St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1895-04-19
A MAKER OF MUSIC
Talk. With Victor Herbert, the
Famous Leader OF Gill
more'S Band.
He WROTE PRINCE ANANIAS
The Opera the Bostonians Will
Present Here the Com
ing Week.
THE WIZARD OF THE NILE
Is the Title Of a New Opera He
Is Engaged Upon--Taste
for Music.

1.-THE German military bands" said
/, Victor Herbert, the director of Gill
! more's famous organization, last
night at the Windsor, ARE often mem
| toned by travellers as if they were too
| good for any other country-as II
each particular band was a marvel
of absolute perfection. Now, l was
i born in Dublin, but L went to the con-
tinend when a child, and l spent
twenty years there. 1 am quite a Ger
man I'M my musical methods, and
have a great admiration for their
leaders and their great bands. But,
after all, you know, it's necessary to
discriminate. Not all the German mill
tary bands are good bands, and in
many of their best bands n good
many poor musicians are found. You
see it's this way: When a man enliStS
in the German army he always tries
to get in the band, If he has the
slightest knowledge of music-I mean,
if he knows enough to make any kind
of showing.
1.-The service in the band is easier
than in the rank and file, and man
| in the former can occasionally make
little ON the side Well, lots of
them do get in that way, and it's not
| uncommon for the leading bands to
contain musicians, playing the third
this and the fourth that. who are not
much more than figureheads. They
don't help much, and sometimes they
do quite the reverse. Now, in our very
best bands in this country every man
is hired because he is
AN EXPERT MUSICIAN
I'VE don't wnnt any other. OF
course, to get them, we accept re-
cruits from all nations. In my band,
for instance, l have number of Ger
mans, good many Englishmen, one
Italian, and Others besides lot of
native Americans. They are all ex-
perts, and there are few compositions
that the band cannot play readily at
sight. The rehearsals that they get
are chiefly to develop the general eff
/ feet and bring out all the possibili-
| ties of the work. It's all foolishness
/ that band like ours is drilled and
drilled to death. With expert must
| clans that isn't necessary or advis-
able.
Yes, public taste for music is in
creasing and Improving in America
| 1 came over here nine years ago, and
i l have been assistant director in
/ Thomas and Seidls bands before
| took hold of ,Gilmore's, a year ago.
/ I've noticed that compositions can be
i played now, in the small towns even,
| that would almost have caused a riot
ten years ago. For instance, there
J the Tannhausers overture. Every
body enjoys that, and you saw what
a warm reception it met with tonight
at the Metropolitan
| IF zthes peoples admire our music.
they don't always take kindly to our
! Sunday concerts. Down in Helena,
! Arkansas, a short time ago, some
rather over-fervant citizens insisted
! that we shouldn't violate law that
| no tickets can be sold in that town
/ on Sunday. Well, we gave two con-
| certs for the benefit Of persons that
had come a long way to hear us, but
| we
! TOOK UP A COLLECTION.
1T was big one, too. Everybody
| thought it was for us, and when ]
announced that the entire sum would
| be turned over to the poor, of the city,
| the audience was tickled half to death,
| Our concerts there were crowded and
all free gratis for nothing. 1t seems
to me that we were a trife more
charitable than the clique who OBJ.
! jected to us.
you'll have d chance to see how
: you like my opera of Prince Ananiass
here next week. Everybody admits
that the Bostonians can sing and Tn
glad to say the public appears to like
my music. I'm also composing ar
opera to be called 1.-The Wizard of the
Nile for Frank Daniels, of Little
Puck fame. The book'I be by HARRY
B. Smith.
The composers of America are de
veloping very rapidly. At tn,
National Conservatory of Music
where I teach the cello, Doctor
Dvorzak, the director, and himself ;
great composer tells me that he ha
in the institute a number of youn,
Americans who are most promising
The trouble has been that until recent
ly 1t was almost impossible for pupi
In musical composition to get prone
instruction without going abroad or t.
, lew expensive professors in on
large cities. In that way much talen
was lost to the world. But we hay
: changed tout celia"