A HAMBOURG ANECDOTE.

New Zealand Illustrated Sporting & Dramatic Review, Volume XVII, Issue 964, 27 August 1908, Page 18

A HAMBOURG ANECDOTE.

Mark Hambourg tells a good story of an incident which marked his recent South African tour. He was playing in some little up-country town the residents of which, as after events proved, were certainly not musically educated, though they turned up in great force to the recital. The evening’s programme contained both a concerto and a sonata, the different movements of which were in the customary style mentioned in the centre of the sheet, while the items were numbered down the side. At the end of each movement Hambourg paused, bowed to the applause, and went on again. Unfortunately the audience, unable to identify the pieces except by the printed word, thought that each movement was a listed item. As a natural consequence they had arrived at the end of the programme when Hambourg had really reached about half-way through the first part. So they got up and walked out, and Hambourg’s manager had to hasten after them and explain that they were still a long way from getting their money’s worth. The result was that, not to be caught again, the reclaimed audience sat on after the concert had concluded, and had to be politely but firmly requested to leave the building.