MUSIC.

Dominion, Volume 1, Issue 110, 1 February 1908, Page 13

MUSIC.

[Bt Tbeble Clef.] Competition for "Stars." Competition between tho two opera impresarios in New- York—Mr. Conried and Mr. Hammerstoin—is robbing tho European; opera,houses, of thejr best singers. Onej' otter another of tho prime doiino and ieading tenors *and basses of tho day aro being "snapped up" for America by tho offer, or. salaries—such;as Sigiior Caruso's £10,000 — which no Continental stago. can pay. "His Excellency George von Hulsen, directorgeneral of tho royal operas at Berlin, Hanover, Cassol, mid AYiesbaden, gavo his views ! .to a correspondent of the ''Standard," as follows:—l'Tlwre 'is no doubt whatever that the temptations offered European singers by. American millionaire 'managements".work a ,;distinct injury to our operatic world. Artistes becomo disquioted by fabulous offers which -their present comparatively penurious engagements compel them to decline. Every . 'singer is haunted by tho fear of losing his• .voico beforo funds for a rainy; day have been accumulated. America, with .its stupendous salaries, ; offers a quick and certain insurance, policy against this nightmare. ■ It is this, desiro for absolute provision against tho un— known future which tempts them across tho .ocean. . TJiitil wo aro able \to hold out ■ equally attractive opportunities in Eurppo I ; • cannot conpeivp of any means of counter-:' acting thesp'purely psychological motives." Tho G ermaii royal operas ' are revenging themselves on America by employing, many of her talented sons and daughters. (There urn said to he thirty-five now singing throughout Germany. Six aro engaged at-, tho Kaiser's operjis. Italy's great actors and' singors also pass, as thov make their,names, to America (states the'llomo. correspondent' of tho sanio .papor), and can rarely be'heard in their nativo country: Signor, Caruso i»nd Signor Boiici, perhaps his nearest rival, are " only two/examples among many. The reason is onlj': tpo plain,: America, gives, '.Caruso|£4Q,oool a year. 'Italy .'could not givo'- hjm. £10,000. . Bouci, aiid , Dp Lucas, also great tenors,, receive. £10,000 a year. They could hardly earn a fifth part of it in Italy; Italy cannot even pjiy as.liigh salaries as the Paris OperiV, whicli is far ..less generous than tho -, American impresarios. ; It seems' that on the whole ,"present-dayV;i Italian ■ artistes are in feriqr tq their ■ : Tho ''moderns" liuvp improved in minor'details, but': : tho beauty of Vpico and purity, ofacbent ' aro not thoso'of tho: singers 'of twonty or thirty years ago. Tho older, singers were' ready, to-iindprtako anv rolQ, but nowadays each specialises, somo singing only in AVagner opera, others in Euccihi roles only,'and, so on..This "restrict,s 'tlio scopo. of' the art, ■ arid is) damaging to Italian opera enterprise.

A Boy Pianist., It may bo taken for'g'r/intotl (says >a. repent V' : • London exchange) that- any . instrumentalist -I who attractstho attention 'of Dr. Hans Kichtei;, and is introduced to the public by' ; i that veteran,; conductor and ' highly.; accbm-; ;plished musician, is gifted beyond tlio'oi dinary. ]):•.' RjehterY judgment and'apprcciat ion. woro'-' unquestionably / justified Vby s the i ; tnily!marvellous pefformanco of.a boy pianist from -Vienna,' Kriist Leiigyel, age is .14,. and whose gifts.aro extraordinary.' Wo havo had: of'late years' many of these.. highly-: v'. : gifted young, players; chiefly' violinists, ..but th.ero has been . scarcely any ono -of them, • savo young Elman,.that, has showed, siich a - ; wealth of musical aptitude as this.new coriier.V His second piece was tho Chromatic Fantasia - and I<ugiio of Bach, a Work 'which,.' v intricacy, of . construction, con- •' .tains infinito, l subtlotyvin- its'melodic import. It is'vuot. too much to say. that Ernst •.- lerigyel brought out the essential idea of the : music ;in' 1, .a. masterly ~way. ~ 7He has' been called -in Gormanv tho -'Mozart" of tlio pre- . sent century, 111 his amazing wealth of musical skill lie: thoroughly :deserves tho ' title.; ' V V;7 Two Now Songs, ' io, r K ■ "It is only a fw weeks,■'■.savs a.London. ' i correspondentj "sinco the ' publication . was i annoui.ccd of Charles. Willcbv'a now songs, . . ,Wishes/. and. tho'two ,short ones th.it under.the general title of 'Thistledown' aro respectively Tho Kev to Your Heart' an\l ; '.iN"e!)th \our Casement,'- and tho pre- ' diction i.wrjs mqdo-itlint' : thesq : would prove immediately attractive. Tho events of ; : those fen .ncoks havo .-marched 'rapidly,. as regards these sqngs, for they a.ro announced hv tho publishersitq.bo thoV'biggest success'. ■ wo have had for -years pusti' Already tho publishers aro short of copies, so great has been tho demand/ although a very largo edi-tion-was printed, and this-hns bcon followed quickly: lyith 'other"editions,'; but' tli'o- great ' . public has qnick."to appreciato tho sing-.' ing qualities,of these new jongs)".-. ■A■ ••«

"Sweated" Musicians.' . ' \\ • At the recent Conference of Musicians at Wellington refcrencc of a■deprecatory nature was niade to the: "sweated".:; musicians of ■' ■ Sydney, .whicli, had resulted' from the forma- i tion of 'utiions; . Some correspondence .on this subject has beenj appearing in Sydney papers, and the following is ah excerpt from a letter split to Mr. Harry llickards by. his orchestra. ' This letter • includes:/ the following statementis wages that youpay us (ex- • qepting tho musical director) arc the wages fixed- by' the' Professional Musicians' Union 1 : in tlje Arbitration; Court, ami winch arc at <: present 'filed, there as - tlio legitimate wage—-s-' ■viz., £3.por weqk for six performances, with' one matinee included, extra matinees to be■■■■ paid, at the rate yf onn half ■ night's salary.' Hence we fad to see ,'by what right the Sydney Labour ' Council interfere between you and us as employer - rind employees. As is i well known, you have paid the"union wage' " ever since the union first formed." /■;vj

- An Old Rollc. j Tho appeal put forth on behalf of the old , London Concert Hall, Hickford's Room, m , Brewster Street, Golden Square, which has survived fronr.tho eighteentji cent-ury,-'but;'is'; , now threatened witir'destriiction, will be • l generally .endorsed.. Many probably will have been surprised to learn that the ball, which [ it.seems has latterly formed part of the'prej mises of a club, is still iii existence.; In the j: olden -days' itj was, of course, a veryfashionable musical rendezvous'..: Here Mozartmade f his .-final, appearance before leaving England in 1765, and here, too, lie.was to have made , his London delnit at the benefit 'concert of l Signor.Groziani,' the violoncellist, but, much ■ ; to the disappointment of the public, ho was \< prevented from doing so. . Groziani bad ad- , vertised him- in the following;.- 'terns"A .< concerto and v solo: ; on tho'. harpsichord Iby . , Master . Mo'zard, who .is ii real prodigy \)f j Nature; ho is.but soven years.of age, plays'. y anything at sight-,"and composes\anmiiigly. ; . w'oll.' • But, alas I bo had laterto announce: e "I had declared in the public 'Advertiser' of 1 May 17 Master Mozar'd; but as ho is sick I' ■ cannot promise that, lie will plav." In the ■ end ; "Mr. Mozard" actually made his first public appearance in . London at the [ great room in Spring Gardens. '' 1 -'V.. : ' Musicians" Year Book, j r ; -The year the ■ Society, of British' i Cqmposcrs is a publication of some interest, i; Tho Society was founded scimo IS months i ago by a small number of earnest [ 'musicians of the younger generation, "who -were desirous of ■.improving' their i ,hot very hopeful. prospects. 1 ' From the i list of members it would seem that tlicro arc vory fow British composers of any aci count who have not joined their ranks; The' year book consists chiefly of a useful classified list of the, works, published and unpub-• lislied'of contemporary British composers, and as such affords an impressive, not to say pathetic, idea of tho amount of nuisical >■ talent, for tho most part- it is feared unrecognised, which Britain has. Certainly the ; . 44 works which have been published so far at the instance of tho Society constitute but a small fraction, of those still in MS. A Young Violinist. Yet another marvellous violinist is pro. mised shortly in London. His name is Zirabalist, and ho hails from St. Petersburg. He is somo 18 years.oldi. According to Russian papers, "his playing hypnotises;.like a"magician ho transfers his hearor's into a strange : world of beauty, which is .but tho reflex of his own tender transuaront musical smJ."