MUSIC.

Dominion, Volume 4, Issue 1150, 10 June 1911, Page 9

MUSIC.

•» (Bv Treble CLEf.I Sousa by Divine Right. The German Emperor is not alone in his conception of the right ol kings. Writing in "Ainslec's Magazine, tlie famous ".March King" also puts forth his claim though in somewhat _ less exalted terms than in the Kaiser's recent speech,, and, like Lloyd-George, 110 mak;s out but a poor case for the hereditary principle. Ho says:—"l believe that Providence intended me for a musician, and I call it the luckiest thing in the world that I can make my living by doing what I want to do. I never remember wanting to be anything but a musician. It was not tho working out of a hereditary instinct, for ours was not a musical fainilv, and my ancestors were soldiers, explorers, and seafaring people. My father was compelled to take up music for a living, but he was not a real musician. 'My mother had an ear lor tune, but she was not a musician. She did not greatly care for it." Next to king born Sousa regards tho day 011, which he first commenced his musical studies as being the most important in his liie. On that day was sown the seed which v.-as ultimately to spread the fame of his marches in triumphal arches across the avenues of tho world. To Sousa it was the beginning ef a life's work which has afforded his undoubted genius and towering personalis its fullest scope. It. made him the friend of kings and the missionary of those martial melodies which have stirred tho pulses of all nations. Tho Municipal Orchestra. On Tuesday evening the Municipal Orchestra are giving one of their concerts, the programme having been chosen with 1 considerable care, so as to make it particularly attractive. "Finlandia," by Jean Sibelius, proved such a success that Mr. Maughan Barnett decided, in response to requests, to repeat it, and also to repeat the bright "Lion du Bal"—an intermezzo bv Gillet. The "Vorspiel," from "King Manfred,", by C. Reinecke, a minuet from the Symphony of Mozart, and Beethoven's Concerto are also included in the programme. 111 this latter item Mr. Horace Hunt will play tho pianoforte part, 011 a Steimvay Grand specially procured for the occasion, and, judging by rehearsals, this should prove very acceptable to the public. As usual, Mr. Maughan Barnett has selected for his organ soli pieces which appeal strongly to the variety of taste of the audiences. Altogether the programme is one which should ensure an audience. ; Caruso's Lost Voice. ■"'.For ten weeks at the Metropolitan Opera House, Caruso, who has just gone back to London, was absent from tho cast 011 account of throat trouble. Tln> famous singer, who looked in the best of health 011 arriving in London, stated that ho would not be able to sing again until November, when he expects to return to New York. "I found last season very exacting," he said, "coming as it did after my operation. Then when influenza attacked 1110 it settled in my throat. I have thought several times that I had shaken it off, but my doctors have insisted that 1 should not sing in public. They promise me, however, that the summer rest will thoroughly restore the power of nsy voice." Siguor Caruso has not sung sineo February G, and his silence has cost him ,£15,000, as he is not paid unless he sings. Another version of the trouble, however, indicates that it is more serious than this account would lead one to suppose. Caruso, according to a Rome dispatch, to the "New York World," has despaired of regaining his voice through human agency, and will, therefore, seek a cure through the liquefaction of the blood ef Si. .lanuarius "Should he rccoive (he benefit hp piously hopes for," writes the correspondent, "he will offer a silver bust of himself to St. Januarius. Ciffariello, a Neapolitan sculptor, who obtained notoriety through his trial for wife murder (of which crime ho was acquitted), recently exhibited in Florence a plaster bust of Caruso. This was considered a striking likeness of the singer, and the sculptor told a friend lie intended to have it: east in' bronze. Recently, however, Ciffariello received a letter from Caruso, in New York, ordering the bust t i be cast in solid silver, regardless of expense. In his letter tho famous tenor explained that ho infended to give the statue as a votive offering to the saint through whose intercession lie hopes to recover his lost voice. lie is said to be firmly convinced that the only effective remedy for his throat trouble lies in the miraculous power of St. Januarius, whose blood, preserved in a glass vinl in the Naples. Cathedra!, is said to liquefy at. intervals, when the saint's feast is celebrated." New York Wants Sir Henry Wood. Sir Henry Wood, conductor of the Queen's Hall Orchestra, London, has been offered the conductorship of the New York Philharmonic Society, vacant through the resignation of Mr. Gustav Mahler as the result of illness. When the mail left London it appeared likely that he would accept. With the retirement of Dr. Richtcr, music in England can ill-afford to lose the services of the popular conductor of the Queen's Hall Orchestra, with which he first became connected in 1805, when he inaugurated the famous promenade concerts which, 11.ore than anything else, have marvellously popularised high-class music in London. He has taken the famous orchestra all over the country, and has conducted at nutny of (he provincial musical festivals. Ho was knighted in January last. Notes. Mine. Amy Sherwin, the Tasmania!! soprano, is credited with the discovery of a. wonderful child-soprano in England. The ".Morning Leader" of April 2:! and the "Daily Mirror" publish portraits of the girl in question, who was singing with her sister in the street outside Mme. Shcrwin's house in St. John's Wood on Christmas Eve, when the prima donna noticed the purity of the voice and its ease in taking a "top A," invited her into the house, and ultimately adopted her. The child made her debut at a charity concprt. at the Hoxton Hall on April 27, and was congratulated by the Prince and Princess Alexander of Teck. Mine. Sherwin's little soprano is likely to have a bright career.

The prices which are quoted by the Covenl Garden management in_ connection with the Coronation Gala Night are such as to make Australians sit back and think. They are as follow:—Pit and grand tier boxes, 100 guineas each; front and rsTcond tier boxes respectively, fifl :ind ffl guineas; orchestra stalls, 20 guineas; balcony, 10 guineas; first four rows, amphitheatre. 1 guineas; other rows, 3 guineas; and gallery. 1 guinea. In comparison with this tariff, no matter what may be charged for the llelba season, the prices will stem very moder-