The record-union., 1899-07-23

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|. Miss Hattie Smith of Long island
Sound has musical tastes which her
family's means do not allow her to
cultivate. So she is to give exhibitions
in diving bell this summer to raise
money She will be diver to become
a diva.
An interesting composition by
Brahms, entitled "a Son of Destiny"
is of a somber character, weird and
impressive.
The composer Puccini has been made
This is owing to the success in Paris
of La Boheme."
Leoncavallo is studying the novel
"Quo Vadis," with a view of trans
forming it into an operate libretto, set
to music, the entire work to be done
by himself.
NJ Lamoureux and Willie Schultz
(for several years Jean de Reszke's
American agent now officially an
nounce in the legal columns of the
French papers particulars of their
scheme to produce Wagner's operas in
Paris during the exhibition period M.
Lamoureux brings into the affair the
sole right, granted by Nine. Cosima
Wagner, to perform Tristan und
Isolde in France, and will also de-
vote his time and care to the direction
of the artistic side of the enterprise.
MI. Schultz, on his part, brings into
the scheme the lease of the Theater
Nouveau, and will manage the busi-.
ness details. M. Saleza of Covent Car
den has been offered the part of
Tristan. A private joint stock COM
pany has been formed, with a capital
apparently by no means too large for
such an enterprise-of $4,000, the $50
| shareholders, however, each contribu
ting 500 for the sake of art alone,
and being mere sleeping partners,
| without having any voice in the man.
agement.
| Johann Barndl many years conduc-
tor at the Carl Theater, in Vienna, tells
| this story of Strauss: At one of the
| last rehearsals of Strauss operetta
| Prince Methusalem" it suddenly oc-
CURED to the conductor that the theme
| in a certain love duet was strikingly
like popular song of the day. Strauss
| did not know the song, but thanked
the conductor for telling him, and
promised to compose another number
in place of it by the next day. On
the way home a charming polka theme
occurred to him, called up, as he de-
clared by the rafting of the wagon
wheels on the badly paved street. By
the time he reached his house it was
complete in his head This polka, to
which a very happy text was written,
became the music of one of the chief
numbers of the opera, the couplar
known as 1.-The DotIet on the IT, that
was popular everywhere on it's jour
ney around the world. But Strauss at
that time did not feel quite sure wheth.
er his polka was full substitute for
the omitted love duet, and on the fol-
lowing day. he brought in delicious
waltz These were the two numbers
of the opera that did. most to assure
| it's success.
Word has been received in New
York that Nine Marcella Sembrich has
signed contract in London to return
next season to this country with the
Maurice Grau Opera Company. Nine.
| Sembrich has been engaged for sixty
appearances. 1t was somewhat uncer-
| tain when she sailed away whether or
not she would return next year. Nine.
Sembrich was not content with the sue
cess she made last year in the Italian
! operas. She is anxious to be heard
| in Faust" "Lohengrin' and Die
Meistersinger." For the latter opera
| she was prepared last winter, but was
able only to sing part of the work at
| the benefit given for Anton Seidl. Nine.
| Sembrich has not followed the exam
pie of the other singers and mentioned
| in her contract the operas in which
she was to appear. So brilliant as her
success was in the Italian repertoire.
| Mr. Grau has made contracts with
some Of the other singers which en-
| titled them to the right to sing these
roles as many times as it was found
profitable to repeat the operas. Nine.
| Sembrich wished these roles explicitly
included in her contract, and that mat
ter remained in dispute until her meet
ing in Paris with Mr.. Grau, when the
contract was finally signed.
|
New York Tribune: The Philadelphia
| Manrerchor enjoys the distinction Of
being the first German singing society
organized in the United States. 1t was
founded on December 10, 1885. No one
has risen to question the right of the
Philadelphia Society to the distinction,
| but careful search of the records in
| New York and elsewhere would prob
ably disclose the fact that it had not
merely one but several predecessors.
All of our musical history has been
carelessly written The Moravians have
always been noted for their devotion
to music, and the Moravian colonists
who settled in Pennsylvania more than
seventy-five years before the date given
were none the less Germans because
their thoughts We're on religion and
education, instead of beer and Gemuth-
lichkeit. How musical they were was
shown in a letter printed in the "Trib-
une' last March. which brought out
| the fact that a band of flutes, oboes,
horns and trumpets accompanied the
organ in the church at Bethlehem in
1856, as reported by Benjamin Frank
lin in a letter to his wife. philhar-
monc society was organized in Bethle-
hem in 1920, which had already been
preceded by a Collegium Musicum, the