The record-union. [volume] (Sacramento, Calif.) 1891-1903, 1898-02-27

mouse In Munich, where ne Stuuieu ~
der Hofkapellmeister w. Meyer LII
1889, at the age of II, symphony OF
his was performed, and his serenade
for thirteen wind instruments, Up. ~
was given by DIR. Hans Won BueioW
and the Meiningen Orchestra. In the
same year he proceeded TO Weimar TO
share the conductorship of the Court
Opera house with Eduard Lassen. He
was appointed conductor of the Mem
ingen orchestra In 1885. He has fire.
luently conducted at the Bayreuth fes-
rivals and at the moment is conductor
of the Royal Opera-house, Munich. Herr
Strauss is described as one of the most
artistic of men, unaffected and mod
est slight and pale, with big, deep eyes.
and sensitive, poetic face
Marie Geistinger, long leading SOU
brette on the German stage, and who
has successfully toured America, will
appear soon on the variety stage at the
Winter Garden, Berlin, where she will
bid a final adeu to youthful roles. She
is SO years of age.
Ninety-nine out of 100 actors drift
through their existence without stumb-
ling over an accident that endows them
with lofty birth, place above the
dead level. But Burgess is the odd and
remaining one of that number.
Chance helped me to a fortune and
gave me fame, if that's the word to suit
| the CASE said Mr.. Burgess. About
twenty-five years ago I was a sort of
utility man in a stock company at Prov
| idence, r. l. In our repertoire was a
farce called "A Quiet Family harum-
scarum fiimsy. to be sure, but our farce
writer's of to-day borrow from those old
time fiimsies. One night, when A Quiet
Family was on the bill, the stage man
ager received message from an actress
| who played the old woman, stating that
she had been stricken suddenly i'll and
could not possibly appear. Here was "a
pretty kettle of fish. Our stage manager
ripped out some able-bodied oaths-a
way they have sometimes-and ordered
me to go on and read the part from the
| book. / had never worn skirts in my
life, and was, 1 thought, untitled for the
| character. The only, reason 1 was chosen
to play the part would appear very fun
ny to the manager of any well-regulated
stock company in these days. The
character actor of the company had a
contract that gave him $40 more week
if he was called on at short notice to do
any part.
so, to save that SO the stage mana
| ger cast me for the female role, regard
less of thesfact that.it was our first per-
Torrance of the farce, and I might have
ruined it, / was a quick study in those
days and committed the lines within
two hours, OF in time to go on almost
letter perfect. The boys in the COM
! pany gave me an awful laugh as / stood
in the entrance made up in skirts for
the first TIME in my life-awaiting my
cue. My plan was to belittle the char
acter, for, by falling to play it properly,
l would be relieved of the nuisance of
wearing skirts, for it was quite job to
make up.
Mind YOU didn't intend to shirk my
work, as I took pride in my profession
and played everything conscientiously.
But the character of a shrewish old
woman was scarcely to my liking, and l
couldn't possibly imagine that / was
adapted for that line of work. To my
surprise the audience took kindly to me.
/ brcadened the business of the part and
made a burlesque out of it. The news
papers on the following morning printed
a fiattering notice of my performance,
and declared I had made the hit Of my
life. And / have worn skirts since that
accidental performance in Providence.
AS my friend PetToleum " Nasty Of
ten told me- Providence had inter-
vened in my behalf. Were it not for
that sickness to the old lady in Provi-
dence, would perhaps be spreading
the burnt cork and doing a sonic song
and dance to this day"
The following story of Brahms inter
view with the poet Daumer is given,
among other amusing personal reninis
censes of the composer, in an article in
the "Gegenwart" for December. A large
number Of Brahms songs We're written
10 and inspired by the text OF Daumer's
erotic verse. which breathes all the
spirit of wild romance and ardent pas
sion. Brahms calls Daumer a 'Voll-
blut Dichter' Ia hot blooded poet), and
once, when he was in Munich, where
Daumer lived, he not unnaturally
thought he should like to visit his "Voll-
blut Dichter.' II armed myself"
Brahms told the writer of the article,
with bound volumes. in which were
songs of Doumer's, and sailed forth to
look him up. AT last l found him in a
back street. in back room of very
retired dwelling. Here / stood in the
presence of my own revered poet He
was a little, wizened old man, who re-
ceived my settings of his poems, and
the speech of appreciation with which
presented them, in evident embarrass-
ment. and | soon discovered that he
knew nothing of me or my compositions,
or. indeed. anything at ali about music
| in general When | referred admiring-
~ to one of his most imprisoned and
fiery love-songs, his only response was
10 indicate. With an affectionate gesture,
a little old woman, more wizened even
than himself and say, I have never
loved but one-nly wife.'"
New York Times: Another actor died
a day or two ago alone and unattended.
Just a few days before that one had
| begged a Judge to send him to some
penal institution in order that he might
get food and shelter These cases seem
to illustrate a truth not infreluently
exploited in these columns, namely,
| that the life of the stage is something
far different from that which many mis-
guided young persons think it is. The
fact is that the attainment of success in
the theater is due to combination of
natural gifts and constant effort. Young
persons who contemplate running away
from home to go on the stage ought all
| ways to bear that fact in mind The
champagne and the fun which one
young girl said in her letter to a mana
ger in this city that she liked. do not
usually fall to the lot of the serious, hard
working members OF the theatrical call
ing. but rather TO the INSIGNIFICANT feet