Memphis daily appeal. [volume] (Memphis, Tenn.) 1847-1886, 1875-11-21
Won BuIOw interviewed.

|
viewed by New York Sun reporter
and with the following result:
"Aud what about American audi
ences, DR.. Won Bulow?"
81 do not want to say too much, ,
said he, stopping in his walk and re-
lighting the cigarette which had beef
put out by the rapid current of his con
veIsatiOn. 81 do not want to say too
much, but / am perfectly delighted
with them. There see ms to be a cOmbi
nation of all the characteristics of otbel
nations. There is the utmost recipToc
ity and appreciation; but the Italians
seem TO stop there, and have no wish tt
learn. The Americans seem as desiIou!
to he taught as they are quick to per
ceive. Then there is quite evident s
spirit Of reverence for the very names o.
the old masters. This is seen not only
in audiences but in the newspaper re.
ports. am much pleased with the
way they have been written. There
seems to be such q spirit of reverence,
even when the writer was evidently moi
a musician. And does not the
Book, which l am sorry to
say do not read very often, say
that reverence for the masters is the be-
ginning of wisdom? "Your newspaper
enterprise is great wonder to me The
idea Of reading iD the morning a care
fully written criticism of concert in
which you played only eight hours before.
I wrote to a friend in Germany, from
| Hartford, and asked him if Germany
could do anything like that. Here in q
comparatively small city, said: there
are three papers, and in the morning
| after my concert read the reports. Is
it possible in Germany?' He writes me
in wonder, 1T is not possible in Ger
many There our critics would be tired
after the concert, and would go and eat
| and drink beer. That Is the great fault
with my countrymen," ssid the doctor,
frOwning, "the beer drinking. they
do not get drunk like the Irish people,
but they drink until their blood becomes
sluggish and their brains stupid. 1 like
the vim OF you Observation-Disclosures
shall / say-what 90 you call 1.-THE
ginger You see L am foil Of slang, /
use very poor English. When / was in
England the pronunciation there was SO
unmusicsl as to be very distastefuI to
me, and gave I'D attempting to learn
the language. Since coming to this
country see its beauties, and am learn
ing it. As said, 1 like the American
enterprise. 1t extends to everything.
DR., Dsmrosch tells me that two
years ago there were twenty
members in the Handel and Hayden
societies in Brooklyn; now there
are two hundred That could
never happen in Germany. 1 attended
a meeting of the Axiom choral society
last Sunday, and heard them sing sonic
difficult music in an admirable manner.
In Germany choral society like the
Arion becomes more drinking society
than musical one. They worship the
god Gambrinus more than Apollo. cit
is question with me-" said'the pianist,
taking fresh cigarette and resumiDg
his wslB. ait is q question whether
America will soon produce 8 great COM
poser" 1t is not necessary. The field
is not yet open for new composers
Even in Germany the resources of the
old masters have not been developed.
Wagner had that in mind when he told
the king of Bavaria that he must have
better music schools in which to train
artists to produce the works of the mas
tiers. Thst's what you need here.
Goe!he-no, Schiller-ssys do you
know German?" No, Isdon't know
that can translate it,") something
Ike this: when the king builds, the |
workmen must be busy Well, the |
kings have builded, and builded well; |
We need the workmen now. There are |
no great composers in England-noEe |
that will live. Bennett is a miniature |
Mendelssohn. Bale has written sweetly |
sometimes, and Sullivan too; but their
works can't 7lssts By the way, Sulli-
vans burlesque, The Trial By Jury, with
the words by M. s. Gilbert, is a most
10 nd
if you ever get an opportunity. 1t only |
takes three-quayters of an hour, and it is
delightful, both poem and music. /
have noticed s great difference be-
tween Americans and EnSlish in regari
to musical talent. / left Munich in 1869
on account Of my health, and went to
Florence. There L taught. l had not
had time to play much while in Munich,
and had unlearned my pianO-playing. l
took it up again in 1870, so you see am
really one of the youngest players. As
| said, taught, and my pupils were the
American and English girls visiting the
city. There was the greatest difference
In these pupils. could soon tell, with
put seeing them, whether an American
n an English girl was playing. The
Americans put very much more soul
INTO their playing. There was Just the
difference that there is between Arabella
Goddard and Adelaide Schiller. Ara.
bella Goddard plays correctly, you can
Ind no mistakes, but it is the playing of
an autOmaton, with no more soul than
,ne of Madame Toussard's wax figures.
Schiller does not play as cor
ectly, perhaps, but there's soul and ex-
PRESTON in her playing. Do you know
Arabella Goddard? She tyrannized over
London for years. Her husband, Mr..
Dawson, was musical critic of the Lon
Ion Times. Rubinstein went to London
md failed. Why? Because Dawson
would not allow any other pianist than
lis wife to exist. My success in Lon ]
lon was not due to my talents being {
uperior to Rubinstein's, but to the fact. !
hat London had ceased to be under the {
utelage Of Dawson. A friend of mine t
aid to me, When hear blind person
lay or sing l am touched to the I
cart l said, 1t is not so with me; !
Or blind musician always executes in
stiff sOuliess manner No person can l
e musician who cannot see the Gun {
ght. 1t is much the same thing in
inglsnd; they have q sunless sky and c
Oulless musicians. To be q musician T
ne must see color. 1t is no accident T.
nat causes painters to speak of tones i
/ their compositions and for musicians 6
, speak of Icoior' in theirs. There is 8
n intimate relation between color and a
)und. Beethoven was deaf; but his e
esfness did not affect his compositions. U
lad be been blind, it would have been L
T different. But 1 have not told you v
ne reason for my excitement last even g
g" said the doctor, in concluding. Il Il
ss almost overcome by the warmth of v
lie reception the audience gave me. 1 v
as well received ia Boston, and l ex- q
.cted the same here; but the applause q
as three times as great as [ had ex- p
,cted. II was great pleasure 10 me
9 to see the ladies also clspping their Il
lnds Sc eirnestly. ] was so surprised Il
at lost my memory for The time, and CT
night, as L told you, could not sleep. Il
ere you at the concert? No. You d.
ust come, and to the rehearsal, too. T
e have them every morning at ten Il
clock" W