New-York tribune., 1910-12-25
|OpERA SCORES LOST,
STRAY[D OR STOLEN
Six Sent by Express to DR.. Chad
wick by Walter 0amrosch,
Are Missing.
SENDER MUCH PERTURBED
Works Among Those Submitted
to Metropolitan in $4,000
Prize Contest-May Be
No Duplicates.


No Duplicates.
The six best scores submitted IN thS
Metropolitan Opera House competitions.
in the estimation OF Walter Damrosch-
one of the judges. are lost, strayed or
stolen. Mr. Damrosch directed his sec
retary to bundle them off to George w
Chadwick. another of the judges and
director Of the New England Conserva-
tory of Music, and that was the last hs
could learn about the scores. so yester-
day he called in the police to enlighten
him as to their whereabouts.
The Metropolitan Opera Company had
promised to the successful competitor a
cash prize of $4,000. The manuscripts
other than that of the prize opera might
prove worth considerably more than their
weight in gold. but MIR Damroscln esti-
mated the job lot at from $4,000 70
$4,000. The worst of it all according
to Mr.. Damrosch, was the inprobabiiity
of the composers having retained copies
of their work so the loss would be ire
parable to them and to the world IN gen
eral
Express Company Acts.
An official of the Adams Express Com
pany from the branch Office at No 12of
Third avenue called at the East 6ith
street station last night. accompanied
by driver from whose wagon a pack
age containing the scores was stolen or
lost while it was standing in front Of NO.
$50 East 63d street last evening
The driver told Lieutenant Breen that
the package was one of two ne had re-
ceived a short time before at the home OF
Walter Damrosch. No 146 East 61st
street. addressed to George w Chad
wick, in Boston.
Mr.. Damrosch, when reached by tele-
phone, was greatly perturbed by the
news of the theft
Mr. Damrosch. Mr.. Chadwick. Charles
NJ. Soef1er. the composer and Alfred
Hertz, former conductor Of the Metro
politan had been appointed the judges
of the contest, and OF the twenty-five
scores that had been submitted Mr.
Damrosch selected six
The driver, whose name could not be
learned. told the police that when the
packages were handed to him at the
Damrosch home they were valued at
$500
He explained to Mr. Danrosch's reprs
sentative that goods valued at more than
$50 were liable TO 4 special Insurance.
rate. The valuation was then changed
from $500 to $40
There were only the two packages left
in the wagon when the driver went into
the tenement at No. 800 East esd street
He had been In there about ten minutes
and when he returned to his wagon one
of them was gone
Detective MCGEE was assigned to the
case
The block in which the packages was
stolen houses number of characters
known in police parlance as guer1lias-
TT was only a few doors away that the
Rizzo and Longo boys were held IN cap
tiyitv by their kidnappers. LonSo was
found at No. $50 and Rizzo at No. S5-
The police do not understand what the
euerillas want with high brow music.
and thew feel certain that the thieves
Were not aware of the contents OF tns
bundles when they took theii:-
Offer of Prize for Opera.
The prize competition for an opera In
English by an American born composer
was announced by the directors on d.
cember Is, 1908. The winner was to
eoncede the rights of the opera IN the
United States. Cuba. Mexico and Can
ada to the Metropolitan for period OF
five years
The performance was not To consume
hours
time. including intermission-
1t was to be produced by the Metro
poIitan during the season following lts
acceptance.
The contest was To open on December
20. 1908. The circular further specified
1.-The award will be made by jury OF
recognized authorities selected by the
board of directors of the Metropolitan
Opera Company. The agreement of ar
least two-t thirds of the jury is necessary
for a decision. The jury at its discretion
NAV reopen the contract for period OF
eighteen months
But if the best laid plans o mice and
men gang aft agley. this seems espe-
cialIy true of movements for the uplft
of art Some of the composers held back
until the names of the judges should be
made Known Others asked for an ex-'
tension of time In which TO complete OF
revise their works before submission
Last summer Otto ri. Kahn. chairman
of the executive committee of the Metro
politan Opera Company announced that
the time limit of the contest had been
extended to September 10, 1911. and inn
mediately there arose a storm of protest
from the composers whose works had
been submitted within the time limit
against a change in the rules which
would admit others TO the competition
The effect of this protest was to causs
the management to return TO the tine
schedule originally announced, and this
composers waited expectantly for weeks
for some intimation as TO when the
Judges might be ready to announce their
decision
Under the rules OF the competition
neither MIR. Damrosch nor any of the
Judges could know the names of the
composers whose works had been sub
mitted.
Some score or more of the leading mu-
sicians of the country will therefore bs
wondering to-day as TO whether or not
their precious manuscript was so un-
fortunate as TO win MIR. Damrosch's ap-