Scan 7
Musical Courier 1905-08-23: Vol 51 Iss 1326, 1905
54 lines. Read by computer on 23 September 2026. Printed page 8. See the scan on archive.org.
1and frequently there have been "all English" programs, in which Elgar, Sullivan, German, &c., have figured largely. Then there have been "German," "Italian" and "French" nights.
3Hundreds of appreciative letters are received by Mr. Armbruster, and requests for Beethoven and Wagner have even come from such neighborhoods as Bethnal Green and Bermondsey.
5ZARATHUSTRA.
7Marie Hall's Tour in Great Britain.
9MARIE HALL, the famous English violinist, opened her summer tour of Great Britain Sunday evening, August 6, at the large Winter Gardens in Blackpool, and played before a vast audience. The capacity of the hall is 12,000. So eager were the public to hear Miss Hall, that the authorities found it necessary to order the management to open the doors nearly three hours before the time announced for the commencing of the concert, so as to avoid obstructing traffic. Press reports say that the huge pavilion was crowded with an audience that was roused to wildest enthusiasm by the talented lady's performance. At the close the huge audience rose en masse and applauded her to the echo. Altogether Miss Hall scored another great triumph, and so enraptured the public that they awaited her departure from the Gardens, and as she proceeded along the corridors from the stage door to the exit she had to go through a crowd of ardent admirers who emphasized their appreciation by continuous applause.
11Another Blackpool paper says that her concert was a huge success, while still a third report says that Miss Hall has in a few years sprung into the foremost position among the world's greatest violinists, and that she received such a great ovation at the finish of her regular program that she had to respond to numerous encores.
13During the month of August Miss Hall will play twenty-four concerts, and so great is the popularity of the young genius that the managers of the different concerts have arranged that she be heard in the largest auditoriums available, in many instances auditoriums seating from 6,000 to 12,000 people.
15Henry Wolfsohn, who is managing Marie Hall's tour in this country next winter, has at this early date filled a number of engagements for her, including a tour with the Boston Symphony Orchestra, several concerts with the Philadelphia Orchestra, and a series of recitals in New York, Boston, and Chicago.
17Borden-Low in Munich.
19ROLLIE BORDEN-LOW, the American soprano, arrived in Munich the end of July and she is to remain in the Bavarian capital until September 1. Several weeks ago Mrs. Low sang at the fine residence of a high government official with her usual artistic success. During September Mrs. Low is to appear at some concerts in Paris. As previously announced in THE MUSICAL COURIER, Mrs. Low gave a recital at Bechstein Hall in London in June and later was heard at a number of musicale at the homes of English leaders of fashion and wealth. Several prominent British clubs also engaged Mrs. Low to sing for them.
21For the coming season in this country Mrs. Low is already booked for appearances in the Middle West and Canada.
23THE PURSUIT OF THE IDEAL,
24A Romance of the Violin.
25By ARTHUR M. ABELL.
27"I is a very serious accident," said the physician, gravely. "If the wound heals properly you may be able to use your hand for ordinary purposes, but you will never again play the violin."
29These last words of the eminent surgeon struck terror to my heart. This, then, was the end of my fondest hope, my burning desire, my one great ambition in life—to become a master of the violin. Gifted with an extremely sensitive musical nature from childhood, the violin has been with me an all absorbing passion. After years of study I was in a fair way to become a performer of eminence when this cruel accident to my left hand abruptly put an end to my career.
31It was a terrible awakening from my dreams, and life suddenly seemed to have lost all charm. My burden of grief was too great to be borne at home among the old scenes of my life, and so I resolved to go abroad. Italy, of all countries, had long attracted me—Italy, the cradle of music, the home of the violin. There I would delve into violin lore, and there, if anywhere, would I find consolation. Accordingly, I visited the scenes of activity of the eminent violin makers of the past—Brescia, the home of Caspar da Salo, the birthplace of the violin; Cremona, where, at the hands of Amati, Guarnerius, Bergonzi and the peerless Stradivarius, the instrument attained perfection. Then Naples, Milan, Padua, Florence and Venice, and every town where the great masters of the luthier's art had lived and wrought. In my wanderings through these places I sought and found many a treasure of those wonderful workmen of yore.
33I also visited the home of the great violinists of the past, the scenes of the triumphs of Corelli, the father of violin playing; Tartini, the wonderful, and Nardini, Veracini, Locatelli, and all the great Italian virtuosi of the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries. I heard all the best living Italian violinists, and they did not satisfy me; they fell far short of that perfection of which I had formed a conception from reading of the great masters of the past. I was filled with an unutterable longing to hear ineffable tones such as Tartini must have wooed from his violin.
35Thus for months did I traverse Italy from one end to the other, and finally arrived in the ancient city of Mantua. It was in the month of May, 1801. While strolling listlessly through the deserted streets late one beautiful moonlight evening my ear caught the sound of music. Something in those tones made my heart stand still. I would fain have drawn nearer to the performer, but it was impossible on account of a high wall which shut in the large garden, or park, whence the sounds seemed to come. And such tones! Was it a violin, or a human voice, or a flute, or all three in mellifluous combination? No, it was a violin, as was revealed by the portamento and vibrato. I stood entranced! Tones of unearthly beauty floated out on the calm evening air, piercing me to the very marrow with delight so poignant as almost to be pain. When the player ended his tender mood with a wonderful nocturne tears of joy rolled down my cheeks.
37"He drew as if from thoughts finer than hope
38Comfort around him in ear soothing strains
39And elegant composure; or he turned
40To Heaven instead of earth, and raised a prayer
41So earnest, vehement, yet so lowly sad,
42Mighty with want and of pure human tears,
43That never a saint wrestling with earthly love
44And in mid-age unable to get free
45Tore down from Heaven such pity."
47Suddenly the artist's mood changed, and he dashed into a mad, wild caprice, displaying a technic of such supernatural perfection that I could scarcely believe my ears. It was music of the spheres, at once so angelic and so diabolic that I almost thought an angel and a demon were vying with each other in producing music too wonderful for human ears. For a full hour the playing continued, and I stood rooted to the spot, hardly daring to breathe for fear the spell would be broken. Repeatedly did I pinch myself to make sure that I was not dreaming.
49Then, in the midst of all the wonderment, there was a half finished cadence—and the music ceased. My blood, which had been pulsing at fever heat, fairly froze in my veins. Somehow it had seemed as if such music never could stop, and I could not live without it. This was my consolation, and after one hour of such bliss I could not endure the thought of returning to earth again. For a time I stood there stunned. Then it suddenly flashed over me that I had found my ideal, that henceforth my one ambition in life must be to rediscover him.
51Now fully awake, I started off to gain admission to the garden. At the entrance I found that the sleepy gatekeeper had been snoring through the entire performance, and knew nothing whatever of the musician. Slipping a gold piece into his hand, I asked him to open the gate and show me about the garden. This he did, but my search revealed absolutely nothing. I spent a sleepless night, and started off early next morning to make inquiries in the houses surrounding the park, for I reasoned that the music might have come from one of these. Again my search was vain. No one had heard the violinist—everybody had been asleep. Further inquiry, however, disclosed the fact that a young man carrying a violin case had left on the early morning stage coach for Bologna, so I immediately set out for that town. Along the route I picked up bits of information concerning the young man with the fiddle, but I was not successful in overtaking him. On arriving in Bologna I lost every trace. I then searched high and low, employing the most skillful detective in the city. All was in vain. No one had seen or heard the mysterious stranger.
53Inflamed with an unconquerable desire to hear those tones again, I now systematically traveled over all Italy, from town to town, hoping perchance once more to meet with my ideal. For fully a year did I thus wander from place to place, but the search was futile. Finally wearied of the eternal excitement and disappointment, I gave it up, and turned northward. Arriving in Turin late one evening
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