New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1897-06-06
MUSICAL GOSSIP.
NINE SEMBRICH-MR. NIKISCH IN PARIS
-REFLECTIONS BY RUBINSTEIN-
:. NETWORKS MUSICAL IL



visit from Mime. Sembrich mex. season IT,
ene Is not TO sing in opera, but that will not be
altogether deplorable. Her operatic ronertorv
- not the Kind that makes a very strong appeaI
:" 'he w-fork audiences OF to-day and in
concert she can not only sing the operate arias
In which her lovely voice, and finished stvIo aro
Al their best. but supplement them Also with
sne A'alian masterpieces of two centuries ago.
IN which she Is peerless. and with SONGS which
she sings with ravishng eloquence Nine Sem
or'cn. IT will be remembered, was a member of
mr. Aooeys first Metropolitan Opera House COM
pany She Effected her entrance on the Ameri-
can stage on October "a 1883 in Lucia di Lam
Aief"oor' and was at once hailed by the Judi
@'ous as one or the most remarkable norid So
piAhos that had ever been heard here She was
Iii young on the stage at that time Qt was
~er seventh season. the previous five seasons
having been devoted to London). and also young
IN years. she having been born in 1858 The
name by which she Is known is that of her
9others family. her maiden name having been
Fraxede Marcelline Kochanska- Her father
vas a violinist and teacher in Galicia and from
MIN she Inherited the thoroughly musical char
acter which distinguishes her from all her COL
Aeagues and would be rivals. One Of the bright
est recoections of that fatal first season Is asso-
GATED with Nine Sembrich's contributions to
Mr.. Abbey's benefit First she sang: then she
Played q Chopin mazurka on the pianoforte:
enen she performed a violin solo, and it was
really difficult to say in which capacity she ex-
Seheo-whether as singer. pianist violinist
AL this was surprise to the public. but it had
ample explanation in the story Of her life She
began to study the pianoforte at four years Of
eSe and the violin at six. At twelve she went
TO the conservatory at Lemburg. when she be-
came the pupil OF Wilhelm Stencil who after
saru became her husband. In five years he had
taught her all that he could OF panoforte play
ing The rest OF the story he once told to the
writer to this effect: Il decided to take her to
Fms atom in
ON the wisdom Of sending her to Liszt He
heard her play and remarked she seems to no
very musical: can she do any thing besides play
me Piahoiorte! said she could play some on
tne violin. and he asked her to let him hear her
After she had done he turned to me with n
ouizzicai look and said: Anything elseY I said.
1 think she also has q voice He remarked.
Let US nave Nine. Marchesi hear her. We did
%. and. on the advice of Marchesi and Enstsir
we gave up the List notion and she studied
.ihsihs-hrst with Rekitansky. then with the
younger I.amperti in Milan a year and eight
months after she began she made her debut IN
furitani 1t was In May 1877"
Her debut was effected in Athens: thence after
two months she went to Vienna to stuav Cor
man opera and in 1878 to Dresden where for n
year ana haif she belonged to the Royal Opera
after hcr American season she studied during
the summer of 1884 with the elder Iamperti
AoA 1910 " 1888 she made Dresden her
HVing IN her villa in Klein Zchachwitz in tba
summer. In 1889 she transfer ed her residence
70 Berlin a writer for The Tribune visited her
AZ har villa in August, 1856, and wrote this
account OF her home life:
10 near her sing is to experience exouis;,. |
oehsht: 10 see her in her home is to be a vii |
ness Oh one OF the prettiest domestic pctures
Aihaeinable There Is baby at the villa !
near Klein Zchachwitz a marvel of fairness |
"hich made its debut on this worlds stage n;re |
months ago with sublime disregard of the fact |
mat the debut was costing prjma donn.
Hother fIooo francs as penalty for a yio,ataJ
contract An unsympathe Madrid ,n,payer
refused To recognize the little fellows auhi
uoh as sickness on the part of his mamma und.r
the contract But / heard no murmurs on ,h;.
account at Klein Zchachwitz. The early ,norn
Hg romps in the nursery. the Quarter bonrs
SeNoteo 10 increasing the adipose OF Marcel
christian Senbrich Stengel by feeding his m |
wiuing mouth pap from a bowl and tho rous |
IN the grass OF the garden worth many ti,na. |
1.roVo francs to the proud and happv rnothar |
NOW Just imagine Marcella Sembrich faadinn
iat baby out OF a bowl and kissing Ut |
Snouiuers redder than the palms which
greeted her phenomenal Lucia three wears acc |
oeiore running to the pianoforte To ohIiya a
visitor with the mad scene from ..Hamlet' or n
prelude by Chopin and you'll have a unIo,o
picture OF a prima donna's domesticity
fhere Is something almost amusing in the stir
bas |