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Musical Courier 1892-09-07: Vol 25 Iss 654, 1892
78 lines. Read by computer on 21 September 2026. Printed page 11. See the scan on archive.org.
1upon a high cliff on the banks of the Danube near Regensburg. Beautiful terraces lead up to it and the view from the portal over the surrounding country is truly magnificent. The exterior of the Walhalla is purely Doric, the interior Ionic in architecture. The interior contains marble statues and memorial tablets of the great sons and daughters of the Teutonic soil. Walter von der Vogelweide, Wolfram von Eschenbach and Hans Sachs are remembered by tablets, while to Glück, Mozart, Haydn, Beethoven and Händel are accorded Carrara busts by the greatest sculptors of our times. All musicians should visit Walhalla. Now for München! VON ESCHENBACH.
3PERSONALS.
5Max Dick.—Our portrait gallery is this week enhanced by an excellent reproduction of the features of Max Dick, the violinist, and the youngest member of the New York Philharmonic Club. Mr. Dick was born in Minnesota in 1871. He began his musical education under the tuition of his mother and uncle, who both were at one time pupils of the great Wieniawski. At the age of nine he began his public career, with such great success that he was sent to Europe to complete his education under the tutorship of Professors Sitt and Hermann, in Leipsic. He has since returned a most accomplished artist, who never failed to awake the enthusiasm of all who were fortunate enough to listen to him. When he played in concert at the Metropolitan Opera House his solo was so favorably received that he was recalled four times. He also played with great success in the Amphion Society Concert, Brooklyn, under Conductor Neidlinger.
7Mr. Dick has an artistic future. Here are a couple of his many favorable press notices:
9Rarely has so young a violinist aroused such genuine enthusiasm as Mr. Max Dick by his performance of the scherzo fantastique by Bazzini. His technic and style are of so high an order that he can easily be compared with the best artists of this country.—New York "Times."
11Another young artist who lays claims to a brilliant future is Mr. Max Dick, the violinist of the evening. He easily overcame the greatest technical difficulties, and played with such artistic depth that he won the admiration of the whole audience and was forced to respond to an enthusiastic encore.—New York "Sun."
13He Will Study with Joachim.—Mr. Otto Kruell, who graduated from the Metropolitan College of Music, New York, sailed for Europe Tuesday, August 30, on the Havel. He is a scholar of Mr. Clifford Schmidt, violin, and is to finish his studies under Dr. Joachim, Berlin.
15Myrta M. French.—A very talented soprano at present in Paris is a young American, Miss Myrta French, who is said to possess a marvelous voice. Miss French is the daughter of Dr. E. C. French, of Eau Claire, Wis.
17Morris Reno.—Mr. Reno, of the Damrosch Orchestra, has been in London for the past week engaging singers to come to the United States. He has just gone to Scotland, where he will be the guest of Mr. Andrew Carnegie.
19Tamagno at Madrid.—The season at the Teatro Regio, Madrid, opened with Italian opera, with Tamagno as leading tenor. Tetrazzini, who sang with Marconi at the first performance of "Otello" in the Academy of Music here, is also in the Madrid company.
21Henschel in London.—Mr. Henschel is making a brave attempt to popularize orchestral music in London. His coming series of concerts are organized on a liberal plan, with first-class soloists, and will be largely devoted to the works of Wagner, a plan which has placed the Richter orchestral concerts in the front rank.
23Another One.—"Il Trovatore" reports a musical phenomenon from Vilna. Master Leone Nesvizskii, aged five years and three months, plays at sight on the piano the most difficult music, and he can read an orchestral score, reducing it to an accompaniment on the piano.
25Held at Geneva.—Ferdinand Held, who has just been appointed director of the Geneva Conservatoire, is an amateur musician who has attained a considerable reputation for his critical writings.
27He Is Dr. Huber Now.—Hans Huber has just been declared a doctor of music at the University of Basle.
29A Leopold de Meyer Story.—The late Leopold de Meyer, of Dresden, a brilliant and popular pianist in his day, was once summoned to play before the Sultan at Constantinople. Going thither he borrowed a grand piano from one of the Austrian secretaries of legation and had it set up in a large reception room at the palace. There he awaited the coming of the Sultan; but when that intelligent monarch entered the room he started back in alarm, and demanded of his attendants what that monster was standing there on three legs. Explanations followed, but were in vain. The legs had to be taken off and the body of the instrument laid flat on the floor, and Leopold de Meyer, squatting cross legged on a mat, went through his program as best he could in that awkward attitude and without pedals. But the commander of the faithful was delighted, and when the last piece was played gave the artist over $5,000 as "back-sheesh."—Boston "Globe."
31No "Parsifal" at Chicago.—The "Allgemeine Zeitung," which was formerly published in Augsburg and now is at Munich, and is soon going to Berlin, says that Cosima Wagner has refused her consent to allow "Parsifal" to be produced at Chicago. But the Austrian law grants copyright for ten years after the death of an author; consequently the copyright of Wagner's "Parsifal" will expire in February, when that work will be included in the repertory of the Vienna Opera and will be presented with Richter conducting the orchestra. This will break the Bayreuth monopoly and will threaten the existence of the Bayreuth enterprise. The question of the copyright of "Carmen" is occupying the law courts of Vienna. So we don't see how Cosima can very well interfere.
33Si non e Vero.—One of the funniest incidents in which Trebelli figured in the old Her Majesty's Theatre days was that in which she and Bettini changed parts in "Faust." Sims Reeves had been announced, but was unable to appear, and Volpini, who knew the music, was ill in bed, and indeed his life was despaired of. Bettini had sung a great portion of the music in concerts on tour, but of the first act and the duel trio he was hopelessly ignorant. Mr. Mapleson tried to induce Volpini to come down to the theatre dressed for the first act, after which Bettini should take up the part till the duel trio came on, and the arrangement seemed likely to work until a sharp dispute occurred on the stage between Trebelli and Volpini. Here the performance threatened to collapse, although the impresario tried to patch up matters. Trebelli and Bettini, however, drove off, and the excitement had such an effect on Volpini that he declared his intention of going through the part and dying if necessary at the footlights. He did not die, and the excitement, in point of fact, saved his life. The manager, however, was confronted with a difficulty in regard to the "Siebel." Trebelli had gone back to her Regent street house, and was in fact so ill that she was obliged to go to bed. The manager therefore made an earnest appeal to Bettini, who was an excellent musician, and who had studied the music with his wife, and Bettini was subsequently placed in his wife's clothes as "Siebel," singing the part, this being, it is assumed, the first and last time on the operatic stage that "Siebel," a male rôle, has been sustained by a man.—London "Figaro."
35Liszt's Ghost.—There is a tale circulating to the effect that the ghost of Liszt was recently raised by some spiritualists at the request of an admirer of the great abbé, and an interesting conversation was broken off abruptly when the spirit was asked to sit down at the piano and play one of the Hungarian rhapsodies.
37He Is Still Working.—According to the "Secolo," a Roman paper, Mascagni intends to finish two more short operas within the year. These works will be called "Vestilia," and "Zanette." He will then start on a grand five act work, the subject of which will be Nero.
39A New Composer.—Sonzogno has commissioned Cipollini to write an opera on a libretto by Checchi, entitled "The Little Haydn."
41Artists at Rome.—Among those artists recently announced at Rome for concert are Franz Ondricek, the violinist; the pianist Fabozzi, of Naples, and Galeatti, pianist, of Milan.
43William C. Carl.—Mr. William C. Carl has returned to the city to open the organ placed in the new Church of the Sacred Heart (Roman Catholic) at Bloomfield, N. J., this evening. Mr. Carl, in company with Mr. David G. Henderson, solo tenor of the Gounod Quartet Concert Company, has been spending the summer in New Hampshire, and returns with a long list of engagements for the coming season.
45The Wetzlers.—Hermann and Minnie Wetzler, a very talented brother and sister, have recently returned to this country after a protracted study of music at Frankfort-on-Main. Miss Wetzler is a pupil of Clara Schumann, having studied under her seven years. Her pianistic abilities are highly spoken of, for she has played with great success in orchestral concerts in Frankfort and other German cities. She will be heard here at one of the Seidl concerts in the near future. Mr. Wetzler is also a pupil of Clara Schumann in piano and of Bernhard Scholz in composition. His E flat symphony received the honor of a public performance at Frankfort, and he is regarded as a promising young composer. He is an adept on the organ, plays the violin and has had much experience in conducting. Mr. Wetzler will make a specialty of teaching composition and desires a position as church organist, a position he is eminently qualified for.
47Callers.—W. Edward Heimendahl, of Baltimore; Dr. E. S. Kimball, the vocal teacher, of Baltimore; Mr. and Miss Wetzler, the composer and pianist; Joseph Otten, of St. Louis; Edwin Klahre, the well-known pianist, now resident at Boston and a teacher in the New England Conservatory of Music, were all callers at this office last week.
49Busoni.—Ferruccio Busoni, the pianist, composer and a profound student of Bach, will not be connected with the New England Conservatory of Music, Boston, this season. He will probably concertize.
51Eager for Chicago.—That excellent pianist, musician and genial gentleman, Mr. Georg Eugene Eager, has settled in Chicago, where he will both teach and play. Mr. Eager's many admirable qualities as musician and teacher will surely win for him the recognition he deserves.
53FOREIGN NOTES.
55A Jadassohn Serenade.—The fourth serenade for full orchestra by Dr. S. Jadassohn, of Leipsic, was performed on August 19 in St. Petersburg (Russia), under the direction of Mr. Galkin with great success, the conductor being recalled three times.
57Monument to Ponchielli.—The city council of Cremona, Italy, has decided to raise a monument to the composer Ponchielli.
59They Also Die in Norway.—Carl Warmouth, music publisher, of Christiania, is dead.
61Svendsen at Vienna.—Johann Svendsen, the Copenhagen composer and conductor, gave a concert at Vienna August 4 at the exposition and played his own D major symphony, "Carnival en Paris," and his legende "Zorahaydee."
63An Interesting Series.—Under the title of "Denkmäler deutscher Tonkunst," Messrs. Breitkopf & Härtel, of Leipsic, announce the publication of the first volume of a series of musical compositions intended to illustrate German musical art at different periods of its development. This important national undertaking enjoys the active support of the Prussian Government, which has appointed a committee, including Messrs. J. Brahms, F. Chrysander, Ph. Spitta, Von Helmholtz and Dr. Joachim, as experts to superintend the issue.
65A Calamity.—A great calamity is reported from Bayreuth. Not that there will be no festival next year, for it has been the custom to omit a year after two successive festivals (the festival years were 1876, 1882, 1883, 1884, 1886, 1888, 1889, 1891, 1892, to be followed by a revival of the "Nibelungen" in 1894), but that one of the three graces specially brought up from Rome to figure in the "Tannhäuser" bacchanale eloped with one of the pilgrims after securing an advance payment of her salary. Consequently the symmetry of the scene had to be marred by adding a Berlin girl to the two Italians. The best laid schemes of mice and men, &c.—"Evening Post."
67Artistic Self Effacement.—The "Musical Times," of London, points out that of the operas given during the past season in that city fifteen were by Germans, six by Frenchmen and three by Italians. But when the same paper, commenting on the fact that among the German artists who were heard there was only one offender against the habit of coming to the footlights to acknowledge applause, remarks that "it may be pleaded in extenuation that his dramatic experience has been chiefly gained in America, which is not the best school for artistic self effacement," the writer simply shows the Englishman's usual ignorance of American affairs. As a matter of fact, New York was just eight years ahead of London in this matter of "artistic self effacement" in a music drama.—"Evening Post."
69In Honor of Wagner.—London, September 3.—In honor of the fiftieth anniversary of the first production of Wagner's "Rienzi" at Dresden, as perfect a performance as can be secured of that work is to be given on October 20 at the Dresden Opera House. The date was, indeed, an important one in Wagner's life. The success of "Rienzi" led to Wagner's appointment as musical conductor at Dresden, with August Roeckel as assistant conductor, and Roeckel's revolutionary instincts led the orchestral chief into the insurrectionary escapade which resulted in the execution of Bakounin, the leader of the rising, to the Russian authorities, the imprisonment of Roeckel and the flight of Wagner. The advocate of popular liberty was in time to become the monarch's friend, and it was really to the Royal Opera House, with its liberal subvention from the state exchequer, that Wagner owed his first musical triumph.
71Promenade Concerts Do Not Pay.—London, September 3.—Promenade concerts do not appear to be a very paying enterprise in London. Sir Augustus Harris is said to be satisfied with his last venture, however, and, as the matter now stands, neither he, Freeman Thomas nor Gwyllym Crowe, the three leading promenade organizers, intend engaging in any enterprise of the kind this season.
73"Falstaff" at Berlin.—At the Royal Opera House, Berlin, Sir Arthur Sullivan's "Ivanhoe" is in rehearsal, and this establishment is reported to have secured for its approaching season the right of performing for the first time in Germany Verdi's "Falstaff."
75Orlando di Lassus.—A tricentenary celebration of the birth of Orlando di Lassus, the Flemish composer (who was born June 15, 1594), will take place at Mons, Belgium. There was a monument erected to him at Mons in 1854.
77London's Musical Season.—The musical season in London does not begin until next month. Sarasate will be first in the field on October 8. At this last series of con-
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