MUSIC

New Zealand Times, Volume XXIX, Issue 6315, 16 September 1907, Page 5

MUSIC

(By "G” STKIXG.) Miss Irene Ainsley, the Xcw Zealand contralto who has been studying further in Paris, has been engaged to support signor Busoni, Mr William Backhaus, and Miss Ella Russell, in different sene* of concerts in the English provinces arranged for those artists. The German Emperor is very fond of military marches, as played by bis bauds. Two years ago it occurred to him that it would be well it some of the of these were arranged for the voice. hVadinuiid Hummel was entrusted with the task, and now Brcitkofl and llartel have issued a collection- of eighteen of these marches in four vemions; (1J tor soldiers chorus; (2) for male choral societies; m for schools: (I) for pianoforte. Appropriate texts have been added, and the volumes are sold at a very low price.

One of the interesting phenomena of the day in America, is the multiplication of orchestras in that country. Minna** polis and St. Paul have now got theirs, -and St. Louis has one with a subscription fund of .£30,00(1. The conductor of this orchestra, it is boasted, will receive the largest salary ever paid anywhere to a conductor. Eight men have bean invited to take turns next season at the helm of this orchestra. They are Walter Roth well, of Vienna, last season s ; con-,, doctor of Henry W. Savage’s orchestra. : for "Madame Butterfly ’; Nathan 1 nmko, last season with the Xew York Metropolis . tan Opera House orchestra; Tictor Wolfgang Schwarz, the Austrian conducta* of Buffalo; Max Zoch. of the , Eosion. Symphony; Emil Oberhonpor, of. Mm-; neapoliß;' 'Emil Paur. of Pittsburgh.;.; Felix Mottl, of, Germany: Herr Van der Stucken, of Cincinnati'; and s, Alfred Ernst, the present conductor of the- Btc Louis' Symphony.

The "prima donna, conductors" becoming almost as ecnsatlve. and cap*; ricious as the prima donnas tli«n»aTCß. A few weeks ago Nikisch conducted a concert in Pails at which the famooa Russian basso Chaliapin© made, a wa* sat ion - with an air from Borodin e "‘‘Prince Igor." The audience fronts oally clapped and shouted "his" and jkv capo, 1 * continuing the uproar even alteff Nikisch had gone to his desk to conduct the last number of the programme., lhas angered him so much that he made a sigh to th© players, and left the nail* followed by thorn. Tho audioneo romainvd for a time, singing and shout, "l-e programme” and. then aiepcrseo. A 1 pharos are now used in Switzerland,' chiefly to gratify the curiosity' of tourvicts and occasionally for signalling poses. In olden times they were a!aß used in church music as accompaniment in choral singing, especially at Adsen* and on Christmas night.’ . . The German Emperor has contributed JHOO to the fund for-the preservation off , tho house in Eiecnach, in which. Bach, was bom. Perruccioi Busoni has accepted th*® place of director of tho Marterschfioj Pianists in Vienna, formerly held by Emil »Sauer. He had also just published a book containing among other things a number of aphorisms on Musical Aesthetics. , ; . ... Madame Melba's present visit to Aus* tralia is in tho nature of a wholly informal holiday entered in for the express , purpose of spend in e a little hmo with., her father and family under conditions of leisure impossible during a profession** al tour. It will be the first real rest she has allowed herself during th© suocoesive seasons of her arduous career. She will not sing in opera or concert under any circumstances whatsoever, and in this resolve relies on the indnlgenoa of th© Australian public. Mndrme - ***- be remembers with keenest gratitude the.* remarkable and—in her opmioc-pall too 'flattering welcome extended to her on, her homecoming in 1902, yet will no .-Jess treasure the compliment of eeclusicn for which she ask s on this occasion. Dunng 1909 it is her hop© to make a profession*" a I tour through Australia and rvov,' land, when, as Hie gorvant of the pubiip she will b© entirely guided by their wants and wishes. , This announcement is made to : Obviate all, poseiblr chanco of difianpointment and to save Madame, Melba from the always ordeal of refusing what her heart would surely urge her to concede. The necessary, fusal of the request© which have already,, reached her, ha© been a matter of ex-, treme regret to the prima donna, vh»}; desire for a quirt holiday in ;her .old home will be readily understood by- tlwr Australian public of .whose generous voonsideration ebe has had such ondmv ing and abundant proof. : ■

The firet of the two annual braes'bah<i ) contests at Belle Vue Gardens, Munchaster, wa.s held on Saturday, July IJth. The great ball was crowded to the doorm Thirty-six bands had entered, and out of these the twenty chosen to compote were:—Hebden Bridge. Parr Temperanoai;: (St. Helens!, Heptonstall, Giimcs-tborpe, Felling Colliery Silver, Dalton -Towm. Palmer’s Works (Jarrow), Botkw Old, Travel! street (Salford) Spencer’s Steel-, ■works (Newcastle!. Wilson (Hill n, ~ PendVlon Old,- Shaw. Kirkbv Ceinei 'T (Notts). Haughton Mam Colliery. v dleton Public. Soapwwtas, Irlam St. John’s, Cross /• tion, and Barrow Shipyard. The teat piece was arranged by Lieutenant Ctmr-< les Godfrey, from ißellinis; om.ra ll Pirata,” and the i «dges Fere a. Shonberd, Liverpool. and_Mr J. U, AtoW r wick, Manchester. The bands played Jn;, 4 the order given above. The , < tion lasted some five bours,_ but -t, wra.9 .; watched—or listened to-jll through »vi the greatest interest. The remit of, judging w-os:—1. Shaw: ». HeW*nJßn 3, Crosfield’s Soapworfcs; *, Pendleton j Old; 5, Palmer's (Jarrow). Nearly all the stare at the recent Cow- t: ent Garden Grand Orora tested their services ‘for the ejmeert ;n aid of the Italian Hospital, which teol iilnco at the O.ueen s Hall on Thursday ■ afternoon, Jnl> Hth. . The ■) consented, to appear luel'idcd Donnlda; ’ Destinn, * Giachetti. &rtbj,! Lunn, Cisneros,: and /eppiln. and .nil. , Caruso. Basel, Scotti, Morcoux, and Sanv-.- j raarco. ■■■■, 1 Signor Alessandro Bonci. who made hit, dehut at Covcnt Garden in _ 190(», -waa ,! specially engaged to sing in the plrformanee of‘“Rigoletto" at Cirrent Gaiden on Saturday. July 13th. This famous tenet had not'up to then sung in London sines the spring of 1905, when he appeared r% tho Waldorf Theatre. Last winter, however he was Signor Caruso’s great nvut in New York, losing a member of Mr Oecar Hammeretein’s Company. They are building a theatre in Vienna to commemorate Johann Strains, it is planned to he ready by October, 1908, when the inaugural performance will consist of Strauss's operetta, Fhedermaus. Tlwre'liave been several musicians in the Strauss family, but the meet famous is Johann Straws, who nas been callwd "the father of the waltz.” He onlv lived to be fortv-five and di-d in IMS. leaving - three* sons, ■ who all became mu£ici.in=. The eldest died in 1839- The second son Josef, vrrote some dance music whicti popular, but be died in eapJy manhood; the third son. Edouard, is well .remembered*in London. ivhere he ed a brilliant orchestra in the Exhibition grounds at South Kensington. A clever cartoon of him conducting' ap- ■ in ''Vanity Fair."