The daily morning journal and courier. [volume] (New Haven, Conn.) 1894-1907, 1903-11-05
BAUCIA BREAKS RECORD.
HE ENDS FEAT OF CONTINUOUS
PLAYING AFTER so 1-2 HOURS.

NOS and One Abie-BOdIed Organ
Knocked Out-Had Only One Wish, n
Dish ofspaghettL.
With the perspiration falling in drops
drops from his brow and splashing on
tie keys; with an uncanny glitter in
his eyes and hysterical tremolo in his
voice, Baucia-Camilo Baucia-the man
who for exactly fifty and half hours
held at bay the two able bodied pianos
and a fully developed organ, at 1920
O'Clock last night not only completed
the task he had set himself, but smash
ed his own record and hurled defiance
at any would-be competitor in the line
Of long-distance music.
Without eating, without sleeping,
without rising from the piano stool this
long, lean, bushy-headed, dress-coated,
collarless Italian had made the big Lyr-
&c auditorium echo with the melody of
a few less than 500 pieces of music; had
kept at it continuously, and in all the
fifty and half hours there was never
a whole minute when the sound of the
piano was not ringing through the big
hall.
With a tremendous bang, whirl-,
wind play of the fingers that ended in a
final crash and brought from the grand
piano one long, last .despairing wall.
Baucia completed "Garibaldrs March,"
his last selection, and, staggering to his
feet, received the enthusiastic applause
of the 500 or more people who stuck to
the finish. His fingers were blistered
and sore; his hands swollen and stiff;
his pulse was 80 degrees above normal,
and his heart was beating at a rate
that fairly defied the recording powers
of the stethoscope, but his bearing was
jaunty, his manner sprightly and. as he
looked down upon the conquered must
cal instruments with which he ha5
struggled so long and so fiercely, he
wore beatific smile Turning to his
admiring managers he gave utterance
to the Italian equivalent for ST am the
real thing"
His excitement was intense and 1t
was with difficulty that physicians per-
suaded him to keep off his feet and rest.
The first and only request he made be-
fore leaving the hall was that he be
given some spaghetti With the great
est earnestness he declared that he was
not really hungry, nor even very tired;
that he did not feel at all sleepy and
was, in fact, good for ten hours more.
In the most emphatic Italian OF his vo-
cabulary he made the claim that a sew
enty-hour stretch would not be his
limit.
The two pianos and the organ, in the
language of the day, were thoroughly
to the bad when Baucia delivered his
Knockout blow There were portions Of
some Of the most beautiful of Chopin's
nocturnes and other classical selections
that were married by the inflammatory
wheeling Of the organ and the discor-
dant note of some piano key that had
been simply run off its legs by the in
| defatigable Baucia.
i On the stage with the musician as he
| finished was George A. Schneider, the
young man who started In on Tuesday
might to show that his staying powers
| were equal to those of Paucia. His
eyes were suniSen, his cheeks hollow,
and as he shook hands with Baucia he
| looked almost CHASTITY. In view Of the
fact that, figuratively speaking, he, sat
while the italian bore the whole brunt
of the fight, Schneider was much the
| worse done up of the two, although he
would not admit It for a moment. In
the most unbounded terms he expressed
his admiration of Baucia.
why, he's a wonder" he said.
| '"There was never any one like him. He
is in class all by himself"
Neither Schneider nor Baucia could
give any very vivid description of how
the long hours of the last day passed.
The Italian explained through an inter-
prefer that he simply did not think of
anything from the time he started until
| the finish, except that he must stick to
| the end.
Schneider simply said he hadn't any
thing else to do and thought 1t was fun.
After the performance last night he
| went to his home, 702 Warner street,
where he said he intended to eat a cou-
going to bed.
During the early morning hours
Schneider, a doctor or two and about
seven persons in the gallery were the
only occupants of the hall, and these
| watched the tireless Baucia as he play
ed About o'clock his pulse was TAX
en-, and DR.. Joseph Barranco said that
at that time there was some danger of
an attack of vertigo. The italian ex-
hibited a tendency to hysteria and be-
came restless ON the stool. He shifted
from the grand piano to the upright.
Then he made fierce attack upon the
organ and then back again to the grand
all without losing note. Gradually
he recovered his equilibrium and, set
Ting firmly into his stride, began to
beat music out of the Instruments in a
way that aroused young Schneider to
great enthusiasm. About o'clock he
hit up "In the Good Old Summer Time
and then, swiftly changing to the up
right, struck into "CavalIeria Rustica-
na," which he sang.
AS the day wore along people drifted
into the hall by twos and threes. They
would sit for an hour Or two and then
go away. Baucia played on and on,
and took no notice of the coming and
going of the crowd. Early in the day
his fingers began to bleed and finger
stalls were put on them for awhile, but
this did not cause him to lose a note.
Twice during the day he was given a
cup of coffee and small sip of Italian
wine, but no morsel of food passed his
lips, and he did not even smoke. About
o'clock in the afternoon he gave signs
of firing and became wobbly on his
seat. Those in the hall thought he in