The Birmingham age-herald., 1910-04-20

1 desolatiop Of the wide steppes of Si- beria: and tho peasant refrain-collective l la bor rallying instanter and instinctive to individual labor's plaint.
 My arm bends not meath it's load to- day
 And the good humored decoration of sheaf of wheat for a play fellow and the rough chorus of the Harvest Home" merging into a grotesque peasant song and a dance with all the quick tempo monotonous sameness physical rhythm, and eternal sadness of the far, far east in it! You instinctively indorse Tat jana's sentiments:
 "I love to follow while these songs are
 singing,
 Imaginations play that lead me on to re- gions without end!'
 What a master mind had this great Russian" I said as we dwelt upon the beauties of the opera.
 "The very name of Peter Ilich Tschai- | kowksy is magical" said Mrs Rivers. and by the way. the pronunciation of | the name is a matter of great conjecture among the-well. some at least over heard two little tots in one of my classes wrestling with 1t not long ago, and one of them said very disgustedy: 'I can't pronounce it, so l just sneeze and saw chow-ehowP
 | "The opera has so little plot one IS talr- ly dependent upon the beautiful music for everything" l suggested, in speaking | of the libretto
 "whieh is the fault of many operas. said Mrs. Rivers affirmatively.
 Particularly so Is it the case with "Eu- gene Onegin A story of dashing young exquisite throwing away the love of a beautiful girl who afterward becomes a great princess, and man like when he sees the unattainable cries for it like child for the Inoonl After many scenes of great intensity the genteel, phase, nero who must have possessed what one or the sons of Ham called the Wahder-ioo, goes away-where? (deponent sayeth not) to the tune of a dozen or so chromatic | interyals-and-well. there is no end-but just those four great heavy F. minor l chords!' ,o.,
 And what do you get out of 1t allf' | I asked interestedly.
 | 'sMneh beauty of music-a hundred sur prises of rhythm and harmony came | the answer "and a confession of an over weening desolation and bitterness or soul | on the part of the composer all woven ana interwoven with dance rhythm ana seem 1 ing gaiety For thus did life serve the great Tschaikowksy, who in spite or honors and genius, found everything so | aWry and distrate that he in pure pra- yado with unshaking hand drank glass of unfltered Neva water, at his last bo- | hemian banquet and thus ended ELS career q few hours afterward -
 How tragic and yet how imbued With the Russian spirit it all Is" l said ap- stractedly.
 | Russian to the innermost hbre or ms heart. was the great composer, was the instant reply "Fatalistic and cour- tier; breaking his heart Chowever ne smiled and shrugged) over the limitations and failures of love of human passion t; forgetting that relations to others IS only one class of beautiful experiences. But 10 him as well as Wagner, whose heart was so fiery and tempestuous q case or emo ton that one could light ones own little torch at it's glow-and Bach all crystal craft and mental crspness and pure white righteousness, and Beetnoven' into whose sublimities one could plunge one soul and batre 1t clean and steadfast-alas what do we not owe theni-all f
 In conclusion Mrs. Rivers said:
 And as for Eugene Onesin-those whe do not read below the surface will love its dance and rhythm. while those Who do and probe tho quality of things, rather than poetcal facts-will suffer some bangs with poor Tschsikowsky and will marvel anew at the gift of genius that can make for this trumpery little tale a dignifled, mournful and beauteous set ting."