The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1902-12-18
TALK WITH MANAGER HEARD.
He Says MascaSni and His Musicians
Have Been ShabbiIy Treated.

When Pietro Mascagni, a stranger in
strange land, entangled in legal complica-
tions which he did not even pretend to I'M
derstand found as a champion and ad-
wiser Richard Heard, of Boston, he realized
what it was to have friend in need. Mr..
Heard. manager of the Boston Chickering
Hall, a man of wide musical experience and
speaking the Italian language with the flu
ency of native of Italy, offered to become
the manager and guide of the misunder-
stood genius, and Mascagni accepted the
offer with gratitude.
Il took the management of Mascagni SIM
ply because there seemed to be nobody else
that understood him." said Mr.. Heard last
night before the opening of the concert.
land / want TO say emphaticaly that L
never have known inner character than
so shabbily in America through series of
Misrepresentation.
I'm the first place, L want the people of
lutely no truth in the statement that Sig
nor Mascagni deliberately broke his con-
tract with his former managers, the Mitten-
thai Brothers. When this theatrical firm,
which has had no experience with musical
artists, failed to pay the composer the
salary that was due him for two weeks of
hard work, then, and not until then, did
Mascagni refuse to continue his leadership
on the directors platform. And who would
blame him for taking such action, I'd like
to know?
1.-THE composer is disappointed, of course
that so far his much-talked-of American
tour has been one of such rough sailing.
but he feels that he has not been to blame
i'm any way. AS for his faithful wife. who
is here with him in Indianapolis, and who
will continue to accompany him throughout
. his travels in the United States, she is
heartsick over the first discourteous and,
afterward, brutal, treatment which her
husband received. and the exaggerated
ports and misstatements printed in some OF
the Eastern newspapers.
misunderstood TEMPERAMENT.
eff it were not for the fact that these
misunderstanding were harmful to Mas
cagni's reputation, both in this and in his
own country, they would be laughable as
showing the American ignorance of the
Italian temperament. Why, recently in an
Eastern city reporter. back of the scenes
during a concert intermission. beheld some
of the members of the orchestra engaged
in a wordy war over something or other,
punctuating, as is their custom, their con-
versation with excited gestures, and he inn
mediately hurried to the office of his paper
and wrote story about another strike
among Mascagnis musicians If / permit
ted little disturbances of this kind to trouble
nv mind | would be in an insane hospital
before this tour was half ended. The Ital-
ians as people, are high-strung, nervous
and excitabe, and Italian musicians
especially so. The members of Nascagnis
Italian orchestra that I've ever seen, and
I've seen many of them in my time, are
likely TO engage in turbulent conversations
at any moment. but their anger Is usually
like April shower.
Coming TO indianapolis from Fort
WAYNE to-day of our tenors became
involved in a heated argument with an
other singer over some fancied favoritism
shown the latter by Mascagni, and the two
men were soon at il hammer and tongs let
flying at each other all of the terrible
things that the Italian language contains.
The row was one of extraordinary dimen-
sions and, finally. growing tired OF the
thing | had one of the trainmen threaten
them with expulsion from the car unless
they kept quiet. And after that they soon
forgot theis anger, and by the time they
reached Indianapolis were friends once
more and of them was smoking the
others cigarettes. They're a curious lot
OF people, but ! think | understand them.
and | mean TO stick by them and see that
they receive better treatment from now
THE tour has been a success, artistically.
from the start, and in most of the cities
where we have given concerts the financial
end of things has been very satisfactory.
We go from indianapolis TO Cincinnati,
where We give a concert tomorrow night