The labor world. [volume] (Duluth, Minn.) 1896-current, 1909-10-23
Copyriqht, 1908, By. TAon.as Il. Mckee:

=. the Second Pagantn" as Mont the young
- Italian violin vrtuoso had been hailed by the
foreign press had all the vasaries OF musical
genius in general, with few Latin idiosyncrasies
thrown in. - & ~
watch him> like cat the day OF the first con-:
cert" wrote Isaacs' informant He'll be on the verge
Of nervous collapse There's knowing when he'll
whip out his hypodermc and begin squirting NOR
phine into himself One squirt will steady him. More
than that and he'll go to pieces. Take the needle
from him If you have to force youth never
get him to the concert hail. let alone onto the stage"
The young vioinist whose exploitation tn America
Laacs had undertaken, had set Italy on ire. con-
quc-od Germany, and most remarkable Of all, made
Lo-5cn sit up and, for the moment forget the clas-
steal traditions Of Joachim. In fact, it was Lon
don audience which had been reused to such enthu-
siasm that when he tucked his fiddle under his chin
and played the Paganini G-string arrangement OF
the prayer from Rossinis Noise it had detached the
horses from his carriage and drawn him in triumph
to his hotel Moreover, Conway-James Conway, the
famous English violin collector Of course-had been
moved to take the famous Paganini "strad from his
cabinet and had himself placed it in young Months
hands, not q gift, it is true. but = loan for
indefinite period.
It this episode Of the Paganin "strad together
with the popular reclamation of Monti the Second
Paeanini," and, most important Of aI certain
semblance in his photographs to the accepted like
nesses of Paganini himself that had led 1saacs to
consider the possible availability Of the young v1r-
tuoso for an American tour. He put little faith in
London musical opinion, and was aware that vir-
tnoso might fire all Europe without igniting spark
in America But the "strad," his appellation Of the
Second Paganini" and look of the great fiddler in
the photographs of Monti him deep and earnest
thinking
Isaacs had been a press-agent before he became
concert manager and he still considered every enter
PRISE before going into it, from the press-agents
point Of view.
Unless he could see lot Of good newspaper stun
the attraction he asked to handle he "cut it
out" But with his Baxter Street temperament and
his Broadway imagination, he had visions of
himself working the press" in series OF ''stories
about the Second Paganini and the Paganni
"strad." Why not even go further and work the
prevalent psychological fad by limiting that Monti
played Paganini we'll because he was none other
than Paganini himself, a rencarnation Of the great
violinist Any might know this by observing
and listening to him when his bow passed like
gicians wand over the strings evoking music such
as had not been heard since the mortal remains Of
the epoch-making master of the violin had been laid
rest in Genoa! How eagerly the great and gullible
American press would take the hook If baited with
such story, properly attested and ceverly written
Isaacs knew what that meant in increased box-ofce
receipts.
cert managers, whose chief function it is to get up
debuts for aspiring, but mistaken, young men and
wonnen-chiehy women-who think they have q call"
When the notion to do something struck him, he did
it quickly Money hew If it came back with big
profits, we'll and good. If It few out Of sight, why
goodbye and better luck next time. This by the
way, was next time" The lons-haired pianist on
whom he had banked the previous season: had not
been q success which greatly puzzled the manager
All other lons-haired piantsts whom he had man
aged had made money for hii. But whether Monsieur
Komowskis hair had been too long. just not long
enough 1saacs could tell-the discriminating
American public is 80 extremely critical in such mat
tera- In consequence however his present gamble
on the young italian vrtuoso represented all Of the
money that he had left. 1t was make break" tor
him.
This it that had made the day just passedthe
day of Months debut-the most desperate in his whole
experience manager, He had taken his from
the warning him by his European agent and had
literally watched the violinist like cat What
day! There had been but circumstance to relieve
- in any way the strain his nerves For on the
manteshelf, and evidently placed there by Month
himself, 1saacs had observed print copied from the
only existing daguerreotype OF Paganint. It was
full length the figure TALL emaciated in quantity cut