MUSICIANS AND COMPOSERS.

Otago Witness, Issue 2520, 2 July 1902, Page 84

MUSICIANS AND COMPOSERS.

— Signor Luigi Arditi, the famous composer, only obtained £50 for his "II Bacio" waltz. The Paris publisher who secured it cleared 200,000 francs by the transaction, and the copyright wae recently sold for £600.

— The Sultan of Turkey is a musician, and a player of some brilliancy on the piano. The old masters, such as Beethoven, Mozart, Handel, etc., he does not care for, apd devotes his time to accomplishing the intricacies of such works as "La Fille de Madame Angot," "The Mikado,'' and "Madame Favart." —Mr Edward German is in his fortieth year, having been born at Whitehurch, Salop, in 1862. His real name is Edward German Jones, and he may be claimed as of Welsh descent, Whitehurch being on the border of the principality near Shrewsbury. It is noteworthy that three of the most famous light opera composers in London arc Joneses —^namely, Mr Sidney Jones, Mr Edward Jones, and Mr Edward German.

—An English, lady composer, Miss Ethel Smyth, has in rehearsal at the Grand Opera, Berlin, an opera called "The Foreet."' She has already produced an opera named "Fantasio" at Weimar. Miss Smyth has had the good fortune to attract the attention of the Emperor and Count yon Bulow, who have a very high opinion of her musical ability.

— Mendel, the blind pianist, who is now in London, is a native of Fairfield, near Manchester, where he was born 26 years ago. It ib said that when only a year and eight months old he 6aner a sacred song, while at two years and a-half he played a well-known hymn tune. He learned the rudiments of music by the Braille system, and afterwards won a £40-a-year scholarship at the Royal Normal College. He possesses a wonderful faculty for extemporising on any theme, and the most extraordinary powers of reproduction.

— Although Signor Sara^ato plays as a rule regularly in London every season, he will spend this year abroad. He has played in every continent except Australia, has received honours and decorations from most of the countries of the world, and i& a knight of many orders. He is undoubtedly one of the greatest violinists alive, and hag won his place by hard work allied to undoubted genius. Signor Sarasate asserts that Ms extraordinary command over the violin is entirclv duo to the fact that «?ince the age of 12 ho hs^ practispd every rlav at least eight hour*-. He completed his fifty-eighth birthday on April 10

— Miss Ada Cro&sley. the famous einger, who wa* born in Australia, tells an amusing story of her introduction to the delights of music. A travelling chow had ©erne to Port Albert, and with it was a wonderful band, whose music to the little girl was irresistiblo. She mado up her mind to feast to the full on that band, but alas 1 she had no money to enable her to enter tho show. Nothing daunted, she set to work to catch leeches, which she sold to a local chemist, and with the product of her srjoil procured admission. After music, Miss Crossley's crirlisb passion was for horses, and the proudest day of her life was when the driver of the Ftage between Sale and Port Arthur allowed her to drive.

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harderthan M. Paderewski, especially when. ■he is in the mood for composition. After [ completing a composition he will go over it, try it on the piano, will lay it away, and after a while take it up and go over ii f j again. He polishes and retouches everything he composes three or four times, and never lets anything go until it suits him. His beat work is done at his summer home, the Chalet Riondbosson, on Lake Geneva. There he generally goes for four or five months of the year. He will rise at 9 or 10 o'clock, work at composing or at the piano until about 1 o'clock, then take his first meal of the day. Ho will again, work ! until 6 o'clock, and then take a walk in the garden or a swim, for he is a fine swimmer. Then there will bo a dinner at 8 o'clock, and afterwards light amusement. | —It is just 10 years since Mr Alfred Scott Gatty assumed by royal license the additional surname and arms of Scott, the name being that of his mother's family, for his I lather was the Rev. Alfred Gatty, of York. | Since 1866 he has been York Herald of the College of Arms, but before that he was Rouge Dragon Pursuivant of Arms. He has composed hundreds of Eongs, for many of j which he has written the words; and hia i musical plays for children and his volumes lof plantation songs are well known. He was 55 on April 26. —Dr Villiers Stanford commenced composing at the early age of six. When Re was barely seven yeare of age lie had written a march which was performed in a pantomime at a Dublin theatre. Before he had reached his twentieth year he had composed no fewer than three operns. — Years pass lightly. it is said, over Pierro I Mascagni, ihe well-known composer of I "Cavalleria Rusticana." and he still retains I almost the same boyish appearance as when he conducted at Covent Garden, London, some years ago, and society made him the "lion" of the season. Ho began life as a school teacher, being only the son of a baker, and quite obscure until "Cavalleria" and the famous intermezzo brought him world-wide fame. In spite" of a cosmopolitan life, he remains essentially Italian.