MUSICIANS AND COMPOSERS.

Otago Witness, Volume 14, Issue 2648, 14 December 1904, Page 77

MUSICIANS AND COMPOSERS.

— There is one living lady "doctor of music" who has won the degree purely by ability, and by passing the usual examinations of >ne of our chief universities. lms is Miss Annie Patterson, of Dublin University The learned lady can claim to have the present Queen of England as her fellow in the degree ; but, of course, the royal lady s doctorate was an honorary distinction, conferred during a visit some years ago to Dublin. — A new Schubert story has been told by Franz Lachner, who, calling one day upon the composer, found him in despair. No idea would come to him; the spring of his invention had unwound itself, and the wheels had stopped. "Ah, well," said Schubert, "lei us drink some coffee." Berries were put into the domestic mill, and the owner was grinding them, when he suddenly cried, "I have it !" flung the mill aside, and rushed to the piano. "How lucky to own such a mill!" he went on; "it's 'rarara' inspires one; it transports rat into the world of fantasy ! That which my brain seeks for whole days my little machine often gives me in a minute !"

—Mr George Grossmith has been telling an interviewer how he writes his songs. Ho never sits down deliberately to write anything. "Ideas come to me," he said, "at all sorts of odd moments, and at 'very inconvenient times occasionally, as they must be jotted down at Once, or they are likely to be lost altogether. I wrote 'He was a careful man' in a. railway carriage travelling to Deal, and composed the music on the backs of envelopes on the return journey. The idea of 'The muddle-puddle porter' was suggested to me while waiting for an hour at Bishopstoke station and hearing an old porter continually calling otit the- same monotonous string of stations." Sometimes a song takes Mr Grossmith a, fortnight to write, sometimes a couple of hours. He composed no fewer than seven tunes for "See me dance the polka" before he could get one to satisfy him.

HANS YON BULOW. In his "Personal Recollections" Sutherland Edwards tells some good stories of this eccentric and famous composer: — The first time I met Hans' yon Bulow he was listening to a story told by Joachim of a very vain singer who, having given a concert at an inferior hall, and being asked why he had not taken the best in the place, replied that the hall at which ho had appeared became the best from the fact of his appearing in it.

"How different," said Bulow, "from a man I used to know; the most modest person, without exception, that I was ever acquainted with. He was travelling 1 one day in a first-class carriage, when the ticket-collec-tor pointed out to him that he had only a third-class ticket. "The carriage becomes third-class," replied my friend, "from the fact of my travelling in it."

Bulow was probably in one of his bad moods when, finding that a testimonial was being got up in honour of a very popular musician, he entered his name on the subscription list in the following 1 terms : —

"To Sir Julius Benedict from Hans yon Bulow ; Sixpence."

Besides being an admirable pianist, Hans yon Bulow was a remarkably fine conductor. He directed for some time the Glasgow winte-r concerts, and while doing so mads hinself remarkable by his satirical atiacflcs upon Mr Aucpast Manns, of the Ox-ystal Palace, who had somehow offended him, ,or with whom, in any case, ho had taken offence. Once, after announcing for production a new work, which he afterwards found was about to be given at the Crystal Palace, lie suddenly withdrew it, saying that at the first rehearsal he had found it "unworthy of being presented to an intelligent audience." Often disagreeable (chiefly as the resiUt

of terrible headaches), Hans yon Bulow could, with those he loved, be most charming. For a certain intimate friend with whom ho habitually stayed when he was at Glasgow he was ready to do anything; and to oblige him he consented one day to accompany him to a large and formal dinner party — a kind of entertainment for which he had no taste. No sooner was the dinner at an end than the lady of the house asked Bulow to play.

"I ate so little !'' replied Chopin plaintively on a like occasion.

Bulow, however, went to the piano without a word ; but he only played a very short piece, frowning and scowling the whole time.

"What do you think of my piano?" asked the hostess.

'"Your piano, madam," replied Bulow, still polite, "leaves something to be desired."

"Indeed !" pursued the imprudent lad}'. ''And what ought I to have done to it?" "In the first place, it wants new wires." "It shall have them."

"Then the hammers need new leather."

"They shall have it." "And after that, to the leather must be new hammers."

"Indeed!"

"Ye 3, rnadame, and I should next advise you to open the window and get two strong men to throw your piano into the street and make a bonfire of it !"