The Stourbridge Observer, Cradley Heath, Halesowen & District Chronicle.
Stourbridge, West Midlands, England, 1886-08-07 00:00:00

DEATH OF LISZT.

Liszt, whose death is announced from Bayreuth,
was born on the night of the 21-22 October, 1811.
His mother was Anna von Lager, while his father,
Adam Liszt, was a friend of Haydn, of Cherubini, and
of Mozart's pupil, Hummel. Thanks to Hummel,
Adam Liszt obtained, under the original Prince Ester-
hazy, a position at Raiding, and there Franz Liszt was
born. At six years of age he began to play the piano,
and at nine he made his debut at Oldenburg, per-
forming a concerto by Ferdinand Ries at a concert
given by the Baron von Braun. Afterwards he
seriously studied music under Czerny and Salieri, and
composition under Randhartinger, who introduced
him to Franz Schubert. It is probable that about this
period he wrote his first composition, a variation on a
waltz of Diabelli, which was published in June,
1823. In that year be proceeded to Paris and applied
for admission at the Conservatoire, where, despite
the recommendation of Prince Metternich, he was
refused by Cherubini. He then continued his studies
under Paer and Reicha, and shortly afterwards pro-
duced at the Academie Royale his first one-act
operetta "Don Sanche," on October 17, 1825. Before
that period young Franz Liszt had, however, begun a
concert tour as a pianist. On June 21, 1824, he
made his debut in London, playing a concerto in A
minor by Hummel; and it is reported in the daily
newspapers of the day that a lady called for a theme
upon which " Master Liszt could improvise,' and
that upon " Zitti, Zitti," from "Ii Barbiere," he im-
mediately played a fugue. At his Manchester con-
cert in June, 1825, Liszt was described as
"now only twelve years old," an error made
for prudential reasons by his entrepreneurs,
Messrs. Ward and Andrews, who were fond of
"prodigies," and were by no means averse to post-
date the birthday of their juvenile artistes. In 1828
Liszt, at the mature age of 17, fell in love with a
high-born maiden, and the attack was so severe that
L'Etolle gave an obituary notice of the supposed de-
funct. He was then greatly influenced by the St.
Simonians, but in 1831 he returned to Paris, and
shortly afterwards became on friendly terms with
Aurora Dudevaut (" George Sand "), with Chopin,
and with the Countess d'Agoult (" Daniel Stern ").
With the Countess he lived till the year 1840, and she
bore him three children—a son (since deceased), a
daughter (the deceased wife of M. 011ivier, the French
statesmam), and Cosima (formerly the wife of Dr. Hans
son Billow, and now the widow of Richard Wagner).
On his renunciation of the claims of aflection in 1840,
we arrive at Liszt's culminating period. At Weimar
he used his enormous influence to champion not only
the works of the much-derided Richard Wagner,
whose " Lohengrin," " Flying Dutchman," and
" Tannhailser " he conducted, but also such more or
less undeniably orthodox music as Schubert's "Alfonso
and Estrella," Schumann's " Geneviva " and "Man-
fred," and Berlioc's " Benvenuto Cellini." At his
Weimar concerts, too, the ground was sown for a crop
of extraordinary fertility, and many of his best works
date from that period. In 1859 he severed his official
connection with the opera at Weimar, and since then he
has resided chiefly at Weimar, Rome, and Pesth. His
religious aspirations were always well known, and al-
though in 1864 he wrote an official letter to deny that he
had entered the Roman Catholic priesthood, it excited
little surprise when he formally received the tonsure
at the hands of Von Hehenlohe, on April 25, 1805.
His literary works—and especially 'his volume on
Hungarian music (1861), and on Chopin (1852),
though rhapsodical in style, are to be found in every
musical library of pretension. Out of about 200
published compositions twenty sets are for orchestra,
including the "Symphonic) zu Dante's Com-
media,' " for orchestra and female chores; "Em
Faust Symphonie," and episodes from Leonau's
"Faust;" the set of "Symphonische Dichtungen "
(which have aroused the intense ire of his antago-
nists on the one hand, and the faithful adoration
of his followers on the other) and his various
arrangements of Hungarian music. He has written
two oratorios, "Christus " and "The Legend of St.
Elizabeth ;" pianoforte concertos, of which that in E
flat is tolerably familiar here; a revised edition of the
works of Beethoven and others; and a large number
of transcriptions, and other pianoforte pieces, which
were for many years considered a high test of execu-
tive capacity. Liszt's pupils are very numerous, and
indeed several of them, particularly those hailing from
transatlantic regions, have but little right to be con-
sidered pupils of Liszt at all. But an undoubted pupil
and a veritable disciple is Mr. Walter Bache, who
was for many years Liszt's solitary champion in this
country, and to whom and to Mr. Manns we owe the
introduction of most of Lists' representative music.

RIGHTLY It Is said ot utter, utter misery that it "can-
not be remembered." Itself, as a rememberable thing, is
swallowed up in its own chaos.—De Quince.y.
"Oh, I do so love the feeling of plush she ex
claimed, in dulcet tones, that reached the ears of
several young men, as she softly stroked the imita-
tion sealskin sack of her rival.
A florist in St. Paul recently lost a baby three days
old. A friend called to sympathise with the father
at his place of business. "You must miss the little
one terribly," said the gushing visitor. "Waal, you
tee," replied the florist, as he twisted a wire about
the stew of some cut flowers, "me and ny wife
weren't' very much acquainted with the little f& low.!

THE LABRADOR FAMINE DENIED.
A CRUEL HOAX.
The following official telegram was sent to the
British Admiral at Charlottetown on the 30th ult. :
"Report whether you can suggest any means of
sending succour to the distressed inhabitants of
Cabrador, drawing supplies from Halifax or else-
where—first by ships of war, secondly by other
means."
The following telegram was received at the Admi-
ralty on the 31st ult. from Charlottetown:
"Reported distress denied here. Have received
no communication on subject from Governor or senior
officer, Newfoundland, or any other source. Have
now telegraphed to former for information.
"CLANwiLLIAm."
The following telegram from the Governor of New-
foundland, dated 30th July, 1886, has been received
at the Colonial Office:
"Reason to believe that report starvation Labrador
absolutely without foundation."

The Daily News publishes the following telegram
from New York :—lt is almost certain that the
Labrador horrors are a cruel hoax. A correspondent
whom I know to be trustworthy telegraphs from
Halifax: "The Rev. Moses Harvey, one of the best-
informed and most trustworthy men in Newfoundland,
telegraphs that the reports of starvation in Labrador
and Northern Newfoundland are false. No such re-
ports have reached St. John's although vessels are
arriving from these places daily. The fisheries are im-
proving."
A despatch to the Halifax Herald from the
Attorney-General of the Colony says :—" The tele-
grams representing great destitution in Newfoundland
are utterly false. Give the same an unqualified con-
tradiction. Though hitherto the fisheries have been
unsuccessful, Newfoundland has no destitution re-
quiring extra means of assistance. There is no such
person as the Hon. Mr. Widdell, who has, as alleged,
been soliciting aid in Canada. The whole of the
statement is a disgraceful canard, circulated widely to
the detriment of the colony."