Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1930-08-10

royal distinctions accorded Wag-
ner who shows such wisdom in
similar selections.
The municipal authorities of
Bayreuth gave the great COM
poser their complete assistance.
The Mecca of WagneriteS had the
foundation laid in May, 1872. The
famous choral symphony of Bee
thoven was performed at the spe-
cial ceremonies. Funds collected
from individual patrons and
Wagner societies made the begin
ming of the theater possible. The
| theater was built according to
original plans of Gustav Semper,
according to Wagner'S own ideas.
At the second festival in 1882,
'ParSifal" was given under Her
man Levi and Franz Fischer.
"ParsifaT" was not allowed to be
performed anywhere except at
Bayreuth until the copyright ex-
pired. In 1895, 20 years following
the great premiere of THE Ring"
the first Wagnerian festival
| following the completion of the
theater-the same four operas of
the Ring DIES Niebelungen" were
the only works performed. This
current season, of course, "The
Ring" operas, "Parsifal" and
"TannhauSer," are given several
productions. And these perform
ances, it must be remembered, owe
as much, in a different way, to
Siegfried Wagner as they do to his
father. For music is the most
mute of all the muses. unless the
instrument or instruments may be
provided to make the notes pen
ned upon the manuscript paper
audible.
THERE are many fascinating
references to these Bayreuth
| festivals available to the inter-
ested reader. The late Leopold
Auer and the famous prima DON
ma, Emma Eames, both have such
illusions with colorful anecdotes
in their autobiographies-to men
ton only couple. One of the
most interesting and unusual OF
them all, however, is made in the
musical sketch-book, with auto
biography incidental, written by
the great dean of American
critics, the late Henry T. Finck in
my Adventures in the Golden
| Age of Music" He tells Of his
very first visit to the Wagnerian
shrine when he was very young,
extremely enthusiastic, and eX-
ceedingly poor young man. Fol-
lowing a vivid and entertaining
exposition of his trip across, Mr..
Finck says:
How ever reached that out
of-the-way Bavarian town, Bay
reuth, buried in the Franconian
mountains, I don't remember.
But there I was one day, several
weeks ahead of the public per-
formances. The rehearsals were
in full blast. Why should I not
attend these, too? Alas, I found
that no one was admitted to
them. I sneaked around the
curved corridors and applied my
ears to keyholes. I heard ravish-
ing new harmonies and tone
colors that thrilled me to the
marrow. But an attendant dis
covered me and ordered me out.
Nobody allowed in her. he said.
81 replied that I did not see why
these precious sounds should go
to waste, and added that had
paid 900 marks to hear the per-
Torrance, so I surely ought to be
favored. He took off his hat,
bowed politely, and said: I am
extremely sorry, sir, but have
strict orders to make no excep-
tons
Eyes, dear reader, I had paid
900 golden marks, or $225 In
American money, for tickets
That was nearly half of what my
uncle had lent me and I hadn't
the faintest idea what would be-
come of me when the rest was
spent. I ought to have been salts
fed surely with hearing two per-
formanceS each of 'Rheingold,'
'Walkuere,' 'Siegfried,' and 'Goet-
terdaemmerung'; but in my reck-
less enthusiasm I had bought
| three 'PatronatScheine, covering
all IL Of the performances! I"
THE next morning was stand
ing in front Of the opera house
when I saw Wagner himself ap-
preaching, arm in arm, with
Wilhelmj, the Fritz KreiSler of his
day, who had consented to be
concertmaSter in the 'Niebelun-
gen. orchestra.
why not ask the meister him
self for permission to attend the
rehearsals?' l said to myself. A
moment later / was before the
two great men, took off my straw
hat and told Wagner that had
come all the way from America to
write up the festival for the New
York World and the Atlantic
Monthly. And that I would be
very happy if I could attend the
rehearsals. A cloud passed across
his face. The newspapers have
treated me shamefully,' he said.
I need no critics here
"'But I am not critic I pro-
tested, only a young man OF %
who has come simply to describe
the new works
THAT placated him. Very well,
he said. Have you a PatronatS-
schein?' Three I answered. I
had made up my mind he said,
to admit no one to the rehearsals,
not even List. But he has gone
in and / have admitted a few
others, so you might as well come,
too
He then asked me for my card
and told me I would get in If 1
gave my name to the doorkeeper.
I did so, and had the time of my
life watching the great master
experimenting every detail of the
performance. He had a special