El Paso daily herald. (El Paso, Tex.) 1881-1901, 1901-01-19
Two Letters
From Vienna
Vienna, Austria, Dec. 20. 1900

Vienna, Austria, Dec 20, 1900.
Dear Mother 5or
Yesterday 1 went to see the second
of the Niebelungen Ring Die Walkure
Monday 1 saw "Das Rheingold ~
Next Monday want to see Gotterdam-
merung, If l can get ticket. 1t is a
very hard matter to get a ticket to
anything in Wien unless you go a
month anead. Every seat and even
standing room is sold. The opera here
begins at seven o'clock and ends either
1O-11-12-1 O'Clock. Rheingold was on
ly from to 10-but Walkure was from
to 1870 and Gotterdammerung is
still longer. 1 like Wagner's operas
best of all. They are eood-beautiful
scenery-lots of love scenes Zone kiss
in Walkure took two minutes by the
watch) and plenty of noise. The Or
cheStra is kept very busy and the or
chestration is one of the best parts
Mailer. the greatest living Wagner con-
ductor. is conducting here in Wien.
So that makes it still greater and bet
ter. The opera here is beautiful very
much like the Metropolitan in New
York only it is finer. The stage is quite
large. They had the Rhine river on
there Monday so you can imagine it is
quite large.
Today 1 had a lesson My teacher
is the only one l tell you. You learn
great deal with the good German
teachers and the poor ones are not as
good as most Americans. $50 i am
thankful to have good one The
musicales at Professors begin on the
first Wednesday night after New Year
and just think as / am Leschetfszky
pupil l get special invitation. One
of Professors pupils gave a concert
last night and was fine. Well they
must be great before they can come
around Leschetiszky. q !r.- =-.1 "A
i am very impatient to quit these
exercises of Czerney, etc..-but they
must be done perfectly (and to do it
Leschetiszky's way takes some very
hard work. he will have no skimming
in his. it must be just SOL But see
that his exercises have done a great
deal of good already and If kept up
always will at least give me a very
broad. able technic. So have already
TO he thankful to the dear
old man.
terday and insisted that ! come and !
take a five o'clock dinner with him and |
go to the opera with him, so T did. He |
played some of his own works and a |
from Saint Saens for me. He |
is a natural born artist. He has per- |
feet ear. 1 struck some chords and he |
stood in another room and told me
every note ana the exact position In
which l had played it.
He goes to Poland on a concert tour.
also Russia this summer and wants me
to go along and give some concerts
and said he would assist me in my
But it will take time. money
and work, SO l don't know. He says 1 !
must go to Bayreuth to the Wagner
Festival with him and as it is not far
perhaps / will go there if it comes off
before | want to come home.
Zadora gives one seasons concerts
in America and says he will probably
visit me as he is very anxious to see
Mexico and that is on his way.
He has invited me to Christmas
Inner with him and he is so nice and
heir dinners are so exquisite that l
couldn't refuse, so Monday shall take
Inner with him.
Today has been quite cold, the first
lay 1 have needed fire in a week.
l practiced five hours today but
hat is more than Leschetiszky wants
Is to practice on those studies as he
makes you keep a heavy pressure on
Every note you strike and your fingers
wiggle in ten minutes of good
practice. 1 am very careful in -prac-
icing, to practice just exactly as he
would have me do if it were my lesson
instead of practice hour. zsto as
My nerves are quite bad but don't
mind them at all. 1t must be ON ac-
count of winter. 1t is harder to stand
on a hot day than a cold
,ne so that is the reason it hurt me so
n the summer T4
Your devoted son, s..nIl.