MUSICIANS AND COMPOSERS.

Otago Witness, Issue 2811, 29 January 1908, Page 81

MUSICIANS AND COMPOSERS.

' — To bs a queen of song, a writer in 'the Sphere ir-sists, a woman must look the part, 111 1 and havis its name. So far as the latter consideration goes, there is no difficulty ; i the daughter* of Tom Jones? --the -poi-k- : butcher, if she have the voice, may borrow j a hint'and a name from the first ice-cream I vend<H^she: DjferejiS} 'Ajidbe- independent^; I the §ift of her godfathers and 'godmothers,"" and of the surname to which the birth i certificate would hold her. For the rest. the voice' is 1 the thing. The costumier and the artist in make-up will add the charms ; which: nature lia§;,omitt©dv<ia su^pTy.^-JVomeu'j j like MelK&,";Pat^Eglma fames';- Nordica,. 1- ' and "the like need no sucn assistance ; but 1 if old portraits correctly reproduce their [ features,>-Alboni, Tietjens, and some' other. , ' of the gi eat. past mistresses of mefooy ■ found r their fortunes not in. their- faces but in .their vocal organs only. "Beauty 'may be" genius : but gemus is not invariably accompanied by beauty* —In view of the fact that Signora Tetrazzini, the "star" which has arisen so suddenly upon- the horizon of the London musical world, and whom; everyone is flocking to se^ and hear at Covent Garden, has been well known in almost every other part of the globe for the past 18 or 20 years,, people are asking how it is that we hava remained unfamiliar with the genius of this prima donna fox so long. The -real reason is (says & London paper) that Tetrazzini has avoided, rather than , sought, . engagements here, for she confesses that she always f elt somewhat apprehensive of English audiences. "I had been told," she says "that , the British public was cold and most difficult to rouse, but now 1 know how false that impression was. I am. more> than delighted with England and the English people,, and shall always 'remember with | 1 deep gratitude their reception of my efforts !on the occasion of my debut here. I do wish, however," the singer added, with a sigh of; regret, as though, unwillingr Ho say .anything against us, "that you would improv« your 'weather. Sometimes I am Tcept a prisoner here" — her suite of rooms at the Hotel Cecil— "all day on account of the bpd Jwe^ather, for Tarn fearfid x>f catchinsf ,cold. s> >-i Tetrdzzini, it might be mentioned is past" her first youth, being . 4-7 years of age. Sha has,, 'however, a charming manner, and anyone- would take her for 30. I — Herr Eugene Ysaye, the great masterof the violin,, is a great, burly Bohemian, with a contempt for form and a love of ease. He has just turned 50 years of age> having been born at Liege, in Belgium, in I 1858. His father was a, conductor of a. I theatrical orchestra, and, when Eugene was six years of age, he was taken to the 1 theatre to witness a performance for the I first time But the stage had no aitrao- [ tion fot the lad. It was the orchestra [ that held him > Two years; after- ! wards h« became a- pupil at the Liege Con* I servatoire. Here he succeeded ia gainingi. a* second prize. When he was 10 years of }• age ho experienced a similar v rebuff to I Joaohimi "inasmuch ; as Ec ixeaai toldf 'that he would never be a violin&t. He left the school in despair, nor d.^! he fe-enter .

it tur-til four years after. He remained f<v threo years, winning many prizes, among then* a subsidy of £96 a year. The day: of Ysaye's youth were fraught with manj • hardships in the cause of his art. In theaS days ,of he is fond ..of tellinc "his pvfgifs of his s£raggles.~ r -'Ah7" He sayi^ "at^rcnu. -age I r practised in., a garret, 'an* only wont "out when "too hungry to go ob pSayingf"*-- i?imes "'halve h»weve»— .aAc^'&fc b^fAme^fpa|is,jJt.xfi^qf ; ;,sp conc&rtt J 'he -receive J\the enormous .soia-o£ 525,55f).'." With-6© -princely a-n* income- at?- hjs iiisposai;" there -fc> iittle~wontler"that Y^aya-fethe , namtm - ■■is^trisyilaßfdf'wKeth'er're "fs-'Hedgriate-'witlf .^^n^J^n^^f^^r^jK??''^*- sp''eloaeij"> " . rese.nw»lea; i».'a«>q«agtaon'-feas a'tuttque-and^ : fabtilously-'-expensi'te^-'obHectioiii violins, " the gathering of which has been on&Wy&s'" I h9bbie3. - -■» ~ . — , , . ■; '-Mt ~ Fritz SSereler, who is booked for : in^ the -United. States? was. " :: -within" a- fe\v"-TF. hours of his arrival in New York. To a representative ""oi ' 'Mu^fSET-Jtmer-fca^ha -im-~ ' ,parie4 ..his views on the attitude of Trans- ■ atlantic" audiences as compared with that oi music-lovers Jn other countries. "The Ame« rjcan j«id sthe famous violinist, "Botoes toi a- concStt, ajnd vrtiile .-<jf :sscrjuni • nafemg ta^e^is ready to fins eajoyme'fit an^ to- enthuse A if good music Ts?tjjcoiningv Tha^peopTe "are of an.vimpfesakjS&.ble^moo4 —they wish to be "impressed. But" how different with a gathering in Germany t There they coma in a critical mood, deter< mined that nothing shall move them front their coldness or their attitude of cold disdain towards him who seeks to win. them." But that, seemingly, is not Mr Kreisler's only grievance against the Fatherland. "In Berlin.," he declared, "V -am stopped in the street, sometimes several; ;-tim%s>;4srda^!ji,by- -.-fc&t&t.j ftiangep,- jifho ,ask . 'jfdFlny'autogra'plj.' 'Tney* don't: (he added '"pfat&i&relyK-? bother lawyers, or* doctors, so why should they assume that 1 am of a different ftrder of being?" When ho is next in Gc" iiany Mr KreisJer should strike the attitude which led to his being compared by a London newspaper, when he fir.sk appeared here on ,a concert platform. as -"Ajax defying- the-- lightning." - " LONDON'S MUSIC HALIi "ATMOSPHERE." A Boston HeraJd correspondent has baon giving his. impressions of the Jtondon musto halls. They are hurried, / But are not all inconreofc., .This is what he says i— . . . -'"London' is the real -home of the -naus'o hall. '-Nowhere else in the world. -does the music' hall flourish in as' large 4 number or as • great 1 a variety as in, the. world's ■,metrqi>QUs; , - . ■ _ ", "Venice "has, its 'Coacerto Eden,' Benin ;aiid 'Vienna their i'Gambrihu3 Halle,' Paris its 'Cafes Cbantants,* ' and - % New "Fork ' its imitations of them all. ..But none- o£ them, can ever hope to attain the 'atmosphere* which stamps the halls of London as being 1 absolutely unique and unparalleled. "In." competition, with London' 675 theatres there are 500 music halls of all grades, from 1 the palatial of Picadilly Circus atid Leicester souare to the clingy of the East End, where the admission, is confined ' to the price, of a glass of beer or "arf an? 'arf.' , -"The music hall often has the reputation of beinjj a" 'wicked and improper place^co visit.' But, while smoking and drinking are alk-wed ad libitum, it is a facF that programme and clientele are more often •l^^'cjaofTe'P timely- unobjectionable- aityd.^pro* per to" a fault — oftentimes even to- dulness. ■> "The 'ifamous ballets, which are feature! of the larger ones, 'are often more discreef than some of the pantomimes to ' which children are taken. "In Leicester square, with its tnanj foreign shops and restaurants, aro London't two most palatial music halls, the Empirt and th<s Ahamßrar They are very ornat« and splendid to outward /view, and thej boast elaborate ballets. "Nowhere, even at grand opera in Paris, -Mjajiohs^oi; Naples, is the grand finale ol "the"Dalfe6"presente'd" with more" costly and*? refined; magnificence.- The Empire, like tha" Alhambra,. is usually," cyowded "with foreigners- of all nations, from' tha" turhanned gentleman from Calcutta to the western cawfjj&aSher with his sombrejfo'in his lap., r thd Empire-'s grand 'lounge' one may rub elbows with many famous men about town — financiers, eminent counsel, racing and club' men, ' artists, literary and. musicians. "A feature of music- halls that always amazes the American "visitor 'is the usher— not a man, but a young and handsome w,oman in severely simple black gown, white collar (usually three sizes 'too large), cuffs, lace cap, and apron. "The custom- of charging- 6d for a programme, which consists, for the greatos, part, of advertisements, still obtains in, most of the musio halls. But this, as ona American put it, c is one of the least obieo tionable ways of robbing a- stranger in Lon* don. He gets something for his money.' . "It is always something of a shock i<s an American -woman to -enter, a music tal^ and find there perfectly respectable people—yes, and representative* of the wor_ld'< best society — sitting with hats -on* smoking* drinking, and joining 'vociferously in thd. chorus of some especially popular air. "But, after alt, it is something of ji relief to see any demonstration after the sober., stoical, unresponsiveness of the aver* ag« English audience at a play. "The English topical song is a 'winnerA And- it is so doliciously English and prei sented in such an atmosphere that nowher^ , else would it sound at all the same — wnles* cerhaps from Grossmith or Albert Che-»a< - lier, each an artiste in hie own particula* lines. The cockney element is never laek< ing ; in fact, it is more often aggressively Present than not. "The London music hall artiste is a tyot pecu'tar to himself.' He is an inoffensive person, with. a. well-developed talent in som« ' particular direction, and epicurean taste* which consume his salary as fast as h« draws, it." — Mrs Evans, of Richmond-on-Tharr>«f claims she is the only woman enMt'ed U wear the Alma. Balaclava, aad lakermav medals, permission having t»een (cranked o* the death of her husband, ■whom f»he aok companied through the Crimea. Sh© yrzX often under fire. Persistent coughs that continue through' the spring- and summer usually indicate some throat and lung /trouble, 'and it is a serious mistake to -neglect them." ChambosrlainX Cough Remedy ie famous for its cures of ooußns of this- netnire, and a- few , doses, taken intim© may save. a doctor's feill and perhaps years of sufferlnat. For saHe everywhere- - -