El Paso daily herald. (El Paso, Tex.) 1881-1901, 1897-07-03
Musical Wit ard HumOr.


| 1flcnuS dJ I'd DlC UcCduSc udI
"thought'' to write down, ard woul
afterwards be found in auother room
helping himself to superior wine
| Or that other story of ordering Dime
| = three that he might make sure @
| having enough for one? These, ant
such Ike, are as stale as the PHILOSOPHY
of Martin Upper. The wit and hume
of the later masters has flavor al
together different. Let US sample
and see.
Surprising we Begin with Rossini
| the Charles Lamb Of music. Never
surely, was composer more witty thai
the master who gave US an lmmorta
setting of civilian Tell His whlm
sicality extended even to his birthday
Having been born in leapyear, on Feb
ruary %, he had of course a birthda.
only once in four years, and when be
was ~ he facetiously invited hi:
friends to celebrate his 18th birthday
Some Of the best specimens OF his WI
were shown in cOnnet ton with hi:
brother composers. you know" he
said one day, speaking to friend, ''you
know what pretty dance tunes Aubel
has always written'-Auber being a:
likely to write dance tunes as ROssin1
was to write sermon. The maestro
seldom went to the opera or TO any
place of amusement, but he could not
resist the temptation of hearing one
of Waener's works. 1t was Tannhauser.
Afterwards, when asked to give his
opinion of the opera, he said: st is
too important and too ella borate a
work to be judged after single hear
ing, but so far as | am concerned, /
shall not give it a second Rossini
indeed had a sad competent for the
hero of Baireuth. Somebody once
handed him the score of one of Wag-
ner's latest productions, and presently
remarked that he was holding the
music upside down. "Well." replied
Rossini, Il have already read it the
other way and am trying this, as | can
really make nothing of it. If Wag-
DER did not escape, it was hardly likely
that List would. One day the eminent
symphon poem which he had just
ROssini heard it through
and blandly remarked: 81 prefer the
other" List naturally inquired
(which other?" THE represe ION
Of chaos in Haydn's Creation
was the whitening reply.
AS matter of fact, Rossini seems to
have had scant respect for anybody's
music but his own. Upon amateurs he
was especially severe. A few days af
ter Meyerbeer's death young admir-
er of his called upon the composer
IF William Tel with an elegy which
ne had written in honor of his idol.
WELL said Ros= mi after hearing the
composition played over, ''if you really
want my honest opinion, L think it
would have been better if you had died
Ind Meyerbeer had written au elegy.'
A gain, there is that other story told
1y Mr. Kuhe about Prince PoniatOw-
xxi, whose ~ e0man's Wedding Song"
lse to be so popular. The prince had
ong enter; aimed the hope of having
,ne of his works performed at the
Grand opera of Paris. At length his
ambition was likely to be realiZ d, but
lie had two operas lying beside him,
Ind he could not decide as to which was
he better. He decided to ask ROssi-
his advice. The composer said he
would hear the two works played
oonia towski arrived. armed with his
cores. He sat down to the instru
nent, and went through one of them.
" hen he had finished, RO5Sini, whose |
patience IVES by this time thoroughly |
exhausted, turred to him and said |
Iuiet'y: Now, my friend, 1 can advise |
-ou; have the other one performed"
rhe incident recalls u story told of DR.. |
ArEe, the composer of '1tule BritaC- |
la. AILe WIS once Cdllt upon TO
Judge between two very bad singers |
hen said to one of The contestants:
You are the worst singer | ever heard |
n my life The other was naturally |
,Xultant, and remarked that of course |
lie had won" No." said Arne, "you
ant sing at all.
But to return to Rossini. Sometimes |
he amateurs would endeavOr to bride |
lin into compllmen by sending him
little present. The ruse, however, |
vas but seldom etfectual. A budd ng
composer once accompanied his new |
ON position with a StiltOp, hoping, of |
curse to have letter prais.ng the |
yock. The letter came, but all IL said |
vas: "Thanks, | ike The cheese very
much" Rossini's witticisms indeed |
dubbed forth at all times and under
Gentleman called on him to enlist his
id in procuring for him an engage
nent at the opera He was drum
ner, and b ad taken the precaut:On to
ring his instrument. RO5sini said he
rould hear him play" and it was de-
ided he would show off in the over
ure to Semiram de. The very first
'ar cont aims a tremolo for the drum,
nd when this had been performed, the
'ldN CT NOW, L nave rest
f seventy-eight bars; these of course [
will skip" This was too good chance
0 be lost. ''Oh, no. said the COM
oser; "by all means count the seventy
light bars. l particularly wish to hear
hose" Ro slni was, it need hardly
e said, an excellent raconteur him
elf. One morning be was at sumptu-
us bre akfast party, and was refusing
ne after another all the daintes that
we're offered to him. The hostess
oticed his unwavering abstinence
Tith equal surprise and regret, and
PRESENTLY asked him if he was unwell.
tcssini answered with an anecdo e.
The position 1 now occupy at your
able,' he said, ''reminds me of an odd
experience that befe me some years
go in provincial town of Italy. A
II rformance Of the Barber was being
iven in my honor in the local theater.
While the overture was in full swing |
Oticed u huge trumpet in the orches-
ra, manifestly blown with remarkable
orce and continuity by a member of
he band; but not sound in the least |
kin to the tone Of that instrument |
ould | hear. At the close of the D T.
ormance [ interviewed the conductor,