The record-union., 1899-09-03

4ET31
1t is said that the Sultan of Turkey
pretends to like music, but doesn't care
for it in his heart of hearts. He has
habit of having favorite soloists play
for him, and then sending an adiutant
with bag of gold $500, which must
be placed before the artist and picked
up by him to make sure that he got it,
Then he inquiries how much the artist
would ask for permanent engage
ment-but whatever the answer, moth
ing more is ever heard of him. The
latest virtuoso to submit to this pro-
cess was M. Cesar Thompson He got
his bag of gold, and when. he was asked
what his terms would be- he answered
S4OOO a month-which, by the way,
would be about $4,000 year more than
the grand vizier receives.
The new opera in which Alice Neil
son is to appear has not yet been
named. Some of the names under con-
slderation are THE Sweet Singer"
The Little Minstrel and 1.-THE Singing
Girl" Eugene Cowles will be in the
company, and the composer, Victor
with couple of solos, which do full
justice to his magnificent voice.
A new opera called "a Free Colony"
music by Florida. director of the con-
servatory at Palermo. and book by
Luigi Illica, has been produced at the
Theater Constanzi. Rome. 1t said to
nave been very successful
Miss Ellen Beach Yaw, the young
American soprano who sings "C'' above
the high &C." has been engaged to sing
IN new opera which Sir Arthur Sui
iVan is writing with special songs to
suit her phenomenal notes.
While Mr.. Grau made over 100000
profit with his opera company in New
York last winter. chiefly with German
and French operas, the Scala of Milan.
the largest and best of Italian opera
houses, has a deficit Of $4,000. Next
season the Scala management proposes
10 produce Puccini's new opera, La
Tosca, and also Galleotti's opera. "An-
tome, after its premiere in Rome.''
At the Covent Garden Opera in Lon
don an extra price is charged on the
evenings when Jean de Reszke sings.
As in New York, the great aim and am
bition of the most famous prima donnas
is to appear in the same cast with that
popular tenor. When 'Lohengrin''
was sung with the De Reszkes. Leh-
mann and Nordica, the price of tickets
went UP to SIT in the parquet.
x
The Vienna correspondent of the
Musical Courier tells the story of the
earlier days of the late Johann
Strauss, when he and Joseph Lanner,
an almost equally celebrated waltz
composer We're poor together in VII
emma. Strauss was a brilliant violin
lst, but his instrument was as bad as
ms playing was excellent To buy q
new violin was out of the question. It
was all they could do to get enough
to live, and then it occurred to Strauss
to try another expedient. From one of
the tables he one day lifted a glass
half filled with beer This he poured
through the "f'' holes For a while this
seemed to give the instrument new life.
but its lease was short, for one day the
whole business went to pieces. The glue
could not take kindly to the damp in
terror and refused any longer to hold
together. Somehow Strauss managed
to get another violin.
That music is a useless and expensive
fad is the opinion of a writer in Cardiff,
whose article is thus summed up by
the London Musical Standard: "He
points out that there are 45,0O000O
souls in the British Isles, housed in, say
100000 homes At least one in seven
Of the latter contains a piano; that
means 1000 900 pianos, which, at, say.
t200 apiece, works out at 100000, 900
for pianos. A piano lasts, say, ten years,
and these figures show a yearly ex-
penditure of f2.000,000 for the instru-
ments alone. Of the six or seven peo-
pie in such homes, probably two learn
to play the piano. and each spends,