The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1903-11-08

il health. The London Lancet Of Aug.
7 devotes eight columns Of fine type to
extracts describing the symptoms and
results O fhis frequent indisposition.
and DR. George III. Gould. editor Of
American Medicine the compiler of
these extracts. deduces from them the
conclusion that Wagner like de
Quincy, Carlyle, Darwin. Huxley.
Browning. Spencer and Parkman, as
he has shown in "a recent volume),
owed his lifelong misery mainly to eye
strain, which might have been easily
cured by the wearing of proper spec
I tacles. Headache. sick headache dys-
pepsia. nervousness, melancholy. In
somnia, indescribable suffering-these
were the more prominent symptoms.
some Of which the authors just mem
toned had sometimes or always, Wag-
ner had all of them nearly all of the
time. DR.. Gould's argument is absO-
lutely convincing and it provides much
food for thought. Wagner possessed
the gentle art of making enemies to
perfection, but his Feasibility was due
chiefly to his III health. Tremendous
worker though he was. he often could
compose only an hour or two a day.
and that only by a heroic effort TO bear
the pains Of a martyr at the stake. A
pair of spectacles might have enabled
him TO write several more of his inn
mortal Opfras and TO enjoy life. IL is
pltiful story; none more so. This
poor patient" DR.. Gould concludes.
may be excused for not recognizing
the simplest conclusion that the eyes
were at the bottom of all his suffering
With difficulty, however, may the med
zeal men of his day be excused. and
there is no excuse for the most cruel
OF crimes the brutal obstinacy which
/ today makes q few conservative
physicians. and even some careless
ophthalmologists, deny that such
symptoms in thousands of patients are
due to eye strain and are daily cured
by its correction"
Professor Arthur NilIisch is one or
the warmest admirers Of the genius Of
Edward Grieg. He viii conduct his
Peer Gynt' suite at the first concert
Of the Berlin Philharmonic orchestra
next month. by way of commemorate
ing the recent Goth birthday OF that
great Norwegian. 1t win be remem-
I bered how great a Grieg enthusiast
Anton Seidl was. and how incompar-
ably he interpreted his works. GIleg
himself was greatly interested 70 hear
that Seidl had made an orchestral suite
, cut of several of his pianoforte com
positions. He asked the writer of this
paragraph TO get Mrs. Seidrs permits
sion TO use this suite Tt was played
and cordially apDlauded at Christiania.
and Mr. Grieg has now placed II in
the hands Of Peters for publication.
The New York Philharmonic owes It
/ to the memory of its great conductor to
play this ..orwegian suite again. also
others Of his admirable arrangements,
notably the Bach Divertimento, which
aroused so much enthusiasm at a
certain Philharmonic concert.
The musical interest Of Italians is
still confined to operas. Sgambati IS an
exception He has written some cham
| Der music Of merit Mr. Kneisel not
long ago received the following letter
from him:
You will be surprised at my long ST.
lence. The great sorrow of losing a
mother, an Illness, and other grave
matters, made me neglect all CORE
sp0ndence for long time Now
thank you. and if tardily, none the less
warmly for your good letter. which
brought me great happiness: also for
the sight Of the portrait OF yourself and
your colleagues. To you ard them I
have felt grateful ever since you played
my quartette in London HeuscheI
speaks TO me with enthusiasm of your
magnificent performance of it, Since
then the renown Of the work has spread
and il is now played at the popular con-
certs by the Bohemian quartette. the
Leipsic quartette, Hugo Hermann. ard
Becker, and others. But the climax
was reached. I believe, in the perfect
execution of yourself and colleagues
This qUartette. published I'm 1882, had
remained in Obscurity; for the greater
part of its present popularity I am in
debted TO your fine Interpretation and
success. I intend to write a new one
expressly for you. and have set apart
a time for this work. so that I may
put into it all my best efforts and my
whole heart