MUSIC NOTES.

New Zealand Illustrated Sporting & Dramatic Review, Issue 1364, 15 June 1916, Page 34

MUSIC NOTES.

(By

“G” String.)

Mr. Henry Bracy, the well-known theatrical manager and one-time operatic singer, has been seriously ill in a private hospital in Sydney for some time past. At latest advices his con-

dition showed no signs of improvement. A concert tour of Australia and New Zealand has been mapped out for the two talented Russian musicians Alfred Piastro and Michael Mirovitch, who are due to arrive in Sydney in a few days. They have already appeared successfully in England, France, Russia, the Philippines, Siam, and China, and the record they bring with them should ensure their welcome here. Mirovitch is a pianist and Piastro a violinist, both born at

Petrograd, and both students of the Petrograd Conservatoire of Music. Piastre’s prominence as a musician in his own country was such that in 1912 the Czar personally exempted him from military service. Emile Jacques-Dalcroze, whose elaborate system of rhythmic-gymnas-tics has attracted wide attention among educators, has decided to establish his new headquarters in his native Switzerland, at Geneva. He was driven from his splendid institution at Hellerau, Germany, at the outbreak of the war, owing to his openly declared sympathy with the protest against the Louvain tragedy. He went to London with a view to establishing himself there, but finally decided on the intellectual centre of French Switzerland. Dalcroze’s compositions include two lyrical comedies, a violin concerto, a string quartette, and the “Chanson Romaudes.” The took by which he is now widely known is entitled “Eurhythmies,” on which system he lectured in 1912 to large audiences in London. The book has been translated into English, and has many admirers.

A name that is just now attracting attention among organists is Oscar E. Schminke, a Russian musician, who seems to have made a hit in the field of organ composition. One of his latest works in this way is a

march for organ based on the folk song “Ay Ouchnem,” which is sung by the bargemen on the Volga as they haul their boats. It is stated that he has made quite wonderful use of this material, and that his general treatment shows the finest musicianship. The march was played by Miss Lilian Frost on the Sydney Town Hall organ at a concert a few nights ago, and was greatly admired.

As Sergeant Larke patrolled the park, He heard two sneezes in the dirk. With staff gripped tight, he flashed his light. His stern tones echoed through the night. “Kape ahf th’ grass! ye coople there; Yure dith av cowld ye’ll get, f’r shore! Come! hurry home, ye love-sick pair. And both take Woods’ Peppermint Cure."