The Bridgeport evening farmer., 1916-12-01
MARCH KINGS"
PLAY AND WORK
FROM INSIDE"
Band Master SOusa Known as
a Crack ShOt-Riding
His Hobby.

king smiled as he spoke these words.
| There was an upward curve of the
| corner of the mouth that made his
| smile, which extended to and en-
'braced his expressive eyes, magneti-
cally good-humored. It was withal
an ingenious, youthful smile for a
man Of 81, who has been half CEN
| fury before the public.
The interviewer whom Mr.. Sousa
thus addressed himself to found the
| famous music master in the easy
costume = of morning dressing gown
and slippers, in the sitting room Of his
suite at a Boston hotel.
/ breakfast tray stood On a small
| table. On another was a vase Of
| flowers.
'Have you breakfasted?f asked Mr..
Sousa- MAY I order up some fresh
! coffee? A cigar? No? WE'LL I
don't smoke, myself, before lunch
Mr.. Sousa meets the stranger with
| the perfect ease of a man of long
! travel and wide experience with the
public, yet no hint to the hardened
polish that years lay upon some char
acters. He is wonderfully fresh,
| both mentally and physically-the
kind of man who enjoys life to the full
with moderation.
"BrOke 95" at the Traps
Only the white that has crept into
his pointed beard betrays the advance
of his years. His person is as 1.-THE as
eyer; his voice as musically clear; his
eye as bright and sure.
II beat them all at Philadelphia on
Oct. II, in a trapshooting MATCH" he
said. laughing1y, when the matter Of
age came up. IT broke 9b, which,
isn't so bad for IL years past the half
century mark ~.
Trapshooting and horseback riding
are Mr.. Sousa's recreations. When
he is ION the road''-as he is at pres
ent, with the big Hippodrome show
now holding the stage twice daily at
the Boston Opera House-he gets lit
tie time for either.
IT get my exercise, while here by
walking in the Back Bay and the
Fens," he said. "My shooting aver
age will fall back to 80 or so this
| winter, I suppose. By the time
get back to 95 next summer, I shall
have. to drop the gun and take up
| the baton again. get three months
| in the year for play"
Mr.. Sousa talked of his play, and
| Of his work, with the enthusiasm of
youth. He is quietly effervescing ma
ture. To talk with the man two
| minutes is to get hint of his great
| power for creative work. His activ-
tiles indeed are. protean. The thous-
ands who think of him only as the
leader Of a band are dealing with
| but one side Of many-sided charac-
ter.
Name Among the Immortals.
He ranks among the first composer
| Of his day. Besides his scores of
| marches that have won him a place
shared by no rival, he has produced
not less than 10 operas, besides a va
variety Of lesser works, and has also
written a history of the worlds ma
tional music, and a novel.
'I had a pleasant surprise the
other day." said Mr.. Sousa to the in
terviewer, when a friend sent me
this book as a birthday present"
The work is a recent history of
music.
"The surprise was in the way
found myself. mentioned in, it,. said
the composer. 1.-THE author gives the
notable names in musical history for
500 years. There are but 700. I find
my name among them, and also, this
statement, He has done one part1cu-
lar thing better than any other man.
'That is the kind of recognition
that is worth while" said Mr. Sousa.
Making New Type of March.
Turning over the pages of the book
81, al oh nrrf
himself, Mr.. Sousa read a definition
Of his place in musical history, as the
creator of a new school of band
type of march" ,, -
His work was described as 'pe-.
culiarly American" and the histor-
ian doubted if it could have been
produced in any other country.
"I was born in Washington" said
the march king, reminiscently. my
father was in the Civil War, and my
earlier recollections are of the city as
an armed camp, with marching regi-
ments and playing bands. 49,
'As a child was brought up on
| band music. AS I grew I noticed
lsomething about the marches Of that
day-they did not climax. Speaking
gastronomically, when they got
through with the ice cream they went
back to the roast beef. And the beef
had no new sauce on it, no new
flavor.
1T conceived the idea Of making
the march a thing of cumulative
force and interest. It should have
the strongest rhythm Of any form of
music.
"The old method ended the march
in the tonality Of the original key. I
discarded this My method of secur-
ing my effects I need not describe to
you. I don't go back to the roast
beef after reaching the ice cream"
Composed on Steamers Deck.
Asked under what conditions he
did his best work, Mr.. Sousa had
this to say:
IT believe in inspiration. It is to
me what religious dissertation is to
Billy Sunday. 1t gives me power"
! Asked what he considered his best
march, the composer answered
| quickly, The Stars and Stripes For
| ever" He then illustrated his
| statement regarding the power Of in
| spiration by telling how his most sue
cessfu1 march was composed.
"It was conceived on board the At
lantic liner Teutonic'' he said. II had
been in England, and had been home
sick Like all returning Americans, I