New Orleans Republican. [volume] (New Orleans, La) 1867-1878, 1872-02-11
THE CHILD VIOLINIST.
An Interview With the Great Musical
Prodigy.

An Interview With the Great Musica
Prodigy.
correspondent OF the Cincinnati Con,
mercial gives the following account of tn
infant vocalist.
deem it but just to say that the citizen
| of Cincinnati are much indebted to Mr.. II
J. Sargent, of the National, for giving then
the privilege Of seeing and hearing the yer,
remarkable musical performances on thu
violin of the little fellow, Master James
| Speaight. There is not the least particle o
undue show or humbug about this musica
prodigy. We know full well what lit
| tie faith the people are apt to put in
| the exhibition OF infantile prOdigies
or, as Dickens has ii, "Hinfant phen
omenon,' and on that account very
many. unacquainted with what is ia
store, fail to 60 and see this little chap per-
forming On his tiny violin with all the skill,
| precision, earnestness and con amore of the
| perfect master. Why, his very attitude and
| his exquisite manner OF handling his violin
and bow are worthy of a Paganini or an Ole
| Bull and then, too, after repeated encOres
| of his performances upon the stage, he is
| lifted in arms to the head of the orchestra,
| and then, with baton and fiddle, he takes
the lead as conductor, and maintains it
| through scores of the most difficult music
| and this child is but little over four years
of age, in truth and in fact. There has
| been, and is, nothing like him since the days
| of the young Mozart and even he did not
| begin to evince his wonderful musical ge-
MUS until eight years of age.
Amazed myself at the powers of this
| child, l sought the acquaintance of his
| father, who travels with him, and found
| him to be a young gentleman of about
| twenty-seven years Of age, and of remarka-
| BILE talent as first violinist. He told me
| he formerly occupied such position at the
| Grand Opera House. New York city, and
| had only given up his position some
| eighteen months ago, when he introduced
| his child to the public. He told me that
his boy first began TO evince his musical
talent when he was but nursing in his
| mothers arms; and when he got old
| enough to know the use of his fingers he
frequently picked melody and harmony
out of the strings of his fathers violin:
and sometimes taking the bow, he would
use it dexterously, placing the too
big violin in the position of the
vielincellO. and thus producing music
upon it. The father now bothered himself
much about procuring violin of proper
size and proper sounding qualities for the
use of his child, but for long time he could
find none. He could find little tiddles, but
no music in them. At last, by chance. he
found what they wanted il musical instru
ment makers store on GraGd street, New
York, and this is the violin tie child now
plays upOn-an instrument in its make, tex
ture, size, sound and musical properties
almost as wonderful as its master himself.
| accepted an invitation from tho father
to call upon him at his hotel, and see and
become acquainted with the child, and now
was more astonished than before; for l
found the fair fiddler to be such compound
of babyhood and intelligence. and, above
all. musical intelligence, that | looked Oh
him as something of human nature that
had never met with before.
{ Says the father: Now. Jimmy. will you
not take your violin and play a little for
the gentleman who has come to see YOU ?"
Yes" says Jimmy. Il will play him an
overture of my own and SO he gets his
father to place a chair TO the table and be-
fore him lie places little comic song book,
putting it up against a box on the table, in
the manner of a book of music, and is
seated by his father in a chair whose seat is
raised to accommodate the little gentleman,
and beginning on his violin. he exclaims:
My violin is not in tune" and hands it to
his father to be tuned.
Says |. Jimmy, can't you tune it YOUR
sel1?' "Oh, yes" said he; but it bothers
me to make the string-Loiders stick in their
places. Papa can do that better. | can
place them, but they won't stick" So his
father tuned the violin, and Jimmy began,
and getting his father 20 accompany him
once in a while. ana TO turn over the printed
leaves of the little comic song book as he
progressed, he began, maintained, and exc
cuted splendid overture of some fifteen or
twenty minutes duration, to my unbOunded
amazement. This overture. except hither
and thither few recognizable strains, was
entirely new TO ne, as 1t was to his father,
and the latter was somewhat astonshed as
well as |.
After this it was with difficulty that we
got the boy to play two original waltzes,
which his father said the child had com
posed impromptu some time ago, and the
father thinking them worthy CT preserva-
ton, had noted them down.
Now, the child sitting up at that table
with his comic song book before him, and
pretending to look at notes that were not
there, and assuming the airs and manners
of leader of full orchestra, looked to me
just like baby's or child 's!play of pretense,
were it not for the music-and that was so
real, so genuine, SO true and SO beautiful as
to positively amaze me.
After the performance upon the violin, |
conversed with the boy, and found him, in
all things save his music, merS child, eX
cept he carried more general intelligence
than belongs TO his class generally. He is
a strong, healthy playful child, and it is
hoped that the gods will not love him so
much as to make him die young. Ii he
lives and progresses as he lives, he will I'M
doubtedly become greater than the gifted
Mozart, to whom las have read the lifel
this boy bears striking resemblance.