay them, and many thousands have been turned away. More than half of the £40,000 is profit; for

whilo the east- is excellent —including Terniua, Burgs taller, Van Rooy and Bia-ss—it- is not expensive. Herr Conreid, the new manager, declined this year to pay the extraordinary salaries which certain eminent- tenors, sopranos and bass-os demanded. He lias filled their

places quite acceptably, and they are going abo-ut- o ! n concert tours. Next

I year they will be less exacting. 1 The curtain rises at 5 o’clock in the }-afternoon. From 7 o’clock until a qua-r- ---| ter to 9 there is a recess for dinner, and j then comes the remainder of the opera, j Among very fashionable people there was ian ia,musing discussion as to whether evening dirosis should be iffirn at- the beginning. The appearance of the house at 5 o’clock has shown a difference cf opinion, but the leaders of society, as a rule, have worn afternoon dress at that

hour. During the recess some have don'ned evening dress at their homes or clubs. That interval, however, lias found a majority of the; seat-holders very hungry. Dinner lias been served in the foyer of the opera-house, but the. neighbouring restaurants have profited by the eager* appeals of several thousand persons for food. The hours are 'new and strange. When so many desire to dine at the same time in places unprepared for so great a crowd prices rise rapidly, and waiters’ fees become very large-. Many in the galleries have been accustomed t-o avoid uncertainty by lunching comfortably there upon the contents of baskets brought- from home. To one of the ‘‘Parsifal” performa-nceis 1 500 came from Philadelphia on a special train.