aJacopo Peri’s “Euridice” was recently revived at the Pitti Palace, Florence, during the second Italian Musical Congress. The first performance took place three hundred and twenty-three years ago, at the festivities attending the marriage of Maria di Medici and Henry IV of France; and it is generally recognized as the first opera ever given public performance.
The Guitar is a “Bourgeoise” Instrument, by a ruling of the Soviets, according to a quotation in the London Musical Standard from a Moscow newspaper. It would be interesting to know the social position of the Ukelele, the Saxophone, or the Jazz Drummer’s outfit.
Giuseppe Gallignani, Director of the Conservatory of Milan, died in December. Born at Faenza in 1851, he was for thirty-two years director of the famous school to which he gave the name of “Verdi Conservatory” in honor of the eminent composer.
Mme. Julia Claussen, the eminent Swedish contralto of the Metropolitan Opera Company, recently gave a program at the Royal Palace of Stockholm, by invitation of King Gustav and Queen Victoria. Also she has received the Christine Nillson Medal from the Royal Academy of Stockholm.
W. A. Clark, Jr., has been voted “The most useful citizen of Los Angeles” by the Realty Board of the city. This came as a recognition of his services as the founder and sole guarantor of the Philharmonic Orchestra of Los Angeles; and at a banquet as a token of his choice the board also presented to him a service watch.
“Dido and Aeneas,” an opera by Henry Purcell, written in 1680 for the “Young Gentlewomen” of Mr. Josiah Priest’s boarding school at Chelsea, has had a New York performance by the Society of the Friends of Music.
$250 in Prizes is offered by the Ohio Federation of Music Clubs for the best Anthem, Piano Solo, Violin Solo with Piano accompaniment, and Secular Song. Open to Ohio Composers. Particulars from Mrs. W. D. Crebs, 71 Oxford Avenue, Dayton, Ohio.
Rev. Sabine Baring-Gould, widely known in England as a novelist and church historian, and principally in this country as the author of “Onward Christian Soldiers” and “Now the Day is Over,” lately passed away at the age of eighty-nine.
Frank J. McDonough celebrated on Christmas day, last, his fortieth anniversary as Organist of St. John’s Church, Rensselaer, New York. The event was the occasion of a public reception to the musician, who received a purse of four hundred dollars as a mark of appreciation of his services.
Four “Premieres” for New York was the record of the week beginning January 6. Laparra’s “La Habanera” and Riccitelli’s “I Campagnacci” had their first American performance at the Metropolitan; while d’Albert’s “Die Toten Augen” and Kienzl’s “Evangelimann” were presented by the Wagnerian Opera Company at the Manhattan.
Alfred Gruenfeld, internationally known as composer and pianist, died recently at his home in Vienna.
The American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers, to which a number of prominent music publishing houses belong, has forbidden the broadcasting of their publications except on the payment of a royalty. The Theodore Presser Company has not yet joined this combination.
“St. Katharina,” the first opera ever produced in the German language, has been discovered in the archives of the Salzburg Municipal Museum. It was first performed at the Episcopal castle of Hellbrunn, near Salzburg, on August 31, 1617—ten years before the premiere of “Daphne” by Heinrich Schutz, which had hitherto been credited as the first opera given in German.
The Atlantic City High School (New Jersey) has lately installed probably the largest and most complete organ in any such school of the world. It was designed by Senator Emerson L. Richards of that state, an organ enthusiast.
Scottish Sang Schules were instituted as far back as 1280, established for the training of choristers. The last came to an end with the Siege of Dundee in 1651. This has lately been revived for the best singers of the four Dundee academies.
“Paderewski the Artist,” one of a series by the American sculptress, Malvina Hoffman, has been presented to the American Academy of Rome by Mrs. Henry Fairfield Osborn.
An Electric Orchestra Director, designed to synchronize the moving picture and its musical accompaniment, has been invented by S. W. Lawton of the Keith-Moss theaters. The musical cues are signalled by the operator of the projector.
“The Carve of Salamanca,” an opera-bouffe by Bernhard Paumgartner, founded on the famous comedy by Cervantes, has been very successfully brought out in Germany.
Apathy of the German Residents of New York towards the season of performances by the Wagnerian Opera Company is given by the officers of that organization as the cause of its financial troubles, according to Musical America. Their season closed in the second week of January.
A. F. Adams, for many years the president of the Wolfsohn Musical Bureau, died on January 6. Mr. Adams performed a notable service for American music in the publishing and managerial fields.
“Hassan,” a wonderful blend of fine poetry, gorgeous scenry, (sic) color, and music, is having a great success at His Majesty’s Theater in London. The play is by the British poet, James Elroy Fletcher, and the music by Frederick Delius.
John N. Burnham, the blind composer and organist of New York, has been awarded the prize offered by the Hymn Society for the best setting of Rev. Harry Webb Farrington’s “Harvard Prize Hymn,” Our Christ.
The new Kroll Opera House of Berlin is to have its three hundred dressing rooms and its restaurant fitted out with chandeliers and furniture from the former royal palaces.
Henry Hadley is to conduct the first British performance of his “Resurgam,” which is to be given by the London Choral Society and the London Symphony Orchestra. It was first produced at the last Cincinnati May Festival.
“The Night Bell,” an operetta by Donizetti, was recently performed for the first time, from the original manuscript, at Breslau.
An Unusual “Messiah” Record is that held by the Halle Choral Society of Manchester, England, which has to its credit an unbroken chain of annual performances of this masterpiece, since 1859.
A National Conservatory of Music is to be established, if a bill lately introduced in congress becomes a law. The National Conservatory would be under the direction of a Federal Department of Education, for which a bill provides and of which Department the Secretary would be a member of the President’s Cabinet.
Plenty of Money in Vienna. $110 was recently offered in vain for a box at the “first night” of Oscar Strauss’ new operetta, “The Pearls of Cleopatra,” at the Theater am der Vien.
Maurice Maeterlinck, distinguished Belgian novelist, from whose works the libretti of “Pelleas et Melisande” and “Monna Vanna” were made, is reported to contemplate a visit to America.
Brigadier General Charles G. Dawes, formerly Director of the National Budget and now Chairman of the Committee of Reparations, is a talented musical amateur, his “Melody in A Major,” for violin, having been many times on the programs of Fritz Kreisler, who has also made a Victor record of it.
“The National Federation of Music Clubs as a Constructive Force in America” is the topic proposed for discussion in an essay competition in which the federation offers one hundred dollars for the best essay submitted before May 1.
Count Geza Zichy, famed as a one-armed pianist, died in Budapest on January 15th. A child prodigy, he lost his right hand on a hunting expedition when fourteen years of age, but carried his development of the left hand to such a point as to win fame as a performer. He has also produced notable compositions, along with the practice of law.
Reed Miller, one of our best tenors in concert and oratorio, passed away at his home in New York, on the afternoon of December 29th. He was a native of Anderson, South Carolina, and had filled a number of leading church positions in New York.
The Opera Season at Tunis recently closed brilliantly with performances of “Thais” and “La Tosca.”
The Sixtieth Anniversary of Richard Strauss is to be celebrated this year at Munich.
Italo Montemizzi, on the evening of January ninth, was presented a silver wreath from the management of the Metropolitan Opera House, in honor of the tenth anniversary of the premiere of his tragic opera, “L’Amore dei Tre Re” at that famous institution.
Alfred Piccaver, the American tenor, who has for several years been a favorite at the Vienna Opera, made his American debut, as the Duke in “Rigoletto,” at the Auditorium in Chicago, with marked success, in January.
Gustav Dannreuther, violinist, prominent for many years as a member of leading chamber music organizations, especially the Mendelssohn Quintet Club of Boston, died at his home in New York on the twentieth of December. He was a native of Cincinnati, Ohio, but had resided in New York since 1884.
Albert Coates, the distinguished English conductor, has arrived in America to have charge for three months of the Rochester Symphony Orchestra at Rochester, New York.
A new State Opera, Theatre Smetana Museum, Conservatory, and great Concert Hall, at a cost of 31,000,000 kronen, are planned by the city of Prague. Otokar Rovotny has been commissioned to draw plans which, the report would indicate, are to include all the above under one roof.
The National Association of Harpists will hold its Fourth Annual Convention in Indianapolis, some time in May, 1924.
Grand Opera, for Cleveland, Ohio, during a part of February, is rumored. The organization is under the auspices of the Musical Arts Association, and Mary Garden, Feodor Chaliapin, and Rosa Raisa are among the guest artists announced.
When Mattia Battistini recently appeared at the National Opera in Berlin the house sold out with most of the seats at six to twelve dollars each. Why ask other nations to feed them?
Geraldine Farrar, Galli-Curci, Dame Clara Butt and Josef Hofmann recently appeared simultaneously in Chicago; and each is reported to have appeared before a “sold out” house.
The Lincoln Cathedral Organ is being rebuilt. The great pipe of the 32 ft. open bass is made of timber three inches thick and is of dimensions 3 ft. 2 in. by 2 ft. 9 in., so that a man would not be crowded in crawling through it on his hands and knees.
B. W. Foley, one of the leading vocal teachers of Cincinnati, and long the chorus master of the Cincinnati May Festival, passed away on January first. A native of Covington, Kentucky, he was educated mostly in Leipsig, Brussels and Paris.
“The King,” a Christmas oratorio by E. Bruce Knowlton, the American composer, was given its first public presentation on December 28th, by the Portland (Oregon) Singers’ Association, with a chorus of some four hundred and fifty voices.
The Famous “Mozart House,” in Salzburg, has fallen into a state of disrepair so that the leaking roof is endangering the valuable collection of mementoes of the great master. The citizens of Salzburg being too much reduced in finances to undertake the necessary restorations at this time, Swedish musicians and music lovers have volunteered to raise the necessary funds so that the repairs may be made without delay. Hats off to Sweden!
The First National Music Week will be held from May 4 to May 11, 1924; and hereafter the first Sunday of May will be the official date of the opening of this paramount event in our musical life. Governors of thirty-four States and Hawaii have already accepted membership on the Honorary Committee of State Governors.
Kate Douglas Wiggin, one of the best known of American writers, died at Harrow, England, August 23. Though her popularity rested mostly on her literary works, Mrs. Wiggin was also an accomplished musician and her volume of songs, “Nine Love Songs and a Carol,” was well received among musicians.
“Music Day” and General Musical Activities were conspicuous features of the Canadian National Exhibition at Toronto from August 25 to September 8. Musical contests, a week of Grand Opera and concerts by a chorus of 2300 trained singers were outstanding events.
Eugene Bonn, of Rochester, New York, holds a probably unique record among church musicians. For thirty-five years he has been organist of St. Patrick’s Cathedral, during which time he has played about ten thousand high masses and about four thousand minor services.
Don Lorenzo Perosi, widely known Italian oratorio composer, whose “Transfiguration” created a sensation, has announced that he will leave Italy to make his home indefinitely in London, where it is said that he will make a study of the creed of the Church of England.
Karl Scheidemantel, long one of the leading baritones of the concert and operatic stage of Germany, died recently in Weimar. He was also well known for his excellent translation of foreign operas into the German.
Mendelssohn’s “Elijah” has been recently performed in Petrograd, after an absence of seventy years. His “St. Paul,” Brahms’ “Requiem,” and Bach’s “St. Matthew Passion” are announced. These concerts have the sanction of the Soviet; but notification of them must be sent individually by mail, as their public advertisement is not permitted.
