Cesar Franck’s “Beatitudes” have been given in Leipzig.
The Pittsburgh Orchestra, Emil Paur, conductor, has upwards of forty out-of-town dates this season.
Working people’s symphony concerts are given in Vienna; seats, 8 cents, standing room, 4 cents.
The Institute of Musical Art, New York City, has received the gift of $5000 to found a scholarship.
Handel’s house in London, No. 25 Brook Street, now Bond Street, London, is now being turned into a shop.
Edward Elgar expects to have the last part of his oratorio, “The Apostles,” ready for the next Birmingham Festival.
Richmond, Va., is to have a Music Festival, April 30th, May 1st and 2d. The Boston Festival Orchestra will assist.
Mr. Edwin Lemare, the English organist, has devised a new pedal practicing instrument for the home use of organ students.
The Conservatory of Music, at St. Petersburg, has been closed for an indefinite period, on account of political and social troubles.
Mme. Essipoff has left St. Petersburg and will make her home in Berlin, where she will devote a portion of her time to piano teaching.
Richard Strauss’ “Salome” is to be given in various German cities, Cologne, Frankfort, Leipzig, Nuremberg, Breslau, Prague and Wiesbaden.
A London paper announces that Paderewski has recovered sufficiently to arrange for another concert tour. He plays in that city this summer.
According to the last report of the Cologne (Germany) Conservatory of Music, ten American students were in attendance at that institution.
Recently the Milan (Italy) Conservatory held examinations for admission, the education being free. For 113 vacancies there were 1007 applicants.
The Mozart opera series at Munich next summer will be given in the first part of August, followed by a Wagner series which will continue into September.
The Choral Society, of St. Louis, which has hitherto followed a policy of exclusiveness in its concerts, recently gave the first of a series of popular concerts.
A week before the date of a concert by Rosenthal, in Vienna, during January, all the seats over 2000 were sold. Piano recitals must be popular in Kaiserstadt.
The Theodore Thomas Orchestra Association is carrying a debt of $330,000. There is a likelihood of a third series of concerts to raise funds to reduce this indebtedness.
Madame Nordica begins a concert tour of twenty-five concerts, covering a period of six weeks, on March 4th. She goes as far north as Montreal and as far west as St. Louis.
Edward Grieg will conduct a concert of his own compositions in London, May 17th, and on May 24th will appear as pianist in a chamber concert devoted to his own works.
Mischa Elman, the boy violinist, has been engaged to play at the next Birmingham (Eng.), Music Festival, the first time that a “wonder-child” has been so honored.
A Leipzig critic, in commenting on G. W. Chadwick’s Symphony in F major, recently played in that city, calls Mr. Chadwick “the most important living Anglo-American composer.”
A Russian princess is said to have made a flattering offer to the parents of Mischa Elman, the boy violinist, to allow her to adopt the boy and bring him up outside the Jewish faith.
The next Handel Festival will take place in the Crystal Palace, London, at the end of June. The chorus will number 3500, the orchestra 500. Dr. F. II. Cowen will be conductor.
Mr. H. Sutherland Edwards, London journalist and musical critic, died in January, aged 78. He was the author of a number of valuable works on subjects connected with the opera.
The Irish Ladies’ Choir, twenty-six voices, conducted by Madame Cosslett-Heller, has made a concert tour of the United States. Their specialty is the singing of Irish melodies and folk-songs.
The United States Commissioner of Indian Affairs has appointed a supervisor of music in the Indian schools and advocates the preservation of the best and most characteristic in Indian music.
More than half the students who matriculated in the Faculty of Music at Edinburgh University, this past year, were women. Frederic Niecks is the professor of music in this institution.
The number of men in the New York Symphony Orchestra is to be increased to ninety-seven, which includes eighteen first violins, eighteen seconds, fourteen violas, twelve ‘cellos and ten basses.
The winners in the competition for the Glinka prizes recently announced, were Scriábine, Taneieff, Glière, Sokoloff, Wihtol, and Arensky. The judges were Rimsky-Korsakoff, Glazounoff and Liadoff.
The next meeting of the Music Teachers’ National Association will be at Oberlin, O., June 26th-29th. Correspondence should be addressed to George H. Andrews, Oberlin Conservatory, Oberlin. O.
A German composer, Th. Erler, has written music to a sacred drama by a minister of Brunswick, which introduces, as one of the characters, Jesus Christ. It was produced at Brunswick in December.
Felix Weingartner’s new music drama, “Genesius,” is based on a theme from the persecutions of the Christians in the time of Diocletian. The leitmotif principle is used in the structure of the music.
Apropos of the last anniversary of the death of the composer Purcell, a London paper quotes Hawkins as stating that Purcell came to his death from being locked out by his wife for keeping late hours.
Frederick A. Stock, formerly assistant conductor of the Theodore Thomas Orchestra, Chicago, who has been in charge of the organization this season, has been appointed conductor for the next three years.
The largest box office receipts at the Paris Opèra Comique, during December, were for Puccini’s “La Bohême,” with nearly $2000; “The Barber of Seville” and “Cavalleria Rusticana” follow closely, about $60 less.
In a contest instituted by the Salt Lake Tribune, for the best musical setting of a State song contest, first prize was awarded to Thomas Radcliffe, second prize to Arthur Shepherd, third prize to J. J. McClellan, all of Salt Lake City.
An English brass band known by the strange title. “Besses o’ Th’ Barn” Band, which has won more than $50,000 in contests in England, is to visit the United States the coming summer. This band has won much praise for its playing in France.
The German musician is as thrifty and enterprising as the proverbial Yankee and as keen in looking up a chance for business. An English exchange says four hundred German bandsmen came to England in December to play as waits in the streets of the principal cities
George Le Brunn, an English composer of songs in the light popular style, died recently at the age of 43. He was a rapid worker and on one occasion wrote the melody of a song with a complete set of band parts in twelve minutes. His favorite works were Beethoven’s sonatas.
Josef Lhevinne, the Russian pianist, now in this country, whose home is in Moscow, was in the midst of the rioting section and it was only by the most strenuous efforts and considerable trouble that he was able to get away to come to the United States to fill his concert engagements.
The Mendelssohn Stipend for composers was awarded this year to a woman, Elisabeth Kuyper. The stipend for executive artists went to a woman violinist, Helene Ferchland. As there was a considerable accumulation of income, grants were made to a number of worthy students, singers, violinists and pianists.
An interesting book on Beethoven, entitled, “Beethoven and His Portraits,” was published in Vienna lately, by Dr. Frimmel, a well-known writer on art subjects. He has carefully examined the various existing portraits, busts and statues of the great master. The book is in the German language.
Mr. Ira D. Sankey, the famous associate of Moody in his evangelistic work, is writing a book containing anecdotes bearing on the use of the hymns associated with the great revival work. He invites persons who have incidents of interest to send a report to him at 148 South Oxford Street, Brooklyn, N. Y.
A new bust of Beethoven, by the Russian sculptor, Aronson, has been added to the Beethoven Museum, Bonn in the house in which the composer was born. The artist studied thoroughly all known likenesses of Beethoven, as well as pen pictures, and the bust contains his reproduction of the Beethoven personality.
In a concert of “old music” given in New York City, recently, by Frank’s Orchestra, an interesting number was “Peasants’ Symphonie,” by Mozart, a parody on a village orchestra’s playing. It calls for two violins, viola, ‘cello, double bass and two horns. The music is grotesque, with an absurd use of the conventional melodic and rhythmic figures of the time, wrong notes by players, confusion of passages, discords and exaggerations.
Felix Weingartner, the noted composer-conductor, in commenting on American orchestras, attributes their great success to the fact that they are cosmopolitan in personnel, whereas European orchestras, excepting possible those in England, are largely national. He thinks French players the most skilful in the wood-wind, the Germans in the brass. The American orchestra conductors seek the best players available without regard to nationality
Fritz Spindler, the veteran teacher and composer, died December 27th. He was born November 24, 1817 at Wurzbach, and was musically educated in Dessau. In 1841, he removed to Dresden, in which city he resided until he reached the age of eighty, when he retired from active work, and made his home in the country. A generation ago his light, graceful parlor compositions were very popular, and some are in high esteem even today. He also wrote music in a more serious, higher style, which, however, did not gain much vogue.
