Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1898-05-07
STUDYING MUSIC M BERLIN
Thousands Of Americans Are There During
the Winter.
Fake P0ssession Of the Conservato.
HieS and Concert MHfls-Where
Living Is Cheap.

There are between 5000 and 1000 Amerf-
cans in Berlin every year who remain at
least during the winter months and it is
safe to assert that fully two-thirds of this
number are students Of music. There are 100
Conservatives for music in Berlin, besides
! an army of teachers, and these facilities
for learning are supplemented by the eight
or nine hundred concerts of all kinds which
take place during the musical season-from
October 1 TO May L
The American student, particularly the
girl, has taken possession of these conser-
Vatories ard concert halls in way that
does credit to our national enterprise and
perseverance. She is winning laurels and
respect for herself and her country in Ber-
lin, as everywhere else in Europe. Although
| no one who knows the artistic life of the
German capital would recommend Berlin,
any more than any other great European
city, as a safe place of residence for a
young girl dependent upon herself, still it
offers many advantages-not only the ex-
ceptional opportunities for learning music,
but the additional advantage of being able
to live in fair comfort at d very moderate
cost
An economical student can reduce living
expenses in Berlin to $25, or even $50, a
month, without greater hardship than a
little careful management. The male stu
dent has enc advantage. He can get cheap
er rooms in houses where a young woman
could not live, but this is compensated for
by the woman's greater aptitude in house
keeping. She can get many nice little
meal for herself where a man is dependent
upon restaurants.
That quarter of the town in which most
of the conserVatorieS are located, and in
which the musical student prefers to live,
to save time and expense in going to and
from lessons, is emineatly respectable, and
contains entirely nice houses. There you
can get small room for 81 or $3.50 a
m nd 70 lprtr 1ytrt, f.,y-
two people for $40 month. There is a
slight fee monthly for service and lights;
firing is extra, but not expensive; that is,
it would be expensive if you attempted to
attain an American degree of warmth
You don't, however; you soon give it up in
despair.
A kitchen outfit of little alcohol lamp
a kettle, a saucepan or two and the neces-
sary dishes will enable you to prepare your
breakfast and supper at very slight cost:
So a month will cover this item, and you
good manager
For this Price you can allow yourself
sood pitcher of nourishing cocoa, with
rolls and butter, for breakfast while for
supper you have brown bread and butter,
some kind of sausage or cold meat or eggs
cooked in some way, with cheese, salad
now and then and an occasional bottle of
beer or glass of milk, you prefer.
The cold meats and sausage you buy in
small quantities, deliciously prepared and
ready Tor use, at one of the fascinating
delicatessen shops. 1t is cheaper and al
lows of mere variety to manage in this
way for TWO than for one, Of course, but
the figures given here are possible even
for one person alone.
Dinner you can get at a number of nice.
quiet restaurants, at any price, from
twenty cents up, if you are a regular
customer For the lowest price you have
soup, meat and vegetables or a roast with
salad and compot; for thirty cents
forty cents you can get good four-course
dinner You obliged to order some
thing TO drink, but a glass of beer for three
cents will do, or glass of wine for ter
cents, if you care for It. A good way to
dine is to &C to some nice boarding house,
where you can be taken as table board
er, for dinner alone. at about twenty-five to
forty cents day.
If you do not care to live alone in the
manner just described, there are pensions
where you can obtain room and full board
from 800 d month up. Some private fami-
lies will take students to board at about
the same rates. which can be, very nice
way of living, if you have the good luck to
find nice people.
The tuition fees are, of course the great
est expense to be borne by the musical
student. The great masters charge every
where from 81 to SO an hour for private
lessons, but the COZ servatories very
much lover in price. The Royal High
School of Music offers yearly several free
scholarships. for which students of all ma
tons may compete. Concerts are heavy
item, too, for you must hear hem, but
tHey are very cheap III BefiiIl, ana students
can almost always get a reduction.
favorte meeting place Of the musical
colony. particularly of the American ele-
ment, is the Tuesday and Wednesday even
ing concerts OF the Philharmonic Orches-
ira. Pupils have tickets 20 these concerts
for ten cents apiece, and here they hear
the best music played by orchestra of
acknowledged excellence. There are no re-
served seats at these concerts and The
audience sit about little tables in plain
street drees. They come here only TO Lear
the music, for no other purpose and hardly
one of the more expensive and elaborate
orchestral concerts can show audience
rapt in attention, so eager in applause
and criticism.