WORLD OF MUSIC

Southland Times, Issue 19457, 22 January 1925, Page 8

WORLD OF MUSIC

AT HOME AND ABROAD.

(By

“Andante.”)

Cable advice has been received that the brilliant soprano Ethel Osborn will make a farewell tour of the Dominion commencing in the early part of March. Last year when Osborn visited New Zealand her engagements did not permit of her visiting the South Island, and this was a source of regret to many who wished to hear her. Acting on the advice of Dame Nellie Melba she is now about to visit Europe. Dame Melba said: “It is the most wonderful voice 1 have heard for years. . . .” The itinerary oi the New Zealand tour will include a visit to Invercargill, and the musical public will look forward to hearing a voice the range of which has not been equalled for over a century and a half. Extending to the B flat in altissimo the voice is remarkable for its purity and flexibility and with this is combined a most pleasing personality. Mr Roland Foster, of the State Consorvatorium of Music, Sydney, has been responsible for her training and she is one of a brilliant coterie of singers that have come from this studio, including many well known in New Zealand, such as Miss Essie Ackland, contralto who toured with .Jean Gerardy, Rosa Alba and Gladys Verona, both of whom have made big names in England. What a wonderful year for music-lovers 1925 is going to be! Fritz Kreisler, world's undoubted best violinist; Galli-Curci, the reigning queen of song; Pavlova, the greatest dancer, with her Russian ballets; Paul Althou.se and Arthur Middleton, in a return visit; and now Chaliapin! It has already been announced by Mr J. H. Tait that the famous Italian soprano, Signora Galli-Curci, will give six or eight concerts in New Zealand about the middle of the year. According to tentative arrangements so far completed, the brilliant singer will be in Auckland during the week commencing Thursday, July 2, and pending a settlement of the actual dates on which concerts are to be given, an option has been secured over the whole of that week at the Town Hall on behalf of Messrs J. and N. Tait. On July 9, 11, and 14, Galli-Curci is booked to give concerts at Wellington. ♦ Kreisler chose three familiar works — Handel’s Sonata in A major, the Max Bruch Concerto in G minor, and the Bach ?uite in E major—as the principal items for his recital at the Albert Hall yesterday, wrote a correspondent from London on December 5. His playing was as completely satisfying as ever. The lovely adagio movement in the concerto was given with glorious warmth of tone and perfection of phrasing that roused intense enthusiasm. In a group of minor pieces, which Kreisler plays with unrivalled effectiveness, he included an arrangement of his own of the Londonderry Air, bringing out rhe haunting sadness of the melody with exquisite effect. There were repeated encores, 'and in this respect Kreisler was almost too generous, for towards the close he was obviously tiring. Mr Charlton Keith’s accompaniments were entirely adequate. Mme. Galli-Curci sang again to a huge audience at the Albert Hall on Saturday ( afternoon, wrote a London correspondent j on December 2. The programme was a varied one. It ranged from Donaudy to Debussy, from Liszt to Liza Lehmann, and from Schumann to Samuels, and was, in fact, more of a song recital than a display of vocal “fireworks.” Almost the only items to come under the latter description were “Qui la voce” (from Bellini’s “Puritani”), a most brilliant and exquisite piece of singing, and the familiar Vocal Waltz from Gounod’s “Romeo and Juliet.” Old airs by Donaudy and Paradies were most charmingly given, as were also Debussy’s “Romance” and Schumann’s “Du bist wie eine Blume.” Mme. Galli-Curci sang several songs in English—a dainty ditty, “When Chloris Sleeps,” by her husband, Mr Homer Samuels, who accompanied during the afternoon; an equally charming one, “Spring dropped a Song,” by Fenner; and Liszt’s “0, in my dreams.” In connection with Dame Nellie Melba’s farewell to the stage, much regret is expressed among Australian artists in London. Miss Evelyn Scotney, the Australian singer, said: “The loss sustained by Australia from the dame’s retirement will be irreparable. She is the brightest star in the Southern Cross, and hers is still the greatest voice in the world. When a student I heard Madame Patti singing on her 50th anniversary as a prim a donna, and it was wonderful; so why should Melba retire? Her singing of ‘ Voi Che Sapete’ is as valuable to a musical student as seeing Corot paint would be to an art student.”

Toti Dai-Monte, the brilliant soprano who appeared with the Melba Grand Opera Company in Australia, is reported to have made a successful debut in America, causing a popular sensation as Lucia. Critics generally declare that she challenges comparison with the greatest living coloraturas. The Chicago Tribune’s critic writes: “Despite memories of Melba, Tetrazzini and Galli-Curci, I recall no mad scene like DalMonte’s. She neither sought to divert attention by acting insane nor endeavoured to dazzle vocally, but her contrasts, timing, phrasing, and control were superb. Dai-Monte is to appear in New York for the winter season.”

“The Etude” recently appointed a “world court” of 26 musicians, who were asked to name the greatest ten masterpieces of music. Among the judges was Percy Grainger, Leopold Auer, John Alden Carpenter (the American composer), Vincent d’lndy, Galli-Curci, Mark Hamburg, Josef Hofmann, Edwin Lemae Moskowski, Pussini and Seigfried Wagner. On the works chosen votes were cast as follows: “The Meistersingers,” 14; B Minor Mass,” 10; Beethoven’s fifth symphony, 9; “Tristan,” 9; Beethoven’s ninth symphony, 7; “Carmen,” 7; “Pathetique,” symphony, 5; “Don Giovanni,” 4; Brahm’s first symphony, 4 ; Mendelssohn’s violin concerto, 4 ; Schumann’s piano concerto, 4;, “L’Apresmidi d’un Faune,” 4; Sonata opus 111. (Beethoven), 4; Chopin’s B flat Minor Sonata, 4; Beethoven’s seventh symphony, 4; St. Matthew Passion, 4; “Unfinished” symphony, 4; “Erl King,” 4; “Parsifal,” 4. The high place accorded by distinguished musicians to “Carmen” is perhaps the feature of the voting. The rating of the composers was as follows:—Beethoven 36, Wagner 33, Bach 24, Mozart 14, Brahms 14, Schubert 13, Chopin 12, Schumann 12, Mendelssohn 8, Tschaikowsky 8, Debussy 7, Bizet 7, Franck 7.

Miss Joan Muirella gave her first recital in London on October 8 at the Wigmore Hall, and there was a good audience, who signified their appreciation of the young New Zealand artist by beautiful floral offerings, mostly of chrysanthemums, now at the height of their autumnal glory. Miss Muirella (says a correspondent) has a pleasing voice, with perhaps not just as much warmth as one would like. For the rest, her rendition was workmanlike and thoroughly competent. Not many London dailies pay attention to debutante singers, but the Daily Telegraph says some thing which may well be taken to heart by aspirants, not only to the concert platform, but also to the stage. “In writing of singers,” says the critic, “it is always needful to be outspoken. So many voices have gone the way of all weak flesh for want of timely warning. Miss Joan Muirella, who sang at Wigmore Hall last night, held out such good promise that she invites frankness, especially on one point. It seemed that she was labouring under the yoke of the word ‘contralto.’ If only she could forget that designation and the responsibility it carries she would sing more freely and natnrallv. For, unfortunately, the contralto-

type carries with it a tradition —a bad tradition. It is inseparably associated with gloom and melancholy, without end and without cause, and, worse, exaggerated and perverted vowel-sounds. Miss Muirella broke with neither of these customs, and in the case of the second she was constantly open to criticism. Her habit was to transform all the ‘oh’ sounds to ‘aw,’ the short ‘a’s’ to short ‘o’s’ (’offlicting’ instead of ‘afflicting’), and to deprive the dipthong sounds of their ending (so that ‘thine’ became ‘thahti’). All this was the greater pity, in that Miss Muirella has a full and resonant tone and a strong uplift in her voice, which, incidentally, is nearer mezzo-soprano than contralto.” The visit of Madame Ethel Sagasser will prove exceptionally interesting to students of singing. Her programmes will be full of interest, her operatic numbers being chosen from the works of many well-known composers. Madame Sagasser says that she believes that success can only be attained as a singer by hard work, and she strongly emphasises the importance of a sound scholastic education. Her recent tour of Australia has been remarkably successful, the critics expressing the opinion that the distinguished visitor occupies a prominent place among the world’s important singers. Madame Sagasser is a Norwegian by extraction and retained her own name on entering her professional career. The name Sagasser is early Norse for a “singer of sagas,” so the Sagasser vocal talent must have been bom a few generations back. BOY OF FOUR. PLAYS GRAND OPERA. A four-year-old boy who plays grand opera by ear has been found by Dr Vaughan Thomas, a Swansea musician. His name is Herbert Graham Whitbread, of Clydach Vale, and although he does not know a note of music he improvises in wonderful fashion upon the piano. Dr Vaughan Thomas told a Daily Chronicle representative that Whitbread was first brought to his notice some months ago, when lecturing at Tonypandy. “His uncle asked me to hear him play. To my astonishment the lad was able to reproduce very creditably the broad features of the orchestral items that had been performed the previous night. “I also heard him play one of my o.wn pieces from memory, an item of Welsh drama music. He gave a good reproduction of the chordal progressions and chief features of the works. “Whitbread was then only four years old,” continued the doctor, “and to me he is unique.” The infant prodigy plays the piano for school. Dr Thomas said the child’s relatives informed him that Hubert often heard wonderful music when lying in bed. “His work shows remarkable sense of harmony and rhythm,” added Dr Thomas, “and when he plays my works from memory he does it sufficiently well to warrant me saying that such distinctive talent should be followed up.” Hubert’s father is associated with the colliery community in which he works. Dr Thomas recalled that Mozart wrote concertos when six years old. ART SONGS. MODERN BRITISH WORKS. In the State Conservatorium Hall, Sydney, during a lecture recital on “Modern British Art Songs and their Interpretation,” referring to a recent announcement by a leading London music publisher to the effect that the only policy is to issue songs which one thinks really good, without considering whether they are likely to be popular or not, Mr Roland Foster struck a note of congratulation on this expression, “because,” said he, “our choice of songs is largely conditioneel by those brought before us.” “There are many fine, high-class songs which have all the elements of popularity, but are hardly ever heard because they are not advertised or pushed forward, and are known only to a select few, while things like * A Bowl of Roses’ and ‘Mingle your Eyebrows with Mine, Love’ are circulating everywhere,” he added. “I called the publisher’s attitude ‘altruistic,’ but, perhaps, it is not so self-sacrificing as might appear. It is, therefore, a most encouraging sign that songs of genuine musical quality are coming forward in increasing numbers, and the standard is steadily advancing to a higher level. SCHUBERT’S WORKS. “Schubert became at once the originator and the perfector of a modern art song, which has a pianoforte parts as eloquent and important as the vocal melody itself. He had also an unprecedented faculty for modulation, and showed that nothing more deeply stirred the -emotions of educated i music-lovers than an unexpected yet appropriate change of key. Frequent modulation is an essential element in modern compositions. “Schubert set the example by taking his texts from the works of Goethe, Schiller, Heine, Shakespeare, Scott, and other genuine poets, who gave voice to the finer shades of thought and’emotion. “Schumann, Brahms, Franz, Greig, Tschaikovsky, Liszt, Saint Saens, Debussy, have given us an art in which music and poetry interpenetrate so completely that the poetic line and the melodious phrases are mutually dependent and inseparable. In this union the poetry becomes the motive power driving the course of the composer’s invention. His purpose is not merely to produce something that is melodious and pleasing, to the ear, but to fashion such a setting for the poetic inspiration that the most subtle refinements of style and expression shall find the counterpart in a musical chord or phrase. “Now, in the best songs of to-day, the example set by Schumann, Schubert, Brahms and the others of their time is closely followed. YESTERDAY AND TO-DAY.

There is no falling-off in the production of popular ballads, and those of to-day will compare favourably with any of th? pari, but, whereas the leading singers of forty years ago had to go to foreign composers, for songs of a genuinely artistic description, those of to-day find ample choice among the works of their own countrymen.”