Iowa County democrat. [volume] (Mineral Point, Wis.) 1877-1938, 1911-03-16
FEATS OF ARTISTS
Some Metallic Achievements In
Eleventh Hour Work.
ONE OF LANDsEER's SPURTs.

The Masterpiece the Great Painter
Produced In a Few Hours-Remark-
able Records Made by Some of the
Famous Masters of Music.
Some astounding feats In eleventh
hour work. especially in the musical
and artistic branches, have been
achieved by the great artists Of the
world.
Sir Edwin Landseer had promised a
picture for the spring exhibition Of
the British institution in 1915, but on
the day before the exhibition was to
be opened all the hanging committee
had received was an empty frame,
which was duly hung in the position
Of honor.
As the prospect of receiving a pic
ture for the frame seemed to the com
mittee to be slight, a member thereof
went to see the artist. He found
Landseer standing in front of a bare
canvas.
That's the picture / promised" said
the great man, pointing to the canvas.
II have not touched it yet, but | will
send it to the institution tonight"
And he was as good as his word. A
few hours later the completed picture
was delivered and may be seen today
in the National gallery. This wonder
full work Of half a dozen hours was
none other than the universally adj
mired "Cayalier's Pets"
Leander. the famous painter, is ca
pabIe Of remarkably rapid work. Upon
seeing him leave his rooms early in
the morning with a canvas on his
back the neighbOrs Of the great artist
used to exclaim. There goes Leander
off to paint his daily picture" AL
though this may have been an eXag-
geration. il is a well known fact that
on several occasions the academician
produced a large picture within a few
hours.
Lcander has a formidable rival in
the matter of hasty work in Solomon
Solomon. This artist painted an adj
mirable life size portrait Of Israel
Zangwil within the period of five
hours.
In the realm of music there may be
cited many instances of extraordinarily
quick work. Oscar Hammerstein's
record of a comic opera in one act,
words and music, composed in one
night, is an example.
One of the most remarkable bits OF
orchestration ever written, the over
ture to "Otcllo." was scored by Rossini
in only t~wenty-four hours.
Sir Arthur Sullivan composed the
brilliant e~pilogue of the Golden Leg
end in the same space OF time. He
sat down at 8 o'clock one evening to
compose the overture to ~"lOlanthe'
and did not rise from his desk until
the last note was written at Z on the
following morning. while the overture
to "The Woman Of the Guard" occu-
pied him no more than twelve hours
both to compose and score.
1t is told of Donizetti that he wrote
the Instrumentation Of an entire opera
within thirty hours. On the morning
in which Rossini's "Gazza Ladra" was
to be produced not Il single note of the
overture had been written, n the
manager was in despair He sought
out the indolcnt composer. locked him
in one Of the rooms of Ia Scala and
declared he should have neither food
nor freedom until the overture was
completed RoSSini set to work with q
will and to such purpose that the
music was written and rehearsed be-
fore the evening performance.
Mozart was another genius who fire.
Quently needed the spur of eleventh
hour work. Though at | in the norm
ing not a note of the overture TO Don
Giovanni" had been set down. yet Mo-
Fart finished it before he went to the
breakfast table at his usual hour. Dur
ing the long hours consumed by this
task it is said that the musicians wife
kept him awake by reading fairy
stories to him.
One of the fastest composers that
aver lived was Trotere, the writer of
songs. Some of the composers feats
verge on the marvellous. 1t is said. for
example. that he actually wrote the
score of in Old Madrid" and had
dropped it into the letter box within
eight minutes of the time he had taken
up his pen. This would be remarkable
merely rs showing his deXterity and
agility. 10 say nothing of the labor OF
the composition itself.
One of Schubert's friends tells a
story indicating that composers ra-
pidity of workmanship, He had left
Schubert absorbed in Goethe's ballad
1.-THE Erl King" On his return in a few
minutes he found the musician swift
~ putting IN paper the notes inspired
by the poem. and within an hour there
had been composed that great song the
world has admired ever since.-Edwin
Tarrisse in Chicago Tribune.