The San Francisco call., 1898-01-20

f1ortns, doubtless on account of her ex- ceptional talent; and this one, as we'll as three of her companions, received, like the chapel master, one forin a week for food.
 A sad condition of affairs seems to be reigning in London at present. In a let ter from John F. Runciman, the London critic, the following passage occurs: For two or three years every musical soul has been oppressed by the number of tickets he has been asked to take as a favor A musical critic is sometimes appalled, when he finds himself in possession of tickets for dozen concerts on one day: but fancy the state of mind of the ordi- nary amateur who has had the tickets sent him, generally through friend, and who has to rack his brains for an ex- cuse for being so rude as not to attend, And the last result of all this sis that noWa- days no one will pay to go to a recital of any sort. The public has been pauperized by free concertSi It is scarcely fair to place the entire blame for this state of affairs on the shoulders of the piano man ufacturers. There are others in search of advertisment-singers players, recit- ers-and these will buy seats if they are permitted to perform"
 The fight over the fortune left by Brahms still rages, and the number of claimants increases. Hamburg and Vien- na both lay claim to it, the former be- cause he was born there, and the latter because he spent nearly all his life there, and on that account had forfeited his German nationality. The Senate of Ham, burg proposes, in case of being put in possession of the money, to devote part of it to erect a vast monument to the composer, in one of the public places of the city. Here is certainly bizarre pro- ject. It appears that a great city, wishing to honor a citizen, in whom it takes much glory, is willing that he himself shall pay the price of the glorifcation.
 George Thatcher, the minstrel of Prim- rose and West fame, has become a boni- face. He is proprietor of the ''Maple-in- the-Pines," an Elizabeth CN. J) hostelry. The house-warming of the Maple-in-the- Pines took place last week.
 Henry Russell, who will be remembered by the elder generation, celebrated his eighty-fifth birthday on Christmas day. and there will be many who will be glad to hear that the veteran composer of "Cheer, Boys, Cheer" "woodman Spare That Tree" '"The Ivy Green" 'The Old Arm Chair" and other once popular melodies, Is still in excellent health.
 Willis E. Bacheller is planning to tn- augurate a series of song recitaIs to be given at his home, 1417 Clay street, the first of which will be on the evening of January 2S. His programme will consist of works by Boston composers, and on subsequent occasions he will take up the works of other Americans known to the musical world. Assisting MT. Bacheller will be five of his pupils-Miss Flora May Bristol, Miss Mindell F. Dreyfuss and Miss Mary B. Morse, sopranos: Duncan E. Smith barytone, and Henry A. Melvin basso. Mrs. Carmichael-Carr will also as- sist. It will be exclusively an invitation affair. The programme in full will be as follows: Bullard (a) Beams from Yon- der Star" Beach (bl Alone" Mir. Bach eller; Beach (a) Might" (b) "Fairy Lul- laby," Miss Dreyfuss: Foote (a) I'm Wearing Ava" Johns (b) "Where Blooms the Rose" Mir. Smith: Chadwick (a), Dear Love When In Thine Arms Foote (b) Irish folk song, Miss Morse; Bullard, Here's a Health to Thee,s Rob- erts," Mir. Melvin; Chadwick (a) Sweet Wind That Blows" (b) '"The Danza," Miss Bristol: Chadwick (a) "As in Waves l Without Number" (b) ''Was I Not Thine?" MT. Smith; Chadwick (a) "The Columbine," (b) 70, Let Night Speak of Me" Foote (c) ''Memnon," Miss Morse; Chadwick, 'Bedouin Love Song" MT. Melvin; Chadwick, Sweetheart, Thy Lips Are Touched With Flame" MT. Bacheller
 "Varsity Football" is the title of a striking and tuneful march by Gertrude Voorheis daughter of Senator Voorheis of Amador. This pretty composition has just been issued and has already reached a high degree of popularity among local musicians, who declare 1t to be very