MUSICIANS AND COMPOSERS.

Otago Witness, Issue 2805, 18 December 1907, Page 77

MUSICIANS AND COMPOSERS.

«»> — Kubelik," the famous violinist', is ever jready to help in the cause of charity, and whenever possible wtft.dend his services to aid a good cause. Perhaps the most* gene rouß'acf he ever performed was when he ifcave Franz yon Vec3ey, the prodigy, a Guarnerius violin^ for which Kubelik had paid £2COO. Fradz was paying Kubelik a visit, and was permited to , play .on the instrument. Kubelik was astounded at the boy's marvellous playing, and when he .had i 'finished took the nrjodigy's breath away; : by presenting him with the violin. Kubelik , himself uses a "Strad." 1 ■ —It is 1 interesting to note that Mr John ■■M'tjorma'ck, the" 'young Irish .axiist who &uclift ojeDufas r Tun^<fu*in "Cavaller'ia Rusticana," m the > youpgeet tenor who has ever appeared in. Italian opera 1 on the historic boards ,of Co.vent '< Qarderi.'-'Mr IM.'Corjhack,/ KjiQ.is jii3L,23 yeap(*of^ag4» jfy*eiv«d ,nfo .fr,ai,ningr m music • until' about two. years ago. ' A benefit concert.' given in " Dublin helped lum to go I to Milafi7 T where the ''6eau^ifaL|qua'J'ty, li pf j his voice was recogniseg t pp^^igrior* SaJ?a- ! tini, one of the -best known of Italian ' teachers. ' Since -then he has made threat ; progress, both at. Home and abroad. In j Italy the young Irishman* sang 'with great ; success in opera last year, appearing at \ Savona in - "L*Amico Fritz" -and .."La ' Cabrera."- and also at Santa Creep del Arno. which, though a tiny place, has a famous ' Teatrbs "Verdi% and a very, critical i audience. Nearer home Mr M'Cormack has I appeared in opera at Dublin and at thp. I Ballad Concerts in London, and it is said i that ho has engagements now for three t Years'' ahead. '" " MRS ALICIA ADELAIDE NEEDFAM. i The following passage in the life of Mrs Needham, the • well-known sone-writer, appears in a late nuntber of P.T.O. : — It was | originally my intention to be a pianist, as from mv earliest childish days I could always play and extemporise. I could always, too, read any music at sight without trouble, so I was 'much in demand for all the village concerts round about our home in Ireland, and a very important little nerson I considered myself to be then. As far as I can remember. I think my .first- sue- , cess was at a little village concert in Stringford. The rumour went round that Lord de. Bos was to be present, and I determined to astonish everybody, inclmlins him. but when I cot up for my littlo tinkling Bo!qs. alas { . I . Wiook. all over.- My knees trembled so much that I had to .glim them . lightly: to the piano to steady myself :- then ' the pinno shook, and -the -little cmxv- nlatfonr> shook, so that altogether I thought I ! should, never, , get down- alivp ! ,• My mind aft^r.*«rds wan a:W*nk.a».to bow* l, played, but- I theard< on all «jdes:'*l"a*"ih.-)W«iij *• tremendous succets, ami tb" jaunting-car ! which bore mp seven miles home after the t^np^rt cacried ■«. very tttfowd* ' tired little girl. Lord de Ro»- remained;' «ver afterward» a very k»'n^ friend until his universallv r lamented death * short time ago. Many times aftanwaidx did* I feej .nervous; on a public platform. but npver ««*. much as on that first terrible, occasion. r — An Irish Xullaby. — J Before I got married/ though I often wrote songs galore to my heart's content. I never, in mv wildest dreams, imagined that they would ever see the light, or that - any people in their senses wou'd warifc" to sing them. Alft,elr*l was married, my hus- j band. Dr Needh'atn, seized eight or nine of the «ong« he 'liked best and- published them himself, to that I nhou'd not 'he bothered in looking for a publisher, and "the very first one published was my first sutfccse^ and a great one. This was "An Irish lullaby" (O, to and fro on my bosom of love), ' and I hav^t been glad to know that it ie sung all over the world. With regard to tKe words of the "Irish lullaby." j I had a great deal of difficulty. I wrote I the song to words by Mr Alfred Perceval i Graves, whom I did not then know. When the song was ready for publication I wrote to ask him for permission, but he informed nve that it wa a impossible for mo to have them, as Mr (now Sir) Villiers Stanford had set them. He introduced me, however.

i to a friend who, he said, would write on > similar lines for me, and it was in thi< tjv way I got to know the clever Irish author, f Francis A." Fahy, who turned out to be ' living in the -next street, and" was. indeed, \ a patient of my husband's, Afterwalds, s. Mr . Fahy -.jK'stro.te many a somj?;toI getter, including famous "Hupheto," P. "Tife Don<*va'nV^." l .*lS»t Queen of Cogne■^.mara," etc/-- /• _ti "**.■£.. " :* i - v — The^Coroiiation March.-*-- • \s 5 " -Man;? that I was the f oStu« ■ naSijwinne* -of the'.£lOO priaa for tb^e {jest * march song in " honour of the -QoßCjßStfon, > f 1902, -* nd. I like to think of .thOhjflHng •" Coronation Concert at, the- Albert 'Still, •"when |h"e .massed inilitAfy ,t>andß*3tyhder *the •^ direction -of -Sir ' Frederick* Bridge, * placed 'y my prize song, which was «un& by theVoOO > voices of the Royal Choral So^ety. - It was '.r just . before ?the King's 'illrie»s, iafld every- ; body, including myself, : %a«' in ~$ feveVfceat *\ off excitement. ' As, I wrote "The Sevehrh at. lightning-. speed; T may *atHhe* ShelbourW Hotel,' Dublin, for a weekly itlf my friend Mrs E. J. Hardy £ (the ,Wife of the author of "How to be Happy though Married" and many well- » known books), having just arrived from - the opening of the Cork Exhibition, where , six of my Irish songs had been sung at the opening concert. ' There had been a great deal of correspon- •- dence in the Morning Post in connection with, the £100 price offered by the Earl of Mar's Committee for the best march < sonor in honour of the Coronation. I was so busy in Ireland that I had not taken much notice of it or of the excitement created in the musical world by the offer, which induced more than 300 British comoosera to , comoete. Four days before the - last -day of entry a musical friend who was examining in Dublin, and also staying at the ' hote l , was sneaking of the competition,, '-and said. "I want you to hear the march song which lam sending, in." He \ was amazed when I told him that I had not arranged to send in r song, and . he urged me to do so f»von at thp list moment. I mu«t say I felt rather out of it. but I said. "There is -no time to do anything now." t TWs hapopned oh the Sunday evening, and the following, Thursday was the last day of entry. TA Soldier's,. Song Wanted.— . "MaJte '*& shot for it ..«,nd send some- , thjng,'' said ray friend., after I had heard j his eonir and wished him good 'luck, and before I went to bed I resolved to wire as I early as possible t.b«> next morning for some words which I" felt were the right ones for_ the occasion. It happened that, some ' time before Tx>rd <•!<» R^s, knowing of m* love for writing »lHiw«' sonars/ had->asked nu> to write nne for his Soldiers' .Daughter** School, and Mr HaroH Beebie, who(«e work -T : adrr&re -jrreatlv. had, written some word* for me. Somehow they had not. seemed annropriate for the girls, so I had returned them:, ( « ' — At. Lightning Speed. — I*> , occurred to me now • that they wert ni3t .ffhaf; I wanted, but the only thing I could remember about, thorn were the wqrds/'with a.hey-fal-de-ral." On Monday irorning T wired to Harold Begbie. "Sohd • me hev-fal-de-ral." nnd then tried to possess hit soul in pati»r>cA As it happened, no rrtjt** ca-yne til l Wednesday morning, •fbV'-Mr Begbi«» had been away from home, nnd Mrs Bfebie bad be<m entirely pusiled ; but. when T received the words I was de•Hght«d> and found thorn most excitina-. At. breakfast met Doctor — ■ — . who naked -wheth«»* I had fin»«*>ed the sone. "No,"' I replipd. - showing ,nim the words, "but I am go ; ne; to write it now and taCe my — Cake-ba.king Helps Song-making. — The hotel was full, as a great bazaar wa» goirtg and there was no possibility ol eettine a quiet place or a decent piano: So T therefor** went- to the mana^rpr ji*»d jtskn^ him to find me a quiet «Dot. He said. **tf . you will go to my hou 11 *. ray wife rs lakinc c/fkei». and s«he will b" dpl'o-htid t^^'xpe you." T «piTed n nencil and some mue.ic paoer. hailed a iaunting car. and <vtent to the house. te'Hne: the carman to return for me in ati hour. — Mv Astonishing Success.— • i When ' he came back I was waiting on the «*eps with +hp sonc fjnishpd. so I hurried home to the hotel, copied it in ink. and s»»nt it off to London hf the afternoon cost in ordpr that it would arrive by the first ,post t.h« foflowin«" rooming (last day of entry). Then I nut the matter out of mv head. Tor I felt sure that I had no chanre, oven of thp third prize. You can imaarin«» tiv unboun^^d JM»toni«J>mpnt. about a fortnight afterwards, when I had returned homo and- was -called downstairs late at i niorht to heat from. th« necrptarv that I was the winner x>f thp first prize, and that i four well-known musicians were to share I th<» j>eeond and third pH«>s one of them bejng mv friend of the, Dublin hotel, who had persuaded me to go in!