MUSIC.

Dominion, Volume 6, Issue 1758, 24 May 1913, Page 9

MUSIC.

rur TkebiiZ Ci.ef.T Clara Eult in Australia. "It seems about twelve mouths, not five or six years, since my husband and I. toured Australia," said Madame Clara Butt to a Sydney interviewer last week. "Wo are both glad to be back in this music-loving country. We will give our first concert in The Auditorium, .Melbourne, 011 Saturday next. What a long way we have come in open the new concert hall! I am told that it is a little larger than the Melbourne Town Hall. When we have given fiva or six concerts we move on to Adelaide. Our first Sydney concert will lie on June 21. Queensland and West Australia will be visited before we tour Now Zealand. It. has not yet been fixed when we go to Xcw Zealand. We finish in Sydney in December. Our accompanist, Mr. Harold Craxlon, we have brought with us. Wo have (wo brilliant Australians for this tour, Mr. William Murdoch, our pianist, and Mr. Frank Mowat Carter, our violinist. Mr. Murdoch was with us when we -toured South Africa eighteen months ago. Mr. Craxlon look the place of Mr. Godfrey shortly after wb finished our first Australasian tour."

Shaking her head when she was asked if she lnid had auy sensational experiences since she left Australia in 1!)08, the statuesque singer said; "Nothing sensational happened. But there might havo been something sensational if we had not started for Australia this time when we did. We just missed those terrible floods in the United States. Fortunately for us we cut short our American tour to keep (lie promise we had made (o open the new hall in Melbourne. During the past five years we have done a tremendous amount of travelling. Outside of England wo havo Ijeen two or three times on (he Continent, singing in Germany, Austria, and Hungary, 'lhcn there were our big South African and American tours, including Canada. We have another American tour next year, which will keep us out of England until July."

It is understood that -Madame Bult and h-or husband, Sir. Kcnncrley liitmford, will commence a tour of New Zealand in December. Mr. J. Kevin Tait will manage.

A Saint-Saens Festival. Presently there is to bo what is called "a Saint-Saens Festival" in London to celebrate the seventy-fifth anniversary of the composer's entry upon his distinguished career. Her Majesty, the Queen, has become patroness of the festival, and in the long list of the general committee appear the names of the French Ambassador, the Duchess of Rutland, the Duchess ef Sutherland, the Marchioness of Kipon, the Marchioness of Dulferin and Ava, Mr. Alfred de Rothsjhild, Sir Hubert Parry, Kir Edward Poynter, P.1!.A., Sir Frederick Bridge, Sir ArthurPinero, and Sir Herbert Becrbolm Tree. T'lie veteran composer will bo present bath at the orchestral concert to bo given in Queen's Hall on June 2, when the Beechnut Orchestra is to perform a selection from M. Saint-SaensV works, and at the special performance of his opera, "Samson and Delilah," to bo given at Covent Garden later in the same week. At the Queen's Hall, Saint-Saens will play several pieccs l'roiu his pen and a Mozart concerto.

Musical Novelties. • Beethoven and Liszt figure in the winter's batch of novelties. A Beethoven sot of variations 011 "Kcichf' mil' dio Hand, mein Leben," for two oboes and an English liorn, has been unearthed by Prof. Ste.in. That worthy seems to make such a specialty of Beethoven's works that he ought to be retained permanently in tho search. Liszt's contribution is "La Nolle," a symphonic poem written about ISG4 in Rome, with voice parts added later. Liszt wanted this played at his funeral, but he has been dead too long for that.

Operas come in the usual numbers. Massenet's "Panurge" is' said to be stronger than "Roma," while lie left also "Amadis" and "Cleopatra" ill manuscript. D'Albert is setting "Sirocco," while his "Slave of Rhodes" is it comedy remodelled from Terence and other ancients. IppolitovIvanoy has produced "Assia," while tlio euphonious Mojsisovics offers the comic opera "Aunt Rosemary." Wolf-Ferrari is now employing Moiiere in his "L'Amour Medecin." Other Italian works include Trovasi's "La Nereide," Pannini's "Biondello," Di Parma's "Fedra," fiasco's "Legend of the Seven Towers," Monleone's

"Arabnsca" and Tomassini's "Iguale Fortuna/' Riccardo Casalcna's "Anthony" seemed a memorial of his death in the Messina earthquake. In Germany, Waltershauscn has finished "Azis and Azisa," from the Arabian Nights. Humperdinck has written the music for a Reinhardt production of "Tho Blue Bird." Strawinsky's new ballet, "Tho Sacred Spring Time," has symbolic Slav dances in the first act and a sacrifice in the second. His "Bird of Fire" made Strauss remark, "It is always interesting to lislen to the music of one's succcssor." A Milan firm has made moving picture films of "Parsifal," which can be given with the music when the copyright expires — Arthur Elson, in the "Etude." A Russian Estimate of Rubinstein. Anton Rubinstein (1824-91) enjoyed in Russia the greatest popularity, which ho richly deserved, not only as a prodigious pianist and as a composer of talent, but as the musician who founded tho Russian Musical Society and Conservatory, ami who worked hard for the. development of music in Russia, and tilso as a man of independent character and of broad and generous nature. He was as productive as Tchaikovsky, if not more so. As a composer Rubinstein does not disclose talent of the very highest order, but his personality is very marked. He was wanting in self-criticism; ho wroto too quickly, without going over, without analysing the completed work. His music is extremely uneven: close to very pretty measures, one happens upon wretched commonplaces. He had broad views, but did not always succeed in realising tliem. lie wished to do large work, and accomplished only long work; his ideal 'of beauty never rises to poetry. Tho music of his operas is inferior to Tchaikovsky's efforts, but the operas are, better suited to the stale and the style is broader, lie often wished to write Russian music, but his performances are only more or less clever counterfeits. Per contra, he was always successful with Oriental music.— Caesar Cuj, in "The Century Library of Music."

"Trial by Jury." Gilbert and Sullivan's works are always welcome, providing they are reasonably well done, and that the performers have the ability to sense the fine humour of Gilbert, without buffooning it. It will bo welcome news to Hutt residents to learn that; a performance of "Trial by Jury" is being arranged to be given at the King George Theatre at Lower Hutt on or about June 2(1, with energetic Mr. E. J. Mill as promoter and Mr. D. J. Kenny as conductor. The cast will be as follows: —The Learned Judge, Mr. A. W. Newten; Counsel for Plaintiff, Mr. 11. Pliinmer; Foreman of the Jury, Dr. Isaacs; Court. Usher, Mr. Allwright; Defendant, Mr. E. J. Hill: Plaintiff, .Miss Nellie Driscoll. To mm out the evening a conicrl is also to" be given, at. which Miss Krunsby, the gitlcii contralto, will make her debut at the Hull'.