Books › Musical Courier 1908-04-01: Vol 56 Iss 14, 1908 › scan 35
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Musical Courier 1908-04-01: Vol 56 Iss 14, 1908
124 lines. Read by computer on 24 September 2026. Printed page 36. See the scan on archive.org.
1IMPORTANT MILAN NEWS.
2MILAN, March 11, 1908.
3The Scala question as to the impresario and orchestral director is again in quite a muddle on account of a phrase attributed to Pozzale, who had accepted the position as Gatti-Casazza's successor. The thing happened thus: The Duke Visconti Modrone, one of the principal stockholders and president of the executive committee, went to Rome to approach the great director or conductor, Leopoldo Mugnone, who is now conducting with such immense success at the Costanzi of Rome, to offer him the place left vacant by Toscanini. Mugnone refused, saying he needed repose; this was not a very convincing reason, and after the Duke's return another attempt was made to induce Mugnone to accept the flattering offer, but the result was the same, and only after a long talk did Mugnone decide to tell the real reason of his refusal, attributing it to a phrase the new impresario is said to have uttered when asked whom he thought could replace Toscanini, and it was, "I do not think any one can replace Toscanini." Mugnone said this was offensive for all his colleagues, and he himself, having a worldwide fame, felt much hurt; therefore, as long as Pozzale is impresario he could not accept. Now, Pozzale has gone to Rome to explain matters to Mugnone, but with no other result than the same refusal. So the question lies this way now; if Pozzale remains there can be no Mugnone; if there is a Mugnone there can be no Pozzale. It will be quite interesting to see how the whole matter finishes. Pozzale had with him a letter from Com. Giulio Ricordi to Mugnone, exhorting him to accept, but to no avail. A thing perhaps not known in general is that the position at La Scala was first offered to Cavalier Carlo D'Ormeville, the well known and veteran agent in Milan, and who is besides a poet and playwright of renowned merit. D'Ormeville refused on the ground of his connection with the formation of the Grand Opera Company for Buenos Ayres, his interests therein being far superior to what the salary paid him as impresario of La Scala could be. He therefore, notwithstanding the honor bestowed upon him, was obliged to refuse. He in his turn proposed Morichini, of the Costanzi of Rome, but he also refused, not wishing to leave Rome. Pozzale of Turin was then found, and he had the ability to begin by committing une gaffe!
5Sunday evening was gala night at La Scala, with "La Tosca." On Friday the masked ball was given. The Scala presented a strange sight, with dancing in the parquet and on the stage and also in the foyer, where smoking was allowed; the dancers looked as though they were moving in a dense fog. Dancing was protracted into the wee sma' hours.
7At the Dal Verme, Sunday night, the last performance of the Carnival season witnessed "La Traviata," and it was an evening of honors for Miss de Lis, the American Violettta. Miss de Lis has progressed since her first appearance; her acting is more secure and her singing warmer than heretofore, although she still persists in spoiling the effect of her high notes by forcing them. In the last act, the best, her pianissimo effects are beautiful.
9A new opera, "Rose Rosse" ("Red Roses") was given with success at Parma. The composer's name is Edward Lebegott; his music is considered absolutely of the Italian modern type.
11Saturday, March 7, a grand charity concert was given at the Filarmonica of Florence. Several ladies and gentlemen of the aristocracy took part, among whom were Countess Roosevelt Fabbricotti and Marchioness Montagliani, also Marquis Filiasi, of Naples, composer and pianist, and brother of the author of "Manuel Menendez," that won the second Sonzogno prize some three or four years ago.
13The annual harp concert was given at Rome in the foyer of the Teatro Nazionale. The last of the series of piano recitals by Rendano was given at Sala Umberto in Rome. Concerts too numerous to mention have been given and are announced in that city for the next two months.
15The Rossinian commemoration (it being the 116th anniversary of the birth of Rossini) at the Liceo of Pesaro was solemnly observed on February 29. The concert was preceded by an interesting lecture on Rossini and his works. The clou of the evening was the "Aria all' Antica," for four sopranos.
17The Lenten season at the Costanzi of Rome began Sunday, March 8, with a performance of the "Barber of Seville," at popular prices. On Monday, March 9, came the impatiently awaited first production of Strauss' "Salome," with Bellincioni in the title role. The next opera will be "Madama Butterfly," Puccini being awaited in Rome to superintend. Tarneti, considered one of the best exponents of the part, will be Butterfly. The next opera will be "Sperduti nel buio" ("Lost in the Dark"), by the Donaudy brothers, one librettist, the other composer; and last, but not least, "Don Procopio," the youthful opera by Bizet.
19E. R. P.
21LEIPSIC NEWS.
22LEIPSIC, March 11, 1908.
23In the absence of Arthur Nikisch, who is conducting concerts for two weeks in various cities of England, the twenty-first Gewandhaus concert was under the guest, Ernst von Schuch, conductor of the Royal Opera in Dresden. As if in exchange for Nikisch's being in England, the soloist for this concert, Wilhelm Backhaus, came from Manchester to play the Beethoven E flat concerto. Backhaus is nevertheless a native of Leipsic and art product of Leipsic Conservatory, where he studied for many years under Alois Reckendorf. It should be always remembered that though Backhaus was born and reared in Germany, he is a milk fed pianist, for it was always Reckendorf's advice that the boy drink milk and take much exercise in the open air. However unorthodox the prescription, it has turned out all right.
25The complete program for the above concert included a Haydn G major symphony, the Beethoven E flat concerto, played by Backhaus; the Weber "Oberon" overture, and the Strauss "Tod und Verklärung." The orchestra men kept faith with their distinguished guest conductor, and but for a slight failure to get together in the last part of the symphony, they played superbly. Von Schuch proved to be a very satisfying interpreter and the public acknowledged his services cordially. Backhaus played the concerto in great finish and was also enthusiastically received and recalled. The last Gewandhaus concert of the season will include a Mozart G minor and the Beethoven "Ninth" symphonies. As next Wednesday is repentance day and Nikisch is still in England, the concert will be deferred to March 25-26.
27The annual Prüfungs at the Conservatory have been in progress since February 11, and on March 10 the fifth was reached. The performances of the students average about the same each year, with here and there an especial talent to break the monotony. Thus far this season there has been no such sensation, yet the piano playing of the blind young man, Herrmann Kögler, of Lodz, Russia, seems to have far outclassed any of the other performances. Kögler played the Beethoven E flat concerto in so much eloquence and deep feeling in the Beethoven spirit, that the audience could take profound satisfaction in the hearing. The Leipsic Conservatory has no provision for teaching the blind, but Kögler's instruction here was voluntarily undertaken by Robert Teichmüller, whose task it was for some seasons to first play everything that the young man was to memorize for study. In former reports on the Prüfungs at the Conservatory it has been observed that much work in composition was being done. Since the coming of Max Reger last Easter this branch of instruction has proceeded with renewed vigor and the composition programs now being given represent pupils of a half dozen instructors, including Reger. Two entire evenings will be given to student compositions and occasional student works are brought on the other programs.
29For fifteen years or more this conservatory has been a strong, practical school for orchestral playing. The student orchestra, generally in a setting of from forty to eighty players, has been continually in charge of Hans Sitt, who has been unrelenting in keeping the boys to the routine so soon as they have arrived at suitable proficiency to begin. The eligible orchestral students are divided into groups and are kept to the practice in relays. For accompanying the concertos and arias produced at student concerts throughout the year, advanced students from the conducting class are sometimes allowed to officiate, but for these public Prüfungs all the accompaniments as well as purely orchestral works are produced under Sitt's own conducting.
31The first five programs just produced were as follows: February 11, Reger's organ fantaisie on "Ein' Feste Burg," played by Paul Eiermann, of Köstritz; Bach A minor violin concerto, Wally Fannenstiel, of Charkow, Russia; Verhey's D minor flute concerto, Max Fühler, of Zwickau; Schumann piano concerto, Irma Luiken, of Bremerhaven; songs by Beethoven, Schubert and Brahms, sung by Else von Monakaw, of Zürich, accompanied by Charlotte Sagawe, of Breslau; the Goltermann A minor cello concerto, Walter Ammann, of Los Angeles; Beethoven C minor piano concerto, with Liszt cadenza, Liselotte Münzner, of Alten, near Dessau.
33Much interest is following Mrs. Nikisch's prospective work in London from May 1 to July 1. Besides the naturally strong interest among the singers in England, there are a number in Leipsic who are preparing to spend those months in London with her. Information as to her stay may be had from the concert agency of Daniel Mayer, of Hanover Square West, London.
35EUGENE E. SIMPSON.
37MANHATTAN PERFORMANCES.
38Count de Cisneros has compiled the following list of performances and operas given in New York and Philadelphia by the Manhattan Opera Company during the season of 1907-1908:
40<table>
41 <tr><th>Performances</th></tr>
42 <tr><td>Gioconda</td><td>4</td></tr>
43 <tr><td>Carmen</td><td>12</td></tr>
44 <tr><td>Damnation de Faust</td><td>3</td></tr>
45 <tr><td>Il Trovatore</td><td>5</td></tr>
46 <tr><td>Aida</td><td>9</td></tr>
47 <tr><td>Tales of Hoffmann</td><td>11</td></tr>
48 <tr><td>Thais</td><td>7</td></tr>
49 <tr><td>Faust</td><td>4</td></tr>
50 <tr><td>Le Navarraise</td><td>5</td></tr>
51 <tr><td>I Pagliacci</td><td>7</td></tr>
52 <tr><td>Rigoletto</td><td>5</td></tr>
53 <tr><td>Ballo in Maschera</td><td>4</td></tr>
54 <tr><td>Don Giovanni</td><td>3</td></tr>
55 <tr><td>Cavalleria Rusticana</td><td>4</td></tr>
56 <tr><td>Louise</td><td>11</td></tr>
57 <tr><td>La Traviata</td><td>4</td></tr>
58 <tr><td>Lucia di Lammermoor</td><td>8</td></tr>
59 <tr><td>Siberia</td><td>3</td></tr>
60 <tr><td>Pelléas et Mélisande</td><td>7</td></tr>
61 <tr><td>Dinorah</td><td>1</td></tr>
62 <tr><td>Crispino e la Comare</td><td>3</td></tr>
63 <tr><td>Andrea Chenier</td><td>1</td></tr>
64 <tr><td>The last night was given:</td><td></td></tr>
65 <tr><td>Traviata (one act)</td><td></td></tr>
66 <tr><td>Pagliacci (one act)</td><td></td></tr>
67 <tr><td>Faust (one act)</td><td></td></tr>
68 <tr><td>Lucia (one act)</td><td></td></tr>
69 <tr><td>Aida (one act)</td><td></td></tr>
70</table>
72IN CONCERT FORM.
74<table>
75 <tr><th>Performances</th></tr>
76 <tr><td>Cavalleria Rusticana</td><td>1</td></tr>
77 <tr><td>Pagliacci</td><td>1</td></tr>
78 <tr><td>Aida (second act)</td><td>2</td></tr>
79 <tr><td>Gioconda (one act)</td><td></td></tr>
80 <tr><td>Ernani (one act)</td><td></td></tr>
81 <tr><td>Mary Garden</td><td>27</td></tr>
82 <tr><td>Luisa Tetrazzini</td><td>22</td></tr>
83 <tr><td>Lillian Nordica</td><td>6</td></tr>
84 <tr><td>Emma Calvé</td><td>3</td></tr>
85 <tr><td>Giannina Russ</td><td>18</td></tr>
86 <tr><td>Adelina Agostinelli</td><td>13</td></tr>
87 <tr><td>Jeanne Jomelli</td><td>12</td></tr>
88 <tr><td>Alice Zeppilli</td><td>45</td></tr>
89 <tr><td>Alice Borello</td><td>4</td></tr>
90 <tr><td>Emma Trentini</td><td>41</td></tr>
91 <tr><td>Ludmilla Sigrist</td><td>17</td></tr>
92 <tr><td>Helen Koelling</td><td>14</td></tr>
93 <tr><td>Mauricia Morichini</td><td>17</td></tr>
94 <tr><td>Fannie Francisca</td><td>1</td></tr>
95 <tr><td>Eva Tetrazzini-Campanini</td><td>1</td></tr>
96 <tr><td>Ernestina Schumann-Heink</td><td>1</td></tr>
97 <tr><td>Eleonora de Cisneros</td><td>34</td></tr>
98 <tr><td>Clotilde Bressler-Gianoli</td><td>22</td></tr>
99 <tr><td>Marie Gerville-Reache*</td><td>17</td></tr>
100 <tr><td>Giovanni Zenatello</td><td>37</td></tr>
101 <tr><td>Amedeo Bassi</td><td>25</td></tr>
102 <tr><td>Carlo Albani</td><td>2</td></tr>
103 <tr><td>Carlo Dalmore</td><td>51</td></tr>
104 <tr><td>Leon Cazauren</td><td>7</td></tr>
105 <tr><td>Maurice Renaud</td><td>26</td></tr>
106 <tr><td>Mario Ancona</td><td>27</td></tr>
107 <tr><td>Mario Sammarco</td><td>34</td></tr>
108 <tr><td>Hector Dufranne</td><td>11</td></tr>
109 <tr><td>Jean Perier</td><td>7</td></tr>
110 <tr><td>Charles Gilbert</td><td>42</td></tr>
111 <tr><td>Adamo Didur</td><td>12</td></tr>
112 <tr><td>Vittorio Arimondi</td><td>42</td></tr>
113 <tr><td>Fernando Gianoli-Galletti</td><td>39</td></tr>
114 <tr><td>Cleofonte Campanini conducted 101 performances and 17 concerts.</td><td></td></tr>
115 <tr><td>Artilio Parelli conducted 10 performances.</td><td></td></tr>
116 <tr><td>Charlier conducted 6 performances.</td><td></td></tr>
117 <tr><td>And one act of "Gioconda," being ill, Madame Giaconi finished the opera.</td><td></td></tr>
118</table>
120Gunthers Heard at Musicales.
121Mr. and Mrs. Frederick William Gunther have appeared at several musicales in private homes during the past four weeks, including functions at the homes of Justice and Mrs. William J. Gaynor, in Brooklyn; Mr. and Mrs. Clarence D. Wilder, on West Eighty-fourth street; Mr. and Mrs. Edward J. Horsman, Jr., on West Fifty-seventh street, and Mr. and Mrs. John D. Higgins, in the Ansonia, Broadway and Seventy-fourth street. Both singers also had individual engagements at the Aeolian concerts and at the Knickerbocker Hotel.
123At the Societa del Giordano and the Famiglia Artistica, Milan, concerts have been given by the Quartetto Abbiate, and Signorina Ripamonti, pianist, who graduated last year from the Conservatory Verdi, of that city.
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