Paderewski

New Zealand Tablet, Volume XXXII, Issue 21, 26 May 1904, Page 1

Paderewski

'What's in a *name ?' said Shakespeare. .There's a good deal. Mr. Lovelight, for instance, in the old play, readily agreed to blood-letting, but he roundly declared that he would die before he'd be phlebotomised. And has not Max O'Rell pointed out the curious fact that it is the unwritten law that all stars of the first magnitlude in the musical firmament must have Italian or French or German or Russian or Polish or Spanish— but never English— names ? It is doubtful (according to Max) if Madame Melba would have stormed the hearts of the public so well had she appeared on the opera bills as Nellie Mitchell. Madame Albani and Madame Nordica also knew the value of assumed foreign names. And did not the Irish blackbird, Foley— the greatest basso of modern times, with the possible exception of Edouard de Reszke— become, for stage purposes, ' Signor Foli ' ? Amy Castles might do worse than take the hint.

Paderewski is coming to lasso our hearts with his vibrating piano-wires and lighten our purses with his defti fingers. He is lucky alike in name and skill. But

he has another element of success—a head that turns heads. 'Paddy's' head, when once seen, is not soon forgotten. ' I maintain,' says a French writer, ' that if you possess or can succeed in making for yourself such a head that everybody will recognise you in the street, you will be a notoriety ; and, if besides, you possess great talent, you will easily be a firmly-established celebrity.' ' Beauty,' says Pope, ' draws us by a single hair.' The drawing power of Paderewski's mane is as that of the Empire Express. On his last visit to Australasia, some twelve years ago, the impresario inserted a clause m the contract which bound thQ. Polish piano-wizard not to tamper with his personal appearance nor shear the leonine locks whose every hair was deemed a ' draw.' Paderewski's fortune was made by a partnership between his hair and his finger-tips. His euphonious foreign name was, no doubt, also useful as an ear-ticl:ler.