The record-union., 1898-08-14

an influential syndicate, of 1 100 shares
of $50 each, the greater part of which
has already been subscribed for.
| The claim recently made in the Lon
don Musical Times that the conduc-
! tor has ousted the prima donna from
! pride of place as the central figure in
/ the musical world seems to be borne
! out by the June number of the Boston
| Musical Record" which contains one
| article on Mottl and LamoureuX from
! London, another from New York on
/ the city's conductors, past and pres
| ent, and a third on the conductors Of
the Boston Symphony Orchestra up to
/ date. In the same number of the Rec-
ord'' Mr.. Thorp predicts that concertos
| for solo instruments-the piano eX-
cepted-and orchestra are doomed sooL
! to disappear before the all-Subduing
orchestra.
The wind-inStrument concerto has al
ready gone the way of all flesh; the
violin and the cello concerto will soon
| follow it. Can you doubt it? How
| many such concertOS, written within
the last ten or fifteen years, have you
heard in which the minds ear cannot
plainly hear the composer eXclalnl,
! Thank God!" whenever he gets lld
| Of the solo instrument and can dis
port himself freely in a tutti? / cam
not remember one. TO be sure
the violin and the cello concertos have
not quite gone by the board yet; sing
ers, too still sing with orchestra, and
with more or less difficulty make therc-
selves audible But their position IS
/ a,lxr and less t6naDlG.
their doom may be sealed at any time
/ Save the athletic pianist alone, solo
performers, whether vocal or instru-
mental. must hail the all-subdulng or
| chestra, like the gladiators OF old, with
| Ave. Caesar Imperator, morlturl te
salutamus!"
| New York Post: A correspondent VINO
| seems to be a conservatory MISS IN ner
| early teens, and now studying music III
Berlin. has written a six-page letter 10
the Evening Post" in defense o. the
late lamented Brahms. In TINS letter
| occurs the following gem OF loglcaI rea-
| soning:
Musical mankind is indebted for many
| pleasant half hours TO Franz genius.
But as to the prediction that dear franz
will outlive poor Brahms, l must EN-
! phatically contradict your critic ana
| pluck this hope from his heart-not uh-
less the world goes backward instead Oh
forward 1t will never be the case, lot
did not Brahms leave S1UO,0OO (belnS a
man who used little money for his own
| copofortq This immense fortune alone
will insure his fame to pass unto pos
terity.
The Bishop Of London, having been
I asked recently whether certain acton
of his was meant to imply sympathy
| with the stage, replied as follows: AS
To the question which you ask me, the
drama is very ancient form OF art.
| ike other forms Of art it has changed
at different times. There are two points
to be considered at present: I'd the ma
ture of the plays; CD the conditions OF
the theatrical profession. There IS q
further point: If people wish to see pop
ular amusementS put on rlght OASIS,
ought they not to sympathlze with anu
help efforts to amend the stage? thihk
that on these points every one IS re-
sponsible for forming his own OPINION
and acting wisely and rightly upon the
sense of his responsibility
Few OF the great SluSciS "ho
been heard in this country has had as
remarkable a memory and learned their
roles with the same ease as Campaninl
He sang Vasco di Cana in Meyerpeer
.I,Africane" for the first time al the
Academy Of Music in New York
The afternoon of the day before the
performance a friend happened to drop
into his study. Il don't suppose l
ought to interrupt you,'' said the friend,
noticing that the tenor had his repetl-
teur and was at the piano.
..Oh stop and have a chat" urged
Campanini. Il haven't looked at the
third act yet, and don't know note OF
if. but there's plenty of time.
AT the performance the next night the
great tenor was not only absolutely note
perfect. but sang the entire role with a
spirit. dramatic freedom and finish
which Ardfti, who conducted, said he
never heard equaled.
In London he was once asked in an
emergency to sing Don Ottavio in Don
| Giovanni" The performance was to
take place the same evening, and he
hadn't sung the role for ten years. He
simply glanced over the score, and took
the part beautifully. When, some
years ago, he was sent for at the last
moment TO replace NJ. Jean de Reszke,
who was indisposed, in Faust, at the
| METROPOLITAN Opera house, he hadn't
| appeared in the part for about five
wears. vet he went through the role as
accurately as if he had it constantly in
practice.