MUSICIANS AND COMPOSERS.
— Mia i Amy Evans the young Welsh
singer who has recently advanced so notably in ler ptofession, gained several prizes for singing when only eight years of ago. At fourteen she won a chief prize at Cardiff Eisteddfod against 77 competitors ; and MiBen Davies, who was the leading adjudicator, sja've it as his opinion that, properly trained, she would become the greatest soprano Wales has ever produced. Miss Evans, who is 23, and is at present studying hard, has expressed her intention of doing her best to bring about the fulfilment of that prophecy. — Like so many of the world's great composers Sir Edward Elgar was a "youthful prodigy" of exceptional gifts, as was proved by the recent performance at the Queen's Hall of a suite composed by him at the immature age of 12. But e%on Sir Edwaicl was rroliably not so precocious as one of his Engliah predecessors, Samuel Wesley, who in his eighth year heard a regimental band playing- a ma v ch which ho had composed for it. At 11, Fianz Schubert had already placed se\oral songs, string-quar-teltos. and piano pieces to his civdit. Han-
del's first attempts at composition were made at eight ; and Yieuxtemps, who began to sorape the strings of a tiny fiddle at two, is said to have been even more precocious Hir Charles Halle was only lour years old when he played in public a sonata expreasly composed for him; Liszt was a public performer at nine: Chopin and Rubinstein at eight : Lady Halle and Joachim at «e\cn ; and at five Mozart composed a pipce of muiic almost too difficult for his father to p'.av. — M. Padorewski had ai least one amisi'lg expeiiencc with an alleged manuscript. He ocoived one vlay from a pianist in NVw Yoik. of n'.om lie had heard throueh a
friend, the score of what purpoited to be a co/'crrto for piano and orchestra. X was a hoa\ v package securely tied up and accompanied l>y a letter in which the composer boggod the pianist to look through his -\voik. M. Paderewski handed the package o\er tp his socretarv. intending to look over it when he had leisure. At that time
he felt the interest in American composers which prompted him later to found the 10,000dol fund which bears his name. So he made an extra effort to get at work on an examination of this composition. When he opened the package he found to his astonishment that it contained nothing but blank comport >on r-r i the title pagjc wa c iV »UM 'lei <>i iki 'k- i <■" ci to ■<! '1 '■'- de&>, i tt mv .i,,i/ ih>- oTpo-c-r- 'a *. it i aftei iat k ■ t-- f b'.iuk- paw i The "' ject vi l' > ' 'k 9u- iHc-L.nab',3 tt. &<w \-_i.
interest for the pianist in M. Padorews^J. The composer was posing as a neglect* J American composer, and had no idea that a Mrtuoso so busy as the Polish pianist. i would evei come to the consideration of the ! package which pretended to contain the concoito. M. Pac'orpv.ski returned the , package fo i!io composer without any comment — New York Sun. — Concerning "Song, of the Sea c on." Mr (iporao RoK\y v. rites in P.T.0.. of December 21. — One of 'he irost sucpes-.ful of our latte.- da \ son»-\\ «itors, Mr Clifton Bingham. asmros me that our tastes in thia direction hp.\e markedly improved during the la a t decade. '"There is now only a demand for top and boitom songs," he says. By that he means that the first-named must ruive reai literary and musical mprit; the hitor should be po=s,cssed of tuneful "catchiness." Mr Landon Ronald thinks that to "me: "wo.l is to play well; but then he is j himself a pianist of such exceptional talent that he under-pstimates the difficulties win '1^ the young lady with a "drawing room voice" ha- to undergo before she can charm her friends with any of his delightful melodies. Mr H. Trotere, the composer of "In Old Madrid," and latterly of the song of the season, "In Your Dear Eyes," is of opinior that difficult pianoforte accompaniments are a mistake, from the commercial standpoint, at any rate. The mel6dy should be all, and I think that Is a view in which most folk share. The title of the song, "Potted Poetry," is whimsical and the idea is eextainly novel. It begins with a few remarks by the "Tinopener," who says, "Life's short— time's short — moneys short— everything's short except poetiy, and that's too long." The singer — or should it be the reciter? — then tels his audience that he has "collected some famous samples — skimmed the words and plot* and re-labelled them 'Potted Poetry.' " The mo3t popular of our ballads are naturally churned into this mixture. The "principal girl" song of the year ia to be "In the Valleys of Switzerland"— siirciy a recrudescence of the "Zuydcr Zee" of last Christmas. '"Molly Molyneux ' which Miss Billie Bourke has been singing into favour at the Vaudeville Theatre, is also, I understand, likely to be a favourite. A CELEBRATED COMPOSER. It is good news to learn that in a, few months' time a new opera by Mascagni will bo on th« boards. It will be a modern tragedy o c Christ, and its English *itle will be "The Harvest Feast." The centre figure is :t 1-bcurer who, in pursuit of universal Socialist', "treads a path as terrible as tht> Passion of the Re leemcr and ends by the hero being struck down by his master." The great composer thinks this will be one of his best pieces of work, although it is improbable that it will surpass "Cavalleria Rust'eaiip" — on opera which transformed a poor, unknown, and almost hopeless man into a well-off and world-famous one. At the time of its production he was already married and earning a mere pittance as the leader of a village bund, but the advent of children made an augmented income necessary Naturally, therefore, to accomplish this ho hastened to complete "Cavalleria," but when the finished opera was submitted to a musical friend he promptly pronounced it to be "rubbish." Just then, however, the musical jmblishers of Milan offered a prize of 2000 francs for the best opera. sent in, and Mascagni's "rubbish" won the competition. Subsequently it caused a furore in Rome, and he hurried to the capital, wearing his only suit of clothes, clumsily made by a village tailor. When he appei red on the stage his bewilderment and awkwardness only added io the enthusiasm of the immense and cheering audi - j ence. — His Poses. — In Italy a. few years ago Mascagni often posed for the kinetoscope, one of the most fan.cus series of pictures being entitled "Mascagni at Home," showing the composer in bod, yawning and stretching himtclf. Suddenly he would throw his leg from under the blankets, showing a mar\ellou-- jewelled anklet and his, toes co\ered with curious rings. Other poses depicted Mascagni in his dressing gown, takiuir coffee, and concluding with the picture of Mascagni in an open landau waving adieux to a gaping crowd, who threw kisses to him as he drove away to the opera house. —An Unrehearsed Episode.— The wife of the famous musician is jealous of him. While the couple were sojourning at Venice on one occasion some American girls called at their hotel one afternoon, beseeching an audience. The compliment pleased the composer so much tha) he invited them to his drawing room, where he entertained the visitors for an hour by pia^pforte selections from his own operas. After this the girls produced photographs and asked him to autograph them, and while he was engaged in so doing his wife abruptly entered the room. The sight of the fair visitors made her very angry. Seizing the photographs, she tore them to pieces threw them on the floor, and literally danced on them. Then in forcible Italian she ordered the girls off the premisps, and they withdrew hastily. Ihc next day a messenger arrived at their hotel with, a letter of apology from Mascagni, together with some new .photograph duly auto-gi-aphcd. . — The Collecting Mama.— In 1902 Mascasm was the victim of tha collector's mania under somewhat singular circumstances. After despatching to New Yotk the manuscript of his music for Hall Cai.ie's d.atr.a, "The Eternal City," he left, Italy to follow at leisure. After a journey. through France he received a cable stating that the manuscript had not arrived by the mail. Consequently an application was maclo to Mr TSrerbohm Tree, who at once supplied the want. It was afterwards disf>o\erfd that too manuscript had been stolen by a postal official, who had such a mania for collecting unpublished manuscripts that he had to be put under Jock and ker in the interests of the general public— P.T.O.
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Otago Witness, Issue 2814, 19 February 1908, Page 90
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1,473MUSICIANS AND COMPOSERS. Otago Witness, Issue 2814, 19 February 1908, Page 90
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