New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1894-07-04

edited by La Mara; translated by Constance
E Saehe WV WIZ p0T Tmpnr,ea by charles scrb
ners Sons. New-York.
SELECTED LETTERS OF MENDE 5,,S o y.
PRODUCTION by Sir George Grove and portrait
16rno. PIP. viii 1873. Imported by Macmillan IL
Co.. New-York.
Hero worship is comparatively modern thlng
In the musical world; 1t was scarcely known in
the days when there were giants. 1t IS true
incense was burned under the noses Of popular
singers two centuries ago. but the everyday
lives Of the truly great ones Of Bach. Handel.
Gluck Haydn Mozart Beethoven and Schubert
were as simple and unaffected those OF the
majority Of the plain people with whom they
came in contact. This was probably due largely
so the peculiar social position which those mas
tiers occupied They were the servants, some Oh
them even the hveried servants, OF royalty OF
nobility Those for whom they practised the'r
art looked upon them az menals. Inc p'ouu
democracy OF Beethoven wrought change III
the attitude Of the titled aristocracy Dy winch
ne and his successors prohtcd, but the aristoc-
racy Of genius was long in asserting itseir
against the aristocracy of birth. and until 1t
had done so its story belonged 10 the snort
and simple annals Of the poor How the pen
d,,urn seems TO have swung TO the opposite ex-
+reme, Long before Wagner and List died
&hev were daily surrounded by devotees VINO
seemed to draw sustenance from their presence
as the knights Of the Grail were fed by 'he
sight OF the sacred cup, and who PAID for thelr
nourishment in the same coin OF adorauo"' -
Is probably more the fault OF some OF these oeN-
otees than Of the objects Of their devotion that
its manifestations are frequently dlscoui"si"s'
NOT 70 saw offensive TO the admirers of Wagner
and IAszt who have kept possession OF all 'heir
faculties 1t is difficult to retain the respect
fo~
rood,ng naeans in praise OF the contemplate
.,enoents in his private character when' at
mos, Meas in extenuation ought 70 be oirereo'
or 70 continue to admire the amiaoie ''ai's VI
IAszt. his geniality. generosity and spiencnu
tnterpretative powers while contemplating inc
frantic efforts Of cOterie Of his worshipperS u
roapnifv his excellent, but restricted "usu0
Qualities into transcendnnt end universal genius
nonular form Of the worship OF musical
heroes is the publication Of their private letters
,rh,s &C. y, course. not a new manifestation. but
., IL worthy OF note that in the stately oldeh
time when the writing of letters belonged to the
nolite accomplishments II was not deemed neces-
sary that they should be printed Ludwig Nohi'
who gathered those OF Beethoven, and gave them
70 the world did so less than generation ago
,fozart's letters so full Of charm because OF the
rracoc,tv and nlial affection Of those written
while he was a child and the amfability ard
shrewdness OF all. appeared about the same time.
Gratified at their reception. Professor Nohl sup
pIemented his Beethoven collection with a volume
of letters by Gluck. c. P. f. Bach. Haydn weber
and Mendelssohn. These, we believe. furnished
about all the Intellectual pabulum OF the KIND
which the readers before 1870 enjoyed. And adj
mirable letters they Not filled with COM
monpace chit-chat or continual courtesies but
with earnest and sometimes profound discussion
of the nature purpose and boundaries OF the
art OF music. In the case OF Beethoven only
was the plan followed Of printing every scrap
that could be found and Beethoven's personality
was so enigmatic that the most trining EXPIRES
eions sometimes acquired value quite unexpect-
edly-in a study OF his life-and this partly Justi-
fed the proceeding.
In the case Of the correspondence between
Wagner and List published five years ago his
torical and critical ends were also served in
notable degree but the new collection OF the
letters Of the lesser of the two made by the
woman who uses La Mara a pen name. Is
chiefly a bit Of hero worship. Hundreds OF
pages are filled with polite notes chronicling
incidents OF which all that need be said is that
they are highly unimporant If true. List was
me soul of courtesy and good nature, always
ready to look over a yong composers latest
score. TO say a cheering word to him about 1t.
an ornament to the title page He was probably
called on TO write letters than any must
clan that ever lived; but II is surprising how few
OF those brought into these two volumes contain
thoughts worthy of preservation. So far as many
small details in his nfe-hstory are concerned
they may be said to have a value. but all COM
bined are not worth as much as any one OF a
number that he wrote TO Wagner and which are
excluded from these pages by the earlier publ
cation. Contact with the master mind stimulated
Idszt 10 deep reflection and trenchant expression.
For the rest he was simply amiable. Moreover.
SO far as photographed material dealing with
the principal events Of his private life is con-
cerned we are no more likely TO get II in the
form Of published letters OF his than we are
10 get the significant correspondence OF the
same kind written by Wagner. The persons
most intimately concerned have long ago cared
for that.
AS much devotion TO List is shown in the
translation as in the compilation OF these letters
Constance Bache Is the sister Of LISTS most
faithful English disciple, and she has not missed
the opportunity to put her devotion on record
The second volume is ornamented with a souve-
r,r of Iiszt's last visit 10 England in 1885,
which we will permit Miss Bache to describe in
her way:
More than forty years had elapsed since LISTS
nrevious visit TO our shores; times had changed
and the almost unknown anu "holy unaP
preciated (whatD. had become the Acknowledged
K,ng In a realm where many were Princes
Some lines embodyirg in wo'"s Engands wei
come to this king-headed by design IN Whlch
ere Hungarian and the English coats-of-arTns
mite above two clasped hands, and a few bars or
a leading theme from the est. Elizabeth'-Were
written by me and presented to List WIN a
tasr.t of roses (embleinatic of the rose miracle
IN the Oratorio). tied with the Hungarian col0rs
on his entrance into ST. Jamess han on Apri o,
isss The frontispiece of Volume II is picture
OF this gift. .
This is. Of course. touching. but we fancy that
.,o hard-hearted outside world will classify the