The age-herald., 1900-04-15
THE COMING MAY
 MUSIC FESTIVAL Will be Test of Birmingham'S Appreciation of the Art. A MAGNIFICENT PROGRAMME The Annual Feast of Song Will Become Permanent Institution if Finan- cially Successful This Year.
 Petersburgs Success
A MAGNIFICENT PROGRAM ME
BY WILLIAM RYAN.

under the auspices of the
 u.-sHH= ly Music Festival associa- ..H for the 10th and 11th of ...- aoHIf oves successful financially, .. no s5H= 5lbts but that it will, our anUr.l song will then be regarded .s H6-rs institution. This years eally a test of how much IH Y--s-u o. a.. .ningham appreciate musi- cal art, for it is being given at considera- bly, greater cost than was incurred in the festival of 1899; at greater cost than was ever involved in any musical enterprise in Alabama. The receipts for the three con certs of the festival must amount to $350O in order to pay expenses
 Birmingham had a brilliant festival year ago at cost of only $2.50o. The re- ceipts exceeded that amount by $Soo. And in view of the liberal patronage on the part of the public the association felt jus tified in attempting even more brilliant. and therefore a more costly, festival for 1900. Should the receipts reach &,5OO, as some of the festival guarantor's think they will, then the festival for 1901 will be planned on still grander scale.
 It is hoped that next year the manage ment will be able to have four concerts in- stead of three-three night performances and one matinee. A si5oo guarantee would make a festival of three nights possible and would make it possible, too, to have Sembrich, the greatest soprano in America, included among the artists
 In several cities where large guarantee funds are easily raised, music festivals continue almost entire week. Ihere are usually seven eight concerts But when the performances exceed four the festival becomes tiresome The most en- thusiastic devotees of music grow weary when they attend as many as seven con certs in one week. If Birmingham could raise $10,O0O for festival I would say by all means limit the number of concerts to four
 Everybody knows Cincinnati as a festival city. In no other city of the United States has there been achieved such noble tri- umphs in musical performancel But the Cincinnati festival lasts from Tuesday un- til Saturday-too long by two days. Among the festival cities of the smaller class Is Worcester, Mass. The Worcester festivals are historic. Tn years past when the programmes were more attractive than they are now they drew musicians from points a thousand miles distant
 Petersburg, Va, is another of the smaller cities that has a dstinctively musical atmosphere and that attained an enviable rank as festival town After Cincinnati and Worcester no town in this country attracted much attention on &C., count of it's fine chorus as Petersburg But as is the case in most communities of 25 ,00O or 30,O00 inhabitants. not more than one man could be found in Petersburg who met all the requirements for organiz- ing festival and training great festival chorus Even many cities of 100000. and over, lack a first class musical director But Petersburg was favored above most cities. large as well small in having as one of it's citizens. H. Nottenius, an edu- cated. gifted and experienced musician MT Noltenius is a native of Germany but came to this country as young man and located in Petersburg. He engaged in the tobacco business and accumulated fortune. Many persons in this country have an idea that musician never makes a successful business man, but Noltenius affords strifine example of combina- tion of the musical temperament-the mu- sician-and commereia1 thrift Like all Europeans of good social position he re- ceived thorough education, which in- cluded. of course. culture in the depart ment of music. He is skillful orgsnist and knows music a science. He might have attained eminence as a professional musician.s but he chose a mercantile ca- reer and is today of the wealthiest men in Virginia. But methodical busi- ness man though he be. he has found time to keep up his organ practice and devote
 
 work. Four or five wears ago Noltenius fell into feeble health and on that ac- count felt constrained to give up his di- -rectorship of the festival. He looked round for a musician who might take his Jplace. He found a man whom he regarded as being well equipped for the position, but 1t turned out that the new director Hacked the power to inspire the chorus, and the result was Petersbure's May fes- 2 tivaL which had for years riva1led the fes- tivsls of Worcester. had to he abandoned. -Npltenius is stiu the oroanist and choir master of fashionable E,piscopal church but his days for exacting and nerve wearing festival directing are. unfortu- natelv for musical enterprise. ended
 While Petersburg continued to hold its annual festival hundreds of music-lovers from different narts of the south looked Forward with pleasure to each recurring one. for each surpassed the one of the previous year. and when the opening con- cort began the picturesque old town O, the Appomattox was fin gala dress and