The age-herald. [volume] (Birmingham, Ala.) 1897-1902, 1899-04-25

Denck received a letter from an official of
pounds The same amount was sent to
each of the other artists. In former years
the sovereign, it was said, was in the habit
of sending souvenirs in the shape of gold
snuff boxes or other artistic specimens of
the goldsmiths art, but this rule fell into
disuse 1t seems in the early part of Vic
toria's reign; or at least before Denck
played for her majesty. In the letter TO
the pianist it was suggested that the
twenty pounds might buy something that
could be considered souvenir from the
court. member of Denck's family pre-
served the letter, but the money was COW
cred into the Denck treasury and no part
of it was allowed to go towards the pur-
chase of a remembrancer. 1t was needed
for expenses.
ION coming back to the United States the
Dencks located in New York for season
on account of the boys music. 1t was
there that little Denck first met Gustav
Satter and William Mason He played reg
ularly at Satter's private recitals and
learned much from that phenomenal vir-
tuoso. AT the age of 16 or II he returned
to Germany alone and pursued his studies
there for two years. His technique was
regarded az marvellous and his playing Gre
ated a Juror. His mind broadened with
time, but before he was IS his technique
was about as masteTful as 1t is now. He
played frequently for List and List
played frequently for him. One of the
peculiar things he remembers of List is
that the celebrated pianist and composer
wanted the ashes to stay on his cigar as
long as possible He took particular pains
that the ashes might not be knocked off
Won Buelow had achieved fame, and Denck
often heard him play. When he would ask
Liszt to play certain of his own pieces the
composer would say: I cannot play so well
as / did when 1 was younger. Get Won
Bulow to play the piece for you. He can
do it better than I-more like l used to
play 1t than I myself can play 1t now. In
those days Won Bulow was known more
as a Liszt player than as classic player.
No one had ever thought Of him as an
interpreter of Beethoven, as he turned out
later to be.
''Denck found List kind and his CONVEX
sation luminous. But the great man was
so much in gay society-night after night
and week after week-that 1t was a mys-
terry how he found time to keep up his
practice or do any composing or literary
work. Denck on this second visit to Eu1
rope also saw much of Tausig, Henselt,
Reisiger, Hans Won Bonsart and other dis
tinguished musicians. He never, however,
saw Rubinstein in Europe; neither did he
meet Brahms. But in 1878, in the United
States, he had the pleasure of hearing
Rubinstein on many occasions.
"Henselt entertained Denck for weeks at
his schloss in ia-Warmbrunn. Hen
self was a most fascinating man and a
most hospitable host Dencks stay at
Warmbrunn fingers as one of his most
happy memories. 1t was music and poetry
for hours every day. There was nothing
to interrupt the felicity of those two musi-
cal spirits.
another delightful privilege Denck had
was to play duets with Joachim, the illus
trious violinist-the greatest chamber vio-
linist who ever lived. With him he played
Beethoven's Kreutzer sonata.
in England he was introduced to Jennie
Lind, but as her voice was gone he did
not hear her sing. During the season of
1929 Denck made five months tour
through the western states with Ole Bull.
Since then he has made his home in the
south, principally in Atlanta But few
years ago he gave a series of successful re-
citals in New York.
when he was a youth there was very
little musical culture in the south. The
progress of good music in this section in
the past twenty-five or thirty years has
been worthy of note, he says.
"Thus 1t is seen from the above facts
that Mr.. Denck was not only born with the
musical gift, but that he enjoyed excep-
tional advantages"