The Worcester spy. [volume] (Worcester, Mass.) 1898-1904, 1899-01-08
INITIATED.
Music
Plant.
TUNEFUL FILlPINOS,
Note and Comment on Some
New Singers.

The $402. 500 subscribed TO build a new
music hall in Boston is the gift of 4O6
persons, so that the average subscrip-
ton amounts to rather less than $1,000.
The capital is to be increased to a round
half million, and apparently there will
be no great difficulty in collecting the
funds. The lot bought at the south end
by the new corporation is large enough
to hold the present Music hall fremont
Temple and Horticultural hall, and in
addition to this lot, Col. Henry L. Hig-
ginson and others have bought adjacent
property to the extent of 1900 feet,
which is large. enough to hold the Uni
tartan building and Masonic Temple
The tract of land first bought, plus
taxes for five years, has cost 5000 600
and the recent purchase seems to have
been made for the purpose of protec-
ton. If the corporation wants the extra
land, it can have it.
The plans adopted for the new build
ing provide simply for music hall The
project of erecting a composite auditor
ium, which might be used for opera as
we'll as for concerts, was found to be
lmpracticable, both on account of the
expense and the fact that an opera
mousse is not acoustically good as a con-
cert hall. The opera stage alone would
cost $4,000. There are concert halls
enough in Europe to serve for models,
and best features of these will be incor-
pOrated in the new Boston hall The
building must be ready for occupancy
a year from next fall, so that the enter
prise Will have to be DuShed
Eugento Sorrentino is coming over to
try his luck in American again, with
the famous Banda Rosa, or Italian
Red Band which won so much praise
and lost so many dollars, a year or
more ago. This time he will bring with
hiR soloists selected from other italian
bands, and he will have a new man
ager. Everybody will wish him better
luck, this time.
Fanchon Thompson, a new American
singer, has made her debut as Car
men" at the Opera Comique, in Paris.
'Mignon,' and "Gretel' in Hunper-
dinck's fairy opera, are reserved for
her later. Miss Thompson comes from
Chicago, and great things are predicted
of her.
Blanche Marchesi, daughter of the
celebrated singing teacher. MathiIde
Marchesi of Paris. will make a concert
tour of the country, the present month,
under the direction of Henry Wolfsohn.
She will make her first appearance in
New York, January %, in a song re-
cital.
The story that the Filipinos are
is by no means so unimportant
as may be so supposed. DIR. Paul
Goldman, correspondent of the
Frankfurter Zeitung, writes that
there is scarcely one who does not
play some instrument" The Filipinos
supply the Asiatic demand for bands
men, At Shanghai there is a band of
Philippine Malays, who have been
trained by German till they are able
now to do without him. Their pro-
grams are published every morning in
the North China Daily News, and
they are acquiring the orchestral rep
ertoire, as is proved by the presence
of Schumann's music on the program.
In this connection, it is pertinent to
remember, that even the Egyptians
and Soudanese have been organized
and trained by British band masters
in military bands for service in the
khedive's army. They are said to
play very well. though their repertoire
is rather scant The spectacle of a
band of swarthy Egyptos, in kharki
uniforms. playing God Save the
Queen" is said to be one of the most
striking evidences of British suprem-
acy to be seen in all the world
Sport has been sometimes made OF
Mayor Quincy's efforts at popular mu-
sicai education but probably few
persons outside of Boston know what
an imposing music plant the city has.
The inventory includes an orchestral
conductor. bandmaster, pianist, an
instructor in the theory of music and
a teacher of singing the last two be-
ing also organists.
A municipal brass band has been
organized with f. n. Catlin as lead
er which gives free out-of- door con-
certs. Then there is a string quartet.
with pianist or vocal soloist, which
gives twelve concerts at an estimated
cost of $50 each. Finally, there is the
municipal orchestra, conducted by
Emil Mollenhauer or John Mullaly.
which gives twelve Sunday night CON
certs. The small admission fee makes
the orchestral enterprise nearly or
quite self-supporting and no doubt the
number of orchestral concerts and
chamber concerts viii be increased
next season.
Besides all these organizations. there
is the music commission, of which
Carl Zerrahn is a member, which ex-
ercises sort of general musical CEN
sorship, and compels street pianos.
German bands and Italian pifferari to
keep their instruments in tune or else
quit playing. If the commission can
work such a reform as this, a long
suffering public will owe 1t a debt of
gratitude.
Mayor Quincy's idea was no doubt
derived from the European custom of
supporting music at the expense of the
state, but in some respects he seems
to have improved upon 1t, the trans
atlantic model. At any rate he has
placed Boston ahead OF all other Am
erican cities in this respect, and ii is
not to be wondered at that attempts
are being made in other cities to i'm
itate his policy.
The January number Of the Musical
Record of which Philip Hale is editor
aid LCrin f. Deland manager, appears
i'm new and handsome cover and with
other gratifying evidences OF the pros
rerlty it deserves. 1t is not only one
of the most scholarly but one of the
most trustworthy Of the various musi-
cal periodicals. Art!,les by Mr.. Hale,
William j. Henderson CT New York.
John F. Runciman Of London. Edgar
> Kelley of New York ana j. Wallace
Goodrich Of Boston, are certain to be
Wen written and valuable TOR the mat
Ter they contain. Add to the
literary quality of the work the high
OF Ger of music printed GuI we have n