The Pacific commercial advertiser. [volume] (Honolulu, Hawaiian Islands) 1885-1921, 1906-07-29
BERLIN IS THE WORLDS MUSICAL CENTER
Eight Hundred Concerts
Held There During a
Recent Season.

called the musical center OF the world.
Last season there were held in this
city over 800 concerts-an average of
from five to seven every night. This
was exclusive of the operas, of which
there are three that run eleven months
in the year, with repertoire including
practically every opera that was ever
written. A number of the more popu-
lar Wagnerian pieces. such as Lohen-
grin, Tannhauser and the Meister-
singer, We're given several times. Last
season every noted cellist was heard
in Berlin inside of four weeks, while
$50 of the worlds most famous pianists,
and practically all the great violinists
of Europe, appeared here during the
concert period.
Berlin has 120 musical schools, and
the American pupils in these instftu-
lions out-number every other national
5ty except the Germans. Every year
we send over about $500 students,
whose total annual expenditures are
estimated to be from two to three mil
lion dollars. When it is considered |
that Berlin is only one Of many musical
centers in Europe to which we send
scholars, it will be seen that our ma !
Eional outlay in this respect is enor-
NOUS. Aside from providing the bulk
of the patronage for European con- |
servatories. the United States is the |
most profitable field for foreign per-
formers. Every artist who can secure |
continental endorsement at once makes
for America to realize his harvest.
PIANO IS MOST POPULAR 4
There are more students taking piano /
than either violin or vocal; probably |
as many of the first named as both of !
The others together. American-madei
pianos rank with the best produced by |
any nation, and are used by most of I
the great teachers and performers of
Europe. xaver Scharwenka is prob
ably better known to Americans than
any other piano instructor. He is a
jolly, fatherly sort of man. whose ac-
quaintance is not at all confined to
the people of any one nationality. Not
long ago two young girls coming all
the way from New Zealand to study,
knew little about the many other shin
ing lights in the musical world of Ber-
lin. but they asked Immediately for
Scharwenka.
Among the great pianists Pader-
ewski is doubtless more popular in
America than any other. He is the
greatest advertiser of them all and
has probably earned more money
than any other performer on this in
:Strument. He made $780, 900 on his
first trip to the United States. and
even now commands $4,000 for single
performance. But it must not be un-
derstood that the earlier pianists did
not earn large sums of money. Franz
List was the premier pianist, and al
though he earned enormous sums. he
was so extravagant that he never saw
ed a cent. Probably his most profita-
BILE performance was one in st. Peters
burg where he received 81 900 for a
single engagement Mozart. who was
the most spontaneous genius and great
est all-round musician that ever lived.
died of poverty at the age of thirty
five. Had his works been protected
and exploited according to present
standards the earnings from his talent
would have amounted to millions.
While he has nothing like the tech
poraries, D'Albert is at present the
drawing card among the pianists in
Berlin. When the brilliant French
man toured America the venture was
little better than a failure 1t seems
that the adverse criticism he received
at that time had a good effect on him,
for he rolled up his sleeves and went
at his practicing until playing showed
a pronounced improvement. Aside
from his talent. he is a character in
himself. He wears his hair long and
throws it back from his face like a
lion shaking his name. His Clothes
look as though they were made for
two or three sizes larger than
MOI IxifI o. iiTtcS ha
been married four times. D'Albert is
still a very young man. When he went
to have the birth of his first boy reg
istered he looked so young that the
officials asked him: "'Why did you
not send the father of the child % DIAL
bert was a favorite pupil of List.
TEST OF MEMORY.
Arthur NJ Abel, the Berlin CORE
spondent of the New York Musical
Courier tells of an incident which
shows the remarkable memory of Mo-
ritz Rosenthal who will tour America
his year at a salary of $1,000 night.
One evening when this performer had
some friends in to dinner. he sat down
20 the piano and began to play. He
executed piece after piece without
notes. until someone remarked on his
wonderful memory. IF you think that
S WONDERFUL, let me SHOW you SOlHc
hing" said Rosenthal. He then took
iown three volumes of Chopin's works
md asked one of his guests to select
my page in either of the books and
over I'D everything but one line From
his meager suggestion he played the
piece through to the end without an
error The experiment was tried again
md again with both Chopin and Bee
hoven but as many times he sue
eeded in demonstrating that ne had
he masters at his fingers ends.
Ieschetizki has the reputation or
,eing so grabbed and irritable that
hose who have not been to him have
horror of the first interview. When
FANNY Bloomfield Zeisler. the Well
,nown American pianist. first played
n his studio he stormed and rallied at