The record-union., 1897-01-17

realism that is positively startling The
English and American managers pay
more attention to elaborate produc-
ton than the Germans or French, who
concentrate their attention to the study
Of acting and seem to ignore the me-
chanical branch of the drama A friend
Of mime who witnessed the original
Partisan production of Mime Sans
Gene informed me that as a series of
scene pictures 1T falls short of the
American staging as furnished by Mr..
Phou But mechanical skill can be had
for money. The dramatic talent and
the literary genius, you say-ah, there,
indeed, is the rub. I may build SUI
perb castle on the stage that's easy
But the divine spark that builds hui
man character by the charm, the witch
cry, the Gog-given gift of words, words,
words. How precious. indeed, is that
power"
Chicago Times-Herald: A young
Chicago matron who presides over a
charming home on the north side told
me a characteristic story about Joseph
Jefferson the other evening whicn de-
serves to be embalmed in print.
Several years ago. said she, when
Mr.. Jefferson was preparing his auto
biography he was obliged to do great
deal of work while on tour A publish
ing house with which l was connected
at one time recommended me to him as
an amanuensis who had considerable
experience in the preparation of manu-
script for publication and 1 joined the
actor in ST. Louis.
Mr.. Jefferson would spend several
hours every night after the play in MAX
ing notes of what he wanted to say. The
next afternoon he would dictate to me-
Usually he would bring in a great col
lection of memoranda jotted down on
envelopes and scraps of paper, and
sometimes he would appear with a
newspaper whose margins would be
literally covered with queer figures and
hen tracks. Walking up and down the
floor, he would dictate to me slowly in
that cracked Rip Van Wrinkle voice of
his and would follow him easily on the
typewriter
'One day when we met as usual for
work at the Southern Hotel he seemed to
have prepared more elaborate notes
than usual, and instead of walking
about the room he sat down, quite dis
tance away from me, and began to die
tate the chapter treating of his closing
Australian experiences. There was
pathetic quiver in his voice as he spoke
of the many happy days he had spent
in that faraway land, among compare
tive strangers, and added that he hoped
II; them a
Of handclasp between friends who would
never meet again in this life.
1T was very affecting. My eyes grew
misty and I had to stop writing. Sud
denly | felt a kindly hand on my head
and Mr.. Jefferson's voice said: That's
what I wanted. Cry all you want to,
nv girl. I cried myself last night when
7 wrote that, but was afraid no one else
would. I guess it will do"
AS affording an insight into the crit
ical methods of the Bayreuth circle, let
us take as a striking example one of
the most untiring of the body guard
Emerich Kastner, who, as the COM
piler of a Wagner catalogue-a cata-
lCgue of writings and musical works
by and upon Richard Wagner-had ac-
Quired the rank and title of Great
Archivist of Wagnerian literature.
Kastner introduced a new critical
method based on the number of beats
and the metric measure, and began to
measure out the works of Wagner as
one would a stretch of roadway or a
field, with the intention and convic-
ton of discovering an unsuspected and
highly important principle in art. By
careful computation Kastner found
that "Rienzi' contained $3.50 beats;
the Flying Dutchman," 4,434; Tam
hauser," 4S31; ''Lohengrin," 5,129; the
"Meistersinger," 6,513. He then an
nounced, by means of demonstration
whose secret will remain eternally in
scrutable, that the life-destiny and art
istic experiences of Wagner were re-
fected in these dry numbers. In fact
he went still further, and grouped to-
gether the beats in every single scene
from the operas of the master, con-
tinually calculating, adding and sub
tracing until he reached, through
purely arithmetical methods, the estab-
hshment of psychological laws. This
absurd sport, played by him with fig
ures and notes, many of his colleagues
pursued with the words, syllables, nay
even the single letters, of Wagner s
texts. Thus a literature was created
whereby mental criticism was to be re-
placed by those mechanical instru-
ments-the balance, the microscope and
the knife of the vivisector. All these
researches, prosecuted with much ar
dor, clearly demonstrated to what a
degree artistic views may be lowered
through blind idolatry.-Herr Alexan-
der Moszkowski, in the January "Fo-
rum
One of the musical novelties that is
not finding much favor in Europe is
Richard Strauss tone poem, Thus
Spake Zarathustra," suggested by the
extraordinary work of the mad An
archist Nietzsche, and recently pro-
duced at Munich, Frankfurt and Wien
ia. Strauss music is said to embody
10 fewer than fourteen different themes
and to employ remarkably full or
chestra, including the glockenspiel and
the organ.
Saint-Saens is displeased with the
performances of Don Giovanni as
now given at both the Grand Opera and
the Opera Comique In Paris. He OBJ
jects TO the translation into French
Insisting that Mozart's masterwork can
receive full justice only in the original
italian. He thinks that we are getting
farther away every year from the spirit
in which Mozart's operas ought to be
done, and expresses the deyout wish
that every opera composer could have,
like Wagner his Bayreuth where his
Intentions would be respected. The ar
ticle in question appeared in the Re
vue de Paris"