Scan 8
Musical Courier 1890-07-02: Vol 21 Iss 541, 1890
80 lines. Read by computer on 19 September 2026. Printed page 9. See the scan on archive.org.
1case? Why has no one of The Musical Courier corps noticed the circular of a Western normal institute with which Miss Neally Stevens is connected? Here is a very evident case to appear youthful. It describes her as a "plump little maiden, a little past twenty," and in the same article it asserts she graduated at Vassar College in 1879 and went to Europe. According to that she must have been about ten years old, and, if it was a four years' course she was six years old on entering. Preposterous, when they must be at least sixteen before entering Vassar. Again, it declares that at nine years old she only knew the alphabet as far as G. Now, who will attempt to explain these glaring discrepancies? We have every respect for Miss Stevens personally as a lady and a pianist, and Miss Aus der Ohe is quite as deserving of our praise, and we cannot understand why the latter should be mentioned so contemptuously when she by no means deserves it, as The Musical Courier well knows.
3Justice.
5I don't see that what I wrote several weeks ago reflected in the slightest on Miss Aus der Ohe, or for that matter on Miss Stevens either.
7What I did and do still protest against is the affectation of extreme girlishness in many of our feminine pianists. The wonder child racket is played out. What we want is music, music, and again music.
9A woman is just as old as she looks, and I think that the person who signs himself or herself "Justice" in the above letter hardly treats Miss Stevens fairly by alluding to her age.
11The world is little concerned with an artist's private affairs, age, &c., or at least it should not be. (That is why the "Raconteur" never, never gossips. Ahem!)
13Miss Aus der Ohe has her reasons, doubtless, for looking young, and so has Miss Stevens. They certainly succeed and I hope they will continue to do so.
15Fanny Bloomfield-Zeisler is the youngest by far of the trio.
17Anton Strelezki, otherwise Arthur Burnand, has transferred his talented adiposity, good humor and all to the goodly city of London, England. Funnier still, he is reported to be engaged to a young lady. Well, well!
19I am glad my friend Emil Liebling has come out so strongly in favor of Virgil's practice clavier. It is a great thing, and with Rafael Joseffy's name heading the list it has won universal recognition from pianists and teachers.
21A Professor Geyer, of Cincinnati, is reported by a German paper as contemplating a European tour with a bass fiddle of his own invention, which is 14 1/2 feet high and 8 1/2 feet broad. The instrument is manipulated from a step ladder. Our Teutonic contemporaries will swallow anything if it only is Yankee.
23But an Italian, Mr. Filippo Atò, of Bari, simply pulverizes inventions in the musical line. He plays a small trumpet with his nose and smokes a cigar at the same time. He calls it the nasi-flauto.
25I recommend De Vivo to engage him for this country. Mr. Atò could certainly blow his own horn.
27The much married Richard Stahl's new opera was produced this week at Palmer's. There was great trouble to get Stahl the permission to be allowed to conduct his own work and he failed to do so after all. Injunctions were served against him, for he has been attempting the very difficult feat of matrimonially driving tandem and of course has failed. The music is nonsensical, but the mise en scène, the work of that skillful master of the art, C. de Grimm, is very effective and striking.
29She looked around the shop at the music, at the instruments and at the people. Then she walked to the counter.
31"I would like a violin, if you please," she remarked.
33"Certainly. Have you any choice in regard to the make?" asked the clerk.
35"Oh, yes," she said, with a rising inflection on the assertion. "I would like to get a Stradivarius."
37"Par—pardon me," gasped the clerk; "what kind would you like?"
39"A Stradivarius," the lady repeated.
41The clerk recovered and informed the would be purchaser of the instrument that he was just out of that particular brand of fiddles. "But," he said, "a great many people are ambitious to get a Stradivarius. There's nothing else I can do for you?" he asked.
43"Well, if I can't get that perhaps you could let me have a nice second-hand banjo, cheap."
45It is very interesting to hear Albert Arveschou, the well-known Norwegian basso, of St. George's Church, relate his early experiences in this country. He lived at one time in Philadelphia and belonged to the Young Männerchor Society, and distinguished himself while on an excursion up the Hudson by gallantly diving overboard and rescuing a lad. Arveschou is an all round athlete, and was at one time a lieutenant in the Norwegian army.
47His voice, a powerful one of great range, has greatly improved under that great baritone and teacher, George Sweet.
49Arveschou will make a name in the field of oratorio, for which his style seems especially adapted.
51He is the idol of the Scandinavians throughout the country, winning their affections by singing the national songs.
53Maid (to mistress who is going abroad)—Shall I put any music in the trunk for your stateroom?
55Mistress (thinking of mal de mer)—Yes, put in that composition by Heave, "When the Swallows Upward Fly."
57If you remember, last year I gave you all a nice lot of new pictures, and I propose doing it again in this number, so here goes:
59This pretty picture is not a likeness of Probst, the Philadelphia murderer, but is known to the musical world in Europe as Sapellnikoff, the Russian pianist, who is at present one of the rages of the London musical season.
61He is a pupil of that brilliant woman Sophie Menter, and has a powerful tone and technic, although often brutal in his treatment of the keyboard.
63Next is an excellent picture of Paderewski, the interesting heart breaker and domino banger (as George Moore calls pianists). J. J. Paderewski is also a great favorite in London.
65Paderewski, as one may readily see, is a handsome young man of about thirty years of age, and a pupil in piano playing of Theodore Leschetitsky, and a protégé of his wife, Annette Essipoff.
67Paderewski's piano concerto lies before me and I am a bit disappointed in it. It is in A minor, the last movement—a rondo à la Krakowiak—being somewhat interesting, but the work, as a whole, is not strong.
69Paderewski's genre pieces, however, are very pretty and effective.
71His Chopin playing must be rough, to judge from some reports. He also is a pugilist and punishes the piano very severely at times. As I before remarked, his hair is red and he is besieged by a bevy of female worshippers. There is a rumor that he will come to America this season. The Rubinstein-Richter combination is nonsense, as Richter will not leave Vienna. In fact, his contract forbids him so doing, except his annual trip to London, and Rubinstein is too old to travel.
73Hamish MacCunn is one of the most talented of the younger generation of English composers. His orchestral and choral works are full of promise and his themes fresh and striking. His Scotch birth manifests itself in his excellent handling of Scotch subjects. He is a very poetical composer. He is a cousin of the Beethoven of Brooklyn, Robert Thallon.
75Byron is one of the luckiest towns in the West. It has a brass band, just organized, without the means to procure instruments.
77Bernhard Stavenhagen, a pupil of Liszt and a Liszt player par excellence, has won for himself many laurels by his vigorous, manly playing. At present he is recruiting his health in Weimar.
79I buried, through a slip of the pen, some time ago, Albert Ascher, the well-known piano man. I of course meant his brother, Joseph Ascher, the at one time famous court pianist to the Empress of France. He was a celebrated pianist in his day, playing in the polished French style. He led a gay life in Paris, playing, composing (his
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