MUSIC.

New Zealand Times, Volume LXXI, Issue 4307, 16 March 1901, Page 1 (Supplement)

MUSIC.

NOTES BY G STRING,

Music in Wellington will suffer a distinct loss by the departure of Miss Violet Mount, who is to leave about the middle of May for Auckland, to proceed later' on to Australia. Before leaving Wellington, Miss Mount will give a well concert, and no doubt the people of this city will seize the opportunity to show their appreciation of her artistic talents and of the ready manner in which she has employed them to advance the cause of music. We can ill afford to lose any of our best singers, and Miss Mount is one of these. When she came hero from Australia, she quickly took the position to which her gifts and artistic training entitled her, and it will be difficult to fill her place. ■ Mr Sydney Hohen is evidently not to return to New Zealand, as he has just accepted the position or organist in St. Patrick’s Church, Sydney, where he has been for some time musical conductor. The late organist, Mr Septimus Harte, died a few days ago from injuries to- the spine caused by diving into shallow water at Fanner’s Baths, near Sydney. In order to accustom young musical students to appear in public, Mr Rooert Pari cer proposes to establish pupils’ concerts on the lines of those conducted by the Royal Academy. This is a new departure which ought to prove very welcome.

Mr C. D. Mackintosh and his singers may heartily congratulate themselves on the success of Friday week. All things considered, *the performance of “Judas Maecahaeus” was surprisingly good, and shows that there is plenty of excellent material at hand ready for use even for exacting oratorio. The choir wanted more training, however. Some of the most dramatic effects were lost for want of “grip,” and part of the work told of listlessuess or fatigue. Still all eoueerued did well. The soloists wore generally good. The singing of Miss Birch was insipid, and Mrs Mackintosh’s voice is worn; but Miss Mount, Mr E. J. Hill, and the Rev A. Mitchell did admirably. Mr Mitchell disappointed me, I must admit, in the trying solo “The Lord Worketh Wonders,” for there was a great sense of effort as one listened, but his singing of “Arm, arm. Ye Brave,” was excellent. Mr Mackintosh has received a letter from the secretary to the Wesleyan Conference warmly acknowledging how the members enjoyed the performance. Mrs Howie, who left" for England last week, takes with her the good wishes of hosts of friends throughout Now Zealand. If enthusiasm and excellent natural gifts of voire count for anything, her career in the musical circles of the

Old World ought to be highly successful. Mrs Howie, before embarking at .the Bluff, sent a farewell message to a number of friends in the colony. Miss Julia Moran is to be one of the performers at the St. Patrick’s concert to-night. There has been considerable speculation in musical circles as to the reason for the abandonment of Miss Alice Hollandeir’s concert, announced for M mday night. It appears that the manager left for Sydney via Auckland, explaining by telegram from Auckland that he had been called away on urgent private badness ] but as. so it _is stated, he did not communicate with anybody before he left, to arrange that the details essential in the preparation of a concert might be carried on in his absence, and as there was ao nrae then to do anything in that way, there was nothing to bel done but to aoindun

the proposal altogether. Miss Elsie Hall, of whose merits as a musician New Zealanders had opportunity of judging during her tour of this colony not long since, has been appointed by the Board of Musical Studies of the University of Adelaide as on© of the examiners for the Elder scholarship for pianoforte. The Melbourne . Conservatorium of Music is to begin work at once, as Professor Peterson, Marshall Hall’s successor, arrived from England a few days ago. Applications have been invited lor the positions of teachers in the Conservatorium. It is to be hoped that the recent troubles will not be revived, and that the new professor will find all plain

sailing when no starts work. He is a capable man, level - headed and free from the eccentricies of his predecessor, and ought to do well. Mr Joseph Tapley, who will be remembered in Hew Zealand as one of the Williamson-Miisgrove tenors, and is also remembered, perhaps, as husband of poor little Vioiet Varley, devoted himself for a considerable period to concert and oratorio work in England just be-

fore his present visit to Australia. This included a tour with Miss Irene Varley, a cousin of his late wife. Miss Irene Varley is a pianist who is said to rank amongst the most talented pupils of M. Hambourg, father of Mark arid Jacob; Hambourg who visited Australia three or four years ago. One interesting feature of Mr Tapley 1 s work was the direction of a whole series of operatic scenes piodneed at the, studio of Mr William Parkinson, the . well-known caricaturist and painter. While in Paris Mr Tapley mot M. Piauquette, composer of many operas, and was • introduced to Sara Bernhardt, whofma’cie many vivacious allusions' •to the enthusiasm caused by her Australian tour. Mr Tapley is< completing an engagement as one _of the Mvisgrpve Opera Company, how in Sydney. ,

Music is.progressing in Perth., Already there is the Musical-Union, and now tho members of the choir called together for the local-, Commonwealth celebrations have 1 decided -to form a permanent musical; society. I notice that an old New. Zealander, Mr D’ArcyIrvino, has been 'appointed conductor. The society for its first ' performance has .selected “Elijah.”

. In the course of some' recollections of Sir Arthur Sullivan contributed to the February “Pall Mall Magazine,” Mr George Grossmith writes : —“At one of the band rehearsals of a new opera Sullivan made a complaint to the chorus. He isaid, ‘Ladies and gentlemen, you must watch me. Please look at me.’ The choral part was tried'over and over again. At last Sir Arthur detected an absent-minded lady paying no attention to the beat. She evidently was staring up at the roof, thinking of one who might one day be all to her. Sullivan addressed • her, and said, very kindly, bub humorously, ‘lf you have any personal objection to look at me, I wilLnot press my request, and will only asw you to look at my baton.’ Nobody laughed more than the girl herself.’’ Few musicians have hacU a longer career than M. Jules Riviere, the wellknown conductor, who died recently in his eighty-first year. He commenced as a chorus boy in Paris in the very early days of the century, -and it was not until a few months ago that, compelled by illness, he laid, down for the last time the baton he had wielded with conspicuous success for the past forty years. News from San Francisco reports that Madame Melba is having a triumphal season with Mr Maurice Grau’s remarkable company of singers. The first day’s -sale of season tickets brought a return of £812,800 ! to, the management. ’Madame Melba is regarded as the leading attraction, though De Reszke, Plancon, Nordica, and G-adski are among the stars. It is reported that Mr Grau pays Madame Melba the handsome sum of £350 for each performance. Paderewski’s opera,, upon which he has been at work for years, will be produced in Dresden at an early date. The tenor of the Musgrovc Opera Company now in Adelaide, Signor Salvi, declares that Madame Melba has the best voice in the world, both for quality and purity, and her execution he describes as wonderful. Signor Salvi, who has been singing in opera for ten years, says that Australia is a far hotter country than England for the production of singers, since the climate is admirable for the voice. After reading several other flattering observations of the same kind, communicated to an Adelaide “Register” interviewer, one inevitably concludes that Salvi must have visited Ireland and kissed the blarney stone. He is a merry little Italian, who began singing in Rome many years ago.