Sacramento daily record-union. [volume] (Sacramento [Calif.]) 1875-1891, 1885-08-08
MUSIC AND DRAMA.
MADAME NILSSON UPON TIE VA
RIOUS SCHOOLS OF MUSIC.
A New Method to Make Nimble
Fingers for Pianists-Notes
by the Way.

l.
Christine Nilsson, the great cantatrice, ex-
pressed herself concerning the relative pop
ularity of the schools Of music which She
respectively represented, and her impress
ions are as follows: THE evidence nv
experience afforded, is that the Italian and
French schools Of music, with winch am
proud 10 be identified, have not lost a mar
ticle Of their hold upon the public taste
The talk Of Wagner displacing Rossini.
Donizetti, Meyerbeer and Gounod sounds
very well, but il means nothing. During
the tour undertaken by Theodore Thomas
the receipts at the door and the applause
and recalls showed IN every city | visited
that the audiences preference was tor ItaI-
ian and French music. and for such. ey-
cept from Wagners repertoire, as were
akin to the Older compositions in point of
melody and clearness. As q representative
OF Italian and French music / say again
that | am doubly delighted at the testi-
mony OF MIR. Thomas concerts. the money
and enthusiasm both comingo on my nights.
OF course this does not lessen my adnlira-
ton for what IS ineligible in Wagner's
writing and for his wonderful instrumental
ton Mime. Nilsson does not overlook the
fact that too match high-class German onera.
Of the Wagner school caused loss of over
$1,000 to the Chicago and $4,000 to the
Cincinnati festivals last year; while in
Milwaukee, Il city Of seventy-tive per cent.
German, the receipts barely exceeded the
expenses. CREsPINO.
HENRY IRVING on ELocUTIoN.
In the practice Of acting most import
ant point is the study of elocution. and in
1lprJlripr1 AN .; n
sufficient force 10 be generally heard with
out being unnaturally loud, and without
acquiring & stilted delivery, The advice of
the old actors was that you should always
pltch your voice 50 as 10 be heard by the
back row Of the gallery-no easy task TO
accomplish without offending the ears of
the front row of the orchestra And
should tell you that this eXaggeration APP
pies to everything on the stage. To ap
pear 10 be natural You must in reality be
much broader than natural To &C. on the
stage as one really would in q room would
be ineffective and cO!0rless. I never knew
an actor who brought the art of elOcution
70 greater perfection than the late Charles
Matthews, whose utterance on the stage
was so natural thar one was surprised to
md when near him that he was really
speaking IN very loud key There is n
great actor IN your own country to whose
eiocution one always listens with the Mt
most enioyment-I mean Edwin Booth.
He mas inherited this gift, I believe, from
ms famous father Of whom | have heard il
said that he always insisted or q thorough
use OF the " instruments by which he
meant the teeth in the formation Of
words Henry Irving in English Illus
trated Magazine.
A SURGICAL OPERATION FOR PIANO PLAYERS.
The skill Of well-kuown physician in
this city has come 20 the rescue Of q num-
per @, prominent pianists and musical stu
GENTS IN most singular and interesting
particular. The facts have Just been made
the subject Of a paper read before the
County Medical Society To comprehend
this assistance rendered by surgical SUI
enee to musicians very welI-kuown TACT
must be understood. When the middle
finger and the little finger are brought
down by the HeXor muscles, and their ends
are held down against the keys of piano,
TOR the purpose of producing continuous
sounds, and 1t is necessary to extend. and
then Hex OF bend, the third finger in order
TO produce accompanying sounds. il will be
found that the third finger cannot be very
effectively used unless after long and con
slant practice and often not then.
The reason for this stiffness is simple.
The tendOns of the little and middle fing-
ers are connected with the tendons of the
third finger by lateral or accessory ten8ons
so that when the two former fingers are
held down the two accessory tendons hold
IN check the power Of the muscular fibers
actng upon the tendon of the third finger.
and thus IL can be but clumsilv used. Such
accessory tend0ns are sometimes found in
one hand, sometimes in the other. but
usually in the right hand. They are a
source OF serious annoyance and difficulty
to musical performers.
DF' William S. Forbes, The Demonstration
OF Anatomy III Jefferson College, has found
means Of overcoming these difficulties in
q very simple but ingenious manner. He
says 4 few years ago q young musician.
and q performer OH the piano consulted
me ii regard to his inability to lit nm rs
he expressed it, the ring-tinger of his right
hand while the middle and little fingers
nelghborDg were held tlexed on the KEYS
OF his piano. This restriction did not exist
IN the rlng-tinger Of his left hand with it
he had no trouble. ] explained to him the
presence Of the accessory tendons in his
right hand, with their restricting power
and told him Of their probable absence in
his left
The Doctor then proceeds to give an elab- /
crate and technical account OF how he per
iiiNNA tt44 IAttNlil tildt severed or cut OF
the accessory tendons from the little and
middle finger The liberation of the ring
finger was complete. The ball of the finger
could be elevated an inch further from the
plane OF the hand, and the patient ex-
pressed hls qualification at the extended
and great facility with which he could use |
this rjng-tinger on the keys of his piano.
referring to the complete success of the |
operation. DR.. Forbes SAYS q" / have divided !
these accessory tendOns for the purpose Of !
the ring-fnger IN fourteen per
sons, and in nine of these the operation was !
performed on the tendOns of both hands at
one sitting. do not think at any one of !
these operations half dram of blood was
lost. In not one OF them did any accident
follow the operation. The issue in all of
them was successful In two persons who !
came to my Office together, strangers from
a distance, I performed this operation on
the two hands Of each of them in the pres
ence Of my friend, Dr. Addinel Hewson,
Jr. These two patients said with empha
SIS that there was not only relief in using
the ring-hnger but there was also an alb
sence Of eXertion, which before the opera
ton was constant and forcible, along the
back of the forearm and hand. - Phila- |
delphia Record.
CHARLOTTE CUsHMAN's SLIPPERS.
Charlotte Cushman " had a foot of her
own, and generally wore fours but could
crowd into three and a half on tight !
squeeze" One night soon after recovering
from a severe attack of infammatory rheu-
matism, she was wearing pair of slippers
much too small for her. Darling behind
the scenes she snatched them off and threw
them as far off as she could, exclaiming
Ye gods Somebody lend me pair of
slipperS or j II go in my stockings what
number do you wear?'' asked a young
actor, ready to help her in the emergency.
"Oh never mind the number; anything
from five to twenty she replied.
NOTES BY THE WAY.
Among some bales of paper stock from
Germany, opened the other day at a Hol-
yoke Mass paper mill, were found full
orchestral scores of Weber's opera of % Eu-
Il. AI.,-nr., ~, ,:.-.,,,.s A..