MUSIC NOTES.

New Zealand Illustrated Sporting & Dramatic Review, Issue 1297, 4 March 1915, Page 37

MUSIC NOTES.

(By

“G” String.)

M. Ysaye, the eminent Belgian violinist, was among the refugees from his troubled country who sought the hospitality of England. It is reported that he saved his two most famous violins from destruction when his Belgian residence waj levelled to the ground by the Germans’ amazing act, of uprooting in a few minutes what civilisation had created or spared down the long centuries. Madame Schumann-Heink, the operatic contralto, justly famed for her interpre.ation of Wagner and other roles, is a German by birth. She liked her country’s people and their weird ways so well that some time ago she became a naturalised American subject, in order, as she said, to save her sons from the clutches of the German military system. America has been good to her, and she has done her

duty right well by her adopted country. Press agents have shown a praiseworthy delight in calling attention to her large family, and incidentally in recording that following the birth of each of her sons her voice gained an additional note in the low register. It was in the scheme of things that Madame was to have toured Australia and New Zealand this year. But the war upset the arrangement. Possibly she was disappointed at missing the opportunity of giving the poor benighted people at this end of the world the treat of their lives. However that may have been, the contralto has taken up arms against England and all belonging to her. On the authority of the “Berliner Tageblatt,” this naturalised American, who was so anxious to save her sons from the vortex of German militarism, has been calling England and her people nasty names, some of them so violent that the “Tageblatl” refused to print them. She also made some interesting statements in the same journal which should engage the serious attention of the military authorities. She told them that in the good city of New York, not to mention the other great and small cities of the United States, there were 100,000 gallant Irishmen ready and willing to cross

over and fight for the country where all the Kultur is. But, says Madame, they are prevented from doing so because these dreadful English board every ship. For the same reason many Germans are prevented from going over. Indeed, their consuls warm them to remain in the Stars and Stripes land of freedom, because “the English warships stop ever boat, and anybody who even looks German is captured.” It was at this point in her statements that the contralto’s language became unprintable. At a meeting of the committee of the Wellington Musical Union, held last week, it was decided to commence rehearsals of the works chosen for the first concert of the 1915 season, viz., Coleridge Taylor’s “Hiawa-

, ha” and parts 1 and 2 of Stanford’s “Revenge.” The 'first rehearsal will be held this evening, under the supervision of the new conductor, Mr. Herbert Claughton, L.T.C.L., who was elected to the position last August. The finances of the Royal Wellington Choral Society during the past year were considerably affected by the war. According to the balancesheet, just published, it is stated that prior to the outbreak of hostilties “Maritana” was performed, the receipts amounting to £ll3 12s. Then the war came, and after that the performance of “Samson and Delilah,” the receipts falling as low as £4B 15s. An effort was made to pull this up with “A Tale of Old Japan” and “The Persian Garden” song cycle, but a further loss was sustained, the receipts only amounting to £39 10s. “The Messiah,” which is always popular, saw the strain lifted somewhat. In fact, it proved the record concert for the year, the receipts amounting to £127 7s. The receipts for other concerts were as follows: —Paul Dufault’s concert, £B2 10s.; the Hutt fire benefit concert, £5O; the Belgian Relief concert, £ll2 Bs. 6d. The balance to credit on the year’s operations amounted to £1 12s. 4d. The balance of assets over liabilities is set down as £339 9s. lOd.