Music and Drama

New Zealand Graphic, Volume XLII, Issue 16, 21 April 1909, Page 15

Music and Drama

BOOKINGS. t (Dates Subject to Alteration.) A U C K L A N D— 111 S M A J E ST Y ’ S. This Week to May 1 — Pollard's. May 4 to May 15—Harry Rickards. May 17 to June 5 —J. <’. Williamson. June 7 to June 26— West’s Pictures. Jape 28 to July 3 —Hamilton Dramatic Company. July 5 to July 24—Hamilton Dramatic Company. July 26 to August 7—J. Williamson. August 24 to September 7—Hamilton Dramatic Company. WELDINGTON.—OPERA HOUSE. April 10 to May I—J. C. Williamson. May 3 to 18 —Meynell and Gunn. May 19 to 27 —11. Rickards. May 29 to June 18 —Flemming Company. June 19 to July 24-Allan Hamilton. July 26 to August 13—Pollard Opera Co. August 16 to 28 —G. Musgrove. August 30 to September 12 —J. C. Williamson. September 14 to October I—J. C. Williamson. October 2 to 16—Allan Hamilton. October 2»5 to November 13 —J. C. Williamson. November 15 to December 9—J. C. Williami December 27 to January 16—J. C. Williamson. TOWN HALL. April 7 to 24—West’s Pictures. April 27. 29. May 4—Madame Melba. July 4 to 28 —West's Pictures. PALMERSTON NORTH — MUNICIPAL OPERA HOUSE. April 19 to 21—Maskelyne and Devant’s Mysteries. April 27—Local. April 28, 29—Florence Baines. May 6 and 7—J. C. Williamson. May 10—Madame Melba. May 18—Cinquevalli. May 21 to 26 —Meynell and Gunn's ’*llooll of Holland” Co. August 4, s—Allan5 —Allan Hamilton’s Dramatic Co. ... August 12. 13—J. C. ‘Williamson’s “Jack ami Jill” Co. August 27—Misoha Elman's Concert. ®ept. 20, 2d —J. c. Williamson’s Julius Knight Co. October 6 and 7—J. C. Williamson. Nov. 1 to 6—Hugh Ward's Musical Comedy Co. Nov. 20 to 22—J. C. Williamson. Jan. 17, 18—Carter, the Magician Jan. 20 to 24—J. C. Williamson. Feb. 14, lo—The Scarlet Troubadors. March 28 to 31—Allan Hamilton. May 19, 20—J. C. Williamson. June 8, 9—J. C. Williamson. June 20 to 25— Fred H. Graham's Musical Comedy cd. June 29, 30—J. C. Williamson. July 1, 2—Meynell and Gunn. August 18, 19—J. c. Williamson. Wept. 30—J. C. Williamson. Jletober I—,T. C. Williamson. Nov. 1 to s—Allan5 —Allan Hamilton. Nov. 10, 11—J. C. Williamson. Paderewski s Symphony. PADEREWSKI’S symphony was given its first public presentation some weeks ago. it takes some seventy minutes to play, *n<l most of the American critics agree as to its high character, sincerity, dignity, and technical excellence. Philip Hale, whose position as annotator- of the Boston Symphony orchestra’s programmes gives him opportunity to familiarise himself with new works more thoroughly than is possible to the average critic, writes interestingly of the symphony. He says in the Boston Herald:

“Mr. Paderewski made sketches for it in the summer of 1904, and he completed the three movements last December. It is his purpose to add a scherzo. He wrote one, but was not wholly satisfied with it.

“This symphony consists of a first movement which, we are told, ‘seeks to celebrate Poland’s great heroic past’; an andante, which is an expression of the ‘lyrical character of the composer’s race’; a finale, which is a symphonic poem with a theme that is based on the Polish revolution of 1863-64. The finale might be. played as a work complete in itself. The symphony might bear the title •Poland.’

“Mr, Paderewski’s love of Poland is known to all. To him patriotism is a religion. No one would question for a moment the sincerity of his passionate devotion. No one speaking or thinking of it, wolild call to mind the weak poseur In the bitter novel of Cherbuliez. Tn his evmpirony the first movement, which is rigidly ■ symphonic and without a table of contents, is the strongest of the three,

and to any hearer of imagination who has been told that the music pourtrays tile heroic past of the composer’s country, this movement is the most imaginative and the one charged with suggestion. In tlie finale, or the symphonic poem, the hearer is told expressly what he should expect to hear: The unrest of those longing for independence, older, heads counselling patience, the summons to war, battle music, a dirge for the fallen, the anticipation of happier years to come, for Poland is not dead. Yet this movement as a whole does not rivet the attention, nor is it so impressive in descriptive detail as is the first movement for which the hearer has no guide book. Sorrow, Chivalry and Splendour. ‘‘The symphony begins with a long introduction, a dangerously long introduction, for the sad and sombre mood is maintained at so great length that the character of the main body of the movement seems not to be firmly established for some time. A second hearing of the symphony shows that this apparent lack of proportion is only apparent. It is as though a narrator mourning the loss of national liberty and lamenting with reiterated lamentations the past glories, harping on sorrows the more poignant by reason of the contrast, at last warms -with the thought of the glorious years and tells as a rhapsodist a tale of chivalry and splendour. This tale is interrupted by the thought of present woes, but again the narrator finds comfort in the recollection of the proud past. “The introduction, which is of a singularly original nature, establishes a mood which is not equalled in the finale. The themes of the first movement do not have perhaps a striking profile, but the motive that may be reasonably characterised as the theme of chivalry is finely exposed and admirably used in development. In his thematic treatment, as in his conception of form and general structure, Mr. Paderewski may be described as academic, but I do not use this word in its obnoxious sense. While his musical expression is modern, it is not ultra modern. - As far as he ie concerned there has been no harmonic advance since Wagner. “Observe, too l , hmv scrupulous Mr. Paderewski is in the matter of development. There are pages where his anxiety to develop in every way a theme, to exhaust its possibilities, leads him to repetitions that have little or no significance. Fragments of themes are used until they annoy or weary. In one or two instances a fine effect is thus frittered awr y. But this first movement as a whole > npresses by its solid structure, the nobs !.y of the general design, the. high pur: ,se that animates and vitalises. The ornamentation is solid rather than designedly brilliant. The instrumentation is net always fortunate. There is a passage at the beginning of the main body of the movement for double basses and ’cello that does not come uot, and tills is true of a few other passages later in the work, as in a curious use of muted violins, where what should be a faint but dismal cry is almost inaudible. “The finale is' descriptive in its nature. It begins with a restlessness that is full of bodemeat; musie of agitation and revolt. This section is more successfully imagined than that which poiirtrays the actual conflict. The battle musie is conventional, but after the heroes have fallen and their cause is lost the composer rises to a tragic height in mourning their lot. Here he is simple and eloquent. The funeral march that follows has not the same intensity. The close is in the manner of an apotheosis with the reappearance of the chivalric motive. The interest of the finale is not always maintained. The movement is laid out on a great scale, and the detail is at times verbose and uninteresting. These disturbing passages could be easily cut out. There would then be an impression oi more logical continuity and the many fine passages would stand out in bolder relief. “It may bo added for the sake of tho

record that in the finale Mr. Paderewski uses, or rather hints at, a national song, the burden of which is ‘Poland is not dead.’ He employe in hi 4 orchestra three aarrusophones and an instrument of hia

own invention, the ’tonitruone,’ which is modelled after the thunder machine of the theatre.’’ Caruso to Rest. Caruso, the famous Italian tenor, is suffering from atony of the vocal chords, and specialists advise two years’ rest. A Great Tone Poet—Richard Strauss. Dr. Richard Strauss, whose new opera, “EJeetra’’ was produced recently in Dresden, is probably the most remarkable personality among living musicians. He is certainly the most criticised: but it says much for his genius that, even those who consider him an iconoclast are bound to admit the originality of his work. It is interesting to note that concerning his latest opera he has said: "People wondered at ’ Salome,’ they made fun of it, scorned it, then they accepted it. They will wonder still more at my ‘ Electra.’ They will scoff still more, but they will end by accepting it.’’ Like many other famous composers, Strauss started as an “infant prodigy,” for he was only six years old when he first began to compose, ami at sixteen he was 'beginning to be quite a “lion.” At the present time, he is said to bo the richest composer in Europe, the rights of on? of his works alone having been sold for nearly £2OOO. and he never conducts an orchestra for less than £ 100 a performance. Indeed, although he is an idealist in music, he is very practical and shrewd in business matters, and he does not fritter his money away, as is the habit with so many men of genius. How He Composes. Dr. Strauss’ method of composing his music differs greatly from that of most musicians. His best ideas come to him not when he is alone, but when he is in a room full of people and during the hum of conversation. Suddenly he will leave the chatting throng, and retiring into a corner of the apartment, he will take out his notebook and jot down some imperishable theme, returning shortly afterwards to his friends, and resuming the talk as though such a thing as music never existed in the world. A great deal of his work, too, is done while he is out walking in the woods, and also when he is travelling by train, or seated enjoying a meal in a restaurant. Beyond his music, his pursuits are few, probably his favourite way of spending the time being in card-playing, and in leading the “simple life” in his beautiful villa in the Bavarian Alps. Mistaken Identity. Dr. Strauss has often been mistaken for Eduard Strauss, the popular waltz writer, and he himself tells an amusing story of having sat in the audience during the performance of one of his own most difficult and characteristic works, and listened to the outspoken criticism of a “provincial” sitting near to him, who expressed his sorrow that Strauss, who had composed so many pretty waltzes, should condescend to produce such extraordinary music. On another occasion a lady sent a charming little note on to the concert platform, asking for one of his pretty waltzes as an encore, and one of the first things that happened to him on landing in America was being buttonholed by an enterprising reporter and asked if he had brought any new waltzes along with him! This, to the man who has composed “Salome,” “Don Quixote,” and the -‘‘Domestic Symphony,” must "have seemed galling indeed. What the Kaiser Said. Dr. Strauss has told an amusing story about a remark that was made about him by the Kaiser. The composer was one of the judges at a singing competition, and the Emperor was present. After one of the items, the Kaiser pointed to Strauss, and sard jokingly to a companion: “Do you see that one? He. is a terribly modern fellow; he' is a serpent whom I have warmed in my bosom.” “Of course,” said Dr. Strauss, when lie told the story, “everybody near the Emperor, burst out laughing, and 1 laughed most of all. But the Emperor returned to the subject, and pleaded for simple, compositions, and. thinking to profit by his words, I wrote what I imagined to be a very popular part-song for a male choir. But 1 was mistaken; the composition was found-to be complicated, and 1 'was thankful that the Emperor had not eome to listen to it. For. agninst my will, 1 T had turned from a serpent into a dragon!’’

“My Worries With Grand Opera.* Hip writer <»f the following racy “confessions, Mr. Oscar Hammerstein, perhaps the most famous impre&sario in the world, is the director of the Manhattan Oprra House, New York, which he built unaided at a cost of £300,000. His expenses throughout the reason are £9OOO a week. He engages the greatest singers in the world, and these are the >torie> he tells concerning some of them: — The eminent writer who said that genius was an infinite capacity for taking pains knew nothing of the trials of a grand-opera director. Otherwise he would have changed his phrase to make it read that genius, •orchestra to a chronic bad temper, the expression in some grand-opera stars, is merely an infinite capacity for causing pains. Wherever the director turns in grand grand opera from a fahse note in the roche«tra to a chronic bad temper, the star lays it on the artistic temperament, and expects that long-suffering, overworked Thing tu ex plain and atone for the shortcoming. Wherver the director turns in grand opera he is sure to find among the stare a feeling or belief that there is a conspiracy afoot to undermine or underrate the singer in some. way. Thus, a great part of the singer’s life spent in trying to ward off fancied dangers that might injure this precious asset. Here is a case in point. Not long ago 1 asked one of my greatest artistes, who is absolutely assured ol her position in New York and elsewhere, to sing the coloratura in “The Huguenots.” It was a very part, . but she would have given it distinction, and it was my intention to feature her in the production. When I suggested it to her she became indignant. She said. “1 cannot sing a small pari like that.” One interesting feature is that I offered to pay her just as much for singing those seven minutes as if she had been to sing for four houre. She could not see it that way. The danger, as she saw it. was not to her vocal chords, but to her reputation. . A short time after this incident I assigned a well-known Italian singer .to the part of the friar in “Toaca.” At the first rehearsal 1 saw at once that his voice was not big enough, so I put in someone else. The Italian who was* superseded walked from the stage in tears, and stood in the wings blubbering like an infant. He moaned, “My career is ruined.” The Suspicious Singer. When a singer appears before an audience or a very unresponsive audience she at once concludes that her failure is due to a conspiracy between the director and the public, quite forgetting the fact that her success means the director's success. Not. content with having an artistic temperament so sensitive that an imaginary breath will ruffle it, the grand opera .-tar adds to it a most extraordinary superstition. It finds expression in astonishing ways. One, for example, will not go on for a performance until she has dropped a dagger into the floor three times. If it sticks each time it is a good omen, and she feels that she will sing well and have big success. If not, it disturbs her during the whole opera. Another will not go on the stage until 1 have given her a quarter (Is.). She fairies it during the performance. I might add that she saves the quarters. Some opera stars knock on the scenery before going on. Others stamp on the floor three times. A curious 'superstition among them n lutes to the colour of green. Many grand-opera stars avoid this colour as if it were poison. They won’t wear green costumes, and they detest operas with green rooms or palaces. Some foreign ari.stes will haggle over having to pay a dollar and u half for a piano score. Sometimes the foreign star never forgets her origin, as in the cjtoe of one pr.nia donna who -ang with .ne lavt season. Iler father had ff Le< n a secondly nd tailor, and the atmosphere of his shop -ocnird to cling to her with peculiar 1 cnacity. Whenever ►•he wanted me to do her a favour she talked t * me as her fat-het had talked to a prospective customer. She stroked the lapels of my rubbed down the creases, and every mo ment I expected her to say, “It fits lik< 4hc paper on the wall.”

The Pollards. The Pollards hare been occupying the public attention since they brought “Rip Van Winkle” to Auckland. On Saturday evening a change was instituted, when the operatic extravaganza ‘‘The Isle of Bong Bong” was produced. It is one of those clever mixtures of burlesque and vaudeville, admirably Staged, which the playgoers are never weary of seeing. The “business” of the company, and the whole-souled efforts they put into their work, contributed to a highly successful evening. The centre of the fun was, of course, Mr. Charles Albert, who. as an amiable and weird olj Sultan, was never lacking for a laugh from the house. The company are billed to appear till the Ist May. Word of May Beatty. Miss Alice Pollard, writing from Manchester. says that May Beatty has made the biggest success in pantomime in England this year. Big Loss. Miss Pollard’s Success. Miss Alice Pollard, of Christchurch, has achieved a marked measure of success on the stage at Manchester, where she played second lead with Mr. George Edwanles’ company in the musical Comedy, “The Dollar Princess.” > The New Zealander is likely to appear in the piece when it is produced in London. A Courageous Actress. Miss Mamie Stuart, who has made such * courageous stand against objectionable theatrical performances, and has obtained substantial damages from a wellknown theatrical agency for misrepresenting the nature of an entertainment «t Buenos Ayres, for which they had engaged her is a very pretty girl of the ingenue type, says a Home paper. All women who arc engaged in the same profession will doubtless fee truly grateful to Miss Stuart for holding her own in a situation which might have taxed the courage of a less spirited actress. The lesson will not be lost on those who rash, ly contract foreign engagements without due knowledge of what such contracts may imply. Miscellaneous. Blanche Arial, the prima donna who Visited Australia, and New Zealand, is in America. She sang at the Apollo Club in St. Louis, and won golden opinions. Other cities in the west, such as Cincinnati and Louisville, were also given an opportunity of hearing her. Mrs. Melba is indignant with the “Argus.” The other Saturday it published a series of pictures of past and present stage favourites with their selling price tabbed on them in large figures (says the Sydney “Bulletin”). Melba’s price was given at £l4 per singing minute. Now her manager writes declaring th it Nellie holds ithe world's record, which she put up at Sydney, when she netted a clear £2360 out of half-an-hour’s singing, equal to £7B 13/4 per minute. Madame Clara Butt’s many friends will be glad to learn that she is making so good a recovery that the doctors have authorised her leaving England next week to complete the cure. Her husband, Mr. Kennerley Rumford, will acompany her to Cannes, where they am to stay for! five weeks. Madame Butt’s reappearance in London was made at the sacred concert given in Queen's Hall on/ Good Friday evening. Mr Percy Grainger’s researches into old English folk songs, many of which he has, by the aid of a phonograph, succeeded in rescuing from the oblivion whereto otherwise in the nature of things they would speedily have been consigned, are held in groat esteem by the. musical world. During his recent visit to New Zealand, the “ Age ” says, he has busied himself taking records of Maori music, much of which he considers to be most interesting. In addition to his work in the Dominion, the collecting of which has been his own special hobby, a friend of his has also supplied him with phonograph records of native Rarotonga part songs. These lie describes as “ full of the joy of life, and voicing a tremendous, glad, teeming energy, genuine polyphonic music showing mulch sense of harmony.” As it is usually in four, and sometimes in eight parts, lie finds the task of transcribing the records “appallingly hard”; hut he is keen and enthusiastic, and finds the work “fascinating.” These Polynesians, he says, must evidently have had a musical civilisation of their own, on a par, artistically, with their legends, carvings and decorative patterns.