MUSIC.

Dominion, Volume 7, Issue 2205, 18 July 1914, Page 9

MUSIC.

■ rßr-TBEBW. Cisr.i - :, Mr.- Derek Hudson. ' ■': ", .•'.-'.■.': ■■': Joszi, .the'■picturesque Rumanian fid-; dler'and heartbreaker in "Gijbsy.love" (now- being'.played'in VSydney.),.:.is /onei of the most showy and romantic figures in the/domain of comic operas—-Henri, the gallant King in "Mα Mie Rosette" is another—and Mr. Derek Hudson was fortunate, indeed,. to make his Australian debut in such a role.: People who have unusual qualifications for a stage career advance with amazing rapidity. Mr. Hudson's meteoric career •has taken him to the front, and deservedly bo, within three years. ■Hβ :wa's in his boyhood solo soprano at St. Patrick's' Church of, ; England, / -'Brighton, and began/life' as'a-mechanical ..engineer. On discovering that he.had oricV: more '.'a voice,'. , hestarted with .brightness and energy, in the chorus under.Oscar ' Hammerstein, at: the, London Opera House, and within a fewmonthe waschosen for several Hβ was then engaged as principal-baritone for ! condensed- opera," lasting'an hourand a half under the Beedhamdirec-' tionat the'halls, opening afthe'London Palladium, where, and on tour, he sang, Wolf rami Dappertutto, Conte ■ di- Luffii;' and the Toreador. ■•■■ About,.the end ;; of-1912 he was -singing;; Fuji; .Wara;='in ; ':,-''JL'a,' Mpusme'J," on, tour';: and gfged, by? .some ';Araericaniiirtjste^'.to' ' produce , '..- tho revue "Ragtime" ■ roh ■ toiir, and from' that to stage-manago the revue/ f'Step This Way'.'-at the.Oxrord Musjo Hall (London), and on tour About this time the J. 0. Williamson rel presentative heard him sing,■> and at once secured him for South-Airica with the Gilbert-Sullivan due m Melbourne.... ■Hβ sang with: thenTthe characters of the/Jlik'ado,' PifateiKing i Colonel Calverley,' the Sentry '('•lolanthe '),. tho Captain and the: Bo'sun in 'Pinafore," Couisel ("Trial By Jury")and of the-Tower ("Yeoman."), . ■■ ■■ . ~■. ■ , >■-... Padsrewslti and Melba. ; The New York' "Musical Courier" announces that Paderewski will.tour the United States again next year. This will probably be a tour preliminary to his promised visit to Austrab'a and New Zealnad. I saw Mr. John Lemmone in' Sydney ■, recently)'' and he thought that Paderewski meantbusinese and: would xome early next- year, but at that ,time : (early, last month) there was no definite news. . V -•.;•■■?■.:; Mr. Lemmone-also-assured me that it wss"f:not during ljer present visit to Australia. She was simply .coming out. to-see .her aged father, who is.in failing.:health. Still, I would not be at all. eurpriswJ to hear that Melba will spend the rest of the year 'ia Australia, aiid join the eminent Polish pianist in a tour of.Australia and New Zealand next. yeaT.'.\. : Baoh's Subllmo Emfnenoo, From "Musical Cancda." comes -IJiis Bach estimate ( as determined upon : between .two noted English musical writers. The author of the paragraph ie J; Cuthbert Hadden: "John F. Runciman has a wail in an American, contemporary about the practical neglect of Bach in England. Things.are not quite so bad as he would have us believe,,' but, in any case, Mr. Runciman is too discerning a critib to suppose that Bach can over he a 'popular composer.' Baph's appeal must always. be' to. the. serious minded, cultured musician; and there is no sense in complaining that he does not touch the type of person who delights in ragtime and tho latest 'tune' waltzes. If Bach : did' appeal to that type, one would feel that.something was wrong— with Bach. Let Johann Sebastian _ ro,niain on-the pedestal. ..He has. sufficjerit admirers, and they:'are of the right sort." '' .' -...'.. ■ ..'". '.. ■ ::;: ■' -.;. At Covent Carden. . ■".-.. : -.•.■■' In the performance of "The Valkyries" givenat Covent Garden on April 22, Gertrude Kappel tho. Brunnhilde, Maude Fay the jSioglmdo, Kirkby Lunn the Fricka, and'Hosina Buckman. sustained the minor role of Hehnwige. . The correspondent of the New 'York "Courier" was very severe on Miss Buckman's Musetta (in "La Boheme"), which many other critics highly praised. This , critic said: "Of the Musetta of Rosina Buckman little in praise can be said. The. voice of Miss.Buckman. is i hard and unmusical, in addition to, or because of, baing badly produced, ana tho conception of tho role was muoh too hoydenish." i '_. . About Ourselves, In the, New York ■ "Musical Courier," Jlr.-D.--F. M'Sweeney, representative for Mr. John M'Cormack, describesAustralia and Mew Zealand as "splendid countries, from-.a musical' standpoint. The people there,"; ho says, "have not been surfeited by an excessive number of musical attractions, and welcome enthusiastically any really groat 1 artist. But," Mr. .:M'S\veeu.Y adds, "tho artist must be, : above . all things, young. The Australians, being a vigorous people, only respond to vigorous art. In this respect they are a good deal like our Western ::Americans. : l Mr. M'Cormack gave sixty-five.concerts' altogether in Australia New Zealand, and it is estimated that close to two hundred thousand peoplalfoiind admission to these sixty-five concerts, at which ho sang over a thousanjtj-nuinhers. There 'woro numerous .occaoions when the lights had to be extinguished in order to get the people out of; the hall." Though Mr. M'Cormock's tour wae a great success, we cannot for" the moment, .recall, an inatanoe. where it was necessary to turn out the., lights to get the people out of a hall. '. John'MlCormack' is a great advertieert In the "Courier" he .had the following-: advortisement: r T-"J6hn '■jH'Cormack and Christmas are annual events;.;';. Christmas commemorates the birth ~6i Christ,' M'Ccrmack the birth, of eoiut.". '