Evening star., 1901-03-02


| in the work and attended extra rehearsals
| in very large numbers. They will resume
rehearsals on Monday. the uth. with
ductor's place and Mr.. Lawrence being
again accompanist.
The inaugural chorus, after much LABOR
on Frederick Burton's original anthem,
Freedom, Our Queen" sang 1t all through
on Wednesday night for Chairman Edison
and the other special visitors. 1t produced
| fine effect. 1t is a difficult composition
the standpoint of scholarly musician; but
its effects are produced by simple melod1c
themes, worked up effectively, and 1t closes
by very powerful massing of the entire
chorus a series of sustained chords. 1t
seems to be extremely well designed to
produce the sonorous effects demanded by
the time and place. Director Percy s. Fos-
ter thinks the present inaugural chorus the
best chorus which has yet sung in this city
under his direction.
Mrs. Blanche Sprigg, who is we'll known
in musical circles. has decided to make
venture in comic opera. 1t is expected she
will join the Runaway Girl company.
Josef Hofmann naturally takes the great
est interest in anything American, as 1t
means to polish his talent into the brilliant
thing it is today He is entertained at
houses in Berlin and st. Petersburg where
good talk as well as good music is heard,
and is q particular faVorite at the Ameri-
can embassies.
1t was at one of these one evening that
he first heard Nevin's "Narcissus." 1t was
played by some young attache as a sort of
Joke, any popular music being considered
by most of us as humorous offering to
great musician. To the surprise of the COM
pany, Hoffman, was very much pleased
with it, and asked what it was. He said
that he would like to hear more of the au-
thor's work. But said the young man
who had played it, that is just popular
trash" Popular, l should think" Hof-
mann said, but not trash The man who
yHrr~C ;,;a Io,I O<NI
manner" He sat down and ran over bar
or two of the melody, putting such express
sion into the hackneyed theme that it took
on life.
write music which touches the hearts of the
people must have little genius Musically,
he has never been educated but the author
of this, and he played another bar, lis
also trained" And then he added, Most
folk music is really fine" AS is known in
this country, his estimate of Nevin was
correct.
The first concert of the Motet choir will
take place Thursday evening, March IA, at
the National Rifles Armory on G street
under the leadership of Mr.. Otto Torney
Simon. This organization, now numbering
between 40 and 90 well-trained voices, first
began rehearsal in November last, and had
for its object the rendition of old motets
and madrigals noted for their beauty and
classical value, principally of the sixteenth
seventeenth and eighteenth centuries. The
should appeal to all music lovers: Three
motets by Praetorus, Arcadelt Bach; two
madrigals by Ford and Palestrina: three
folksongs Scandinavian and Germany, har-
monlzed by Brahms and Godschmidt;
chorus from Liszts oratorio, "Christus,"
Tu est Petrus. DR.. B. Merrill Hopkinson,
baritone, will sing two groups of old Eng
lsh and modern songs. including the IA
nous Magyar songs of Korbay. The other
soloist will be Mr.. Vilalpando. the 'cellist,
who has already acquired high reputation
in this city. Mr.. Eugene Stevens is chair
man of the board of directors, which in
nall, Mrs. Otto Simon, Messrs. Duffy Gerry.
Page, Pfeiffer, Roberts and Ronsaville.
Mrs. Lucille Belts has returned from a
concert tour Of ten days, during which time
she visited Wilmington, Del, New York
city, Mt. Vernon N. Y, and Stamford
Conn. Mrs. Belts received very warm
reception and booked three return engage
ments for May.
Miss Mary Cryder will give two concerts
this month at the Washington Club She
Will have the assistance OF Cornelia r.
Hunt, soprano; Frank 8. Pierce, tenor;
Leland H. Langtry of New York baritone:
Mr.. and Mrs. Ernest Lent, cello and piano;
Miss Mae Reynolds, piano; Miss Koehle
violin; Bessie Strauss of New York. piano
and Archibald Olmstead. accompanied.
The Choral Society still has two eve g
before the season Is over, one lecture
by Krehbiel on "How to Listen to Music"
with vocal illustrations by Mrs. Kreh..el
and piano Illustrations by Mrs King, which
will be on March Is, and the other the
oratoria Of elijah" in April.
The bringing to America Of a great Eu-
ropean orchestra Is an undertaking that
has rarely, If ever, been equaled in magni-
tude in musical ventures, and consequently
the forthcoming American tournee Of the
Leipsic Philharmonic Orchestra is exciting
a great deal of interest All the more since
II has become known that the management
of so vast a scheme has been placed in the
hands Of woman. This woman is Mrs
Norma Knupfel.
Although of German parentage, Mrs
Knupfel is proud of the fact that she was
born In this country. Her father, who is
still living in San Francisco will be re-
membered as one Of the most famous Ger
man actors Of his time Her granduncle
Baron Won HOmmer, Is ninety-two years of
age, and Is still well-known figure in Leip-
sic. Norma Maehl is descended from the
Thekla Won Larisch. Her first cousin, Ma
jor Alexander Won Larisch, Is huegel adiu-
tant to his majesty the King of Saxony
Norma Maehl was born in Detroit Mich,
December s, 1853. She was about three
years Of age when her parents went to Cal
itornia and 1t was there that she grew to
womanhood. She married while still quite
young rich wine merchant, and as Mrs
Henry ]. A Stuhr she was for a number of
years prominent figure in Los Angeles and
San Francisco society. Her first experience
as an impressara was in organizing a series
of charity concerts in San Francisco which
proved so SucceSSful that she eventually un-
dertook the direction of the Scheel orches-
trail concerts in that city. which were so
successfully maintained for two or three
seasons. For the past two years. since the
death of her second husband, the late Rich
ard Knupfel. well-known musician, Mrs.
Knupfel has been identified with the Euro
pean tours of the orchestra which she Is
now bringing to America. When one stops
to consider the magnitude of the present
undertaking one cannot but admire the
pluck and energy of this woman in an on
terprise SO important in the world Of music
Traits of Siamese Cats.
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