Books › The Strad; a monthly journal for professionals and amateurs of all stringed instruments played with the bow, 1890 › scan 29
Scan 29
The Strad; a monthly journal for professionals and amateurs of all stringed instruments played with the bow, 1890
18 lines. Read by computer on 3 September 2026. No printed page number was found. See the scan on archive.org.
1is the most difficult study there is; try the next." The young Californian felt somewhat "taken down" at this, but he soon received more encouragement and was at once admitted to David's classes, being told to study hard and hear as much as possible. And he did so; he heard everything, and with characteristic American disregard of distances he would travel anywhere to hear a good performance of the best music, sometimes running over to Berlin where Joachim kindly allowed him to be present at his violin classes. As a result of this study and observation he carried off the Mendelssohn prize, being specially commended for quartet playing. At the following "Haupt-prüfung," the principal public students' concert, held in the Gewand-haus, he played the Mendelssohn Concerto: this was on the composer's birthday.
3After a severe illness which kept him from work for over a year, he returned to Leipzig and was appointed violinist to the Duchess of Anhalt-Bernburg. He is brimful of pleasant recollections of his student days, and of the musicians he was associated with, notably Miska Hauser, of whom he has many interesting anecdotes, and his classmates Marcello Rossi, Hilf and others.
5He allowed us to read a charmingly written joint letter that he recently received from Joh. Lauterbach and his wife which was accompanied by a little souvenir of their former friendship and intimacy.
7On his return to San Francisco he commenced his career as violinist, giving many concerts both of orchestral and chamber music, and is still leader and director of the Henry Heyman String Quartet. At his chamber music concerts he has produced all the great modern works, such as the Raff octet, the Jadassohn flute sextet, the Saint-Saëns trumpet septet, etc., etc. Of the classics, he has performed for the first time in California the A major quartet of Schumann, the aria "Erbarme dich" with violin obligato from the Mattheus Passion by J. S. Bach, the A major sonata of Handel and Spohr's Ninth Concerto with orchestra. He has also introduced to the Californian public Mackenzie's "Benedictus" and Gounod's "Vision of Joan of Arc" playing both these works with organ accompaniment.
9In his various concert tours he has been all along the Pacific coast from San Diego in the South to Victoria in the North; he has also visited the South Sea Islands. At Honolulu he played before King Kalakaua and so charmed that monarch that the post of court violinist was immediately created and Henry
11Heyman constituted attaché to the royal household in that capacity; and was furthermore made a knight of the Star of Oceania, an Order of Freemasonry of great antiquity. His late Majesty, King Kalakaua, was a great admirer of the violin and was himself an accomplished musician, sang divinely, was a good linguist, and was withal a perfect gentleman. Sir Henry describes him as being "every inch a king" and though he would frequently condescend to great intimacy and familiarity with his subjects and friends, there was always that evidence of royalty in his general bearing that rendered it impossible for the recipients of his favour to presume on his good nature or take any undue liberty in response to his geniality.
13Sir Henry Heyman is now almost entirely devoted to teaching, giving occasional concerts and sometimes directing, or as we say on this side of the "streak," conducting orchestral concerts. His taste in matters musical is characterised by great catholicity; he admires everything that is good of its class, and this is, to our mind, the only true artistic point of view. In England he has observed the great advance in the quality and quantity of violin music published, and makes considerable use of the English productions in teaching, which is somewhat remarkable in a musician whose training has been so exclusively German.
15On the eight-hundredth anniversary of the University of Bologna he was made honorary corresponding member of that institution; he is also director of the Mark Hopkins Institute of Art and Californian School of Design—something in the nature of our South Kensington schools—and is honorary member of various American clubs and societies. In San Francisco he has entertained all the great musicians who have visited that city in recent times, including Wilhelmj, Sarasate, Ovide Musin, M. Hauser, Arditi, D'Albert, Sir Arthur Sullivan, and many others; and of all he has much that is interesting and amusing to tell. Amongst those who have dedicated compositions to him we may mention in particular Hans Sitt, Joh. Lauterbach, Jadassohn, M. Rossi, etc.
17He has just completed a holiday of several months spent in thoroughly doing Europe, hunting up all his old friends and professors (and in his case these are synonymous terms) and in living over again the scenes of his past student life. At Berlin he was entertained by Joachim and others; at Leipzig by Reinecke, Jadassohn, etc., at Dresden by Lauterbach, at Vienna by M. Rossi, and so on through his entire journey.
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