MUSIC.

Dominion, Volume 5, Issue 1259, 14 October 1911, Page 9

MUSIC.

(Br Tuedi-e Clef.) "There's music in all things—if men had : | ears,— Their earth is but an echo of the spheres." —Lord Byron. A Musical Expert in Court, It. is not often that a musician proves himself able to hold hisi own with a lawyer, but in the. year 1833 Tom Cooke, a well-known English musician, scored finely off Sir .James Scarlett, who was famous for his skill as a 'bnab-'ateiv . On his cross-examination during an alelegd "piracy" case, the following dialogue occurred: "Now, sir, you say that the two melodies are the same, but different. Now, what do you mean by that, sir?" "I said that Hie notes in Hie two copies were alike," promptly answered Cooke, "but the accent was different, the ono being in common time, tho other in sixeight time." "What is musical accent?" asked Sir James. . "My terms are a guinea a lesson," answered the composer, who saw no reason why_ he should submit to being bullied. "Never mind your terms here. 1 ask you what is musical accent. Can you see it:" ' "No." "Can you feci it?" "A musician can." • "Now, sir, don't beat about the ,biish, but explain tlic meaning of what you call accent." ' ' Cooks did not hesitate one moment, but replied: : "Accent in music is a certain stress laid upon a particular note... , Thus, if I wero to say, 'You are an ass' it rests on the ass; but if. I were to say, 'You are an aos,' it rests on you, Sir James." Tchaikovski's Extraordinary Marriage. ! One of the most astonishing manifestations of the idiosyncracirs of genius is to be noted in the marriage of Tchaikovski, the greatest of Russian masters, who remained a bachelor until_ thirty-seven years of age. Ho continually conumiiiihis friends' the fact that he longed for the Companionship of a noblo woman. In fact, the condition of singleness seemed to. worry him frequently. He felt'that tho ideal life was the married life, and often announced his intention of seeking a suitable bride. In tho. meantimo ■ there arose one' of the strangest of all infatuations between Madame von Meek, the widow of a railway engineer, and Tchaikovski.. Tho Former was very wealthy, and was ten rears Tchaikovski's senior. She insisted upon sending him money, and tried.--in nery ivav to make opportunities-to give iiim profitable employment. They exdianged frequent letters for years, but never once conversed together. Surely 10 more astonishing instance of platonic levotion ever existed. In 1877, a young woman whom Tchaicovski had known for some time, fell n love wilh him. He told her repeatedy that he did not, and could not. love icr. In fact, he never manifested • any tffection whatever for her. She, however, was so in love ' with -him .that die wrote repeatedly, threatening suicide f ho did not consent to marry her. finally, as he relates in a letter to a i'iend, ho consented to sacrifice his libery to save the lifo of the love-crazed lamscl. They were married on June 18, 577, but lived logethor for but n few vceks Tchaikovski did his best to pro--ido for the needs of his wife after he lad left her ilgar's Violin Concerto. Not for. years (says "L'Etude") _ has hero been more interest in a new violin omposition than that in the performance f the new violin concerto of Sir Edward llgar, England's foremost living composer, ,'hich tool; place in London recently, the iitcrprcting violinist being Frits Kreis:r. Tho accompanying orchestra was diccted by the composer himself. The work •as received with great enthusiasm by ho audience, but the criticism was diided. While admitting that Ihe new nnccrlo is a gcod work, many of the ritics maintain that it contains little aspiration and will hardly rank with he world's great concertos. Tho conei'lo is in Ihree movements, opening with n allegro. The middle movement is an ndante, and (he closing theme, allegro >.alto. The work is not excessively diffiult, barring some difficult double sloping. Following its premiere in London, lany concert violinists all over the world re arranging to play it.