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MEMORIES   OF  A   MUSICIAN 


MEMORIES 
OF    A    MUSICIAN 

REMINISCENCES    OF    SEVENTY 
YEARS    OF    MUSICAL    LIFE 

BY  WILHELM   GANZ 


WITH   ILLUSTRATIONS 


LONDON 
JOHN  MURRAY,  ALBEMARLE  STREET,  W. 


ALL  RIGHTS  RESERVED 


HL 


ass- 


TO 

MY  WIFE 


CONTENTS 
CHAPTER    I 

EARLY   LIFE 

Early  life  in  1848 — My  father,  Adolph  Ganz — Mainz — Nurem- 
berg— I  first  meet  Jenny  Lind— London — Her  Majesty's 
Theatre — Balfe — "  The  great  singers  of  my  youth  " — Jenny 
Lind — Cruvelli — Lablache — Sontag — My  ddbut  as  a  violinist 
— Stories  of  Lablache — Thalberg  and  his  opera — He  takes 
my  place  at  the  piano — Alboni — The  famous  ballets — Cerito, 
Carlotta  Grisi,  and  Marie  Taglioni — Reappearance  of  Madame 
Pasta — Halevy  and  Scribe — Benjamin  Lumley's  lawsuit 
with  Frederick  Gye  over  Johanna  Wagner — Picoolomini — 
Mapleson  at  Her  Majesty's — Story  of  Titiena — Trebelli — 
Giuglini,  Mario  and  Grisi — Sir  Michael  Costa — Amusing 
story  of  his  discipline — His  Oratorios — I  coach  Madame 
Ney-Biirde  and  Signer  Tamberlik — The  Grand  National 
Concerts  at  Her  Majesty's  under  Balfe — D6but  of  Arabella 
Goddard — Sims  Reeves  sings  "  God  bless  the  Prince  of 
Wales "  for  the  first  time — St.  George's  Rifle  Corps — I 
become  a  naturalised  Englishman — Queen  Alexandra  as  a 
bride  .  .  .  .  .»  .  ><,;  .  pp.  2-29 


CHAPTER    II 

MUSIC    IN    THE    FORTIES    AND    FIFTIES 

English  operas  under  Maddox  in  1848 — Anna  Thillon — Weis*, 
composer  of  "  The  Village  Blacksmith  " — Louisa  Pyne — 
First  performance  of  Lntrlme — Sir  Henry  Bishop — John 
Hatton — "Good-bye,  Sweetheart" — Henry  Smart — Sir  John 
Macfarren — Sivori — Jansa — Jullien  and  his  Promenade 

vii 


viii  CONTENTS 

Concerts — English  country  seats — Orleans  House  and 
Nuneham  Park — Princess  Mary  of  Cambridge — I  am  cap- 
sized on  the  Thames — I  visit  Lord  Dufferin  and  Sir 
Michael  Shaw-Stewart  at  Ardgowaii — My  confirmation  at 
the  Savoy  Lutheran  Chapel — French  political  refugees — 
Orleans  House  and  its  habitues — A  musical  party  of  the 
period  .  .  v  .  .  .  pp.  30-50 


CHAPTER    III 

FURTHER    RECOLLECTIONS    OF    THE    FORTIES    AND 

FIFTIES 

Opera  in  English  at  Drury  Lane — Jullien  and  Berlioz — Madame 
Dulcken's  receptions — Alfred  Bunn — Cremorne  and  Royal 
Surrey  Gardens — The  great  Monte  Cristo  Row — Balfe  and 
the  Pyne  and  Harrison  English  opera  season  at  Covent 
Garden — Balfe's  extravagance — How  he  composed — His 
popular  songs — Alfred  Gilbert — Story  of  the  German  Reeds 
in  their  famous  entertainments — Jenny  Lind's  Concert 
Tour pp.  51-76 


CHAPTER    IV 

MY    CONCERTS 

My  first  London  concert  at  the  old  Queen's  Concert  Rooms  in 
1855 — Ernst  Reichardt — "Thou  art  so  near  and  yet  so 
far  " — Leopold  and  Moritz  Ganz — My  second  concert — 
Clara  Novello — Viardot-Garcia — Moritz  Ganz,  the  master 
of  Offenbach — I  attend  the  marriage  of  H.R.H.  the  Princess 
Royal  and  H.R.H.  Prince  Frederick  William  of  Prussia — 
My  succeeding  concerts  and  matinees — A  brilliant  galaxy 
of  helpers — Sir  Julius  Benedict — Madame  Lemmens- 
Sherrington — Signer  Bazzini — Mr.  Sims  Reeves  fails  me — 
George  Perren  to  the  rescue — Why  Reeves  used  to  disap- 
point— Louisa  Vinning — Charles  Santley — Miss  Kemble — 
Lindsay  Sloper — Madame  Parepa — Madame  Liebhart — Miss 
Emily  Soldene — Master  Frederick  Cowen — Miss  Louisa  Pyne 
— Signor  Randegger — A  young  contralto,  Madame  Patey — 
Madame  Monbelli — Madame  Norman  Neruda — Miss  Edith 


CONTENTS  ix 

Wynne — Patey  and  Sainton  Dolby  sing  at  the  same  concert 
— Vernon  Rigby — Joseph  Wieniawski — Adelina  Patti — 
Trebelli-Bettini — Kontski — Graziani — Scalchi — Signer  Foli 
— Madame  Carvalho,  the  original  Marguerite — Mile  Marimon 
— Titiens — Marie  Roze — Concert  de"but  of  Albani — Edward 
Lloyd — Antoinette  Sterling — William  Shakespeare  pp.  77-95 


CHAPTER    V 

MY    CONCERTS    CONTINUED 

The  Earl  of  Dudley — My  concerts  in  his  picture-gallery — Sarasate 
— The  Earl's  £20,000  Sevres  dinner  service — His  great 
generosity — A  sudden  blow — My  subsequent  concerts — 
Joseph  Hollman — Mary  Davies — Minnie  Hauk — Alwina 
Valleria — Maybrick — "  Nancy  Lee  "  goes  begging — I  accom- 
pany it  for  the  first  time  of  hearing — Maude  Valerie  White 
— "  The  Devout  Lover  " — Joseph  Maas — Marian  Macken- 
zie— Tremelli — Debut  of  my  daughter,  Georgina — Isidore 
de  Lara — Dudley  House  again — Nordica — Bottesini — His 
double-bass — Anecdote  of  Paganini — Nikita — Zelie  de  Lussan 
— Ben  Davies — His  engagement  in  Dorothy — "  The  Daisy 
Chain  " — Alice  Gomez — Emma  Holmstrand — Elizabeth 
Parkinson  makes  her  debut  at  my  concert  pp.  96-109 


CHAPTER    VI 

CHAMBER    CONCERTS 

John  Ella,  his  great  work  for  music — His  Musical  Union  concerts 
at  Willis's  Rooms  and  St.  James's  Hall — Joachim — 
Madame  Clara  Schumann — Sir  Charles  Hall6 — He  first  hears 
Madame  Norman  Neruda  play— My  quartette  concerts — First 
appearance  of  Madame  Camilla  Urso  and  Madame  Conneau 
— Sir  Augustus  Manns — Carl  Rosa  and  his  opera  company 
— I  become  a  director  ....  pp.  110-124 


x  CONTENTS 

CHAPTER    VII 

MY   ORCHESTRAL    CONCERTS 

I  take  over  the  New  Philharmonic  Concerts — The  first  concert, 
April  18th,  1874 — Mile  Marie  Krebs — John  Francis  Bar- 
nett's  "  A  Winter's  Tale  " — First  appearance  of  Madame 
Essipoff — Her  beauty — "  Dear  Mama  Ganz,  I  am  simply 
famished  " — Titiens — Her  compliment  to  me — Trebelli — 
Jean  de  Reszke  appears  as  a  baritone — Von  Billow — 
Rubinstein  plays  his  own  Concerto — Redeker — Braga — Auer 
— Janotha — Sarasate — First  appearance  of  Saint-Saens — 
Wieniawski — Henschel — Rosavella  n&&  Roosevelt — The  Duke 
and  Duchess  of  Fxiinburgh  come  to  hear  "  Egmont  " — New 
overture  by  Alice  Mary  Smith — Sauret — Marie  Roze — Ganz's 
Orchestral  Concerts — Montigny-Remaury — First  appear- 
ance of  Herbert  Reeves — Sims  Reeves's  offer  to  me — His 
wonderful  singing  at  my  concert — First  appearance  of 
Sophie  Menter — First  performance  of  Berlioz's  Symphonie 
Fantastique — Berlioz's  Romeo  et  Jidiette — Gluck's  Orpheus — 
Mentor's  eccentricity — Her  cat,  "  Klecks  " — First  perform- 
ance of  Liszt's  Dante — First  appearance  of  Agnes  Hunting- 
ton — First  appearance  of  Vladimir  de  Pachmann — End  of 
the  concerts — My  difficulties  .  .  .  pp.  126-163 


CHAPTER    VIII 

MY   FIRST   VISIT   TO    PARIS,    ETC. 

My  first  visit  to  Paris — I  see  the  troops  pass  before  Napoleon  III 
and  the  Empress  Eugenie — I  visit  the  gala  performance  at 
the  Opera — Rossini — The  three  occasions  ou  which  I  have 
played  before  Queen  Victoria — The  Prince  Consort  and  the 
Great  Exhibition  of  1851 — Meyerbeer — My  pupils — Three 
Viceroys — The  Ladies  Spencer  Churchill — The  Countess  of 
Warwick  and  Lady  Algernon  Gordon  Lennox — Miss  Braddon 

pp.  154-169 


CONTENTS  xi 

CHAPTER    IX 

RECOLLECTIONS    OF   RICHARD    WAGNER 

I  first  meet  Wagner — He  conducts  at  the  Albert  Hall — I  attend 
the  Second  Cycle  of  The  Ring  at  Bayreuth — King  Louis  of 
Bavaria — I  attend  a  reception  at  Wagner's  house — "  Wahn- 
fried  " — Wagner's  performances  in  Paris — "  Bravo  lea 
chiens  !  " — I  hear  Tristan  and  Isolde  at  Munich — The  Prince 
Regenten  Theater  .  *  ,'  .  .  pp.  170-182 

CHAPTER   X 

SOME    GREAT   PERSONALITIES 

I  meet  the  Abb6  Liszt  at  Bayreuth  and  in  London — Qounod  at 
Tavistock  House — Mrs.  Weldon — Romfo  et  Juliette  in 
Paris — I  attend  the  special  performances — An  annoying 
incident — Gounod  chez  lui — I  accompany  his  son  to  a  con- 
cert at  the  Conservatoire — Ambroise  Thomas — L&>  Delibes 
— Madame  Patti's  Christmas-tree — Two  great  pianists — 
Rubinstein — Hans  von  Biilow — His  grimaces  while  playing 

pp.  183-195 


CHAPTER   XI 

MADAME   ADELINA   PATTI 

Her  wonderful  career — Enthusiasm  at  Swansea — "  A  Royal 
Progress  " — Annual  charity  concerts  at  Swansea,  Brecon,  and 
Neath — Life  at  Craig-y-nos — A  kind  chatelaine — Her  Bijou 
Theatre — The  Albert  Hall  concerts — How  Patti  practised — 
Her  marriage  with  Baron  Cederstrom — Sir  George  Faudel- 
Phillips's  joke — Patti's  many  escapes  from  death — Her 
wonderful  sang-froid — Her  dresses  and  jewellery — Some 
musical  amateurs  I  have  known  .  .  .  pp.  19&-213 


xii  CONTENTS 

CHAPTER    XII 

PARTIES    AND    POLITICIANS 

Private  concerts  at  Mr.  Alfred  de  Rothschild's — The  Prince  of 
Wales  and  other  guests — Madame  Patti  and  a  fee  of 
£1,000 — M.  Jacoby — Mr.  Charrington's  private  concert — 
Story  of  three  prima  donnas — Baroness  de  Reuter's  recep- 
tions— Music  at  Lord  and  Lady  Randolph  Churchill's — 
Mentmore — I  meet  Disraeli — A  recollection  of  the  Rt.  Hon. 
W.  E.  Gladstone — Tring  Park — Sir  Alexander  Cockburn 

pp.  214-235 


CHAPTER   XIII 

MY   ITALIAN    TOUR 

attend  the  first  performance  of  Mascagni's  /  Rantzau  in 
Florence — My  notice  of  it  in  the  Daily  News — Rome — 
Clement  Scott  and  I  continue  the  journey — A  dinner-party 
of  celebrities — Cardinal  Rampolla — Madame  Ristori — Naples 
— Scott  goes  on  to  Egypt  and  India — Pisa — Genoa —  Paga- 
nini's  violin — I  visit  Verdi  at  the  Palazzo  Doria — His 
Falstaff  —  Nice  —  Monte  Carlo  —  Cannes  —  Turin  — Milan 
— Signor  Ricordi  and  his  great  publishing  house — Venice — 
Farewell  performance  at  the  Teatro  Rossini  to  Tamburlini — 
His  triumph — The  audience  sings  with  him  .  pp.  236-265 


CHAPTER   XIV 

NOTABLE   MUSICIANS 

Sir  Julius  Benedict — Edouard  Silas — Sir  Arthur  Sullivan — He 
pays  me  a  compliment — M.  Camille  Saint-Saens — I  arrange 
a  concert  for  him — I  meet  Tschaikowsky — Leschetizky — 
Richard  Stauss  .....  pp.  256-273 


CONTENTS  xiii 

CHAPTER    XV 

RECOLLECTIONS    OF   KING    EDWARD,    ETC. 

Lord  Dupplin's  dinner-party  —  My  Masonic  Jubilee  —  King 
Edward  at  Warwick  Castle — His  joke  about  Madame  Clara 
Butt  and  myself — Sir  Augustus  Harris — The  New  Meister- 
singers'  Club — Maurice  Farkoa's  first  appearance — I  engage 
Miss  Pauline  Joran — "  Westminster  Bridge  " — The  Mar- 
chesis — "  Mamma  Puzzi  " — A  telegram  after  midnight — A 
scare  at  Manchester  ....  pp.  274—288 


CHAPTER    XVI 

CHARITY    CONCERTS    AND    DINNERS 

Royal  concert  for  the  restoration  of  Kew  Church — H.R.H.  Prin- 
cess Mary,  Duchess  of  Teck — An  array  of  stars — Concert  at 
the  German  Embassy — The  Crown  PrinceFrederick  William's 
thoughtfulness — Lady  Lansdowne's  concert — I  go  to  Paris 
to  get  M.  Alvarez — A  "  kidnapped  "  singer — Charity 
dinners — The  German  Hospital  dinner — Royal  General 
Theatrical  Fund  Dinners — Middlesex  Hospital — The  Throat 
Hospital — The  Newspaper  Press  Fund  .  pp.  289-304 


CHAPTER   XVII 

MY   JUBILEE    CONCERTS,    ETC. 

My  Jubilee  Concert  in  1898 — Dinner  at  Lord  Blyth's — My 
Diamond  Jubilee  Concert — Lady  Bancroft's  speech — Signa- 
tures in  the  autograph  album — Recollections  of  Charles 
Kean — Other  great  English  actors  .  .  pp.  305-314 


xiv  CONTENTS 

CHAPTER    XVIII 

MODERN  ARTISTS  I  HAVE  KNOWN 

Jean  de  Reszke  comes  out  as  a  baritone — I  introduce  Madame 
Melba  to  the  English  public — Carl  Rosa  forgets  an  ap- 
pointment— Tetrazzini — Destinn — Calve — Nordica — Kirkby 
Lunn — Ada  Crossley — Clara  Butt — Ruth  Vincent — Maggie 
Teyte — Aino  Ackt6 — Huge  fees  paid  to  modern  singers — 
Modern  violinists — Ysaye — His  "  quick  change  " — Kreisler — 
Elman  —  Modern  'cellists  —  Hollman  —  Casals  —  Gerardy — 
Modern  pianists — Paderewski — Eugen  d' Albert — Godowsky 
— Busoni — Madame  Carrefio — Her  jubilee — Robert  Hichens 
as  musical  critic — Conductors,  past  and  present — Richter — 
His  wonderful  memory — Thomas  Beecham — An  interesting 
letter  from  him — Nikisch — He  pays  me  a  visit — Henry  J. 
Wood — Landon  Ronald — Sir  Edward  Elgar — Sir  Hubert 
Parry — Sir  Charles  Villiers  Stanford — Norman  O'Neill — 
Dr.  Vaughan  Williams — Walford  Davies  and  the  Temple 
Church  .  pp.  315-340 


CHAPTER   XIX 

MY   BENEFIT   CONCERT 

Our  golden  wedding — Wilhelm  Kuhe — Benefit  concert  at  the 
Albert  Hall pp.  341-348 

LIST  OF  MY  COMPOSITIONS         ....     pp.  349-350 
INDEX  .  ,          .          .          .  .pp.  351-357 


LIST    OF    ILLUSTRATIONS 

WILHELM  GANZ       .        .  „         .         Frontispiece 

PiCING  PAGR 

ADOLPH  GANZ ,         » '4 

WILHELM  GANZ  AS  A  YOUNG  MAN  .         .         .         *  40 

M.  W.  BALFE ,  64 

JENNY  LIND  ...         .         .         .         .;         ,  70 

LEOPOLD  GANZ       .......  78 

MORITZ  GANZ          .         ,         .         .         .         ,  .   '   »  78 

EUPHROSYNE  PAREPA *  84 

L'ANALYSE  (MUSICAL  UNION)  .         .         .                  ,  110 

HECTOR  BERLIOZ     .         .         .          .         .                 .  1^6 

ANT.  RUBINSTEIN ,   ,  184 

F.  LISZT .  184 

CHARLES  GOUNOD  .....         «-        .  188 

ADELINA  PATTI,  IN  La  Traviata      .         .         .         .  196 

"  OPORTET  PATI,"  OR  WE  ALL  WANT  PATTI  (PATE)       .  210 

G.  VERDI       .         .         .         ..;>.«  248 
CAMILLE  SAINT-SAENS     .         .         ,         *'        .         .  264 
MADAME  MELBA     .         .         ,         ..        «         .         .  316 

ADELINA  PATTI        .        .               .  V        .         •        •  842 
2                                      xv 


MEMORIES  OF  A  MUSICIAN 


CHAPTER    I 

EARLY   LIFE 

Early  life  in  1848 — My  father,  Adolph  Ganz — Mainz — Nurem- 
berg— I  first  meet  Jenny  Lind — London — Her  Majesty's 
Theatre — Balfe — "  The  great  singers  of  my  youth  " — Jenny 
Lind — Cruvelli — Lablache — Sontag — My  debut  as  a  Violinist 
— Stories  of  Lablache — Thalberg  and  his  opera — He  takes 
my  place  at  the  piano — Alboni — The  famous  ballets — Cerito, 
Carlotta  Grisi,  and  Marie  Taglioni — Reappearance  of  Madame 
Pasta — Halevy  and  Scribe — Benjamin  Lumley's  lawsuit 
with  Frederick  Gye  over  Johanna  Wagner — Piccolomini — 
Mapleson  at  Her  Majesty's — Titiens — Trebelli — Giuglini, 
Mario  and  Grisi — Sir  Michael  Costa — Amusing  story  of  his 
discipline — His  oratorios — I  coach  Madame  Ney-Burde 
and  Signor  Tamberlik — The  Grand  National  Concerts  at 
Her  Majesty's  under  Balfe — Debut  of  Arabella  Goddard — 
Sims  Reeves  sings  "  God  bless  the  Prince  of  Wales " 
for  the  first  time — St.  George's  Rifle  Corps — I  become  a 
naturalised  Englishman — Queen  Alexandra  as  a  bride. 

I  HAVE  been  so  often  asked  by  my  musical  and 
other  friends  to  write  my  reminiscences  that 
at  last  I  have  made  up  my  mind  to  do  so,  and 
I  hope  these  lines  will  be  of  interest  to  them,  as 
well  as  to  my  younger  colleagues.  Although  I 
am  conscious  of  my  literary  shortcomings,  I 

think  I  can  speak  of  many  musical  facts  and 

i 


2  EARLY  LIFE 

events  which  have  happened  during  my  long 
career  in  England  that  may  perhaps  prove 
acceptable  to  my  readers. 

I  was  a  boy  of  fourteen  when  I  came  to  Lon- 
don with  my  father  in  1848,  having  been  born 
on  November  6th,  1833.  My  father,  Adolph 
Ganz,  had  been  for  more  than  twenty-five  years 
Kapellmeister  at  the  Opera  at  Mainz,  on  the 
Rhine,  and  the  Grand-duke  of  Hesse-Darm- 
stadt bestowed  on  him  the  title  of  Grossherzog- 
licher  Hofkapellmeister — Grand  Ducal  Court 
Conductor.  He  brought  the  opera  there  to  a 
high  pitch  of  perfection.  It  was  his  forte  that 
he  could  conduct  most  of  the  classical  operas 
from  memory — I  mean,  without  having  the 
score  before  him — and  could  also  write  out  each 
orchestral  part  from  memory.  Furthermore, 
although  self-taught,  he  could  play  every  instru- 
ment in  the  orchestra. 

My  father  saw  the  great  Napoleon  at  Mainz, 
and  remembered  a  grand  parade  in  the  Schloss- 
platz,  when  Napoleon  called  a  soldier  out  of  the 
ranks  and  pinned  the  legion  d'honneur  on  his 
breast. 

I  had  the  good  fortune,  as  a  boy,  to  be 
engaged  to  play  in  the  orchestra  under  his 
direction,  first  the  triangle,  bass-drum,  and 
cymbals,  and  afterwards  the  second  violin.  I 
thus  became  acquainted  in  early  life  with  most 
of  the  operas  then  being  performed  at  the  theatre 
in  Mainz,  and  they  were  constantly  changed. 


JENNY    LIND  3 

The  repertoire  consisted  of  the  classical  operas 
of  Gluck,  Mozart,  Beethoven,  and  Weber,  as 
well  as  French  operas  by  Me"  mil,  Herold,  Boiel- 
dieu,  Auber,  Adolph  Adam,  and  a  few  Italian 
operas  by  Bellini,  Donizetti,  and  Spontini — the 
latter  being  then  general  director  of  music  to 
the  King  of  Prussia  in  Berlin. 

I  also  perfected  myself  in  pianoforte-playing, 
the  rudiments  of  which  I  had  learned  from 
my  eldest  sister  Emilie.  I  had  learnt  to  play 
the  violin  from  a  cousin  of  my  father's,  and 
could  also  play  the  flute  and  the  guitar,  and  I 
was  fortunately  able  to  read  music  off  at  sight 
with  great  facility. 

After  leaving  Mainz  my  father  was  engaged 
for  the  post  of  conductor  at  the  Stadt  Theater 
(town  theatre)  at  Nuremberg  during  the  years 
1846  and  1847.  I  used  to  be  at  the  piano 
during  the  rehearsals  of  the  soloists  and  the 
choruses,  and  also  conducted  several  musical 
plays  on  my  own  account  and  met  with  much 
encouragement  from  the  artists  of  the  Opera.  I 
accompanied  Jenny  Lind  on  the  piano  behind 
the  stage  when  she  appeared  as  a  guest  at  the 
Stadt  Theater  in  La  Figlia  del  Reggimento  on 
December  llth,  1846,  in  the  Lesson  Scene,  and 
at  the  conclusion  of  the  opera  she  came  up  to 
me  and  complimented  me  on  my  playing,  say- 
ing, "  You  have  accompanied  me  extremely 
well,  and  I  am  very  satisfied." 
This,  I  remember,  pleased  me  very  much, 


4  EARLY  LIFE 

for   even    at   that  time  she   was  a  very  great 
star. 

When  my  father  and  I  came  to  England  in 
1848,  I  find  I  made  the  following  entry  in  my 
diary : 

"Friday,  Feb.  18^.— Left  Mainz.  ...  We 
arrived  in  London  on  Sunday  night,  10.30,  and 
drove  to  Brydges  Street. 

"  Monday. — Went  to  see  Balfe,  who  received 
us  in  a  very  friendly  way ;  then  went  for  a  walk. 
I  cannot  describe  the  impression  it  made  upon 
me ;  so  many  beautiful  shops,  and  so  many  car- 
riages that  one  could  not  walk  in  the  road,  but 
had  to  keep  to  the  pavement. 

"  In  the  evening  went  across  to  Drury  Lane 
Theatre  and  saw  the  opera.  Berlioz  was  con- 
ducting Figaro." 

The  late  Michael  William  Balfe,  composer  of 
the  ever-popular  Bohemian  Girl  and  many  other 
operas,  was  the  conductor  at  Her  Majesty's 
Theatre,  and  Mr.  Benjamin  Lumley  was  the 
director.  Balfe  had  known  my  father  before,  and 
had  suggested  his  coming  and  settling  here.  In 
a  letter  dated  December  3rd,  1847,  he  wrote  as 
follows . 

"  I  will  do  all  in  my  power  for  your  son ;  at 
all  events,  he  shall  have  the  triangle." 

And,  true  to  his  word,  when  we  came  Balfe 
engaged  me  to  play  in  the  orchestra,  first  the 
triangle  and  a  year  after  as  second  violin.  In 
that  year  I  had  the  good  fortune  to  hear  "  The 


ADOLPH    GANZ. 


JENNY   LIND  5 

Swedish  Nightingale,"  as  Jenny  Lind  was  called 
— in  all  her  various  operatic  roles,  such  as 
Amina  in  La  Sonnambula,  and  Maria  in  La 
Figlia  del  Reggimento.  I  shall  never  forget  the 
impression  she  made  upon  me.  I  marvelled  at 
the  artist  who  was  at  once  so  great  a  singer  and 
so  fine  an  actress.  She  used  her  voice,  which 
was  of  rare  beauty  in  every  note,  as  an  instru- 
ment, doing  with  it  what  she  liked.  As  Amina 
her  singing  showed  such  depth  of  feeling  as  to 
touch  all  hearts.  In  a  wonderful  cadenza  to 
Ah  non  credea  she  sustained  a  long  note  until 
it  died  away  in  the  softest  pianissimo.  Her 
dramatic  acting  in  this  part  carried  everything 
before  it,  and  the  enthusiasm  of  the  audience 
knew  no  bounds.  The  lively  part  of  Maria  she 
also  acted  and  sang  to  perfection,  especially  in 
the  Lesson  Scene,  in  the  second  act,  into  which 
she  introduced  a  cadenza  consisting  of  scales, 
roulades,  and  shakes  lasting  for  several  minutes 
and  then  threw  her  music  down  and  sang  with 
Belletti  (the  celebrated  baritone  who  acted  the 
part  of  Sulpizio  the  Serjeant)  marching  up  and 
down  and  singing  "  Rataplan  "  with  him,  imi- 
tating the  drums.  She  created  a  perfect  furore 
whenever  she  appeared.  On  referring  to  my 
diary,  I  find  the  following  note : 

'  Wednesday  was  the  first  rehearsal  of  Jenny 
Lind.  She  sang  splendidly,  and  the  whole 
orchestra  and  personnel  applauded  tremendously. 

'  -  Thursday,  May  &ih,  was  the  performance  of 


6  EARLY  LIFE 

Sonnambula.  The  Opera-house  was  packed  full 
with  people.  The  Queen,  the  Duchess  of  Gant 
[Kent],  the  Queen- dowager,  and  the  Duke  of 
Wellington  were  there.  After  the  first  act  '  God 
save  the  Queen '  was  sung,  and  the  Queen  herself 
stood  up  and  bowed  to  the  public.  Then  the 
cheering  began  and  they  cried  '  Hurrah  !  '  and 
made  an  awful  noise.  Lind  pleased  very  much." 

The  cause  of  this  demonstration  was  that  it 
was  only  then  discovered  that  the  Queen  was  in 
the  Opera-house.  It  was  a  time  of  intense 
political  excitement,  and  she  had  not  been  seen 
in  public  since  the  birth  of  the  Princess  Louise 
and  the  great  Chartist  meeting  on  Kennington 
Common. 

Signer  Gardoni,  a  sweet- voiced  tenor,  was  also 
associated  with  her  in  La  Figlia  del  Reggimento, 
singing  the  part  of  Tonio,  and  he  also  sang 
Elvino  with  her  in  the  Sonnambula.  He  was  a 
very  handsome  young  man,  and  married  one  of 
the  daughters  of  the  great  baritone  Tamburini — 
whom,  I  regret  to  say,  I  never  heard. 

Unfortunately,  Jenny  Lind  was  persuaded  in 
the  zenith  of  her  career  (I  believe  by  the  Bishop 
of  Norwich)  to  give  up  the  operatic  stage  and 
sing  only  for  the  glory  of  God. 

The  astounding  news  of  her  decision  came  in  the 
spring  of  1849  with  Mr.  Lumley's  announcement 
of  a  final  series  of  operas  in  concert  form.  Only 
one  took  place  when  Die  Zauberflote  was  given.  It 
was  described  as  a  "  Grand  Evening  Classical  Per- 
formance." Jenny  Lind  sang  the  part  of  Pamina, 


JENNY  LIND  T 

and  Lablache  showed  his  usual  droll  humour  as 
Papageno.  I  played  the  bells  in  his  song.  My 
diary  says : — 

"  Wednesday. — There  was  a  rehearsal  of 
Zaiiberflote.  Balfe  asked  in  French,  c  Est-ce 
qu'il  y  a  un  bon  pianiste  ?  '  My  father  said  at 
once  '  Mon  fils,  mon  fils  !  '  so  I  had  to  play  the 
bells  and  was  applauded  by  the  whole  orchestra. 

"  Thursday,  April  I2tk,  was  the  concert.  There 
was  no  acting  whatever ;  the  singers  all  sat  on 
seats  on  the  stage,  the  orchestra  was  as  usual. 
The  song  of  Papageno  in  the  second  act  was  en- 
cored. Jenny  Lind  sang  very  beautifully." 

But,  as  the  public  showed  no  inclination  to 
accept  opera  in  this  form,  Jenny  Lind  was 
reluctantly  induced  to  give  six  final  perform- 
ances of  opera  in  the  usual  way.  She  chose 
Alice  in  Roberto  il  Diavolo  for  her  last  appearance, 
and  there  was  a  great  farewell  scene  :  the  audi- 
ence was  loath  to  let  her  go. 

Thenceforth  she  sang  only  in  oratorios  and  at 
concerts,  which  was  a  serious  loss  to  the  Opera. 
I  will  describe  her  Great  Tour  in  1856  later  on. 

At  that  period  (1848)  Mademoiselle  Sofie 
Cruvelli,  who  had  a  magnificent  soprano  voice, 
sang  on  alternate  nights  with  Jenny  Lind  at  the 
Opera,  and  therefore,  being  handicapped  by 
comparison,  did  not  create  as  much  success  as 
she  really  deserved.  She  was  a  remarkably 
handsome  woman,  with  a  fine  figure,  and  one 
of  her  great  roles  was  Leonora  in  Beethoven's 
Fidelio,  which  she  acted  and  sang  superbly. 


8  EARLY  LIFE 

Balfe,  wishing  to  perform  that  immortal  work  in 
the  most  attractive  manner,  got  all  the  princi- 
pal singers  engaged  at  the  Opera  to  take  part  in 
the  Prisoner's  Chorus  at  the  end  of  the  first  act. 
Of  course,  the  regular  chorus  also  joined,  and 
the  effect  was  perfectly  prodigious.  I  ought  to 
mention  that  Mr.  Sims  Reeves  (of  whom  later) 
sang  the  part  of  Florestan  in  Fidelio,  and  held 
his  own  against  all  his  Italian  competitors.  He 
studied  in  Italy,  and  was  a  perfect  Italian  scholar. 

Returning  to  Cruvelli,  although  she  was  a 
German  by  birth,  her  Italian  was  also  perfect. 
Her  real  name  was  Sophia  Kruwel,  which  she 
Italianised  into  Cruvelli.  She  did  not  remain 
very  long  on  the  operatic  stage,  but  married  a 
French  nobleman,  Baron  Vigier,  and  lived  in  a 
wonderful  villa  at  Nice  until  she  died. 

Another  operatic  star  at  that  time  was  the 
great  basso,  Signor  Lablache.  He  always  en- 
joyed singing  the  part  of  Leporello  in  Mozart's 
Don  Giovanni,  and  I  remember  an  amusing 
incident  that  happened  in  connection  with  it. 
It  was  in  his  first  song  "  Madamina,"  when  he 
recounts  Don  Giovanni's  easy  conquests  of  ad- 
miring ladies,  putting  the  number  at  mille  e  ire. 
On  this  occasion,  when  the  phrase  came  again 
he  repeated  it  in  English — "  a  thousand  and 
three  " — and  the  whole  house  roared  with  laugh- 
ter. Lablache  was  never  vulgar  in  these  buffo 
parts. 

Another  thing  he   enjoyed   singing  was  the 


LABLACHE  9 

Sextet,  in  Don  Giovanni.  Near  the  end  he 
used  to  come  in  thundering  his  phrase  with 
great  gusto. 

Lablache  was  originally  a  double-bass  player. 
When  he  gave  up  that  instrument  and  became 
an  opera-singer  his  voice  was  so  powerful  that 
Weber,  on  hearing  him  sing,  said,  "  By  heavens  ! 
he  is  a  double-bass  still  \  " 

Lablache  was  also  the  best  Dr.  Bartolo  in  Ros- 
sini's masterpiece  II  Barbiere  di  Seviglia,  show- 
ing his  wonderful  sense  of  humour,  as  he  also 
did  in  Donizetti's  Don  Pasquale.  Lablache  was 
literally  "great,"  being  very  stout,  but  he  moved 
with  extraordinary  agility.  One  night  I  heard 
him  make  fun  of  his  own  unwieldy  appearance. 
In  one  of  the  scenes  he  sat  in  an  arm-chair  and 
tried  to  pick  up  the  handkerchief  of  Norina,  sung 
by  Sontag,  of  wh6m  I  will  speak  later  on. 
Being  extremely  fat,  he  could  not  do  so,  and 
his  vain  efforts  always  created  much  amuse- 
ment among  the  audience.  It  may  interest  my 
readers  to  know  that  Lablache  gave  Queen 
Victoria  lessons  in  singing. 

Then  there  was  a  baritone,  Signer  Coletti, 
who  sang  the  "  Doge  "  in  Verdi's  now  forgotten 
opera  /  due  Foscari.  He  sang  with  immense 
pathos,  and  through  his  artistic  singing  and  act- 
ing gave  new  life  to  that  work  and  ensured  the 
sympathy  of  the  audience.  Another  celebrated 
singer  of  that  time  was  Madame  Parodi,  who 
excelled  as  Norma  and  Lucrezia  Borgia. 


10  EARLY  LIFE 

After  the  Jenny  Lind  fever  there  arose  an- 
other star  in  the  operatic  firmament,  namely, 
Henrietta  Sontag.  She  had  married  a  Sardinian 
nobleman,  Count  Rossi,  and  left  the  stage ;  but, 
when  misfortune  overtook  her  husband  through 
political  affairs,  she  returned  to  the  opera  and 
came  out  as  Linda  di  Chamounix  at  Her  Majesty's 
in  1849.  She  was  no  longer  in  her  first  youth, 
and,  coming  directly  after  Jenny  Lind,  her  suc- 
cess at  first  was  not  great ;  but  afterwards  she 
appeared  as  Rosina  in  II  Barbiere  and  carried 
everything  by  storm.  In  the  duet  "  Dunque 
io  son "  with  Signor  Belletti,  and  in  "  Una 
voce "  her  vocalisation  was  perfect,  and,  to 
crown  all,  in  the  Lesson  Scene  she  interpolated 
Rode's  "Variations"  (which  were  popular  about 
that  time)  and  created  a  great  furore.  The  last 
variation  is  very  difficult,  consisting  of  arpeggios 
and  chromatic  scales,  running  up  and  down, 
which  she  executed  with  perfect  ease,  her  face 
not  betraying  in  the  least  that  she  was  singing 
the  most  difficult  phrases ;  on  the  contrary,  she 
warbled  everything  con  amore.  In  fact,  it  was 
a  real  pleasure  to  look  at  her  face,  while  singing, 
as  she  was  still  very  pretty.  Lumley  had  en- 
gaged her  for  six  months,  at  the  enormous 
salary  of  £6,000,  although  the  season  finished  at 
the  end  of  the  summer,  and  he  made  her  sing 
at  concerts  in  the  provinces  during  the  winter, 
and  also  in  Paris,  to  eke  out  the  contract. 

I  made  my  debut  in  London  as  a  violinist  in 


MY  DEBUT  AS  A  VIOLINIST  U 

1848,  when  I  played  these  very  "  Variations," 
at  that  time  a  very  popular  violin  solo  (reader, 
don't  laugh !)  at  the  Albion  Hall,  Hammer- 
smith. I  felt  very  nervous,  but  got  through 
the  ordeal  with  considerable  eclat. 
I  find  the  following  note  in  my  diary  : 

"  Thursday,  May  ISth. — I  went  with  Mr. 
Milligan  to  Hammersmith,  where  he  was  giving 
a  concert  at  the  Albion  Hall,  and  I  played  the 
Variations  of  Rode  :  I  was  applauded.  I  stayed 
the  night  at  Milligan's  and  the  next  morning 
we  drove  back  home  by  omnibus  :  he  gave  me 
a  shilling." 

I  did  not  continue  to  study  the  violin,  pre- 
ferring to  become  a  pianist.  In  those  days 
people  preferred  the  piano  to  the  violin,  and  no 
young  lady  ever  thought  of  learning  it  or  carry- 
ing a  violin-case  about  in  the  streets.  Twenty- 
five  years  later  all  this  was  changed,  chiefly 
through  the  beautiful  playing  of  Madame  Nor- 
man Neruda  (Lady  Halle),  which  gave  young 
ladies  a  taste  for  taking  up  the  violin,  and  even 
the  'cello  and  double-bass,  and  in  many  amateur 
orchestras  you  see  ladies  in  great  numbers  play- 
ing all  these  instruments,  which  accounts  for 
the  fact  that  piano-lessons  have  become  rarer. 

I  often  saw  the  great  Duke  of  Wellington  at 
Her  Majesty's  Theatre  in  a  pit  tier-box,  with 
his  daughter-in-law,  the  beautiful  Marchioness 
of  Douro,  and  I  remember  they  were  together 
at  a  soiree  one  evening  at  the  Duchess  of 


12  EARLY   LIFE 

Buccleuch's,  where  I  was  accompanying  my  friend, 
Sir  Michael  Shaw-Stewart,  in  his  songs.  I  used 
constantly  to  see  the  Duke  riding  his  famous 
white  charger  in  Piccadilly  between  Apsley 
House  and  the  Horse  Guards,  wearing  a  blue 
coat  and  white  trousers.  His  funeral  cortege 
in  1852  was  a  sight  never  to  be  forgotten. 

Queen  Victoria  and  the  Prince  Consort  were 
often  present  at  Her  Majesty's,  the  Duchess  of 
Kent  sharing  the  same  royal  box.  One  after- 
noon, when  the  young  Queen  went  to  visit  her 
uncle,  the  old  Duke  of  Cambridge,  who  was 
lying  ill  in  Cambridge  House,  Piccadilly,  a 
madman  sprang  forward  just  as  she  was  leaving 
the  house  and  struck  her  on  the  face  with  a 
riding-whip.  Fortunately  he  did  her  no  real 
harm  beyond  the  shock,  and  I  vividly  recall  the 
great  scene  that  evening  when  the  Queen  and 
Prince  Albert  appeared  at  Her  Majesty's  Theatre. 
The  audience  rose  en  masse  and  cheered  her  so 
enthusiastically  that  she  had  to  bow  time  after 
time  in  acknowledgment  of  their  cheers. 

Hitherto  I  have  only  spoken  of  the  opera  at 
Her  Majesty's  Theatre,  because  my  father,  like 
myself,  was  engaged  there  by  Balfe,  and  our 
sympathies  did  not  run  with  the  rival  Opera- 
house.  I  shall  speak  later  of  the  opera  at 
Covent  Garden,  where  I  often  had  an  opportunity 
of  hearing  the  splendid  performances.  Balfe  was 
always  most  kind  to  me — calling  me  "  Gan- 
zino  J>  (little  Ganz).  The  performances  were  a 


THALBERG  18 

great  lesson  for  me,  and  cultivated  my  taste  for 
the  best  singing.  I  also  played  the  piano  at 
the  chorus  rehearsals,  which  were  all  under  my 
father's  direction. 

The  ^celebrated  pianist,  Sigismund  Thalberg, 
composed  an  opera  called  Florinda,  which  his 
father-in-law,  Lablache,  was  most  anxious  to 
get  performed.  The  director,  Mr.  Lumley,  ac- 
ceded to  his  request,  as  Lablache  was  a  most 
useful  member  of  his  company  ;  Madame  Sontag 
and  he  took  the  principal  roles,  but  the  opera 
only  made  a  succ&s  d'estime  and  was  quickly 
shelved. 

I  remember  Thalberg  coming  into  the  room 
where  my  father  was  holding  the  chorus  re- 
hearsal of  Florinda,  at  which  I  was  playing  the 
piano  accompaniments  ;  but  as  soon  as  I  saw  him 
coming  I  rushed  away,  and  he  sat  down  in  my 
place  and  played  during  part  of  the  rehearsal. 
I  listened  from  afar,  and  was  at  once  charmed 
with  his  exquisite  touch  and  beautiful  playing ; 
so  I  crept  back  quietly  and  hung  on  every  note. 
I  had  not  heard  him  play  before,  and  I  at  once 
realised  that  he  was  a  great  virtuoso. 

In  the  opera  by  Alary,  Le  ire  Nozze,  given  the 
same  season,  Lablache  afforded  great  amuse- 
ment by  dancing  a  polka  with  Sontag  :  the  rest 
of  the  opera  fell  rather  flat,  and  it  was  soon 
withdrawn. 

About  that  period  another  great  operatic  star 
appeared,  namely,  Madame  Alboni.  Her  greatest 


14  EARLY  LIFE 

role  was  the  leading  one  in  La  Cenerentola  by 
Rossini.  In  the  last  act  she  sang  the  great 
bravura  aria  "  Non  phi  mesta,"  executing  the 
florid  passages  to  perfection  —  warbling  the 
chromatic  scales  up  and  down  in  a  most  mar- 
vellous manner,  as  well  as  the  arpeggios  in  the 
caballetta,  by  which  she  held  the  audience  in 
thrall.  She  was  a  very  stout  woman,  but  had 
a  very  handsome  face  and  wore  her  beautiful 
hair  cut  short,  like  a  man,  to  suit  the  men's 
parts  that  she  took  in  the  opera.  She  certainly 
had  the  finest  contralto  voice  I  have  ever 
heard. 

Another  of  her  famous  roles  was  Orsini  in 
Donizetti's  Lucrezia  Borgia.  She  made  the 
Brindisi  //  segreto  per  esser  felice  popular,  and 
she  had  to  repeat  it  at  every  performance.  It 
is  a  strange  thing  that,  although  Alboni  was  such 
a  great  singer,  she  never  drew  such  a  big  audi- 
ence as  a  soprano  of  the  same  merit  would  have 
done.  I  ought  to  mention  that  the  unusual 
range  of  her  voice  enabled  her  to  sing  the  part 
of  Zerlina  in  Don  Giovanni.  Her  "  Batti  batti  " 
with  the  violoncello  obbligato  played  by  Piatti 
was  delightful. 

The  part  of  Prince  Ramiro,  in  Cenerentola,  was 
taken  by  Signer  Calzolari,  who  sang  the  florid 
music  in  a  way  I  have  never  heard  surpassed. 
He  also  excelled  in  the  role  of  II  Conte  Almaviva 
in  II  Barbiere,  when  he  had  to  sing  no  end  of 
bravura  passages,  the  aria  "  Ecco  ridente  "  and 


BALLET   AT   HER   MAJESTY'S  15 

other  numbers  in  that   opera  winning  a  most 
favourable  verdict  from  the  audience. 

In  the  Exhibition  year  of  1851  performances 
were  given  almost  every  evening  at  Her 
Majesty's,  while  in  previous  seasons  only  three 
performances  a  week  used  to  be  announced,  on 
Tuesdays,  Thursdays,  and  Saturdays.  One  of 
the  new  operas  performed  was  Auber's  UEnfant 
Prodigue,  in  which  the  Parisian  prima  donna, 
Madame  Ugalde,  sang  most  charmingly,  and  M. 
Massol,  the  French  baritone,  also  took  a  leading 
part.  The  scenery  and  dresses  were  magnificent, 
and,  in  fact,  the  opera  was  sumptuously  mounted. 

I  played  the  little  bells  in  the  orchestra,  to 
imitate  the  bells  of  the  camels  in  the  Desert 
Scene.  There  was  a  Ballet  Divertissement  after- 
wards, representing  the  principal  nations,  in 
which  Madame  Cerito,  Madame  Carlotta  Grisi, 
Madame  Rosati,  and  Mile  Marie  Taglioni — the 
niece  of  the  great  Taglioni — took  part.  This 
was  called  the  Pas  de  Quatre,  but  must  not  be 
confounded  with  the  one  in  which  the  Taglioni, 
Carlotta  Grisi,  Cerito,  and  Lucille  Grahn  took 
part.  At  that  period  the  ballet  was  at  the  height 
of  its  popularity,  and  took  place  after  the  opera, 
which  was  generally  a  short  one.  One  of  the 
most  popular  ballets  was  Esmeralda,  of  which 
the  music  was  by  Signor  Pugni,  in  which  Madame 
Carlotta  Grisi  and  M.  Perrot  took  part,  dancing 
a  duet  called  "  La  Truandaise,"  which  created 

a  great  sensation. 


16  EARLY  LIFE 

Another  ballet,  composed  by  Adolph  Adam, 
called  La  Giselle,  was  a  great  favourite.  It  was 
performed  at  Covent  Garden  lately,  in  1911, 
when  the  Russian  dancers  took  London  by 
storm,  and  made  such  a  big  success.  This  balJet 
in  the  old  days  ran  for  several  months  in  the 
summer  and  autumn  season,  varying  with  the 
opera,  on  alternate  nights,  and  now,  after  sixty 
years,  it  becomes  again  en  vogue  \ 

An  old  opera  which  pleased  audiences  very 
much  was  Auber's  Gustave,  ou  le  Bal  Masque,  in 
which  Mile  Duprez,  daughter  of  the  famous 
French  tenor,  Duprez,  took  part.  The  music  of 
it  is  extremely  pretty,  the  Ball  Scene  being  par- 
ticularly fascinating.  The  story  is  the  same  as 
that  of  Verdi's  opera  II  Ballo  in  Maschera. 

During  the  season  of  1850,  at  Her  Majesty's, 
the  once  celebrated  soprano,  Madame  Pasta,  re- 
appeared in  her  famous  role  of  Anna  Bolena  in 
Donizetti's  opera  of  that  name.  She  was  then 
fifty-three  years  old.  The  audience  was  full  of 
expectation  to  hear  this  great  artiste ;  but,  un- 
fortunately, she  was  quite  passee,  and  sang  flat ; 
so  her  reappearance  turned  out  a  fiasco.  This 
was  a  great  pity,  when  one  considers  that  Bellini 
composed  La  Sonnambula  in  1831,  and  Norma  in 
1832  for  her — two  of  the  finest  operas  ever 
written  for  a  soprano.  The  first  one  is  still  a 
great  favourite  with  the  sopranos  of  the  present 
day ;  but  since  the  time  of  Grisi  Norma  has  very 
seldom  been  performed,  except  when  Titiens 


BENJAMIN  LUMLEY'S  LAWSUIT  17 

sang  the  principal  part.  Richard  Wagner  al- 
ways thought  very  highly  of  this  opera,  and  it 
may  yet  be  revived. 

A  new  opera,  specially  composed  for  Her 
Majesty's,  called  La  Tempesta,  after  Shakes- 
peare's Tempest,  with  music  by  Halevy  and 
libretto  by  Scribe,  was  given  for  the  first  time 
in  June  1850,  under  the  direction  of  these  two 
distinguished  Frenchmen.  Madame  Sontag  was 
the  Miranda,  Carlotta  Grisi  the  Ariel — her  part 
being  written  only  for  her  dancing  and  quasi 
flying  about — and  Lablache  the  Caliban.  The 
latter  impersonated  Caliban  splendidly,  his 
physique  lending  itself  to  the  part.  Arne's 
pretty  melody,  "  Where  the  bee  sucks,"  was  in- 
terpolated into  the  music  with  good  effect,  and 
the  opera  proved  a  great  success.  HaleVy,  with 
Scribe  as  collaborates,  also  composed  La  Juive, 
which  made  a  great  hit  all  over  the  world,  and  is 
still  a  favourite  in  Paris.  His  other  popular 
operas  are  Les  Mousquetaires  de  la  Heine,  La 
Reine  de  Chypre,  and  Charles  VI.  Scribe  wrote 
nearly  all  his  librettos ;  it  was  a  brilliant  colla- 
boration. 

In  1852  Benjamin  Lumley  temporarily  gave 
up  the  direction  of  Her  Majesty's  Theatre,  owing 
to  a  lawsuit  which  he  had  with  Mr.  Frederick 
Gye,  the  director  of  the  Covent  Garden  Opera, 
on  account  of  Mile  Johanna  Wagner — the  niece 
of  Richard  Wagner — who  was  engaged,  through 
some  misunderstanding,  by  them  both.  The 


18  EARLY  LIFE 

brilliant  advocate,  Sir  Alexander  Cockburn, 
afterwards  Lord  Chief  Justice  of  England,  gained 
the  action  for  Mr.  Gye,  and  Sir  Frederick 
Thesiger,  afterwards  Lord  Chelmsford,  appeared 
for  Mr.  Lumley.  My  father  was  one  of  the 
witnesses  in  the  case. 

Mademoiselle  Piccolomini  was  brought  out  by 
Lumley  at  Her  Majesty's  Theatre  in  1856.  She 
was  the  first  to  sing  the  leading  role  in  Verdi's 
La  Traviata. 

She  was  a  little  woman,  but  rather  handsome, 
with  fine,  even  features.  It  used  to  be  said  that 
she  would  never  succeed  in  being  able  to  shake, 
although  she  worked  very  hard  at  this  accom- 
plishment, and  in  this  particular  opera  it  was 
so  necessary  to  sing  a  shake,  the  arias  being  full 
of  trills  as  well  as  runs,  chromatic  scales,  and 
brilliant  bravura  passages.  However,  she  got 
through  all  these  difficulties  with  much  credit 
to  herself. 

I  remember  well  a  certain  evening  on  which 
she  sang  La  Traviata,  because  Mr.  Charles  Bra- 
ham,  son  of  the  celebrated  John  Braham,  took 
the  part  of  Alfredo  in  that  opera,  which  he  had 
studied  with  me,  and  had  previously  studied 
in  Italy,  and  it  was  his  first  appearance  at  the 
opera  here.  Naturally  he  felt  very  nervous, 
and  so  was  his  sister  Frances,  Countess  of 
Waldegrave,  who  had  previously  asked  me  to 
remain  with  her  on  that  memorable  occasion  at 
her  house  in  Carlton  Gardens  until  after  the 


TITIENS  19 

performance  was  over.  The  result  was  most 
favourable  to  Mr.  Braham,  and  Lady  Walde- 
grave  was  overjoyed,  and  presented  Mademoiselle 
Piccolomini  with  a  very  handsome  piece  of 
jewellery  as  a  mark  of  her  gratitude  for  singing 
with  her  brother. 

Mademoiselle  Piccolomini  gave  up  her  operatic 
career  while  rather  young,  as  she  married  an 
Italian  nobleman  and  lived  afterwards  in  Rome. 

In  1862  Colonel  J.  H.  Mapleson  opened  at 
Her  Majesty's  Theatre,  beginning  a  new  season 
with  the  following  talented  singers,  who  be- 
came great  favourites  with  the  English  public, 
namely,  Theresa  Titiens,  Trebelli,  Giuglini,  as 
well  as  a  host  of  new  operatic  stars.  Mapleson 
had  the  honour  of  introducing  Gounod's  Faust 
on  June  12th,  1863,  and  Bizet's  Carmen  on 
June  22nd,  1878.  Both  operas  met  at  once 
with  the  greatest  success — how  different  from 
their  cold  reception  in  Paris,  when  they  entirely 
failed  to  please  the  Parisian  public  !  It  is  a 
curious  comment  on  the  suggestion  that  the 
English  are  not  a  musical  nation  that  these 
famous  operas  were  at  once  appreciated  in  this 
country. 

Titiens  was  engaged  by  Mapleson  in  rather  an 
amusing  way.  She  was  singing  in  Vienna  at 
the  time.  Gye  and  Mapleson  had  both  heard  of 
her  success.  Gye  sent  his  manager,  the  father 
of  the  late  Sir  Augustus  Harris,  to  interview 
her  in  Vienna  and  arrange  terms. 


20  EARLY  LIFE 

Mapleson,  learning  of  this,  started  off  post- 
haste to  Vienna  himself,  interviewed  her,  and, 
with  his  usual  address  persuaded  her  then  and 
there  to  sign  a  contract  to  sing  for  him  for  several 
years. 

To  those  who  knew  her,  as  I  did  later,  as 
a  most  sympathetic  and  kind-hearted  artiste,  it 
was  a  surprise  to  learn  that  she  at  one  time  used 
to  suffer  from  a  bad  temper  ;  and  in  these  out- 
bursts she  felt  a  strong  desire  to  smash  anything 
that  came  handy.  Finding  this  a  somewhat 
expensive  amusement,  her  sister  used  from  time 
to  time  to  buy  Is.  6d.  worth  of  cheap  china, 
which  was  placed  on  the  mantelpiece  and  shelves 
ready  for  emergencies.  She  also  related  how  at 
last  she  was  cured  of  this  failing.  She  was  sit- 
ting at  supper  after  a  concert  at  a  provincial 
town  when  the  manager  made  some  remark 
which  annoyed  her.  As  usual,  she  took  the  first 
thing  that  came  to  her  hand,  a  soda-water  bottle, 
and  flung  it  at  him.  The  manager  was  sitting 
at  the  table  with  his  back  to  the  window.  The 
bottle  missed  him,  smashed  through  the  window, 
and  nearly  killed  a  casual  passer-by.  This,  she 
says,  gave  her  such  a  shock  that  she  was  com- 
pletely cured  of  her  failing. 

I  may  here  mention  that  when  I  first  came 
to  England  I  sometimes  had,  in  the  intervals  of 
a  busy  life,  an  opportunity  of  hearing  the  per- 
formances at  Covent  Garden,  and  was  particu- 
larly charmed  with  the  singing  of  Madame  G  iulia 


MARIO   AND    GRISI  21 

Grisi  and  also  of  Signor  Mario,  who  had  the 
finest  tenor  voice  I  have  ever  listened  to.  There 
was  something  so  suave  in  his  voice,  which  was 
so  mellow  and  thoroughly  Italian  in  timbre 
that  you  could  not  resist  being  entranced  when 
you  heard  him.  His  finest  roles  were  Alma  viva 
in  //  Barbiere,  and  Raoul  in  Les  Huguenots,  in 
which  he  sang  with  Grisi,  who  was  superb  as 
Valentine.  I  often  played  for  him  at  private 
parties,  at  which  he  occasionally  sang  John 
Hatton's  favourite  ballad,  "  Good-bye,  Sweet- 
heart," pronouncing  the  English  words  very 
well.  I  also  used  to  accompany  Madame  Grisi, 
at  various  concerts. 

Mario  was  a  fine  and  elegant-looking  man, 
an  Italian  count  by  birth,  his  title  being  Conte 
di  Candia. 

He  was  always  a  great  attraction  at  the  Royal 
Italian  Opera,  and  created  a  perfect  furore  in 
such  operas  as  Meyerbeer's  Les  Huguenots  (in 
which  he  was  associated  with  Madame  Grisi, 
who  became  his  wife),  and  the  Barbiere  di 
Seviglia,  in  which  he  sang  the  florid  role  of  Conte 
d'Almaviva  to  perfection.  His  appearance  bore 
out  his  nobility  of  birth,  being  both  noble  and 
dignified.  In  the  dramatic  part  of  Fernando 
in  La  Favorita  by  Donizetti,  in  which  he  took 
his  farewell  to  the  stage,  he  was  magnificent 
both  in  voice  and  bearing.  He  was  a  most 
generous  man,  and  gave  very  freely  to  all  the 
people  who  served  him :  if  a  waiter  brought  him 


22  EARLY  LIFE 

a  cigar  he  would  sometimes  give  him  five 
shillings  for  it,  and  half  a  crown  more  for  his 
trouble. 

So  many  years  of  professional  association  with 
Madame  Grisi  greatly  helped  his  histrionic 
powers,  as  she  was  a  great  actress  herself  and 
gave  lessons  in  the  art. 

Grisi  died  in  Berlin  in  1869,  on  her  way  to 
St.  Petersburg  where  Mario  was  engaged  at 
the  Imperial  Opera,  and  he  never  saw  her  alive 
after  their  parting,  much  to  his  grief.  He  and 
Patti  were  the  first  to  sing  in  Romeo  et  Juliette 
when  that  opera  was  first  performed  at  Covent 
Garden  in  1867.  Mario  had  a  golden  wig  made 
for  the  part  of  Romeo,  but  after  the  first  per- 
formance he  never  wore  it  again,  but  returned 
to  his  own  black  hair  with  additional  locks. 

At  the  close  of  his  operatic  career  he  went 
to  live  in  Rome,  where  the  King  of  Italy  be- 
stowed on  him  a  government  appointment, 
which  he  filled  until  he  died  in  1883. 

Sir  Michael  Costa  was  the  conductor  at 
Covent  Garden ;  he  was  a  strict  disciplinarian, 
and  the  performances  under  his  direction  were 
very  fine.  On  one  occasion  a  member  of  his 
orchestra  came  late  to  a  rehearsal,  and  Costa 
commenced  to  storm  at  him.  "  I  am  very 
sorry,"  said  the  frightened  musician ;  "  but  I 
could  not  leave  home  because  my  wife  has  just 
been  confined."  "  All  right,"  said  Costa,  "  but 
mind  you  don't  let  this  happen  again." 


SIR   MICHAEL    COSTA  28 

Later  on,  when  Costa  left  Gye  and  went  over 
to  Her  Majesty's  Theatre  under  Mapleson's 
direction  he  had  occasion  to  find  fault  with  the 
slackness  and  inefficiency  of  the  stage-manager. 
Mistakes  having  frequently  occurred,  Sir  Michael 
told  him  that,  if  it  happened  again,  he  would 
have  to  ask  Mapleson  to  dismiss  him.  Shortly 
afterwards  there  was  a  worse  blunder,  and  Sir 
Michael  stopped  the  rehearsal,  called  for  the 
stage-manager  and  told  him  he  must  go  !  The 
stage-manager,  who  was  a  man  of  striking  ap- 
pearance, advanced  to  the  front  of  the  stage, 
made  a  magnificent  deep  bow  to  Sir  Michael, 
and  sang  in  a  beautiful  voice,  "  Good-bye,  Sweet- 
heart !  ''  and  then  retired,  backwards,  off  the 
stage. 

Costa  lived  in  a  fine  house  in  Eccleston 
Square.  The  walls  of  his  dining-room  were 
covered  with  engraved  portraits  of  the  royal 
family,  all  of  which  were  autographed.  I  used 
to  visit  him  on  Sunday  mornings,  and  it  was 
always  delightful  to  listen  to  his  animated  con- 
versation. He  used  always  to  attend  my  orches- 
tral concerts  later  on. 

He  conducted  for  many  years  the  concerts  of 
the  Philharmonic  Society,  and  also  the  Sacred 
Harmonic  Society's  winter  concerts  at  the  old 
Exeter  Hall  in  the  Strand,  which  is  now  de- 
molished and  its  site  occupied  by  the  Strand 
Palace  Hotel.  Patti,  Lemmens  Sherrington, 
Sainton  Dolby,  Patey,  Sims  Reeves,  Weiss,  and 


24  EARLY  LIFE 

Santley  used  to  sing  the  principal  parts  in  his 
oratorios,  Naaman  and  Eli.  Eli  was  composed 
in  1851,  for  the  Birmingham  Festival,  and 
Naaman  in  1864.  Unfortunately,  they  are  now 
never  performed,  and  are  rapidly  being  for- 
gotten. He  wrote  them  somewhat  in  the  style 
of  Handel,  with  fine  choruses  and  melodious 
arias,  but  his  greatest  achievement  was  in  the 
conducting  of  the  celebrated  Handel  Festivals 
at  the  Crystal  Palace.  I  am  sure  that  nowhere 
in  the  world  could  finer  performances  have 
taken  place  than  those  held  every  three  years 
at  the  Palace  under  the  direction  of  Costa.  The 
performers  at  these  festivals  numbered  several 
thousands  of  singers  and  instrumentalists,  and 
the  effect  of  the  volume  of  sound  was  simply 
overpowering.  One  could  never  forget  the  sub- 
lime "Hallelujah  Chorus"  in  the  Messiah,  or  the 
"  Hailstorm  Chorus  "  in  Israel  in  Egypt. 

I  used  often  to  put  some  of  Sir  Michael's 
songs  and  concerted  pieces  into  my  concert 
programmes,  such  as  his  fine  "  Ecco  quel  fiero 
istante  "  and  his  trio  "  Vanne  colei."  He  some- 
times came  to  my  concerts  to  accompany  some 
of  his  own  music,  such  as  a  big  soprano  scena. 
Costa's  compositions,  like  Benedict's,  are  now 
almost  forgotten,  although  at  one  time  it  seemed 
likely  that  his  oratorios  would  retain  their  popu- 
larity. 

I  attended  a  performance  of  Die  Zauherflote 
at  Covent  Garden?  which  was  a  special  revival. 


I    COACH   NEY-BLfRDE   AND   TAMBERLIK  25 

Mario  and  Grisi  both  sang,  the  latter  with 
delicious  pathos.  Mile  Zerr  was  the  best  Queen 
of  the  Night  I  had  ever  heard.  Madame 
Viardot  Garcia  took  the  part  of  Papagena  and 
played  it  in  the  most  vivacious  way,  and  Ron- 
coni  as  Papageno  was  most  entertaining. 

I  also  saw  Madame  Viardot  Garcia' s  impres- 
sive and  unapproachable  performance  of  Fides 
in  Le  Prophete,  a  thing  never  to  be  forgotten. 

I  well  remember  the  premiere  of  Verdi's 
Rigoletto  on  May  14th,  1853.  The  caste  was  very 
brilliant.  Angiolina  Bosio  was  an  exquisite  Gilda, 
and  Mario,  in  his  most  mellifluous  mood,  brought 
down  the  house  with  La  donna  e  mobile.  As 
Rigoletto,  Ronconi  realised  all  the  tragic  pathos 
of  the  part.  The  basso  Tagliafico  was  Spera- 
fucile,  and  the  charming  Madame  Nantier  Didiee 
Maddalena.  She  had  studied  the  part  with  me. 
The  great  quartette  in  the  last  act  was  encored. 

In  1855  came  the  first  performance  of  II 
Trovatore.  I  was  asked  to  teach  Madame  Ney- 
Biirde,  a  prima  donna  from  Dresden,  the  part 
of  Leonora,  which  I  did.  She  had  a  mag- 
nificent and  powerful  soprano  voice.  Madame 
Viardot  Garcia  was  superb  as  Azucena,  Signor 
Tamberlik  was  the  Trovatore,  and  Signor  Grazi- 
ani  (the  incomparable  baritone)  sang  the  part  of 
the  Conte  di  Luna.  Tamberlik  studied  with  me 
Meyerbeer's  Le  Prophete,  and  also  the  title-role 
in  Hector  Berlioz's  Benvenuto  Cellini.  I  was  pre- 
sent at  the  first  performance  of  the  latter  opera 


26  EARLY  LIFE 

on  June  25th,  1853.  Berlioz  conducted  it  him- 
self, but  it  had  no  success,  and  was  withdrawn 
after  the  second  performance. 

My  disappointment  was  great,  as  I  had  also 
coached  Madame  Nantier  Didi£e  for  the  part  of 
Ascanio.  My  diary  says  : 

"  May  22nd. — To  Madame  Didi£e.  M.  Ber- 
lioz there  :  tried  over  Madame  Didiee's  part  for 
his  opera  Benvenuto  Cellini,  which  is  to  be  pro- 
duced at  Covent  Garden  under  his  direction. 
He  beat  time  and  I  accompanied  this  difficult 
music  prima  vista." 

In  order  to  give  Tamberlik  his  lesson  I  had  to 
be  out  at  Haverstock  Hill,  where  he  lived,  by 
seven  o'clock  in  the  morning.  I  had  to  walk 
all  the  way  because  at  so  early  an  hour  I  could 
not  get  a  cab,  nor  could  I  have  afforded  to  pay 
for  one  in  those  days.  He  used  to  practise  with 
me  for  some  time — although  he  was  always 
hoarse  in  the  morning — and  afterwards  he  had 
a  fencing-lesson  and  then  his  breakfast.  He 
was  a  fine  artist,  and  was  splendid  as  Jean  of 
Leyden  in  the  Prophdte,  singing  the  aria  "  Re 
del  Ciel,"  with  its  famous  high  C  (better  known 
as  the  Ut  de  poitrine)  from  the  chest,  with  great 
effect.  Tamberlik  had  not  such  a  beautiful 
voice  as  Mario,  but  he  had  more  power  in  his 
high  chest-notes,  and  was,  perhaps,  also  more 
dramatic  in  his  acting.  He  had  a  fine,  com- 
manding figure,  and  was  what  I  should  call  a 


"GRAND    NATIONAL   CONCERTS"         27 

tenor e  robusto.  He  was  a  good  musician  too, 
and  had  no  difficulty  whatever  in  learning  the 
difficult  role  of  Benvenuto  Cellini — though,  after 
all,  what  is  it  compared  with  the  tenor  parts  of 
Wagner's  Ring  ? 

M.  Prevost,  Tamberlik's  fencing-master,  pro- 
mised to  instruct  me  in  his  art  in  exchange  for 
my  giving  his  little  daughter  piano-lessons.  The 
little  girl  came  regularly  as  clock-work  twice  a 
week,  and  I  had  to  give  the  lessons,  although  I 
was  very  busy  and  really  had  not  time  to  get  in 
all  my  fencing-lessons.  M.  Pre"vost  was  a  re- 
fugee ;  he  taught  fencing  to  the  Prince  of  Wales 
and  the  members  of  the  French  Royal  Family. 

In  1850  a  series  of  concerts  called  "  The  Grand 
National  Concerts  "  were  given  at  Her  Majesty's 
Theatre  under  the  directorship  of  Balfe.  The 
orchestra  was  first-rate,  containing  the  finest 
instrumentalists  in  London;  Molique,  a  pupil 
of  Spohr,  was  the  leader. 

The  programmes  were  well  arranged,  and 
classical  music  was  made  a  great  feature  of, 
though  the  symphonies  of  Mozart,  Beethoven, 
and  Mendelssohn  were  intermixed  with  dance 
music  under  the  direction  of  Herr  Joseph 
Labitzky  from  Carlsbad.  He  had  made  himself 
a  name  as  a  composer  of  dance-music,  and  was 
a  contemporary  of  the  old  Johann  Strauss  (not 
to  be  confounded  with  his  son,  Johann  Strauss, 
the  composer  of  the  famous  "Blue  Danube" 
waltz,  and  of  Die  Fledermaus  and  a  host  of  other 


28  EARLY  LIFE 

popular    operettas)    and    another     dance-music 
composer  named  Lanner. 

These  concerts  were  also  memorable  for  the 
bringing  over,  at  my  father's  suggestion,  of  the 
famous  Berliner  Domchor,  the  cathedral  choir 
of  Berlin,  consisting  of  eighty  boys  and  men, 
with  Director  Neithardt  as  the  conductor.  I 
never  heard  anything  more  beautiful  as  a  com- 
bination of  men's  and  boy's  voices. 

A  feature  of  these  National  Concerts  was  the 
d6but  of  the  young  pianist,  Miss  Arabella  God- 
dard,  who  was  then  a  girl  of  fourteen  years 
of  age,  and  played  a  fantasia  by  Thalberg  with 
immense  success.  She  became  famous  after- 
wards as  the  best  English  woman  pianist  of  her 
day. 

Being   a   member   of  the   orchestra   at   these 
concerts  helped  me  a  great  deal  to  appreciate 
classical  orchestral  music,  as  well  as  other  styles, 
and  so  did  hearing  the  best  instrumental  soloists. 
The    chairman    of    the    committee,    the    Hon. 
Charles  Hugh  Lindsay,  was  no  mean  player  of 
the  cornet-a-piston.     The  cornet,  which  has  now 
gone  out  of  fashion,  was  then  a  great  favourite 
as   a   solo- instrument.     After  he  left  the  army 
he   became   Colonel   of   the    St.    George's   Rifle 
Corps  of  Volunteers.     At  one  of  their  concerts 
at    St.    James's    Hall,   Mr.   Sims   Reeves    sang 
for   the   first   time,    "  God   bless   the  Prince   of 
Wales "  ;  the   composer,  Brinley   Richards,   was 
at  the  piano  with  myself,   and  we  played  the 


"GOD    BLESS    THE    PRINCE    OF    WALES':    29 

accompaniment  as  a  duet  \  Benedict  was  the 
conductor,  and  there  was  a  chorus  to  sing  the 
refrain.  Naturally  the  song,  which  has  since 
become  a  National  Hymn,  was  vociferously  en- 
cored and  repeated  with  still  greater  effect.  It 
became  most  popular,  and  was  always  sung  at 
public  dinners  after  the  Prince's  Toast,  and  at  all 
functions  where  the  Prince  of  Wales  was  present, 
or  his  name  mentioned.  Mr.  Cocks,  the  music 
publisher  of  New  Burlington  Street,  bought  the 
song  from  Brinley  Richards  for  a  low  price ;  but 
after  it  had  such  an  immense  sale  he  presented 
the  composer  with  a  cheque  for  one  hundred 
guineas. 

I  became  a  naturalised  Englishman  in  1856, 
and  was  enrolled  as  a  volunteer  in  the  St.  George's 
Rifle  Corps,  which  Mr.  Richards  and  several 
other  musicians  had  joined ;  but  I  did  not  re- 
main very  long  in  it,  as  I  found  carrying  a  heavy 
rifle  made  my  arm  too  tired  and  was  bad  for  my 
piano-playing.  However,  I  well  remember  tak- 
ing part  in  the  Review  in  Hyde  Park  with  the 
Corps  in  1863,  when  the  Princess  Alexandra,  as 
a  bride,  made  her  entry  into  London  in  an  open 
carriage  by  the  side  of  the  Prince  of  Wales. 
Colonel  the  Hon.  Charles  Hugh  Lindsay  was 
then  the  colonel  of  the  regiment. 


CHAPTER    II 

MUSIC   IN   THE   FORTIES   AND    FIFTIES 

English  operas  under  Maddox  in  1848 — Anna  Thillon — Weiss, 
composer  of  "  The  Village  Blacksmith  " — Louisa  Pyne — 
First  performance  of  Lurline — Sir  Henry  Bishop — John 
Hatton  —  "  Goodbye,  Sweetheart  " — Henry  Smart — Sir 
John  Macf arren — Sivori — Jansa — Jullien  and  his  Promenade 
Concerts — English  country  seats — Orleans  House  and 
Nuneham  Park — Princess  Mary  of  Cambridge — I  am 
capsized  on  the  Thames — I  visit  Lord  Dufferin  and  Sir 
Michael  Shaw-Stewart  at  Ardgowan — My  confirmation  at 
the  Savoy  Lutheran  Chapel — French  political  refugees 
— Orleans  House  and  its  habitues — A  musical  party  of  the 
period. 

I  RECALL  a  series  of  English  operas  which  were 
given  in  1848  at  the  Princess's  Theatre  in  Ox- 
ford Street,  under  the  direction  of  Mr.  Maddox. 
Mr.  Edward  Loder  was  the  conductor,  and  he 
engaged  me  to  play  the  violin  in  his  orchestra. 

The  charming  Madame  Anna  Thillon  was 
the  principal  soprano,  and  sang  in  Auber's 
Crown  Diamonds  most  brilliantly.  She  was  a 
beautiful  woman ;  in  fact,  I  never  saw  a  prettier 
woman  on  the  stage,  and  she  was  most  fasci- 
nating into  the  bargain. 

She  was  married  to  a  Frenchman,  and  I  think 
had  studied  in  Paris.  Monsieur  Thillon  was  the 
conductor  of  the  Philharmonic  Concerts  at 

30 


"THE   VILLAGE    BLACKSMITH"  81 

Havre.  The  part  of  Queen  Catherine  in  Crown 
Diamonds  is  most  difficult  to  sing,  but  Madame 
Thillon  sang  it  with  the  greatest  ease,  and  all 
its  difficulty  seemed  to  vanish  with  her  superb 
rendering.  Miss  Louisa  Pyne  also  excelled  in 
it  in  later  years.  Mr.  Allen  was  the  tenor  and 
Mr.  Willoughby  Weiss  the  bass. 

Mr.  Weiss,  who  was  the  composer  of  that 
popular  song  "  The  Village  Blacksmith,"  be- 
came in  time  a  great  favourite,  singing  Elijah 
in  Mendelssohn's  great  oratorio  at  the  provincial 
festivals,  and  appearing  at  the  Sacred  Harmonic 
Concerts  at  Exeter  Hall  under  Costa,  and  at 
many  other  good  concerts. 

Edward  Loder,  the  conductor,  was  the  com- 
poser of  a  very  melodious  opera,  called  The 
Night  Dancers,  which  was  produced  in  1846  and 
revived  in  1860.  Altogether  the  season  was 
most  successful. 

Another  great  English  singer  at  this  period 
was  Miss  Louisa  Pyne,  whom  I  have  already 
mentioned  in  connection  with  Crown  Diamonds. 
I  remember  her  singing  Catherine  in  that  opera, 
and  her  vocalisation  was  superb.  She  had 
a  clever  sister,  Miss  Susan  Pyne,  who  sang 
duets  with  her.  She  was  co-director  with  Mr. 
William  Harrison  (the  original  Thaddeus  in 
Balfe's  Bohemian  Girl)  at  Covent  Garden  and 
they  carried  on  English  opera  there  for  many 
years,  producing  a  new  opera  by  Balfe,  such  as 
The  Rose  of  Castile,  or  Bianca,  the  Bravo' s  Bride, 
4 


82   MUSIC  IN  THE  FORTIES  AND  FIFTIES 

every  year.  It  was  at  one  of  their  seasons  that 
I  heard  the  first  production  of  Lurline,  by  Vin- 
cent Wallace  on  February  3rd,  1860,  in  which 
Charles  Santley  made  his  first  appearance  as  an 
operatic  singer,  and  created  at  once  a  great 
furore. 

Wallace  composed  many  operas,  of  which 
Maritana  is  the  most  popular ;  it  is  full  of 
melody,  and  is  still  a  great  favourite  in  the  pro- 
vinces. He  was,  like  Balfe,  an  Irishman,  and 
first  came  out  as  a  boy  violinist.  He  asked  me 
to  give  his  sister  some  lessons,  which  I  did.  I 
remember  Santley  singing  one  of  his  songs,  "  The 
Bellringer,"  most  splendidly. 

I  firmly  believe  that  if  Balfe  and  Wallace  had 
lived  twenty  years  later  they  would  have  scored 
their  operas  more  fully  than  they  did — in  the 
same  way  as  Verdi  scored  his  Aiday  Otello,  and 
Falstaff,  and  his  immortal  Requiem. 

Among  the  English  composers  now  almost 
forgotten,  but  whom  I  should  like  to  mention, 
as  I  saw  a  good  deal  of  him,  was  Sir  Henry 
Bishop.  I  remember  him  as  a  tall,  thin,  elderly 
man,  with  very  little  hair  on  his  head,  wearing 
a  stiff  white  cravat.  I  met  him  first  at  the 
house  of  Miss  Sophie  Messent,  an  English  singer 
who  used  to  have  an  amateur  choir,  which  per- 
formed some  of  Sir  Henry's  compositions,  with 
me  at  the  piano. 

Miss  Messent  used  to  sing  some  of  his  songs, 
which  are  Shakespearian  and  thoroughly  English 


SIR  HENRY   BISHOP  83 

in  character,  such  as  "  Tell  me,  my  Heart," 
44  Should  he  upbraid,"  "  Bid  me  discourse," 
and  "  Lo  !  here  the  gentle  Lark  " — with  flute 
obbligato.  The  latter  used  to  be  a  great 
favourite  with  sopranos  such  as  Christine  Nilsson, 
and  Sims  Reeves  made  Bishop's  "  Pilgrim  of 
Love "  and  "  My  Pretty  Jane "  exceedingly 
popular,  and  he  had  to  sing  them  at  every  ballad 
and  non-classical  concert,  especially  "  My  Pretty 
Jane,"  of  which  the  public  never  seemed  to  get 
tired. 

At  that  period,  which  was  fifty  or  sixty  years 
ago,  all  his  compositions  were  very  popular,  and 
Miss  Messent's  choir  used  to  sing  his  glees,  such 
as  <4  Blow,  gentle  Gales,"  4t  The  Chough  and 
the  Crow,"  and  44  Sleep,  Gentle  Lady."  Al- 
though his  compositions  are  not  much  thought 
of  nowadays,  I  think  his  ballads  are  better  than 
many  one  hears  at  the  present  time ;  at  all 
events,  that  is  my  humble  opinion. 

Another  English  composer  of  those  days  was 
John  Hatton ;  he  was  full  of  talent,  and  his 
compositions  were  typical  of  English  music. 
He  composed  an  opera  called  Pascal  Bruno  for 
Vienna,  and  another,  Rose,  or  Love's  Ransom,  for 
Covent  Garden,  and  a  large  number  of  beautiful 
glees  and  songs  which  have  become  very  popu- 
lar, such  as  44  Goodbye,  Sweetheart,"  which  Sims 
Reeves  sang  constantly,  and  which  was  taken 
up  by  all  the  leading  tenors,  and  also  44  To 
Anthea,"  with  which  Santley  always  made  a 


84   MUSIC  IN  THE  FORTIES  AND  FIFTIES 

great  hit  and  had  to  repeat.  He  still  sings  it, 
and  no  other  baritone  could  ever  compete  with 
him  in  the  fire  and  energy  he  displayed  in  its 
delivery. 

Another  composer  I  knew  and  admired  in 
those  days  was  Henry  Smart,  nephew  of  Sir 
George  Smart,  the  friend  of  Carl  Maria  von 
Weber,  who  died  in  his  house  in  1826.  Sir 
George  Smart  and  Charles  Kemble  went  to- 
gether to  Germany  to  ask  Weber  to  compose 
an  opera  for  Covent  Garden.  This  he  did,  and 
brought  it  to  London  in  1826.  It  was  his 
famous  Oberon,  in  which  John  Braham  took  the 
role  of  Huon. 

Henry  Smart  wrote  a  cantata  called  The 
Bride  of  Dunkerron,  and  many  glees  and  songs, 
and  was  also  a  fine  organist.  He  is  now  for- 
gotten, like  many  of  his  contemporaries. 

Sir  George  Alexander  Macfarren,  also  a  pro- 
lific composer,  was  another  friend  of  mine.  He 
composed  Don  Quixote  and  Robin  Hood,  the 
latter  opera  being  performed  in  1860,  with 
Madame  Lemmens  Sherrington  and  Sims  Reeves 
in  the  principal  parts.  One  of  his  most  popular 
overtures  was  "  Chevy  Chase,"  and  a  serenata 
of  his  entitled  "  The  Sleeper  "  was  performed 
at  the  National  Concerts  in  1850. 

Unfortunately,  his  eyesight  began  to  fail,  and 
he  eventually  became  blind,  but  notwithstand- 
ing this  calamity  he  continued  to  compose,  dic- 
tating the  music  to  a  secretary.  He  was  Cam- 


SIVORI  85 

bridge  Professor  of  Music,  and  became  the 
Principal  of  the  Royal  Academy  of  Music,  which 
post  he  held  until  his  much-regretted  death. 

Among  the  many  great  violinists  I  have 
known  was  the  celebrated  player,  Signor  Camillo 
Sivori,  who  was  a  pupil  of  Paganini.  One  of  his 
most  popular  compositions  was  the  "  Carnival 
of  Cuba,"  an  imitation  of  the  once  popular 
**  Carnaval  de  Venise,"  composed  by  Ernst, 
whom  I  accompanied  on  the  Jenny  Lind  tour, 
when  he  played  it  himself  so  successfully. 
Sivori's  playing  was  superb,  and  his  execution 
faultless.  He  was  a  short,  thin  man,  with 
bright  black  eyes  and  a  narrow  face,  exceedingly 
modest  and  full  of  kindness. 

He  once  came  to  a  supper-party  at  my  house 
in  Queen  Anne  Street  very  many  years  ago, 
when  my  friend,  Madame  Parepa,  the  singer, 
was  also  present,  and  sang  comic  songs  in  which 
we  all  joined.  Sivori  and  the  great  contra- 
bassist,  Bottesini,  often  used  to  play  violin  and 
double-bass  duets  together  and  seemed  to  enjoy 
playing  ensemble ;  it  was  a  great  pleasure  to 
hear  them. 

Herr  Leopold  Jansa,  another  well-known  vio- 
linist, came  over  to  this  country  from  Vienna  in 
1851,  and  was  one  of  the  musical  judges  at  the 
exhibition  in  Hyde  Park.  He  played  at  a  con- 
cert in  aid  of  the  Hungarian  political  refugees, 
and  on  that  account  the  Austrian  Government 
cancelled  his  appointment  at  the  Imperial  Court, 


86   MUSIC  IN  THE  FORTIES  AND  FIFTIES 

although  he  told  me  himself  that  he  had  for- 
merly taught  the  present  Emperor,  Francis 
Joseph,  the  violin.  He  settled  here  and  became 
a  much-respected  teacher  of  the  violin,  his  best- 
known  pupil  being  Madame  Norman  Neruda 
(Lady  Halle).  Jansa  was  a  contemporary  of 
Beethoven,  and  I  have  heard  him  relate  that  he 
had  often  played  in  that  great  master's  quartettes 
for  the  first  time  of  their  performance.  Bee- 
thoven, he  said,  would  stand  in  a  corner  with 
his  arms  folded,  and  occasionally  spring  forward 
to  point  out  some  error  or  make  some  correc- 
tion in  the  rendering. 

Jansa  used  to  conduct  the,  music  at  the  Bava- 
rian Chapel  in  Warwick  Street,  and  he  asked 
me  to  play  the  organ  there,  a  thing  I  very  much 
liked  doing,  as  the  beautiful  masses  of  Haydn, 
Mozart,  and  Beethoven  were  constantly  sung. 

I  may  here  mention  that  when  the  new 
Catholic  Church  in  Hatton  Garden  was  built 
(the  one  now  called  the  Italian  Church),  I  was 
asked  by  the  Rev.  Bruno  di  Faa  to  conduct  the 
music  there.  I  engaged  a  very  good  orchestra 
and  the  solo-singers  were  Madame  Rudersdorff 
(then  a  celebrity)  as  soprano,  Miss  Julia  Elton  as 
contralto,  and  Mr.  Swift  as  tenor — I  have  for- 
gotten the  name  of  the  bass.  After  a  few  weeks, 
the  whole  of  the  musical  performers  were  dis- 
persed, including  myself,  because  the  clergy 
could  not  afford  to  keep  up  such  an  expensive 
choir  and  orchestra. 


JULLIEN  AND   HIS   CONCERTS  87 

I  must  now  say  something  about  Monsieur 
Jullien,  who  was  the  originator  of  the  Promenade 
Concerts.  They  were  always  crowded  to  suffoca- 
tion, and  the  crowd  in  the  pit  where  the  audi- 
ence promenaded  jostled  each  other  and  made 
a  great  row. 

The  orchestra  was  built  over  the  stage.  I 
was  engaged  to  play  in  it  as  one  of  the  side-drum 
players.  These  Promenade  Concerts  only  lasted 
a  month,  but  they  set  the  fashion  of  such  enter- 
tainments. At  the  old  Promenade  Concerts, 
where  the  orchestra  had  often  to  play  somewhat 
hackneyed  marches  and  such-like  music,  they 
used  to  signalise  the  return  of  the  leading 
theme  by  all  rising  in  their  seats,  recognising,  as 
it  were,  an  old  acquaintance.  The  effect  was 
very  funny. 

One  of  Jullien's  most  popular  compositions 
was  called  "  The  British  Army  Quadrilles,"  in 
which  the  ordinary  orchestra  was  reinforced  by 
a  military  band  and  a  number  of  drummers 
and  big-drum  players  to  imitate  the  cannon- 
shots.  "  Rule,  Britannia !  "  finished  this  extra- 
ordinary battle-piece  with  great  effect,  and  at 
the  conclusion  the  audience  always  cheered 
Jullien  with  the  greatest  enthusiasm. 

This  composition  survived  him  for  many  years, 
and  became  a  standard  work  at  similar  enter- 
tainments. 

It  really  was  a  sight  to  see  him  conduct,  waving 
his  baton  right  and  left.  He  always  wore  an 


88    MUSIC   IN  THE   FORTIES  AND   FIFTIES 

embroidered  shirt-front  with  a  white  waistcoat, 
open  wide  enough  to  show  it  off.  I  must  do 
him  the  justice  to  say  that  he  composed  an 
opera  called  Pietro  il  Grande  which  had  a  fair 
amount  of  success  when  produced  at  Covent 
Garden  Theatre  on  August  17th,  1852.  I  was 
at  the  first  performance  of  it,  and  an  old  friend 
of  mine,  Mr.  Whitworth  (Jones),  sang  the  part 
of  Pietro.  He  had  a  fine  bass  voice  and  a  good 
stage  presence.  He  quitted  the  operatic  stage 
upon  inheriting  a  large  fortune,  left  him  by  a 
relation  upon  the  condition  that  he  should  give 
up  his  operatic  career.  I  often  accompanied 
him  when  he  sang  privately  at  friends'  houses, 
and,  later  on,  when  he  married,  my  family  be- 
came very  friendly  with  his  wife  and  children. 
He  often  sang,  at  my  request,  some  of  the  famous 
songs  which  he  made  famous. 

In  1851  I  was  invited  to  pay  the  first  of  my 
many  visits  to  Nuneham  Park,  the  Oxfordshire 
seat  of  Frances,  Countess  of  Waldegrave  and 
Mr.  Vernon  Harcourt,  M.P.  for  Oxfordshire,  to 
play  the  piano  during  some  theatrical  perform- 
ances and  to  accompany  some  of  the  amateurs 
of  the  house-party  in  their  songs.  There  I 
made  the  acquaintance  of  Mr.  John  Braham, 
father  of  the  Countess,  and  doyen  of  English 
tenors.  He  was  then  in  his  eightieth  year,  but 
he  sang  "  Total  Eclipse  "  from  Handel's  oratorio 
Samson  in  a  way  I  shall  never  forget,  and  with 
an  amount  of  pathos  that  touched  my  heart. 


JOHN   BRAHAM  89 

He  also  sang  the  well-known  song,  "  The  Death 
of  Nelson,"  which  I  had  the  pleasure  of  accom- 
panying, singing  it  with  an  amount  of  fire  and 
energy  which  was  extraordinary  in  a  man  of 
his  age.  His  high  chest-notes  were  as  fresh  and 
pure  as  those  of  a  young  man  of  twenty-four. 
Sims  Reeves  and  many  well-known  singers,  such 
as  Edward  Lloyd  and  Ben  Davies,  continued 
to  sing  "The  Death  of  Nelson  "  at  concerts, 
especially  the  former,  who  always  scored  tre- 
mendously with  it. 

Braham  earned  a  great  fortune  by  his  sing- 
ing in  London.  He  created  the  tenor  part  of 
Huon  in  Oberon,  singing  the  great  song  "  Oh ! 
it  is  a  glorious  sight  to  see,"  which  Weber  speci- 
ally wrote  for  him.  Braham,  although  so  rich, 
could  not  refrain  from  speculating,  and  he  built 
the  Colosseum  (a  kind  of  Diorama  of  Rome, 
which  is  now  demolished)  in  Regent's  Park, 
and  also  the  St.  James's  Theatre,  which  happily 
is  in  a  flourishing  condition,  through  Sir  George 
Alexander's  clever  management,  though  in  Bra- 
ham's  time  it  was  also  an  unfortunate  specu- 
lation and  spelt  disaster  and  ruin.  Fortunately 
he  had  his  wealthy  daughter,  Lady  Waldegrave, 
to  fall  back  on,  who  supported  him  until  the 
end  of  his  days.  He  had  several  sons,  two  of 
whom  I  used  to  coach  in  their  operatic  parts. 
The  eldest,  Hamilton  Braham,  was  a  baritone, 
Charles  was  a  tenor,  and  the  third  was  Augustus 
Braham,  who,  however,  only  sang  at  concerts, 


40   MUSIC  IN  THE  FORTIES  AND  FIFTIES 

and  never  went  on  the  stage.     Charles  Braham 
was  the  father  of  the  present  Lady  Strachie. 

At  Lady  Waldegrave's  I  had  the  honour  of 
making  the  acquaintance  of  H.R.H.  the  Due 
d'Aumale,  son  of  King  Louis  Philippe  and  his 
wife,  the  Duchesse  d'Aumale.  The  latter  be- 
came my  pupil  for  the  piano  and  singing,  and 
I  used  frequently  to  go  to  Orleans  House, 
Twickenham,  where  we  had  music  in  the  even- 
ings. The  Duchesse's  mother  was  an  Austrian 
Archduchess,  who  married  the  Prince  de  Saler- 
no, brother  of  the  King  of  Naples,  King  Bomba 
as  he  was  called,  who  was  such  a  tyrant.  She 
always  used  to  speak  to  me  in  German,  with 
an  Austrian  accent. 

The  late  Duchess  of  Cambridge  and  her 
daughter,  the  Princess  Mary  of  Cambridge  (the 
late  Duchess  of  Teck)  used  often  to  dine  at 
Orleans  House.  Princess  Mary  joined  in  the 
music,  singing  various  songs,  one  of  which  I 
remember  distinctly  was  Marras's  "  S'io  fosse 
un  Angelo  "  and  also  Mendelssohn's  duets  in  the 
original  German,  with  the  Duchesse  d'Aumale. 
I  always  accompanied  them  on  these  occasions. 
The  Princess  Mary  had  a  beautiful  and  sonorous 
contralto  voice.  This  amiable  Princess  became 
my  pupil  later  on ;  I  often  gave  her  lessons  in 
singing  at  St.  James's  Palace,  and  sometimes 
the  Countess  Apponyi,  wife  of  the  then  Austrian 
Ambassador,  used  to  come  and  sing  duets  with 
her.  The  Countess  was  exceedingly  musical,  and 


WII/HELM    GANZ   AS    A   YOUNG    MAN. 


40] 


CELEBRITIES   AT   NUNEHAM   PARK       41 

could  read  off  music  at  sight  wonderfully  well. 
On  one  occasion  Queen  Victoria  came  quite 
unexpectedly  to  St.  James's  Palace  to  hear  her, 
as  she  had  been  told  about  her  singing  and 
wanted  to  listen  to  it. 

I  also  met  at  Nuneham  Park  H.R.H.  the 
Duchess  of  Gloucester,  the  old  Duke  of  Bedford, 
the  Marquis  d'Azeglio  (Sardinian  Minister),  the 
Countess  of  Shaftesbury,  the  Earl  of  Clarendon 
(who  was  then  Minister),  the  Minister  of  Foreign 
Affairs  in  Lord  Palmerston's  Government,  Sir 
William  Vernon  Harcourt  (a  nephew  of  Mr. 
Harcourt),  then  a  young  man,  who  became  many 
years  later  on  a  distinguished  member  of  Par- 
liament and  Chancellor  of  the  Exchequer,  also 
Mr.  Chichester  Fortescue,  who,  after  Mr.  Har- 
court's  death  married  Lady  Waldegrave  as  her 
fourth  husband,  the  two  previous  ones  having 
been  the  Hon.  Mr.  Waldegrave,  and,  after  his 
death,  his  cousin,  the  Earl  of  Waldegrave. 

Mr.  Chichester  Fortescue  was  created  Lord 
Carlingford  and  became  a  Minister  in  Lord  John 
Russell's  Government.  He  was  an  exceedingly 
pleasant  man,  and,  like  the  Countess  Apponyi, 
always  spoke  to  me  in  German.  Among  the 
guests  at  Nuneham  were  also  Viscount  Chelsea, 
father  of  the  present  Earl  Cadogan,  Lord 
Dufferin,  who  had  such  a  splendid  political 
career  as  Viceroy  of  India  and  Ambassador  at 
Rome  and  Paris,  and  Sir  Michael  Shaw-Stewart, 
as  well  as  a  host  of  other  notabilities. 


42    MUSIC  IN  THE  FORTIES  AND  FIFTIES 

One  evening  Lady  Waldegrave  danced  the 
Truandaise  from  Esmeralda  with  Sir  Michael 
Shaw- Stewart  amid  enthusiastic  applause. 
"  General  Post  "  was  a  game  in  which  every- 
body joined,  including  the  elderly  Earl  of 
Clarendon. 

When  I  was  staying  there  in  1855,  Meyerbeer 
was  expected  on  a  visit,  and  a  room  was  pre- 
pared for  him ;  but  he  did  not  come.  I  was 
very  disappointed,  as  I  had  just  been  coaching 
Miss  Jenny  Baur  for  the  part  of  Catherine  in 
his  L'Etoile  du  Nord,  which  was  produced  at 
Drury  Lane  that  year  in  English. 

The  Crimean  War  was  raging  at  the  time, 
and  I  witnessed  an  extraordinary  scene  when  I 
attended  a  performance  of  that  opera  at  Drury 
Lane  on  March  2nd.  After  the  first  act  Mr. 
Smith  the  director  came  out  and  announced  that 
the  Czar  was  dead.  There  was  tremendous  ex- 
citement in  the  house  and  "  God  save  the 
Queen "  and  "  Partant  pour  la  Syrie "  were 
loudly  demanded  by  the  public  amid  tremendous 
cheering.  I  doubted  if  the  news  was  true,  but 
hoped  at  least  that  the  war  was  at  an  end. 

I  remember,  while  at  Nuneham,  going  one  day 
to  Oxford  by  river  with  some  friends.  Before 
I  started  Lady  Waldegrave  asked  me  if  I  would 
call  at  the  post  office  to  see  if  there  were  any 
letters  for  her,  and,  if  so,  bring  them  back. 

I  got  the  letters,  but  on  the  way  back,  as  we 
were  returning  by  rowing-boat,  our  boat  upset 


MY   VISIT   TO    CLANDEBOYE  48 

through  some  of  the  men  getting  up  in  it  at  the 
same  time,  and  we  were  all  thrown  into  the 
river.  Fortunately,  I  caught  hold  of  a  man 
who  could  swim,  and  so  managed  to  reach  the 
bank,  but  arrived  at  the  house  drenched  to  the 
skin.  Of  course  all  the  letters,  which  I  had 
placed  in  a  side-pocket,  were  simply  saturated, 
but  Lady  Waldegrave  and  all  the  visitors  made 
light  of  it  and  had  a  good  laugh  over  our  adven- 
ture, and  when  the  letters  had  been  dried  before 
the  fire  they  were  none  the  worse. 

Lord  Dufferin  had  often  asked  me  to  visit 
him  at  his  country  seat,  Clandeboye,  near  Bel- 
fast, and  in  1852  I  accepted  his  invitation.  The 
journey  from  London  to  Belfast  took  nineteen 
hours.  Lord  Dufferin's  first  words  to  me  were  : 
"Do  you  find  Ireland  a  desert  and  the  people 
barbarians  ?  "  I  remained  there  some  weeks, 
and  used  to  play  to  him  in  the  mornings  and 
afternoons  for  hours,  while  he  studied — usually 
Chopin,  as  he  was  particularly  fond  of  that 
master's  works.  His  mother  and  grandmother 
were  among  the  guests,  also  Mr.  Hardinge,  son 
of  General  Hardinge.  Lady  Dufferin  was,  as 
all  the  world  knows,  a  delightful  poetess,  and 
composed  some  charming  songs,  such  as  "The 
Bay  of  Dublin,"  and  "Katie's  Letter."  She 
was  one  of  the  three  beautiful  Sheridans,  grand- 
daughters of  Richard  Brinsley  Sheridan,  the  two 
others  being  the  Duchess  of  Somerset  and  the 
Hon.  Mrs.  Norton.  I  greatly  enjoyed  my  visit 


44   MUSIC  IN  THE  FORTIES  AND  FIFTIES 

to  Clandeboye,  and  I  heard  afterwards  that  a 
hill  on  the  estate  had  been  christened  Ganz's  Hill 
— a  great  compliment  to  me. 

When  Lord  Dufferin  returned  from  his  famous 
voyage  in  the  Foam  to  Iceland  and  Spitz- 
bergen  he  asked  me  to  come  up  one  evening  to 
Highgate.  His  mother,  Lady  Dufferin,  and  her 
sister,  the  Duchess  of  Somerset,  were  there,  and 
his  cousin,  Captain  Hamilton. 

Lord  Dufferin  was  in  wonderful  spirits.  He 
wanted  to  hear  all  about  the  new  opera,  La 
Traviata,  which  had  been  produced  that  summer 
and  asked  me  to  play  some  of  the  music.  Then 
I  had  to  play  his  favourite  Chopin  nocturnes 
and  try  over  some  Swedish  and  Danish  songs  he 
had  brought  with  him  from  Copenhagen. 

He  showed  me  several  curiosities  he  had  col- 
lected on  his  voyage,  and  talked  for  a  long  time 
about  his  interesting  experiences  in  the  Far 
North.  He  read  me  a  quaint  example  of  a  Lapp 
love-ditty.  The  Laplander  is  hastening  on  his 
sledge  to  his  beloved  one  : 

"  Hasten,  Kulnasatz  !  my  little  reindeer  ! 
long  is  the  way,  and  boundless  are  the  marshes. 
Swift  are  we,  and  light  of  foot,  and  soon  we  shall 
have  come  to  whither  we  are  speeding.  There 
shall  I  behold  my  fair  one  pacing.  Kulnasatz, 
my  reindeer,  look  forth  !  look  around  1  dost 
thou  not  see  her  somewhere — bathing  ?  ': 

As  it  was  then  midnight  he  wanted  me  to  stay 
the  night,  but  I  said  my  father  would  be  anxious 


ARDGOWAN  45 

if  I  did  not  return,  so  he  ordered  a  carriage  to 
take  me  home. 

When  Lord  Dufferin  was  English  Ambassador 
in  Paris  he  asked  me  to  visit  him  there ;  but, 
unfortunately,  I  was  not  then  able  to  accept 
the  invitation. 

From  Clandeboye  I  went  to  Scotland,  to  visit 
Sir  Michael  Shaw-Stewart,  travelling  by  steamer 
from  Belfast  to  Greenock  and  from  thence  by 
coach  to  Ardgowan.  I  was  charmed  with  the 
Clyde,  with  its  scenery,  which  has  a  beauty  pecu- 
liarly its  own,  and  the  fair  Isle  of  Arran  in  the 
distance.  Ardgowan  lies  on  its  banks  most 
picturesquely. 

Sir  Michael  Shaw-Stewart,  like  Lord  Dufferin, 
was  exceedingly  musical,  and  sang  Scottish 
ballads  and  also  the  French  comic  songs  of 
Levasseur  very  charmingly,  in  which  I  accom- 
panied him,  as  I  had  previously  done  at  his 
entertainments  in  London  during  the  season. 
Whilst  I  was  staying  at  Ardgowan  there  was  a 
tenants'  ball,  and  I  saw  for  the  first  time  the 
Highland  reels  and  jigs  danced  by  the  native 
farmers  and  their  wives,  in  which  the  guests 
staying  in  the  house  also  joined.  It  was  a  real 
pleasure  to  see  with  what  energy  and  excitement 
these  people  danced  their  national  dances. 

Lady  Octavia  Shaw-Stewart,  the  wife  of  Sir 
Michael,  was  a  daughter  of  the  Marquis  of  West- 
minster (he  was  the  father  of  the  late  Duke  of 
Westminster,  who  was  created  a  duke  by  Mr. 


46     MUSIC  IN  THE  FORTIES  AND  FIFTIES 

Gladstone),  and  he  and  the  Marchioness  came 
on  a  visit  to  Ardgowan  while  I  was  there.  The 
old  Marquis  was  very  fond  of  music,  and  par- 
ticularly of  the  septette  from  Les  Huguenots, 
which  I  often  used  to  play  to  him. 

I  also  made  my  first  acquaintance  here  with 
grouse-shooting  on  the  moors.  The  shooting 
season  had  just  begun,  and  Sir  Michael  handed 
me  a  gun  and  made  me  have  a  try ;  but,  I  am 
sorry  to  say,  without  any  result !  It  was  at 
Ardgowan  that  I  learned  to  know  the  mode  of 
living  in  these  Scotch  country  houses,  and  noticed 
how  well  everything  was  regulated  and  the  per- 
fect order  maintained  in  their  households.  I 
kept  up  my  acquaintance  with  many  of  the 
people  I  met  there  and  at  Nuneham  Park  for 
years  after. 

I  often  met  Sir  William  Harcourt  in  after- 
years.  I  remember  meeting  him — unfortunately 
for  the  last  time — at  a  reception  given  by  the 
Marchioness  of  Londonderry,  when  he  spoke  to 
me  of  the  old  days  at  Nuneham — adding  that 
Nuneham  now  belonged  to  him.  Alas  1  he  was 
not  long  able  to  enjoy  his  new  possession,  for  he 
died  soon  afterwards. 

I  recollect,  when  I  was  staying  at  Orleans 
House,  the  Duchesse  d'Aumale  telling  me  that 
Her  Majesty  Queen  Amelie,  the  exiled  Queen  of 
France,  widow  of  King  Louis  Philippe,  was 
coming  to  her  in  a  few  days  to  hear  her  play 
some  duets  for  piano  and  harmonium  with  me, 


ORLEANS   HOUSE  47 

and  we  had  several  rehearsals.  On  the  event- 
ful day  the  Queen  arrived,  with  her  entourage 
of  the  old  French  nobility,  including  the  Due 
de  Montmorency.  She  was  a  tall,  stately  wo- 
man, with  a  very  dignified  air.  She  compli- 
mented us  both  warmly  on  the  music,  and  added 
a  few  gracious  words  to  me. 

The  picture-gallery  at  Orleans  House  con- 
tained a  great  many  ancient  and  modern  French 
pictures.  Some  of  the  walls  were  hung  with 
the  battle-pictures  of  the  great  Prince  de  Conde, 
for  the  Due  inherited  all  his  property.  The  pic- 
tures and  other  works  of  art  were  given  by  the 
Due  when  he  returned  to  Paris,  after  the  fall  of 
Napoleon  and  the  Franco-German  War,  to  the 
museum  at  the  Chateau  of  Chantilly  for  the 
benefit  of  the  nation.  The  Due's  two  sons  bore 
the  historical  titles  of  Prince  de  Conde  and 
Due  de  Guise  ;  unfortunately,  they  both  died 
young,  the  elder,  who  was  consumptive,  while 
on  a  voyage  to  Australia  for  his  health.  The 
younger,  whom  I  recollect  as  a  sweet  boy,  did 
not  long  survive  his  brother;  their  deaths  were 
a  great  blow  to  their  parents,  who  were  thus 
left  childless. 

When  I  first  came  to  England  the  French 
Revolution  was  then  going  on,  and  my  father 
told  me  that  the  French  King,  Louis  Philippe, 
had  just  arrived  as  a  refugee  at  the  Brunswick 
Hotel  in  Jermyn  Street.  There  was,  at  that 
time,  an  outbreak  here  as  well,  led  by  the 
5 


48    MUSIC  IN  THE  FORTIES  AND  FIFTIES 

Chartists,  and  Louis  Napoleon  acted  as  a  special 
constable  during  the  riots.  I  was  staying  with 
some  friends  at  Brompton,  who  did  not  wish 
me  to  go  home  in  the  evenings  by  myself, 
in  case  something  might  happen  to  me  en 
route. 

The  Chartists  smashed  the  large  glass  win- 
dows at  Swan  &  Edgar's  in  Piccadilly  Circus, 
and  did  a  lot  of  other  damage  besides. 

At  that  time  I  was  being  prepared  for  con- 
firmation by  the  Rev.  Dr.  Schoell,  second  Pastor 
of  the  German  Lutheran  Church  in  the  Savoy, 
of  which  old  Dr.  Steinkopff  was  the  Rector.  I 
used  to  go  every  morning  at  eight  o'clock  to  Dr. 
Schoell  for  religious  instruction,  and  was  finally 
confirmed  on  Palm  Sunday,  1848.  My  diary 
says  : 

"  Sunday,  April  16th. — Palm  Sunday  :  I  got 
up  early  to  dress,  as  I  am  to  be  confirmed  to- 
day. The  church  was  at  10.30.  We  boys  went 
in  :  I  stood  first.  The  first  of  the  girls  was 
Countess  Reventlow,  daughter  of  the  Danish 
Minister  :  next  to  her  stood  Fraulein  von  Bun- 
sen,  daughter  of  the  Prussian  Minister.  They 
both  had  pretty  white  dresses  on,  with  veils  on 
their  heads  and  kid  gloves.  Then  next  to  them 
were  three  girls  in  dresses  given  by  the  Church, 
as  there  is  no  need,  as  with  us  at  home,  to  sub- 
scribe towards  clothing  the  poor.  They  had 
brown  dresses  on  and  were  dressed  anyhow. 
All  wore  hoods,  as  it  is  not  the  custom  here  for 
a  girl  to  go  bare-headed,  but  to  wear  a  hat  or 
a  hood.  They  looked  just  like  peasants  at  a 
wedding  at  home.  ..." 


ORLEANS   HOUSE  49 

In  1852  I  was  appointed,  in  open  competition, 
to  be  the  organist  at  this  church. 

Many  notable  people  attended  service  there 
every  Sunday  about  that  time,  including  the 
Prince  of  Prussia,  who  had  to  leave  Berlin  during 
the  Revolution,  and  the  Duchesse  d'Orleans, 
who  also  had  to  fly  from  Paris.  She  was  a 
Protestant,  and  on  that  account,  I  believe,  was 
disliked  by  the  French  people. 

On  several  occasions  when  the  Due  and 
Duchesse  d'Aumale  gave  big  receptions  to  their 
French  and  English  friends,  I  saw  the  other 
exiled  Princes — the  sons  of  Louis  Philippe — the 
Due  de  Nemours,  the  Prince  de  Joinville,  and 
the  Due  de  Montpensier,  who  married  a  Spanish 
Princess,  the  sister  of  Queen  Isabella.  They 
were  all  fine,  tall  men,  very  distinguished-look- 
ing. I  generally  conducted  a  small  orchestra  of 
good  players  on  these  occasions,  and  the  recep- 
tions were  always  very  gay  and  lively,  notwith- 
standing the  fact  that  the  French  people  present 
were  exiled  from  their  beloved  country.  English 
society  used  to  be  well  represented  at  these 
gatherings,  ambassadors,  ministers,  and  diplo- 
matists with  their  families  being  gathered  there. 

I  continued  my  career  as  a  pianist  and  teacher 
of  the  piano  and  singing,  and  coaching  up 
operatic  singers  in  their  parts,  and  got  on  re- 
markably well.  I  had  many  musical  parties 
to  arrange,  engaging  the  best  artists.  At  one 
soiree,  given  by  the  late  Baroness  Burdett- 


50    MUSIC  IN  THE  FORTIES  AND  FIFTIES 

Coutts  (then  Miss  Burdett-Coutts)  I  engaged 
young  Santley  and  Miss  Gertrude  Kemble 
(granddaughter  of  the  great  actor,  John  Kemble) 
who  afterwards  became  his  wife. 

All  the  political  world  was  present  that  night, 
including  the  Earl  of  Clarendon,  then  Foreign 
Secretary,  Viscount  Palmerston,  Prime  Minister, 
also  Samuel  Wilberforce,  Bishop  of  Oxford,  and 
many  other  celebrities — truly  a  brilliant  galaxy. 


CHAPTER    III 

FURTHER   RECOLLECTIONS    OF   THE   FORTIES 
AND   FIFTIES 

Opera  in  English  at  Drury  Lane — Jullien  and  Berlioz — Madame 
Dulcken's  receptions — Alfred  Bunn — Adolph  Ganz  and 
German  Opera  in  London — Cremorne — The  great  Monte 
Cristo  Row — Berlioz  at  the  New  Philharmonic — Balfe  and 
the  Pyne  and  Harrison  English  Opera  season  at  Coveiit 
Garden — Balfe's  extravagance — How  he  composed — His 
popular  songs — Alfred  Gilbert — Story  of  the  German  Reeds 
and  their  famous  entertainments — Jenny  Lirid's  Concert 
Tour. 

MONSIEUR  JULLIEN  was  the  director  of  the  Eng- 
lish Opera  at  Drury  Lane  when  I  arrived  with 
my  father  in  1848,  and  my  father  often  took  me 
there.  Hector  Berlioz,  the  celebrated  French 
composer,  was  the  conductor. 

I  heard  many  operas  there  in  English,  in- 
cluding Mozart's  Le  Nozze  di  Figaro,  the  night 
after  my  arrival,  in  which  Miss  Charlotte  Ann 
Birch  was  the  Susanna.  She  had  a  very  fine 
soprano  voice.  Miss  Miran,  who  had  a  lovely 
mezzo-soprano  voice,  sang  "Cherubino";  un- 
happily she  died  while  still  young.  Sims  Reeves 
and  many  other  well-known  artists  also  ap- 
peared. 

Balfe  specially  composed  an  opera  called  The 

51 


52  LES    REUNIONS    DES    ARTS 

Maid  of  Honour  for  Monsieur  Jullien,  but  the 
season  did  not  last  long  ;  as  a  matter  of  fact,  I 
think  Jullien  mismanaged  it.  I  was,  however, 
highly  gratified  at  hearing  these  performances 
in  the  National  Theatre,  and  seeing  Berlioz  con- 
duct. The  orchestra  was  splendid,  among  the 
players  being  an  old  friend  of  my  father's,  Herr 
Goffrie,  who  was  one  of  the  first  violins.  In 
later  years  he  started  a  series  of  chamber  con- 
certs on  his  own  account,  called  Les  Reunions 
des  Arts  in  the  old  Beethoven  Rooms  in  Harley 
Street.  He  brought  out  many  new  foreign 
artists,  and  I  remember  my  uncles  being  engaged 
to  play  at  some  of  them.  Herr  Goffrie  after- 
wards went  to  California,  and  settled  at  San 
Francisco.  Alas  !  no  soirees  of  that  convivial 
and  artistic  sort  have  since  been  established  in 
London.  During  the  usual  interval  tea  and 
coffee  were  served  to  the  audience,  and  they  had 
an  opportunity  of  mixing  with  one  another  and 
making  the  acquaintance  of  the  artists ;  so  they 
enjoyed  themselves  thoroughly.  The  Reunions 
were  always  well  arranged,  and  only  the  best 
music  was  performed.  I  used  to  be  the  accom- 
panist at  them. 

I  remember  going  with  my  father  in  March 
1848  on  Sunday  evenings  to  the  musical  recep- 
tions of  Madame  Dulcken,  pianist  to  Queen 
Victoria,  in  Harley  Street.  She  was  the  sister 
of  Ferdinand  David,  professor  of  the  violin  at 
the  Leipzig  Conservatoire — the  intimate  friend 


MADAME    DULCKEN'S    RECEPTIONS        53 

of  Mendelssohn,  who  dedicated  his  Violin  Con- 
certo to  him.     I  find  in  my  diary  : 

"  Sunday,  March  IQth. — After  tea  went  to 
Madame  Dulcken,  where  I  accompanied  Steglich 
(the  famous  horn  player)  on  the  piano.  Molique 
and  Berlioz  were  there.  She  lives  in  a  fine 
house  ;  there  is  a  good  piano  in  every  room." 

It  was  at  Madame  Dulcken's  house  that  all 
the  most  distinguished  musicians  assembled, 
especially  those  who  left  Paris  owing  to  the 
French  Revolution.  There  I  first  met  and 
heard  M.  Kalkbrenner,  a  German  pianist,  who 
had  settled  in  Paris,  Mr.  Charles  Halle,  who, 
as  every  one  knows,  became  one  of  the  most 
important  musicians  in  England  and  settled  here, 
and  Mr.  Wilhelm  Kuhe,  who  died  here  in 
October  1912,  after  residing  in  this  country  for 
more  than  sixty  years,  and  celebrating  his 
eighty-eighth  birthday  the  previous  December. 
He  became,  unfortunately,  totally  blind,  and 
used  to  play  the  piano  by  touch  only,  but  would 
play  every  day — of  course,  without  music — for 
several  hfours. 

Hector  Berlioz  used  often  to  go  there,  and  also 
his  wife,  an  Irish  lady  who  was  a  great  Shake- 
spearean actress,  and  before  her  marriage  was 
Henrietta  Smithson.  Berlioz  had  a  fine,  big 
head  and  a  Roman  nose,  huge  forehead,  and 
piercing  eyes. 

Some  of  these  pianists  played  during  the  even- 
ing receptions.  Madame  Dulcken  often  played 


54     SIR   MORELL    AND    LADY   MACKENZIE 

Mendelssohn's  Concerto  in  G  minor  with  Quin- 
tette accompaniment,  played  by  my  father,  Herr 
Goffrie,  myself,  and  two  other  instrumentalists, 
whose  names  I  have  forgotten ;  in  fact,  she  was 
almost  the  first  to  make  this  lovely  concerto 
known  and  popular — it  was  really  her  cheval  de 
bataille.  She  was  a  very  brilliant  player,  and  a 
charming  woman  as  well. 

Many  years  later  her  house  was  taken  by  the 
celebrated  throat  specialist,  Sir  (then  Mr.)  Morell 
Mackenzie,  and  he  and  Lady  Mackenzie  enter- 
tained there  right  royally  many  distinguished 
people  and  operatic  stars,  including  Christine 
Nilsson,  Trebelli,  and  Valleria,  and  many  great 
theatrical  lights  as  well,  such  as  Sir  Henry 
Irving.  Sir  Morell  Mackenzie  was  particularly 
kind  to  artists,  and  they  often  came  to  him  for 
advice,  to  be  restored  to  health,  and  to  get  rid 
of  their  throat  troubles ;  and  to  all  of  them  he 
gave  his  services  gratuitously. 

Many  years  later  my  son  Henry  decorated  the 
staircase  of  this  house  for  him  in  the  Pompeian 
style,  with  four  figures  representing  the  arts  on 
a  terra-cotta  ground,  while  underneath  is  a 
black  dado  with  classic  masks. 

The  wife  of  Ignaz  Moscheles,  the  celebrated 
pianist  and  composer,  used  also  to  give  musical 
receptions  at  her  house  in  Chester  Place,  Regent's 
Park.  I  remember  hearing  from  my  father 
that  Madame  Moscheles  told  him,  on  one  occa- 
sion, that  she  was  expecting  Mendelssohn  to 


MENDELSSOHN    AT    CHESTER    PLACE      55 

come  on  a  certain  evening  and  asked  him,  as  a 
great  favour,  to  allow  the  chorus  of  the  German 
Opera,  of  which  he  was  the  conductor,  to  come 
to  her  house  and  sing  the  choruses  from  Men- 
delssohn's oratorio  (Edipus  in  Colonos  as  a 
surprise  for  the  composer  when  he  arrived.  My 
father  and  the  chorus  stood  in  the  inner  hall  of 
the  house,  and  when  Mendelssohn  arrived  they 
greeted  him  with  the  strains  of  his  own  lovely 
music.  He  was  naturally  very  pleased  with  the 
kind  attention  of  Madame  Moscheles,  and  thanked 
her  most  warmly.  Of  course  this  happened  long 
before  I  came  to  England. 

I  must  not  forget  to  mention  Alfred  Bunn, 
who  was  director  of  the  English  Opera  at 
Drury  Lane  Theatre  for  nearly  twenty-five 
years.  He  was  the  librettist  of  Balfe's  Bo- 
hemian Girl,  and  manager  of  the  German  Opera 
seasons,  at  which  my  father  was  the  conductor 
in  1840-42. 

These  seasons  were  held  at  the  Prince's  Theatre 
(now  the  St.  James's)  in  King  Street,  Drury 
Lane  Theatre,  and  Covent  Garden,  and  as  Ger- 
man Opera  was  still  a  rare  event  here,  afforded 
Londoners  the  opportunity  of  hearing  many 
masterpieces  for  the  first  time.  The  operas 
given  included  Mozart's  Don  Juan,  Zauberflote, 
Marriage  of  Figaro,  Titus  and  Die  Entfuhrung, 
Beethoven's  Fidelio,  Weber's  Freischutz,  Oberon 
and  Euryanthe,  and  Gluck's  Iphigenia  in  Tauris. 
The  singers  were  such  fine  artists  as  Madame 


56  LONDON    LIFE    IN    1848 

Stoeckel  Heinefetter,  a  dramatic  soprano,  the 
great  tenor  Tichatschek  (who  created  the  roles  of 
Rienzi  and  Tannhauser  at  Dresden)  and  the 
noted  baritone  Staudigl. 

Staudigl,  who  settled  here,  I  afterwards  saw 
frequently.  He  dressed  very  shabbily,  and  wore 
a  sort  of  Inverness  cape  and  a  slouched  hat,  and 
did  not  look  at  all  like  a  distinguished  singer  ; 
but  that  did  not  matter,  for  his  voice  was  most 
expressive  and  beautiful,  and  he  never  forced  it. 
I  first  heard  him  at  the  New  Philharmonic  Con- 
certs in  1852. 

My  father  and  the  company  also  went  to 
Manchester  and  Liverpool  in  1841. 

My  father  told  me  that  Bunn  once  said  to 
him :  "  Mon  cher  Ganz,  si  je  n'avais  pas  assez 
d'argent  pour  vivre  en  luxe,  je  prendrais  un 
pistolet  et  je  me  tuerais."  I  think  that  was 
"bluff." 

I  well  remember  Cremorne,  and  at  the  begin- 
ning of  my  career  I  was  engaged  by  Signer 
Bossisio,  the  conductor  of  the  concerts  held 
there,  to  play  the  violin  in  his  orchestra.  The 
gardens  were  always  beautifully  illuminated  in 
the  evenings,  and  dancing  was  kept  up  there 
after  the  concerts  were  over.  I  was  obliged  to 
walk  home  in  those  days  to  my  lodgings  near 
Golden  Square,  Regent  Street,  which  took  me 
nearly  an  hour,  as  I  could  not  get  an  omnibus  at 
night,  and  cabs  were  too  expensive — anyhow,  it 
was  a  good  experience  in  orchestral  playing. 


Kiast  Night  but  Four. 

THE  PRINCES  THEATRE. 


OPERAS! 


HERB      SCHUUIANN 

H«»  the  boaor  of  announ<.-m5  »r.  EXTRAORDINARY  COMBINATION  of  TALENT,  cou9i*tiDC  o< 


Madame 


Evening,    FRIDAY,  •inly  lith,    1841O, 

Will  Le  |.erformed  frtirrf  noie  in  this  Country)  GLUCK'S  Opora,  (in  Four  AelsJ  tailed 


IK   TAOHIS. 


Madame   M1CHALE81, 
'    TK...S  Herr  STAUD1GL, 

Ivhigenia.  Madame  STO^KEL,  HEINEFETTER, 

P,lade»,Herr  WOLF.""    SM-Y^I  of  tl.Jlcmpl..  H«r  KRUG,         A  Scythiai,  Herr  BENESCH. 
7       Firrt  PriesUM,    M>d»m-  CHRIST.  Second  Friestess.     Dem.  FBOMB.ACM, 

A  Gre*k  Female,     Dem.  SEELAND, 

flft 

wB»cafi^»BS5Sp6n^ 

KN,  IIKIINAKO.  SfHNKlDPR,  THOENE. 


OF  wHiHi'v^ix  Fin»nr.BAV£  MUSICIAN*. 
Directed  by  Herr  GANZ. 

Final  Arrangements  of  the  Season  i 

On  Monday,  (Last  Night  but  Three;  the  Opera  of  JfjSSONDA. 
*0n  Wed*esday,  (Last  Nijfht  but  Two;    fFHIGENIA. 
On  Thursday,  (LtA  Nisht  but  One)  Mozart's    TITUS- 
On  Friday,  f"by  particular  deiircj  Weber'* 

OFE&A  of  DBJR 


BENEFIT  •  BERR 


57 


58  LONDON  LIFE  IN   1848 

When  we  first  came  here  my  father  and  I 
lodged  for  some  time  in  Queen  Street,  Soho,  at 
the  house  of  a  Mr.  Aspa,  a  piano-tuner  employed 
by  Broadwoods.  The  old  Mr.  Hipkins,  of  that 
firm,  used  kindly  to  allow  me  when  a  boy  to  prac- 
tise on  their  fine  pianos  in  Great  Pulteney  Street. 
Aspa  came  back  one  day  from  the  country  and 
told  us  of  an  adventure  he  had  had.  He  was 
on  a  lonely  road  when  a  footpad  came  up  to  him 
in  a  threatening  way.  Aspa  quickly  pulled  out 
a  tuning-fork  and  pointed  it  at  him.  The  man 
hesitated  for  a  moment,  then  turned  and  fled. 

On  one  occasion  my  father  was  taken  suddenly 
ill,  and  I  went  off  to  find  a  doctor  living  in 
Montague  Street,  Bloomsbury.  In  my  ignorance 
I  thought  this  name  had  a  French  sound,  and  I 
asked  my  way  to  "  Mont-ague  "  Street.  No  one 
could  understand  me,  and  I  had  to  return  home. 

One  day,  in  Hyde  Park,  I  saw  the  beautiful 
Lady  Blessington  driving  up  and  down  in  her 
famous  green  carriage  with  Count  D'Orsay,  the 
great  beau  of  the  period. 

I  well  recollect  the  death  of  the  old  Duke  of 
Cambridge,  the  grandfather  of  Queen  Mary,  and 
made  a  note  in  my  diary  : 

"  July  8th  (1850). — To-day  the  youngest  son 
of  George  III,  the  good  Duke  of  Cambridge,  died. 
He  was  in  his  seventieth  year.  Father  knew 
him  in  Wiesbaden ;  he  played  quartettes  with 
him  and  my  uncles  there.  He  played  on 
Stradivarius  instruments  belonging  to  the  Duke. 
He  was  a  very  kindly  man,  and  very  fond  of 


THE    GREAT    MONTE    CRISTO    ROW       59 

music,  and  was  the  patron  of  most  concerts  here. 
.  .  .  He  was  universally  mourned,  as  he  was 
very  kind  to  the  poor." 

In  the  troublous  times  of  1848  a  French  com- 
pany of  actors  came  over  from  Paris  to  London 
to  perform  Alexandre  Dumas's  great  drama, 
Monte  Cristo.  The  English  actors  in  those  days 
were  so  jealous  of  the  fact  that  a  French  com- 
pany should  play  at  the  English  National 
Theatre  that  they  would  not  allow  the  French 
actors  to  be  heard,  and  the  public  present — at 
least  the  greater  number  of  them — hissed, 
shouted,  and  whistled  the  whole  evening,  so  that 
not  a  line  could  be  heard.  The  feeling  against 
everything  French  ran  very  high.  No  doubt 
most  people  remembered  that  Napoleon's  ardent 
wish  was  to  invade  England.  I  recollect  so  well 
when  I  first  came  to  England  some  boys  called 
out  after  me,  "  There  goes  a  French  boy !  " 
because  I  was  dressed  differently  from  English 
boys;  and  they  had  no  idea  of  my  being  a 
German,  forgetting  that  there  were  other  nation- 
alities !  But  now  all  this  feeling  has  entirely 
disappeared,  the  entente  cordiale  being  thor- 
oughly established. 

To  return  to  my  Monte  Cristo  story.  The 
French  actors  were  splendid,  the  scenery  was 
perfect,  and,  although  I  could  not  hear  them 
speak  owing  to  the  noise,  I  could  gather  that 
they  were  first-rate.  I  was  playing  the  violin 
in  the  orchestra  at  the  time,  and  it  was  an 


60  RACHEL 

odd  experience.  The  managers  of  the  troupe 
gave  up  the  idea  of  continuing  to  perform  at 
Drury  Lane,  and  they  migrated  to  the  St. 
James's  Theatre,  where  the  play  was  performed 
in  perfect  peace,  and  thoroughly  enjoyed  by  the 
audience,  and  I  was  again  engaged  to  play  in 
the  orchestra. 

This  incident  reminds  me  that  I  had  the  good 
fortune  to  hear  the  great  French  actress  Rachel 
as  Andromache  in  Racine's  play.  I  have  never 
forgotten  the  impression  this  famous  tragedienne 
made  upon  me.  I  was  at  the  time  playing  in 
the  orchestra,  a  member  having  asked  me  to 
deputise  for  him.  Since  that  time  I  have  often 
seen  the  great  Sarah  Bernhardt  (who  comes 
nearest  as  an  actress  to  her  in  my  opinion), 
Madame  Ristori  (the  Italian  tragedienne,  whom 
I  met  in  Rome),  and  other  great  foreign 
actresses ;  but  I  must  say  that  Rachel  surpassed 
them  all.  I  do  not  wish  to  make  comparisons 
with  our  own  great  English  actresses,  such  as  our 
universal  favourites,  Ellen  Terry,  Lady  Ban- 
croft, Mrs.  Kendal,  Mrs.  Patrick  Campbell,  and 
others  who  are  and  have  been  such  great  orna- 
ments of  the  English  stage. 

A  memorable  event  in  the  spring  of  1852  was 
the  first  series  of  orchestral  concerts  given  by 
the  New  Philharmonic  Society,  which  was  formed 
by  Dr.  Henry  Wylde  with  the  special  object  of 
producing  novelties  and  giving  concerts  of  the 
best  kind.  Great  eclat  attended  these  concerts, 


BERLIOZ  AS  CONDUCTOR  61 

as  Hector  Berlioz,  after  his  triumphant  tours 
throughout  Europe,  was  specially  engaged  to 
conduct.  The  orchestra  consisted  of  110  per- 
formers, the  leaders  being  all  well-known  solo- 
ists, such  as  Sivori,  Jansa  (violinists),  Goffrie 
(viola),  the  great  'cellist  Piatti,  Bottesini,  the 
famous  contrabassist,  Remusat  the  flautist, 
Barret  the  oboist,  and  Lazarus  the  clarinettist. 
I  was  fortunate  in  being  engaged  as  one  of  the 
second  violins,  and  was  much  gratified  when, 
during  the  first  rehearsal,  Berlioz  said,  "  Ganz,  I 
want  you  to  play  the  small  cymbals  with  Silas 
in  the  scherzo"  We  were  rehearsing  his  Romeo 
and  Juliet  symphony,  which  has  a  wonderfully 
light  and  fairy-like  scherzo  to  represent  "  Queen 
Mab,"  and  he  had  had  two  pairs  of  small  antique 
cymbals  made  to  give  a  particular  effect  in  it. 
There  were  several  orchestral  rehearsals,  which 
for  England  at  that  time  was  a  really  great  in- 
novation. Every  one  was  intensely  enthusiastic, 
and  anxious  to  please  Berlioz,  who  was  a  wonder- 
ful conductor.  His  beat  was  clear  and  precise, 
and  he  took  endless  trouble  to  get  everything 
right.  I  remember  his  asking  Silas  and  me  to 
come  and  see  him  in  King  Street,  St.  James's, 
just  to  try  over  the  passage  for  the  little  cymbals. 
I  mention  this  to  show  the  care  he  took  over 
every  detail. 

As  a  result,  the  first  concert  proved  a  veritable 
triumph  for  him,  and  it  was  generally  admitted 
that  no  such  orchestral  performance  had  ever 


62  BERLIOZ'S    TRIUMPH 

before  been  heard  in  England.  The  hall  was 
crammed,  and  the  audience  was  absolutely 
carried  away  and  cheered  him  to  the  echo.  There 
were  similar  scenes  at  all  the  following  concerts. 
Perhaps  the  finest  was  the  fourth  concert,  when 
the  hall  was  packed  to  overflowing  for  Bee- 
thoven's Choral  Symphony.  Up  to  then  the 
work  had  never  been  properly  given  in  England, 
as  the  old  Philharmonic  Society,  although  it 
owned  the  original  score,  would  never  give  it 
more  than  their  customary  one  rehearsal.  In 
consequence  it  was  still  regarded  as  an  unin- 
telligible work.  We  had  five  rehearsals,  at 
which  Berlioz  was  indefatigable. 

The  performance  at  the  concert  was  masterly, 
completely  realising  all  the  grandeur  and  beauty 
of  the  immortal  work,  and  the  effect  on  the  audi- 
ence was  electrical,  Berlioz  being  called  out  again 
and  again  amidst  perfect  storms  of  applause. 
The  singers  in  the  symphony  were  Clara  Novello, 
Sims  Reeves,  and  Staudigl.  It  was  at  this  con- 
cert that  I  first  heard  the  beautiful  and  poetical 
playing  of  Mile  Wilhelmine  Clauss,  in  Mendels- 
sohn's Concerto,  an  artist  of  great  charm, 
who,  unfortunately,  only  paid  rare  visits  to  this 
country.  Berlioz  gave  selections  from  his  Faust 
at  a  later  concert,  which  again  roused  immense 
interest  and  enthusiasm.  I  was  also  in  the 
orchestra  in  1855,  when  he  came  again  and 
conducted  his  Harold  in  Italy. 

The  concerts  were  most  interesting  and   in- 


BALFE 


63 


structive  to  me,  not  only  on  account  of  the  great 
privilege  I  had  of  playing  under  Berlioz's  baton, 
but  also  because  in  later  years  I  was  enabled, 
when  I  took  over  the  New  Philharmonic  Con- 
certs, to  bring  his  great  works  once  more  before 
the  English  public. 

Balfe  composed  a  new  opera  every  season  for 
the  Pyne  and  Harrison  English  Opera  Season  at 


the  Lyceum  or  Covent  Garden  Theatres,  one  of 
which  was  Satanella.  It  contained  a  pretty  song 
called  "  The  Power  of  Love,"  which  became  very 
popular,  when  sung  by  Louisa  Pyne,  and  it  was 
taken  up  by  all  the  leading  sopranos  of  that 
time.  Another  of  his  operas  was  The  Rose  of 
Castille,  in  which  was  a  muleteer's  song,  which 
Mr.  William  Harrison  sang,  striking  his  whip 
with  great  effect,  which  was  always  encored,  and 
6 


64  BALFE    AS    A    CONDUCTOR 

also  a  comic  trio  called  "I'm  not  the  Queen " : 
this  also  went  well.  A  comic  singer  of  those 
days  was  Mr.  Honey,  who  always  caused  great 
amusement  whenever  he  sang  in  concerted  pieces 
like  this  trio.  Miss  Susan  Pyne,  sister  of  Louisa 
Pyne,  also  took  part  in  these  operas,  such  as 
Bianca,  the  Bravo's  Bride,  and  The  Puritan's 
Daughter. 

Balfe  used  to  sit  up  at  night  composing,  and 
his  devoted  wife  used  to  keep  him  awake  by 
giving  him  strong  coffee.  I  believe  he  got  a 
thousand  pounds  for  each  opera  from  Messrs. 
Boosey  &  Co.,  but  he  generally  spent  his 
money  pretty  freely,  and  I  remember  he  bought 
himself  a  carriage  and  launched  out  into  other 
extravagances ;  and  he  was  about  the  only 
operatic  composer  I  ever  saw  riding  about  on 
horseback.  Unfortunately,  he  did  not  save  up 
for  a  rainy  day.  He  was  a  very  pleasant  and 
cheerful-looking  man.  In  his  early  days  he  had 
studied  singing  in  Italy,  and  had  sung  there  on 
the  stage ;  so  he  spoke  Italian  fluently,  which 
came  in  very  useful  when  he  became  the  con- 
ductor of  the  Italian  Opera  at  Her  Majesty's 
Theatre.  He  was  a  first-rate  conductor,  and  did 
not  only  beat  strict  time,  as  some  conductors  do 
(and  their  beat  is  like  the  pendulum  of  a  clock  !) 
but  he  showed  sympathy  with  the  singers  by 
allowing  them  tempo  rubato  and  also  ritardandos 
and  accellerandos  if  they  did  not  over-step  the 
rules  of  music  or  sing  out  of  tune.  Being  a 


64] 


BALFE  65 

singer  himself,  he  knew  exactly  where  to  give 
way  to  singers. 

Composing  gave  him  no  trouble ;  it  came 
fluently  to  him,  and  he  had  the  gift  of  melody, 
which,  by  the  way,  does  not  count  for  so  much 
in  the  present  day.  He  asked  me  to  give  some 
lessons  on  the  pianoforte  to  his  daughter  Vic- 
toria,1 and  we  also  played  some  sonatas  for 
violin  and  piano,  I  taking  the  violin  part. 

At  one  of  Balfe's  soirees  in  1848  in  Bruton 
Street,  I  heard  Herr  Joachim  play  ;  he  was  then 
quite  a  young  man.  Madame  Balfe  had  been  a 
singer  herself,  and  had  sung  under  my  father's 
direction  at  the  Theatre  at  Mainz.  After  Balfe's 
death  in  1870  she  did  everything  she  could  to 
keep  his  memory  green,  and  had  a  tablet  erected 
to  him  in  Westminster  Abbey. 

I  have  written  so  much  about  Balfe  because 
he  was  not  only  an  interesting  figure  in  the 
musical  world,  but  was  also  such  a  kind  friend 
to  my  father  and  myself,  and  it  was  owing  to 
him  that  we  were  able  to  make  London  our 
home.  I  am  afraid  his  music  is  not  much 
thought  of  by  the  musical  world  of  to-day ;  but 
some  of  his  songs  will  always  remain  popular, 
such  as  "  Come  into  the  Garden,  Maud,"  and 
"  Good-night,  Beloved,"  which  Sims  Reeves, 
Edward  Lloyd,  and  Ben  Davies  have  all  sung  so 
beautifully. 

A   friend   of  mine   long   associated   with   the 

1  She  became  Duchesse  de  Frias. 


66  ALFRED    GILBERT 

musical  world  was  the  late  Mr.  Alfred  Gilbert. 
He  was  for  many  years  Professor  of  the  Piano- 
forte at  the  Royal  Academy  of  Music,  and  a 
Director  of  the  Philharmonic  Society.  The 
famous  sculptor,  Alfred  Gilbert,  is  his  son. 

Alfred  Gilbert's  wife  was  a  Miss  Charlotte 
Cole,  and  she  and  her  sister,  Miss  Susan  Cole, 
used  to  sing  the  duets  which  in  the  early  fifties 
were  hardly  ever  sung  except  by  the  sisters 
Louisa  and  Susan  Pyne  before  they  were  asso- 
ciated with  the  Pyne  and  Harrison  English 
Opera  Company,  and  the  sisters  Brougham,  who 
made  Balfe's  duet,  "  Beware,  she  is  fooling  thee !  " 
so  popular.  I  used  to  accompany  the  Misses 
Cole  at  the  recitals  of  Alexandre  Billet,  a  Rus- 
sian pianist,  at  the  St.  Martin's  Hall,  in  Long 
Acre,  which  was  built  by  John  Hullah  for  his 
own  concerts. 

It  was  at  one  of  Billet's  recitals  that  the  late 
Miss  Bessie  Palmer  sang  John  Hullah's  popular 
songs  "  The  Storm  "  and  "  Three  Fishers  went 
Sailing,"  which  are  still  such  favourites  with 
Madame  Clara  Butt. 

Another  of  my  early  memories  is  of  Mr. 
German  Reed,  who,  with  his  clever  wife,  gave  for 
many  years  an  entertainment  in  the  Gallery  of 
Illustration  in  Regent  Street,  started  in  1856, 
which  was  neither  theatrical  nor  exactly  musical, 
but  a  little  of  both.  People  went  to  it,  thinking, 
no  doubt,  they  were  not  going  to  a  theatre, 
about  which  many  faddists  had  scruples  sixty 


THE    GERMAN   REEDS  67 

years  ago.  This  entertainment  was  always  most 
successful,  and  a  delight  to  children  ;  it  took 
place  in  the  afternoon. 

After  St.  George's  Hall  was  built  in  Langham 
Place,  Mr.  and  Mrs.  German  Reed  migrated 
there,  which  suited  them  admirably,  as  there 
was  a  real  stage  built  in  the  Hall  and  they  could 
have  plenty  of  good  scenery.  At  the  end  of 
each  performance  Mr.  John  Parry  sang  a 
number  of  his  own  songs,  which  always  created 
great  amusement.  He  accompanied  himself  most 
beautifully,  his  execution  being  perfectly  mar- 
vellous. After  his  death  he  was  succeeded  by 
similar  entertainers. 

The  German  Reeds  gave  several  original  light 
operatic  entertainments,  which  they  commis- 
sioned various  English  composers,  such  as 
Frederick  Clay,  Alberto  Randegger,  and  Arthur 
Sullivan  (who  was  then  hardly  known  as  a 
musical  composer)  to  write  for  them.  They 
had  a  nice  little  company  of  singers  to  assist 
them,  one  of  whom  was  a  young  protegee  of  my 
own,  Miss  Fanny  Holland,  with  a  lovely  mezzo- 
soprano  voice.  She  sang  and  acted  well,  and 
was  very  prepossessing  in  appearance.  The  late 
Arthur  Cecil  was  also  one  of  the  company,  his 
dry  and  clever  humour  charming  everybody. 
After  each  entertainment,  subsequent  to  John 
Parry's  death,  the  late  versatile  Mr.  Corney 
Grain  gave  one  of  his  inimitable  musical  mono- 
logues, admirably  accompanied  by  himself.  He 


68          SULLIVAN'S    EARLY    OPERETTAS 

was  a  clever  follower  of  John  Parry,  and  for  many 
years  gave  his  amusing  sketches  most  successfully. 

When  Mr.  German  Reed  had  carried  on  his 
operatic  entertainments  for  some  time,  he  had 
an  idea  of  establishing  English  opera  in  a  small 
way,  and  asked  me  to  be  one  of  his  conductors, 
to  which  I  agreed  without  hesitation.  He  enr 
gaged  all  the  necessary  vocalists  and  a  small 
orchestra.  The  performances  took  place  at  St. 
George's  Hall  in  the  evenings.  A  charming 
operetta,  by  Arthur  Sullivan,  called  The  Contra- 
bandista,  which  was  conducted  by  Mr.  German 
Reed,  served  as  a  lever  de  rideau.  I  believe  it 
was  not  the  first,  but  the  second  opera  bouffe 
— if  I  may  call  it  so — by  this  genial  and  prolific 
composer,  the  first  being  Trial  by  Jury,  in  which 
Sullivan's  elder  brother  sang  and  acted,  and 
which  had  such  a  stupendous  success. 

The  Contrabandista  made  a  great  hit,  and 
was  received  with  acclamation.  Then  followed 
Auber's  melodious  opera-comique  L'Ambassa- 
drice,  in  which  Madame  Louisa  Liebhart  took 
the  part  of  the  Ambassadress,  singing  and  acting 
it  extremely  well.  Before  she  came  to  England 
she  had  been  a  prima  donna  at  the  Imperial 
Opera  in  Vienna  ;  she  was  therefore  well  qualified 
to  sing  a  big  part  here,  and  she  was  able  to  sing 
it  in  English,  having  only  a  slight  foreign  accent. 
She  was  a  good  actress,  and  looked  well  on  the 
stage.  The  other  artists  in  L' ' Ambassadrice  were 
Mrs.  Ainsley  Cook  (nee  Payne),  contralto,  Mr. 


"THE    CONTRABANDISTA"  69 

Lyall,  a  very  good  tenor  and  an  excellent  actor, 
and  Mr.  Ainsley  Cook,  a  bass  buffo  and  first-rate 
comic  singer.  I  was  the  conductor,  and  had 
only  a  small,  though  efficient  orchestra,  as  there 
was  no  room  for  a  larger  one. 

The  performances  were  artistically  successful, 
but  Mr.  German  Reed  did  not  receive  enough 
support  from  the  public  to  continue  them,  and 
therefore  gave  up  the  speculation  as  a  bad  job. 
I  was  very  sorry,  because  I  enjoyed  conducting 
operas,  which  really  was  no  trouble  to  me,  and 
my  father  praised  my  efforts  in  this  direction. 
Even  now,  when  I  am  writing  this  book,  more 
than  fifty  years  later,  English  opera  is  not  yet 
established,  though  many  attempts  have  been 
made  by  the  Pyne  and  Harrison  Opera  Company 
and  the  Carl  Rosa  and  Moody-Manners  Com- 
panies, but  these  only  gave  short  seasons  in  Lon- 
don, and  Mr.  Thomas  Beecham's  series  of  operas 
in  English  in  1910  only  lasted  a  few  months.  I 
am  afraid  that,  as  long  as  our  Government  refuse 
to  support  a  native  opera,  nothing  can  be  done 
to  advance  the  art  of  English  operatic  music.  I 
shall  mention  Arthur  Sullivan's  comic  operas 
elsewhere.  In  the  meantime,  light  operas,  such 
as  The  Merry  Widow,  The  Dollar  Princess,  The 
Chocolate  Soldier,  and  others  of  that  calibre  hold 
their  own  and  make  their  managers'  fortunes. 

I  have  already  mentioned  Jenny  Lind's  ap- 
pearance at  Her  Majesty's  Theatre  in  1848,  when 
I  heard  her  in  her  incomparable  performances. 


70  HOW    JENNY   LIND    PRACTISED 

The  late  Mr.  John  Mitchell  arranged  a  Concert 
Tour  for  her,  of  several  weeks,  in  1856,  through 
the  principal  cities  in  England,  Scotland,  and 
Wales,  and  engaged  me  as  accompanist. 

The  other  artists  beside  Jenny  Lind  and  her 
husband,  Mr.  Otto  Goldschmidt,  who  was  an 
accomplished  pianist  and  first-rate  musician, 
were  Herr  Heinrich  Ernst,  the  Hungarian  violin 
virtuoso,  Signor  Piatti,  the  finest  'cellist  of  the 
day,  and  Mr.  Willoughby  Weiss,  of  whom  I  have 
spoken  previously,  and  who  was  a  favourite 
baritone. 

Mr.  Goldschmidt  accompanied  his  wife  in  all 
her  songs,  and  I  accompanied  the  other  artists. 
It  was  a  glorious  tour,  never  to  be  forgotten,  and 
created  a  sensation  wherever  the  concerts  were 
announced.  When  travelling,  Jenny  Lind  and 
her  husband  occupied  a  first-class  railway  com- 
partment, next  to  that  of  the  rest  of  us,  and  I 
heard  her  constantly  practising  her  runs  and 
shakes  while  going  along.  To  my  mind  she  was 
not  the  born  singer  that  Adelina  Patti  is — she 
had  always  to  practise  steadily  to  keep  her  voice 
in  order,  and  was  always  studying  her  songs, 
while  Patti,  even  at  the  height  of  her  career,  was 
not  obliged  to  practise  constantly. 

Ernst  and  Piatti  passed  their  time  during 
the  long  journeys  in  playing  chess,  both  being 
accomplished  chess-players.  At  the  various  sta- 
tions big  crowds  assembled  to  catch  a  glimpse 
of  the  great  prima  donna,  and  some  of  the  people 


JENNY   LIND'S    TOUR    IN    1856  71 

used  to  be  bold  enough  to  touch  her  dress  as 
she  was  getting  into  her  carriage  to  drive  to  the 
hotel,  which  always  annoyed  Jenny  Lind  ex- 
tremely. In  Yorkshire,  where  we  halted  inside 
some  of  the  stations,  the  people  gazed  into  her 
carriage,  and  she  was  obliged  to  pull  down  the 
blinds.  At  the  various  hotels  large  crowds 
waited  to  see  her  arrive  and  also  to  see  her  start 
for  the  concert,  so  that  sometimes  she  had  great 
difficulty  in  entering  her  carriage.  In  fact,  I 
never  witnessed  such  excitement  at  any  of  the 
tours  of  the  world-renowned  artists  as  at  that 
of  Jenny  Lind — people  were  simply  mad  to  see 
her,  even  at  the  greatest  disadvantage.  I  do 
not  mean  to  say  that  other  artists  have  not 
created  as  much  enthusiasm  inside  the  concert- 
halls,  but  the  people  were  not  so  demonstrative 
outside,  at  the  stations  and  hotels. 

The  concerts  on  this  tour  were  always  crowded  ; 
the  prices  of  the  tickets  were  one  guinea  and 
half  a  guinea.  In  those  days  there  were  only  a 
few  big  concert-halls ;  the  Free  Trade  Hall  at 
Manchester  did  not  then  exist,  and  Jenny  Lind 
was  obliged  to  sing  in  the  small  town-hall  there. 
Perhaps  the  greatest  enthusiasm  was  shown  in 
the  Potteries.  The  concert  took  place  in  the 
Market  Hall,  Hanley,  before  an  enormous  audi- 
ence of  about  5,000  people.  I  heard  that  2,000 
factory  hands  had  paid  2s.  6d.  each  to  hear 
Jenny  Lind.  Their  applause  was  tremendous, 
and  at  the  end  they  gave  three  cheers,  upon 


72  JENNY    LIND'S    TOUR 

which  she  waved  her  handkerchief  and  kissed 
her  hand. 

At  Leamington  the  public  seemed  very  re- 
cherche and  only  applauded  very  little. 

Her  singing  was  really  superb,  and  created  the 
greatest  enthusiasm.  I  remember,  at  the  first 
concert,  standing  with  other  artists  at  the  side 
of  the  platform  hidden  from  view,  and  we  all 
applauded  to  the  echo,  which  made  her  very 
angry  !  She  positively  forbade  us  to  do  it  again, 
so  we  had  to  remain  quiet  for  the  rest  of  the 
tour,  much  against  our  inclination. 

She  sang  that  night  a  grand  aria  from  Bellini's 
opera,  Beatrice  di  Tenda,  and  "Mighty  Pens" 
from  Haydn's  Creation,  then  a  duet  with  Mr. 
Weiss,  and  finished  her  concert  with  her  famous 
Swedish  songs — the  echo  in  some  of  them  being 
a  wonderful  accomplishment,  the  sounds  dying 
away  into  a  mere  whisper.  It  used  to  be  said 
that  she  did  this  echo  by  ventriloquism  ;  but 
that  was  utterly  absurd.  In  addition  to  being 
a  marvellous  executant  she  sang  with  intense 
feeling.  Her  cadenzas  in  Bellini's  aria  were  im- 
mensely difficult,  but  she  warbled  them  off  with 
the  greatest  ease.  The  cadenzas  in  "  Ah  non 
credea,"  "  Ah  !  non  giunge,"  and  "  Come  per 
me  sereno  " — all  from  Bellini's  La  Sonnambula, 
which  she  sang  at  her  various  concerts  and  also 
in  the  opera,  were  unique  and  quite  in  character 
with  the  music.  They  were  published  in  later 
years  by  Otto  Goldschmidt. 


JENNY   LIND'S   TOUR 


78 


As  Amina  in  the  opera,  she  sustained  a  long 
note  in  a  cadenza  in  "  Ah  non  credea  "  most 
wonderfully  when  she  dropped  the  flowers  Elvino 
had  given  her,  the  note  dying  off  pianissimo. 
Of  course,  in  a  concert-hall  she  sang  equally 
wonderfully,  but  could  not  drop  the  flowers, 


which  had  added  greatly  to  the  effect,  because 
she  had  none ;  but  the  audience  was  still  always 
enraptured. 

Ernst  and  Piatti  played  their  solos  splendidly 
— I  am  always  glad  to  have  had  the  privilege  of 
playing  their  accompaniments.  Often  in  after- 
life, when  I  have  accompanied  various  violinists 


74  JENNY   LIND 

in  Ernst's  pieces,  I  have  told  them  how  he 
played  them  and  given  them  hints.  Ernst  was 
a  tall,  thin  man,  and  people  used  to  say  he  was 
like  Paganini ;  he  had  piercing  black  eyes,  and 
long  black  hair,  which  fell  down  in  elf-locks. 
He  was  a  very  nervous  man,  very  highly  strung, 
and  his  playing  in  slow  movements  was  most 
pathetic. 

Every  one  remembers  our  old  friend  Piatti, 
who  for  so  many  years  kept  his  position  as  one 
of  the  greatest  living  'cellists.  His  tone  was 
comparatively  small,  but  he  played  with  intense 
feeling,  and  his  execution  was  perfect. 

Mr.  Weiss  sang  "  I'm  a  Roamer,"  by  Men- 
delssohn, and  his  own  popular  song,  "  The  Village 
Blacksmith,"  which  was  generally  encored. 


Jenny  Lind  gave  up  concert-singing  much  too 
soon,  as  she  was  still  in  the  zenith  of  her  powers. 
She  was  of  middle  height,  with  handsome  fea- 
tures and  a  bright  expression.  She  wore  her 
pretty  blond  hair  in  bandeaux. 


JENNY   LIND  75 

Her  upper  notes  sounded  like  silver  bells. 
The  range  of  her  voice  was  from  C  to  D  in  alt. 

When  I  compare  her  with  Patti  I  must  repeat 
that  all  her  success  was  through  study  and 
hard  work,  whilst  Patti  had  genius  and  her  voice 
was  of  more  exquisite  timbre  than  that  of  Jenny 
Lind.  I  mention  these  facts  because  I  have 
often  been  asked  which  of  the  two  artistes  I 
prefer.  I  might  as  well  reply  that  I  prefer 
Raphael  to  Leonardo  da  Vinci,  or  vice  versa. 
There  is  really  no  comparison. 

My  readers  must  forgive  me  for  raving  so 
much  about  Jenny  Lind.  I  am  one  of  the  very 
few  musicians — perhaps  the  only  one — living 
now  who  heard  her  in  her  prime,  so  my  recollec- 
tions of  how  she  sang  and  what,  in  my  humble 
opinion,  I  thought  of  her,  may  be  of  interest. 

An  audience  is,  perhaps,  not  inclined  to  remem- 
ber that  their  favourite  singers,  being  mortal, 
sometimes  have  need  of  refreshment  in  the 
intervals  of  performing  great  vocal  feats.  A 
story  is  told  of  Jenny  Lind  that,  at  her  first 
appearance  in  Vienna,  there  were  loud  calls  for 
a  repetition  of  the  famous  air  in  La  Sonnambula. 
Exhausted  by  her  previous  efforts,  the  singer 
felt  she  could  not  respond  until  she  had  re- 
freshed herself.  So  she  came  forward  and  said 
to  the  audience,  "Now  just  a  few  moments  for 
a  glass  of  lemonade."  The  respite  was  willingly 
given,  and  she  then  repeated  the  air  with  sur- 
prising eclat,  to  the  delight  of  the  house. 


76 


JENNY    LIND 


I  have  seen  an  amusing  incident  of  a  similar 
kind  at  Covent  Garden.  In  the  Hall  of  Song  in 
the  second  act  of  Tannhduser,  where  the  singers 
are  assembled  for  the  vocal  competition  and 
each  seeks  to  outstrip  the  other,  a  famous  prima 
donna  was  seated  on  her  throne  next  to  the 
Duke.  She  had  sung  her  address  to  the  Hall 
of  Song,  and  was  now  no  doubt  thinking  of  her 
coming  intervention  on  behalf  of  Tannhauser  and 
the  vocal  efforts  to  be  demanded  of  her.  So 
she  seized  the  occasion,  when  the  attention  of 
every  one  was  engrossed  by  Wolfram's  medita- 
tion, to  bend  down  and  pick  up  and  drink  a  glass 
of  red  wine  which  had  thoughtfully  been  placed 
at  the  side  of  her  throne.  The  permission  of 
the  audience  was  in  this  case  dispensed  with. 


CHAPTER    IV 

MY   CONCERTS 

My  first  London  concert  at  the  old  Queen's  Concert  Rooms  in 
1855 — Ernst — Reichardt — "  Thou  art  so  near  and  yet  so 
far  " — Leopold  and  Moritz  Ganz — My  second  concert — 
Clara  Novello — Viardot-Garcia — Moritz  Ganz,  the  master 
of  Offenbach — I  attend  the  marriage  of  H.R.H.  the  Princess 
Royal  and  H.R.H.  Prince  Frederick  William  of  Prussia — 
My  succeeding  concerts  and  matinees — A  brilliant  galaxy 
of  helpers — Sir  Julius  Benedict — Madame  Lemmens- 
Sherrington — Signer  Bazzini — Mr.  Sims  Reeves  fails  me — 
George  Perren  to  the  rescue — Why  Reeves  used  to  disap- 
point— Louisa  Vinning — Charles  Santley — Miss  Kemble — 
Lindsay  Sloper — Madame  Parepa — Madame  Liebhart — Miss 
Emily  Soldene — Master  Frederick  Cowen — Miss  Louisa  Pyne 
— Signer  Randegger — A  young  contralto,  Madame  Patey — 
Madame  Monbelli — Madame  Norman  Neruda — Miss  Edith 
Wynne — Patey  and  Sainton  Dolby  sing  at  the  same  concert 
— Vernon  Rigby — Joseph  Wieniawski — Adelina  Patti — 
Trebelli-Bettini — Kontski — Graziani — Scalchi — Signer  Foli — 
Madame  Carvalho,  the  original  Marguerite — Mile  Marimon — 
Titiens — Marie  Roze — Concert  d6but  of  Albani — Edward 
Lloyd — Antoinette  Sterling — William  Shakespeare. 

IN  1855  I  thought  the  time  had  now  arrived 
when  I  should  give  a  public  concert,  as  I  had  a 
good  connection  and  many  friends  and  pupils, 
having  also  made  the  acquaintance  of  many 
distinguished  people  at  Lady  Waldegrave's. 

I  gave  my  first  London  concert  at  the  old 
Queen's  Concert  Rooms  in  Hanover  Square,  on 
June  14th,  and  have  given  annual  concerts  ever 

77 


78  .  MY  CONCERTS 

since.  The  audience  included  Lady  Waldegrave 
and  many  of  the  musical  circle  I  had  met  at 
Nuneham. 

The  concert  was  most  successful,  and  at  its 
close  I  received  many  congratulations.  I  played 
Weber's  "Concert-stuck"  with  quartette  accom- 
paniment and  felt  very  nervous ;  but  it  went  off 
very  well.  Among  the  artists  who  assisted  me 
were  Herr  Heinrich  Ernst,  the  great  violin  vir- 
tuoso, and  Herr  Alexander  Reichardt,  the  popular 
tenor  from  Vienna,  whose  pretty  song,  "Thou 
art  so  near  and  yet  so  far,"  became  a  great 
favourite  with  singers.  Monsieur  Paque,  the 
'cellist,  also  played. 

My  second  concert  was  in  June  1856,  given  in 
conjunction  with  my  uncles,  Leopold  and  Moritz 
Ganz,  the  Conzertmeister  to  the  King  of  Prussia, 
who  had  come  over  from  Berlin,  and  my  eldest 
brother,  Eduard  Ganz,  who  was  a  pupil  of 
Moscheles  and  Thalberg. 

At  this  second  concert  we  had  many  artists 
of  European  reputation  to  assist,  such  as  Madame 
Clara  Novello,  who  had  a  beautiful,  bell-like, 
soprano  voice.  For  years  people  used  to  rave 
about  her  singing  of  "  God  save  the  Queen  "  at 
the  opening  of  the  great  Exhibition  in  1851. 
The  last  time  I  heard  her  was  at  her  farewell 
concert  in  1860,  at  which  she  sang  in  Benedict's 
cantata  Undine.  I  do  not  remember  any  other 
English  singer  with  such  a  beautiful  voice,  and 
she  was  a  very  handsome  woman  as  well. 


MADAME    VIARDOT   GARCIA 


79 


Another  of  our  artists  was  Madame  Viardot 
Garcia,  sister  of  the  late  Manuel  Garcia  and 
Madame  Malibran.  I  shall  never  forget  her  vivid 
and  dramatic  rendering  of  Schubert's  "  Erl- 
konig  "  which  she  sang  with  such  fire  and  depth 
of  feeling  that  the  audience  applauded  enthu- 
siastically and  insisted  upon  her  repeating  it. 


She  afterwards  captivated  every  one  by  two 
characteristic  Spanish  songs.  Herr  Carl  Formes 
also  assisted  us  ;  he  was  the  great  basso  who  came 
out  with  the  German  Opera  Company  at  Drury 
Lane  in  1849,  and  at  once  made  a  great  reputa- 
tion as  Mephistopheles  in  Spohr's  Faust,  and  also 
as  Sarastro  in  Die  Zauberflote.  My  uncles  played 
several  soli,  and  some  duets  for  violin  and  'cello, 
for  which  they  were  famous  in  Germany  and  Russia. 
My  uncle,  Moritz  Ganz,  was  considered  the 
finest  'cellist  in  Germany,  and  his  tone  was  won- 
derfully good  and  his  execution  marvellous.  He 
told  me  he  taught  Jacques  Offenbach,  the 
famous  opera-bouffe  composer,  and  Julius  Rietz, 
who  became  opera-conductor  at  Dresden.  I 
recollect  Hermann  Levy,  the  great  Wagnerian 
7 


80  MY   CONCERTS 

conductor  at  Munich,  telling  me,  when  he  con- 
ducted a  concert  at  the  Queen's  Hall  on 
April  25th,  1895,  that  at  one  time  he  was  a  pupil 
of  my  uncle's. 

The  concert  was  under  the  patronage  of  H.R.H. 
Prince  Frederick  William  of  Prussia,  who  married 
the  Princess  Royal  in  1858,  and  afterwards  be- 
came German  Emperor.  I  well  remember  their 
marriage,  at  which  I  was  present,  through  the 
kindness  of  the  Countess  Bernstorff,  who  gave 
me  a  ticket  for  a  seat  on  a  stand  which  was 
erected  in  one  of  the  courtyards  in  St.  James's 
Palace,  where  about  seven  hundred  people  were 
seated.  I  saw  the  various  court  processions  and 
the  bridal  cortege  pass,  and  heard  the  music 
which  was  being  performed  at  the  Chapel  Royal. 
It  was  an  unforgettable  occasion. 

Sir  Julius  Benedict,  then  Mr.  Benedict,  was 
one  of  the  conductors  at  this  concert,  and  also  in 
the  following  years. 

Madame  Lemmens  Sherrington  sang  at  my 
concert  in  1857.  She  was  a  charming  singer,  and 
her  vocalisation  was  perfect.  Signor  Bazzini, 
the  distinguished  violinist  and  composer,  also 
took  part  in  it ;  his  composition  "  Ronde  des 
Lutins "  became  famous  in  later  years,  and 
Madame  Norman  Neruda  played  it  repeatedly 
at  concerts;  but  I  noticed  she  played  it  much 
faster  than  Bazzini  did  when  I  used  to  accom- 
pany him.  Later  on  Bazzini  became  the  director 
of  the  Conservatoire  at  Milan. 


SIMS    REEVES  81 

On  February  19th,  1859,  I  gave  the  first  even- 
ing concert  in  the  new  St.  James's  Hall.  I  had 
engaged  Mr.  Sims  Reeves  to  sing  at  it  and  com- 
posed a  song  specially  for  him  to  sing,  entitled, 
"  When  thou  wilt  be  my  Bride,"  dedicated  to 
my  fiancee.  He  rehearsed  it  with  me  and  liked 
it  very  much  ;  but,  to  my  great  disappointment, 
his  daughter  came  to  me  a  few  days  before 
the  concert  to  say  that  her  father  could  not 
sing  for  me,  as  he  had  caught  cold.  This  was 
indeed  a  blow,  as  a  great  many  people  had 
bought  tickets  on  purpose  to  hear  him.  I  had, 
however,  taken  the  precaution  to  send  my 
song  to  a  young  tenor,  Mr.  George  Perren, 
who  was  then  fulfilling  a  concert  engagement 
at  Birmingham,  and  he  at  once  returned  to 
London  and  took  Reeves's  place,  and  sang  it 
with  fine  effect.  It  is  only  fair  to  say,  in  justice 
to  Sims  Reeves,  that  his  constant  failures  to 
appear  were  not  due  to  any  caprice  of  his  own. 
He  had  a  delicate  throat,  and  did  not  like  to  risk 
his  reputation  by  singing  when  he  was  not  in 
good  voice. 

At  this  concert  Miss  Louisa  Vinning,  who, 
when  she  sang  as  a  child,  used  to  be  called  "  the 
Infant  Sappho,"  sang  a  song  of  mine  called 
"  Sing,  Birdie,  Sing,"  which  was  encored,  and 
Miss  Stabbach  sang  another  song  composed  by 
me  called  "  The  Murmuring  Sea."  In  1850  I 
had  had  a  few  lessons  in  harmony  and  com- 
position from  Carl  Eckert,  the  composer  of  the 


82  MY  CONCERTS 

celebrated  Echo  Song,  and  I  continued  my 
studies  with  Carl  Anschiitz,  the  conductor  of 
the  Wednesday  Concerts  at  Exeter  Hall.  Mr. 
Santley  gave  me  his  valuable  co-operation  and 
sang  with  his  future  wife,  Miss  Gertrude  Kemble 
(already  mentioned  in  a  former  chapter  as  singing 
at  Miss  Burdett-Coutt's  soiree),  the  duet  "  Crudel 
perche  "  from  Le  Nozze  di  Figaro.  M.  Remenyi, 
the  remarkable  Hungarian  violinist,  also  appeared, 
as  well  as  Signor  Piatti,  the  incomparable  'cellist. 

At  my  concert  in  1860,  which  I  gave  at  the 
Hanover  Square  Rooms,  Madame  Catherine 
Hayes,  the  great  Irish  soprano,  appeared. 
One  of  her  songs  was  composed  by  a  clever 
amateur,  Miss  Virginia  Gabriel,  and  was  called 
"  The  Forsaken."  Madame  Sainton-Dolby  also 
sang  ;  she  was  a  ballad  singer  par  excellence,  and 
was  famous  in  oratorio,  and  Mendelssohn  greatly 
admired  her  singing.  Her  husband,  M.  Sainton, 
the  well-known  violinist,  also  played  at  this  con- 
cert ;  he  was  for  many  years  leader  of  the  orchestra 
at  Covent  Garden,  under  Michael  Costa. 

In  1861  I  gave  two  matinees  and  a  soiree  at 
my  house  in  Queen  Anne  Street.  Among  the 
artists  who  appeared  were  the  sweet-voiced 
tenor  Signor  Gardoni,  Signor  Delle  Sedie,  and 
M.  Jules  Lefort  (both  baritones),  Mr.  Weiss 
(bass),  and  the  clever  pianist  Lindsay  Sloper,  who 
accompanied  the  artists  and  also  played  a  duet 
with  me.  About  that  time  he  and  Mr.  Benedict 
were  the  most  popular  accompanists  of  the  day. 


MADAME    PAREPA-ROSA  83 

At  my  concert  in  1862,  Madame  Euphrosyne 
Parepa  sang,  among  others,  my  song,  "  Sing, 
Birdie,  Sing."  She  had  an  exceptionally  high 
soprano  voice  and  great  facility  in  florid  music, 
and  made  my  songs  very  popular ;  but  I  shall 
speak  of  that  later  on. 

In  1863  Louise  Leibhart,  prima  donna  from 
the  Imperial  Opera  in  Vienna,  sang  some  German 
songs  delightfully.  She  settled  in  London  and 
became  a  great  favourite.  Miss  Emily  Soldene 
also  sang  at  this  concert ;  she  was  a  pupil  of 
Mr.  Howard  Glover,  the  musical  critic  of  the 
Morning  Post,  who  recommended  her  to  me, 
and  asked  me  to  let  her  sing.  She  sang  after- 
wards in  Offenbach's  light  operas,  such  as  the 
Grande  Duchesse  and  Genevi&ve  de  Brabant,  with 
great  success,  and  made  a  good  reputation.  She 
died  last  year  (1912)  at  an  advanced  age.  A 
Swedish  singer,  Mile  Mathilde  Enequist,  also 
sang,  and  pleased  the  audience  greatly  with  her 
Swedish  folk-songs,  into  one  of  which  she  worked 
a  lovely  shake. 

In  1865  I  gave  a  concert  at  Dudley  House, 
Park  Lane,  kindly  lent  me  by  the  Earl  of  Dudley, 
who  was  a  great  patron  and  lover  of  music, 
especially  operas,  and  became  my  pupil  for 
singing.  He  had  a  pleasant  tenor  voice  and 
great  taste  in  music  generally.  At  this  concert 
I  played  a  duet  for  two  pianos,  an  aria  from 
Gounod's  Faust  arranged  by  G.  A.  Osborne,  with 
Master  (now  Sir  Frederick)  Cowen.  He  was  a 


84 


MY  CONCERTS 


protege  of  Lord  Dudley's,  who  sent  him  to  Berlin 
and  Leipzig  to  finish  his  musical  education. 

At  my  concert  in  1866  Madame  Parepa  sang 
a  new  song  of  mine,  called  "  The  Nightingale's 
Trill,"  with  enormous  success.  She  was  the  wife 
of  Carl  Rosa,  and  a  great  oratorio  and  opera 
singer.  She  was  a  woman  of  great  personal 
charm  and  truly  sympathetic  nature.  The  suc- 
cess which  this  song  immediately  attained  was 
entirely  due  to  her ;  she  had  sung  it  for  the  first 
time  at  the  Crystal  Palace  on  March  14th,  1865, 
and  that  autumn  had  made  it  one  of  her  chief 
songs  during  her  American  tour.  The  following 
triple  acrostic  appeared  in  the  New  York  Express  : 


TRIPLE   ACROSTIC   FROM    "THE  NEW  YORK 
EXPRESS,"  1868 

E  nchantress    thou    of    song  !  P  hilomel,   the  gods  thee 

sweet  kee  P  ! 

U  ndarken'd  be  thy  sky,  good  A  ngels    guard    and    be    ever 

nea  R  ! 

P  ours     from     thy     charmed  B  ill   of    song — a  rill,   eay   I, 
throat  a 

H  ow  poor  the  term ! — a  flood,  E  oho     hears,     prolongs     the 

and  char  M. 

B  egina  thou  of  hearts,  and  P  aragon  of  art,   true   Prima 

Donn  A, 

0  lympua  greets  its  priestess,  A  polio  wreaths  doth  blen  D  ; 
and 

S  ister  of  the  Muses !    theirs  B  ealm   where   from   us  dost 

thy  g  0  ; 

Y  et  may'st  Rose  cMrie,  with-  0  rb — to    with    us — long    re- 
in this  mai  N  ; 

N  oon — splendid  as  thy  voice,  S  yren,    fate    shine    o'er    thy 

oh,  mortal  spa  N, 

E  arth's  chiefest  bliss  be  thine  !  A  Imoner  of  Music's  joys,  on 

fair  Parep  A  ! 


O^L^ 


-*2*-"4-    ~^nz 
~-&*^&^2^  X2^, 

0*4f" 


84] 


MADAME    PATEY  85 

The  next  winter  Madame  Parepa  wrote  and 
asked  me  to  join  her  on  tour  in  the  United 
States.  To  my  great  regret,  I  was  unable  to  leave 
home. 

The  following  year  Madame  Louisa  Pyne,  the 
famous  prima  donna,  who  was  a  co- director  of 
the  Pyne  and  Harrison  English  Opera  Company, 
sang  for  me.  Signor  Alberto  Randegger  was 
one  of  the  accompanists.  He  became  a  noted 
teacher  of  singing,  and  was  for  many  years  con- 
ductor of  the  Carl  Rosa  Opera  Company,  and 
afterwards  at  Covent  Garden,  where  he  princi- 
pally conducted  the  classical  operas.  Unfortu- 
nately, Randegger  died,  after  great  suffering,  in 
January  1912. 

In  1868  a  young  contralto,  Janet  Patey, 
appeared  at  my  concert.  She  had  a  beautiful 
mellow  voice,  and  after  Madame  Sainton  Dolby's 
death  became  the  leading  contralto  at  all  the 
great  London  concerts  and  provincial  festivals. 
From  her  first  appearance  onward  she  sang  at 
all  my  concerts,  and  we  became  great  friends. 
She  could  sing  florid  music,  and  shake  extremely 
well,  and  her  voice  had  a  big  compass.  In  great 
Italian  arias  and  simple  English  ballads  she  was 
equally  good. 

At  my  concert  in  1869  Madame  Monbelli  from 
Paris  appeared  among  the  artists  and  sang  with 
great  charm  the  Cavatina  "  Come  per  me  sereno  " 
from  La  Sonnambula.  At  this  concert  Madame 
Norman  Neruda,  the  fine  violinist,  who  after- 


86  MY   CONCERTS 

wards  became  Lady  Halle,  played  in  Mendels- 
sohn's D  minor  trio,  in  conjunction  with  M. 
Paque  ('cello),  and  myself.  Miss  Edith  Wynne, 
a  first-rate  Irish  ballad-singer,  pleased  very 
much,  and  the  two  celebrated  contraltos,  Madame 
Sainton-Dolby  and  Madame  Patey,  also  sang. 
At  the  present  time  it  would  hardly  be  likely  for 
two  such  great  singers  of  the  same  kind  of  voice 
to  perform  at  the  same  concert,  and  I  may  con- 
sider myself  very  fortunate  in  never  having 
had  any  difficulty  in  obtaining  the  kind  ser- 
vices of  the  very  best  artists. 

I  do  recollect,  though,  that  on  one  occasion 
an  English  contralto,  who  was  announced  to 
sing  at  one  of  my  concerts  at  St.  James's  Hall, 
found  fault  because  her  name  was  printed  on 
the  bills  in  smaller  letters  than  the  names  of 
the  Italian  opera-singers,  who  also  sang  for  me 
on  that  occasion,  and  I  had  some  difficulty  in 
pacifying  her  and  persuading  her  to  sing. 

To  return  to  my  concert  in  1869,  Mr.  Vernon 
Rigby,  a  tenor  who  imitated  the  style  of  Sims 
Reeves  very  well,  also  sang,  and  M.  Joseph 
Wieniawski,  brother  of  Henri  Wieniawski,  played 
the  duet  "  Hommage  a  Handel,"  by  Moscheles, 
with  me.  In  those  days  it  had  great  popularity, 
but  now  no  one  plays  it,  and  it  is  quite  forgotten, 
like  many  similar  compositions. 

In  June  1870  I  gave  a  big  concert  at  St. 
James's  Hall,  at  which  the  greatest  singer  of 
the  age,  Madame  Adelina  Patti,  sang  the  great 


A    GALAXY    OF    STARS  87 

aria  "  Bel  Raggio  "  from  S  emir  amide  with  em- 
bellishments and  cadenzas  specially  written  for 
her  by  its  composer,  Rossini,  and  also  my  song 
"  The  Nightingale's  Trill."  Needless  to  say, 
she  created  a  great  sensation,  and  was  loudly 
encored  in  both.  Later  on  I  shall  write  a  special 
chapter  on  this  great  artiste,  who  became  from 
that  time  my  staunch  friend,  and  has  continued 
so  for  forty-three  years.  This  concert  was  re- 
markable for  the  galaxy  of  operatic  stars  who 
appeared,  amongst  whom  was  the  fine  contralto, 
Madame  Scalchi,  who  sang  Italian  bravura  arias 
as  I  had  never  heard  them  sung  since  Alboni. 

Madame  Trebelli-Bettini,  the  famous  con- 
tralto singer,  Mile  Carola  (a  German  with  an 
Italian  name),  Madame  Orgeni,  a  soprano  from 
the  Royal  Opera,  Dresden,  Signer  Bettini,  hus- 
band of  Madame  Trebelli,  and  Signor  Graziani, 
whom  I  consider  the  finest  baritone  I  ever  heard, 
also  assisted  me,  likewise  Signor  Foli,  the  Irish 
bass,  whose  name  was  really  Foley,  but  who 
Italianised  it  in  deference  to  the  custom  in 
those  days  among  English  singers. 

He  was,  at  any  rate,  a  good  Italian  scholar, 
and  had  studied  in  Italy.  He  was  also  an  in- 
veterate gambler,  and  would  bet  on  the  number 
of  flies  on  the  ceiling !  He  caught  a  severe  cold 
going  to  Liverpool  to  see  a  musical  friend  off  to 
America,  from  which  he  never  recovered,  al- 
though in  outward  appearance  he  was  a  very 
strong  man.  His  favourite  songs  were,  among 


88 


MY  CONCERTS 


others,  "  I'm  a  Roamer,"  Gounod's  "  She  alone 
charmeth  my  Sadness,"  and  especially  Irish 
ballads,  which  he  sang  with  a  good  Irish  brogue, 
such  as  "  Father  O'Flynn  "  and  "  Off  to  Phila- 
delphia." He  was  a  true  friend  to  all  beginners, 
and  used  to  give  them  good  advice. 

Many  years  afterwards  I  went  on  a  tour,  with 
Madame  Trebelli  and  other  well-known  artists, 
through  England,  Scotland,  and  Ireland. 
Madame  Trebelli  was  always  in  the  highest 


spirits,  and  full  of  wit  and  humour,  and  we  had 
many  amusing  supper-parties  after  the  concerts. 
One  day  an  enormous  parcel  arrived  for  Signor 
Foli,  and  he  started  unpacking  sheet  after  sheet 
of  brown  paper.  At  last,  amid  roars  of  laughter, 
he  came  upon  a  small  piece  of  brown  fat,  a 
delicacy  to  which  he  was  specially  partial ! 

Madame  Trebelli  had  a  curious  fancy  for  col- 
lecting a  plate  from  every  hotel  at  which  she 
stayed.  These  plates  were  used  to  decorate  her 
drawing-room  in  Abbey  Road,  St.  John's  Wood. 


ANTOINE    DE    KONTSKI  89 

I  always  made  a  point  of  seeing  the  sights  in  the 
cities  we  visited,  and  the  artists  used  chaffingly 
to  say,  "  Now  Ganz  is  off  to  see  a  cathedral." 

But  to  return  to  my  concert.  Among  the  in- 
strumentalists was  the  famous  Polish  pianist, 
Chevalier  Antoine  de  Kontski,  who  played  with 
me  a  duet  of  his  own  arrangement  on  airs  from 
Les  Huguenots.  One  of  his  compositions,  which 
became  famous  all  over  the  world,  was  a  piano- 
forte piece  called  "  Le  Reveil  du  Lion."  I  be- 
lieve he  was  a  pupil  of  the  pianist  Hummel,  who 
was  the  conductor  of  the  orchestra  at  Weimar. 
Once,  when  I  gave  a  musical  party  at  my  house, 
he  played  a  reverie  of  mine,  called  Vision  du 
Passe,  which  he  had  only  heard  me  play  once, 
and  he  surprised  me  very  agreeably  by  giving  a 
new  and  improved  version  of  it  from  memory. 
He  was  not  only  extremely  clever,  but  full  of 
fun,  and  very  witty. 

His  habit  of  wearing  'several  foreign  orders 
across  his  shirt-front  and  his  being  somewhat 
of  a  spendthrift  earned  him  the  sobriquet  of 
"  Der  Ritter  der  Vier  Kreutzer."  He  was  al- 
ways anxious  that  his  appearances  on  the  plat- 
form should  be  signalised  by  every  mark  of 
popular  favour,  and  at  his  recitals,  even  in  the 
depth  of  winter,  a  large  wash-basket  would 
arrive  full  of  wreaths  and  bouquets  of  flowers 
to  be  handed  up  to  him  after  he  had  played. 
He  would  spend  as  much  as  £15  or  £20  a  con- 
cert on  these  "  floral  tributes." 


90  MY  CONCERTS 

Signer  Bevignani,  conductor  at  Covent  Gar- 
den, was  one  of  my  accompanists  at  this  concert. 

As  I  am  afraid  it  may  weary  my  readers  if  I 
give  too  many  details  of  my  annual  concerts,  I 
will  only  add  a  few  more  of  the  names  of  cele- 
brities who  assisted  me  at  the  succeeding  ones. 
Among  them  at  my  concert  in  1871  was  the 
prima  donna  Madame  Miolan  Carvalho,  the 
original  Marguerite  in  Gounod's  Faust  when  it 
was  produced  in  Paris,  who  had  a  beautiful  voice 
and  brilliant  execution;  also  Mile  Grossi  from 
Berlin,  and  the  incomparable  Madame  Viardot 
Garcia,  who  had  already  appeared  at  my  concert 
in  1856  and  was  over  in  England  again,  owing 
to  the  war  between  France  and  Germany. 

While  speaking  of  Madame  Viardot  Garcia,  I 
may  add  that  in  1867  I  was  staying  at  Baden- 
Baden,  then  a  resort  of  the  most  famous  artists. 
At  one  of  the  concerts  I  attended  at  the  Kursaal, 
Grisi,  Mario,  and  Madame  Viardot  Garcia  all 
sang.  Madame  Viardot  invited  my  wife  and  me 
to  visit  her,  and  I  well  remember  a  certain 
matinee  d'invitation  which  she  gave  at  her  house, 
where  she  had  a  beautiful  music-room,  with  an 
organ.  We  heard  delightful  music,  rendered 
by  Mile  Artot,  Delle  Sedie,  and  de  Beriot. 
Madame  Viardot  accompanied  almost  every- 
thing herself,  and  also  played  the  organ  in 
Gounod's  "  Ave  Maria."  The  Queen  of  Prussia 
was  present,  and  praised  all  the  artists.  I 
noticed,  among  the  guests,  the  famous  Russian 


MARIE   ROZE  91 

novelist  Turgenieff — a  fine,  tall  man  with  a  white 
beard. 

Mile  Mathilde  Sessi,  a  brilliant  soprano  who 
was  then  singing  at  Covent  Garden,  also  sang 
at  my  concert  in  1871,  one  of  her  special  roles 
being  Ophelia  in  Ambrose  Thomas's  Hamlet. 
She  had  long  and  very  beautiful  natural  fair 
hair,  which  was  exactly  suited  to  the  part.  She 
married  Baron  Ludwig  von  Erlanger,  of  Frank- 
fort, uncle  of  Baron  Frederick  d'Erlanger  the 
composer,  and  soon  after  retired  from  the  operatic 
stage.  I  had  also  exceptionally  fine  baritones, 
Herr  Julius  Stockhausen,  the  great  singer  from 
Frankfort  who  gave  fine  interpretations  of  Schu- 
bert's "  Nachtstiick,"  and  "  Du  meine  Seele," 
by  Schumann  and  Signor  Cotogni  from  Covent 
Garden,  the  artist  who  excelled  as  Figaro  in 
II  Barbiere.  Signor  Tito  Mattei,  the  popular 
pianist,  was  one  of  the  accompanists. 

A  remarkable  concert  took  place  in  1872. 
Among  the  artists  who  lent  me  their  aid  was  the 
great  Teresa  Titiens,  and  also  Miss  Clara  Louise 
Kellogg,  an  American  soprano,  and  Mile  Marie 
Roze.  Mile  Roze  was  a  very  pretty  woman, 
and  Auber  wrote  the  principal  part  in  his  latest 
opera,  Le  premier  jour  de  bonheur  for  her,  which 
was  produced  at  the  Opera-Comique  in  Paris. 
She  became  very  popular,  and  a  great  favourite 
at  Her  Majesty's  Theatre.  Signor  Fancelli,  the 
tenor,  and  Signor  Agnesi,  the  baritone,  also  sang 
at  this  concert,  but  one  of  its  sensations  was  the 


92  MY  CONCERTS 

singing  of  the  new  tenor,  Signor  Italo  Campanini, 
brother  of  Signor  Cleofante  Campanini,  lately 
the  principal  conductor  at  Covent  Garden,  who 
created  as  great  a  furore  on  his  first  appearance 
at  Drury  Lane  in  1872  as  Cennaro  in  Lucrezia 
Borgia  as  Giuglini  did  at  Her  Majesty's  Theatre 
in  1857.  Mile  Marie  Marimon  sang  for  me  in 
1873. 

My  concert  in  1874  was  remarkable  for  the 
first  appearance  on  any  concert  platform  of 
the  young  Canadian  soprano  Mile  Emma  Al- 
bani.  She  sang  the  great  scene  and  aria  "  II 
dolce  suono "  from  Lucia,  and  "  O  luce  di 
quest'anima"  from  Linda  di  Chamounix,  and 
received  a  great  ovation.  Another  of  the  items 
on  the  programme  was  Gounod's  "  Ave  Maria  " 
on  Bach's  Prelude,  sung  by  Mile  d'Angeri  with 
violin  obbligato  by  Signor  Papini,  piano  by  Sir 
Julius  Benedict  and  harmonium  by  Signor 
Randegger — a  fine  combination  which  pleased 
the  audience  greatly.  Mr.  Frederick  Gye, 
director  of  Covent  Garden,  was  present,  as  he 
was  much  interested  in  Mile  Albani's  platform 
d£but  and  wanted  to  see  how  she  got  on  at  a 
London  concert.  His  son  Ernest  afterwards 
became  her  husband.  She  held  for  many  years 
a  distinguished  position  at  the  Opera,  and  no 
festival  was  complete  without  her  assistance, 
nor  the  Royal  Albert  Hall  Choral  Society's  con- 
certs, at  which  she  was  generally  joined  by  the 
leading  English  singers,  such  as  Madame  Patey, 


EDWARD    LLOYD  93 

Mr.  Edward  Lloyd,  and  Mr.  Santley — a  splendid 
quartette ! 

Madame  Essipoff,  the  Russian  pianist  whom  I 
had  introduced  at  the  New  Philharmonic  Con- 
certs in  1874,  played  Schumann's  duet  with  me 
on  two  pianos,  and  another  item  on  the  pro- 
gramme was  a  quartette  for  four  performers  on 
two  pianos  by  Benedict  played  by  the  com- 
poser, Mile  Marie  Krebs,  Frederick  Cowen,  and 
myself. 

In  1875  I  gave  a  matine'e  and  a  soiree  at  my 
house  in  Harley  Street,  at  which  Edward  Lloyd 
sang.  This  great  artist  is  well  remembered  by 
the  present  generation.  For  years  he  was  the 
leading  tenor  at  all  the  provincial  festivals.  He 
took  leave  of  the  British  public  at  his  farewell 
concert  at  the  Royal  Albert  Hall  on  Decem- 
ber 12th,  19QO,  at  which  I  was  one  of  the  con- 
ductors in  conjunction  with  Dr.  Hans  Richter 
and  Sir  Edward  Elgar.  Lloyd  was  recalled 
again  and  again  at  the  end  of  the  concert,  and 
I  rushed  to  the  piano  and  struck  up  "  Auld 
Lang  Syne,"  which  was  sung,  with  clasped  hands, 
by  Albani  and  the  rest  of  the  artists,  who  were 
Clara  Butt,  Evangeline  Florence,  Sarah  Berry, 
Ben  Davies,  Santley,  Kennerley  Rumford,  Lane 
Wilson,  Plunket  Greene,  Johannes  Wolff,  and 
Gertrude  Peppercorn. 

I  consider  that  Lloyd  retired  too  early,  being 
still  in  his  full  powers,  but  he  told  me  afterwards 
he  wanted  to  retire  while  in  his  prime  without 


94  MY  CONCERTS 

waiting  until  he  had  lost  his  voice.  He  lives 
now  at  Worthing,  where  he  cultivates  the  best 
music  and  gives  concerts  for  the  benefit  of  the 
inhabitants  of  Worthing  as  a  labour  of  love.  I 
think  he  has  also  built  a  concert-room  there. 
Not  long  ago  he  paid  me  a  visit  at  Brighton, 
when  I  was  staying  there,  and  he  was  looking 
very  well  and  jovial. 

At  one  of  my  matinees  in  1875  Herr  Wilhelmj, 
the  famous  violinist,  and  M.  Jules  de  Swert,  first 
violoncellist  at  the  Berlin  Opera-house,  also 
appeared,  and  Herr  Auer,  from  St.  Petersburg, 
played  at  my  concert  the  next  year.  He  came 
over  to  England,  after  an  absence  of  thirty  years, 
and  played  at  a  concert  in  1907  given  by  his 
clever  pupil,  Mischa  Elman,  playing  with  him 
a  duet  by  Spohr.  I  remember  Leopold  Auer's 
first  visit  to  England  when  he  was  quite  a  young 
man,  and  I  used  to  accompany  him  at  Ella's 
Musical  Union  Matinees  and  other  concerts,  in 
the  fifties. 

Madame  Antoinette  Sterling  sang  for  me  at 
my  concert  in  1877.  This  famous  contralto 
made  Sir  Arthur  Sullivan's  song,  "  The  Lost 
Chord,"  which  he  wrote  for  her,  so  popular  that 
it  is  interesting  to  note  that  when  he  first  brought 
it  to  her  she  did  not  like  it !  Fortunately,  how- 
ever, she  changed  her  mind  and  the  royalties 
she  received  from  it  must  have  been  enormous. 
I  should  say  there  has  never  been  another  song 
that  has  sold  so  well.  She  also  made  Cowen's 


BRAHMS'  LIEBESLIEDER  95 

"  Better  Land  "  immensely  popular,  and  when- 
ever she  sang  the  old  Scotch  ditty  "  Caller 
Herrin  "  she  used  to  bring  the  house  down,  for 
no  one  ever  sang  it  as  she  did,  and  her  Scotch 
pronunciation  was  simply  perfect.  At  this  con- 
cert a  young  French  violinist,  Mile  Marguerite 
Pommereul,  who  was  recommended  to  me  by 
Anton  Rubinstein,  also  played.  She  was  very 
pretty,  and  a  good  artiste.  The  same  year,  at  a 
concert  I  gave  at  Lord  Dudley's  picture-gallery, 
I  introduced  Brahms'  beautiful  Liebeslieder 
Walzer,  the  vocal  quartette  including  my  old 
friend  William  Shakespeare. 


CHAPTER    V 

MY    CONCERTS    CONTINUED 

The  Earl  of  Dudley — My  concerts  in  his  picture  gallery — Sarasate 
— The  Earl's  £20,000  Sevres  dinner-service — His  great 
generosity — A  sudden  blow — My  subsequent  concerts — 
Joseph  Hollman — Mary  Davies — Minnie  Hauk — Alwina 
Valleria — Maybrick — "  Nancy  Lee  "  goes  begging — I  accom- 
pany it  for  the  first  time  of  hearing — Maude  Valerie  White 
— "  The  Devout  Lover  " — Joseph  Maas — Marian  Macken- 
zie— Tremelli — Isidore  de  Lara — Dudley  House  again — 
Nordica — Bottesini — His  double-bass — Anecdote  of  Paganini 
— Nikita — Zelie  de  Lussan — Ben  Davies — His  engagement 

in  Dorothy — "  The  Daisy  Chain  " Emma  Holmstrand — 

Elizabeth  Parkinson  makes  her  d6but  at  my  concert. 

IN  1878  my  matinee  took  place  at  Dudley  House, 
by  kind  permission  of  the  Earl  of  Dudley. 
Madame  Trebelli  sang,  and  Senor  Pablo  Sarasate 
played,  also  joining  me  in  Schumann's  splendid 
Pianoforte  Quintette.  There  is  no  occasion  for 
me  to  sing  his  praises,  for  all  the  world  knows 
what  a  great  artist  he  was,  and  his  much-re- 
gretted death  in  1908,  at  the  age  of  sixty-four 
years,  left  a  gap  which  has  never  been  filled. 

Lord  Dudley's  picture-gallery,  where  my  con- 
cert took  place,  was  hung  with  the  most  famous 
old  Italian  and  Dutch  masterpieces.  He  had 
just  then  bought  several  additional  paintings, 

96 


97 

and  he  said  to  me,  "  Ganz,  when  the  concert  is 
over,  ask  your  audience  to  look  at  the  new  pic- 
tures." These  were  hung  next  works  by 
Raphael,  Murillo,  and  other  great  masters,  so 
the  audience  had  a  great  artistic  treat. 

Lord  Dudley  was  genuinely  fond  of  good 
music,  vocal  and  instrumental,  and  often  gave 
private  concerts  in  his  picture-gallery.  He  loved 
to  get  them  up  in  impromptu  fashion,  and  would 
say  to  me,  "  Ganz,  I  want  to  give  a  musical 
soiree  to-morrow,  and  you  must  rush  about  and 
get  the  artists  together." 

As  there  were  no  telephones  in  those  days, 
my  difficulties  can  be  imagined  ;  but  I  invariably 
succeeded  because  most  artists,  even  the  opera- 
singers  and  first-rate  instrumentalists,  liked  to 
appear  at  the  house  of  such  a  patron  of  the  Arts 
as  Lord  Dudley.  At  these  soirees  there  was 
frequently  a  member  of  the  Royal  Family  pre- 
sent, and  everybody  listened  most  attentively 
to  the  music.  His  programmes  were  always 
headed  "  II  piu  grand5  omaggio  alia  musica  e 
il  silenzio  !  " 

On  one  occasion  Lord  Dudley  had  a  perform- 
ance of  Gluck's  Iphigenia,  conducted  by  Charles 
Halle  ;  there  was  a  small  orchestra,  and  I  was 
at  the  piano.  Titiens  sang  the  leading  role  and 
Halle  had  engaged  a  chorus  ;  so  it  was  well  given, 
and  produced  a  great  impression. 

Lord  Dudley  was  not  only  a  lover  of  music, 
but  also  of  painting  and  sculpture,  and  he  was 


98  MY  CONCERTS   CONTINUED 

particularly  fond  of  china.  He  bought  a  blue 
Sdvres  dessert-service  at  Prince  Demidoff' s  sale 
in  Paris,  for  which  he  paid  the  enormous  price 
of  twenty  thousand  pounds,  and  he  was  so 
pleased  with  his  new  acquisition  that  he  invited 
the  Prince  and  Princess  of  Wales  to  a  luncheon 
party  at  which  it  was  used  for  the  first  time. 

Lord  Dudley  himself  designed  the  famous  ball- 
room with  alcoves  and  had  small  tables  placed 
in  them  at  supper-parties.  He  told  me  that  he 
was  the  first  to  institute  small  tables  for  supper 
in  place  of  the  long  buffet  which  was  formerly 
the  fashion. 

I  used  to  teach  him  singing,  and  gave  him 
lessons  three  times  a  week  on  the  tenor  songs  from 
the  operas.  He  used  to  imitate  Giuglini,  who 
was  the  tenor  then  in  vogue,  trying  to  reach 
high  C  in  falsetto.  He  studied  some  operatic 
duets  with  me  from  Carmen  and  other  operas, 
which  he  afterwards  sang  with  a  good  operatic 
soprano.  He  was  very  particular  and  thorough 
over  his  music,  and  dissected  every  phrase,  and 
asked  me  about  certain  forms  of  the  music,  and 
translated  the  Italian  and  French  texts  into 
English  to  make  the  meaning  of  the  words  per- 
fectly clear  to  himself.  He  really  sang  with 
great  taste  and  expression. 

After  a  soiree  he  used  to  say  to  me,  "  Ganz, 
bring  your  bill  to-morrow,"  which  I  invariably 
did ;  but  when  he  looked  at  the  artists'  fees  he 
would  say  they  were  too  small,  and  write  out  a 


LORD  DUDLEY  99 

cheque  for  double  the  amount.  In  fact,  he  was 
very  generous.  I  often  used  to  ask  him  for  a  gift 
for  some  deserving  charity,  and  he  never  once 
refused.  I  remember  the  late  Mr.  Hancock, 
the  jeweller  of  Bond  Street,  used  to  go  to  Dud- 
ley House  with  packets  of  jewellery,  which  he 
displayed  in  the  billiard-gallery  after  dinner. 
Lord  Dudley  used  to  select  rings,  brooches, 
necklaces,  and  so  on,  and  present  each  lady 
staying  in  the  house  with  a  bit  of  jewellery,  much 
to  their  delight. 

After  one  of  our  music-lessons  he  asked  me 
whether  I  was  going  to  hear  Sarah  Bernhardt, 
who  was  just  then  drawing  all  London.  I  told 
him  I  could  not  get  any  tickets,  and  he  said : 
"  Go  to  Mitchell's  Library  in  Bond  Street  this 
evening  and  ask  for  some.  I  will  tell  him  to  have 
them  ready  for  you."  Presently,  without  any 
warning,,  he  swooned  away,  and  did  not  wake 
up  for  at  least  fifteen  minutes.  When  he  had 
recovered  he  seemed  quite  himself,  and  when  his 
secretary,  Mr.  Villiers,  came  into  the  room  and 
said  some  one  was  waiting  to  see  him,  he  did  not 
appear  to  be  aware  that  anything  had  happened. 
Then  he  got  up  and  said  good-bye  to  me,  and  I 
left  the  house. 

At  seven  o'clock  I  went  to  Mitchell's  and 
asked  whether  Lord  Dudley  had  been  there; 
they  said  no,  but  that  they  had  just  heard  that 
he  was  suddenly  taken  ill  and  had  had  a  para- 
lytic stroke.  I  was  thunderstruck,  and  felt 


100  MY  CONCERTS   CONTINUED 

much     distressed     on     hearing     this     dreadful 
news. 

His  illness  lasted  for  some  years,  and  Lady 
Dudley  nursed  him  with  great  devotion.  When 
he  died  I  lost  in  him  a  great  patron  and  kind 
friend,  and  he  could  ill  be  spared  in  the  musical 
world,  as  he  often  helped  young  artists.  His  was 
the  only  house  in  those  days  where  the  best 
music  and  the  best  artists  could  be  heard. 

He  had  lent  me  his  gallery  in  1879  for  my 
annual  concert,  but,  of  course,  owing  to  his 
illness,  it  could  not  take  place  there,  so  Lady 
Dudley,  with  great  consideration,  asked  the  Duke 
of  Westminster  to  lend  me  Grosvenor  House, 
and  he  consented.  My  concert  took  place  in  the 
famous  Rubens  Room,  which  in  a  general  way 
the  Duke  only  lent  for  charity  concerts.  M. 
Marsick,  a  well-known  violinist  from  Paris,  and 
M.  Joseph  Hollman,  the  'cellist,  who  was  then 
unknown,  took  part  in  it. 

At  my  concert  in  1880,  which  I  gave  at  my 
own  house,  Miss  Mary  Davies  sang.  She  was  a 
great  favourite,  and  excelled  in  ballad-singing. 
M.  Emile  Sauret,  the  violinist,  also  assisted  me. 

In  1881  I  gave  a  concert  at  the  Marlborough 
Rooms,  Regent  Street,  which  was  honoured  by 
the  presence  of  the  Duke  and  Duchess  of  Teck, 
and  Princess  Mary  of  Teck,  our  present  Queen. 
One  of  the  artists  who  sang  was  the  charming 
Miss  Minnie  Hauk,  who  created  the  part  of 
Catherine  in  Goetz's  opera,  The  Taming  of  the 


MINNIE   HAUK  101 

Shrew,  and  was  famous  as  one  of  the  best  Car- 
mens  in  Bizet's  opera.  She  was  an  American 
by  birth,  and  spoke  several  languages  fluently, 
and  also  excelled  in  German  Lieder.  She 
married  Baron  W.  Hesse  de  Wartegg,  a  dis- 
tinguished traveller  and  authority  on  inter- 
national law,  and  lives  now  at  Lucerne,  in  the 
Villa  Triebchen,  where  Richard  Wagner  once 
lived  and  where  he  composed  part  of  Die 
Meister  singer. 

Among  the  other  artists  were  Signor  del 
Puente,  the  well-known  baritone  from  Her 
Majesty's  Theatre,  and  M.  Libotton  the  'cellist. 

Apropos  of  Carmen  and  such  emotional  parts 
as  Don  Jose,  there  have  been  singers  on  the 
operatic  stage  who  have  been  so  carried  away 
by  the  excitement  of  the  role  they  were  playing 
as  to  become  really  dangerous.  A  tenor  in  par- 
ticular in  the  last  act  of  Carmen,  when  Don 
Jose,  driven  mad  by  jealousy,  ends  the  scene  by 
stabbing  Carmen,  used  to  give  such  a  dig  as  to 
wound  the  lady  playing  the  part.  The  husband 
thereupon  informed  the  excitable  tenor  that 
he  would  stand  in  the  wings  at  the  next  per- 
formance with  a  pistol,  adding,  "  You  hurt  my 
wife — I  shoot !  ': 

At  my  concert  in  1883,  Madame  Alwina 
Valleria  was  the  principal  soprano.  She  was  a 
pupil  of  Signor  Lamperti  and  Signor  Arditi,  and 
became  a  member  of  the  opera  at  Her  Majesty's 
Theatre.  She  sang  in  most  of  the  operas  then 


102  MY  CONCERTS   CONTINUED 

in  vogue,  singing  and  acting  brilliantly.  Mr. 
Michael  Maybrick  (Stephen  Adams),  composer  of 
"  Nancy  Lee "  and  other  popular  songs,  also 
sang.  I  was  the  first  to  accompany  him  in 
"  Nancy  Lee,"  the  song  being  then  in  manu- 
script, at  a  concert  at  Stratford  in  Essex,  at 
which  I  had  engaged  him  to  sing.  It  seems 
strange  that  Maybrick,  as  he  told  me  himself, 
offered  it  to  one  publisher  after  another,  who  all 
declined  it,  until  at  last  he  published  it  at  his 
own  expense,  which  was  a  very  good  move,  for 
it  sold  in  thousands,  and  he  must  have  made  a 
great  deal  by  it. 

Edward  Lloyd  used  to  sing  two  of  his  best- 
known  songs,  "  The  Holy  City  "  and  "  The  Star 
of  Bethlehem,"  with  great  success,  and  Lloyd 
told  me  that  his  share  of  the  royalties  amounted 
to  about  £1,500  for  the  half-year  alone. 

Maybrick  now  lives  permanently  at  Ryde,  of 
which  he  has  several  times  been  the  mayor.1 

Madame  Trebelli  also  sang  at  my  concert,  and 
so  did  my  old  friend,  Charles  Santley,  as  he  had 
done  on  many  former  occasions.  One  of  his 
songs  was  "  The  Devout  Lover,"  accompanied 
by  the  composer,  Miss  Maude  Valerie  White, 
whose  songs  I  greatly  admire  ;  they  are  always  so 
well  written  and  artistic,  and  have  such  fine  accom- 
paniments, which  she  herself  plays  to  perfection. 

Among  the  artists  who  assisted  me  in  1884 
was  Mr.  Joseph  Maas,  who  had  one  of  the  finest 

1  Mr.  Maybrick  died  since  these  lines  were  in  print. 


ISIDORE    DE    LARA  103 

tenor  voices  of  any  English  singer  I  have  ever 
heard.  He  was  a  member  of  the  Carl  Rosa 
Opera  Company  for  many  years,  and  was  also 
engaged  during  the  Royal  Italian  Opera  season 
at  Covent  Garden.  Unfortunately,  he  died  in 
the  very  zenith  of  his  career,  from  a  severe 
cold,  caught  while  out  fishing  near  Birming- 
ham,-which  developed  into  pneumonia.  In  the 
scarcity  of  good  tenors,  he  could  ill  be  spared. 

At  my  concert  in  1885  Chevalier  Wilhelm 
Kuhe  and  M.  Edouard  de  Paris  assisted  me  with 
the  accompaniments.  Both  were  distinguished 
pianists,  residing  at  Brighton  at  that  time. 
Miss  Marion  Mackenzie  and  Mile  Tremelli,  from 
the  Royal  Italian  Opera,  also  lent  me  their  aid, 
and  so  did  Mr.  Leslie  Crotty,  a  fine  baritone 
from  the  Carl  Rosa  Opera  Company. 

At  my  concert  in  1886,  given  at  my  residence 
in  Harley  Street,  Isidore  de  Lara,  who  was 
then  the  rage,  sang  one  of  his  own  popular 
compositions.  He  was  the  first  singer  to  make 
a  special  feature  of  sitting  down  to  the  piano 
and  accompanying  himself  at  concerts.  He  used 
to  gaze  round  the  room  when  singing,  and  wear 
a  very  intense  expression,  which  charmed  his 
f air  hearers.  At  the  concert  the  year  after  Signor 
Paolo  Tosti  accompanied  Mr.  de  Lara  in  two  of 
his  new  songs,  which  was  the  only  time  I  re- 
member that  he  stood  up  to  sing.  Although  such 
a  favourite  in  London,  he  settled  in  Paris,  where 
he  has  composed  several  operas,  some  of  which 


104  MY  CONCERTS  CONTINUED 

were  successfully  produced  at  Covent  Garden 
and  some  at  Monte  Carlo.  The  inimitable 
George  Grossmith  gave  one  of  his  amusing 
sketches  at  this  concert.  This  good  friend  sang 
for  me  for  fifteen  consecutive  years. 

In  July  1888  the  Countess  of  Dudley  was 
kind  enough  to  lend  me  the  picture-gallery  in 
Dudley  House.  My  concert  that  year  was 
notable  for  the  appearance  at  it  of  Madame 
Nordica,  the  great  American  prima  donna,  who 
carried  everything  before  her  on  the  operatic 
stage,  especially  in  Wagnerian  operas.  Some 
years  ago,  when  I  was  in  Munich,  I  heard  her 
there  in  the  Festspiel  Theater  as  Elsa  in  Lohen- 
grin, and  greatly  admired  her  beautiful  singing 
and  dramatic  acting.  Another  celebrity  at  this 
concert  was  Signer  Bottesini,  the  wonderful 
double-bass  player,  who  played  some  of  his  own 
compositions,  and  joined  me  in  a  concerted  num- 
ber. Nobody  ever  played  that  unwieldy  instru- 
ment better  than  he  ;  it  had  only  three  strings 
instead  of  four,  like  an  orchestral  double-bass. 
He  was  a  prolific  composer,  and  I  once  heard  an 
opera  of  his  given  at  the  Lyceum  Theatre,  when 
an  Italian  opera  company  came  over  here  for 
a  short  season.  I  remember  hearing  him  play 
a  duo  concertante  with  Signor  Sivori,  who  was 
a  pupil  of  Paganini.  I  often  accompanied 
Sivori,  and  have  referred  to  him  in  another  part 
of  this  book.  Apropos  of  Paganini,  my  father 
told  me,  when  he  conducted  Paganini's  concert 


BEN    DAVIES  105 

at  Mainz,  which  was  given  at  the  theatre  there, 
he  invited  my  father  to  dinner  before  the  con- 
cert. At  dinner  he  drank  too  much  champagne, 
and  after  almost  every  piece  he  played  he  had 
to  retire  behind  the  scenes  and  be  violently  ill 
— how  he  could  have  played  under  the  circum- 
stances, feeling  so  uncomfortable,  is  a  marvel  to 
me,  as  it  was  also  to  my  father,  who  always 
spoke  of  him  with  the  highest  praise  and  admira- 
tion. 

But  I  am  getting  away  from  my  own  concerts. 
In  1889  Nikita,  a  young  American  soprano, 
appeared,  and  sang  my  song  "  Sing,  sweet 
Bird  "  most  brilliantly.  M.  Johannes  Wolff,  the 
violinist,  played  the  "  Andante  Religiose  "  by 
Thome,  and  the  "  Polonaise  "  by  Laub.  I  knew 
Herr  Laub  when  he  was  in  London  in  1848. 
Balfe  had  engaged  him  to  play  the  violin  solo 
parts  in  the  ballets  at  Her  Majesty's  Theatre  in 
those  days. 

In  1890  there  appeared  at  my  concert  another 
young  American  soprano,  Miss  Zelie  de  Lussan. 
She  sang  at  Her  Majesty's  the  title-role  of  Carmen 
to  perfection.  At  the  same  concert  Mr.  Ben 
Davies  sang  for  me  and  made  a  great  hit  in 
Sullivan's  "  Come,  Margherita,  come "  from 
The  Martyr  of  Antioch.  Ben  Davies  sang  for 
some  years  in  the  Carl  Rosa  Opera  Company, 
and  after  poor  Maas's  death  and  Edward  Lloyd's 
retirement  he  remained  the  most  sought-after 
tenor  in  the  profession.  From  the  beginning 


106  MY  CONCERTS   CONTINUED 

of  his  career  we  have  always  been  the  very  best 
of  friends. 

After  he  left  the  Carl  Rosa  Opera  Company 
he  was  offered  an  engagement  in  Dorothy,  which 
he  hardly  liked  to  accept,  having  been  principal 
tenor  in  grand  opera.  However,  when  he  men- 
tioned the  facts  to  me  I  advised  him  to  accept 
the  offer,  which  I  said  would  do  him  no  harm 
as  an  artist,  and  he  eventually  did  so  and  made 
a  great  hit.  After  the  first  year  he  received  an 
increased  salary,  and  remained  for  several  years 
at  the  Prince  of  Wales' s. 

Ben  Davies  has  always  been  very  punctual  at 
his  numerous  concert  engagements,  and  never 
disappointed  the  public,  and  I  can  say  the  same 
thing  of  Sir  Charles  Santley,  Madame  Patey, 
and  Mr.  Edward  Lloyd. 

"  I  seek  for  thee  in  every  Flower,"  a  tenor 
song  of  mine,  has  been  frequently  sung  by 
Edward  Lloyd  and  Ben  Davies,  as  well  as  by 
singers  not  perhaps  so  well  known  to  fame.  It 
was  one  of  these  who,  being  asked  what  he  was 
going  to  sing  at  a  village  concert,  wrote  that 
he  had  chosen  "  I  seek  for  thee  "  (in  A  flat). 
In  the  programme  it  accordingly  appeared  as 
"  Song—'  I  seek  for  thee  in  a  flat  '-*W.  Cans  "  ! 

At  one  of  my  concerts  my  daughter  Georgina 
made  her  first  appearance  with  success.  She 
sang  "  La  Partenza,"  by  Rossini,  "  Adieux  de 
1'hotesse  Arabe,"  by  Bizet,  "  Du  bist  wie  eine 
Blume,"  by  Rubinstein,  and  my  own  song,  "  I 


JOHN  FORSELL  107 

seek  for  thee  in  every  Flower."    Next  day  the 
Daily  Telegraph  gave  her  a  very  good  notice. 

I  have  written  these  particulars  of  my  various 
concerts  in  order  to  mention  the  names  of  the 
artists  who  so  kindly  assisted  me  with  their 
valuable  services,  and  also,  I  hope,  to  interest  my 
readers.  The  concerts  of  the  next  few  years 
included  such  names  as  Madame  Nordica,  Miss 
Margaret  Macintyre,  Miss  Marie  Engle,  and  the 
Sisters  Ravogli,  Madame  Clara  Butt,  Eugene 
Oudin,  M.  Plancon,  and  Mr.  (now  Sir)  Henry  J. 
Wood  accompanied  at  my  concert  in  1894.  The 
Jubilee  Concert  I  gave  in  1898  was  such  an  extra- 
ordinary one  that  I  may  be  forgiven  for  writing 
of  it  in  detail  elsewhere. 

My  concert  in  1900  took  place  at  the  hand- 
some Empress  Rooms  at  the  Royal  Palace 
Hotel,  Kensington.  A  newcomer  was  Herr 
John  Forsell,  a  Swedish  baritone,  from  the 
Royal  Opera,  Stockholm,  who  made  a  successful 
appearance.  He  is  a  good-looking  man,  with  a 
fine  voice,  and  was  engaged  at  Covent  Garden, 
where  he  s'ang  with  great  success  in  Don  Gio- 
vanni. 

At  my  concert  in  1901,  amongst  other  items  on 
the  programme  was  a  charming  song-cycle  called 
"  The  Daisy  Chain,"  by  the  versatile  Madame 
Liza  Lehmann.  It  was  sung  by  Miss  Evange- 
line  Florence,  Miss  Edna  Thornton,  Mr.  Gregory 
Hast,  and  Mr.  Richard  Green,  and  pleased  the 
audience  immensely.  Madame  Blanche  Marchesi 


108  MY  CONCERTS  CONTINUED 

and  Miss  Ada  Crossley  also  sang ;  Senor  Rubio 
the  'cellist  played. 

On  June  28th,  1904,  I  gave  my  concert  at  the 
New  Molian  Hall  in  Bond  Street,  and  a  young 
Swedish  singer  named  Mile  Emma  Holmstrand 
made  a  most  successful  appearance.  In  1895 
my  concert  took  place  at  the  house  of  Mrs. 
Frederick  Beer,  in  Chesterfield  Gardens,  and  I 
had  a  wonderful  array  of  singers,  including 
Madame  Clara  Butt. 

This  house  contained  many  art-treasures,  in- 
cluding Millais's  fine  early  painting  in  the 
Preraphaelite  style,  "  The  Carpenter's  Shop." 
I  knew  Millais  well,  and  often  visited  his  studio, 
as  I  did  that  of  Lord  Leighton.  The  last  time 
I  saw  Millais  was  at  a  Levee ;  he  was  almost 
unable  then  to  speak,  but  he  pointed  to  a  medal 
at  his  breast  and  said,  "  This  is  the  medal  worn 
by  Sir  Joshua  Reynolds  when  he  was  President 
of  the  Royal  Academy." 

In  1903  a  young  American  singer,  Miss  Eliza- 
beth Parkinson,  made  her  first  appearance  at  my 
concert,  and  had  a  most  successful  debut.  She 
had  been  introduced  to  me  by  Madame  Mathilde 
Marchesi,  the  eminent  teacher,  in  Paris,  whose 
pupil  she  was.  I  heard  her  first  at  my  house, 
and  was  so  pleased  with  her  voice  and  style 
that  I  at  once  asked  her  to  sing  for  me. 

On  many  occasions  young  artistes  have  been 
recommended  to  me  by  their  lady  friends,  who 
were  not  the  slightest  good  when  I  heard  them, 


DEBUT    OF   MISS    PARKINSON  109 

and  if  I  had  introduced  them  for  engagements 
people  would  have  said,  "  Ganz  has  sent  me 
another  of  his  protegees  who  has  no  claim  what- 
ever to  be  heard,"  so  I  always  took  the  precaution 
of  first  hearing  them  sing  or  play  myself.  In 
the  case  of  Miss  Parkinson  I  was  delighted  with 
her  voice  at  once.  She  sang  "  Depuis  le  Jour  " 
from  Charpentier's  Louise,  which  had  not  then 
been  heard  in  London,  and  sang  it  most  beauti- 
fully. Her  voice  is  a  very  flexible,  high  soprano. 
She  was  afterwards  engaged  at  Covent  Garden, 
and  changed  her  name  to  Parkina. 

My  friend  Sir  George  Alexander  kindly  gave 
some  recitations  at  this  concert,  and  in  1905 
I  was  assisted  by  the  great  French  actress 
Madame  Rejane.  I  remember  that  M.  Plan£on 
was  so  carried  away  by  his  song,  "  The  Two 
Grenadiers,"  that  he  forgot  he  was  not  on  the 
stage,  and  at  the  end  made  a  dramatic  gesture 
with  his  arm  to  emphasise  the  devotion  of  the 
old  veteran  to  his  Emperor. 


CHAPTER   VI 

CHAMBER   CONCERTS 

John  Ella,  his  great  work  for  music — His  musical  union  con- 
certs at  Willis's  Rooms  and  St.  James's  Hall — Joachim — 
Madame  Clara  Schumann — Sir  Charles  Halle — He  first  hears 
Madame  Norman  Neruda  play — My  quartette  concerts — First 
appearance  of  Madame  Camilla  Urso  and  Madame  Conneau 
— Sir  Augustus  Manns — Carl  Rosa  and  his  opera  company 
— I  become  a  director. 

I  REMEMBER  that  in  the  first  years  of  my  resi- 
dence in  London  there  was  only  one  series  of 
concerts  of  chamber  music,  given  by  the  late 
Mr.  John  Ella,  who  was  the  originator  and 
director  of  the  Musical  Union,  founded  in  1845, 
at  which  the  most  celebrated  instrumentalists 
appeared,  such  as  Madame  Clara  Schumann, 
Ernst,  Vieuxtemps,  Joachim,  Henri  Wieniawski, 
Halle,  Rubinstein,  Piatti,  and  many  others,  who 
thus  had  an  opportunity  of  being  heard  in 
London  to  the  best  advantage  by  an  artistic 
audience. 

John  Ella  was  the  first  concert-giver  to  intro- 
duce analytical  programmes,  in  which  he  gave 
biographical  and  other  notes  about  the  various 
players.  These  programmes  were  an  excellent 
guide  to  the  listeners,  as  the  various  movements 

no 


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THE  MUSICAL  XJNION  lit 

of  the  concerted  numbers  were  also  explained 
and  extracts  from  the  music  given,  as  they  are 
to-day  in  the  Queen's  Hall  programmes.  At  his 
own  annual  matinee  Ella  always  had  Bee- 
thoven's Septette  for  strings  and  wind  instru- 
ments performed  and  HummePs  Septette  for 
piano,  strings,  and  wind  instruments,  for  the 
latter  of  which  he  generally  engaged  some  cele- 
brated pianist.  He  also  included  some  vocal 
music,  and  engaged  me  to  accompany  the  singer. 
It  is  a  pity  that  HummePs  Septette  is  so  rarely 
performed  now,  for  it  is  full  of  melody  and  quite 
a  show-piece  for  pianists. 

The  Musical  Union  concerts  were  first  held 
at  the  Old  Willis's  Rooms  in  King  Street,  St. 
James's,  and  when  St.  James's  Hall  was  built  in 
1858  they  were  removed  there  and  carried  on 
until  they  ended.  The  piano  stood  in  the 
middle  of  the  room  and  the  rest  of  the  players 
sat  by  in  a  sort  of  square ;  the  honorary  com- 
mittee, mostly  members  of  the  aristocracy,  sat 
in  the  front  rows,  in  front  of  them  being  a  kind 
of  throne  on  which  Ella  sat,  smiling  to  right  and 
left  of  him  at  the  distinguished  people  and 
applauding  the  performers.  Truth  to  tell,  they 
generally  rather  laughed  at  him,  but  he  really 
did  an  immense  amount  of  good  by  making 
classical  music  popular. 

I  accompanied  the  artists  at  several  of  these 
concerts,  and  I  well  remember  the  first  time  I 
had  the  honour  of  playing  for  the  great  violinist 
9 


112 


CHAMBER   CONCERTS 


Joseph  Joachim.  On  the  morning  of  the  concert 
I  went  to  him  at  8.30  and  rehearsed  Beethoven's 
Romance  in  G  with  him,  before  breakfast.  I 
find  he  wrote  in  my  album  at  that  time  : 


The  prices  at  Ella's  subscription  concerts 
were  rather  high,  and  they  were  not  supported 
by  the  general  public.  When  Arthur  Chappell 
came  on  the  scene  and  started  the  Saturday  and 
Monday  Popular  Concerts  he  was  anxious  to  get 
many  of  the  artists  who  had  been  for  so  many 
years  associated  with  Ella — and  these  all  left 


JOHN   ELLA  113 

Ella  and  accepted  engagements  with  Chappell — 
Ella  complained  bitterly  to  me  of  their  "  ingrati- 
tude," as  he  called  it.  They  were  Madame 
Schumann,  Madame  Arabella  Goddard,  Joachim, 
and  Charles  Halle — who,  as  Ella  told  me,  had 
played  sixty-six  times  for  him.  •-  So,  as  these 
artists  were  not  allowed  by  their  contracts  to 
play  for  him  any  more,  Ella  retired  from  active 
operations  in  a  year  or  two  and  never  resumed 
them  again.  His  idea  of  having  analytical  pro- 
grammes, however,  has  ever  since  been  utilised 
for  most  of  the  Chamber  Concerts  given  in  this 
country. 

Ella's  inscription  in  my  album  is  : 


Mr.  J.  W.  Davison  wrote  the  Books  of  Words 
for  ChappeU's  Concerts,  more  musical  extracts 
being  given,  and  after  his  death  they  were 
written  by  Joseph  Bennett.  The  Chappell  con- 
certs encouraged  the  taste  for  instrumental 
chamber  music,  and  were  carried  on  for  many 
years  with  the  greatest  success.  Many  famous 
artists  appeared  at  them ;  Madame  Norman 
Neruda,  who  became  Lady  Halle,  was  one  of 


114 


CHAMBER  CONCERTS 


their  mainstays.     I  used  to  call  her  "  the  Madame 
Schumann  of  the  violin." 

I  was  often  at  the  Popular  Concerts  when 
Madame  Schumann  played,  and  when  she  re- 
tired from  the  platform  the  audience  used  to 
throw  so  many  bouquets  at  her  that  she  stood 
among  a  mass  of  beautiful  flowers  to  bow  her 
acknowledgments.  Sir  Julius  Benedict  acted  as 
conductor  for  many  years. 


*</ 


It  was  always  a  delight  to  me  to  hear  Madame 
Clara  Schumann  play  ;  her  reading  of  Beethoven 
was  emphatically  "  masculine,"  and  at  the  same 
time  full  of  expression  and  refinement. 

She  was  the  devoted  exponent  of  her  hus- 
band's music,  and  I  shall  never  forget  the  im- 
pression she  made  on  me  in  his  splendid  quintette 
in  E  flat  with  Joachim,  Piatti,  Riess,  and  Howell, 
nor  the  "  Carnival  "  and  "  Kriesleriana,"  and, 


MADAME    CLARA   SCHUMANN  115 

above   all,    her   wonderful   performance   of   his 
Pianoforte  Concerto  in  A  minor. 

She  had  beautiful  blue  eyes  and  very  expres- 
sive features,  and  sweetness  showed  in  every 
line  of  her  face.  In  her  latter  days  she  was 
slightly  deaf,  but  could  hear  music  very  well, 
and  had  no  difficulty  in  joining  in  concerted 
numbers.  She  lisped  slightly  in  her  speech. 

In  England  and  Germany  she  was  constantly 
associated  with  Joachim,  and  their  playing  of 
the  "Kreutzer  Sonata"  was  a  tour  de  force.  I 
first  knew  Joachim  when  I  was  a  boy  of  sixteen  ; 
I  met  him  at  a  soiree  given  by  Balfe  at  his  house 
in  Bruton  Street.  I  remember  that,  on  one 
occasion,  when  he  played  the  "  Kreutzer  Sonata  " 
with  Anton  Rubinstein,  at  one  of  Ella's  Musical 
Union  Matinees,  he  was  very  angry  with  Rubin- 
stein for  taking  the  last  movement  at  such  a 
terrific  rate,  and  said  he  would  never  play  it 
with  him  again.  I  was  present  at  the  time,  and 
I  think  Joachim  was  quite  right.  Rubinstein 
was  of  such  an  exuberant  disposition  that  he 
really  could  not  help  himself,  and  was  carried 
away  by  his  enthusiasm. 

Joachim  was  always  kind  to  young  students, 
and  gave  them  encouragement  and  advice.  He 
was  a  pupil  of  Spohr,  and  played  his  master's 
concertos  and  salon  pieces,  which  have  now  gone 
out  of  date. 

I  recollect  that,  when  rehearsing  Maurer's 
Concerto  for  four  violins,  which  I  was  accom- 


116  CHAMBER  CONCERTS 

panying,  he  stopped  the  rehearsal  and  said  he 
would  not  play  it,  as  it  was  too  trivial ! 

He  was  the  first  to  play  Mendelssohn's  Violin 
Concerto  at  one  of  the  Philharmonic  Society's 
concerts. 

Sir  Charles  Halle,  like  Benedict,  was  a  very 
active  and  industrious  man,  who,  besides  play- 
ing the  works  of  the  classical  masters,  such  as  the 
whole  of  Beethoven's  Sonatas  by  heart,  con- 
ducted the  celebrated  Free  Trade  Hall  Orchestral 
Concerts  at  Manchester.  He  did  a  great  deal  to 
cultivate  musical  taste  in  that  town,  giving  his 
audiences  the  best  singers  and  instrumentalists, 
and  also  did  fine  work  through  his  various  tours 
with  his  orchestra  in  the  provinces.  No  foreign 
artist  of  note  came  to  England  without  re- 
ceiving an  engagement  from  Halle  to  appear  at 
his  concerts,  and  as  a  pianist  he  excelled  in 
Beethoven,  Mozart,  and  Schubert,  and  made 
the  compositions  of  Stephen  Heller  known  in 
England. 

In  1869  he  sat  next  to  me  at  one  of  the  Phil- 
harmonic Concerts  among  the  audience  in  St. 
James's  Hall,  when  Madame  Norman-Neruda 
played  a  violin  concerto  in  place  of  M.  Henri 
Vieuxtemps,  who  was  prevented  by  illness  from 
playing,  and  he  recommended  her  to  the  direc- 
tors as  his  deputy.  She  was  so  successful  that 
poor  Vieuxtemps  had  no  chance  of  appearing 
again  at  those  concerts  that  season.  Halle  had 
not  heard  her  before,  and  was  charmed  with  her 


MADAME   NORMAN-NERUDA  117 

playing.  As  every  one  knows,  she  afterwards 
became  his  wife. 

Madame  Neruda  had  already  appeared  in 
London  as  a  child,  in  1849.  She  made  a  great 
name,  not  only  in  London  but  all  over  the 
country ;  she  was  a  great  favourite  at  Chappell's 
Saturday  and  Monday  Popular  Concerts,  and 
sometimes  played  duets  by  Spohr  with  Joachim. 
She  died  in  Berlin,  where  she  had  settled,  in 
1911,  and  by  her  death  the  world  lost  a  great 
artist. 

Halle  asked  me  some  years  ago  to  teach  his 
son  Clifford  the  piano,  which  I  did. 

In  1872  I  felt  the  want  of  quartette  concerts 
on  Saturday  evenings,  although  we  had  the 
famous  Saturday  and  Monday  Popular  Concerts, 
so  I  thought  it  might  be  a  good  opportunity  to 
give  six  Chamber  Concerts,  under  my  own  direc- 
tion. The  first  took  place  on  February  24th, 
1872,  at  St.  George's  Hall.  My  quartette  con- 
sisted of  Messrs.  Joseph  Ludwig,  Jung,  Hann, 
and  Paque.  I  was  the  pianist  and  played  in 
conjunction  with  these  artists — except  Jung, 
who  was  not  required — -Weber's  rarely  heard 
Quartette  in  B  flat,  Op.  5,  which  was  much 
appreciated  by  my  audience,  as  well  as  other 
vocal  and  instrumental  music.  At  my  second 
concert  an  Italian  violinist,  Madame  Camilla 
Urso,  who  had  been  recommended  to  me  as  a 
clever  player,  made  her  first  appearance  in 
England  and  made  a  very  favourable  impression, 


118  CHAMBER  CONCERTS 

on  the  strength  of  which  I  engaged  her  again 
for  the  third  concert,  at  which  a  charming 
French  vocalist,  Madame  Conneau,  made  her 
debut.  She  sang  a  cycle  of  beautiful  songs  in 
manuscript,  composed  expressly  for  and  dedi- 
cated to  her  by  Rossini,  entitled,  "  Regatta 
Veneziana,"  and  also  a  song  called  "  Le  Prin- 
temps,"  composed  expressly  for  her  by  Gounod 
— of  course  by  now  everybody  knows  this  charm- 
ing song,  which  is  a  favourite  still.  The  Empress 
Eugenie  was  a  great  friend  of  this  singer,  her 
husband  being  Dr.  Conneau,  Physician  to  the 
Emperor  Napoleon  III.  She  sang  with  great 
taste,  and  was  an  extremely  handsome  woman. 
On  this  occasion  M.  Edouard  de  Paris,  an 
esteemed  professor  of  the  piano  at  Brighton,  was 
the  pianist,  and  played  in  Schumann's  Quartette 
in  E  flat,  which  pleased  enormously. 

For  the  fifth  concert  I  engaged  Herr  Professor 
Hugo  Heermann,  from  Frankfort,  as  violinist, 
and  he  led  the  quartettes  with  great  distinction. 

The  last  concert  of  the  season  took  place  on 
March  30th,  Mile  Carola,  a  very  gifted  soprano, 
being  one  of  the  singers.  Signor  Randegger 
conducted,  as  he  had  done  before  on  several 
occasions.  I  played,  with  young  Frederick  H. 
Cowen,  Schumann's  "  Andante  con  Variazioni," 
a  pianoforte  duet  for  two  pianos. 

These  concerts  were  thoroughly  successful 
from  an  artistic  point  of  view,  and  I  had  intro- 
duced as  much  new  talent  as  possible ;  but,  owing 


SIR   AUGUSTUS    MANNS  119 

to  the  want  of  financial  support,  I  could  not 
carry  them  on.  This  only  proves  that  musical 
people  must  not  speculate  in  concert-giving,  but 
leave  it  to  music-sellers,  or  other  speculators, 
who  have  a  large  capital  to  work  on  and  so  can 
carry  on  their  concerts  for  many  years. 

When  I  first  saw  Sir  Augustus  Manns  (then 
Mr.  A.  Manns)  he  was  a  member  of  the  Crystal 
Palace  orchestra,  conducted  by  Herr  Schallehn, 
wearing  a  uniform,  and  the  band  played  under 
a  stand  in  the  open  air.  Manns  helped  the  con- 
ductor by  arranging  his  compositions  for  the 
orchestra  which  Herr  Schallehn  put  on  the  pro- 
grammes as  his  own.  Later  on  Manns  became 
the  conductor  himself,  and  after  a  little  while  he 
and  the  members  of  his  orchestra  were  allowed 
by  the  directors  to  discard  their  uniforms  for 
ordinary  civilian  dress.  It  was  then  that  Manns 
instituted  the  celebrated  Saturday  afternoon 
concerts,  which  he  conducted  with  so  much  zeal 
and  ability  for  so  many  years.  He  first  brought 
out  the  orchestral  works  of  Arthur  Sullivan, 
Frederick  Cowen,  Alexander  Mackenzie,  Hubert 
Parry,  Sir  George  Macfarren,  Frederick  Corder, 
Edward  German,  Villiers  Stanford,  Max  Bruch, 
and  many  others.  All  the  best  pianists  and 
violinists  of  the  world  appeared  at  these  concerts, 
and  the  symphonies  of  Beethoven,  Mozart, 
Schubert,  Schumann,  Mendelssohn,  Raff,  and 
Brahms  were  often  heard  there. 

A  great  guide  to  the  public  were  the  analytical 


120  CHAMBER  CONCERTS 

programmes,  written  in  masterly  style  by  the 
late  Sir  George  Grove,  of  The  Musical  Dictionary. 
He  it  was  who  discovered  Schubert's  "  Unfinished 
Symphony  "  in  Vienna. 

Manns  worked  for  the  music  at  the  Crystal 
Palace  with  untiring  energy  and  absorbing  in- 
terest for  fifty  years.  When  Sir  Michael  Costa 
died  he  was  appointed  conductor  of  the  Han- 
del Festivals,  which  he  directed  with  his  accus- 
tomed ability.  Probably  nowhere  else  in  the 
world  were  finer  performances  given  of  Handel's 
oratorios,  Mendelssohn's  Elijah,  and  Haydn's 
Creation  than  those  at  the  Crystal  Palace,  but 
I  have  spoken  of  them  already  in  my  remarks 
about  Sir  Michael  Costa. 

It  was.  in  the  seventies  that  my  great  friend, 
Carl  Rosa,  by  a  rare  combination  of  musical 
gifts  with  energy  and  enthusiasm,  established  the 
reputation  of  the  opera  company  to  which  he 
gave  his  name.  Besides  the  work  of  manage- 
ment, he  also  conducted  the  operas  himself  with 
real  sympathy  and  ability.  After  a  season  at 
the  old  Princess's  Theatre  in  Oxford  Street  in 
1875,  he  opened  in  the  following  year  at  the 
Lyceum,  when  the  chief  feature  was  the  English 
production  of  The  Flying  Dutchman  with  Charles 
Santley  in  the  title-role  and  Mile  Torriani  as 
Senta. 

Carl  Rosa  was  the  first  to  give  real  encourage- 
ment to  English  composers,  and  in  the  same  year 
produced  a  new  opera  by  young  Frederick  Cowen 


CARL   ROSA  121 

called  Pauline.  In  1883,  at  Drury  Lane  Theatre, 
he  produced  Esmeralda,  a  charming  work  by 
Goring  Thomas,  which  he  had  commissioned  him 
to  write,  and  thus  gave  this  musical  genius  his 
first  opportunity  of  being  heard.  This  opera  has 
been  revived  since,  and  has  always  captivated 
those  who  heard  it.  The  same  year  saw  the 
production  of  Colombo,,  an  opera  by  Alexander 
Mackenzie,  with  that  gifted  artist  Madame 
Alwina  Valleria  in  the  chief  part.  In  1885  she 
created  the  part  of  Nadeshda  in  the  opera 
by  Goring  Thomas,  which  again  exhibited  his 
brilliant  talents.  Villiers  Stanford's  Canterbury 
Pilgrims,  Mackenzie's  Troubadour,  and  Corder's 
Nordisa  were  other  new  works  produced  by  him, 
while  he  gave  the  first  performances  in  English 
of  Wagner's  Rienzi,  Tannhduser,  and  Lohengrin, 
and  Verdi's  A'ida. 

Carl  Rosa  used  often  to  discuss  his  plans 
and  consult  with  me  on  the  introduction  of 
novelties.  Among  the  artists  introduced  to  the 
English  operatic  stage  by  Carl  Rosa  were  Minnie 
Hauk,  who  was  a  remarkable  Katherine  in 
Goetz's  Taming  of  the  Shrew,  Marie  Roze,  who 
became  a  great  favourite,  and  Julia  Gaylord,  a 
sympathetic  Mignon,  Clara  Perry  with  a  charm- 
ing voice  (she  later  became  Mrs.  Ben  Davies), 
and  Mile  Zelie  de  Lussan. 

Mile  Zelie  de  Lussan,  who  became  a  great 
star  in  the  company,  made  a  brilliant  success  as 
Carmen,  and  as  Maria  in  The  Daughter  of  the 


122  CHAMBER  CONCERTS 

Regiment.  She  is  one  of  the  most  versatile 
operatic  artists  on  the  English  stage,  and  an 
excellent  linguist.  I  know  that  she  has  sung 
Carmen  in  three  different  languages,  and  Mar- 
guerite in  Faust  in  Italian  and  English,  with 
equal  effect. 

The  castes  were  also  very  strong  on  the  men's 
side,  including  such  names  as  Joseph  Maas,  the 
lamented  tenor,  whose  career  was,  alas,  so  short, 
my  valued  and  esteemed  friend  Ben  Davies, 
Barton  McGuckin,  Leslie  Crotty,  and  'William 
Ludwig. 

To  show  the  interest  Joseph  Maas  took  in  his 
stage  work,  I  remember  that  he  shaved  off  his 
moustache  to  sing  the  part  of  des  Grieux  in 
Manon  when  it  was  first  given  here.  Shortly 
afterwards,  at  an  At  Home  given  by  Sir  Charles 
Halle,  the  host  said  to  my  wife,  "  Who  is  that 
gentleman  over  there  standing  in  the  door- 
way ?  "  and  when  she  told  him  it  was  Joseph 
Maas  he  was  astonished,  and  said,  "  Oh,  I  didn't 
know  him  !  ' 

It  was  a  real  tragedy  that  poor  Carl  Rosa 
was  cut  off  in  the  prime  of  life,  but  English 
people  will  never  forget  the  debt  they  owe  him. 
In  1891,  two  years  after  his  lamented  death,  I 
joined  the  Board  of  Directors  and  worked  very 
hard  for  the  company,  endeavouring  to  bring 
out  new  operas  and  get  the  best  artists  possible. 
We  gave  Hamish  MacCunn's  Jeanie  Deans  in 
Edinburgh,  and  at  a  special  season  at  Daly's 


I   JOIN   THE    CARL   ROSA    COMPANY     123 

Theatre,  London,  in  1894,  Humperdinck's  master- 
piece Hansel  and  Gretel,  was  produced  in  English 
and  won  immediate  recognition  by  its  exquisite 
charm  and  musicianship.  Mozart's  youthful 
opera  Bastien  and  Bastienne  was  given  each 
evening  with  Hansel  and  Gretel. 


I  was  instrumental  in  having  Puccini's  La 
Boheme  first  performed  in  England  (in  English) 
at  Manchester,  where  the  company  remained 
several  weeks  ;  also  some  of  Wagner's  later  operas, 
such  as  Siegfried,  The  Meister singer,  and  Tristan 
and  Isolde,  and  Verdi's  Otello,  in  which  Madame 


124  CHAMBER  CONCERTS 

Ella  Russell  created  the  part  of  Desdemona. 
All  these  difficult  operas  were  splendidly  per- 
formed, and  they  were  highly  appreciated  by  the 
provincial  public.  I  was  always  on  the  look- 
out for  new  artists,  and  engaged  Madame  Saville, 
who  was  a  fine  soprano,  and  Mr.  Hedmont,  who 
took  some  of  the  principal  tenor  parts,  especially 
in  the  Wagner  operas.  Of  course  there  were 
plenty  of  parts  left  for  the  popular  tenor  Barton 
McGuckin.  Miss  Alice  Esty  also  won  her  first 
successes  with  the  company.  The  chief  con- 
ductor of  late  years  was  Herr  Eckhold,  who 
performed  his  duties  admirably. 

In  1891  we  organised  a  special  tour  for  Marie 
Roze's  farewell  and  engaged  Henry  J.  Wood  to 
conduct  the  orchestra. 

The  company  used  to  give  a  season  of  several 
weeks  at  the  Court  Theatre,  Liverpool,  which 
was  at  that  period  its  own  property,  and  visited 
Glasgow,  Edinburgh,  Dublin,  and  other  big 
cities. 

Mrs.  Carl  Rosa,  who  was  also  a  director,  worked 
indefatigably  for  the  company. 


CHAPTER   VII 

MY   ORCHESTRAL    CONCERTS 

« 

I  take  over  the  New  Philharmonic  Concerts — The  first  concert, 
April  18th,  1874 — Mile  Marie  Krebs — John  Francis  Bar- 
nett's  "  A  Winter's  Tale  " — First  appearance  of  Madame 
Essipoff — Her  beauty — "  Dear  Mama  Ganz,  I  am  simply 
famished  " — Titiens — Her  compliment  to  me — Trebelli — 
Jean  de  Reszke  appears  as  a  baritone — Von  Billow — 
Rubinstein  plays  his  own  Concerto — Braga — Rosavella  n6e 
Roosevelt — Janotha — Sarasate — Wagner's  "  Waldweben  " — 
First  appearance  of  Saint-Saens — Wieniawski — Berlioz's 
Harold — The  Duke  and  Duchess  of  Edinburgh  come  to 
hear  "  Egmont " — New  overture  by  Alice  Mary  Smith — 
Ganz's  Orchestral  Concerts — Sauret — Marie  Roze — Mon- 
tigny-Remaury — First  appearance  of  Herbert  Reeves — Sims 
Reeves's  offer  to  me — His  wonderful  singing  at  my  concert 
— First  appearance  of  Sophie  Menter — First  performance 
of  Berlioz's  Symphonie  Fantastique — Berlioz's  Romeo  and 
Jtdiet — Gluck's  Orpheus — Menter's  eccentricity — Her  cat, 
"  Klecks  " — First  performance  of  Liszt's  Dante — First  ap- 
pearance of  Agnes  Huntington — First  appearance  of  Vladimir 
de  Pachmann — End  of  the  concerts — My  difficulties. 

I  NOW  come  to  a  stage  in  my  career  which  I 
may  be  forgiven  for  regarding  as  the  proudest 
period  of  my  association  with  music  in  England. 
At  the  beginning  of  December  1873  there 
was  a  meeting  of  the  Council  of  the  New  Phil- 
harmonic Society,  of  which  I  was  a  member,  at 
Dr.  Wylde's  residence,  when  he  informed  the 
meeting  that  he  wished  to  give  up  the  New 

125 


126  MY  ORCHESTRAL  CONCERTS 

Philharmonic  Orchestral  Concerts,  as  he  had 
carried  them  on  long  enough  and  wished  to  retire 
from  the  direction. 

I  thought  over  this  matter  and  next  day 
called  on  Dr.  Wylde  and  asked  him  what  he 
wanted  for  the  title,  and  whether  he  would  let 
me  have  the  concerts,  and  also  about  particulars 
of  subscription.  I  knew  I  had  it  in  me  to  con- 
duct them,  but  Dr.  Wylde  was  undecided  about 
giving  them  to  me ;  so  I  called  repeatedly  on 
Dr.  Frederick  Davison,  the  hon.  treasurer,  and 
he  had  several  interviews  with  Dr.  Wylde  and 
myself. 

At  last,  on  December  19th,  we  came  to  an 
agreement  which  was  signed  by  Dr.  Wylde  and 
myself  and  by  Frederick  Davison  as  a  witness, 
for  us  to  carry  on  the  concerts  conjointly  under 
the  following  conditions.  Dr.  Wylde  was  to 
conduct  the  symphonies  and  I  the  overtures, 
the  vocal  music  and  the  instrumental  concertos. 
The  agreement  was  for  six  years,  commencing 
from  the  season  1874.  On  December  20th  there 
was  a  meeting  of  the  society  at  St.  George's 
Hall,  and  Dr.  Wylde  announced  that  the  con- 
certs would  be  carried  on  by  us  both,  and  on 
December  22nd  the  first  advertisement  appeared 
in  the  Times  of  the  New  Philharmonic  Concerts, 
with  the  names  of  the  conductors,  Dr.  Wylde 
and  Herr  Ganz. 

On  Saturday,  April  18th,  1874,  the  first  con- 
cert took  place  at  St.  James's  Hall.  I  conducted 


MARIE  KREBS  127 

the  overture  to  Weber's  Euryanihe,  the  C 
minor  pianoforte  concerto  of  Beethoven  played 
by  Mile  Marie  Krebs  (she  was  the  daughter  of 
Kapellmeister  Krebs,  of  the  Dresden  Opera,  and 
a  very  fine  player),  and  the  "  Friedensfeier " 
overture  by  Reinecke,  the  conductor  of  the 
famous  Gewandhaus  Concerts  at  Leipzig,  besides 
conducting  the  charming  vocal  pieces  by  Mile 
Marimon  and  Mile  Scalchi,  both  from  Covent 
Garden.  Dr.  Wylde  conducted  one  of  Bee- 
thoven's symphonies.  Everything  went  without 
a  hitch  and  I  received  kind  congratulations  from 
everybody,  and  was  more  than  glad  of  the 
opportunity  of  conducting  such  a  fine  band  of 
musicians. 

At  the  second  concert  I  began  with  the 
"  Egmont  "  overture.  Sir  Julius  Benedict's  new 
symphony  in  G  minor  was  performed  with  suc- 
cess, and  Mile  Krebs  gave  a  fine  rendering  of 
Schubert's  Fantasia  orchestrated  by  Liszt. 

At  the  third  concert  M.  Duvernoy  from  Paris 
was  the  pianist,  and  at  the  next  Mile  d'Angeri, 
a  fine  soprano  from  Vienna  and  at  that  time  at 
Covent  Garden,  was  the  singer.  Her  real  name 
was  Angermayer,  but  she  had  Italianised  it  so 
as  to  sing  in  Italian  Opera. 

At  the  fifth  concert  I  conducted  the  fine 
overture  called  "  A  Winter's  Tale "  by  John 
Francis  Barnett,  which  pleased  the  audience  very 
much.  I  was  at  Barnett's  de"but  when  he  came 
out,  almost  as  a  boy,  at  the  New  Philharmonic 
10 


128  MY  ORCHESTRAL  CONCERTS 

Concerts — then  conducted  by  Dr.  Wylde — and 
played  Mendelssohn's  Pianoforte  Concerto  in 
G  minor.  He  was  then  a  student  at  the  Royal 
Academy  of  Music,  and  one  of  Dr.  Wylde's  own 
pupils.  He  has  composed  a  great  many  works, 
one  of  which  is  a  cantata  called  The  Ancient 
Mariner,  which  was,  I  believe,  written  for  one 
of  the  Birmingham  Festivals,  and  has  been  per- 
formed all  over  the  country. 

The  particular  star  at  this  concert  was  the 
celebrated   pianist,    Madame  Annette   Essipoff, 
who  then  made  her  first  appearance  in  England 
and  achieved  a  stupendous  success  in  Chopin's  E 
minor  Concerto.     She  was  recommended  to  me 
by  Dr.  Hans  von  Biilow,   from  St.  Petersburg, 
as  a  "  she  star,"  and  on  that  recommendation 
I  engaged  her  at  once.     She  was  a  pupil  of  Pro- 
fessor Leschetizsky  of  St.  Petersburg,  and  became 
his    wife.     Her    playing  was    delightful ;    rarely 
have  I  heard  better,  and  she  played  with  intense 
feeling.     The    audience  were    delighted,    and    I 
engaged  her  at  once  for  the  next  concert.     She 
was  a  most  attractive-looking  woman,   with  a 
beautiful  complexion  and  very  sweet  smile — in 
fact,  I  hardly  ever  saw  a  more  fascinating-look- 
ing pianist.     She  had  only  one  fault — if  it  is  a 
fault — and  that  was  that  she  was  always  hungry. 
She  often  came  to  us,  at  12  o'clock  at  night, 
after  having  been  previously  to  a  dinner-party, 
saying    to    my  wife,   "  Dear   Mama  Ganz,   I'm 
simply   famished — have  you  got   something   to 


ANNETTE    ESSIPOFF  129 

eat?"  The  servants  had  long  gone  to  bed,  so 
my  wife  had  to  run  down  to  the  kitchen  and 
fetch  up  some  provisions  to  appease  the  appetite 
of  Madame  Essipoff.  It  was  a  great  joke  be- 
tween us  all. 

Leschetizsky  has  now  settled  at  Vienna.  He 
was  the  teacher  of  Paderewski  and  of  manv 

V 

other  great  pianists,  and  pupils  go  to  him  from 
all  parts  of  the  world.  He  once  told  me  that  he 
taught  Paderewski  gratis,  and  the  young  pianist, 
in  gratitude,  gave  him  a  gold  watch.  I  met  him 
frequently  in  London.  He  was  a  contemporary 
of  Liszt  and  all  the  musical  celebrities  of  the 
century,  and  is  full  of  anecdotes.  He  was  a 
great  favourite  here,  having  often  played  at 
John  Ella's  and  other  concerts. 

At  the  sixth  concert  Madame  Regan- Schimon 
was  the  vocalist  and  sang  "  Lieder  "  by  Schu- 
bert in  beautiful  style.  Madame  Essipoff  made 
her  second  appearance  and  played  Rubinstein's 
Concerto  in  D  minor,  achieving  another  triumph. 
Since  Rubinstein  played  this  concerto  at  one  of 
these  concerts  no  one  has  ever  had  such  a  suc- 
cess in  it  as  she  had.  She  also  played  Liszt's 
"Hungarian  Fantasia,"  then  little  known  here, 
with  great  fire  and  brilliance.  After  Madame 
Essipoff  had  left  England  she  wrote  me  a  letter 
in  German,  in  which  she  said  : 

"  Last  night,  at  half- past  twelve  at  night,  I 
knocked  and  rang  for  a  long,  long  time  at  your 


130  MY  ORCHESTRAL  CONCERTS 

door,  but  it  would  not  open  to  me  any  more.  I 
am  very  sorry  not  to  have  seen  you  again  before 
going  away.  ...  A  thousand  heartfelt  thanks 
for  your  friendship  for  me  ;  I  know  how  to  ap- 
preciate it." 

Madame  Marie  Roze  and  Signer  Foli  were  the 
singers.  Madame  Roze  came  from  the  Opera- 
Comique  in  Paris,  where  she  was  a  great  favourite, 
and  Auber  wrote  one  of  his  last  operas,  Le 
Premier  Jour  de  Bonheur,  for  her.  Being  a  very 
handsome  woman,  whenever  she  appeared  in 
public  she  captivated  her  hearers. 

At  the  seventh  concert  I  conducted  Signor 
Schira's  overture  to  his  opera,  The  Lord  of 
Burleigh.  Apart  from  being  a  successful  com- 
poser, he  was  one  of  the  most  sought-after  sing- 
ing professors.  Frederick  Cowen's  "Festal  Over- 
ture "  was  also  performed  under  my  direction, 
and  Alfred  Jaell,  a  distinguished  pianist  of  im- 
mense girth  but  with  an  exquisite  touch,  played 
Schumann's  Concerto  in  A  minor.  Mile  Titiens 
sang  the  aria  "  Non  mi  dir  "  from  Don  Giovanni 
with  overpowering  effect,  and  on  leaving  the 
platform  she  said  to  me  in  German,  "  Mit  Ihnen 
braucht  man  nicht  zu  probieren  "  (With  you  it 
is  unnecessary  to  rehearse)  as  we  had  not  had 
a  rehearsal.  I  thought  this  a  great  compliment, 
and  felt  very  proud  of  it. 

At  the  eighth  concert  Madame  Trebelli-Bettini 
sang,  and  so  did  Signor  de  Reschi,  who  my 
readers  will  know  better  as  M.  Jean  de  Reszke. 


JEAN    DE    RESZKE  131 

He  was  then  a  baritone,  and  sang  the  aria  "  Sei 
vendicata "  from  Dinorah,  and  the  duet  "  In 
questo  suolo  "  from  La  Favorita  with  Madame 
Trebelli-Bettini.  She  was  the  wife  of  Signer 
Bettini,  a  good  tenor  who  sang  at  the  opera  with 
Mapleson  at  Her  Majesty's  Theatre.  De  Reszke's 
change  from  a  baritone  to  a  great  and  popular 
tenor  I  have  alluded  to  elsewhere. 

At  the  second  concert  of  the  following  season 
(1875),  Dr.  Hans  von  Billow  played  the  C  minor 
Concerto  of  Bach,  for  two  pianos,  with  Mrs. 
Beesley,  a  gifted  pupil  of  his,  and  also  Schumann's 
Andante  con  Variazioni  duet  for  two  pianos, 
which  pleased  the  audience  very  much.  I  speak 
of  him  in  a  later  chapter. 

Herr  Wilhelmj,  the  great  violinist,  played  at 
the  concert  on  May  22nd.  He  was  the  leader 
at  the  first  Wagner  Festival  at  Bayreuth,  and  the 
Belgian  violinist,  M.  Jules  de  Swert,  played  on 
June  5th.  On  June  19th  Charles  Santley  sang 
and  Alfred  Jaell  gave  a  superb  performance  of 
Brahms'  glorious  Concerto  in  D  minor,  which 
he  had  helped  to  make  famous  abroad. 

A  noteworthy  event  of  the  season  of  1876 
was  the  first  appearance  at  these  concerts,  on 
May  27th,  of  the  great  pianist  Anton  Rubinstein, 
who  played  his  own  Concerto  in  D  minor  with 
enormous  success.  Mile  Thekla  Friedlander 
and  Mile  Redeker  sang  some  pretty  duets  by 
Rubinstein.  Mile  Redeker  had  a  beautiful  con- 
tralto voice,  and  later  on  she  settled  in  London 


182  MY  ORCHESTRAL  CONCERTS 

and  got  on  very  well,  being  much  in  request 
in  fashionable  circles.  She  married  Dr.  Felix 
Semon,  the  eminent  throat  specialist.  The 
'cellist  and  composer,  Signer  Gaetano  Braga, 
appeared  at  another  concert.  He  is  principally 
known  to  fame  through  his  notorious  "  Sere- 
nata." 

In  the  next  season  (1877)  I  performed  the 
overture  to  Wagner's  Meistersinger  and  his 
Huldigungs  Marsch,  which  he  dedicated  to  King 
Louis  of  Bavaria.  These  works  were  not  then 
much  known  in  London  and  they  attracted  a 
large  audience.  Herr  Arnim  von  Bcehme,  from 
Dresden,  sang  "  Siegmund's  Liebeslied "  from 
Die  Walkiire,  and  a  young  English  singer,  Miss 
Elene  Webster,  "  Elizabeth's  Prayer "  from 
Tannhduser.  I  also  gave  the  Flying  Dutchman 
overture.  I  relate  in  a  subsequent  chapter  how  I 
met  Richard  Wagner  at  Schott's  music-shop  at 
this  time  and  showed  him  the  concert-bills. 

That  fine  artist,  Herr  George  Henschel,  sang 
at  one  of  the  concerts,  and  at  another  I  was 
pleased  to  introduce  the  violinist,  M.  Paul  Viar- 
dot,  son  of  Madame  Viardot  Garcia. 

M.  Joseph  Wieniawski,  brother  of  the  great 
Henri,  played  Litolff's  Pianoforte  Concerto  in 
E  flat  with  great  brilliancy  of  effect.  This 
concerto  was  the  favourite  show-piece  of  most 
continental  pianists,  but  it  never  found  favour 
with  the  English  press  ;  in  fact,  when  Von  Biilow 
came  out  at  one  of  the  New  Philharmonic  Con- 


133 

certs,  though  he  played  it  magnificently,  it  did 
not  find  favour,  and  has  never  been  played  in 
later  years.  Mile  Rosavella  made  her  first 
appearance  in  England  and  sang  an  aria  by 
Mozart  and  some  German  songs  extremely  well. 
She  was  considered  a  beauty,  and  her  real  name 
was  Roosevelt.  She  was  related  to  the  American 
President.  Lord  Dudley,  who  thought  it  would 


^*~ *     f*' 


be  to  her  benefit  to  sing  at  these  concerts,  intro- 
duced her  to  me.  She  gave  up  singing  in  later 
years  and  took  to  literary  work.  The  violinist, 
Herr  Auer,  also  appeared. 

In  1878  Senor  Pablo  Sarasate  played  Men- 
delssohn's Violin  Concerto,  and  the  "  Rondo 
Capriccioso  "  by  Saint-Saens.  The  last  move- 
ment of  the  Mendelssohn  Concerto  he  played  at 


134  MY  ORCHESTRAL  CONCERTS 

lightning  speed,  but  every  note  came  out  most 
clearly.  Sarasate  was  a  most  modest  man,  and 
gave  himself  no  airs.  His  playing  was  always 
a  great  treat  to  listen  to,  and  at  this  concert  it 
was  received  with  the  greatest  enthusiasm. 

On  May  18th  a  young  Polish  pianist,  Mile 
Janotha,  a  pupil  of  Madame  Schumann,  played 
Mendelssohn's  Concerto  in  G  minor  with  rare 
intelligence  and  power.  It  was  her  first  appear- 
ance in  England.  She  showed  the  influence  of 
the  style  of  her  distinguished  instructress.  At 
the  same  concert  M.  Marsick  played  the  beautiful 
Violin  Concerto  in  G  minor  by  Max  Bruch,  who 
was  over  here  at  the  time  and  attended  my 
concerts. 

Sarasate  was  again  the  violinist  at  the  next 
concert,  when  he  played  Beethoven's  Concerto. 
He  was  rather  reluctant  to  play  it,  and,  when  I 
asked  him  the  reason,  said  that,  as  Joachim  was 
in  London  and  had  played  it  lately,  he  did  not 
wish  to  compete  with  him  ;  but  I  over-persuaded 
him,  and  he  played  it  superbly.  The  only  change 
in  tempo  from  the  beaten  track  was  that  he  took 
the  last  movement  quicker,  in  which  his  ex- 
ceedingly light  bowing  was  a  revelation  of  fairy- 
like  delicacy.  He  also  played  his  own  effective 
Faust  Fantasia.  Our  great  English  contralto, 
Madame  Patey,  was  the  singer  on  that  occasion, 
and  I  conducted  a  new  overture  by  the  Hun- 
garian composer,  Baron  Bodog  D'Orczy,  from 
his  opera  The  Renegade.  It  is  a  line  composition, 


FIRST    APPEARANCE    OF    SAINT-SAENS     135 

written  quite  in  the  modern  style.  His  little 
daughter  Emma  was  often  with  him  ;  she  has 
since  attained  great  popularity  as  the  authoress 
of  The  Scarlet  Pimpernel. 

I  also  included  Wagner's  then  little-known 
work,  the  exquisite  "  Waldweben  "  from  Sieg- 
fried, in  the  programme.  I  remember  at  the 
rehearsal,  on  going  through  it  with  the  orchestra, 
there  were  some  difficult  passages  for  the  reed 
instruments,  in  imitation  of  the  notes  of  the  bird, 
which  have  to  be  played  in  £  time  against  f 
of  the  rest  of  the  band.  As  they  did  not  get 
them  right,  I  took  up  Mr.  Pollitzer's  violin  and 
showed  them  how  the  passages  ought  to  go,  and 
they  all  applauded  me. 

The  concert  on  June  15th  was  most  interest- 
ing, for  it  was  the  occasion  of  the  first  appear- 
ance in  England  at  an  orchestral  concert  of  the 
celebrated  French  composer  and  pianist,  M. 
Camille  Saint-Saens.  I  had  engaged  him  to 
come  over  from  Paris  and  play  one  of  his  own 
concertos,  not  previously  heard  here,  the  now 
well-known  one  in  G  minor,  No.  2,  which  was 
afterwards  to  become  a  favourite  piece  of  all  the 
great  pianists  at  home  and  abroad.  Needless  to 
say,  the  audience  was  enchanted. 

I  was  thus  the  first  to  have  given  Saint-Saens 
the  opportunity  of  playing  one  of  his  con- 
certos here,  and  I  continued  to  engage  him  for 
three  consecutive  seasons.  None  of  the  London 
Orchestral  Societies  gave  him  the  chance  of 


136 

being  heard  at  their  concerts,  and  I  am  therefore 
very  proud  of  having  brought  him  before  the 
public.  I  have  alluded  elsewhere  to  him,  and  I 
much  treasure  a  valuable  breast-pin  which  he 
presented  to  me. 

At  the  request  of  Madame  Jenny  Lind  Gold- 
schmidt,  I  engaged  a  young  Swedish  singer, 
Mile  Riego,  to  sing  for  this  concert.  Madame 
Jenny  Lind  selected  the  songs  for  her  herself, 
as  she  was  her  pupil,  and  wrote  me :  "I  know 
you  will  be  kind  to  her,  dear  Mr.  Ganz,  and 


(/ishtjLMfa* 


follow    her    well.     She    can,    however,    sing    in 
time." 

On  June  29th  another  great  artist,  the  Polish 
violinist,  M.  Henri  Wieniawski,  played  one  of 
Vieuxtemp's  concertos  in  his  own  inimitable 
way.  He  was  a  delightful  and  unassuming  man, 
and  held  the  post  of  principal  violin  professor 
at  the  Brussels  conservatoire.  His  compositions 
are  now  well  known,  being  played  by  all  the 
leading  violinists.  I  remember  that  in  Vieux- 
temps'  "  Air  Varie  "  the  last  variation  has  to  be 


HENRI  WIENIAWSKI  187 

played  staccato,  with  up-and-down  bowing,  and 
he  played  it  better  than  the  composer.  I  know 
this  from  having  accompanied  him  in  it  and 
having  previously  heard  Vieuxtemps  play  it. 

I  gave  Wieniawski  one  of  his  last  engagements 
at  a  private  party,  where  he  played  Mendelssohn's 
D  minor  Trio  with  De  Swert,  the  'cellist,  and 
myself.  He  died  very  soon  afterwards ;  but  his 
widow,  who  is  an  English  lady,  the  niece  of 
George  Osborne,  the  pianist,  is  still  alive  and 
lives  in  this  country.  But  to  return  to  the 
concert,  I  also  conducted  Wagner's  Tannhauser 
Overture,  and  I  remember  with  pleasure  that 
Mr.  Hughes,  a  member  of  the  Covent  Garden 
Orchestra,  and  the  acknowledged  best  player 
living  of  the  "  ophicleide,"  paid  me  the  great 
compliment  of  saying  he  had  never  heard  it 
better  performed. 

I  can  well  remember  the  first  performance  in 
England  of  this  overture  at  a  New  Philharmonic 
Concert  on  May  1st,  1854  :  I  was  playing  in  the 
orchestra.  It  is  usually  stated  that  it  was  first 
given  at  an  Old  Philharmonic  Concert  in  1855 
under  Richard  Wagner's  direction,  which  is 
incorrect. 

In  1879,  as  Dr.  Henry  Wylde  wished  to  retire 
from  the  enterprise,  I  decided  to  continue  by 
myself.  I  now  became  sole  director  and  con- 
ductor, and  I  made  various  alterations  in  the 
orchestra,  increasing  it  to  eighty-one  performers, 
and  I  engaged  a  number  of  distinguished  first 


138 

violins,  some  of  whom  were  soloists:  Mr.  Pol- 
litzer  had  been  the  leader  for  many  years  and  I 
retained  him  in  the  same  position.  He  was  a 
first-rate  leader  in  every  way.  I  was  deter- 
mined to  carry  on  the  concerts  with  as  much 
energy  and  perseverance  as  my  health  would 
allow.  It  was  a  hard  task,  as  they  were  hardly 
a  financial  success  either  in  Dr.  Wylde's  time  or 
from  the  time  I  became  associated  with  him. 

As  Berlioz's  music  had  been  neglected  for 
many  years  in  concert  programmes,  I  wished  to 
revive  the  interest  in  the  works  of  this  wonder- 
ful composer,  and  I  performed  his  symphony 
Harold  in  Italy  at  the  first  concert  on 
May  26th  ;  it  made  a  great  sensation,  and  the 
Press  spoke  most  favourably  of  the  work  and 
praised  the  performance.  I  first  heard  it  under 
the  direction  of  the  composer  at  these  concerts 
in  1855  at  Exeter  Hall,  when  I  was  playing  the 
violin  in  the  orchestra,  and  it  then  made  a  deep 
impression  on  me.  I  remember  seeing  Meyer- 
beer sitting  in  the  audience  at  this  concert.  He 
was  a  small,  slight  man,  with  a  very  interesting 
face,  and  attracted  a  good  deal  of  attention. 

At  my  concert  in  1879  Herr  Joseph  Strauss 
played  the  viola  obbligato  part  which  had  been 
played  by  Ernst  in  1855.  The  Duke  and 
Duchess  of  Edinburgh  honoured  the  concert 
with  their  presence  ;  the  Duke  had  previously 
told  me  that  he  would  go  anywhere  to  hear 
Beethoven's  Overture  to  Egmont,  with  which 


HAROLD   IN  ITALY  13d 

I  opened  it.  Another  attraction  at  this  concert 
was  Beethoven's  Pianoforte  Concerto  in  E  flat, 
the  "  Emperor,"  which  was  magnificently  played 
by  Charles  Halle.  When  I  escorted  the  Duke 
and  Duchess  of  Edinburgh  to  their  carriage  at 
the  end  they  spoke  to  me  in  German  in  most 
complimentary  terms.  I  had  beforehand  given 
the  Duke  a  pianoforte  score  of  the  Symphony 
to  enable  him  to  follow  it  with  greater  interest. 

As  I  attached  great  importance  to  the  ana- 
lytical programmes  for  my  concerts,  I  asked 
Dr.  W.  A.  Barrett,  the  accomplished  critic  of  the 
Morning  Post,  and  Vicar  Choral  of  St.  Paul's 
Cathedral,  to  write  them.  They  were  much  more 
explicit  than  most  programmes  in  these  days ; 
the  words  of  the  foreign  songs  were  carefully 
translated,  and  they  were  a  complete  guide  to 
the  audience. 

On  May  10th,  1879,  Madame  Essipoff  made  a 
welcome  reappearance  and  delighted  my  audi- 
ence in  the  highest  degree,  playing  Rubinstein's 
"Caprice  Russe"  for  the  first  time  in  England 
and  Chopin's  Concerto  in  F  minor.  I  also  in- 
troduced to  London  Frederick  Cowen's  entr'acte 
and  dance  of  Almas  from  The  Corsair. 

The  concert  on  May  24th  was  remarkable  for 
the  appearance  of  both  Saint-Saens  and  Sarasate. 
One  would  have  expected  such  a  combination  to 
draw  a  huge  crowd,  but  such  was  not  the  case. 
When  Sarasate  gave  recitals  on  his  own  account 
they  were  always  crammed,  which  shows  that 


140  MY  ORCHESTRAL  CONCERTS 

the  public  wished  to  hear  one  artist,  by  himself, 
at  the  whole  concert.  There  were  two  novelties 
by  Saint-Saens,  his  C  minor  Concerto  and  his 
Symphony  in  A  minor,  which  I  asked  him  to 
conduct.  A  manuscript  overture  by  G.  A.  Osborne, 
called  "  The  Forest  Maiden,"  was  performed  ; 
it  was  written  expressly  for  my  concert,  and 
the  composer  was  present  and  expressed  himself 
pleased  with  the  performance. 

On  June  7th  a  new  overture  by  Alice  Mary 
Smith  (wife  of  Judge  Meadows  White)  was 
performed,  called  "  Jason,  or  the  Argonauts 
and  the  Sirens."  This  lady  had  written  many 
charming  songs,  and  I  was  glad  to  bring  her 
overture  before  the  public,  as  I  have  always 
included  works  by  English  composers  as  often 
as  possible,  and  my  efforts  in  this  direction  have 
always  been  appreciated.  Alfred  Jaell  played 
Beethoven's  C  minor  Concerto,  and  I  conducted 
the  Eroica. 

When  the  next  season  (1880)  commenced,  as 
Dr.  Wylde  would  not  allow  me  to  make  use  of 
the  title  New  Philharmonic  Concerts,  without 
paying  him  for  it,  I  decided  to  discard  it  and  to 
call  them  "  Ganz's  Orchestral  Concerts." 

On  April  17th  M.  Emil  Sauret  played  Hein- 
rich  Ernst's  F  sharp  minor  Concerto,  consisting 
of  one  movement  called  Allegro  Pathetique.  I 
had  engaged  him  specially  from  Berlin  to  play 
for  me,  and  he  acquitted  himself  splendidly. 
For  this  concert  I  had  also  engaged  Madame 


DEBUT   OF  HERBERT   SIMS  REEVES     141 

Marie  Roze,  who  sang  Gluck's  air  from  Alceste, 
"  Divinites  du  Styx,"  and  the  aria  "  L'amer6 
saro  constante  "  from  II  Re  Pastor  e,  by  Mozart, 
with  violin  obbligato  by  Sauret.  I  suggested 
this  beautiful  song  to  Madame  Roze  because  I 
had  first  heard  it  sung  by  Jenny  Lind  on  her 
musical  tour  in  1856  to  Ernst's  obbligato,  and 
was  always  so  charmed  with  its  beauty  and  the 
way  she  sang  it  that  I  had  never  forgotten  it. 
Rubinstein's  Symphony  in  F  major  was  given 
as  a  novelty. 

On  May  1st  M.  Saint-Saens  played  his  D 
minor  Concerto  for  the  first  time  in  England 
with  all  his  customary  brilliancy,  and  another 
novelty  was  Goldmark's  Penthesilea  Overture. 
I  had  also  engaged  Mr.  Sims  Reeves,  but  this 
was  one  of  the  occasions  when  he  disappointed. 

At  the  concert  on  May  29th  the  distinguished 
French  pianist,  Madame  Montigny-Remaury, 
played  Weber's  "Concert-Stuck,"  and  an  Intro- 
duction and  Rondo  by  Benjamin  Goddard,  which 
he  had  specially  composed  for  these  concerts. 
She  was  sister-in-law  to  Ambroise  Thomas, 
director  of  the  Paris  Conservatoire  and  com- 
poser of  Mignon,  Hamlet,  etc.  I  also  produced 
Svendsen's  Romeo  and  Juliet  fantasia. 

The  concert  on  June  12th  was  noteworthy 
for  the  first  appearance  of  Herbert  Sims  Reeves, 
son  of  the  famous  tenor.  When  he  came  on 
the  platform  there  was  such  a  storm  of  applause, 
lasting  for  at  least  five  minutes,  that  it  quite 


142 

unnerved  him.  However,  he  pulled  himself 
together  and  sang  his  first  song,  which  wras  the 
recitative  "  Nel  fragor  della  festa,"  and  the  aria 
"  Alma  soave,"  from  Donizetti's  Maria  di  Rohan. 
He  sang  it  extremely  well,  and  was  several  times 
recalled,  but  one  could  see  he  was  very  nervous 
at  the  ordeal.  His  second  song  was  Schubert's 
"  Ave  Maria,"  and  his  third  "  Refrain  thy  Voice 
from  Weeping,"  from  Sullivan's  Light  of  the 
World,  which  the  composer  kindly  conducted  to 
give  eclat  to  young  Reeves's  singing.  Herbert 
Reeves  is  the  image  of  his  father,  though  some- 
what smaller,  being  short  and  slender.  He  had 
a  small  tenor  voice,  but  sang  with  great  taste, 
and,  having  been  well  taught  in  Italy,  pronounced 
his  words  clearly  and  well.  His  debut  at  my 
concert  was  arranged  in  the  following  manner. 

At  the  beginning  of  the  season  his  father  had 
asked  me  to  give  him  a  call  at  his  London  ad- 
dress, when  he  asked  me  to  let  his  son,  Herbert, 
come  out  at  one  of  my  Orchestral  Concerts, 
adding  that,  out  of  gratitude,  he  would  sing  for 
me  at  these  concerts  for  a  reduced  fee,  namely, 
fifty  guineas  for  each  concert  instead  of  a 
hundred.  I  at  once  accepted  this  generous 
offer,  but,  unfortunately,  Mr.  Sims  Reeves  failed 
me  at  two  of  the  concerts,  sending  word  that  he 
was  not  well.  However,  he  sang  at  the  third, 
being  the  last  of  the  series,  in  1880.  I  had  an- 
nounced him  in  the  usual  way  in  all  the  adver- 
tisements, when  he  again  called  off.  On  the 


SIMS    REEVES  143 

day  before  the  concert,  however,  he  sent  word 
that  he  felt  better  and  would  sing.  I  immedi- 
ately rushed  off  to  the  newspaper  offices  to  get 
his  name  inserted  in  the  next  morning's  adver- 
tisements ;  but  it  was  rather  a  late  announcement 
to  make,  and  the  public  did  not  come  forward 
in  the  same  way  as  if  they  had  had  a  longer 
notice.  There  was  also  a  dreadful  thunderstorm 
before  the  concert  began,  and  I  was  in  doubt 
whether  Reeves  would  venture  to  come  all  the 
way  from  Upper  Norwood  in  such  fearful 
weather.  However,  he  did  turn  up  and  sang 
the  following  items  most  beautifully  :  "  If  with 
all  your  Hearts  "  from  Elijah,  and  "  Adelaide  " 
by  Beethoven,  in  which  I  accompanied  him. 
No  one  ever  sang  this  beautiful  aria — which  he 
sang  in  Italian — better  than  he,  or  with  more 
intense  feeling.  But  I  have  digressed  too  long 
from  the  concert  at  which  his  son  Herbert 
sang. 

Herr  Hugo  Heermann  from  Frankfurt  played 
Goetz's  fine  Violin  Concerto,  which  had  not  been 
heard  in  London  before.  I  ought  to  have  men- 
tioned that  at  the  concert  at  which  Sims  Reeves 
appeared  I  had  an  orchestral  prelude  from 
Saint-Saens's  cantata  Le  Deluge  '  performed. 
This  was  played  by  the  orchestra,  the  violin 
obbligato  being  played  by  the  Belgian  violinist, 
M.  Ovide  Musin,  and  it  was  kindly  conducted 
by  the  composer,  as  it  was  the  first  performance 
in  England.  M.  Alphonse  Duvernoy  was  the 
11 


144  MY  ORCHESTRAL  CONCERTS 

pianist  on  this  occasion,  and  played  Mendelssohn's 
Concerto  in  G  minor  with  good  effect. 

The  concert  on  April  30th,  1881,  was  remark- 
able for  the  first  appearance  in  England  of  the 
celebrated  pianist,  Madame  Sophie  Menter.  I 
had  engaged  her  to  come  over  expressly,  and 
went  to  meet  her  at  Charing  Cross  Station. 
She  had  her  secretary  with  her,  and  also  her 
favourite  cat,  "  Klecks,"  which  was  carefully 
stowed  away  in  a  large  basket.  It  was  a  huge 
cat,  and  she  was  simply  devoted  to  it.  She 
called  it  "Klecks"  (ink-spot)  because  it  was  jet 
black. 

Madame  Menter  was  Liszt's  favourite  pupil, 
and  she  played  his  Concerto  in  E  flat  (No.  1)  as 
no  one  had  played  it  since  Liszt  gave  up  playing  ; 
her  power  was  prodigious  and  her  playing  re- 
minded me  of  Anton  Rubinstein's.  She  was 
very  good-looking,  wore  magnificent  diamonds, 
and  dressed  beautifully — much  better  than  the 
majority  of  lady  pianists.  Her  solo  pieces  were 
"  Pastorale  "  and  "  Capriccio  "  by  Scarlatti,  a 
transcription  of  Mendelssohn's  song,  "  Auf 
Fliigeln  des  Gesanges "  by  Tausig  and  the 
"Tarantella"  from  Auber's  Masaniello,  tran- 
scribed by  Liszt.  This  concert  was  also  note- 
worthy for  the  first  performance  in  England  of 
Berlioz's  Symphonie  Fantastique,  Episode  de  la 
Vie  d?un  Artiste,  Op.  4.  Single  movements 
had  been  previously  performed  here,  but  the 
Symphonie  had  not  been  played  in  its  entirety 


except  by  me.  The  work  created  a  veritable 
sensation.  It  required  an  augmented  orchestra 
and  the  following  extra  instruments  :  one  flute, 
two  bassoons,  one  contra-fagotto,  two  cornets, 
one  ophicleide,  one  tympani,  two  large  bells 
(which  I  had  specially  cast),  and  four  harps 
(in  my  opinion  the  proper  effect  cannot  be 
obtained  with  a  less  number),  making  a  grand 
total  of  ninety-two  orchestral  performers.  The 
second  movement,  a  sc&ne  du  bal,  a  charming 
waltz  movement  for  which  I  engaged  four 
harpists  who  came  in  with  brilliant  effect,  was 
enthusiastically  encored. 

It  is  not  for  me  to  attempt  a  description  of 
this,  perhaps  the  most  characteristic  work  of 
Berlioz,  and  I  can  only  hope  that  all  my  readers 
have  heard  it  since  then.  To  show  the  general 
interest  the  performance  aroused  I  append  an 
extract  from  Punch  at  the  time. 

AT    MR.    GANZ'S    CONCERT 

He.  We  are  very  late,  but  we  are  in  time  for 
the  Fourth  Part  of  this  marvellous  Symphonic 
Fantastique.  A  wonderful  man  is  BERLIOZ. 

She.  Oh,  charming !  So  original !  I  hope 
he'll  write  many  more  Symphonies. 

He  (with  a  vague  idea  that  BERLIOZ  is  no  more). 
Yes,  yes  !  He  was  a  Russian,  wasn't  he,  by 
the  by  ? 

She  (equally  jogged).  It  is  a  very  Russian 
name. 

He  (looking  at  programme).  Now  for  it !  Ah  ! 
— (pretending  he  knows  it  by  heart) — this  move- 


146  MY  ORCHESTRAL  CONCERTS 

ment  illustrates  a  deep  sleep  accompanied  by 
the  most  horrible  visions.  How  admirably  those 
loud  sounds  of  the  violoncello  express  one's  idea 
of  a  deep  sleep  ! 

She  (not  to  be  outdone  at  this  game  of  "  Brag  "). 
Yes,  yes  !  Listen  !  Now  he  thinks  he  is  being 
led  to  the  scaffold  to  the  strains  of  a  solemn 
march.  How  gloomy,  how  awe-inspiring  are 
those  pizzicato  touches  on  the  violins  ! 

He  (having  got  another  bit  by  heart).  Grand  ! 
Grand  !  Just  hearken  to  the  muffled  sounds  of 
heavy  footsteps  !  It  is  finished  !  Oh,  massive  ! 
Oh,  grand  !  Like  a  reverie  in  some  old  cathe- 
dral! 

She.  It  almost  moved  me  to  tears.  Nothing 
more  exquisitely  doleful  have  I  ever  heard  ! 

Third  Party  (leaning  over).  How  do  you  do? 
How  are  you  ?  I  saw  you  come  in.  How  late 
you  were  !  But  you  were  in  time  for  that  third 
lovely  movement. 

He  and  She.  Oh,  grand !  Magnificent !  Su- 
perb !  Solemn  1 

Third  Party.  The  light  rustling  of  the  trees 
moved  by  the  wind  was  so  wonderfully  ex- 
pressed ! 

He  (amazed).     Eh  ? 

Third  Party.  Yes,  you  noticed  it,  of  course. 
Did  it  not  conduce  to  bring  to  your  heart  an 
unaccustomed  placidity,  and  to  give  to  your 
ideas  a  more  radiant  hue  ? 

She  (confounded).     What  ? 

Third  Party.     Why,  the  Third  Part. 

He  and  She.     Oh,  the  Third  Part ! 

Third  Party.  Yes  ;  and  now  you'll  hear  the 
Fourth  Part.  Now  you  will  hear  a  deep  sleep 
accompanied  by  the  most  horrible  visions.  Ta  ! 
ta !  [Exit,  and  their  enjoyment  is  gone  for  the 

Concert. 


146| 


BERLIOZ'S   ROMEO  AND  JULIET         147 

Although  some  critics  gave  the  work  a  favour- 
able notice,  several  papers,  and  one  in  particular, 
cut  the  Symphony  to  pieces.  This,  however, 
did  not  affect  me,  and  I  repeated  it  at  the  next 
concert. 

Berlioz  had  a  hard  fight  in  Paris  to  get  his 
works  performed,  and  it  was  only  after  his 
death  that  he  was  fully  appreciated  by  his 
compatriots.  Without  being  egotistical,  I  must 
confess  to  feeling  proud  of  having  brought  his 
Symphonic  Fantastique  before  the  English  public. 

On  May  28th  I  performed  another  of  Berlioz's 
great  symphonies,  his  Romeo  and  Juliet,  which 
had  not  been  given  here  for  some  time — so  I 
revived  it.  I  took  great  pains  to  give  it  ade- 
quately, as  it  requires  two  singers  and  a  chorus, 
which  I  had  to  provide.  One  of  the  movements, 
a  scherzo,  is  called  Queen  Mob,  in  which  two 
cymbales  antiques  (little  antique  cymbals)  are 
used.  This  reminded  me  of  the  time  when  the 
work  was  performed  for  the  first  time  in  Eng- 
land under  the  direction  of  the  composer  at  one 
of  the  New  Philharmonic  Concerts  in  1852, 
then  started  by  Dr.  Wylde,  when  Berlioz  asked 
me  to  play  one  of  these  little  instruments  in 
conjunction  with  Edouard  Silas. 

Well,  this  symphony,  under  my  direction,  was 
well  received — it  is  a  fine  work  and  most 
poetical.  The  Queen  Mob  scherzo  is  very  diffi- 
cult to  play,  as  the  composer  has  indicated  the 
tempo  prestissimo,  but  it  went  well.  Miss  Ellen 


148  MY  ORCHESTRAL  CONCERTS 

Amelia  Orridge  and  Mr.  Faulkner  Leigh  were 
the  singers  who  took  part  in  it — poor  Miss 
Orridge,  who  had  a  fine  contralto  voice,  unfortu- 
nately died  soon  after,  in  the  height  of  her  career. 

At  the  fourth  concert,  on  June  llth,  I  per- 
formed Gluck's  Orpheus,  which  the  public  were 
most  anxious  to  hear,  as  it  had  rarely  been 
given,  and  they  crowded  St.  James's  Hall.  I 
had  a  splendid  cast.  Madame  Patey  took  the 
part  of  Orpheus,  which  she  sang  admirably, 
especially  "  Che  Faro,"  and  Miss  Carlotta  Elliot 
was  Eurydice.  The  chorus  did  justice  to  their 
various  numbers.  Many  years  afterwards  the 
opera  was  staged  at  Covent  Garden,  when  the 
Sisters  Giulia  and  Sophia  Ravogli  made  such  a 
deep  impression  in  it. 

The  last  concert  of  the  season  took  place  on 
June  25th,  at  which  Madame  Sophie  Menter 
made  her  second  appearance  and  played  Schu- 
mann's Concerto  in  A  minor  magnificently, 
bringing  out  all  its  poetical  beauty.  She  did 
not  practise  in  the  daytime,  but  during  the 
night,  and  it  must  have  been  a  real  infliction  to 
have  had  rooms  near  hers.  Once  when  I  visited 
her  at  her  lodgings  I  had  the  privilege  of  meet- 
ing Klecks,  who  sat  at  the  table  with  the  free- 
dom of  a  child  and  ate  the  same  food  that  we 
did.  In  fact,  Menter  was  perfectly  fascinated 
by  the  animal  in  a  way  I  have  never  seen 
equalled,  and  she  dragged  it  about  with  her 
wherever  she  went. 


GORING   THOMAS  149 

Another  interesting  item  at  the  last  concert 
was  a  new  song,  "  Kennst  du  das  Land  ?  "  by 
the  young  English  composer,  Goring  Thomas. 
This  was  its  first  performance,  and  it  was  beauti- 
fully sung  by  Madame  Marie  Roze.  I  have 
already  alluded  to  Esmeralda,  the  fine  opera  of 
this  talented  composer.  He  was  a  man  of  great 
charm  and  refinement  of  character,  whose  career 
was,  unhappily,  too  short  a  one.  He  was 
always  a  hard  worker,  and  in  a  letter  he  wrote 
me  says  : 

"  The  days  ought  to  be  twenty-four  hours,  in- 
stead of  twelve,  to  get  in  all  one  has  to  do." 

The  season  of  1882  began  on  April  22nd, 
when  I  gave  the  first  performance  in  England  of 
Liszt's  great  Symphony  founded  on  Dante's 
"  Divina  Commedia "  which  he  dedicated  to 
Richard  Wagner.  It  is,  of  course,  a  very  diffi- 
cult work,  and  in  the  last  movement  a  chorus 
of  women's  voices  is  required,  and  also  an  organ. 
There  are  three  movements  in  all :  (1)  Inferno ; 
(2)  Purgatorio ;  (3)  Paradiso  (Magnificat) ;  and 
besides  the  usual  full  orchestra  I  had  again  to 
engage  several  additional  instrumentalists,  which 
brought  the  number  of  players  up  to  ninety-four. 
I  don't  think  the  audience  grasped  the  beauties 
of  the  work,  with  its  sublime  last  movement, 
when  the  female  voices  come  in,  and  it  did  not 
have  a  good  reception  with  the  English  Press, 
save  for  such  enlightened  critics  as  Dr.  Francis 


150  MY  ORCHESTRAL  CONCERTS 

Hueffer  of  the  Times  and  a  few  more,  but  I  was 
bound  to  give  novelties  and  not  continue  to 
perform  humdrum  works,  and  I  was  justified 
in  following  this  policy.  I  should  like  to  put  on 
record  that  I  owed  much  valuable  counsel  and 
advice  to  my  friend,  Francis  Hueffer,  who  will 
always  be  remembered  for  his  strenuous  advo- 
cacy of  the  claims  of  Wagner,  Berlioz,  and  Liszt. 
Herr  Ondricek,  a  new  Hungarian  violinist, 
played  Mendelssohn's  Concerto  in  E  minor  with 
good  tone  and  masterly  execution. 

At  the  second  concert  I  performed  Schubert's 
Symphony  in  C  major,  and  Miss  Agnes  Hunting- 
ton,  the  American  contralto,  made  her  debut. 
She  sang  the  aria  "  Non  piu  mesta "  from 
Cenerentola,  and  made  an  instantaneous  hit. 
She  also  gave  two  German  songs  by  Hartmann 
and  Schubert.  Some  years  later  Carl  Rosa 
engaged  her  for  the  title-role  of  Paul  Jones, 
which  she  sang  for  many  months  with  much 
success  at  the  Prince  of  Wales's  Theatre. 

On  May  20th  I  repeated  Liszt's  Dante  Sym- 
phony, when  I  think  it  was  better  understood 
by  the  public.  Previous  to  this  concert  I  had 
seen  in  the  Times  that  a  new  Russian  pianist, 
M.  Vladimir  de  Pachmann,  had  made  a  great 
sensation  at  a  concert  in  Paris  at  the  Salle 
Erard.  I  wrote  at  once  to  Messrs.  Erard  to 
offer  him  an  engagement  at  this  concert,  which 
he  accepted,  and  made  his  first  English  appear- 
#nce  under  my  direction,  He  playec}  Chopin's 


FIRST   APPEARANCE    OF    PACHMANN         151 

Concerto  in  F  minor  splendidly,  and  some  solos, 
and  at  once  established  his  reputation  as  a 
Chopin  player  par  excellence. 

Since  he  first  played  at  my  concerts  he  has 
acquired  certain  mannerisms  which  amuse  the 
public  and  do  no  harm.  When  I  spoke  to  him 
about  them  he  said  he  wished  to  imitate  Von 
Billow,  who  was  his  beau  ideal.  I  have  men- 
tioned Von  Billow's  curious  mannerisms  in  an- 


-zt^ffi-i^aLt 


-t-'tf^?t^~~  jfti^' 


other  part  of  this  book,  and  explained  that  they 
are  due  to  short  sight,  and  partly  to  his  being 
overcome  by  his  feelings.  In  fact,  he  does  not 
know  what  he  is  doing,  but  Pachmann  does 
know,  and,  I  think,  looks  about  him  and  con- 
verses with  the  audience  for  the  fun  of  the  thing. 
But  I  may  be  wrong,  and  my  readers  will  have 
their  own  opinions.  Anyhow,  he  is  a  very  great 
artist  anfl  a  magnificent  player, 


152  MY  ORCHESTRAL  CONCERTS 

At  the  fourth  concert,  on  June  3rd,  I  repeated 
Berlioz's  Symphonic  Fantastique.  The  scherzo 
was  again  encored ;  the  Symphony  seemed  to 
fascinate  the  audience,  and  I  was  called  on  at 
the  end  of  the  performance  and  had  to  bow  my 
acknowledgments.  I  had  again  engaged  my 
friend,  Madame  Patey,  and  she  sang  the  arietta 
"  Lungi  dal  caro  bene  "  by  Sarti,  and  a  new 
song  by  Blumenthal.  Madame  Montigny-Re- 
maury  was  the  pianist,  and  played  Beethoven's 
Concerto  in  C  major,  and  introduced  Saint- 
Saens's  Minuet  and  Gavotte,  from  his  Septuor. 

The  fifth  and  last  concert  of  the  season  took 
place  on  June  17th.  I  had  engaged  M.  de 
Pachmann  again  and  had  selected  Beethoven's 
Concerto  in  G  major  for  him  to  play,  and  he 
again  played  some  Chopin  most  beautifully.  I 
had  also  arranged  to  play  a  duet  with  him,  on 
two  pianos — variations  on  the  Gypsy  March 
from  Weber's  Preciosa,  arranged  by  Mendelssohn 
and  Moscheles,  which  pleased  immensely,  and 
we  were  both  recalled.  The  orchestral  accom- 
paniments were  conducted  by  my  leader,  Herr 
Adolph  Pollitzer.  "  Der  Freischiitz  "  overture 
concluded  the  programme. 

This,  alas  !  was  the  last  of  my  Orchestral 
Concerts,  for  I  could  not  carry  them  on  for  want 
of  financial  support  adequate  to  the  enormous 
expenses  involved,  though  they  had  great  artistic 
value.  During  the  nine  years  I  carried  them 
on  I  performed  many  new  and  unknown 


THE    LAST    CONCERT  153 

orchestral  works,  and  introduced  many  new 
artists,  who  have  since  made  great  reputations. 
Unfortunately,  the  public  was  not  then  ripe  for 
orchestral  concerts,  but  nous  avons  chang&  tout 
cela  !  Orchestral  Concerts  are  now  en  vogue,  and 
such  conductors  as  Nikisch,  Henry  J.  Wood, 
Landon  Ronald,  and  others,  attract  the  London 
public.  During  my  concert  season  I  had  great 
difficulties  in  keeping  my  orchestra  together 
for  the  rehearsals.  I  generally  began  these  at 
9.30,  and  at  12  o'clock  their  instruments  were 
fetched  away  for  the  rehearsals  at  Covent 
Garden,  and  I  had  to  finish  my  own  rehearsal 
with  half  an  orchestra.  In  those  days  wind  and 
brass  instruments  were  very  scarce,  and  I  was 
obliged  to  share  them  with  Covent  Garden. 


CHAPTER    VIII 

MY   FIRST   VISIT   TO    PARIS,    ETC. 

My  first  visit  to  Paris — I  see  the  troops  pass  before  Napoleon  III 
and  the  Empress  Eugenie — I  visit  the  gala  performance  at 
the  Opera — Nicolini — Rossini — The  three  occasions  on  which 
I  have  played  before  Queen  Victoria — The  Prince  Consort  and 
the  Great  Exhibition  of  1851 — Meyerbeer — My  pupils — Three 
Viceroys — The  Ladies  Spencer  Churchill — The  Countess  of 
Warwick  and  Lady  Algernon  Gordon  Lennox — Miss  Braddon. 

IN  August  1859  I  visited  Paris  for  the  first 
time,  when  on  my  honeymoon,  and  was  en- 
chanted with  that  wonderful  city.  We  saw  the 
entry  of  the  French  troops,  after  the  Italian- 
Austrian  War,  when  80,000  soldiers  passed 
before  Napoleon  III,  who  was  on  horseback  at 
the  corner  of  the  Rue  de  la  Paix,  surrounded  by 
a  brilliant  staff.  It  took  from  ten  in  the  morn- 
ing till  six  in  the  evening  for  them  to  pass.  It 
was  a  splendid  sight,  but  it  had  its  mournful 
side,  because  many  of  them  were  wounded  and 
had  their  heads  bandaged  and  their  arms  in 
slings.  It  was  very  interesting  to  see  the 
Vivandieres,  in  the  uniforms  of  the  various  regi- 
ments, pass  by,  and  they  were  tremendously 
cheered  by  the  public.  I  had  hired  two  seats 
near  where  the  Emperor  stood,  in  the  Rue  de 


NAPOLEON   III  155 

la  Paix,  and  could  see  everything  perfectly 
well. 

In  the  evening  there  was  a  gala  performance 
at  the  Opera,  and  Guillaume  Tell  was  performed. 
As  this  masterpiece  of  Rossini's  is  very  seldom 
performed  in  England,  I  venture  to  say  that, 
being  French  in  character  and  style,  it  will  live 
with  II  Barbiere,  which  is  thoroughly  Italian  in 
character,  for  many  years  to  come.  This  was 
the  old  Opera-house  in  the  Rue  Lepeletier. 
The  Emperor  and  Empress  were  present,  and 
the  doors  of  all  the  private  boxes  were  left  open 
and  guarded  by  gendarmes,  which  was  done  in 
case  some  maniac  should  fire  a  shot  at  the 
Emperor  or  Empress ;  but,  fortunately,  nothing 
happened.  During  the  entr'actes  I  saw  the  Em- 
peror and  Empress  visit  some  of  their  relatives, 
who  sat  in  the  middle  boxes  of  the  grand  circle. 

The  performance  was  very  fine,  and  the 
scenery  splendid ;  but,  unfortunately,  I  cannot 
remember  the  names  of  the  principal  singers. 

When  we  left  the  opera  we  found  ourselves  in 
fairyland.  The  Jardin  des  Tuileries,  and  the 
Champs  Elysees,  as  far  as  the  Arc  de  Triomphe, 
were  brilliantly  illuminated  with  coloured  lamps, 
and  the  streets  were  thronged  with  sight- seers. 

Napoleon  was  then  at  the  height  of  his  power. 
I  remember,  the  night  before  the  gala  perform' 
ance,  when  we  were  driving  in  the  Bois  de 
Boulogne,  he  and  the  Empress  passed  us  in  an 
open  carriage  drawn  by  six  horses  with  out- 


riders,  coming  from  the  palace  at  St.  Cloud. 
All  this  pomp  and  glory  was  swamped  eleven 
years  later,  when  Germany  conquered  France, 
and  some  of  the  victorious  troops  entered  Paris 
by  the  Arc  de  Triomphe,  headed  by  the  Uhlans 
of  the  Prussian  Army,  and  Napoleon  and  the 
Empress  had  to  take  refuge  in  England,  where 
they  were  hospitably  received,  and  where  the 
Empress  is  still  living  as  a  welcome  guest  and  an 
intimate  friend  of  the  royal  family.  But  this  is 
a  matter  of  history. 

While  in  Paris  in  1859  we  often  saw  Madame 
Nicolini,  who  was  very  kind  to  us  in  showing  us 
round.  I  had  known  her  and  her  son  Ernesto 
before ;  in  fact,  we  were  boys  together  and  kept 
up  our  friendship  till  he  died.  When  I  first  came 
to  London  I  became  acquainted  with  his  parents, 
and,  as  Ernesto  was  studying  the  piano  at  the 
Paris  Conservatoire,  where  he  gained  the  first 
prize  in  1855,  he  often  came  over  to  visit  his 
parents ;  and  thus  I  met  him,  and  we  used  to 
amuse  ourselves  by  playing  pianoforte  duets. 

Some  years  later  he  found  out  that  he  had  a 
good  tenor  voice,  and  he  then  studied  hard  at 
singing.  He  was  first  engaged  at  the  Salle 
Ventadour  in  Paris,  where  he  made  his  debut  in 
1862.  He  came  to  England  in  1866,  and  was 
engaged  at  the  Royal  Italian  Opera,  Covent 
Garden,  where  he  remained  for  many  years  as 
one  of  the  principal  tenor  singers,  and  had 
always  a  great  success,  especially  in  such  parts 


VISIT    TO    ROSSINI  157 

as  Almaviva  in  II  Barbiere,  singing  the  florid 
music  to  perfection ;  as  Edgardo  in  Lucia,  as 
Rhadames  in  A'ida,  as  Alfredo  in  La  Traviata, 
and  as  Faust.  He  was  the  first  to  sing  the  part 
of  Lohengrin  in  Wagner's  opera  when  it  was 
produced  here.  He  sang  every  season  at  Covent 
Garden  Theatre,  where  he  was  very  popular  in- 
deed. He  was  a  very  good-looking  man,  and 
many  people  said  he  resembled  Mario,  with  which 
I  quite  agreed.  He  told  me  that  singing  Lohen- 
grin displaced  his  voice,  and  therefore  he  gave 
it  up,  although  he  sang  it  most  beautifully  ;  but 
he  never  sang  Tannhauser.  His  acting  was  excel- 
lent. His  death  occurred  in  January  1898. 

We  thoroughly  enjoyed  our  stay  in  Paris, 
visiting  the  museums,  theatres,  the  Champs 
Elysees  Gardens,  where  Musard's  famous  band 
played,  and  Versailles,  where  we  saw  the  foun- 
tains play.  We  also  went  to  Fontainebleau, 
where  the  great  Napoleon  signed  his  abdication 
and  drove  through  the  beautiful  park  there. 

When  I  was  in  Paris  in  the  Exhibition  year 
of  1867  I  visited  Rossini  at  Passy,  on  the  out- 
skirts of  Paris.  He  received  me  very  kindly, 
and,  in  looking  over  my  album  containing  the 
autographs  of  many  celebrated  musicians,  he 
signed  his  name  at  my  request,  under  the  signa- 
ture of  Thalberg,  whom  he  greatly  admired.  In 
looking  through  the  names  he  spoke  of  many 
of  the  artists  and  composers,  whom  he  had 
known  personally,  in  very  flattering  terms.  I 


158        MY  FIRST  VISIT  TO  PARIS,   ETC. 

had   a   letter   of   introduction   to   him   from    a 
mutual  friend,  Madame  Puzzi. 

We  had  a  talk  about  musical  doings.  I  told 
him  various  bits  of  news  connected  with  his 
operas,  which  were  being  performed  in  London 
during  the  season,  and  he  seemed  much  in- 
terested. I  was  always  glad  to  have  had  this 
interview  with  him,  though,  as  it  took  place  so 
long  ago,  I  cannot  remember  his  exact  words, 
but  only  the  gist  of  what  he  said. 


In  describing  my  future  visits  to  Paris  I  shall 
have  something  to  say  of  my  musical  impres- 
sions there. 

I  have  had  the  honour  of  playing  before  Her 
Majesty  Queen  Victoria  on  three  different  occa- 
sions. On  the  first  occasion  I  accompanied 
Madame  Marie  Roze  at  Balmoral  in  1885.  I 
drove  with  this  artist  from  Ballater  to  the 
Castle,  but  it  was  too  dark  to  see  the  beautiful 
scenery  on  Dee  side.  The  Queen  spoke  to  me 
in  German  and  asked  me  whether  I  was  related 
to  the  Conzertmeister  Leopold  and  Moritz  Ganz, 


QUEEN    VICTORIA  159 

who  had  played  before  her  at  Windsor  many 
years  before.  I  replied  they  were  my  uncles. 
On  referring  to  my  diary  I  find  this  happened  on 
June  10th,  1856,  twenty-nine  years  before !  I 
well  remember  taking  my  uncles  down  to  Wind- 
sor and  having  great  difficulty  in  finding  rooms 
at  an  hotel,  as  it  was  Ascot  week.  I  went  with 
the  mand  the  other  artists  to  the  Castle  and 
listened  to  the  concert  in  the  next  room.  The 
Queen  seemed  pleased  with  Madame  Roze's 
singing  ;  I  remember  that  the  .Duke  of  Con- 
naught  was  there,  dressed  in  Highland  dress,  as 
were  also  some  of  the  other  men  present,  and  I 
had  to  sign  the  Queen's  visitors'  book. 

The  drawing-room  in  which  the  music  took 
place  was  hung  round  with  a  number  of  en- 
gravings of  the  Royal  Family,  and  the  furniture 
was  upholstered  with  Scotch  plaid.  Every- 
thing was  very  simple  and  unceremonious. 
When  all  was  over,  one  of  the  gentlemen-in- 
waiting  handed  me,  in  the  name  of  the  Queen, 
a  cat's-eye  breast-pin  set  in  diamonds,  which 
could  also  be  worn  as  a  stud.  Supper  was  then 
served  to  us,  and  we  drove  back  to  Ballater,  a 
distance  of  eleven  miles. 

The  second  occasion  was  at  Osborne  House, 
Isle  of  Wight.  I  went  with  M.  Johannes  Wolff 
and  M.  Joseph  Hollman  in  1889  to  play  there 
before  the  Queen.  We  played  part  of  Men- 
delssohn's Trio  in  D  minor — I  remember  the  late 
Prince  Henry  of  Battenberg  turning  over  the 


160        MY  FIRST  VISIT  TO  PARIS,   ETC. 

leaves  for  me,  and  telling  me  that  he  often  played 
the  'cello.  The  Queen  gave  me  a  pair  of  gold 
sleeve-links,  with  a  diamond  in  the  middle  of 
each.  Just  as  at  Balmoral,  it  was  nearly  dark 
when  we  arrived  at  Osborne,  and  I  had  no 
opportunity  of  seeing  the  natural  beauties  of 
the  place. 

The  third  occasion  was  at  Windsor  Castle  in 
1894,  when  I  accompanied  Madame  Adelina 
Patti  in  all  her  songs.  She  had  come  specially 
from  her  castle  in  Wales  to  sing  to  the  Queen, 
and  had  asked  me  to  come  to  Windsor  to  play 
for  her.  Naturally  I  looked  forward  to  a  very 
interesting  evening,  as  it  indeed  proved  to  be. 
The  Queen  sat  about  twenty  feet  from  the  piano 
and  used  an  opera-glass  in  looking  at  Madame 
Patti,  who  sang  a  number  of  songs.  During 
"  Home,  Sweet  Home "  I  noticed  the  Queen 
wiped  the  tears  from  her  eyes. 

When  Madame  Patti  had  finished  her  first  song 
Princess  Christian,  who  sat  by  the  side  of  the 
Queen,  called  to  me  in  German,  "Herr  Ganz,  the 
Queen  wishes  to  speak  to  you."  I  rose  immedi- 
ately and  advanced  towards  the  chair  where 
the  Queen  sat.  Her  Majesty  spoke  to  me  in 
German,  in  a  lovely  melodious  voice,  asking  me 
what  other  songs  Madame  Patti  would  like  to 
sing.  She  had  a  list  in  her  hand,  so  I  named 
some  of  them  which  I  thought  Her  Majesty 
would  like.  Among  other  songs  Madame  Patti 
sang  one  by  Princess  Henry  of  Battenberg,  who 


QUEEN   VICTORIA  161 

was  present  with  Prince  Christian  of  Schleswig- 
Holstein  and  a  number  of  court  officials,  both 
ladies  and  gentlemen.  At  the  end  of  the  con- 
cert the  Queen  spoke  for  some  time  with  Madame 
Patti,  then  rose,  and  bowed  very  graciously  to 
Madame  Patti  and  myself  and  the  rest  of  the 
company.  We  then  adjourned  to  a  room  where 
supper  was  served,  and  Sir  William  Carington, 
Comptroller  of  the  Household,  handed  me,  in  the 
name  of  the  Queen,  a  crocodile  leather  cigar- 
case,  mounted  in  gold,  with  the  royal  crown  and 
the  Queen's  initials.  I  spoke  to  Lady  Ponsonby, 
one  of  the  ladies-in-waiting,  wife  of  Colonel  Sir 
Henry  Ponsonby,  Private  Secretary  to  the  Queen, 
whom  I  had  known  as  Miss  Bulteel  at  Lady 
Waldegrave's  at  Nuneham  Park,  and  she  said 
she  was  very  much  pleased  to  renew  my  acquaint- 
ance. 

Next  morning  I  was  shown  over  the  State 
Apartments  at  Windsor  Castle,  and  saw  the 
various  collections  of  art-treasures. 

When  Madame  Patti  left  the  Castle  that  morn- 
ing the  Great  Western  express  was  specially 
stopped  for  her  at  Slough  by  Royal  Command, 
so  that  she  could  get  back  to  Craig-y-nos  that 
day.  On  her  arrival  home  she  received  a  gracious 
telegram  from  Queen  Victoria  hoping  she  had 
had  a  comfortable  journey,  and  later  a  signed 
photograph.  My  daughter  Adelina,  who  was 
staying  at  Craig-y-nos,  and  travelled  with  her, 
told  me  that,  although  tired  from  her  early  start, 


162        MY  FIRST  VISIT    TO  PARIS,   ETC. 

she  insisted  on  keeping  awake  the  whole  journey 
in  case  sleeping  should  affect  her  voice,  as  she 
considers  sleep  before  singing  injurious  to  the 
voice. 

I  often  remember  seeing  the  Prince  Consort 
in  former  years.    He  was  a  tall,  handsome  man, 
and,  as  everybody  knows,  a  great  patron  of  the 
arts,  and  the  originator  of  the  first  Great  Ex- 
hibition held  in  Hyde  Park  in  1851.     I  went  to 
the  Exhibition  the  last  few  days  before  it  closed, 
and  more  than  a  hundred  thousand  people  were 
present — the    crowds    were    so    great    that    one 
could  scarcely  walk  about.     It  was  a  gay  scene, 
and    the   picture    and    sculpture   galleries   were 
splendid,   one  of  the  great  attractions  being  a 
statue  called   "  The   Greek  Slave,"  by  Gibson. 
It  was  the  first  time,  too,  that  the  public  had 
seen  machinery  in  motion.     I  have  been  to  a 
good  many  exhibitions  since  then — the  one  in 
1862,  also  held  in  Hyde  Park,  and  the  1867  Paris 
Exhibition,    but    none    came    near    the    Great 
Exhibition  of  1851  in  picturesqueness.     Another 
of   the   attractions   there,    I   remember,    was    a 
crystal  fountain,  which  stood    in    the   transept 
and  is  now  in  the  nave  of  the  Crystal  Palace. 

Meyerbeer  came  to  London  for  the  Exhibition 
of  1862  in  Hyde  Park,  for  the  opening  of  which 
he  had  composed  an  overture,  in  the  form  of  a 
kind  of  march. 

My  father  had  known  him  personally  for  many 
years,  and  he  took  me  to  see  him  at  the  York 


MEYERBEER 


163 


Hotel  in  Albemarle  Street.  Of  course  I  was 
very  anxious  to  see  him,  and  wondered  what  he 
was  like.  He  was  a  little  man,  dark-haired,  with 
a  most  intelligent  face.  My  father  asked  him  to 
write  something  in  my  musical  autograph  book, 
which  he  did  at  once.  He  asked  my  father  to 
get  him  a  metronome  to  mark  the  tempi  of  his 
new  overture,  and  my  father  succeeded  in 
obtaining  one  for  him. 

I    often    saw    him    during    the    rehearsals    of 


Dinorah  at  Covent  Garden,  when  the  title-role 
was  sung  by  Madame  Patti.  He  constantly  in- 
terrupted the  rehearsals  by  showing  Costa  and 
the  artists  what  to  do  ;  but,  although  he  corrected 
them  constantly,  he  was  at  the  same  time  most 
polite,  and  never  hurt  their  feelings. 

He  belonged  to  a  rich  Jewish  banker's  family 
in  Berlin,  which  enabled  him  to  have  his  operas 
first  performed  at  the  Opera-house  in  Paris, 
where  innumerable  rehearsals  took  place,  last- 
ing several  months.  Meyerbeer,  I  have  often 


164       MY  FIRST  VISIT  TO  PARIS,  ETC. 

been  told,  defrayed  some  of  the  heavy  expenses 
connected  with  their  production  out  of  his  own 
pocket. 

When  any  of  his  operas  succeeded,  as  they 
generally  did,  they  were  given  in  Berlin  and 
other  cities  on  the  Continent,  and  in  London, 
where  they  were  always  well  received.  I  re- 
member being  present  at  the  production  of 
L'Africaine  on  July  22nd,  1865,  in  which  Pauline 
Lucca  took  a  brilliant  part.  The  prelude  of 
the  last  act  was  played  by  the  violins  unisono, 
on  the  fourth  string,  and  created  a  great  im- 
pression. On  future  occasions  it  was  always 
redemanded. 

Meyerbeer  had  the  title  of  General  Musical 
Director  bestowed  on  him  by  the  King  of  Prussia 
at  Berlin  and  conducted  the  state  performance 
at  the  Royal  Opera  and  also  the  State  Concerts, 
and  when  a  royal  prince  or  princess  was  about 
to  be  married  he  composed  a  "  Fackeltanz," 
which  was  a  sort  of  Polonaise,  in  which  the  bride 
and  bridegroom,  as  well  as  the  King  and  Queen 
and  other  court  personages,  walked  in  proces- 
sion to  the  music.  This  custom  always  took 
place  the  evening  before  the  wedding,  everybody 
who  walked  in  the  procession  holding  a  lighted 
torch  in  his  hand. 

Meyerbeer,  like  many  other  good  composers, 
was  not  a  good  conductor,  the  reason,  I  think, 
being  that  when  he  was  conducting  his  own 
works  he  was  very  nervous. 


MEYERBEER  165 

He  had  one  great  terror,  and  that  was  of 
being  buried  alive,  and  he  left  directions  in  his 
will  that,  after  his  death,  several  days  were  to 
elapse  before  his  burial.  I  heard  it  said,  but 
cannot  vouch  for  the  fact,  that  when  Gounod 
made  such  a  success  with  his  Faust,  Meyerbeer 
simply  collapsed,  realising  that  his  day  of  being 
the  only  successful  operatic  composer  in  Paris 
at  that  time  was  at  an  end,  and  he  died  soon 
after  its  production.  Anyhow,  he  had  had  his 
day.  No  modern  composer  has  had  such  com- 
plete success  with  his  operas.  He  was  also  able 
to  select  the  best  singers,  and  to  finance  his  pro- 
ductions— if  it  is  true  that  he  did  so.  Poor 
Richard  Wagner,  in  his  earlier  days,  had  the 
greatest  difficulty  in  getting  his  operas  per- 
formed in  Paris,  or  even  his  own  native  country, 
and  had  no  money  to  offer  towards  their  ex- 
penses. Nevertheless,  he  succeeded  in  after- 
years,  and  has  drawn  larger  audiences  together 
than  any  other  modern  composer. 

It  was,  perhaps,  a  unique  coincidence  that  I 
had  three  Viceroys  as  my  pupils,  one  of  whom 
was  the  present  Earl  of  Cadogan,  a  former 
Viceroy  of  Ireland.  I  gave  him  lessons  as  an 
Eton  boy,  when  he  came  home  for  the  holidays 
to  the  old  Cadogan  House  in  Cadogan  Place, 
where,  since  he  inherited  the  title,  he  has  built 
a  magnificent  mansion.  His  father  was  Viscount 
Chelsea  (the  old  Earl  Cadogan  was  then  still 
alive). 


166       MY  FIRST  VISIT  TO   PARIS,   ETC. 

The  next  one  was  the  late  Earl  of  Derby,  who 
had  lessons  from  me  in  St.  James's  Square, 
where  his  parents  lived,  when  he  was  still  the 
Hon.  Frederick  Stanley.  He  honoured  me  with 
his  friendship  until  his  death,  and  often  invited 
me  to  his  political  parties,  and  was  a  most 
amiable  man.  About  that  time  his  mother,  the 
Countess  of  Derby,  asked  me  to  arrange  a 
musical  party  for  her.  At  her  request  I  had 
engaged  a  Viennese  singer,  Madame  Wildauer, 
from  the  Imperial  Opera,  but  before  the  soiree 
took  place  she  was  suddenly  taken  ill.  I  then 
remembered  that  my  friend,  Madame  Viardot 
Garcia,  was  here  for  the  season,  so  I  went  to  see 
her  to  beg  her  to  sing,  as  I  only  heard  of  Madame 
Wildauer's  illness  the  very  day  of  the  concert. 

She  asked  me  why  I  had  come,  and  when  I 
said  that  I  wanted  her,  as  a  favour,  to  kindly 
fill  Madame  Wildauer's  place,  as  she  was  ill,  she 
at  once  expressed  concern  and  said  she  would 
fill  the  gap,  which,  for  so  great  a  singer,  was  most 
considerate.  Herr  Alexander  Reichardt,  the 
tenor,  I  had  already  engaged.  The  old  Duchess 
of  Cambridge  was  present,  with  her  daughter 
Princess  Mary,  and  Lady  Derby  introduced  me 
to  the  Duchess,  who  said  some  kind  things  to 
me  in  German,  praising  the  artists  and  the 
programme.  The  great  Earl  of  Derby,  called 
*'  The  Rupert  of  Debate,"  was,  of  course,  present. 

The  last  time  I  saw  my  pupil,  the  late  Lord 
Derby,  to  speak  to,  was  at  a  public  dinner  to 


MY  PUPILS  167 

the  Colonial  Premiers  in  1902,  at  which  the 
Duke  of  York — our  present  King — presided. 
Lord  Derby  conversed  a  long  time  with  me  and 
asked  me  about  my  professional  doings. 

The  third  Viceroy  was  the  present  Earl  of 
Dudley,  whom  I  taught  as  a  boy  at  Dudley 
House.  None  of  these  boys,  when  they  grew 
up,  had  time  to  keep  up  their  music,  as  they  have 
all  had  great  political  careers. 

As  Professor  of  Music  I  have  had  innumer- 
able pupils,  too  many  for  me  to  name  ;  but  I  may 
mention  that  among  them  were  the  daughters 
of  the  late  Duchess  of  Marlborough,  whose  hus- 
band was  also  a  Viceroy  of  Ireland  in  1874. 
I  used  to  go  three  times  a  week  to  their  house 
in  St.  James's  Square,  which  was  afterwards  the 
Devonshire  Club  for  some  years.  They  were 
Lady  Cornelia  Spencer-Churchill,  who  became 
Lady  Wimborne,  Rosamond  (now  Lady  de 
Ramsey),  Lady  Anne,  who  became  Duchess  of 
Roxburghe,  and  their  aunt,  Lady  Clementina, 
afterwards  Marchioness  Camden,  and  the  late 
Lady  Fanny,  who  became  Lady  Tweedmouth, 
They  were  all  very  clever  players,  and  took  a 
great  interest  in  their  lessons.  The  Duchess  of 
Marlborough  used  sometimes  to  come  into  the 
room  to  listen  to  their  playing ;  but  whenever 
she  came  they  were  so  nervous  that  they  could 
never  do  themselves  justice.  The  Duchess  was 
herself  a  first-rate  pianist,  and  I  often  gave  her 
lessons.  I  dedicated  one  of  my  compositions  to 


168         MY  FIRST   VISIT  TO  PARIS,   ETC. 

her — a  difficult  transcription  of  the  Neapolitan 
air  "  Santa  Lucia,"  which  she  read  off  at  sight 
with  ease. 

Lord  Randolph  Churchill  used  to  rush  in,  like 
a  whirlwind,  while  I  was  teaching  his  sisters, 
and  speak  very  loudly  to  them,  and  his  eldest 
brother,  the  Marquis  of  Blandford,  did  the  same. 
Later  on  Lady  Georgiana  Spencer-Churchill, 
afterwards  Lady  Howe,  and  Lady  Sarah  Spencer- 
Churchill,  who  married  Colonel  Wilson,  also 
took  lessons  from  me,  and,  more  recently,  the 
daughters  of  the  Duchess  of  Roxburghe — so  I 
taught  three  generations  of  the  family. 

I  also  taught  all  the  daughters  of  the  late 
Lady  Mildred  Beresford-Hope,  sister  of  the  great 
Marquis  of  Salisbury,  and  many  others,  among 
whom  were  the  Countess  of  Warwick  and  her 
sister,  Lady  Algernon  Gordon  Lennox,  before 
she  was  married,  but  Lady  Warwick  also  had 
lessons  from  me  after  her  marriage.  I  never 
had  any  fault  to  find  with  these  pupils,  as  they 
always  prepared  their  lessons  to  my  satisfaction  ; 
they  were  all  talented,  and  some  read  splendidly 
at  sight. 

At  the  various  schools  where  I  taught  I  used 
to  notice  how  much  the  pupils  enjoyed  study- 
ing Beethoven,  Mendelssohn  and  Schumann, 
which  many  of  them  played  by  heart.  At  the 
present  time  there  are  few  private  pupils  on 
account  of  the  numerous  musical  institutions, 
such  as  the  Royal  Academy  of  Music,  the  Royal 


MISS  BRADDON  169 

College  of  Music,  the  Guildhall  School  of  Music, 
and  Trinity  College — where,  through  the  spirit 
of  emulation,  they  make  great  progress,  and 
where  also  the  tuition  is  much  less  expensive 
than  formerly,  when  the  fee  was  one  guinea 
for  each  private  lesson.  Before  leaving  the 
subject  of  my  pupils  I  ought  to  mention  two 
more  interesting  ones,  namely,  Lady  Elizabeth 
Pringle,  sister  of  the  Marquis  of  Breadalbane, 
who  was,  I  think,  nearly  eighty  years  of  age 
when  I  taught  her,  in  spite  of  which  she  studied 
the  longest  and  most  difficult  sonatas  by  Bee- 
thoven with  me — and  also  Mrs.  Maxwell  (Miss 
Braddon,  of  Lady  Audley^s  Secret  fame),  who 
studied  with  me  as  recently  as  four  years  ago, 
with  great  earnestness,  and  practised  for  me 
diligently  between  each  lesson.  She  lately  wrote 
a  novel  into  which  she  introduced  me  under  a  thin 
disguise.  The  old-fashioned  courtesy  and  reti- 
cence which  made  her  write,  "  I  did  not  feel  at 
liberty  to  give  even  a  hint  of  your  personality 
in  my  book  without  submitting  the  proof  to 
you,"  might  afford  an  example  to  the  indiscreet 
novelists  of  to-day. 


CHAPTER    IX 

RECOLLECTIONS   OF   RICHARD   WAGNER 

I  first  meet  Wagner — He  conducts  at  the  Albert  Hall — I  attend 
the  Third  Cycle  of  The  Ring  at  Bayreuth — King  Louis  of 
Bavaria — I  attend  a  reception  at  Wagner's  house — "  Wahn- 
fried  " — Wagner's  performances  in  Paris — "  Bravo  les 
chiens  !  " — I  hear  Tristan  and  Isolde  at  Munich — The  Prinz 
Regenten  Theater. 

I  HAD  the  privilege  of  meeting  Richard  Wagner 
at  Schott's  music-shop  in  Regent  Street,  in 
1877.  He  had  come  over  from  Bayreuth  to 
conduct  the  Wagner  Festival  given  at  the  Albert 
Hall  to  collect  funds  for  the  Wagner  Festspiel 
(Wagner  Festival  performances)  at  Bayreuth, 
and  Mr.  Wolff,  the  manager  of  Schott's,  intro- 
duced me  to  him.  He  wore  felt  shoes,  as  he 
was  then  suffering  from  gout.  I  had  my  little 
daughter  Georgina  with  me,  and  he  stooped 
down  and  talked  to  her  and  gave  her  a  kiss.  I 
showed  him  some  bills  of  my  Orchestral  Con- 
certs, which  were  hanging  up  in  the  shop,  and 
contained  the  names  of  some  of  his  own  orchestral 
works  which  I  was  going  to  perform.  When  I 
pointed  this  out  Wagner  said,  "  I  am  very 
glad  indeed  of  that,  as  we  badly  want  money." 
He  meant  to  carry  on  the  Ring  des  Nibelungen, 

170 


FIRST    APPEARANCE    OF    RICHTER       171 

The  Wagner  Concerts  at  the  Albert  Hall 
were  composed  entirely  of  his  works,  and  he 
conducted  the  first  part  of  the  programme  him- 
self. Unfortunately,  he  was  no  longer  at  his 
best,  and  had  lost  something  of  his  great  skill 
as  a  conductor. 

The  second  part  of  the  Wagner  programme 
was  conducted  by  Dr.  Hans  Richter,  who,  when 
he  mounted  the  conductor's  desk,  was  received 
most  enthusiastically  by  the  members  of  the 
orchestra.  That  was  Richter's  first  appearance 
in  London,  and  everybody  knows  what  a  won- 
derful career  he  has  had  during  so  many  years 
of  activity,  and  how  greatly  he  has  improved 
orchestral  concerts — not  to  mention  his  number- 
less performances  of  Wagner's  operas  at  Drury 
Lane  Theatre  and  Covent  Garden. 

The  singers  engaged  for  this  festival  were 
principally  those  who  sang  in  Wagner's  operas 
in  Bayreuth.  They  were  Frau  Materna,  Herren 
Scaria,  Grimm,  Schloesser,  Unger,  and  others. 
I  remember  giving  a  supper-party  at  my  house 
at  which  Materna  sat  next  to  me,  and  several 
more  of  these  great  artists  were  also  my  guests, 
and  so  was  our  well-known  German  doctor,  Carl 
Harrer.  The  latter  was  himself  a  great  Wagner 
singer,  although  only  an  amateur,  but  he  could 
have  become  a  first-rate  opera-singer  had  he 
not  entered  the  medical  profession.  We  were 
all  lively,  and  passed  a  most  pleasant  evening. 
Wagner,  when  in  London,  stayed  at  the  house 


172  RECOLLECTIONS  OF  RICHARD  WAGNER 

of  his  young  friend,  Edward  Dannreuther,  12, 
Orme  Square,  Bayswater.  Before  he  left  Eng- 
land Dannreuther  gave  a  reception  in  his 
honour  at  which  no  end  of  musical  people  were 
present,  and  to  which  I  was  also  invited. 
Madame  Albani  was  among  the  guests  and  she 
asked  me  to  introduce  her  to  Wagner,  which  I 
did,  and  they  had  a  very  animated  conversation 
together.  I  wonder  whether  Wagner  knew  that 
the  lady  he  was  talking  to  had  so  often  sung  his 
Elizabeth,  Elsa,  and  Senta  with  great  credit  to 
herself. 

In  the  year  1876  I  went  to  Bayreuth  and 
heard  the  Ring.  On  the  way  there  a  very 
agreeable  coincidence  happened.  Starting  from 
Charing  Cross  Station,  my  neighbours  in  Harley 
Street,  Dr.  Critchett  (father  of  Sir  Anderson 
Critchett),  and  his  daughter,  Mrs.  Boursot,  sat 
next  me  by  accident  in  the  railway  carriage, 
and  we  travelled  together  all  the  way  to  Bay- 
reuth, which  was  a  very  pleasant  occurrence. 
What  was  still  more  strange  was  that  my 
seat  was  near  theirs  at  the  Bayreuth  Theatre, 
although  we  did  not  buy  our  tickets  to- 
gether. 

In  those  days  the  seats  were  very  expensive 
— -I  paid  £15  for  mine,  buying  them  at  Schott's — 
now  you  can  get  them  for  twenty-five  shillings  for 
each  performance,  £5  for  the  whole  series  of  four 
operas. 

Dr.  Critchett  was  a  great  admirer  of  Wagner, 


BAYREUTH  173 

and  when  The  Flying  Dutchman  was  performed 
at  the  Lyceum,  he  went  to  hear  it  every  night 
during  the  season. 

The  First  Cycle  at  Bayreuth  commenced  on 
August  13th,  and  the  third,  which  I  attended, 
was  given  from  the  27th  to  the  30th.  I  had  a 
very  nice  lodging  in  the  house  of  the  verger, 
just  behind  the  church,  and  I  was  most  com- 
fortable there.  On  the  first  evening,  in  Das 
Rheingold,  the  following  singers  appeared  :  Betz, 
from  Berlin,  as  Wotan — he  was  a  native  of 
Mainz,  where  I  was  born — Frau  Griin  Sadler  as 
Fricka,  Schloesser  as  Mimi,  Herr  Gura  from 
Munich  as  Donner,  Vogl  as  Loge,  Hill  from 
Schwerin  as  Alberich. 

Fraulein  Johanna  Wagner,  a  niece  of  Wag- 
ner, took  the  part  of  Erda.  She  was  a  rather 
tall  woman,  with  a  resonant  contralto  voice. 
Fasolt  and  Fafner  were  taken  by  Eiler  and  Von 
Reichenberg. 

I  was  present  at  Her  Majesty's  in  1856  when 
Johanna  Wagner  made  her  debut  as  Romeo  in 
Bellini's  opera,  a  part  which  suited  her  ad- 
mirably. Afterwards  I  met  her  with  her  father, 
Albert  Wagner,  the  eminent  tenor,  at  a  soiree 
at  Countess  Bernstorff  s,  when  he  asked  me  to 
accompany  her  in  three  songs  :  she  was  par- 
ticularly charming  to  me. 

In  Die  Walkure  the  Siegmund  was  Herr 
Niemann  from  Berlin ;  a  tall,  handsome  man, 
with  a  fine  figure,  he  had  light  blond  hair  and 


174   RECOLLECTIONS   OF  RICHARD   WAGNER 

wore  a  big  beard.  He  certainly  had  one  of  the 
finest  tenor  voices  I  have  ever  heard — I  mean, 
among  the  German  artists,  for  I  don't  wish  to 
compare  him  with  Mario,  Giuglini,  and  other 
Italian  tenors.  I  remember  first  hearing  him  at 
the  Royal  Opera  in  Berlin,  in  1858,  when  he 
sang  the  Prophet  in  Meyerbeer's  opera  most 
splendidly.  The  Sieglinde  was  Fraulein  Schef  zky, 
and  Briinnhilde  was  sung  by  the  incomparable 
Madame  Materna. 

In  Siegfried  the  leading  role  was  sung  by  Herr 
linger,  and  in  Die  Gotterdammerung  Gutrune 
was  Fraulein  Weckerlin ;  Hagen,  Herr  Scaria ; 
Briinnhilde,  Madame  Materna ;  and  the  Rhein- 
maidens,  Fraulein  Lilli  and  Marie  Lehmann 
(from  Berlin)  and  Fraulein  Lammert. 

Of  all  the  great  moments  in  this  music  drama 
I  shall  never  forget  the  impression  the  Trauer- 
marsch  made  upon  me.  I  had  no  difficulty  in 
following  any  of  the  music,  and  the  various 
Leitmotifs  with  which  each  opera  was  inter- 
woven came  out  perfectly  clear  to  me. 

The  theatre,  which  was  built  from  designs 
given  by  Wagner,  was  so  arranged  that  one 
could  see  quite  well  from  every  seat  in  the  stalls. 
There  was  no  pit,  only  rows  of  gradually  ascend- 
ing stalls,  and  at  the  end  of  every  few  rows 
there  were  doors  of  exit.  There  was  only  a 
small  gallery  or  circle,  in  the  middle  of  which 
was  placed  the  royal  box,  and  also  several 
smaller  boxes.  The  gaslights  were  lowered 


KING   LOUIS   OF   BAVARIA  175 

during    each    performance — of     course,    electric 
light  was  not  then  invented. 

When  Wagner  appeared,  walking  across  the 
stalls  during  the  entr'actes,  he  was  cheered  to 
the  echo.  King  Louis  of  Bavaria  attended  the 
four  performances,  and  before  the  beginning  of 
each  opera  a  fanfare  of  trumpets  was  sounded, 
giving  a  few  bars  of  a  Leitmotif.  I  remember 
quite  well  seeing  the  King  drive  up  to  the 
theatre.  The  theatre  stands  at  the  top  of  a 
hill.  The  King  drove  up  in  a  carriage  with 
four  horses.  The  horses  were  most  beautifully 
caparisoned,  the  harness  being  exquisitely  deco- 
rated with  silver  most  artistically  wrought. 

The  King,  on  the  carriage  drawing  up  at  the 
centre  entrance,  which  is  reserved  now  for 
special  royalties,  jumped  hastily  from  the  car- 
riage, and  with  a  stride  or  so  was  within  the 
doors,  which  shut  immediately  behind  him,  as 
he  was  anxious  not  to  be  seen.  At  the  end  of 
the  performance  the  door  opened  and  the  King, 
with  the  same  hurried  stride,  practically  leaped 
into  the  carriage  and  was  drawn  at  full  speed 
back  to  the  palace  in  the  town.  The  beautiful 
harness  which  he  had  had  made,  I  believe  by 
Bavarian  artists,  is  still  to  be  seen  on  the  first 
floor  of  the  magnificent  stables  in  Munich. 
After  the  close  of  the  Gotterddmmerung  all  the 
lights  were  suddenly  turned  up  and  the  whole 
house  rose  and  cheered  the  King,  who  had  to 
bow,  very  much,  I  fear,  to  his  own  dislike.  He 
13 


was  a  tall,  handsome  man,  with  a  fine  head 
covered  with  thick  black  hair.  I  noticed  that 
he  looked  rather  melancholy,  and  he  evidently 
hated  the  public  notice  ;  but  on  this  occasion  he 
could  not  help  himself. 

Wagner  did  not  allow  any  of  the  artists  to 
bow  their  acknowledgments  at  the  end  of  each 
act ;  he  allowed  it  only  when  the  opera  was 
finished  (I  think  quite  rightly  too),  and  it  was 
but  natural  that  when  they  did  appear  the 
audience  applauded  them  enthusiastically.  I 
also  remember  that,  in  the  intervals  between  the 
acts,  the  principal  male  singers  sat  in  their  cos- 
tumes outside  the  stage  door,  at  the  back  of  the 
theatre,  refreshing  themselves  with  Bayrisches 
Bier  (Bavarian  beer) — a  very  curious  sight ! 

The  audience  also  had  a  chance  of  refreshing 
themselves  during  the  intervals,  which  were  very 
long,  lasting  one  hour.  Special  restaurants  were 
built  in  the  grounds  of  the  theatre;  they  were 
thronged  by  a  hungry  and  thirsty  crowd,  and  one 
had  great  difficulty  in  being  served.  Dr.  Hans 
Richter  conducted  the  Trilogy,  and  he  performed 
a  great  feat  in  conducting  them  without  having 
the  score  before  him,  entirely  from  memory, 
such  a  thing  having  never  been  done  before  in 
the  musical  world.  I  have  already  mentioned 
that  my  father  conducted  the  classical  operas 
by  heart,  but  this  was  child's  play  compared 
with  Dr.  Richter's  accomplishment  of  conduct- 
ing the  difficult  and  complicated  music,  vocally 


RECEPTION   AT    RICHARD    WAGNER'S    177 

and  instrumentally,  of  the  Ring,  and  in  those 
days  it  was  extraordinary  that  a  work  so  in- 
tricate and  difficult  should  be  memorised  by 
one  man. 

Dr.  Richter,  like  the  members  of  the  orchestra, 
was  in  his  shirt-sleeves  as  the  heat  was  so  great. 

Wagner  was  the  first  to  conceal  the  orchestra, 
by  sinking  the  floor  and  thus  placing  them 
below  the  stage  and  stalls,  screening  them 
from  the  audience,  who  thus  had  an  uninter- 
rupted view  of  the  stage.  Wilhelmj,  the  great 
violinist,  was  the  leader,  and  he  told  me  that 
Wagner  had  asked  him  to  alter  some  of  the 
violin  passages — many  of  which  were  almost 
unplayable  and  extremely  difficult — and  to 
make  them  more  playable.  As  the  orchestra 
was  placed  underground  and  not  seen  by  the 
public,  the  poor  fellows  could  see  nothing  of  the 
stage  or  the  artists.  Wagner's  idea  has  now 
been  adopted  at  the  continental  theatres  and  in 
the  various  opera-houses  in  this  country,  and 
I  suppose  also  in  America  and  other  countries. 
In  consequence  of  it  the  various  scenes  look 
more  like  a  series  of  pictures,  as  nothing  inter- 
venes between  stage  and  audience — it  also 
concentrates  the  volume  of  sound  more  effectu- 
ally. Many  new  instruments  were  used,  such 
as  the  saxophones,  which  were  specially  manu- 
factured for  Wagner's  operas. 

On  the  next  evening  a  reception  was  given 
by  Frau  Wagner  at  "Wahnfried,"  as  Wagner's 


178   RECOLLECTIONS  OF  RICHARD  WAGNER 

house  was  called.  It  was  a  most  interesting 
soiree.  All  the  principal  singers — whom  Wagner 
adopted  as  his  children  and  addressed  as  "  du  " 
— were  there.  They,  on  their  part,  venerated 
and  loved  him,  calling  him  "  Meister."  A 
number  of  foreign  visitors  from  all  parts  of  the 
world  were  also  present,  among  whom  were  the 
most  celebrated  composers  and  instrumentalists. 
I  had  the  honour  of  being  invited,  with  Dr. 
Henry  Wylde  and  my  fellow-townsman,  Herr 
Sigismund  Lehmeyer,  the  pianist. 

An  amateur  tenor,  M.  Robsart,  from  Brussels, 
was  asked  to  sing  Siegmund's  "Liebeslied,"  and 
as  neither  Richter  nor  Herr  Rubinstein  (the  usual 
accompanist  of  the  opera)  was  present,  I  had  to 
play  the  accompaniment,  and  as  the  song  is 
extremely  difficult,  I  was  perhaps  a  little  timid 
at  being  asked  to  do  so  in  the  presence  of  its 
great  composer.  But  it  went  off  well,  and  the 
singer  was  greatly  applauded. 

"  Wahnfried  "  is  a  splendid  house,  with  large 
reception-rooms  on  the  ground-floor.  At  the 
back  of  the  drawing-room  there  is  a  large  library 
with  many  volumes  of  bound  music.  Looking 
through  them,  I  noticed  that  the  only  composers 
omitted  from  the  walls  of  the  great  master  were 
Mendelssohn  and — I  believe — Meyerbeer. 

I  fancy  that  Wagner  did  not  like  Jewish  com- 
posers, especially  as  these  two  I  have  named 
belonged  to  rich  families,  and  Wagner  was  poor 
and  had  constantly  to  fight  for  his  living,  and 


WAGNER   AND    OFFENBACH  179 

was  often,  as  one  reads  in  his  Life,  obliged  to 
borrow  money,  until  King  Louis  took  him  up 
and  helped  him  to  make  his  fortune  and  a  great 
name. 

Mendelssohn,  by  the  way,  was  not  a  Jew, 
though  he  belonged  to  a  Jewish  family.  Wagner 
wrote  a  brochure  called  Das  Judenthum  in  der 
Musik,  in  which  he  speaks  against  Jewish 
composers,  theoretically  only,  for  he  had  many 
staunch  friends  amongst  them.  It  created  a 
great  sensation  at  the  time,  and  he  sent  a  copy 
to  Offenbach,  who,  after  reading  it,  wrote  to 
him  : 

"  DEAR  WAGNER, 

"  You  had  better  stick  to  music." 

Wagner  thereupon  sent  Offenbach  a  copy  of 
the  score  of  the  Meister singer,  and  a  few  days 
later  had  the  following  : 

"  DEAR  WAGNER, 

"  I  think  you  had  better  stick  to  writing 
books." 

At  Frau  Wagner's  reception  refreshments 
were  served  at  several  buffets,  and  I  remember 
that,  while  I  was  partaking  of  some  in  one  of 
the  back  rooms  with  some  of  my  friends  from 
London,  Wagner  came  up  to  where  we  stood 
and  said  jokingly,  "  Darf  ich  nicht  auch  etwas 
zu  essen  bekommen  ?  "  (Am  I  not  going  to 
have  anything  to  eat  ?)  We  all  made  room  for 


180    RECOLLECTIONS  OF  RICHARD  WAGNER 

him  at  once,  and  were  highly  pleased  that  he 
came  amongst  us. 

Perhaps  the  following  incidents  may  interest 
my  readers ;  they  happened  during  the  first 
three  performances  of  Tannhduser  in  Paris,  the 
first  of  which  was  on  March  13th,  1861,  now  fifty- 
two  years  ago. 

The  Emperor  Louis  Napoleon  and  the  Empress 
Eugenie  were  present  on  the  first  night,  and  the 
opera  was  received  in  cold,  significant  silence. 

On  the  second  night  the  audience,  from  the 
second  act  onward,  made  a  great  row,  fighting 
among  themselves  and  disturbing  the  singers. 

On  the  third  night  there  was  a  terrific  noise, 
and  no  member  of  the  audience  could  hear  a 
note  of  the  music  the  whole  evening,  but  the  one 
success  of  the  opera  was  the  appearance  of  the 
sporting  dogs,  which  the  Emperor  had  specially 
lent  from  the  royal  kennels.  One  of  my  friends 
played  the  part  of  the  page  who  had  to  lead 
the  dogs  on  the  stage  towards  the  end  of  the 
first  act,  and  he  told  me  recently  that  the 
audience  cheered  them  and  called  them  before 
the  curtain,  shouting,  "  Bravo  les  chiens !  " 
"  Bis  les  chiens  !  on  vous  rappelle  !  l!  But  the 
page  would  not  comply  with  their  sarcastic 
demands. 

Now  all  this  has  been  changed,  and  whenever 
Wagner's  operas  are  performed  in  Paris  the 
house  is  crowded,  and  even  the  Ring  has  become 
very  popular.  Naturally,  the  operas  were  splen- 


MUNICH  181 

didly  given  in  Paris  and  the  scenery  could  not 
have  been  surpassed.  At  the  Lamoureux  and 
Colonne  orchestral  concerts  extracts  from  his 
operas  were  constantly  given  and  received  with 
acclamation  by  an  enthusiastic  audience. 

It  was  at  Munich  that  I  first  heard  Wagner's 
Tristan  and  Isolde,  which  was  then  a  compara- 
tively unknown  work :  I  was  very  much  impressed 
and  deeply  moved.  Herr  and  Frau  Vogl  sang 
the  title-roles.  I  heard  them  both  later  at 
Bayreuth.  Musicians  came  from  far  and  near 
to  hear  the  performance,  which  created  a  great 
sensation.  Munich  has  always  been  celebrated 
for  its  performances  of  Wagner's  operas,  and 
has  had  excellent  conductors,  such  as  Von  Billow, 
Hermann  Levi,  Richard  Strauss,  and  Mottl. 
The  last  time  I  was  there  was  in  1901,  the  year 
of  the  opening  of  the  Prinz  Regenten  Theater, 
the  new  Festspielhaus,  which  had  been  built  a 
little  way  out  of  the  town  in  the  same  style  as 
the  theatre  at  Bayreuth. 

The  performances  of  Wagner's  operas,  which 
included  Tristan  and  Isolde.,  Die  Meister singer, 
Tannhduser,  and  Lohengrin,  were  some  of  the 
finest  I  have  ever  heard.  Ternina's  perform- 
ance as  Isolde  I  had  already  known  and  admired 
in  London.  She  sang  with  all  her  wonted  beauty 
of  voice  and  rose  to  the  greatest  heights  of 
dramatic  intensity.  In  the  Meistersinger  I  was 
particularly  struck  by  the  perfection  of  the  en- 
semble, and  the  sunken  orchestra  added  greatly 


to  the  unity  of  the  general  effect.  Gura,  the 
great  baritone,  made  one  of  his  last  appearances 
as  Hans  Sachs,  and  was  superb.  The  perform- 
ance of  Lohengrin  was  remarkable  for  the  fine 
singing  of  the  choruses,  which  are  always  cut  in 
London,  so  as  to  alter  the  whole  balance  of  the 
opera.  Madame  Nordica  gave  a  beautiful  ren- 
dering of  the  part  of  Elsa. 

One  evening  I  went  to  see  an  excellent  per- 
formance of  Mozart's  Cosi  fan  tutti  in  the  little 
rococo  Residenz  Theater,  a  charming  setting 
for  the  gay  and  spontaneous  opera.  Another 
feature  was  the  small  orchestra  and  the  rapid 
succession  of  scenes  arranged  on  the  revolving 
stage.  I  used  to  meet  some  of  the  artists  after 
the  performances  at  supper  :  they  were  all  de- 
lightful companions. 


CHAPTER   X 

SOME    GREAT   PERSONALITIES 

I  meet  the  Abb6  Liszt,  at  Bayreuth  and  in  London — Gounod  at 
Tavistock  House — Mrs.  Weldon — Romto  et  Juliette  in 
Paris — I  attend  the  special  performances — An  annoying 
incident — Gounod  chez  lui — I  accompany  his  son  to  a  con- 
cert at  the  Conservatoire — Ambroise  Thomas — Leo  Delibes 
— Madame  Patti's  Christmas-tree — Two  great  pianists — 
Rubinstein — Hans  von  Billow — His  grimaces  while  playing — 
Story  of  a  pupil. 

WHEN  I  was  introduced  to  Liszt,  who  was  stay- 
ing with  Wagner,  he  said  he  knew  my  name  on 
account  of  my  uncles  in  Berlin.  He  was  dressed 
in  the  clerical  garb  of  an  Abbe,  and  was  a  very 
tall  man,  but  stooped  a  little  and  spoke  very 
gently.  His  long,  white,  silky  hair  hung  down 
picturesquely,  and  he  was  very  affable  to  me 
and  had  most  charming  manners.  I  saw  him 
every  day  whilst  I  stayed  at  Bayreuth.  Liszt 
was  one  of  the  greatest  friends  and  warmest 
admirers  of  Wagner  and  his  operas,  and  he  was 
the  first  to  bring  out  Lohengrin — the  premiere 
of  which  took  place  at  Weimar  in  the  year 
1850,  with  Liszt  as  conductor.  I  met  Liszt 
again  in  London  on  Saturday,  April  3rd,  1886, 
when  he  came  over  to  England  as  the  guest 
of  Mr.  Henry  Littleton,  head  of  the  firm  of 

183 


184  SOME  GREAT  PERSONALITIES 

Novello  &  Co.  Liszt  arrived  at  Westwood  House, 
Sydenham,  very  late  in  the  evening  and  very 
tired,  and  was  received  by  a  distinguished  com- 
pany of  between  three  and  four  hundred  people 
who  had  been  specially  invited  to  meet  him. 
He  had  come  over  to  hear  his  oratorio,  Saint 
Elizabeth,  performed  at  St.  James's  Hall  on 
April  6th  under  the  direction  of  Sir  Alexander 
Mackenzie.  I  went  to  hear  the  performance,  and 
noticed  that  Liszt  occasionally  fell  asleep,  but 
woke  up  at  hearing  the  great  applause  that 
came  at  the  end  of  each  important  part. 

I  also  saw  him  one  Sunday  morning  at  the 
house  of  my  old  friend  the  late  Mr.  Beatty 
Kingston,  in  St.  John's  Wood,  where  he  had 
been  invited  to  lunch.  A  song  composed  by  his 
host's  daughter  was  sung,  and  immediately  after- 
wards Liszt  sat  down  at  the  piano  and  ex- 
temporised beautifully  on  the  theme  of  the  song, 
never  having  heard  it  before. 

A  brilliant  reception  was  also  given  in  his 
honour,  arranged  by  his  pupil  and  friend,  the 
late  Mr.  Walter  Bache,  at  the  Grosvenor  Gal- 
leries in  Bond  Street,  where  I  had  the  good 
fortune  to  hear  Liszt  play.  He  was  then 
seventy-five  years  old,  having  been  born  on 
October  22nd,  1811,  so  one  could  hardly  expect 
that  his  playing  would  have  been  so  astonishing. 
He  still  had  wonderful  fire  and  technique,  and 
one  could  easily  imagine  his  former  greatness, 
as  the  first  pianist  of  his  day.  He  may  be  said 


LISZT  185 

to  have  created  a  new  school  of  pianoforte  play- 
ing, and  now  his  works  are  constantly  being 
performed  at  all  the  recitals  given  by  modern 
pianists,  and  his  orchestral  works,  such  as  his 
symphonies  and  symphonic  tone-poems,  are 
in  the  programmes  of  most  of  the  orchestral 
concerts  in  London  and  the  provinces.  I  have 
already  mentioned  that  I  gave  the  first  per- 
formance in  England  of  his  "  Divina  Commedia  " 
Symphony  at  my  Orchestral  Concerts  in  1882. 

After  Liszt's  death  I  stayed  at  Weimar  and 
saw  the  houses  where  Schiller  and  Goethe  and 
other  great  German  poets  and  writers  lived. 
There  they  have  a  Liszt  Museum  of  his  presents, 
testimonials  and  portraits,  etc.,  and  his  old 
housekeeper  showed  me  over  it.  She  pointed 
out  a  lithograph  portrait  of  Beethoven,  and  said 
that  Liszt  had  always  spoken  of  it  as  being 
the  best  likeness  of  him.  Liszt,  when  a  boy  of 
twelve,  had  played  before  Beethoven. 

In  1870,  when  the  Franco-German  War  broke 
out,  Charles  Gounod,  like  many  other  Parisians, 
came  over  to  England  to  get  out  of  the  war. 
He  lived  at  Tavistock  House,  with  Captain 
and  Mrs.  Weldon,  where  Charles  Dickens  once 
resided,  near  Euston  Square.  Georgina  Weldon 
used  to  receive  her  friends,  including  a  number 
of  distinguished  artists,  on  Sunday  afternoons, 
and  on  those  occasions  Gounod  used  to  accom- 
pany her  in  some  of  his  newest  songs,  many  of 
which  he  had  dedicated  to  her.  She  had  a 


186  SOME  GREAT  PERSONALITIES 

lovely  high  soprano  voice,  and  was,  in  those 
days,  a  great  beauty.  She  used  to  call  Gounod 
"  Papa." 

Gounod  also  sang  his  own  songs,  such  as 
"Maid  of  Athens,"  with  perfect  charm.  He 
had  only  a  small  voice,  but  he  sang  exquisitely, 
every  word  being  distinctly  heard,  and  of  course 
he  played  his  own  accompaniments  to  perfec- 
tion. I  used  to  go  with  the  'cellist,  M.  Paque, 
to  these  Sunday  Reunions,  and  accompanied 
him  in  a  fantasia  which  he  had  composed  on  airs 
from  Gounod's  Faust. 

It  was  about  this  time  that  Gounod  had 
organised  a  series  of  orchestral  concerts,  con- 
sisting of  his  own  new  works.  These  concerts, 
which  were  most  interesting,  were  given  at  St. 
James's  Hall,  and  he  had  engaged  a  fine 
orchestra.  Several  new  works  were  performed, 
such  as  "  The  Funeral  March  of  a  Marionette." 
Mr.  Edward  Lloyd  made  a  successful  first  ap- 
pearance as  a  young  English  singer  at  these 
concerts.  I  remember  complimenting  him  on 
his  singing  after  the  concerts  had  finished,  and 
he  seemed  very  pleased  at  my  praise. 

Gounod  always  admired  English  choral  sing- 
ing, and  his  famous  oratorios,  The  Redemption 
and  Mors  et  Vita,  were  both  written  for  Birming- 
ham Festivals.  I  was  present  at  the  rehearsal 
of  The  Redemption  at  St.  George's  Hall,  Lang- 
ham  Place,  when  Madame  Albani,  Madame 
Patey,  Edward  Lloyd,  and  Charles  Santley  were 


GOUNOD  187 

among  the  singers.  Gounod  conducted  it  him- 
self, most  splendidly. 

When  the  Franco-German  War  was  over  he 
returned  to  Paris.  The  Parisians  had  been 
clamouring  for  his  return,  and  complaining  that 
he  had  been  so  long  kept  away  from  them.  They 
even  twitted  him  with  having  become  an  Eng- 
lishman, to  which  he  replied,  "  If  I  were  not  a 
Frenchman,  I  should  like  to  be  an  Englishman." 
Many  years  afterwards,  in  December  1888,  I 
visited  him  in  Paris  and  renewed  my  acquaint- 
ance with  him  under  the  following  circum- 
stances. 

Gounod  and  the  directors  of  the  Paris  Grand 
Opera  wished  to  give  some  special  performances 
of  Romeo  et  Juliette,  and  one  of  the  directors, 
M.  Gailhard,  came  over  to  England  and  travelled 
west  to  Craig-y-nos  Castle  to  invite  Madame 
Patti  to  go  over  to  Paris  and  sing,  and  she  kindly 
consented  to  do  so.  Signor  Nicolini  invited 
the  late  Mr.  Augustus  Spalding,  Mr.  Percy 
Harrison,  the  late  Mr.  N.  Vert,  and  myself  to 
go  over  to  Paris  and  hear  the  performances. 
We  four,  accordingly,  travelled  over  to  Paris 
and  stayed  at  the  Hotel  Meurice  in  the  Rue  de 
Rivoli.  Romeo  et  Juliette  was  a  brilliant  success, 
and  was  sung  to  packed  houses.  Madame  Patti 
surpassed  herself  as  Juliette,  M.  Jean  de  Reszke 
was  Romeo,  and  M.  Edouard  de  Reszke  Friar 
Lawrence,  and  the  opera  was  well  conducted  by 
M.  Taffanel,  who  used  to  play  the  flute  in  the 


188  SOME  GREAT  PERSONALITIES 

orchestra — Gounod  only  conducting  the  first  of 
the  four  performances. 

We  had  seats  in  a  box  in  one  of  the  upper 
tiers  that  night,  and  for  the  next  three  perform- 
ances had  very  good  seats  in  the  stalls.  The 
mise-en-scene  was  very  fine,  the  choruses  excel- 
lent, likewise  the  ballet.  The  Ball  Scene,  where 
Juliet  faints  through  the  effect  of  the  potion 
given  her  by  Friar  Lawrence  in  the  second  act, 
is  always  omitted  at  Covent  Garden,  but  it 
was  given  in  Paris,  and  altogether  it  was  a 
memorable  occasion.  This  was  the  first  time 
I  had  seen  the  New  Opera-house,  with  its  grand 
staircase  and  superb  joyer.  The  only  thing 
which  threw  a  kind  of  damper  on  my  enjoyment 
was  that  I  lost  my  pocket-book  in  the  crush 
while  trying  to  get  my  overcoat  at  one  of  the 
cloak-rooms  connected  with  that  part  of  the 
stalls  where  we  sat.  There  were  a  great  many 
other  people  trying  to  get  their  coats,  and  I  felt 
a  man  pressing  against  me  who,  I  suppose,  was 
the  one  who  stole  my  little  book.  Fortunately 
it  contained  no  money,  only  my  return-ticket 
to  London,  and,  what  I  regretted  most,  a  card 
from  Gounod  introducing  me  to  Ambroise 
Thomas,  in  which  he  was  kind  enough  to  call 
me  his  confrere.  I  advertised  and  offered  a 
reward,  but  nothing  came  of  it. 

On  the  Saturday  morning  following  I  called 
on  Gounod  at  his  house  in  the  Boulevard 
Malesherbes  and  found  him  at  home,  sitting  in 


CHARLES    GOUNOD. 


188] 


VISIT   TO   GOUNOD  189 

his  study  on  the  first  floor,  dressed  still  in 
neglige  and  wearing  his  velvet  cap.  He  re- 
ceived me  most  kindly,  and,  as  Mr.  Vert  was 
waiting  in  the  carriage  outside,  I  asked  M. 
Gounod  whether  I  might  bring  him  up  and 
introduce  him,  and  he  at  once  said  "  Yes,"  and 
greeted  Vert  most  affably.  He  talked  a  great 
deal  about  music  in  England,  and  said  he  re- 
gretted the  cause  which  prevented  him  from 
coming  over  to  England  again  and  conducting 
some  orchestral  concerts  of  his  own  works, 
which  he  would  have  dearly  loved  to  have  done. 
This  cause  was  a  lawsuit,  which  he  had  lost  in 
London  and  had  been  condemned  to  pay  a 
heavy  fine,  and  had  he  returned  to  England  he 
would  have  had  to  settle  it. 

I  asked  him  to  write  something  in  my  auto- 
graph album,  which  he  did,  and  I  begged  him 
to  give  me  a  piano-score  of  Romeo  et  Juliette 
signed  with  his  name.  He  went  to  look  in  his 
library  and  returned,  saying  :  "I  am  very  sorry, 
but  I  have  not  a  single  copy  left.  People  come 
to  visit  me,  and  take  away  all  the  piano-scores 
of  my  operas  from  my  shelves." 

In  looking  over  my  album  he  noticed  the  title 
and  also  a  phrase  of  one  of  his  own  arias,  "  She 
alone  charmeth  my  sadness,"  from  his  opera, 
La  Reine  de  Saba.  I  told  him  that  Signor  Foli 
had  made  it  very  popular  in  England,  but, 
strangely  enough,  he  did  not  seem  to  recollect 
the  song  at  all ! 


190  SOME  GREAT  PERSONALITIES 

Gounod  asked  me  if  I  would  like  to  go  to  the 
Conservatoire  Concert  next  morning,  and  of 
course  I  said  "  Yes  "  :  he  then  offered  to  fetch 
me  from  my  hotel  and  take  me  there  with 
him.  Unfortunately,  he  was  taken  ill,  so  could 
not  go,  and  his  son  came  in  his  stead  and  we 
went  together  to  the  concert,  which  took  place 
in  the  Salle  du  Conservatoire.  It  was  con- 
ducted by  M.  Taffanel,  and  was  a  wonderful 
performance.  The  orchestra  is  celebrated  all 
over  Europe,  and  I  must  say  I  never  heard  a 
finer  performance  of  Beethoven's  Eroica.  It 
was  a  revelation  to  me,  and  "  The  Funeral 
March "  affected  me  to  tears.  Choruses  from 
Gluck's  Armida  and  Iphigenia  in  Aulis  were 
also  given. 

In  the  afternoon  I  attended  a  reception  given 
by  the  director  of  the  Conservatoire,  M.  Am- 
broise  Thomas,  in  his  rooms  at  the  Conservatoire, 
and  renewed  acquaintance  with  Madame  Thomas, 
who  had  known  me  in  London  when  she  came 
over  with  her  sister,  Madame  Montigny-Remaury, 
the  celebrated  pianist,  who  had  played  several 
times  at  my  orchestral  concerts,  and  both  sisters 
had  visited  my  house.  A  great  many  artists, 
principally  French,  and  other  distinguished  per- 
sons were  present  at  the  reception.  Ambroise 
Thomas  was  very  tall,  and  had  a  commanding 
presence  ;  he  was  most  sympathetic,  and  made 
everybody  feel  at  home. 

During  the  siege  of  Paris,  Ambroise  Thomas 


DELIBES  191 

was  much  troubled  about  the  fate  of  his  villa 
at  Argenteuil,  and  as  soon  as  he  could  leave 
Paris  he  hastened  there.  To  his  surprise, 
amidst  the  surrounding  ruins  of  the  place,  he 
found  his  villa  "  Elsinore,"  with  its  garden,  un- 
touched. On  opening  the  door  of  his  house, 
he  found  the  explanation.  A  visiting-card  was 
lying  there  bearing  the  name  "  Lieutenant 

,"  and  underneath  in  pencil  was  written, 

"  nephew  of  Meyerbeer." 

Later  in  the  evening  I  visited  Monsieur  Leo 
Delibes  in  his  rooms  at  the  Rue  de  Rivoli.  I 
found  him  at  home  and  told  him  that  Madame 
Patti  had  sung  his  "  Bell  Song  "  from  Lakmt 
at  the  Albert  Hall,  under  my  direction,  with 
immense  success  ;  in  fact,  she  had  to  repeat  the 
last  quick  movement.  I  asked  him  to  put  his 
autograph  on  my  orchestral  score  of  this  song, 
which  I  had  brought  with  me,  which  he  did, 
and  we  had  a  most  interesting  chat.  He  died 
soon  afterwards,  on  January  16th,  1891,  when 
only  fifty-four  years  old,  and  by  his  death  the 
musical  world  lost  a  genius  who  could  ill  be 
spared.  His  grand  Opera  Ballets,  Sylvia  and 
Coppelia,  alone  will  never  let  his  name  be  forgot- 
ten, to  say  nothing  of  his  many  charming  songs. 

Madame  Patti  invited  me  to  remain  as  her 
guest  over  Christmas,  saying  that  she  would 
have  a  Christmas-tree  in  her  apartments  in  the 
Hotel  Meurice ;  but  I  could  not  accept  her 
invitation,  as  I  knew  my  wife  and  children  would 
14 


192  SOME  GREAT  PERSONALITIES 

be  disappointed  if  I  were  away  on  such  a  family 
festival ;  so  I  thanked  Madame  Patti  and  her 
husband  for  the  great  treat  I  had  had  in  hear- 
ing the  festival  performances  of  Romeo  et  Juliette, 
and  we  said  "  good-bye  "  for  the  time  being. 

The  greatest  pianist  I  have  ever  heard  was 
Anton  Rubinstein.  He  was  a  veritable  giant  in 
his  playing.  He  used  to  come  over  from  Russia 
in  the  summer,  and  I  heard  him  at  John  Ella's 
Musical  Union  Concerts.  He  was  a  man  of 
extreme  artistic  sensitiveness,  and  very  moody, 
and  was  noted  for  his  playing  of  rapid  and 
spirited  movements. 

I  also  heard  his  opera  77  Demonio,  which  was 
performed  here  by  a  Russian  company  and  made 
a  great  impression. 

In  1881  he  gave  a  series  of  historical  recitals 
in  chronological  order  at  St.  James's  Hall,  and 
gave  me  two  tickets  for  each  concert.  Seats 
were  a  guinea  each,  an  unheard-of  price  in  those 
days,  and  after  each  concert  he  used  to  invite 
his  friends  to  a  reception  at  the  Hotel  Dieudonne 
in  Ryder  Street,  to  which  I  also  received  an 
invitation. 

Rubinstein  had  a  fine  head,  and  people  thought 
him  like  Beethoven.  One  evening  I  was  invited 
by  Carl  Rosa  to  dine,  to  meet  him  and  his  agent, 
Mr.  Wolff.  We  played  whist  afterwards,  but 
not  for  money.  Rubinstein  was  very  fond  of 
gambling,  and  lost  lots  of  money  at  the  roulette- 
table  at  Baden-Baden  and  other  watering- 


VON    BULOW  193 

places.  Sometimes  he  lost  so  much  that  the 
Russian  Grand  Duchess  Helene  had  to  send  him 
his  travelling  expenses  so  that  he  could  get  back 
to  Russia.  He  was,  all  the  same,  a  very  generous 
man  and  never  minded  what  he  gave  away. 

A  young  girl  I  know  was  once  taken  to  see 
Rubinstein,  and  he  asked  her  to  sing  to  him  : 
she  chose  his  "  Du  bist  wie  eine  Blume."  When 
she  had  finished  his  comment  was,  "  Too  much 
Belgrave  Square  !  "  He  put  his  hand  on  her 
heart  and  said,  "  Any  Army  or  Navy  there  ?  ' 

It  was  a  long  time  before  the  great  pianist, 
Hans  von  Biilow,  was  properly  appreciated  in 
London,  for  people,  instead  of  listening  to  his 
playing,  only  seemed  to  notice  his  mannerisms. 
He  was,  as  a  fact,  very  short-sighted,  and  when 
he  played  he  took  off  his  spectacles  and  moved 
his  head  about  rather  grotesquely  ;  but  this  was 
not  affectation,  it  came  naturally  to  him.  He 
was  always  entranced  in  the  music,  and  really 
could  not  see  his  audience  at  all  without  spec- 
tacles ;  but  his  gestures  and  apparent  grimaces 
used  to  amuse  them. 

I  call  to  mind  one  day  meeting  Arthur 
Chappell  in  Bond  Street,  when  he  asked  my 
opinion  about  Biilow,  which  I  gave  him,  lauding 
the  pianist  up  to  the  skies  ;  but  Chappell  did  not 
agree  with  me.  Biilow  had  only  been  a  short 
time  in  England  then,  and  I  fancy  Arthur 
Chappell  changed  his  mind,  for  he  engaged  him 
to  play  at  his  popular  concerts. 


194 


SOME  GREAT  PERSONALITIES 


Billow,  apart  from  being  such  a  great  player 
and  musician,  was  also  a  distinguished  literary 
man,  and  wrote  pamphlets  on  musical  subjects. 
He  was  a  clever  composer  as  well,  and  a  first-rate 
orchestral  conductor,  of  which  he  gave  proof 
when  he  was  Kapellmeister  at  Munich  and  con- 
ducted Wagner's  operas  there.  He  also  con- 
ducted orchestral  concerts  here,  and  used  to  give 
piano  recitals  at  St.  James's  Hall,  at  one  of 


which  he  performed  the  last  four  Sonatas  of 
Beethoven,  which,  as  everybody  knows,  are 
immensely  difficult ;  but  he  played  them  so 
clearly,  especially  the  fugues,  that  it  was  a 
great  treat  to  listen  to  him.  You  never  heard 
a  wrong  note,  and  what  I  particularly  admired 
was  the  feat  of  playing  these  difficult  works  by 
heart.  At  the  present  day  all  the  great  pianists  do 
the  same  thing,  and  nobody  thinks  it  at  all  extra- 
ordinary ;  but  in  those  days  it  was  a  tour  de  force. 


VON    BULOW  195 

As  everybody  who  takes  an  interest  in  mu- 
sicians knows,  Frau  Cosima  Wagner  was  the 
wife  of  Biilow  before  she  married  Wagner,  and 
the  daughter  of  Franz  Liszt. 

Biilow  was  a  little  man,  thin  and  wiry,  and 
full  of  wit  and  sarcasm.  He  was  very  sensitive 
about  his  slight  build,  and  on  one  occasion, 
when  he  was  conducting  a  concert  at  Berlin,  he 
wrote  and  asked  my  uncle  the  Conzertmeister 
whether  he  couldn't  come  to  his  aid,  saying : 

"  Muss  ich,  bei  meiner  anti-Murphy  Statur, 
Madame  Clara  Novello  vorfuhren?  Oder  wird 
sich  nicht  ein  besserer  Cavalier  zu  dieser  Re- 
prasentation  auftreiben  lassen  ?  '  (Must  I,  with 
my  anti-Murphy  stature,  lead  on  Madame  Clara 
Novello,  or  cannot  a  better  cavalier  be  raked  up  ?) 

Murphy  was  a  well-known  Irish  giant  of  the 
period. 

A  young  English  pupil  of  Billow's  told  me 
a  characteristic  story  of  him.  Biilow  always 
impressed  upon  him  the  importance  of  the  serious 
study  of  musical  form  and  structure.  Happen- 
ing to  come  into  the  room  one  day,  he  heard  his 
pupil  playing  Mendelssohn's  Lieder  ohne  Worte. 
Biilow  remarked,  "  Mendelssohn  !  Das  1st  eine 
Krankheit  fur  die  Jugend  !  "  (which  might  be 
liberally  translated :  "  Mendelssohn  !  A  malady, 
like  measles,  to  be  got  over  in  youth  !  ")  No 
one,  except  perhaps  Liszt,  worked  harder  for 
Wagner's  fame — in  which  he  certainly  succeeded. 


CHAPTER    XI 

MADAME    ADELINA   PATTI 

Her  wonderful  career — Enthusiasm  at  Swansea — "  A  Royal 
Progress  " — Annual  charity  concerts  at  Swansea,  Brecon,  and 
Neath — Life  at  Craig-y-nos — A  kind  chatelaine — Her  Bijou 
Theatre — The  Albert  Hall  concerts — How  Patti  practised — 
Her  marriage  with  Baron  Cederstrb'm — Sir  George  Faudel- 
Phillips's  joke — Patti's  many  escapes  from  death — Her 
wonderful  sang-froid — Her  dresses  and  jewellery — Some 
musical  amateurs  I  have  known. 

I  HAVE  already  mentioned  that  Madame  Adelina 
Patti  sang  at  my  concert  at  St.  James's  Hall  in 
1870  (see  page  86).  I  cannot  refrain  from  say- 
ing a  few  words  about  this  charming  lady,  who 
has  been  my  staunch  and  valued  friend  for 
forty- three  years,  since  I  first  met  her  in  1870. 
Everybody  knows  her  wonderful  career,  which 
began  in  1850,  when  she  was  only  seven  years 
old,  and  appeared  at  Tripler's  Hall,  New  York. 
She  then  sang  "  Casta  Diva "  from  Norma, 
Eckert's  "Echo  Song,"  and  "Home,  Sweet 
Home,"  evoking  the  greatest  enthusiasm.  Her 
first  appearance  on  the  operatic  stage  took  place 
when  she  was  not  yet  seventeen  years  of  age, 
at  the  Academy  of  Music,  New  York,  in  1859, 
when  she  sang  the  title-role  in  Donizetti's  opera 

196 


ADELINA   PATTI,    IN    "LA   TBAVIATA,"    1859. 


196] 


PATTI'S    DEBUT  197 

Lucia  di  Lammermoor,   and  carried  everything 
before  her. 

She  came  to  London  with  her  father,  and  on 
May  14th,  1861,  she  made  her  debut  at  Covent 
Garden  in  Bellini's  opera  La  Sonnambula,  when 
her  success  was  phenomenal,  and  from  that  day 
she  became  the  reigning  favourite  at  the  Opera, 
where  she  sang,  for  twenty-five  consecutive 
years,  twice  a  week.  She  told  me  herself  that 
she  had  a  repertoire  of  thirty-nine  operas,  and 
knew  them  by  heart,  the  text  and  all  the 
changes,  with  the  various  embellishments  and 
cadenzas.  Her  memory  is  prodigious  ;  no  other 
singer  in  the  world  can  show  such  a  wonder- 
ful record.  Her  teacher  was  her  half-brother, 
Ettore  Barili. 

She  first  invited  me  to  her  beautiful  castle  in 
South  Wales,  called  Craig-y-nos  (the  Black 
Mountain  or  Mountain  of  the  Night),  to  assist 
at  a  charity  concert,  which  she  gave  for  the 
Swansea  Hospital  in  the  eighties.  The  distance 
from  her  home  was  about  twenty  miles  by  rail, 
and  all  along  the  embankments  crowds  of  miners 
stood  with  their  wives  and  children,  watching 
the  train  go  by,  and  cheering  her  and  waving 
their  caps  and  handkerchiefs  as  she  passed 
along.  On  her  arrival  at  Swansea  she  was  re- 
ceived by  the  Mayor  and  some  members  of  the 
corporation,  and  a  company  of  the  local  volun- 
teers with  their  bands  playing.  She  drove  in 
an  open  carriage  with  her  husband,  and  other 


198  MADAME  ADELINA  PATTI 

carriages  followed  with  the  rest  of  the  artists 
and  her  friends  staying  at  the  castle,  through 
the  streets  to  the  Albert  Hall.  The  ships  in 
the  harbour  were  decked  with  flags,  and  on 
each  side  of  the  way,  bunting  with  such  mottoes 
as  "  God  bless  the  Queen  of  Song,"  "  Welcome," 
"  Long  live  Adelina  Patti,"  etc.,  decorated  the 
route.  From  the  house  windows  the  inhabitants 
cheered,  and  likewise  the  crowds  of  people  in 
the  streets. 

The  Albert  Hall  at  Swansea  was  crowded  to 
suffocation.  She  sang  several  of  her  favourite 
songs,  and  ended  with  the  ever-popular  "  Home, 
Sweet  Home,"  which  made  many  of  the  audi- 
ence shed  tears.  Numerous  floral  offerings  which 
consisted  of  the  choicest  flowers  were  handed  to 
her  on  the  platform.  At  the  end  of  the  concert 
the  Member  of  Parliament  for  Swansea  made  an 
eloquent  speech,  in  which  he  thanked  her  for 
her  generosity  and  kindness  in  coming  so  far  to 
help  the  hospital.  A  suitable  reply  was  made 
for  her  by  a  friend.  Our  return  to  the  railway 
station  was  again  a  scene  of  enthusiasm  and 
deafening  cheering,  her  castle  being  reached  in 
time  for  dinner,  and  the  Diva  was  happy  in 
having  done  such  good  work  for  the  suffering 
poor. 

These  concerts  took  place  every  year  in  rota- 
tion, viz.  at  Swansea,  at  Brecon,  and  at  the 
Gwyn  Hall,  Neath,  with  the  same  result,  and 
at  each  she  was  received  by  the  Mayor  and  local 


CRAIG-Y-NOS  199 

authorities.  At  these  annual  concerts  the  Diva 
was  assisted  by  distinguished  artists,  who  also 
gave  their  services,  and  I  had  the  honour  of 
being  the  conductor  at  them  all.  At  the  con- 
clusion of  our  stay  Madame  Patti  always  pre- 
sented handsome  gifts  of  jewellery  to  all  the 
artists  as  a  souvenir  of  the  occasion. 

Craig-y-nos  Castle  occupies  a  beautiful  position, 
three  hundred  feet  above  the  level  of  the 
River  Tawe ;  it  stands  in  a  lovely  valley  sur- 
rounded by  high  mountains.  The  reception- 
rooms  are  large  and  beautifully  furnished.  In 
the  billiard-room  there  is  a  big  orchestrion, 
which  has  a  repertoire  of  all  the  popular  operas, 
a  large  number  being  those  of  Wagner.  Madame 
Patti  generally  joins  in  these  airs,  singing  them 
while  they  are  being  played.  She  told  me  that 
Wagner  asked  her  repeatedly  to  sing  the  soprano 
parts  in  Lohengrin  and  Tannhduser,  but  she 
always  declined  his  request.  She  would  have 
made  a  splendid  Elsa,  but  she  was  afraid  that 
Wagner's  operas  might  hurt  her  voice,  particu- 
larly in  the  dramatic  parts.  The  orchestrion  is 
generally  wound  up  to  play  after  dinner,  to  the 
delight  of  the  Diva's  guests.  There  is  a  large 
Winter  Garden  with  an  electric  fountain,  which 
is  lit  up  in  various  colours,  and  makes  the  coup 
d'ceil  a  fairy  place.  The  gardens  are  large,  with 
a  great  number  of  hot-houses.  There  are  two 
artificial  lakes  filled  with  fish,  and  wild-duck 
fly  about  everywhere. 


200  MADAME   ADELINA  PATTI 

Many  years  ago,  when  Madame  Patti  was 
looking  out  for  a  place  to  purchase,  she  was 
advised  to  consider  the  claims  of  a  castle  and 
estate  near  Turin  called  Casa  di  Val  di  Casotto. 
One  of  the  attractions  which  it  possessed  was 
that  the  purchaser  would  be  entitled  to  assume 
a  title  connected  with  the  place.  "  When  I 
was  told  I  could  call  myself  Duchessa  di  Val  di 
Casotto,"  said  Patti,  "  I  replied  that  I  preferred 
Risotto  \  " 

I  have  always  found  it  a  real  pleasure  to  be 
her  guest,  for  as  a  hostess  she  entertains  her 
friends  in  the  most  charming  and  hospitable 
manner.  Madame  Patti  has  an  enormous  corre- 
spondence, having  friends  all  over  the  world, 
and  this  generally  occupies  her  time  the  greater 
part  of  the  morning.  In  the  afternoon  she, 
with  her  husband  and  guests,  takes  long  drives, 
and  it  is  a  sight  to  see  how  the  villagers  turn 
out  of  their  cottages  with  their  little  children 
to  salute  and  bow  to  her  as  she  passes  along. 
In  the  winter  time  she  provides  the  poor  of  the 
neighbourhood  with  coals  and  blankets,  and 
gives  them  winter  clothes.  Her  accomplish- 
ments do  not  end  with  her  beautiful  singing ; 
she  plays  the  piano  perfectly,  as  well  as  the 
harmonium,  the  guitar,  the  mandoline,  and  the 
zither.  She  speaks  and  writes  Italian,  Spanish, 
Russian,  Portuguese,  German,  French,  and  Eng- 
lish perfectly.  She  does  the  finest  embroidery, 
and  has  painted  some  charming  little  sketches 


CRAIG-  Y-NOS  201 

in  water-colour.  She  is  a  courageous  horse- 
woman, and  drives  splendidly,  and  delights  in 
playing  croquet. 

She  has  had  a  pretty  little  bijou  theatre  built 
in  the  castle,  which  seats  over  three  hundred 
persons,  and  where  she  often  performs  little  plays 
and  pantomimes.  On  one  occasion  she  asked 
me  to  arrange  a  performance  of  La  Traviata,  as 
her  husband,  Baron  Rolf  Cederstrom,  had  never 
seen  her  on  the  stage.  I  had  engaged  some 
singers  from  London,  and  a  small  orchestra  from 
Swansea,  which  I  conducted.  It  was  a  memor- 
able performance,  and  I  never  heard  her  sing 
better,  nor  with  more  pathos,  than  in  the  last 
act,  in  the  dying  scene,  when  everybody  was 
moved  to  tears  and  felt  as  if,  in  the  death  of 
Violetta,  they  had  lost  a  personal  friend. 

The  audience  consisted  of  her  friends  staying 
at  the  castle,  and  the  rest  of  the  stalls  were  filled 
with  the  families  of  her  neighbours,  while  the 
little  gallery  contained  her  personal  attendants 
and  tenants.  Of  course  the  applause  of  the 
audience  was  most  enthusiastic.  A  performance 
of  Grand  Opera  in  a  private  house,  under  such 
circumstances,  was  most  interesting. 

For  many  years  Madame  Patti  was  engaged 
by  Mr.  Percy  Harrison  of  Birmingham,  for  con- 
cert tours  in  England,  Scotland,  Ireland,  and 
Wales,  in  which  I  acted  as  conductor.  The 
concert-halls  were  crowded  to  excess,  and  the 
enthusiasm  of  the  audience  was  so  great  that 


202  MADAME  ADELINA  PATTI 

she  was  obliged  to  accept  encores  to  all  her 
songs.  The  concerts  at  the  Albert  Hall  given 
by  the  late  Wilhelm  Kuhe,  the  late  N.  Vert,  and 
afterwards  by  Percy  Harrison,  must  be  remem- 
bered by  all  who  had  the  good  fortune  to  be 
present  on  these  occasions,  at  which  I  both  con- 
ducted the  orchestra  and  accompanied  on  the 
pianoforte. 

Madame  Patti  has  always  found  her  audiences 
insatiable  in  the  matter  of  encores ;  and  while 
she  has  never  been  unwilling  to  comply  with  the 
fair  requests  of  her  enthusiastic  admirers,  she 
found  that,  after  all,  there  must  be  some  limit 
set  to  them.  Of  late  years  she  found  a  subtle 
way  of  indicating  to  the  house  that  they  should 
not  ask  for  more.  After  "  Home,  Sweet  Home," 
or  "  Coming  thro'  the  Rye,"  she  would  retire, 
and  then,  in  response  to  continued  applause, 
return  to  the  platform  with  a  scarf  on  her 
shoulders,  thus  making  it  clear  that  it  was  really 
"  good-night." 

I  have  already  mentioned  Madame  Patti  sing- 
ing to  Her  late  Majesty,  Queen  Victoria,  at 
Windsor  Castle.  Later  I  referred  to  the  wonderful 
concert  given  by  the  Marchioness  of  Lansdowne 
at  Covent  Garden  on  February  22nd,  1900,  in 
aid  of  the  officers'  widows  and  families,  in  con- 
nection with  the  South  African  War. 

It  may  be  interesting  for  students  of  the  vocal 
art  to  know  that  Madame  Patti,  at  the  beginning 
of  her  career,  practised  the  fugues  of  Bach,  which 


HOW    PATTI    PRACTISED  203 

are  not  only  very  difficult  to  play,  but  even 
more  so  to  sing,  as  she  herself  told  me,  and  also 
the  "  Rondo  Capriccioso  "  of  Mendelssohn.  Her 
voice  is  a  soprano  of  the  purest  quality ;  her 
roulades  come  out  of  her  mouth  like  pearls,  and 
her  shake  is  exquisite  and  the  finest  I  have  ever 
heard. 

The  practice  of  introducing  new  cadenzas 
and  making  alterations  in  the  music  without  the 
composer's  approval  has  always  been  disapproved 
of  by  Madame  Adelina  Patti.  She  has  told  me 
that  Rossini  strongly  objected  to  the  liberties 
which  singers  used  to  take  with  his  music,  and 
that  when  M.  Maurice  Strakosch,  her  brother- 
in-law  and  teacher,  introduced  certain  staccato 
notes  into  an  aria,  Rossini  remarked,  "  Ce  sont 
des  Strakoschonneries !  " 

The  very  brilliant  cadenzas  to  "  Bel  Raggio," 
which  Madame  Patti  used  to  sing,  were  specially 
composed  and  written  out  for  her  by  Rossini 
himself.  He  had  a  great  admiration  for  her 
singing,  and  asked  to  come  and  hear  her  practis- 
ing her  solfeggi,  and  would  not  listen  to  her 
objections.  He  would  come  upstairs  in  the 
hotel  where  they  were  staying  and  stand  out- 
side the  door  of  the  room  while  she  was 
practising. 

I  attribute  the  miraculous  manner  in  which 
Madame  Patti  has  kept  her  voice  to  the  way  in 
which  she  has  spent  her  life  in  actually  living 
for  her  art,  to  a  degree  never  exercised  by  any 


204  MADAME  ADELINA  PATTI 

other  singer.  She  can  actually  count  on  her 
fingers  the  times  she  has  disappointed  in  her 
singing  career.  In  her  desire  to  keep  faith  with 
the  public  and  not  to  fail  in  her  appearances 
through  any  cause  avoidable  by  herself,  she  was 
most  careful  in  her  diet,  never  overtired  herself, 
keeping  early  and  regular  hours ;  after  singing 
she  would  only  take  a  light  supper.  So  con- 
scientious was  she  before  her  engagements  that 
I  know  of  many  pleasures  she  has  voluntarily 
given  up.  Now  that  she  has  retired  she  is  able 
to  enjoy  visits  to  Bayreuth  or  Munich,  where 
she  constantly  goes  to  the  festivals,  or  to  Paris, 
where  she  has  so  many  old  friends,  including  M. 
Jean  de  Reszke  and  his  wife,  and  when  staying 
in  London  she  is  a  great  theatre-goer. 

It  will  not  be  out  of  place  if  I  mention 
that  her  marriage  with  Baron  Rolf  Cederstrom 
took  place  at  Brecon  in  January  1899,  and 
after  the  ceremony  a  special  train  took  the  bride 
and  bridegroom,  with  their  guests,  including  my 
wife  and  my  daughters,  Georgina  and  Adelina, 
and  myself,  and  many  friends  and  relations, 
to  London.  The  wedding  breakfast  was  served 
in  the  train,  and  Sir  George  Faudel-Phillips  pro- 
posed the  health  of  the  bride  and  bridegroom 
in  felicitous  terms,  and  jokingly  said  that  he  had 
made  speeches  before  in  curious  places,  but  he 
"had  never  before  made  one  in  a  tunnel,"  as  we 
were  passing  through  the  Severn  Tunnel  at  that 
moment. 


NARROW    ESCAPES  205 

Madame  Patti  has  had  several  narrow  escapes 
from  death.  On  one  occasion,  when  she  was 
about  sixteen  years  of  age,  she  was  singing  the 
Mad  Scene  in  Lucia,  when  the  sleeve  of  her  dress, 
which  was  very  long  and  of  some  light,  flimsy 
material,  caught  fire  in  the  footlights.  Tearing 
it  off  with  her  hand,  she  extinguished  the  flames, 
only  stopping  singing  for  a  few  moments,  and 
then  caught  up  the  flute  obbligato  exactly  where 
she  left  off.  There  were  thunders  of  applause 
at  her  plucky  action.  Another  time,  in  America, 
when  she  was  singing  in  opera,  an  assassin  threw 
a  bomb  at  a  man  in  the  stage  box.  Madame 
Patti  had  taken  several  calls  from  the  right- 
hand  side  of  the  stage,  and  was  going  to  appear 
again  to  bow  from  that  side,  when  something 
seemed  to  tell  her  to  go  to  the  left-hand  side 
instead.  It  was  well  she  did  so,  for  just  then 
the  anarchist  threw  his  bomb,  which  missed  the 
stage  box  and  fell  on  the  stage  at  the  exact  spot 
where  she  had  just  been  standing.  Fortunately 
it  did  not  explode. 

On  another  occasion,  when  she  was  a  young 
girl,  a  messenger  left  a  pair  of  gloves  at  her 
house,  with  a  note  asking  her  to  accept  them, 
as  the  sender  wished  to  call  them  the  "  Patti 
gloves."  Her  father  looked  at  them  and  thought 
they  had  a  suspicious  appearance  and  smell,  so 
he  took  them  to  a  chemist,  who  analysed  them 
and  found  they  had  been  steeped  in  a  most 
deadly  poison. 


206  MADAME  ADELINA  PATTI 

Once,  when  Madame  Patti  returned  to  the 
artists'  room  after  singing,  she  helped  herself 
to  a  glass  of  water  from  the  carafe  provided  for 
her ;  but  the  moment  she  tasted  it  she  found  it 
had  such  a  strange  flavour  that  she  would  not 
drink  it.  It  was  afterwards  discovered  that  a 
box  of  matches  had  evidently  been  soaked  in 
the  water  to  poison  her,  for  it  was  found  to  be 
full  of  brimstone. 

Even  at  an  early  age  she  was  entirely  fear- 
less. When  a  little  girl  she  toured  in  Porto 
Rico  with  her  father,  riding  on  a  white  horse, 
and  met  with  all  sorts  of  adventures.  She 
never  seemed  to  know  what  danger  meant. 
When  she  was  only  ten  years  old  she  was  singing 
at  a  place  called  St.  Thomas,  in  America,  when 
an  earthquake  took  place,  and  the  building  in 
which  the  concert  was  held  began  to  rock 
ominously.  Of  course  everybody  proceeded  to 
rush  away,  but  little  Adelina  called  out  from 
the  platform  :  "  Why  do  you  all  run  away  ? 
I  am  not  running  away,"  and  started  singing 
an  extra  "  Home,  Sweet  Home,"  which  prevented 
a  panic.  She  did  a  similar  thing  when  an 
overcrowded  gallery  threatened  to  give  way 
and  the  people  were  terrified  by  the  sinister 
cracking  of  the  boards. 

Once  when  Madame  Patti  was  singing  in 
Traviata,  during  the  duet  "  Parigi  o  Cara  "  the 
tenor,  by  mistake,  began  to  sing  the  soprano  part. 
Quite  undaunted,  Patti  immediately  rose  to  the 


A    CHARMING    INCIDENT  207 

occasion,  and  dropped  into  his  part  quite  natur- 
ally. "  When  he  was  kind  enough  to  let  me," 
she  says,  in  telling  the  story,  "  I  took  my 
own  part  back  again."  Nobody  noticed  the 
mistake,  and  the  tenor  afterwards  thanked 
Patti,  with  tears  in  his  eyes,  for  saving  the 
situation. 

When  Patti  was  on  a  concert  tour  up  the 

Mississippi  River,  she  used  to  leave  the  boat, 

sing  at  some  concert-hall,  and  then  continue  the 

journey.     On   one   occasion   she   got   out   at   a 

place  called  Baton  Rouge,  but,  not  feeling  well 

enough  to  sing,  was  obliged  to  disappoint  the 

audience   by   not   appearing.     While    she    was 

resting  in  the  hotel  she  heard  a  child  crying 

bitterly  in  one  of  the  rooms,  and,  in  her  kindly 

and  impulsive  way,  went  to  see  what  was  the 

matter.     She  found  a  little  girl  sobbing  because 

"  mother    had    gone    to    hear   the    great   Patti 

sing    and    she    was    left   behind."     Patti    soon 

cheered  her  by  singing  "  Home,  Sweet  Home," 

and   "  Kathleen   Mavourneen,"    and   when    the 

mother    came    back,    very    disappointed,    from 

the  concert,  the  child  exclaimed,   "  I've  heard 

her !      I've     heard    her !  "      "  What    do    you 

mean  ?  "   said  the  mother,  and  her  feelings  can 

be  imagined  when   she   learned  what   she  had 

missed. 

As  an  instance  of  Patti' s  interest  in  the  opinion 
of  the  humblest  of  her  hearers  I  may  mention 
that  once,  when  a   mutual  friend  of   ours  was 
15 


208  MADAME   ADELINA  PATTI 

coming  out  of  the  Albert  Hall  after  a  concert 
with  Madame  Patti,  she  said  to  her  :  "I  have 
just  heard  a  policeman  going  into  raptures 
about  your  singing  !  "  "  What  did  he  say  ?  5: 
said  Patti,  intensely  pleased,  "I  do  want  to 
know  what  he  said."  It  was  characteristic  of 
her  that,  with  the  plaudits  of  the  whole  Albert 
Hall  audience  still  ringing  in  her  ears,  she  was 
eager  to  hear  what  a  policeman  on  duty  there 
had  thought  about  her  voice. 

I  have  not  said  half  enough  in  praise  of 
Madame  Patti,  but  words  fail  me  to  give  expres- 
sion to  the  admiration  I  have  for  her  as  a  friend, 
artiste,  and  woman.  She  has  given  pleasure 
to  more  people  all  over  the  world  than  any 
other  living  singer,  and  it  is  to  be  regretted 
that,  being  still  in  full  possession  of  her  powers, 
she  has  given  up  her  public  career  ;  but,  after 
all  these  many  years  of  arduous  work,  singing 
in  operas  and  concerts,  and  travelling  thousands 
of  miles  nearly  all  over  the  world,  she  deserves 
her  well-earned  rest. 

In  former  years,  when  she  was  still  active  in 
her  profession,  she  never  had  an  opportunity  of 
visiting  various  cities  (where  she  was  not  sing- 
ing), visiting  theatres,  museums,  and  other 
places  of  entertainment,  or  artistic  instruction, 
because  she  never  had  any  time  to  give  to  these 
sights.  She  was  always  so  devoted  to  her  pro- 
fession. Her  husband,  however,  is  himself  a 
great  admirer  of  art,  and  encourages  his  wife  to 


PATTI'S    KINDNESS  209 

visit  the  fine  museums,  and  they  generally  spend 
a  few  months  every  winter  in  Rome. 

She  did  not  formerly  accept  any  invitations 
to  dinners  or  receptions,  as  she  was  afraid  of 
catching  cold,  and  of  disappointing  not  only  the 
public,  but  also  her  managers. 

She  is  the  soul  of  punctuality,  always  arriving 
in  ample  time  for  her  engagements.  The  method 
and  order  observed  in  her  castle  are  very  charac- 
teristic of  her. 

She  is  very  fond  of  animals,  and  cannot  bear 
to  see  them  in  pain.  Often  when  driving  along 
the  country  roads  she  will  stop  to  see  why  a 
lamb  is  bleating  or  a  dog  whining.  Once,  when 
a  thrush  knocked  against  her  window  and  fell 
stunned  she  went  out  to  pick  it  up,  nursed  and 
revived  it  and  then  let  it  go. 

She  is  adored  by  her  servants,  Welsh,  Eng- 
lish, German,  and  Italian,  and  her  sympathetic 
kindness  to  her  old  retainers  is  the  admiration 
of  every  one. 

When  staying  at  her  house  it  was  a  sight  to 
see  her  coming  down  to  dinner  dressed  mag- 
nificently. She  varied  her  jewellery  according 
to  the  dress  she  wore — diamonds  and  rubies, 
pearls  and  emeralds.  Her  toilettes  are  elegant, 
and  never  over-elaborate.  I  have  mentioned 
these  particulars  as  I  thought  they  would  in- 
terest my  lady  readers,  and  I  may  add  that  the 
Baroness  Cederstrom  has  been  kind  enough  to 
work  a  waistcoat  for  me. 


210  MADAME  ADELINA  PATTI 

Shortly  after  one  of  Patti's  concerts,  at  which 
I  conducted  the  orchestra,  Puck  had  an  excel- 
lent cartoon  with  the  following  verses  : 

"OPORTET    PATI" 

OR 

"  WE  ALL  WANT  PATTI  !  " 

'Tis  said  that  Hector  Berlioz  once  wrought 

A  novel  version  of  an  ancient  adage, 
And  clothed  in  words  expressing  modern  thought 

One  of  the  grimmest  notions  of  a  sad  age. 

"  Oportet  pati  "  was  the  monkish  text 

He  dealt  with,  saying,  "It  is  meet  to  suffer  " 

Was  its  translation  by  some  dull,  unsexed, 
Monastic,  gloomy,  superstitious  duffer. 

Next  came  a  cheerfuller  interpretation 

Ingeniously  excogitated  by 
A  French  gourmet  of  world-wide  reputation, 

Who  vowed  the  axiom  meant  "  Bring  up  the  Pie  !  " 

The  rendering  by  Berlioz  devised, 

Was  the  most  graceful,  sympathetic,  natty  ; 

He  gave  it  thus  :    "  Correctly  modernised, 
'  Oportet  pati '  means  '  We  all  want  Patti.'  ' 

Our  version  of  the  Latin  saw  shall  be 

The  same  as  that  of  France's  great  musician  ; 

"  We  all  want  Patti."     Ever  fain  are  we 

To  court  the  song-spells  of  that  sweet  magician. 

See  !   PUCK  has  drawn  her  nestling  in  a  pie — • 

A  mimic  pate,  pasty  architectural  ; 
The  Nightingale  is  just  about  to  fly, 

No  longer  her  departure  is  conjectural. 

She  leaves  her  island  home  and  friends  to  reap 

A  golden  harvest  on  a  foreign  shore  ; 
Heaven  guide  her  safely  o'er  the  storm-toss'd  deep  ! 

Good  luck,  dear  Queen  of  Song,  and  "  Au  revoir." 


B? 


O     S 


SOME   MUSICAL   AMATEURS  211 

The  late  Duke  of  Edinburgh,  throughout  his 
life,  retained  his  love  for  the  violin,  and  when  he 
founded  the  Royal  Amateur  Orchestral  Society 
he  himself  led  the  orchestra.  The  early  meetings 
of  the  Society  were  held  in  private  at  Metzler's, 
in  Great  Marlborough  Street,  and  there  was  no 
audience.  I  joined  as  a  violinist,  and  I  re- 
member one  occasion  when  the  Prince  of  Wales 
was  present.  In  conversation  with  me  he  asked 
if  I  knew  the  Duke  of  Edinburgh,  and,  when  I 
replied  that  I  had  not  that  honour,  he  took  me 
by  the  arm  up  to  the  Duke  and  introduced  me. 

I  have  known  many  charming  lady  amateurs 
in  my  time,  all  skilled  in  the  art  of  music.  Lady 
Augustus  Hervey  used  to  sing  duets  with  Lord 
Dudley,  and  Lady  Rumbold  is  an  admirable  ex- 
ponent of  the  bel  canto.  Lady  Arthur  Hill  has 
written  many  favourite  songs,  such  as  "In  the 
Gloaming,"  and  made  a  melodious  setting  of  the 
hymn  "  O  perfect  Love,"  which  was  sung  at 
her  daughter's  wedding.  Mrs.  Arkwright  sings 
cleverly  to  her  own  guitar  accompaniments,  and 
Lady  Parkyns,  a  true  musician,  has  composed 
some  beautiful  lyrics. 

Lady  Folkestone  once  arranged  a  performance 
of  Romberg's  Toy  Symphony,  and  invited  all  the 
best-known  musicians  of  the  day  to  take  part. 
It  was  given  at  a  charity  concert  on  May  14th, 
1880.  We  all  chose  instruments  we  had  not 
played  before.  Charles  Santley  played  the  violin 
and  I  the  viola.  Benedict  took  the  bells,  and 


212  SOME    MUSICAL    AMATEURS 

Arthur  Sullivan  amused  us  all  with  his  imitation 
of  the  cuckoo.  Henry  Leslie  wielded  the  baton 
with  great  skill. 

While  I  am  speaking  of  musical  amateurs,  I 
must  not  omit  to  refer  to  my  friend  the  late 
Mr.  John  Woodford.  He  was  the  son  of  Field- 
Marshal  Sir  Alexander  Woodford,  Governor  of 
Chelsea  Hospital,  and  was  for  forty  years  in  the 
Foreign  Office.  He  never  failed  to  be  at  the 
Opera  when  Mario  was  singing,  and  he  imitated 
his  style  to  perfection.  His  pronunciation  of 
Italian  could  not  have  been  surpassed.  He 
was  a  great  favourite  in  society,  not  his  least 
attraction  being  his  good  looks.  He  used  to  help 
me  when  I  had  my  Amateur  Vocal  Reunions 
in  1858,  and  we  continued  our  friendship  until 
he  died.  Since  then  I  have  kept  up  the  friend- 
ship with  his  charming  widow  and  daughter. 

Another  great  friend  of  mine,  an  amateur 
tenor,  was  the  late  Mr.  George  Gumbleton, 
familiarly  known  as  "  Gumby."  He  sang  Irish 
national  songs  to  perfection,  accompanying  him- 
self faultlessly  on  the  piano.  He  could  con- 
verse in  four  different  languages.  It  was  a 
pleasure  to  listen  to  him  in  songs  of  Schubert 
and  Schumann,  which  of  course  he  sang  in  the 
original  German.  Apart  from  "  Salve  Dimora  " 
in  Faust  (in  Italian)  he  also  excelled  in  Gounod's 
songs,  such  as,  "  Ce  que  je  suis  sans  toi," 
"Medje,"  and  "  Quand  tu  chantes." 

He  was  very  clever   in  his  profession   as   a 


AN    OLD    OPERA-GOER  213 

barrister,  and  a  very  versatile  man.  I  remem- 
ber his  writing  some  Greek  verses  on  the  present 
German  Emperor. 

I  was  put  in  rather  an  awkward  predicament 
by  a  present  he  made  me  at  the  time  of  my 
Orchestral  Concerts.  It  was  a  black  ebony 
silver-mounted  conducting-stick,  a  beautiful 
thing  in  itself,  but  quite  unpractical.  I  always 
used  a  white  stick,  so  that  the  orchestra  could 
see  my  beat.  In  order  not  to  offend  him  I  took 
both  sticks  with  me  to  my  desk  at  the  next 
concert  and  used  his  for  a  piece  where  I  thought 
I  could  safely  take  the  risk. 

The  late  Mr.  Augustus  Spalding  was  a  notable 
figure  at  the  Opera,  and  for  very  many  years 
could  always  be  seen  sitting  in  his  corner  seat 
in  the  stalls  close  to  the  stairs  leading  to  the 
exit  by  the  orchestra.  A  confirmed  admirer  of 
the  old  school  of  Italian  Opera,  it  was  only  by 
slow  degrees  that  he  became  accustomed  to  and 
learned  to  appreciate  the  beauties  of  Wagner's 
operas.  I  remember  his  telling  me  that  his 
special  abhorrence  was  the  beginning  of  the 
second  act  of  Lohengrin. 

The  magnificent  music  of  Ortrud  and  Telra- 
mund,  so  interesting  as  the  forerunner  of 
Wagner's  later  style,  had  no  charms  for  him. 

He  used  to  explain  how  convenient  it  was  for 
him  to  slip  out  at  his  usual  dinner-hour  and 
return  to  the  Opera-house  when  the  dawn 
breaks  in  the  middle  of  the  second  act ! 


CHAPTER    XII 

PARTIES   AND    POLITICIANS 

My  first  guinea — Lord  Cardigan — The  Balaclava  Charge — Music 
at  Lady  Rothschild's — Private  concerts  at  Mr.  Alfred  de 
Rothschild's — The  Prince  of  Wales  and  other  guests — 
Madame  Patti  and  a  fee  of  £1,000 — M.  Jacoby — Mr. 
Charrington's  private  concert — Story  of  three  prima  donnas 
— Baroness  de  Reuter's  receptions — Music  at  Lord  and  Lady 
Randolph  Churchill's — Mentmore — I  meet  Disraeli — A  re- 
collection of  the  Rt.  Hon.  W.  E.  Gladstone — Tring  Park — 
Sir  Alexander  Cockburn. 

I  HAD  already  begun  playing  at  private  parties 
when  I  was  fifteen,  and  used  to  get  a  fee  of  half  a 
guinea.  The  next  year  I  earned  my  first  guinea 
under  rather  curious  circumstances,  which  I 
described  in  my  diary  at  the  time  : 

"  Saturday. — To-day  Miss  Messent  sent  for  me, 
and  said  that  she  was  to  sing  to  the  Duchess  of 
Somerset,  and  would  I  oblige  her  by  playing  her 
accompaniments.  If  she  pleased  the  Duchess,  she 
was  to  sing  at  her  party  that  evening,  and  I  was 
to  go  too.  As  we  had  to  be  there  at  4  o'clock, 
I  went  home  quickly,  flung  on  my  'gala,'  and 
drove  with  Miss  Messent  to  the  Duchess  of 
Somerset's,  1,  Park  Lane,  Hyde  Park.  The 
Duchess  had  asked  this  morning  at  Mitchell's 
Library  for  a  singer,  and  he  had  suggested  Miss 
Messent,  and  that  is  how  it  happened.  We 


MY  FIRST  GUINEA  215 

pulled  up  at  the  '  palace,'  and  a  liveried  servant 
with  powdered  hair  opened  the  door.  We  went 
through  a  splendid  hall  to  the  first  floor  to  await 
the  Duchess.  The  room,  or  rather  '  salon,' 
where  I  now  found  myself  was  more  beautiful 
and  splendid  than  any  I  had  yet  seen.  The 
carpets,  mirrors,  and  furniture  were  all  very  fine. 
Suddenly  the  door  opened,  and  a  stout,  elderly 
lady  came  in,  and  we  bowed  deeply,  for  we  thought 
it  was  the  Duchess,  as  it  really  was.  She  asked 
Miss  Messent  some  questions,  and  what  her  fee 
was  for  a  soiree,  and  finally  asked  about  me. 
Miss  Messent  sang  something  and  I  accompanied 
her.  After  this  I  was  asked  by  Her  Grace  (the 
title  for  the  Duchess)  to  play  a  pianoforte  solo, 
and  I  played  a  short  piece.  To  her  inquiry  as  to 
what  I  asked  for  the  evening  I  said,  quite  un- 
abashed, '  A  guinea  !  '  She  smiled,  for  she 
considered  it  very  cheap.  To  Miss  Messent  she 
said  that,  for  this  evening,  it  would  not  be,,  pos- 
sible for  her  to  sing,  as  chiefly  Ambassadors  were 
coming,  and  they  would  talk  so  much  about 
politics  that  they  would  not  listen  to  singing. 
So  that  I  was  to  come  and  play  some  little  solos, 
and  be  there  at  10  o'clock  that  evening.  I  was 
very  pleased  to  play  for  such  a  high  personage,  as 
I  had  not  expected  it.  I  drove  back  again  with 
Miss  Messent,  who  probably  was  very  much 
annoyed  that  I  had  cut  her  out.  .  .  .  This 
evening  I  flung  myself  into  my  '  best  state ' 
(clothes)  and  drove  up  to  the  house  in  a  cab. 
In  the  entrance-hall  were  some  five  servants, 
and  everything  was  lit  up.  I  was  then  shown 
into  a  side-room  by  a  servant  in  black  clothes, 
and  there  I  had  tea.  At  10  o'clock  I  was 
announced  to  the  Duchess.  I  was,  however,  im- 
mediately told  that  I  could  not  play  at  present, 
as  the  French  Ambassador  had  suddenly  been 


216  PARTIES   AND  POLITICIANS 

taken  ill — I  was  to  wait.  The  servants  said,  in 
fun,  that  the  Ambassador  had  dined  too  well. 
The  wife  of  the  late  Duke  of  Sussex  (an  English 
Prince)  was  there,  also  the  Russian,  Turkish, 
Danish  Ambassadors,  and  also  many  lords  and 
ladies  and  others  whom  I  did  not  know.  The 
Duchess  was  covered  with  diamonds,  and  told  me 
herself  that  I  could  not  play  yet.  I  also  saw  her 
husband,  who  was  simply  in  evening  dress  with 
a  star.  After  waiting  for  two  hours,  a  servant 
came  to  me  and  said  that  he  had  been  requested 
to  give  me  a  guinea,  and  that  it  was  not  neces- 
sary for  me  to  play  to-day,  and  I  could  go  home ; 
the  Duchess  would  engage  me  another  time.  He 
paid  me  the  guinea  (12  florins)  for  nothing,  and 
also  25.  for  the  cab,  and  I  went  home  doubly 
pleased.  It  was  the  first  guinea  that  I  had 
earned,  and  I  went  to  bed  with  a  happy  heart 
and  soon  fell  asleep." 

In  January  1857  I  was  engaged  to  go  down 
for  the  night  to  play  at  Deene  Park,  the  North- 
amptonshire seat  of  Lord  Cardigan,  the  hero 
of  Balaclava.  In  the  fine  oak-panelled  hall  with 
rich  carvings  I  saw  the  diplomas  presented  to 
him  on  his  return  from  the  Crimea,  and  a  large 
oil-painting  of  the  famous  charge.  There  was 
music  in  the  evening  in  the  hall.  Verdi's  new 
operas  were  much  en  vogue,  and  Lord  Cardigan 
asked  me  to  play  something  from  Rigoletto. 
A  handsome,  tall  man,  he  wore  court  dress  with 
black  silk  stockings,  and  I  noticed  he  had  on  his 
orders  and  stars.  He  spoke  to  me  in  French, 
and  was  particularly  affable. 

He  asked  me  to  stay  on  for  a  week,  and  send  to 


LORD  CARDIGAN  217 

London  for  my  things.  Unfortunately,  I  could 
only  stop  two  days,  as  I  had  to  be  back  in  town. 

While  we  were  talking,  the  Earl  of  Westmor- 
land came  up  and  spoke  to  me.  Lord  Cardigan 
said,  "  Ah,  vous  connaissez  Monsieur  Ganz  ?  " 
"Mais  oui,  et  ses  parents.  Ses  oncles  etaient 
mes  premiers  violon  et  violoncelle  a  Berlin." 
Lord  Westmorland,  who  had  been  English 
Minister  in  Berlin,  was  one  of  the  most  distin- 
guished musical  amateurs  of  the  time.  He 
composed  operas  and  cantatas,  and  founded  our 
Royal  Academy  of  Music.  His  grand-daughter, 
the  present  Lady  Londesborough,  was  a  pupil  of 
mine.  As  he  was  going  away  Lord  Westmorland 
said,  "  I  live  only  five  miles  from  here,  and  would 
be  very  happy  to  see  you  if  you  will  come  over." 

There  were  many  distinguished  guests  there, 
including  Count  Pourtales,  Lord  and  Lady 
Ernest  Bruce,  the  Earl  and  Countess  of  Jersey 
and  their  daughter,  the  beautiful  Lady  Clemen- 
tina Villiers.  The  day  after  we  had  music  in  the 
afternoon,  and  I  played  to  Lady  Clementina,  and 
she  played  some  Chopin  Valses  and  other  pieces 
to  me  very  beautifully.  Mrs.  Dudley  Ward,  a 
pupil  of  mine  (afterwards  Mme  de  Falbe),  sang 
the  same  evening.  While  the  party  were  out 
hunting,  I  went  over  the  beautiful  garden  and 
visited  the  splendid  stables. 

I  was  there  shown  the  actual  charger  which 
Lord  Cardigan  rode  when  he  led  the  Charge  of 
the  Light  Brigade  at  Balaclava.  As  I  had  to 


218  PARTIES  AND  POLITICIANS 

leave,  I  suggested  to  Lord  Cardigan  sending  some 
one  to  take  my  place.  He  said,  "  Cela  ne  vaut 
pas  la  peine  :  ce  n'est  pas  comme  vous."  I  heard 
that  an  artist  who  had  been  there  before  me  had 
given  offence  by  playing  something  other  than 
sacred  music  on  a  Sunday,  and  Lord  Cardigan 
did  not  ask  him  again. 

I  remember,  many  years  ago,  attending  a 
musical  party  given  by  the  late  Baroness  Lionel 
de  Rothschild,  mother  of  Lord  Rothschild,  at 
her  country  house  in  Gunnersbury  Park,  near 
Kew.  I  accompanied  a  young  Italian  singer, 
Mile  Finoli,  and  played  some  piano  pieces,  one 
of  which  was  a  fantasia  on  airs  from  La  Tra- 
viata,  which  I  had  arranged  and  wished  to 
dedicate  to  the  Duchesse  d'Aumale,  who  was 
present.  I  had  written  to  her  a  day  or  two 
previously  about  it.  When  I  had  played  it  she 
sent  word  to  me  that  she  would  be  very  pleased 
to  accept  the  dedication,  and  when  I  went  to 
Orleans  House,  later  on,  she  presented  me,  as  a 
recognition  of  it,  with  a  set  of  coral  studs  set 
in  diamonds.  Another  French  royal  lady,  the 
Duchesse  d'Orleans,  was  also  present  at  the 
party,  and  among  the  guests  were  Cardinal 
Wiseman,  in  his  full  ecclesiastical  dress,  also 
the  Bishop  of  Oxford  (Bishop  Wilberforce),  and 
Lord  Clarendon,  the  then  Minister  of  Foreign 
Affairs.  It  seemed  strange,  at  that  time,  that 
at  the  house  of  the  Rothschilds  the  representa- 
tives of  many  religions  should  have  been  present. 


AT   THE    RUSSIAN   EMBASSY  219 

This  was  as  it  should  be,  in  my  humble  opinion, 
as  it  showed  that  religious  susceptibilities  were 
wearing  off,  and  that  the  representatives  of  all 
creeds  could  meet  amicably  together. 

I  was  once  asked  by  Herr  Leopold  Auer  to 
accompany  him  at  a  soiree  given  by  Count 
Schouvaloff,  the  Russian  Ambassador,  at  the 
Russian  Embassy,  in  Chesham  Place.  When  he 
and  I  walked  in,  the  Princess  of  Wales,  after- 
wards Queen  Alexandra,  was  sitting  at  the 
piano,  accompanying  Madame  Christine  Nilsson. 
Her  Royal  Highness  got  up  at  once  from  the 
piano  when  she  saw  us  enter,  not  without  my 
having  noticed  her  beautiful  touch.  Then  the 
men  guests  came  in  from  the  dining-room, 
among  them  being  our  late  King  Edward  and 
the  young  Prince  Louis  Napoleon,  who  met 
with  such  a  tragic  end  in  the  Zulu  War. 

When  the  concert  was  over,  a  Hungarian  band 
played,  and  after  twelve  o'clock  dancing  began 
in  one  of  the  salons  and  was  kept  up  with  great 
spirit.  I  noticed  that  Prince  Napoleon  danced 
with  one  of  my  pupils,  Lady  Augusta  Rous, 
daughter  of  the  Countess  of  Stradbroke. 

I  used  also  to  arrange  the  musical  parties 
given  by  Baron  Ferdinand  de  Rothschild,  at 
which  the  Duchess  of  Edinburgh  and  the  Duke 
of  Cambridge  were  often  present.  I  remember 
being  rather  amused,  on  one  occasion,  to  see,  on 
entering  the  house,  Disraeli  and  Lord  Granville 
walking  arm  in  arm  up  the  staircase.  It  showed 


220  PARTIES  AND   POLITICIANS 

that,  though  political  opponents,  they  were 
friendly  enough  in  private  life.  A  foreign  lady 
singer,  who  had  been  recommended  to  the 
Baron,  sang  that  night,  and  also  Mr.  Edward 
Lloyd. 

At  one  of  the  musical  parties  that  I  arranged 
for  Lady  Rothschild  Madame  Melba  sang,  and 
M.  Pugno,  the  well-known  French  pianist,  and 
M.  Hollman,  the  'cellist,  played.  The  house  is 
really  magnificent,  and  the  acoustics,  from  a 
musical  point  of  view,  most  excellent. 

The  private  concerts  I  have  arranged  and 
conducted  have  been  many  and  varied  in 
character.  At  the  annual  soirees  given  by  Mr. 
Alfred  de  Rothschild  at  his  beautiful  house  in 
Seamore  Place,  Park  Lane,  Madame  Adelina 
Patti  always  sang  for  him  and  was  supported 
by  artists  I  engaged  from  Covent  Garden,  such 
as  M.  Alvarez,  M.  Plangon,  and  Mile  Scalchi, 
by  Mr.  Ben  Davies,  and  Mr.  Charles  Santley. 

Mr.  Alfred  de  Rothschild  took  great  interest 
in  arranging  the  programme  with  me,  and  I  had 
to  see  him  frequently  beforehand  at  his  house 
in  the  mornings.  King  Edward  (then  Prince  of 
Wales)  honoured  all  these  soirees  with  his  pre- 
sence, and  after  the  music  he  would  speak  to 
me  very  graciously,  saying  in  German,  "  Sie 
haben  sehr  schon  begleitet "  (You  accompanied 
beautifully).  Well-known  figures  in  London 
society  were  always  there,  and  it  was  a  fine  sight 
to  see  the  magnificent  toilettes  and  rare  jewels 


SOIREES    AT    SEAMORE    PLACE          221 

of  the  ladies  in  the  glittering  light  of  the  white- 
and-gold  drawing-rooms,  their  walls  hung  with 
the  masterpieces  of  Gainsborough. 

The  music  generally  began  about  a  quarter 
past  eleven  and  ended  at  one  o'clock.  Then 
supper  was  served,  and  the  Prince  of  Wales 
generally  escorted  Madame  Patti  to  thfc  supper- 
table.  Later  on  dancing  took  place,  the  late 
M.  Jacoby  conducting  the  band. 

Jacoby  was  for  many  years  conductor  at  the 
Alhambra,  for  which  he  composed  a  number  of 
ballets.  He  was  a  German,  and  as  a  boy  lived 
with  his  parents  in  Berlin,  where  my  eldest 
brother,  Eduard,  taught  him  the  violin,  and  he 
always  spoke  of  him  to  me  with  the  greatest 
gratitude  and  respect.  His  father  afterwards 
settled  in  Paris,  and  then  young  Jacoby  came 
over  here  and  made  his  home  in  London,  and 
also  his  reputation. 

I  remember  once  being  asked  by  a  very  rich 
gentleman  to  engage  Madame  Patti  for  a  pri- 
vate concert  he  intended  to  give,  for  which  he 
said  he  would  pay  her  a  fee  of  a  thousand  guineas 
if  she  would  consent  to  sing.  I  told  him  at 
once  that  she  would  not  sing  anywhere  privately, 
as  she  never  accepted  such  engagements,  and 
that  I  could  not,  on  any  account,  try  and  per- 
suade her  to  sing  for  him,  as  it  would  be  quite 
useless.  So  that  finished  the  matter. 

At  one  of  the  soirees  at  Mr.  Rothschild's,  at 
which  Madame  Patti  sang,  I  had  engaged  three 


222  PARTIES  AND  POLITICIANS 

remarkable  artists  from  the  Opera,  namely,  M. 
Alvarez,  Signer  Ancona,  and  M.  Pla^on,  to  sing, 
besides  their  songs,  the  Trio  from  Faust ;  but 
when  it  was  over  the  Prince  of  Wales,  who  sat 
close  to  the  singers  in  the  front  room,  said  to 
me  :  "  Ganz,  the  singers  sing  as  if  they  thought 
they  were  in  Covent  Garden ;  it  is  much  too 
loud." 

I  am  bound  to  say  he  was  right,  but  it  was 
magnificently  sung  all  the  same.  We  did  not 
have  a  trio  next  year. 

On  one  occasion  I  arranged  a  private  concert 
for  Mr.  Charrington,  at  his  house  in  Pont  Street, 
for  which,  at  his  desire,  I  engaged  three  prima 
donnas,  Madame  Calve,  Madame  Emma  Eames, 
and  Mile  Marie  Engle.  I  had  fixed  upon  some 
concerted  music  for  this  soiree,  one  item  being 
the  Quintette  from  the  Meistersinger,  and  I  had 
arranged  to  have  a  rehearsal  for  the  concert  at 
my  own  house.  One  of  the  ladies  objected  to 
rehearsing,  saying  that  the  pitch  of  my  piano 
was  much  too  high  ;  but  I  told  her  that  I  should 
order  a  French-pitch  piano  for  the  soiree,  and 
after  some  persuasion  I  got  her  to  rehearse. 
When  the  evening  came  this  lady,  instead  of 
singing  a  grand  aria,  elected  to  sing  a  little 
American  ballad,  while  another  wanted  to  take 
Pla^on's  place  in  the  programme,  saying,  "  Je 
dois  chanter  demain  devant  la  reine  Victoria  a 
Windsor,  et  il  faut  que  je  parte  aussi  vite  que 
possible  "  (I  am  going  to  sing  to  Queen  Victoria 


MUSIC    AT   MR.    CHARRINGTON'S       223 

at  Windsor  to-morrow,  and  must  get  away  as 
quickly  as  possible),  but  Plancon  would  not  give 
way,  saying  to  her,  "  Mais,  madame,  vous  avez 
deja  chante  une  fois  et  je  ne  peux  pas  vous 
donner  ma  place"  (But,  Madame,  you  have 
already  sung  once,  and  I  cannot  give  you  my 
place).  She  reluctantly  consented  to  remain  un- 
til her  turn  came  to  sing  her  last  song.  I  tried 
to  smooth  things  over  and  pacify  these  exacting 
artists,  in  which  I  succeeded.  The  concert 
took  place  in  a  large  music-room  and  afterwards 
Mr.  Charrington  presented  each  lady  artiste 
with  a  beautiful  bouquet.  The  united  fees  of 
the  artists  on  this  occasion  were  over  £1,100, 
and  the  programmes  were  printed  on  white  satin. 

The  late  Baroness  de  Reuter  used  also  to  give 
receptions  at  her  house  in  Kensington  Palace 
Gardens,  where  many  unknown  young  artists 
had  the  chance  of  appearing  before  a  distinguished 
audience.  These  receptions  took  place  in  the 
afternoon  ;  the  big  salons  were  on  the  ground- 
floor  and  attached  to  them  was  a  spacious  con- 
servatory, containing  choice  flowers  and  marble 
statues. 

On  one  occasion  I  engaged  a  small  orchestra, 
which  I  conducted,  and  Madame  Christine 
Nilsson  sang  and  won  the  hearts  of  all  her 
listeners.  The  other  artist  was  Herr  Alex- 
ander Reichardt,  the  Viennese  tenor,  who  sang 
German  Lieder  with  exquisite  taste. 

Baron  de  Reuter  was  a  clever  and  charming 
16 


224 

man.  It  was  he  who  succeeded  in  laying  the 
first  Atlantic  cable  to  America,  by  the  Great 
Eastern  steamship,  which  was  the  largest  steamer 
then  built.  He  was  also  the  founder  of  Reuter's 
Telegraph  Company,  which  gives  the  news  to 
this  country  from  all  parts  of  the  world  and  has 
made  the  name  of  Reuter  famous.  We  used  to 
chaff  each  other,  and  the  Baron  would  often  say 
in  fun  :  "  Ganz,  I  have  composed  a  wonderful 
new  opera,  which  will  be  performed  very 
shortly." 

When  I  first  knew  the  Reuters  they  were 
then  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Reuter,  and  lived  in  a  small 
house  in  Doughty  Street,  Mecklenburg  Square. 
Through  his  energy  and  good  luck  in  organising 
the  telegraphic  service  during  the  Franco-Prus- 
sian War  in  1870-71,  he  became  a  well-known 
man  and  was  created  a  baron  by  the  late  Duke 
Ernest  of  Saxe  Coburg-Gotha.  This  Duke  was 
the  brother  of  Prince  Albert  of  Saxe  Coburg- 
Gotha,  and  composed  several  operas,  one  of 
which,  called  Casilda,  was  performed  at  Her 
Majesty's  Theatre. 

At  another  private  concert  I  had  engaged  a 
good  number  of  artists,  and  the  lady  who  was 
giving  the  concert  wanted  some  concerted  music 
performed,  and  I  had  therefore  to  engage  two 
prima  donnas.  One  of  them,  when  she  saw  the 
list  of  artists,  complained  that  I  had  engaged 
too  many  and  made  the  programme  too  long. 
I  assured  her  that  I  was  obliged  to  do  so,  and 


AT    LADY    RANDOLPH    CHURCHILL'S    225 

told  her  the  reason,  and  said  it  would  not  be 
fair  to  ask  her  to  sing  too  often.  Anyhow,  I 
had  arranged  a  splendid  programme,  and  all  the 
items  went  well ;  but  I  mention  this  to  show 
how  extremely  difficult  it  is  to  please  everybody 
— especially  prima  donnas  I 

Mrs.  Mackintosh  of  Mackintosh  is  another 
hostess  who  gives  concerts  at  which  such  artists 
as  Madame  Calve,  Madame  Emmy  Destinn, 
Madame  Clara  Butt,  Mr.  Ben  Davies,  and  M. 
Plan9on  are  heard.  The  playing  of  The  Mackin- 
tosh's piper  in  full  highland  dress  during  supper 
always  interests  the  foreign  artists. 

I  remember  accompanying  at  a  small  musi- 
cal party  given  by  Lord  and  Lady  Randolph 
Churchill  at  their  house  in  Connaught  Place,  at 
which  King  Edward,  then  Prince  of  Wales,  was 
present.  Mile  Sigrid  Arnoldson,  a  Swedish  oper- 
atic vocalist,  who  had  a  high,  fresh  soprano  voice, 
sang  most  beautifully,  while  Miss  Nettie  Carpenter 
played  the  violin.  When  Miss  Carpenter  entered 
the  drawing-room  the  Prince  beckoned  me  to 
him  and  asked  me  all  about  her  and  whether  she 
played  well.  Of  course  I  replied  in  the  affirma- 
tive, and  told  His  Royal  Highness  that  she  was 
an  American  girl,  who  had  studied  at  the 
Conservatoire  in  Paris,  where  she  had  gained 
the  premier  prix. 

When  the  little  concert  was  over,  everybody 
adjourned  to  the  billiard-room,  which  was  on 
the  same  floor,  where  we  all  had  supper.  During 


226  PARTIES  AND   POLITICIANS 

a  conversation  I  had  with  Lord  Randolph  I 
asked  him  whether  he  ever  felt  nervous  when 
addressing  the  House  of  Commons,  and  he  said, 
"  Yes,  always,  at  the  beginning  of  my  speech  ; 
but  when  once  I  am  warmed  up  I  get  on  all 
right."  It  was  a  very  enjoyable  and  uncere- 
monious evening ;  several  of  the  host's  married 
sisters,  who  had  been  my  pupils,  were  present. 
I  noticed  on  the  staircases  no  end  of  addresses 
to  Lord  Randolph — some  being  from  his  con- 
stituents. The  house  was  beautifully  appointed 
and  full  of  objets  d'art. 

Many  years  ago  I  stayed  at  the  country  seat 
of  Baron  and  Baroness  Meyer  de  Rothschild  at 
Mentmore,  near  Leighton  Buzzard.  That  fine 
mansion  had  not  long  been  finished,  and  Baron 
Ferdinand  de  Rothschild  and  his  bride,  Baroness 
Evelina  de  Rothschild,  daughter  of  Baron  Lionel 
de  Rothschild,  M.P.  for  the  City  of  London, 
were  staying  there  at  the  same  time  on  their 
honeymoon.  The  Baroness  Evelina  had  a  good 
mezzo-soprano  voice,  and  sang  occasionally  in 
the  evenings,  and  I  accompanied  her.  She  died 
within  a  year  of  her  happy  marriage,  to  the 
great  grief  of  her  husband,  who  founded  the 
Evelina  Hospital  for  sick  children  at  Southwark 
in  memory  of  her. 

Among  the  visitors  staying  there  at  the  same 
time  was  Benjamin  Disraeli,  who  had  his  secre- 
tary, Mr.  Montague  Corry,  afterwards  Lord 
Rowton,  with  him.  I  sat  next  Mr.  Disraeli  at 


DISRAELI  227 

dinner  sometimes,  but  was  always  too  timid  in 
those  days  to  address  him — he  used  to  come  into 
the  drawing-room  to  listen  to  my  playing,  and 
would  stand  by  my  side,  holding  his  little  eye- 
glass to  his  eye ;  but  he  never  uttered  a  word. 

Mr.  Corry  knew  me  well,  as  I  used  to  teach 
his  sisters,  and  he  would  willingly  have  intro- 
duced me  to  Disraeli,  but  I  fought  shy  of  him. 
Other  guests  were  the  Count  and  Countess 
Bernstorff ;  the  Count  was  then  Prussian  Am- 
bassador. The  Countess  was  a  pupil  of  mine, 
and  had  a  fine  contralto  voice,  excelling  in 
Schubert's  songs,  which  she  often  sang.  Then 
there  was  the  Hon.  Monckton  Milnes,  afterwards 
Lord  Houghton,  father  of  the  present  Marquis  of 
Crewe.  He  was,  as  everybody  knows,  a  fine 
poet,  and  his  lyrics  were  often  set  to  music 
One  of  them,  "  The  Beating  of  my  own  Heart," 
was  set  by  Sir  George  Macfarren,  and  Madame 
Clara  Novello  sang  it  into  popularity.  In  later 
years  my  daughter  Georgina  sang  it  a  great  deal 
at  country  houses  where  she  stayed,  and  the 
melody  was  so  infectious  that  people  used  to 
hum  it  all  over  the  house. 

I  thoroughly  enjoyed  my  visit  to  Mentmore, 
and  meeting  so  many  distinguished  people. 
Before  the  present  mansion  was  built  I  used  to 
stay  at  Mentmore  Cottage  and  gave  a  few 
singing-lessons  to  Miss  Hannah  de  Rothschild, 
who  married  the  present  Lord  Rosebery. 

The  Bernstorffs  were  great  favourites  of  Queen 


228  PARTIES  AND   POLITICIANS 

Victoria  and  Prince  Albert,  and  I  remember  that 
the  Prince  Consort  was  godfather  to  one  of  their 
sons.  I  used  to  teach  two  of  their  children  the 
piano,  Count  Andreas  and  Countess  Teresa. 
They  often  gave  evening  parties  at  their  fine 
house  in  Carlton  House  Terrace,  which  lent 
itself  well  for  big  entertainments.  Many  German 
artists  appeared  there,  who  thus  had  an  oppor- 
tunity of  being  heard  by  the  best  English 
society.  Some  of  them  the  Countess  intro- 
duced to  me,  and  I  did  all  I  could  to  be  useful 
to  them.  After  Count  Bernstorff  left  he  was 
succeeded  by  Count  Munster,  who  was  very 
fond  of  music,  and  often  asked  me  to  arrange 
musical  parties  for  him.  He  was  a  widower, 
and  his  daughter,  the  Countess  Marie,  did  the 
honours  for  him.  The  present  German  Emperor 
created  him  a  Prince. 

Count  Miinster  was  always  most  affable  and 
friendly  to  me.  I  remember,  one  evening,  Joseph 
Joachim  and  I  were  invited  to  dine  with  him. 
After  dinner  he  asked  Joachim  to  play  some- 
thing, but  he  had  not  got  his  violin  or  any 
music  with  him.  I  suggested  the  Kreutzer  Sonata, 
and  Joachim  sent  a  messenger  to  fetch  his  violin 
and  music,  and  we  played  the  sonata  together. 
Joachim  afterwards  made  appreciative  remarks 
to  me  which  pleased  me  very  much. 

Although  these  reminiscences  are  supposed  to 
be  only  connected  with  music  and  musicians,  I 
cannot  refrain  from  mentioning  my  several 


GLADSTONE  229 

interviews  with  the  late  great  "  Tribune  of  the 
People,"  Mr.  William  Ewart  Gladstone,  as  it 
was  principally  at  musical  entertainments  that 
I  met  him. 

On  one  occasion  the  "  grand  old  man  "  was 
staying  on  a  visit  at  Lord  and  Lady  Rothschild's, 
at  Tring  Park,  Hertfordshire,  with  Lord  Redes- 
dale,  Mr.  John  Morley,  M.  de  Staal,  the  then 
Russian  Ambassador,  and  other  distinguished 
guests.  Of  course  Lady  Rothschild  did  the 
honours,  assisted  by  her  daughter  and  her  son, 
Mr.  Walter  Rothschild.  We  used  to  have  music 
in  the  evenings,  M.  Joseph  Hollman  playing  the 
'cello  and  I  accompanying  him.  One  evening 
I  sat  next  Mr.  John  Morley  at  dinner,  and  in 
the  course  of  conversation  spoke  to  him  about 
becoming  a  Cabinet  Minister  again.  This,  he 
assured  me,  would  never  happen ;  but  of  course 
it  did,  for  Mr.  Gladstone  soon  became  Prime 
Minister  again,  and  Mr.  Morley  entered  his 
Cabinet,  and  in  later  years  was  created  Viscount 
Morley. 

In  conversation  with  Mr.  Gladstone  I  asked 
him  whether  he  did  not  feel  very  tired  after 
addressing  his  constituents  for  so  many  hours 
at  a  time  at  the  Corn  Exchange  in  Edinburgh  ; 
but  he  said  no,  and  added  that,  to  moisten  his 
throat,  he  took  the  yolk  of  an  egg  beaten  up,  and 
that  made  it  all  right. 

I  asked  him  to  be  so  kind  as  to  favour  me 
with  his  autograph,  and  he  said  :  "  Give  me  a 


280  PARTIES  AND   POLITICIANS 

little  time,  and  let  me  have  your  address,  and  I 
will  attend  to  it."  He  did  not  forget  his 
promise,  for  one  cold  day  in  March,  not  long 
after,  he  drove  up  in  a  victoria  to  my  house  in 
Harley  Street  while  we  were  at  lunch.  When  I 
saw  him  drive  up  I  went  to  the  door  and  his 
footman  handed  me  a  large  envelope.  I  knew 
what  it  was,  and  walked  out  to  the  carriage  and 
thanked  Mr.  Gladstone,  who  said  he  had  pre- 
ferred to  bring  the  packet  to  me  himself  instead 
of  sending  it  by  post,  so  that  the  photograph 
inside  it  might  not  be  damaged  ;  and  I  thanked 
him  again  for  his  kindness.  It  was  a  large 
photograph  signed  by  himself.  I  had  it  specially 
framed,  and  it  now  graces  one  of  the  walls  in  my 
house. 

Mr.  Gladstone  was  particularly  fond  of  music, 
and  used  to  sing  in  his  younger  days.  Unfortu- 
nately, I  never  heard  him  ;  but  I  remember  the 
late  Countess  of  Bernstorff,  who  had  heard  him, 
telling  me  about  his  singing.  He  went  one 
evening  to  the  Music-hall  in  Great  George 
Street,  Edinburgh,  when  Madame  Adelina  Patti 
sang  and  I  was  conducting.  During  the  interval 
he  came  round  to  the  artists'  room  to  speak  to 
Madame  Patti,  addressing  her  in  Italian.  But 
when  he  found  she  spoke  English  quite  perfectly 
he  continued  the  conversation  in  that  language, 
and  offered  her  his  congratulations  on  her 
superb  singing. 

Mr.  Gladstone  at  one  time  had  a  house  in 


HARLEY    STREET  231 

Harley  Street  close  to  where  we  then  lived,  and 
I  remember,  one  Sunday  afternoon,  walking 
down  our  usually  quiet  street  and  seeing  a 
cordon  of  police  drawn  across  the  road  to  pre- 
vent people  approaching  Mr.  Gladstone's  house. 
It  was  at  the  time  of  the  "  Jingo  "  excitement, 
and  his  windows  had  been  broken  by  a  mob. 

At  that  time  Harley  Street  was  not  merely 
a  street  of  doctors  ("  Pill-box  Lane "  it  has 
sometimes  been  called),  but  my  neighbours  and 
friends  included,  besides  Sir  Richard  Quain,  the 
great  diner-out,  who  was  always  amusing,  and 
Sir  Morell  Mackenzie,  the  Kendals,  the  Chappells, 
who  gave  famous  musical  parties,  Mr.  Gully, 
afterwards  Speaker  of  the  House  of  Commons, 
Sir  Charles  Russell,  Mr.  F.  Wootton  Isaacson, 
M.P.,  Mr.  Weedon  Grossmith,  and  Sir  Francis 
and  Lady  Jeune,  at  whose  parties  one  met  all 
the  celebrities  of  the  day. 

Some  most  artistic  private  concerts  were  given 
by  the  late  Lord  Chief  Justice,  Sir  Alexander 
Cockburn,  at  his  house  in  Hertford  Street,  and  he 
did  me  the  honour  of  asking  me  to  arrange  them. 
Joachim  generally  played  at  these  soir6es,  and 
so  did  Piatti,  and  some  distinguished  artist 
always  sang,  one  of  these,  I  remember,  being  the 
beautiful  Mile  Belocca,  of  Her  Majesty's  Theatre. 
People  listened  most  attentively,  and  there  was 
no  talking  to  disturb  the  performers,  as  often 
happened  at  other  houses,  where  pianoforte- 
playing  was  usually  the  signal  for  general  con- 


232  PARTIES  AND   POLITICIANS 

versation  to  begin.  While  on  this  subject  I 
may  mention  what  happened  once  at  a  musical 
party  given  by  Mrs.  Dudley  Ward,  sister-in-law 
of  the  late  Earl  of  Dudley,  which  I  helped  to 
arrange  and  at  which  I  played  all  the  accom- 
paniments. 

It  so  happened  that  the  great  Madame  Schu- 
mann was  engaged  to  play  some  pianoforte 
solos,  and  she  began  by  playing  Chopin's 
Polonaise  in  A  flat.  But,  alas !  during  the 
whole  time  she  was  playing  the  people  talked 
incessantly.  Knowing  what  her  feelings  would 
be,  I  stood  by  her  side  and  condoled  with  her ; 
but  I  don't  think  she  ever  played  at  any  private 
party  in  England  again. 

The  fact  was  that  the  great  attraction  that 
night  was  Giuglini,  who  had  then  not  long  made 
his  first  appearance  at  Mapleson's  opera,  as 
Arturo  in  I  Puritani,  and  became  at  once  the 
idol  of  the  British  public.  Of  course,  a  few 
years  afterwards,  when  Madame  Schumann  be- 
came a  leading  attraction  at  the  Popular  Con- 
certs, she  was  always  received  with  acclamation, 
and  I  have  seen  the  audience  in  the  stalls 
throwing  flowers  at  her ;  but  on  the  night  of 
Mrs.  Dudley  Ward's  party  she  could  not  get  a 
hearing. 

To  return  to  the  soiree  at  Sir  Alexander  Cock- 
burn's,  among  the  audience  used  to  be  a  good 
many  judges,  the  confreres  of  the  host.  Sir 
Alexander  was  a  very  charming  and  fascinating 


SIR    ALEXANDER    COCKBURN  233 

man ;  he  was  particularly  fond  of  Beethoven, 
and  I  remember  that,  after  attending  some  of 
my  Orchestral  Concerts  at  St.  James's  Hall, 
where  I  performed  some  of  Berlioz's  symphonies, 
he  told  me  that  he  did  not  care  for  Berlioz,  but 
preferred  the  old  classical  masters.  He  had  a 
very  melodious  voice,  and  always  spoke  to  me 
in  German,  which  he  had  learnt  fluently  at  the 
University  of  Jena,  where  he  studied,  and  he 
also  spoke  French  and  Italian  perfectly.  He  was 
the  English  representative  at  the  Court  of 
Arbitration  that  dealt  with  the  Alabama  dis- 
pute, and  of  course  presided  for  many  months 
at  the  Tichborne  Trial,  which  was  so  sensational, 
and  ended  in  a  verdict  approved  by  all  sensible 
people. 

He  once  asked  me  to  join  him  at  dinner  one 
Sunday  at  Richmond ;  but  I  told  him  I  had 
already  accepted  an  invitation  to  dine  with  Mr. 
J.  M.  Levy  (proprietor  of  the  Daily  Telegraph). 
I  said  I  would,  however,  explain  matters  to  Mr. 
Levy,  who  I  knew  would  excuse  me. 

"Don't  do  that,"  said  Sir  Alexander;  "as 
Mr.  Levy  can  be  much  more  useful  to  you  than 
I  can,  we  will  arrange  for  another  Sunday "  ; 
which  he  did.  He  was  always  most  considerate, 
even  in  small  matters. 

He  told  me  that  his  grand  piano  at  Hertford 
Street  was  wearing  out,  and  I  suggested  his 
buying  a  new  Erard  grand ;  so  we  fixed  a  day 
to  go  to  Erard's  in  Great  Marlborough  Street 


234  PARTIES  AND  POLITICIANS 

to  select  one.  I  tried  several  pianos  and  he 
chose  one  he  liked,  but  did  not  purchase  it,  and 
when  we  got  outside  he  told  me  the  reason.  He 
said  rather  despondently  that,  after  all,  he  would 
rather  not  buy  a  new  instrument,  as  he  might 
be  dead  the  following  year ;  and  so  it  really 
happened,  for  he  died  suddenly  November  20th, 
1880.  I  have  often  thought  since  of  his  curiously 
prophetic  words,  and  of  his  strange  premonition. 

He  was  full  of  eloquence,  combined  with  great 
learning  and  sound  judgment,  and  was  a  great 
loss  to  the  musical  world. 

At  one  of  his  soirees  Madame  Sembrich,  the 
new  prima  donna  from  Covent  Garden,  sang. 
She  was  an  extraordinary  woman,  not  only  a 
great  singer  but  a  splendid  pianist  and  violinist. 
She  showed  all  three  talents  at  a  concert  she 
appeared  at  given  at  the  Albert  Hall  by  Sir 
Julius  Benedict,  where  she  roused  the  large 
audience  to  great  enthusiasm.  At  Sir  Alex- 
ander Cockburn's  soiree  she  surpassed  herself. 
There  were  a  great  many  distinguished  people 
present,  amongst  whom  was  the  handsome 
Countess  Grosvenor. 

Other  eminent  personages  in  the  law  I  have 
known  have  shown  a  cultivated  taste  for  things 
musical. 

The  late  Lord  Chancellor,  Lord  Herschell, 
was  a  proficient  performer  on  the  violoncello, 
and  often  of  an  evening  he  used  to  arrange  trio 
parties,  in  which  he  took  part  and  played  classical 


LORD    ALVERSTONE  235 

works.  The  present  Lord  Chief  Justice,  Lord 
Alverstone,  has  a  baritone  voice  and  may  often 
be  heard  taking  part  with  the  choir  in  the  sing- 
ing at  St.  Mary  Abbot's,  Kensington. 

But  not  all  eminent  judges  have  the  same 
partiality  for  good  music.  One  of  them  had 
been  invited  by  a  friend  to  go  with  him  to  a 
concert  devoted  to  the  works  of  John  Sebastian 
Bach.  When  the  concert  was  over,  and  he  was 
asked  what  he  thought  of  it,  he  replied,  "  I  had 
rather  hear  Offenbach  than  Bach  often  !  " 


CHAPTER    XIII 

MY   ITALIAN   TOUR 

I  attend  the  first  performance  of  Mascagni's  I  Rantzau  in 
Florence — My  notice  of  it  in  the  Daily  News — Rome — 
Clement  Scott  and  I  continue  the  journey — A  dinner-party 
of  celebrities — Cardinal  Rampolla — Madame  Ristori — Naples 
— Scott  goes  on  to  Egypt  and  India — Pisa — Genoa —  Paga- 
nini's  violin — I  visit  Verdi  at  the  Palazzo  Doria — His 
Falstaff  —  Nice  —  Monte  Carlo  —  Cannes  —  Turin  — Milan 
— Signer  Ricordi  and  his  great  publishing  house — Venice — 
Farewell  performance  at  the  Teatro  Rossini  to  Tamburlini 
— His  triumph — The  audience  sings  with  him. 

IN  1892  I  was  asked  by  my  co-directors  of  the 
Carl  Rosa  Opera  Company  to  go  to  Florence  to 
hear  the  first  performance  of  Mascagni's  new 
opera,  /  Rantzau,  and  to  report  on  it  for  possible 
production  by  the  company.  My  travelling 
companion  was  the  late  Mr.  Eugene  Ascherberg, 
the  music-seller,  who  purchased  the  rights  of 
Mascagni's  Cavalleria  Rusticana,  and  Leon- 
cavallo's /  Pagliacci  ;  he  also  wanted  to  hear 
the  new  opera,  to  see  if  it  was  worth  his  while 
to  publish  it  in  England.  Thanks  to  him,  I 
made  the  acquaintance  of  Signor  Sonzogno, 
Mascagni's  publisher,  through  whom  I  was  in- 
troduced to  Mascagni,  who  conducted  the  per- 
formance at  the  Pergola  Theatre,  which  is  very 

236 


FIRST    PERFORMANCE    OF   /   RANTZAU    287 

large  and  has  six  to  eight  rows  of  boxes,  but 
no  gallery.  Signor  Ferraris,  the  ordinary  con- 
ductor* had  a  splendid  orchestra  and  fine  chorus. 
Madame  Darclee,  a  Roumanian  soprano,  took 
the  part  of  Luisa.  De  Lucia,  whom  I  remem- 
bered hearing  at  Covent  Garden,  was  the  tenor. 
The  most  prominent  artist  in  the  cast  was  the 
great  baritone  Signor  Battistini,  whom  I  visited 
during  the  interval  in  his  dressing-room  and 
asked  him  why  he  never  came  to  England.  He 
replied  that  he  would  like  very  much  to  come, 
only  had  not  yet  had  any  offers  of  an  engage- 
ment. But  I  think  Sir  Augustus  Harris  had 
wished  to  engage  him,  only  that  his  terms  were 
so  high.  The  fact  was  that  Battistini  was  a 
great  favourite  in  Russia,  and  got  high  fees 
there.  In  Russia  a  baritone  was  a  draw,  in 
England  not  at  all — even  the  former  great 
baritones,  Ronconi  and  Graziani,  never  drew 
crowded  houses. 

The  great  Russian,  Chaliapine,  has  now  come 
here  to  prove  that  this  is  no  longer  the  case. 

Battistini  was  engaged  in  1905  at  Covent 
Garden,  to  sing  Don  Giovanni  and  other  parts, 
and  he  pleased  very  much. 

But  to  return  to  our  journey.  We  left  Lon- 
don the  morning  of  November  8th,  and  travelled 
to  Paris,  and  thence  direct  to  Florence,  via 
Dijon,  Chambery,  Mont  Cenis,  Turin,  Genoa, 
and  Pisa.  We  reached  Florence  on  the  morn- 
ing of  the  third  day  and  had  already  engaged 


238  MY  ITALIAN  TOUR 

rooms   in   the   Kraft's  Hotel,   which   had  been 
formerly  an  Italian  nobleman's  palace. 

I  am  sorry  to  say  that  /  Rantzau  was  a 
failure,  notwithstanding  the  thunderous  ap- 
plause the  audience  bestowed  upon  the  composer 
and  the  singers.  Mascagni  was  recalled  twenty 
or  thirty  times.  Entre  nous,  I  suppose  the 


Jk. 


G 

/l/U        JA/U-O^ 

1    1 


claque  had  something  to  do  with  it.  The  ladies 
in  the  audience  were  presented  with  fans 
made  of  fancy  straw,  each  one  having  a  photo- 
graph of  Mascagni  and  some  roses  attached 
to  it. 

I  had  been  asked  by  my  friend,  Mr.  Percy 
Betts,  to  write  a  notice  of  the  opera  for  the 


ST.    PETER'S  239 

Daily  News.  The  performance  did  not  finish 
until  very  late,  and  at  about  one  a.m.  I  went  to 
the  post  office  and  wrote  a  notice  of  841  words, 
which  I  telegraphed  to  the  Paris  Office  of  the 
Daily  News.  It  cost  me  £5,  but  was  worth  it, 
for  my  notice  filled  two  columns  of  the  London 
Daily  News  next  morning.  When  the  other 
English  critics  saw  me  writing  and  sending  off 
my  copy  they  wondered  for  whom  I  was  doing 
it,  as  they  had  never  seen  me  do  such  a  thing 
before  ;  but  I  did  not  give  them  any  information. 
I  heard  them  remark  to  one  another,  "  What 
is  Ganz  doing  here  ?  "  and  I  must  say  it  amused 
me  to  see  their  curiosity. 

Mr.  Ascherberg  soon  went  back  to  England, 
telling  me  before  he  started  that  he  was  not 
going  to  buy  the  English  rights  of  Mascagni's 
opera.  I  stayed  on  and  saw  Sonzogno  very  often, 
and  also  Mascagni,  at  whose  house  I  visited  and 
made  the  acquaintance  of  his  wife  and  children. 
I  went  from  Florence  straight  to  Rome. 

I  know  that  many  of  my  readers  have  already 
seen  "  The  Eternal  City  "  of  Rome,  but  I  hope 
they  will  forgive  me  for  adding  my  impressions 
of  it.  I  arrived  in  the  evening  and  stayed  at 
the  Hotel  Quirinale  in  the  Via  Vittorio  Emanuele. 
At  the  table  d'hote  I  had  a  pleasant  surprise, 
for  who  should  I  see  sitting  opposite  me  but  my 
old  friend  Clement  Scott,  the  eminent  writer 
and  critic  of  the  Daily  Telegraph. 

I  went  to  the  Church  of  St.  Peter's,  built  by 
17 


240  MY  ITALIAN  TOUR 

Michael  Angelo,  every  day  during  the  ten  days 
I  was  in  Rome.  I  had  to  drive  there  as  it  was 
a  long  way  from  my  hotel.  The  first  time  I 
entered  St.  Peter's  I  am  ashamed  to  say  I  felt 
disappointed.  The  fact  was  I  could  not  grasp 
the  grandeur  of  this  magnificent  building  all  at 
once ;  but  every  day  it  grew  on  me  more  and 
more,  and  I  visited  over  and  over  again  the  fine 
chapels  with  the  kneeling  statues  of  the  various 
popes  in  marble,  and  admired  the  wonderful 
sitting  statue  of  St.  Peter,  whose  toe  millions 
of  people  have  kissed,  and  gazed  up  to  the 
summit  of  the  dome,  with  its  gallery,  and  the 
magnificent  High  Altar,  above  which  is  the 
loggia  of  the  Pope. 

I  also  went  up  the  famous  winding  staircase, 
upon  which  one  can  ride  on  horseback,  to  the 
top  of  the  principal  tower,  from  which  I  had  a 
splendid  view  over  Rome  and  the  Campagna, 
with  the  mountains  in  the  distance. 

One  evening  I  went  to  the  Constanza  Theatre, 
when  a  new  opera  by  a — to  me — unknown  com- 
poser was  given,  through  the  influence  of  Signor 
Tamagno,  who  played  the  leading  tenor  role. 
Notwithstanding  the  efforts  of  this  great  singer, 
it  did  not  meet  with  much  success.  In  Italy 
no  end  of  new  operas  are  given  during  the 
season,  but  the  greater  number  of  them  are 
failures,  and  never  reach  other  countries. 

Another  evening  I  was  invited  to  a  most 
interesting  dinner  party  given  by  Signor  Angelo 


CARDINAL   RAMPOLLA  241 

Basevi,  a  friend  of  Signer  Tosti's,  who  had 
introduced  me  to  him.  There  I  met  Targioni- 
Tozzetti,  part  author  of  the  libretti  of  Mascagni's 
operas,  and  also  Count  Sacconi,  architect  of 
the  colossal  monument  to  Victor  Emanuel, 
which  was  then  being  erected.  Mascagni  was 
also  there,  and  played  and  sang  extracts  from 
/  Rantzau  to  Sgambati,  and  told  us  he  was  re- 
ceiving seven  or  eight  hundred  letters  a  day 
asking  for  his  autograph.  We  were  all  very 
jovial,  and  passed  a  delightful  evening. 

I  was  much  impressed  by  the  ruins  of  the 
Colosseum,  and  I  also  visited  the  Church  of  S. 
Paolo  fuori  le  Mura,  a  few  miles  outside  the 
city — a  splendid  building,  with  marble  columns 
on  each  side,  which  I  could  not  help  thinking 
would  have  made  a  fine  concert-hall.  As  I  was 
leaving,  I  saw  a  priest  kneeling  at  his  devotions 
in  one  of  the  side-chapels,  evidently  some  im- 
portant personage,  as  his  attendant,  dressed  in 
black,  was  in  the  corner  waiting  for  him  ;  so  I 
went  up  to  the  attendant  and  asked  who  he  was. 
He  replied  that  it  was  His  Eminence  Cardinal 
Rampolla,  Secretary  of  State  to  the  Pope. 
When  the  Cardinal  rose  from  his  prayers  and 
walked  out  he  passed  me,  and  I  bowed  to  him, 
and  he  returned  the  salutation  with  a  gracious 
smile.  He  was  tall  and  commanding-looking, 
and  extremely  dignified  and  handsome.  He 
entered  his  carriage  and  drove  off. 

When   Pope  Leo   XIII  died,   Rampolla  had 


242  MY  ITALIAN  TOUR 

to  vacate  his  official  position  at  the  Papal 
Court.  In  former  years,  of  course,  the  Cardinals 
drove  about  in  magnificent  state,  with  gorgeous 
liveries,  and  I  contrasted  this  with  the  plain 
carriage  and  unostentatious  appearance  of  Car- 
dinal Rampolla,  who,  great  man  as  he  was, 
went  about  with  no  pomp  or  ceremony. 

On  one  of  my  visits  to  St.  Peter's,  on  a  Saint's 
Day,  I  heard  a  mass  the  music  of  which  was 
most  trivial.  It  was  said  by  a  Cardinal,  but 
was  not  impressive,  and  the  singing  was  not 
at  all  out  of  the  ordinary. 

One  day  I  visited  the  celebrated  actress, 
Madame  Ristori,  who  in  private  life  is  the 
Marchesa  del  Grillo,  to  whom  I  had  brought  a 
letter  of  introduction  from  my  friend,  Paolo 
Tosti.  She  received  me  most  kindly  and  intro- 
duced me  to  her  son,  the  Marchese  del  Grillo. 
She  is  a  madonna-like  woman,  with  wonderful 
eyes ;  very  queenly  in  bearing,  and  of  striking 
appearance.  I  told  her  I  had  had  the  pleasure 
of  seeing  her  in  London  as  Maria  Stuart  in 
Schiller's  play.  She  regretted  that  Tosti  never 
came  to  Rome,  and  we  talked  about  London 
and  music  and  a  variety  of  subjects.  Before 
leaving  she  handed  me  these  beautiful  lines : 

"  L'Arte  e  un  grande  inesorabile  riposo 
dello  spirito. 

" ADELAIDE  RISTORI  DEL  GRILLO. 

"  Al  gentilissimo  Wilhelm  Ganz,  Roma,  18  Nov. 
1892." 


NAPLES  243 

I  found  her  a  most  charming  hostess,  and  am 
always  glad  I  had  the  opportunity  of  meeting  her. 

It  was  once  suggested  that  Macbeth  should  be 
translated  and  so  cut  down  as  to  give  greater 
prominence  to  Lady  Macbeth.  Ristori  ex- 
claimed, "  What !  cut  Shakespeare  ?  God 
forbid  that  I  should  commit  such  a  sacrilege  !  " 

Before  leaving  Rome  I  visited  the  King's 
palace,  and  also  the  Conservatoire,  where  I  was 
introduced  to  the  director,  Signor  Marchetti,  by 
Signor  Sgambati,  who  was  one  of  the  professors 
there.  I  went  into  the  various  class-rooms,  and 
was  much  interested  in  the  different  arrange- 
ments. Marchetti's  opera,  Ruy  Bias,  was  per- 
formed at  Her  Majesty's  many  years  ago,  with 
Mile  Salla  and  Mile  Belocca  in  the  caste,  and, 
as  I  told  him,  I  was  present  at  the  first  perform- 
ance. Signor  Sgambati  had  also  frequently  been 
in  England,  and  has  played  at  London  concerts. 
He  told  me  that,  during  the  winter  months,  he 
went  every  Monday  evening  to  the  Palace  to 
play  to  Queen  Margherita.  She  was  very  fond 
of  Beethoven's  music,  and  he  played  most  of  the 
sonatas  to  her  and  arranged  performances  of 
the  trios  and  quartettes. 

After  leaving  Rome  I  went  with  Clement 
Scott  to  Naples,  where  we  took  our  rooms  at 
the  Hotel  Vesuvius,  which  stands  on  the  long, 
beautiful  esplanade  facing  the  bay.  The  mana- 
ger, who  knew  Scott  from  having  been  manager 
of  the  "  Greyhound  "  at  Hampton  Court,  was 


244  MY  ITALIAN  TOUR 

much  pleased  to  see  him,  and  very  attentive  to 
us.  We  drove  together  to  Sorrento,  which  lies 
in  the  Bay  of  Naples  a  little  way  from  the  town, 
and  had  our  lunch  at  a  restaurant,  sitting  at 
the  open  window,  to  the  accompaniment  of  some 
mandoline  players,  who  sang  Tosti's  songs  and 
folk-melodies  and  made  us  feel  quite  happy  and 
contented.  Before  us  was  the  Bay  of  Naples, 
with  Vesuvius  in  the  distance  and  the  beautiful 
Island  of  Ischia.  Scott  was  enchanted,  and 
said  he  would  like  to  live  there  for  ever.  After 
lunch  we  sipped  our  coffee  and  smoked  our 
cigars,  and  then  drove  along  the  coast  to 
Pausilippo,  passing  some  picturesque  villas,  the 
property  of  old  Lablache,  who  had  bought  land 
there,  and  saw  the  house  where  Thalberg,  his 
son-in-law,  lived. 

Next  day  we  parted  company,  Scott  going  on 
to  Egypt  and  India  and  other  distant  parts  of 
the  world — to  write  an  account  of  his  travels 
for  the  Daily  Telegraph.  After  he  had  left  I 
visited  Pompeii,  driving  there  in  a  small  one- 
horse  carriage  through  Portici,  and  saw  the 
wonderful  ruins. 

I  remained  a  few  days  longer  in  Naples  and 
then  travelled  back  to  Rome  without  stopping 
anywhere  en  route.,  and  then  went  on  to  Pisa, 
Turin,  Nice,  and  Monte  Carlo.  At  Pisa  I  stayed 
at  an  old-fashioned,  rather  small  hotel,  called 
the  "  Arno,"  and  while  there  visited  the  famous 
Campo  Santo,  where  so  many  distinguished 


VERDI  245 

Italians  are  buried,  and  saw  the  Cathedral  and 
the  Baptistery.  Of  course  I  also  ascended  the 
wonderful  leaning-tower,  but  was  disappointed 
with  the  view  from  the  top  of  it. 

Next  day  I  travelled  to  Genoa,  where  I  arrived 
on  November  26th,  and  took  my  room  at  the 
Grand  Hotel  du  Pare.  I  was  most  anxious  to 
see  Verdi,  so  I  called  at  his  home,  the  historical 
Doria  Palace ;  but  his  servant  told  me  he  was 
at  the  opera,  rehearsing  his  new  opera,  Falstaff, 
and  asked  me  to  call  again  the  following  morn- 
ing, when  he  would  receive  me. 

I  then  went  to  the  Palazzo  Municipale  and 
saw  Paganini's  "Guarnieri"  violin,  which  was 
locked  up  in  one  of  the  cupboards.  Sivori,  who 
lives  in  Genoa,  is  sometimes  permitted  to  play 
upon  it.  As  I  knew  Sivori,  having  often  accom- 
panied him  at  concerts,  I  called  to  see  him 
and  asked  him  to  give  me  an  introduction  to 
Verdi,  which  he  did,  writing  some  lines  on  his 
card. 

I  went  to  see  the  world-renowned  Campo 
Santo  at  Genoa,  which,  like  that  of  Pisa,  is  filled 
with  the  graves  of  Italy's  famous  men  and  con- 
tains a  very  fine  monument  to  Mazzini.  The 
next  day,  which  was  Sunday,  I  went  to  the 
Palazzo  Doria  to  visit  Verdi — my  appointment 
being  for  eleven.  I  gave  the  servant  my  card, 
and  that  of  Sivori,  and  was  shown  into  a  very 
elegantly  furnished  salon,  where  I  noticed  a 
large  glass  cabinet  containing  Verdi's  orders 


246  MY  ITALIAN  TOUR 

and  various  laurel  wreaths,  with  one  of  gold,  as 
well  as  a  conductor's  baton. 

Presently  Verdi  himself  appeared,  a  fine,  hand- 
some man,  with  a  high  forehead  and  grey  hair, 
and  beard,  who  received  me  most  amiably.  I 
mentioned  to  him  that  this  was  my  first  visit  to 
Italy,  and  showed  him  some  of  the  programmes 
of  the  Carl  Rosa  Company's  Opera  performances 
of  A'ida  and  Otello,  giving  him  all  particulars 
about  the  first  performance  of  Otello  in  English, 
and  reminding  him  that  the  directors,  including 
myself,  had  wired  him  to  Busseto  an  account 
of  its  great  success.  He  said  our  cable  had 
never  reached  him,  and  that  in  future  we  were 
always  to  address  him  at  Genoa.  I  left  him  the 
programmes,  and  told  him  what  Carl  Rosa  had 
done  for  English  Opera,  and  of  his  wife,  the 
charming  Euphrosyne  Parepa.  He  asked  me 
how  long  the  company  had  existed,  and  how 
often  they  performed  his  operas,  and  seemed 
very  much  interested  in  every  detail. 

I  next  spoke  to  him  about  Madame  Patti,  and 
he  asked  me  where  she  lived  and  where  she  was 
at  the  present  time ;  so  I  said  she  was  at  her 
castle  in  South  Wales,  called  "  Craig-y-nos,"  and 
described  it  to  him,  with  its  beautiful  surround- 
ings, and  showed  him  a  programme  of  the  Albert 
Hall  Concert  I  had  conducted,  at  which  Patti 
had  sung  his  aria  "  Ernani  Involami "  from 
Ernani.  He  also  asked  whether  Nicolini  still 
sang,  and  I  said  yes,  but  very  rarely,  adding 


VERDI  247 

that  he  had  sung  Verdi's  famous  "  La  Donne  e 
mobile "  a  short  time  before  at  a  charity  con- 
cert organised  by  Madame  Patti.  I  told  him 
Patti  knew  all  her  operatic  roles  by  heart,  and 
he  said  charming  things  about  her  and  asked 
me  to  remember  him  to  her  when  I  returned  to 
England. 

Verdi  heard  Madame  Patti  again  in  1893  in 
his  opera  La  Traviata  at  the  Scala,  Milan  : 
she  wrote  me  an  interesting  letter  about  the 
performance. 


"  MILAN, 
"January  1893. 

"  MY  DEAR  PAPA  GANZ, 

"  I  must  send  you  a  line  at  once,  to  tell 
you  of  the  enormous  success  I  had  last  night 
in  the  Traviata.  The  place  was  packed  full, 
and  when  I  came  on  the  reception  was  so  great, 
all  the  people  standing  up,  that  I  know,  had 
you  been  there  with  that  big  heart  of  yours, 
you  would  have  cried  your  poor  eyes  out,  just  as 
Verdi  did.  I  am  told  that  throughout  the  per- 
formance he  did  nothing  but  sob,  he  found  that 
my  phrasing  was  so  pure  and  touching.  At  the 
end  of  the  Farewell  Scene,  just  as  I  was  rushing 
off,  my  foot  caught  in  the  lace  of  my  skirt,  and  I 
fell  right  down  on  the  floor.  '  Dieu  Merci,'  I 
did  not  hurt  myself  much.  ...  It  is  a  real  pleasure 
to  sing  to  these  Italians,  they  do  so  well  appre- 
ciate each  phrase,  to  the  highest  degree ;  and  then 
their  4  Brava  '  always  comes  in  just  at  the  right 
moment.  You  could  have  heard  a  fly,  so  quiet 
they  were,  and  took  everything  in,  and  at  the 
end  the  enthusiasm  was  glorious — oh  !  !  ! 

"  I  love  to  sing  to  them ;  '  Cela  fait  un  vrai 


248  MY  ITALIAN  TOUR 

plaisir,'   and  a  real  success  here   is   something 
worth  having. 

"  Now  I  must  close,  as  Verdi  has  just  come 
to  see  me.  Love  to  all  your  dear  family,  not 
forgetting  your  dear  self.  Always  affectionately 
yours, 

"ADELINA." 


I  recalled  to  Verdi  that  I  was  present  at  the 
Royal  Albert  Hall  when  he  had  conducted  his 
famous  Requiem,  sung  by  Madame  Stoltz, 
Madame  Waldmann,  and  other  great  artists.  He 
then  asked  whether  Signor  Randegger  was  still 
in  London,  and  I  told  him  yes,  and  very  active 
into  the  bargain. 

In  reply  to  my  question  as  to  whether  he  had 
finished  Falstaff,  he  said :  "It  will  be  given  in 
Milan  at  the  end  of  January.  Are  you  coming 
to  the  first  performance  ?  '  I  told  him  I  much 
regretted  it  was  impossible.  He  said  there  were 
a  great  many  roles  in  it  and  the  tenor  had 
the  lover's  part,  "  which,"  he  added,  "  is  very 
sweet."  He  went  on  to  say,  "  For  a  long  time 
I  have  wanted  to  compose  a  comic  opera,  but 
I  could  not  find  a  suitable  libretto;  but  I  did 
once  write  a  comic  opera."  He  paused,  and 
did  not  tell  me  its  name.  Evidently  the  thought 
crossed  Verdi's  mind  of  the  tragic  bereavement 
he  sustained  over  fifty  years  before,  when  he 
lost  his  wife  and  his  two  only  children  within 
a  few  months,  and,  though  stunned  by  the  blow, 
had  to  complete  a  comic  opera  called  Un  giorno 


248] 


VERDI  249 

di  Regno  which  he  had  been  commissioned  to 
write.  He  had  already  engaged  the  soprano  and 
tenor  for  his  Falstaff  when  I  saw  him. 

He  told  me  he  enjoyed  composing,  which  gave 
him  real  pleasure,  and  that  he  hoped  he  would 
live  long  to  continue  to  write.  He  spoke  about 
Sivori,  as  if  he  thought  him  very  old  ;  but  I  re- 
minded him  that  the  latter  still  played  the 
violin  and  was  by  no  means  past  work. 

I  asked  Verdi  for  his  autograph,  and  before 
writing  it  he  said  :  "  What  is  the  date  of  to- 
day ?  ':  and  added  the  date — then  gave  it  to 
me.  I  noticed  that  he  had  not  put  my  name 
down,  so  he  took  the  trouble  of  going  back  to 
his  study  and  bringing  it  back  with  my  name 
on  it.  I  mention  this  because  Verdi  is,  as  a 
rule,  very  chary  about  giving  his  autograph ;  so 
I  considered  it  a  great  compliment. 

I  then  said  good-bye  to  him,  and  thanked  him 
for  his  very  kind  reception,  for  I  had  remained 
with  him  about  an  hour.  I  may  add  the  fol- 
lowing characteristic  story  of  him.  A  friend 
who  went  to  see  Verdi  when  he  was  staying  in  a 
villa  at  Moncalieri  found  him  in  a  room  which, 
Verdi  said,  was  his  drawing-room,  dining-room, 
and  bedroom  combined,  adding,  "  I  have  two 
other  large  rooms — but  they  are  full  of  things 
that  I  have  hired  for  the  season."  Verdi  threw 
open  the  doors  and  showed  him  a  collection  of 
several  dozen  piano-organs. 

"When  I  arrived  here,"  he  said,  "all  these 


250  MY  ITALIAN  TOUR 

organs  were  playing  airs  from  Rigoletto,  Trovatore, 
and  my  other  operas  from  morning  till  night. 

"  I  was  so  annoyed  that  I  hired  the  whole  lot 
for  the  season.  .It  has  cost  me  about  a  thousand 
francs,  but  at  all  events  I  am  left  in  peace." 

I  then  took  the  twelve-ten  train  on  to  Nice, 
where  I  arrived  in  the  evening  and  engaged  a  room 
at  the  Hotel  des  Anglais,  facing  the  sea.  Next 
morning  I  called  on  my  old  friend,  Signor  Tagliafico, 
but  found  him  busy  teaching  singing,  so  did  not 
interrupt  him.  Then  I  called  on  an  old  friend 
belonging  to  the  Royal  Somerset  House  Lodge 
in  London,  who  invited  me  to  dinner,  and  he 
and  his  wife  took  me  for  a  long  drive  through 
the  town  of  Nice.  We  drove  along  the  sea- 
shore to  Beaulieu,  where  we  visited  a  London 
friend,  Mrs.  David,  who  is  also  a  friend  of 
Madame  Patti's. 

Next  day  I  went  by  rail  to  Monte  Carlo,  where 
I  visited  the  Casino  and  went  to  an  orchestral 
concert  conducted  by  M.  Jehin,  whom  I  had 
known  in  London  when  he  was  conducting  at 
Covent  Garden,  and  who  conducts  concerts  at 
Monte  Carlo,  where  the  most  admirable  artists 
appear.  I  chatted  with  several  English  friends 
at  the  rooms  and  in  the  gardens  and  then  re- 
turned to  Nice.  In  the  evening  I  went  to  the 
Municipal  Theatre. 

Then  I  went  on  to  Cannes,  and  saw  the  little 
English  Chapel  and  the  villa  where  Prince 
Leopold,  Duke  of  Albany,  lived  and  died.  The 


THE    RIVIERA  251 

sea  was  perfectly  smooth  and  blue,  and  the 
beautiful  scenery  of  the  Riviera  appealed  greatly 
to  me.  While  at  Nice  I  saw  Miss  Minnie 
Tracy  by  appointment,  and  engaged  her  as 
soprano  for  the  Carl  Rosa  Company.  Signer 
Vianesi,  a  former  conductor  at  Covent  Garden, 
called  upon  me  to  introduce  a  young  singer 
who  was  one  of  his  pupils.  I  heard  her  sing, 
but  was  not  sufficiently  struck  by  her  capa- 
bilities to  recommend  her  for  an  operatic  en- 
gagement. 

During  the  four  days  I  was  at  Nice  I  met 
General  Stevens,  Adjutant  to  the  late  Duke  of 
Cambridge,  a  friend  from  London  who  is  an 
amateur  violinist.  He  is  very  fond  of  music, 
and  we  often  played  duets  together ;  therefore  he 
was  sorry  when  I  left  and  wanted  me  to  stay 
longer,  but  I  was  obliged  to  go  on  to  Turin.  It 
was  a  long  journey,  and  the  weather  was  rather 
cold  as  we  entered  Italy.  At  Turin  I  stayed 
at  the  Hotel  de  1'Europe,  which  stands  in  the 
large  Square.  I  saw  the  Royal  Palace,  the 
fine  armoury,  and  the  Teatro  Regio,  where  I 
witnessed  a  performance  of  which  I  cannot 
remember  the  name,  but  I  fancy  it  was  the 
ever-popular  Cavalleria. 

On  December  3rd  I  travelled  from  Turin  to 
Milan.  Of  course  I  saw  all  the  "  sights  "  and 
thought  the  Duomo  one  of  the  most  wonder- 
ful churches  in  the  world,  the  summit  having 
small  marble  towers  so  finely  decorated  as  to 


252  MY  ITALIAN  TOUR 

give  the  effect  of  embroidery.  I  went  to  the 
top  and  found  it  difficult  to  walk  about  up  there, 
the  stone  paths  being  so  intricate. 

I  was  greatly  struck  with  the  Brera  Picture- 
gallery,  and  I  saw  the  world-renowned  and 
almost  obliterated  "  Last  Supper  "  by  Leonardo 
da  Vinci,  which  is  painted  on  a  wall  of  the 
Refectory  of  Santa  Maria  delle  Grazie.  It  seems 
a  pity  that  nothing  could  have  been  done  to 
preserve  this  masterpiece  from  fading. 

One  evening  I  heard  a  performance,  of  course 
well  given,  of  the  Cavalleria  at  the  Teatro  dal 
Verme,  and  I  also  went  to  see  the  celebrated 
Opera-house,  La  Scala ;  but,  as  it  was  holiday- 
time,  there  were  unfortunately  no  performances 
there.  However,  I  went  on  the  stage,  which  is 
enormous,  the  house  being  much  larger  than 
Covent  Garden,  and  there  are  reception-rooms 
at  the  back  of  each  box. 

I  made  a  point  of  going  to  see  my  old  friend 
Bazzini,  the  eminent  violinist  and  composer, 
who  played  for  me  in  1857,  and  was  glad  to  find 
him  looking  so  well  after  his  long  and  strenuous 
career.  He  talked  of  his  visits  to  London, 
where  I  often  accompanied  him  at  concerts, 
and  his  duties  as  director  of  the  Milan  Con- 
servatoire, which,  he  regretted,  prevented  him 
travelling  as  he  had  done  formerly. 

Bazzini  was  one  of  the  many  great  artists 
who  appeared  at  the  concerts  of  the  Musical 
Union  :  he  will  be  seen  standing  first  on  the  left- 


BAZZINI  253 

hand  side  of  the  picture  reproduced  on  an  earlier 
page.  I  accompanied  him  there  in  1853,  when 
his  beautiful  tone  and  finished  execution  as- 
tonished everybody. 

Both  music  publishers,  Signer  Ricordi  and 
Signor  Sonzogno  have  large  establishments  at 
Milan  ;  Ricordi  has  bought  the  whole  of  Madame 
Lucca's  (the  former  rival  of  Ricordi)  musical 
stock,  containing  all  the  old  operas  of  Rossini, 
Bellini,  Donizetti,  and  the  earlier  operas  of 
Verdi.  He  invited  me  to  visit  his  music-print- 
ing, engraving,  and  publishing  works,  where  he 
showed  me  the  proof-sheets  of  Verdi's  Falstaff. 
He  is  the  publisher  of  Puccini's  operas,  and  has, 
I  believe,  the  largest  musical  publishing-house 
in  Europe.  All  my  own  compositions  are  pub- 
lished by  Ricordi,  although,  in  connection  with 
the  above-mentioned  great  composers,  my  small 
name  ought  not  to  appear ;  but  I  state  the  fact 
because  Madame  Lucca  bought  the  copyright 
of  my  little  works,  and  they  were  transferred  to 
Ricordi. 

Ricordi's  great  opponent  in  the  musical  trade 
is  Sonzogno,  who  buys  the  rights  of  all  Mascagni's 
and  Leoncavallo's  operas ;  but  all  the  same  I 
don't  think  he  does  Ricordi  any  harm.  He  is 
also  the  publisher  of  the  Italian  newspaper  II 
Secolo. 

From  Milan  I  travelled  to  Venice,  and  on 
arriving  at  the  station  was  shown  into  a  gondola 
steered  by  two  boatmen,  in  which  I  traversed 


254  MY  ITALIAN  TOUR 

several  canals  and  finally  arrived  at  the  Hotel 
Britannia.  Next  morning  I  was  awakened  by 
loud  knocking.  Some  workmen  were  driving 
big  wooden  posts  into  the  sandy  earth  and 
singing  all  the  time.  After  breakfast  I  walked, 
by  way  of  very  small  streets  and  alleys,  to  the 
Piazza  to  see  San  Marco,  the  King's  Palace,  the 
Campanile,  and  the  Palace  of  the  Doges.  I 
went  through  the  royal  palace  and  up  the 
Campanile,  and  then  visited  the  Doges'  Palace, 
with  its  grim  inquisition-chamber,  and  admired 
the  splendid  paintings  by  Paul  Veronese  and 
Tintoretto. 

I  then  took  a  gondola  on  the  Grand  Canal 
and  passed  the  house  where  Wagner  lived  and 
died,  and  saw  the  Bridge  of  Sighs  and  the  other 
wonderful  sights  of  the  city.  In  the  evening  I 
went  to  the  Teatro  Rossini  and  heard  Boito's 
fine  opera,  Mefistofele.  It  was  being  given  as  a 
farewell  performance  to  Signer  Tamburlini,  who 
had  quite  an  ovation,  being  called  and  recalled 
many  times,  and  was  not  only  presented  with  a 
great  many  bouquets,  but  with  a  small  statue 
of  himself.  In  the  last  act  the  audience  in  the 
gallery  joined  Tamburlini  in  his  singing,  and 
altogether  it  was  a  most  impressive  performance. 
The  theatre  is  rather  small,  but  the  orchestra 
and  chorus  were  good  and  the  principal  singers 
quite  acceptable. 

I  was  very  much  impressed  by  the  excellent 
operatic  conductors  they  had  at  the  Italian 


OPERA    IN    ITALY  255 

theatres  I  visited,  and  the  tenors  and  baritones 
were  splendid  artists ;  but  I  did  not  care  for  the 
female  singers,  who  were  rather  mediocre.  In 
nearly  every  theatre  I  visited  I  heard  Caval- 
leria,  which,  as  I  said  before,  seemed  to  be 
the  rage. 


18 


CHAPTER    XIV 

NOTABLE   MUSICIANS 

Sir  Julius  Benedict — Edouard  Silas — Sir  Arthur  Sullivan — He 
pays  me  a  compliment — M.  Camille  Saint-Saens — I  arrange 
a  concert  for  him — Four  composers  at  Cambridge — I  meet 
Tschaikowsky — Leschetizky — Some  of  his  stories — His  dog 
"  Solo  " — Paderewski — Richard  Strauss. 

FOR  many  years  I  had  the  good  fortune  to  be 
honoured  with  the  friendship  of  Sir  Julius 
Benedict.  It  was  a  real  pleasure  to  be  in  his 
society,  he  was  so  full  of  information  of  every 
kind,  musical  and  social. 

Benedict  settled  here  in  1835,  and  became  a 
famous  teacher  of  the  pianoforte,  he  himself 
having  been  a  favourite  pupil  of  Carl  Marie  von 
Weber,  the  composer  of  the  immortal  operas 
Der  Freischiitz  and  Oberon.  I  never  knew  such 
a  hard  worker  as  he  was ;  he  was  up  early 
teaching  and  out  late  at  musical  soirees  and 
other  entertainments,  which  he  arranged  during 
the  season,  and  frequently  during  the  night  he 
would,  like  Balfe,  be  busy  composing.  He  wrote 
and  brought  out  several  English  operas,  one  of 
which  was  The  Lily  of  Killarney,  founded  on 
Dion  Boucicault's  Colleen  Bawn,  which  was 
produced  at  Covent  Garden  under  the  direction 

256 


BENEDICT  257 

of  the  Pyne  and  Harrison  Company  in  1862, 
and  had  a  great  success,  and  is  still  "  running." 
Benedict  had  quite  caught  the  spirit  of  Irish 
music,  and  his  opera  is  full  of  melody.  Louisa 
Pyne  sang  the  Colleen  Bawn,  William  Harrison, 
Myles-na-Coppalean,  and  Santley,  Danny  Man. 
One  of  the  songs  in  the  opera,  "  Eily  Mavour- 
neen,"  became  a  great  favourite  with  tenors.  I 
was  at  the  first  performance. 

Benedict  would  have  filled  any  position  with 
eclat,  especially  that  of  a  diplomatist,  being  not 
only  a  great  administrator,  which  was  so  neces- 
sary in  arranging  the  productions  of  opera  (not 
his  own  only)  and  concerts  here  and  in  the  pro- 
vinces, but  he  was  a  man  full  of  savoir  faire  and 
energy  and  had  great  tact.  He  made  friends 
with  most  of  the  people  he  was  associated  with, 
and,  what  is  more,  kept  their  friendship.  He 
spoke  not  only  English,  but  French  and  Italian 
perfectly,  and  of  course  his  own  mother-tongue, 
German.  He  was  born  at  Stuttgart.  He  not 
only  spoke  these  languages,  but  wrote  them 
with  equal  fluency. 

He  often  conducted  operas,  and  for  some  years 
the  Philharmonic  Concerts  at  Liverpool,  for 
which  he  wrote  the  analytical  programmes. 
After  a  long  day's  work  in  London  he  would 
travel  at  night  to  Liverpool,  hold  a  rehearsal 
there  in  the  morning  and  conduct  the  same 
evening,  giving  piano  lessons  in  between.  He 
was  an  excellent  pianist,  and  had  a  prodigious 


258  NOTABLE  MUSICIANS 

memory.  I  call  to  mind  a  lecture  he  gave  on 
Weber  at  the  Royal  Institution  in  Albemarle 
Street,  at  which  I  played  some  pianoforte  duets 
with  him. 

I  have  made  it  a  rule,  all  through  my  profes- 
sional life,  to  do  what  I  could  in  a  small  way  to 
honour  and  foster  the  interests  of  my  musical 
friends  by  getting  their  compositions  performed, 
in  addition  to  the  public  performances  of  them. 

In  the  sixties  I  arranged  a  series  of  amateur 
vocal  Reunions  at  my  house,  at  which  cantatas, 
oratorios,  and  scenas  were  performed,  one  of 
which  was  Benedict's  St.  Cecilia.  I  had  prac- 
tised it  with  my  choir  for  some  time,  and  when 
I  considered  it  to  be  perfect,  and  ready  for 
production,  I  gave  an  evening  performance  of 
it.  I  invited  Benedict  to  conduct,  and  asked 
a  number  of  friends  to  come  and  listen,  and  I 
played  the  piano  accompaniments.  The  per- 
formance went  off  exceedingly  well,  and  every- 
body was  charmed  with  this  beautiful  and 
melodious  work.  Benedict,  who  conducted,  was 
very  pleased,  and  when  it  was  over  he  made  a 
little  speech,  thanking  me  and  the  choir  and  the 
soloists,  to  which  I  made  a  suitable  reply. 

His  annual  concerts  at  St.  James's  Hall  were 
always  a  feature  of  the  London  season,  for  he 
engaged  a  galaxy  of  stars,  among  whom  were 
the  best  opera-singers.  He  used  to  wait 
anxiously  at  the  top  of  the  staircase  leading  to 
the  artists'  room  to  see  them  arrive  so  as  to  be 


BENEDICT  259 

able  to  begin  the  concert.  One  of  them  was 
Sims  Reeves,  who  once,  after  keeping  Benedict 
on  the  tip-toe  of  anxious  expectation,  relieved 
his  mind  by  turning  up,  accompanied  by  his 
wife  and  all  their  children  and  various  friends  ! 
In  those  days  Reeves  was  a  great  attraction,  and 
sang  at  all  Benedict's  concerts.  The  programme 
generally  consisted  of  forty  items,  and  very  often 
lasted  from  one-thirty  till  six-thirty.  They  were 
particularly  interesting  to  people  who  had  no 
opportunities  of  hearing  the  great  artists  with- 
out going  to  the  opera  and  paying  for  expen- 
sive seats.  The  prices  at  Benedict's  concerts 
ranged  from  one  guinea  to  one  or  two  shillings 
in  the  gallery.  I  generally  helped  with  the 
accompanying,  sometimes  taking  part  in  the 
pianoforte  quartettes,  for  four  performers,  which 
Benedict  composed  for  these  occasions.  It  was 
a  great  pleasure  to  me  to  visit  him  at  his  house 
in  Manchester  Square  on  Sunday  mornings  and 
hear  all  the  news  of  the  day,  especially  the 
musical  gossip.  So  far  as  I  know,  he  composed 
only  one  oratorio,  St.  Peter,  which  was  composed 
for  the  Norwich  Festival,  of  which  he  was  con- 
ductor for  many  years. 

I  remember  a  cantata  of  his  called  TJndine,  in 
which  Madame  Clara  Novello  took  her  farewell 
of  the  British  public.  It  was  performed  at  St. 
James's  Hall,  and  she  sang,  as  always,  most 
beautifully,  and  her  voice  seemed  as  fresh  as 
ever ;  but,  as  she  had  married  an  Italian  Count, 


260  NOTABLE  MUSICIANS 

and  was  well  off,  there  was  no  need  for  her  to 
remain  any  longer  in  the  profession.  I  was 
present  at  this  interesting  concert  and  heard  the 
great  ovation  accorded  to  this  most  charming 
singer,  who  had  to  bow  repeatedly  to  the  audi- 
ence before  they  would  let  her  go. 

Benedict  still  followed  his  profession  when 
he  was  well  over  eighty  years  of  age.  He  had 
married,  as  his  second  wife,  Miss  Fortey,  a  clever 
pupil  of  his.  The  son  of  that  marriage  was  a 
god- son  of  King  Edward,  then  Prince  of  Wales, 
and  also  of  Lord  Lathom,  who  was  a  great 
friend  of  the  Benedicts,  and  himself  a  generous 
patron  of  music  and  musicians.  Mr.  A.  E.  Bene- 
dict is  now  on  the  stage. 

I  am  reminded  that,  at  our  silver  wedding  in 
1884,  Sir  Julius  was  present  and,  in  responding 
to  his  health  at  dinner,  said  he  hoped  to  be 
present  in  1909  at  our  golden  wedding.  He  was 
then  eighty. 

Benedict  died  in  1885,  and  Lady  Benedict 
afterwards  married  Mr.  Frank  Lawson.  She 
was  a  great  friend  of  mine,  and  of  my  family, 
and  was  a  most  charming  and  accomplished 
lady,  who  not  only  played  the  piano  extremely 
well  but  also  composed. 

Not  so  very  long  ago  she  invited  my  wife 
and  me  to  luncheon  at  her  house  in  Cromwell 
Place,  and  then  seemed  quite  well  and  very 
bright,  and  in  good  spirits ;  but  a  week  or  two 
afterwards  I  heard,  to  my  great  regret,  that  she 


"Jc&t.  **•«• «    tfa,   trf    h 


w 


I    $    **~    fartsLt&'SZrwti.^Ar- 


* 


262  NOTABLE  MUSICIANS 

was  dead.  A  few  months  before  the  sad  event 
I  spoke  to  her  of  these  reminiscences,  and  told 
her  I  had  written  something  about  her  first 
husband,  and  read  the  above  lines  aloud  to  her. 
She  was  much  pleased,  and  said,  "  I  thank  you 
for  helping  to  keep  the  memory  of  Benedict 
green." 

Edouard  Silas  was  another  gifted  musician 
resident  here,  whom  I  have  known  almost  from 
the  time  of  my  coming  to  England.  He  was 
wonderfully  prolific,  producing  compositions  in 
every  form,  perhaps  his  best-known  work  being 
a  Gavotte  in  E  minor  written  in  the  old  style. 
An  admirable  pianist  and  all-round  musician,  it 
always  seemed  to  me  that  he  ought  to  have 
achieved  the  wider  recognition  due  to  his  talents. 
It  was,  perhaps,  his  incurable  habit  of  seeing  the 
funny  side  of  things  which  stood  in  his  way. 
Most  of  his  time  in  later  years  was  devoted  to 
giving  lessons  in  harmony,  the  lessons  being 
always  popular  owing  to  the  witty  and  amusing 
way  he  had  of  dealing  with  things  musical.  His 
pupils  were  always  convulsed  with  laughter.  I 
remember,  after  he  had  given  my  daughter  some 
lessons  in  harmony,  he  sent  me  his  account  with 
the  characteristic  note,  introducing  the  first  bars 
of  the  Wilhelm  Tell  overture. 

Sir  Arthur  Sullivan  has  done  more  for  English 
music  than  any  other  English  composer.  It  is 
needless  for  me  to  enlarge  on  his  light  operas, 
which  were  so  successful,  beginning  from  the 


SULLIVAN 


263 


eighties,  at  first  at  the  Royalty  Theatre  and 
then  at  the  Savoy,  which  was  built  by  the  late 
Mr.  D'Oyley  Carte  for  the  purpose  of  making  a 
home  for  them.  Of  course  I  was  one  of  his 
fervent  admirers,  and  went  to  see  all  his  operas, 
not  only  at  the  Royalty  but  also  at  the 
Savoy. 

Sullivan  is  dead,  but  his  music  will  live  on,  and 
help  to  make  the  world  brighter. 

Sullivan  once  paid  me  a  very  high  compli- 
ment at  the  old  Hanover  Square  Rooms,  where 
he  and  I  had  both  been  conductors.  He  walked 
up  to  me  in  the  artists'  room  after  a  concert, 
and  said,  "  Ganz,  where  did  you  get  that 
melody  from  ?  "  (meaning  my  first  song,  "  Sing, 
Birdie,  sing ").  I  did  not  tell  him  that  I  had 
composed  it  in  an  omnibus  ! 

He  went  on  to  praise  the  song  very  much,  and 
because  he  did  so  (and  not  from  pride),  I  here 
subjoin  a  few  bars. 


264.  NOTABLE   MUSICIANS 

M.  Camille  Saint-Saens  I  have  always  re- 
garded as  one  of  the  most  wonderful  men  whose 
friendship  I  have  been  privileged  to  enjoy.  His 
many-sided  genius,  his  amazing  versatility,  have 
always  filled  me  with  intense  admiration.  I  am 
therefore  naturally  proud  to  have  been  the  first 
to  enable  him  to  play  his  splendid  concertos 
in  England.  I  have  already  spoken  of  this  in 
dealing  with  my  Orchestral  Concerts.  I  want 
now  to  refer  to  a  unique  concert  which  took 
place  in  June  1887,  the  year  of  Queen  Victoria's 
Jubilee.  Saint-Saens  asked  me  to  arrange  an 
orchestral  concert  for  him  at  St.  James's  Hall, 
and  on  that  occasion  he  played  his  four  con- 
certos, one  after  another,  which  was  a  wonderful 
feat.  He  played  them  all  by  heart,  and  when 
he  had  finished  seemed  as  fresh  as  if  he  had 
done  nothing  at  all.  I  had  engaged  a  first-rate 
orchestra,  which  I  conducted.  Unfortunately, 
the  hall  was  not  very  full,  and  Saint-Saens  lost 
heavily,  but  he  apparently  did  not  mind  in  the 
least.  The  concert  was  given  on  a  Saturday 
afternoon  and  at  that  period  Saturday  was  not 
popular  as  it  is  to-day  for  concerts  and  matinees. 
It  was  also  an  unfortunate  time  to  give  a  con- 
cert, as  people  were  full  of  the  Queen's  Jubilee 
and  had  no  time  for  concerts.  Since  then  Saint- 
Saens'  popularity  has  so  much  increased  that 
I  am  sure  that,  if  it  were  ever  announced  that  he 
would  play  his  four  concertos  in  one  programme, 
the  house  would  be  crammed.  I  may  mention 


CAMILLE    SAINT-SAENS. 


264] 


SAINT-SAENS  265 

that  he  also  played  at  one  of  the  Brinsmead 
Symphony  Concerts  in  1885  which  I  conducted. 
He  later  composed  a  fifth  concerto,  and  his 
famous  opera  Samson  et  Dalila,  after  being  de- 
barred for  years  from  having  a  hearing  here, 
on  account  of  its  Biblical  story,  is  now  repeatedly 
performed  at  Covent  Garden  with  stupendous 
success.  In  1893  I  endeavoured  to  arrange  for 
the  production  of  one  of  his  operas  by  the  Carl 
Rosa  Company,  of  which  I  was  a  director.  He 
wrote  me  saying : 

"  J'ai  le  plus  grand  desir  que  1'on  joue  mes 
operas  en  Angleterre,  mais  jusqu'a  present  c'est 
un  desir  que  1'Angleterre  n'a  pas  paru  partager; 
si  vous  arrivez  a  modifier  cette  situation,  soyez 
sur  que  je  vous  en  serai  tout  a  fait  reconnais- 
sant."  (I  am  very  anxious  that  my  operas 
should  be  performed  in  England,  but  up  to  the 
present  it  is  an  anxiety  which  England  does  not 
appear  to  share  :  if  you  can  manage  to  modify 
the  situation,  you  may  be  sure  that  I  shall  be 
very  grateful.) 

Saint-Saens  is  a  most  charming  man,  and 
speaks  English  perfectly.  In  French  he  talks 
so  quickly  that  it  is  difficult  to  follow  him. 
Some  years  ago,  at  Dieppe,  his  native  town,  I 
attended  an  afternoon  concert  of  his  works  at 
the  Casino,  and,  when  he  came  out  of  the  artists' 
room,  accompanied  by  several  friends,  and  saw 
me,  he  was  astonished  and  asked  whether  I  had 
left  England  for  good.  I  told  him  I  was  only  in 
Dieppe  for  a  holiday,  and  we  had  a  chat.  He 


266  NOTABLE  MUSICIANS 

is  a  great  traveller,  and  often  visits  Algiers  and 
the  Orient,  and  gives  you  vivid  descriptions. 
The  Square  in  which  the  Dieppe  theatre  stands 
is  called  the  "  Place  Saint-Saens,"  in  honour  of 
its  distinguished  townsman.  As  is  well  known, 
he  is  a  most  prolific  composer,  and,  besides  his 
piano  concertos,  has  also  written  concertos  for 
the  violin  and  'cello,  one  of  which,  his  violin 
concerto,  is  one  of  the  most  beautiful  composi- 
tions of  its  kind,  and  is  constantly  played  by 
Ysaye,  Kreisler,  Mischa  Elman,  and  other  great 
players.  His  symphonic  poems,  such  as  "  Le 
Rouet  d'Omphale,"  his  "  Danse  Macabre,"  and 
his  opera  Henry  VIII,  which  has  been  per- 
formed at  Covent  Garden,  have  all  added  to  his 
fame.  Knowing  what  a  brilliant  pianist  he  is, 
I  was  much  struck  by  his  telling  me  once  that  he 
hardly  ever  practises. 

His  powers  of  improvisation  are  remarkable, 
and  he  has  often,  when  I  have  been  with  him 
and  other  artists,  sat  down  to  the  piano  and 
astonished  us  by  his  skilful  handling  of  a  theme. 
His  literary  works  are  fine  examples  of  musical 
criticism,  and  in  conversation  he  shows  the 
same  keen  perception  and  incisive  wit.  It  is  a 
real  pleasure  to  be  in  his  company.  He  amused 
me  once  by  beginning  the  conversation  with 
the  remark,  "  Ne  me  parle  pas  de  la  musique  : 
9a  ne  m'interesse  pas  du  tout."  It  was  not  for 
long,  however,  that  the  subject  was  barred. 
He  wrote  me  a  letter  in  1886  which  is  a  good 


SAINT-SAENS  267 

example  of  his  pointed  literary  style.  The  draw- 
ing which  accompanied  it  is  also  characteristic. 

"MoN  CHER  AMI, 

"  J'ai  examine  les  analyses  de  M.  ; 

je  les  trouve  plus  qu'insuffisantes.  II  ne  parait 
pas  avoir  compris  les  morceaux  qu'il  a  analyses. 
II  donne  des  citations  inutiles  et  ne  met  pas  des 
choses  indispensables.  Le  theme  du  Final  de 
mon  Concerto  en  TJt  est  rendu  me"connaissable  ; 
il  a  copie  une  partie  de  Fhautbois  sans  s'aper- 
cevoir  qu'elle  etait  tantot  partie  principale  et 
tantot  partie  intermediate ;  c'est  le  comble  de 
1'etourderie  et  du  ridicule. 

"Mieux  vaudrait  pas  d'analyses  du  tout  que 
des  choses  pareilles  qui  ne  peuvent  servir  qu'a 
egarer  1'auditeur. 

"Tout  a  vous, 

"C.  SAINT-SAENS." 

("  MY  DEAR  FRIEND, 

46 1  have  examined  the  analyses  of  Mr. 
I  find  them  more  than  insufficient.     He 


does  not  appear  to  have  understood  the  pieces 
which  he  has  analysed.  He  gives  useless  cita- 
tions and  omits  things  which  are  indispensable. 
The  theme  of  the  Finale  of  my  Concerto  in  C 
minor  is  made  unrecognisable  :  he  has  copied 
an  oboe  part  without  noticing  that  it  is  at  one 
time  a  principal  and  at  another  an  intermediate 
part  :  it  is  the  acme  of  stupidity  and  absurdity. 
"  Far  better  no  analysis  at  all,  than  such 
things  which  can  only  help  to  confuse  the 
listener. 

"  Yours, 

"  C.  SAINT-SAENS.") 

On  June  12th,  1893,  my  son  Albert,  an  under- 


NOTABLE  MUSICIANS 

graduate  at  the  time,  asked  me  to  come  on  a 
visit  to  Cambridge  :  a  concert  was  to  be  given 
by  the  Cambridge  University  Musical  Society, 
of  which  he  was  a  member,  in  honour  of  Max 
Bruch,  Boito,  Saint-Saens,  and  Tschaikowsky. 
All  four  composers  took  part  in  the  concert  at 
the  Guildhall,  Max  Bruch  conducting  a  scene 


IS 


A  SKETCH   BY  SAINT  SA^NS. 

from  his  Odysseus,  Boito  "  The  Prelude  in 
Heaven  "  from  his  Mefistofele,  and  Tschaikow- 
sky his  Francesco,  da  Rimini.  Saint-Saens  played 
his  fantasia  Africa,  and  Stanford's  East  to  West 
was  also  given.  The  members  of  the  Musical 
Society  sang  the  choruses,  and  they  gave  the 
composers  a  tremendous  welcome.  After  the 
concert  was  over  I  met  my  boy,  who  was 


TSCHAIKOWSKY  269 

quite  hoarse  from  singing  and  cheering,  and 
we  went  down  to  the  river  to  see  the  boats 
"  bumping."  That  evening  there  was  a  reception 
at  the  Fitzwilliam  Museum,  and  I  had  a  long 
talk  with  Max  Bruch,  whom  I  had  not  seen  since 
18T8,  and  chatted  with  Boito  and  Saint-Saens. 
Seeing  Tschaikowsky  standing  alone,  I  went  up 
and  spoke  to  him.  He  was  most  affable.  On 
my  referring  to  the  frequent  performances  of 
his  works  in  London  at  that  time  he  said,  "  Je 
ne  demande  pas  mieux."  The  next  day  the 
composer  received  honorary  degrees  from  the 
University. 

Of  Leschetizky's  greatness  as  a  teacher  of 
the  pianoforte,  of  the  enthusiasm  with  which 
he  inspired  his  pupils,  there  is  no  need  for  me 
to  speak.  But  I  remember  his  telling  me  of 
Paderewski's  coming  to  him  for  the  first  time. 
The  young  Pole  played  to  him  in  a  manner 
which  at  once  arrested  his  attention.  There  was 
a  strangeness  and  fire  about  his  playing  which 
betokened  the  great  artist,  as  yet  unable  to 
express  himself  :  the  technical  finish  was  want- 
ing, and  the  just  balance  of  his  powers.  These 
qualities  Leschetizky  was  able  to  educate  in 


270  NOTABLE  MUSICIANS 

such  a  way  that  his  pupil  should  lose  none  of 
the  natural  poetry  and  charm  in  his  playing. 
Paderewski  always  acknowledges  the  great  debt 
he  owed  to  Leschetizky,  who  speaks  of  him  as 
one  of  the  most  lovable  artists  he  has  known. 
Leschetizky's  memory  goes  back  a  long  time, 
and  he  told  me  that,  when  a  boy,  he  played  to 
Marie  Louise,  the  widowed  Empress  of  Napoleon, 
and  mother  of  the  Due  de  Reichstadt  (L'Aiglon). 
He  has  an  inexhaustible  fund  of  good  stories, 
which  he  will  relate  to  you  after  dinner  till 
late  hours.  He  once  told  me  of  a  young  lady 
who  asked  Moszkowski  to  write  something  in 
her  birthday-book.  He  turned  over  the  leaves 
and  found  a  page  upon  which  Hans  von  Billow 
had  written  :  "  Bach,  Beethoven,  Brahms,  et 
tous  les  autres  sont  des  cretins."  Moszkowski 
wrote  underneath :  "  Mendelssohn,  Meyerbeer, 
Moszkowski,  et  tous  les  autres  sont  des  Chretiens." 

Leschetizky  speaks  of  the  curious  questions 
which  are  sometimes  put  to  him.  "  An  Ameri- 
can lady  once  asked  me,"  he  said,  "  which  com- 
poser I  liked  best,  Wagner  or  Brahms  ;  to  which 
I  replied  *  Tschaikowsky.' ' 

Of  an  old  professor  who  still  thought  himself 
a  capable  performer  on  the  concert  platform  he 
remarked,  "Er  spielt  die  leichteste  Sachen  mit 
der  grosster  Schwierigkeit  "  (He  plays  the  easiest 
things  with  the  greatest  difficulty). 

A  charming  trait  in  his  character  is  his  affec- 
tion for  his  dog,  "Solo."  "  My  dog  is  a  faithful 


LESCHETIZKY  271 

and  true  friend  to  me,"  he  says  ;  "he  is  always 
sympathetic,  and  when  I'm  sitting  at  the  piano 
composing  and  cannot  think  of  a  second  subject 
for  my  piece,  my  dog  pities  me." 

Talking  of  the  fortunes  which  are  made  by 
piano  manufacturers,  he  remarked  "  Chi  fa  piano, 
va  sano  !  ': 

His  energy  and  vitality  are  amazing,  and  it 
is  extraordinary,  to  me,  to  think  of  the  amount 
of  work  he  is  still  able  to  get  through.  When 
he  was  over  here  a  few  years  ago  I  was  de- 
lighted to  hear  him  play  again.  He  had  kept 
all  his  old  fire  and  unerring  sense  of  rhythm. 
He  used  often  to  come  and  see  us,  as  he  was 
living  close  by  in  Duke  Street,  Portland  Place. 
One  Sunday  evening  I  had  asked  him  to  come 
to  supper,  but  suddenly  a  thick  fog  came  on  so 
that  it  was  impossible  to  see  a  yard  in  front  of 
you.  My  son  went  round  to  see  if  he  was 
coming.  Of  course  he  was,  and  thought  it  a 
great  joke  groping  his  way  across  Portland 
Place. 

Since  the  advent  of  Richard  Wagner,  no 
composer  has  created  such  a  sensation  or  aroused 
such  controversy  as  Richard  Strauss.  I  remem- 
ber being  present  at  the  first  concert  which  he 
conducted  here  :  it  was  at  the  Queen's  Hall 
one  evening  in  December  1897.  From  the  out- 
set there  was  no  mistake  about  his  gifts  as  a 
conductor.  He  had  the  lights  lowered  in  the 
hall  when  he  began  Mozart's  "  Eine  kleine 
19 


272  NOTABLE   MUSICIANS 

Nachtmusik,"  and  it  was  a  real  pleasure  to  note 
the  sympathy  he  showed  for  the  music  and  the 
beautiful  balance  and  phrasing  of  the  orchestra. 
There  was  immense  Schwung,  as  the  Germans  say, 
about  the  performance  of  his  fine  tone-poem, 
"  Tod  und  Verklarung  "  ;  everything  was  made 
beautifully  clear  and  understandable.  It  was 
apparent  that  another  great  figure  had  arisen 
in  the  musical  world.  There  was  great  en- 
thusiasm, and  Mr.  Leonard  Berwick,  who  hap- 
pened to  be  sitting  next  to  me,  was  also  full  of 
praise  for  Strauss's  work.  I  attended  several  of 
the  concerts  of  the  Richard  Strauss  Festival  in 
1903  at  the  St.  James's  Hall,  for  which  Herr 
Mengelberg  brought  over  his  splendid  orchestra 
from  Amsterdam.  The  public  showed  com- 
paratively little  interest  in  these  fine  concerts. 
At  one  of  them  Herr  von  Possart,  the  well- 
known  director  of  the  Hoftheater  in  Munich,  who 
was  also  a  most  distinguished  actor,  appeared 
and  declaimed  Tennyson's  "Enoch  Arden," 
giving  this  fine  poem  in  German  and  from 
memory,  whilst  Strauss  played  the  incidental 
music,  which  he  had  composed  on  the  piano. 
There  was,  unfortunately,  only  a  very  small 
audience,  but  it  was  a  most  appreciative  one, 
and  cheered  both  artists  to  the  echo.  Neither 
of  them  was  at  all  well  known  in  England  at 
that  period.  I  paid  them  both  a  visit  in  the 
artists'  room,  as  I  knew  them  personally.  They 
seemed  quite  satisfied,  and  did  not  mind  having 


RICHARD    STRAUSS  278 

performed  to  an  empty  hall.  Strauss  also 
accompanied  his  wife  on  the  piano  most  beauti- 
fully. 

Very  few  years  later  public  interest  was  at 
last  aroused  by  Sir  Henry  Wood's  and  Mr. 
Thomas  Beecham's  performances  of  Strauss's 
works  at  the  Queen's  Hall,  and  at  the  first 
performance  of  Ein  Heldenleben,  which  I  at- 
tended, the  hall  was  packed.  A  young  Strauss 
enthusiast,  who  was  sitting  next  to  me,  said, 
"  I  was  in  the  Rocky  Mountains  when  I  read 
that  Heldenleben  was  to  be  given  in  London, 
so  I  packed  up  and  came  straight  back." 

The  climax  came  with  the  production  of  Elektra 
at  Covent  Garden  under  the  enterprising  direc- 
tion of  Mr.  Thomas  Beecham.  I  went  to  the  re- 
hearsals of  the  opera,  so  as  to  get  to  know  the 
music,  and  at  the  first  performance  on  Febru- 
ary 19th,  1910,  as  I  could  not  get  a  seat,  I 
stood  for  the  whole  of  the  performance — not 
bad  for  a  man  of  my  age ! 


CHAPTER   XV 

RECOLLECTIONS    OF   KING   EDWARD,    ETC. 

Lord  Dupplin's  dinner-party  —  My  Masonic  jubilee  —  King 
Edward  at  Warwick  Castle — His  joke  about  Madame  Clara 
Butt  and  myself — Sir  Augustus  Harris — The  New  Meister- 
singers'  Club — Maurice  Farkoa's  first  appearance — I  engage 
Miss  Pauline  Joran — "  Westminster  Bridge  " — The  Mar- 
chesis — "  Mamma  Puzzi  " — A  telegram  after  midnight — A 
scare  at  Manchester. 

I  FIRST  had  the  honour   of  meeting   our  late 
King  at  the  house  of  my  pupil,  Viscount  Dupplin, 
son  of  the  late  Earl  of  Kinnoull.     He  gave  a 
dinner-party  in  honour  of  King  Edward  (then 
Prince  of  Wales)  at  his  house  in  Albert  Gate, 
Hyde  Park.     I  had  arranged  that  Signer  Gar- 
doni,    the   tenor   from   Her   Majesty's   Theatre, 
should  sing  my  new  National  Anthem,  "  God 
save  the  Prince  of  Wales,"  and  when  dinner  was 
over  he  sang  it,  the  whole  of  the  company,  in- 
cluding   the    Prince,    rising    to    their    feet    and 
remaining  standing.     Later  on  in  the  evening 
Lord  Dupplin  introduced  me  to  the  Prince,  who 
asked  me  how  long  I  had  been  in  England  and 
all  about  my  career.     He  also  wanted  to  know 
whether  I  knew  Mr.  Halle,  and  when  I  said  yes 
he   remarked   that   he  himself  had  had   violin 

274 


LORD    DUPPLIN'S    DINNER-PARTY      275 

lessons,  but  did  not  get  on  well  with  them,  so 
gave  them  up.  All  the  same,  he  was  a  great 
lover  of  music,  which  he  showed  by  going  often 
to  concerts  and  the  opera,  and  I  also  recollect, 
when  Director  Neumann  brought  over  a  German 
Opera  Company,  in  1882,  to  perform  the  Ring  at 
Her  Majesty's  Theatre,  the  Prince  went  to  all 
the  performances,  some  of  which  began  at  5  or 
6  p.m.,  and  remained  until  the  end.  He  also 
went  several  times  to  Bayreuth  to  hear  the 
operas  there. 

That  same  evening  at  Lord  Dupplin's  I  asked 
him  to  allow  me  to  dedicate  my  song  to  him, 
and  he  at  once  graciously  gave  me  permission. 
I  had  composed  it  after  the  Prince's  recovery 
from  his  serious  illness.  This  song  of  mine  had 
no  chance  of  becoming  popular,  because  Brinley 
Richard's  song,  "  God  bless  the  Prince  of  Wales  " 
had  already  been  taken  up  as  the  national  song 
for  the  Prince. 

Lord  Dupplin  was  a  thorough  musician  by 
nature.  He  had  not  studied  music,  but  ex- 
temporised most  wonderfully  and  played  and 
sang  beautifully.  I  used  to  teach  him,  when 
he  was  in  the  Life  Guards,  at  Knightsbridge 
Barracks.  His  uncle,  the  late  Duke  of  Beau- 
fort, was  a  great  patron  of  music,  and  was 
President  of  the  Glee  and  Madrigal  Society. 
He  sometimes  invited  me  to  be  present  at  their 
meetings,  which  I  always  enjoyed  very  much. 

I  have  been  for  many  years  an  active  Free- 


276    RECOLLECTIONS  OF  KING  EDWARD,  ETC. 

mason,  and  celebrated  my  Masonic  Jubilee  in 
1906.  All  my  various  lodges  presented  me  with 
handsome  presents  on  that  occasion,  consisting 
of  silver  vases,  entree  dishes,  and  vegetable 
dishes,  as  well  as  an  ebony  conductor's  baton 
with  an  inscription  on  a  silver  plate,  and  a  hand- 
some dinner-service. 

I  was  elected  Grand  Organist  of  the  Grand 
Lodge  of  England  in  1871,  and  when  I  walked 
up  to  the  dais  of  the  Grand  Lodge,  where  the 
Pro-Grand  Master,  the  late  Earl  of  Carnarvon, 
presided,  the  whole  Masonic  company  assembled 
in  the  beautiful  Temple  of  the  Fraternity  in  the 
Freemason's  Hall  cheered  me,  and  Lord  Car- 
narvon, in  investing  me  as  Grand  Organist,  re- 
marked that  he  could  tell  by  their  cheering  that 
my  appointment  was  a  very  popular  one.  I 
held  that  post  for  three  years. 

My  friend  Sir  Edward  Letchworth,  the 
secretary  of  the  Grand  Lodge,  is  a  universal 
favourite  with  the  craft. 

Everybody  knows  the  vast  amount  of  good 
this  Society  does,  all  over  the  world,  and  especi- 
ally in  England,  with  their  Boys'  and  Girls' 
Schools  and  Home  for  aged  men  and  women. 
The  Masonic  Boys'  School  is  in  Bushey  Park, 
and  the  Girls'  School  at  S.  John's  Hill,  Wands- 
worth  ;  both  schools  educate  many  hundreds  of 
children.  I  remember,  on  one  occasion,  when 
I  had  arranged  a  concert  for  the  Countess  of 
Warwick  (who  had  been  one  of  my  pupils  before 


KING    EDWARD'S    JOKE  277 

and  after  her  marriage)  at  Warwick  Castle,  the 
late  King  Edward,  then  Prince  of  Wales,  was  a 
guest  there.  It  was  soon  after  the  event  of  the 
centenary  of  the  Royal  Masonic  Boys'  School 
took  place  at  the  Albert  Hall,  followed  by  a 
grand  banquet  at  which  the  Prince  had  presided 
and  the  enormous  sum  of  £141,203  was  sub- 
scribed. I  took  the  liberty  of  congratulating 
H.R.H.  on  the  success  which  had  been  achieved 
under  his  presidency,  and  he  seemed  much 
pleased  by  my  remarks,  and  took  them  very 
graciously. 

I  had  engaged  Miss  Clara  Butt  for  the  concert 
at  Warwick  Castle,  and  when  it  was  over  the 
Prince  of  Wales  called  me  and  said,  "  Mr. 
Ganz,  Miss  Clara  Butt  is  ready  to  take  you  under 
her  mantle  when  you  go  away !  "  Everybody 
laughed  at  this,  Madame  Butt  being  immensely 
tall  and  I  rather  a  small  man ;  so  I  walked  up 
to  her,  but  she  did  not  take  me  under  her  mantle. 
We  drove  back  to  Leamington  to  the  hotel,  as 
the  castle  was  full  of  guests  and  there  was  no 
room  for  the  artists. 

I  have  stayed  several  times  at  Warwick 
Castle,  and  arranged  musical  parties  there  for 
Lady  Warwick.  It  is,  as  everybody  knows,  a 
magnificent  old  place,  full  of  art-treasures,  well- 
known  to  connoisseurs  in  this  country,  and  often 
exhibited  at  the  Winter  Galleries  in  London. 

My  wife  and  I  received  invitations  to  the 
Royal  Garden  Party,  at  Windsor  Castle,  in 


278    RECOLLECTIONS  OF  KING  EDWARD,  ETC. 

1908.  Thousands  of  well-known  people  were 
there,  and  it  was  most  enjoyable.  At  about 
five  o'clock  King  Edward  and  Queen  Alexandra, 
and  other  members  of  the  Royal  Family,  with 
their  special  guests,  walked  down  from  the 
castle  terrace  in  a  procession  to  the  tents,  where 
they  partook  of  tea,  next  to  the  royal  tent  being 
one  in  which  were  the  Indian  Rajahs  and  foreign 
Princes. 

Later  on  the  Queen  walked  in  the  garden, 
near  to  where  I  was  standing,  and  when  she 
saw  me  she  stopped  and  shook  hands  with  me 
and  said  how  sorry  she  was  that  she  could  not 
come  to  my  Jubilee  Concert  (which  had  taken 
place  the  previous  May),  but  she  had  heard  how 
well  it  had  gone  off.  Then  the  King  saw  me 
and  beckoned  me  to  him  and  said,  in  German, 
that  he  was  very  glad  to  hear  that  my  concert 
had  been  such  a  great  success  and  congratulated 
me  on  the  event. 

The  following  year  I  met  His  Majesty  again, 
at  Stafford  House,  when,  in  passing  me,  he 
graciously  shook  hands  with  me  and  said,  "  Wie 
geht  es  Ihnen?"  (How  do  you  do?)  That,  alas ! 
was  the  last  time  I  saw  the  King  to  speak  to ; 
he  looked  the  picture  of  health,  and  no  one 
could  have  imagined  that  he  would  die  the 
following  year,  to  the  great  grief  of  the  whole 
nation,  by  whom  he  was  universally  beloved. 
The  occasion  on  which  I  met  him  at  Stafford 
House  was  when  the  Duchess  of  Sutherland, 


AUGUSTUS    HARRIS  279 

now  Duchess  Millicent,  held  her  annual  ex- 
hibition of  Scotch  homespuns.  That  afternoon 
the  King  and  Queen  had  a  children's  party  at 
Buckingham  Palace  to  celebrate  the  birthday  of 
one  of  the  young  Princesses ;  but  King  Edward 
would  not  disappoint  the  Duchess,  and  with 
characteristic  kindness  of  heart  came  to  her 
garden  party  before  his  own. 

Before  Sir  Augustus  (then  Mr.)  Harris  became 
manager  of  the  Covent  Garden  Theatre,  he 
started  Italian  Opera  at  Drury  Lane.  That  was 
in  1886,  and  I  remember  one  evening  on  which 
a  grand  opera  (I  think  it  was  Faust)  was  given, 
at  which  I  was  present,  when  Ella  Russell,  Jean 
and  Edouard  de  Reszke,  and  other  good  artists 
sang. 

Harris  was  sitting  in  the  stalls  immediately 
in  front  of  me,  and,  turning  round,  said  to  me 
in  a  despondent  way  :  "  Ganz,  look  at  this  empty 
house  1  " 

With  such  good  singers  he  felt  quite  dis- 
couraged, but  he  had  his  reward  later  on. 
After  Signor  Lago,  who  was  then  the  director  of 
Covent  Garden  Opera,  had  given  up  its  manage- 
ment, Harris  stepped  in  and  became  the  director 
of  the  Royal  Italian  Opera,  which  title  he 
changed  and  called  it  the  Royal  Opera.  Then 
Jean  de  Reszke  became  one  of  the  greatest 
favourites  of  the  season,  creating  a  sensation  as 
Faust,  Romeo,  and  Siegfried,  and  he  and  his 
brother  Edouarcl  drew  splendid  hpuses,  Harris 


280    RECOLLECTIONS  OF  KING  EDWARD,  ETC. 

was  the  first  to  break  with  old  traditions  and 
give  operas  in  the  languages  in  which  they  were 
written. 

It  was  many  years,  however,  before  the  fashion 
of  giving  all  operas  at  Covent  Garden  in  the 
Italian  language  was  finally  abandoned.  The 
Meister singers  in  the  nineties  was  usually  played 
in  Italian  (certainly  with  great  advantage  from 
the  vocal  point  of  view,  with  such  artists  as  the 
two  de  Reszkes  and  Lassalle).  There  was  a 
transitional  stage  when  the  leading  parts  in 
German  Opera  were  sung  in  German,  while  the 
chorus  still  relied  upon  their  native  Italian.  In 
the  first  act  of  Lohengrin  one  heard  cries  of 
"  Der  Schwann!"  intermingled  with  "II  Cygno !  " 

Sir  Augustus  Harris  engaged  the  best  artists, 
such  as  Melba,  Calve,  and  Emma  Eames,  and  I 
ought  not  to  omit  to  mention  that  he  persuaded 
Madame  Patti,  after  her  retirement  from  the 
operatic  stage,  to  sing  in  several  of  her  favourite 
operas  the  roles  which  she  sang  with  so  much 
charm.  They  were  La  Traviata,  and  Rosina  in 
the  Barbiere  di  Seviglia,  and  Zerlina  in  Don 
Giovanni,  all  of  which  were  exquisitely  sung  by 
this  great  singer,  and  created  the  same  furore 
as  they  did  in  former  years. 

Another  prima  donna  followed  Patti  in  sing- 
ing La  Traviata,  Madame  Sembrich,  who  had 
come  fresh  from  her  American  triumphs  ;  but  she 
could  not  eclipse  Madame  Patti,  notwithstand- 
ing her  fine  singing. 


I   ENGAGE   PAULINE    JORAN  281 

Harris  produced  Pagliacci  and  many  other 
favourite  operas.  He  did  his  best  to  give  the 
best  performances,  and  he  succeeded.  He  was 
also  a  genius  in  theatrical  matters,  and  carried 
on  the  pantomime  and  Drury  Lane  dramas  in 
a  sumptuous  manner,  in  which  he  has  been 
worthily  succeeded  by  Mr.  Arthur  Collins.  He 
also  originated  the  annual  receptions  on  the 
stage  on  Twelfth  Night,  when  the  Baddeley  Cake 
is  cut. 

I  was  on  the  stage  one  morning  during  a  re- 
hearsal when  Harris  lost  his  temper,  and,  turn- 
ing to  me,  said  in  great  wrath,  "  These  prima 
donnas  drive  me  absolutely  mad  ;  but  you'll  see, 
I  shall  be  a  tyrant."  Of  course  he  was  nothing 
of  the  sort,  being  a  most  kind,  good-natured 
man ;  but  he  had  a  quick  temper. 

Poor  "  Druriolanus  !  ''  He  died  comparatively 
young,  and  had  done  a  great  deal  for  music 
during  his  life.  His  widow  became  the  wife  of 
the  popular  actor,  Edward  Terry. 

Some  years  ago  I  became  a  member  of  the 
New  Meistersingers'  Club,  in  St.  James's  Street, 
and  arranged  the  musical  soirees,  for  which  I 
generally  engaged  a  good  number  of  artists, 
and  at  which  I  introduced  some  debutantes  who 
had  been  specially  recommended  to  me,  one  of 
these  being  Miss  Pauline  Joran.  She  played 
some  violin  solos  very  well,  and  a  few  days  later 
I  examined  her  voice  and  discovered  that  she 
possessed  a  lovely  soprano  ;  so  I  suggested  to  her 


282    RECOLLECTIONS  OF  KING  EDWARD,  ETC. 

that  she  should  give  up  her  violin-playing  and 
take  to  the  operatic  stage,  especially  as  she  was 
very  good-looking  and  had  a  beautiful  figure. 

She  followed  my  advice,  and,  through  my  re- 
commendation, was  engaged  by  the  Carl  Rosa 
Company  for  the  role  of  Beppo  in  L'Amico 
Fritz,  in  which  she  had  to  sing  and  play  the 
violin  at  the  same  time ;  so  her  violin-playing 
came  in  very  useful.  She  had  a  great  success, 
and,  later  on,  was  engaged  by  Sir  Augustus 
Harris  as  one  of  his  prima  donnas,  at  Covent 
Garden,  where  she  appeared  as  Margherita  in 
Faust,  as  Carmen,  and  in  other  operas.  She 
married  Baron  de  Bush,  and  consequently  gave 
up  her  operatic  career.  Unfortunately,  the 
Baron  was  killed  by  falling  out  of  a  railway 
carriage  while  going  to  Scotland,  and  thus  ended 
the  happy  married  life  of  poor  Pauline  de  Bush, 
who  has,  however,  a  sweet  little  daughter,  also 
named  Pauline,  left  to  comfort  her. 

Another  debutant  I  engaged  for  the  soirees 
of  the  Meistersingers'  Club  was  M.  Maurice 
Farkoa.  He  sang  French  songs  which  pleased 
the  audience  immensely.  Later  on  he  went  on 
the  stage,  and  sang  humorous  songs,  which  he 
does  to  perfection,  both  in  French  and  English, 
and  he  has  become  a  great  favourite  in  society 
and  at  the  theatre. 

At  the  opening  of  the  Meistersingers  I  gave 
an  orchestral  Wagner  Concert,  and  engaged  a 
good  band.  We  performed  the  Meistersinger 


SIR    FREDERICK    BRIDGE  283 

overture  and  other  extracts  from  Wagner's 
works.  Unfortunately,  the  club  did  not  pay 
expenses,  and  its  proprietor  and  manager,  Colonel 
Wortham,  was  obliged  to  close  its  doors.  This 
was  a  great  pity,  because  it  was  a  pleasant 
rendezvous  for  artists  and  their  friends,  especi- 
ally on  Sunday  evenings,  when  they  could  gather 
at  the  Club  and  listen  to  the  concerts.  The 
building  is  now  called  the  Royal  Society's  Club. 

Speaking  of  clubs,  I  was  also  a  member  of  the 
Arts  Club  in  Hanover  Square  for  many  years, 
Henry  Leslie  having  proposed  me ;  but  I  found 
it  dreadfully  dull,  as  hardly  any  musical  people 
belonged  to  it  except  Signer  Randegger  and  Mr. 
Sutherland  Edwards,  the  litterateur  and  musical 
critic,  and  Mr.  Stanley  Lucas ;  so  eventually  I 
left  it. 

A  much-esteemed  friend  of  mine  is  Sir 
Frederick  Bridge,  who  now  conducts  the  Oratorio 
Concerts  of  the  Royal  Choral  Society  at  the 
Royal  Albert  Hall — "  Westminster  Bridge,"  as 
he  is  playfully  called  by  his  brother  musicians — 
the  worthy  successor  of  the  late  lamented  Sir 
Joseph  Barnby,  who,  unfortunately,  died  in  the 
prime  of  life,  and  at  the  height  of  his  musical 
career. 

In  the  Coronation  year  (1911)  Sir  Frederick, 
although  very  busy,  paid  me  a  lengthy  visit, 
telling  me  all  his  arrangements  about  the 
Coronation  music,  his  difficulties  with  some  of 
the  officials — which  he  happily  smoothed  over — 


284    RECOLLECTIONS  OF  KING  EDWARD,  ETC. 

and  the  proposed  programme,  in  which  he  gave 
some  of  the  best  English  composers  an  oppor- 
tunity of  being  performed.  He  also  told  me 
about  his  own  compositions,  and  how  he  had 
introduced  Luther's  hymn,  "Ein  feste  Burg  ist 
unser  Gott,"  into  one  of  his  anthems. 

He  said  he  would  send  me  an  invitation  to 
hear  the  rehearsal  at  St.  Margaret's  Church, 
which  he  did ;  but,  unfortunately,  I  could  not 
avail  myself  of  his  kindness,  as  I  was  not  well 
enough  to  go.  Bridge  had  invited  no  end  of 
artists  to  supplement  the  choir,  amongst  whom 
was  Edward  Lloyd,  who,  of  course,  had  retired 
from  public  life,  but  who  sang  a  small  solo.  He 
told  Bridge  that,  as  he  began  his  musical  career 
as  a  choir-boy  at  the  Abbey,  he  wanted  to  finish 
it  in  the  same  holy  building. 

Madame  Mathilde  Marchesi  was,  without  doubt, 
the  greatest  lady  teacher  of  singing  during  the 
last  century.  Her  pupils  who  have  become  fa- 
mous include  Melba,  Calve,  Nevada,  Gabrielle 
Krauss,  Marie  Duma,  Esther  Palliser,  Emma 
Eames,  Susanne  Adams,  Frances  Saville,  Sybil 
Sanderson,  and  Etelka  Gerster.  I  knew  her 
when  she  was  in  London  in  the  fifties,  and  her 
name  then  was  Fraulein  Mathilde  Graumann, 
and  I  often  accompanied  her  at  concerts  at 
which  she  was  singing.  She  had  a  mezzo- 
soprano  voice.  She  married  the  Marquis  Salva- 
tore  (Castrone),  who  sang  here  in  English  opera, 
and  he  was  the  first  to  sing  "  Mephistopheles  " 


THE    MARCHESIS  285 

in  Faust,  and  became  very  famous  in  operas,  as 
well  as  a  concert  singer.  They  settled  after- 
wards in  Paris,  where  Madame  Marchesi  followed 
her  profession  of  singing-teacher,  till  recently. 
Her  husband  died  in  1908. 

She  has  a  worthy  representative  in  her  daugh- 
ter, Madame  Blanche  Marchesi,  who  has  fol- 
lowed in  the  footsteps  of  her  distinguished 
mother,  and  has  become  one  of  the  most  popu- 
lar teachers  of  singing  in  London.  She  is  a 
most  versatile  artist,  and  speaks  ever  so  many 
languages.  Her  greatest  successes  have  been 
gained  in  the  dramatic  parts  of  Wagner's 
operas,  which  she  has  sung  in  England  and  on 
the  Continent,  causing  quite  a  sensation. 

Her  vocal  recitals  here  are  most  interesting, 
and  she  has  brought  to  light  old  forgotten  classi- 
cal songs.  She  excels  in  all  styles,  and  it  is  a 
great  pleasure  to  watch  the  changing  expression 
of  her  face  when  singing  songs  of  many  different 
characters.  She  married  a  Corsican  nobleman, 
the  Baron  Caccamisi,  who  is  a  great  lover  of  art, 
and  their  charming  house  at  Kilburn  contains 
a  wonderful  collection  of  souvenirs  of  all  the 
great  artists  of  bygone  and  present  days,  such 
as  composers,  singers,  instrumentalists,  and 
other  distinguished  personalities,  and  also  some 
splendid  engravings  of  famous  singers  in  their 
various  operatic  roles. 

Madame  Mathilde  Marchesi  has  now  left 
Paris  and  has  settled  here. 


286  MADAME    PUZZI 

I  must  not  forget  to  mention  Madame  Gia- 
cinta  Puzzi,  generally  known  by  her  Italian 
friends  as  "  Mamma  Puzzi."  She  was  an  emi- 
nent teacher  of  the  old  Italian  operatic  school 
of  singing,  and  her  house  was  the  rendezvous, 
and  second  home,  of  all  the  Italian  operatic 
stars  over  here.  She  was  always  ready  to  give 
them  good  advice  in  their  difficulties  with  their 
managers,  and  generally  smoothed  things  over 
by  her  tact  and  savoir-faire. 

On  Sunday  afternoon  the  drawing-room  was 
full  of  musical  celebrities,  and  it  was  also  very 
pleasant  to  meet  all  the  new  operatic  arrivals 
at  her  house.  For  many  years  she  and  her 
husband,  Signor  Giacomo  Puzzi,  made  the 
engagements  for  Benjamin  Lumley,  the  director 
of  Her  Majesty's  Theatre,  among  these  being 
Mile  Piccolomini  and  Signor  Giuglini.  Their 
three  daughters,  Emilia  (Bini),  Fanny,  and 
Giulia,  helped  their  mother  to  keep  open  house 
after  their  father's  death,  and  to  entertain  the 
numberless  visitors.  When  I  felt  out  of  sorts 
I  used  to  go  there,  and  very  soon  regained  my 
equilibrium  and  felt  happy  and  contented  once 
more  in  their  congenial  society. 

"  Mamma  Puzzi "  was  an  extraordinary  woman, 
full  of  high  spirits  and  cheerfulness.  Since  her 
death  there  has  been  no  one  in  the  musical 
world  who  can  quite  fill  her  place.  She  often 
spoke  of  the  old  times  when  she  heard  such 
great  stars  as  Pasta,  Persiani,  Rubini,  Tarn- 


HASTY    NEWS  287 

burini,  and  Malibran,  and  to  me  it  was  always 
most  interesting  to  hear  her  memories  of  these 
giants  of  bygone  days. 

One  is  perhaps  sometimes  rather  heedless  in 
expressing  an  interest  in  a  forthcoming  appear- 
ance of  an  artist  at  a  concert  in  the  provinces.  I 
remember  one  singer  who  showed  her  gratitude 
by  sending  me  a  telegram  from  Manchester 
after  the  concert,  which  was  delivered  at  my 
house  long  after  midnight,  and  contained  this 
interesting  information  :  "  Grosse  succes.  Halle* 
entziickt "  (Great  success.  Halle  delighted). 

The  late  Dr.  Francis  Hueffer,  critic  of  The 
Times,  told  me  that,  on  one  occasion,  he  was 
knocked  up  by  a  special  messenger  at  his  house 
in  Brook  Green  at  two  o'clock  in  the  morning. 
After  paying  a  special  fee  for  the  telegram,  which 
had  been  brought  from  the  General  Post  Office, 
he  opened  it  to  find  :  "  First  act  of  the  opera  just 
over  ;  had  immense  success.  Will  telegraph  to 
you  again  at  the  end  of  the  opera."  He  hastened 
to  inform  the  messenger  that  he  needn't  bring 
him  any  more  telegrams  that  night,  as  he  would 
not  take  them  in. 

Singers,  conductors,  and  accompanists  need 
plenty  of  sang-froid  when  they  are  on  the  plat- 
form. I  remember  once,  when  I  was  at  Man- 
chester on  the  occasion  of  the  opening  of  the 
New  Victoria  Music-hall,  an  incident  happened 
which  illustrates  this.  Madame  Parepa,  one  of 
the  artists,  was  singing  'T  On  Mighty  Pens  "  from 
20 


288 

the  Creation,  when,  all  of  a  sudden,  there  was 
a  loud  crack  like  the  firing  of  a  pistol,  and  some- 
one shouted  out  "  Fire  !  "  Up  jumped  the  large 
audience,  and  there  was  a  sudden  stampede,  the 
occupants  of  the  pit  and  stalls  trying  to  reach 
the  stage  over  the  orchestra.  I  got  up  from  the 
piano,  where  I  was  accompanying,  and  rushed 
to  Madame  Parepa,  holding  her  arm  so  that  she 
could  not  move,  and  waved  my  other  hand  to 
the  audience  to  keep  them  back.  Seeing  us  both 
still  on  the  stage,  they  hesitated  and  remained 
quiet,  and  so  a  panic  was  avoided ;  but  had  we 
both  left  the  platform  many  would  have  been 
crushed  in  their  frantic  endeavours  to  gain  an  out- 
let from  the  hall.  There  was  no  fire  ;  what  had 
really  happened  was  only  the  cracking  of  a  long 
wooden  bench  on  which  some  people  were  stand- 
ing, and  which  gave  way.  After  that  excitement 
the  concert  went  calmly  on,  and  we  congratulated 
ourselves  that  no  misfortune  had  happened. 

Accompanists  must,  of  course,  be  ready  to 
transpose  music  and  read  anything  at  sight,  and 
I  have  found  my  knowledge  of  foreign  lan- 
guages is  also  most  valuable  in  order  to  be  able 
to  follow  singers  when  they  lose  their  places. 
Accompanists  should  remember  that  they  will 
probably  be  assumed  to  be  at  fault  if  anything 
goes  wrong.  I  remember,  once,  when  a  well- 
known  violinist  skipped  a  whole  page  in  a 
Handel  sonata  ;  I  at  once  picked  him  up,  and 
he  wasn't  even  aware  of  what  had  happened. 


CHAPTER   XVI 

CHARITY   CONCERTS   AND    DINNERS 

Royal  concert  for  the  restoration  of  Kew  Church — H.R.H.  Prin- 
cess Mary,  Duchess  of  Teck — An  array  of  stars — Concert  at 
the  German  Embassy — The  Crown  Prince  Frederick  William's 
thoughtfulness — Lady  Lansdowne's  concert — I  go  to  Paris 
to  get  M.  Alvarez — A  "  kidnapped  "  singer — Charity 
dinners — The  German  Hospital  dinner — Royal  General 
Theatrical  Fund — Dinners — Middlesex  Hospital — The  Throat 
Hospital — The  Newspaper  Press  Fund — My  foreign  orders — 
Mr.  Bernal  Osborne,  M.P. — False  hopes — Some  curious 
mistakes. 

THIS  is  a  great  country  for  charity  in  all  its 
phases ;  there  is  no  other  country  in  the  world 
where  so  much  money  is  subscribed  for  good 
causes,  and  in  my  long  career  I  have  assisted 
at  a  great  many  charity  concerts.  My  first  ex- 
perience of  a  London  charity  concert  was  at 
Drury  Lane  Theatre  on  March  17th,  1853,  St. 
Patrick's  Day,  when  an  entertainment  was 
given  in  aid  of  the  London  District  Letter 
Carriers'  Pension  and  Widows'  and  Orphans' 
Annuity  Society. 

I  give  this  interesting  play-bill  of  a  charitable 
entertainment  in  which  I  took  part  in  the  year 
1853  which  I  must  value.  It  was,  as  I  said,  in 
aid  of  the  funds  of  the  London  District  Letter 

289 


290     CHARITY  CONCERTS  AND  DINNERS 

Carriers'   Pension   and    Widows'    and   Orphans' 
Annuity  Society. 

The  programme  was  a  very  long  one.  First 
came  Tobin's  comedy  The  Honeymoon,  played 
by  Her  Majesty's  servants,  including  Mr.  Daven- 
port and  Miss  Fanny  Vining.  This  was  fol- 
lowed by  a  grand  concert  in  which  Miss  Poole 
and  Miss  Messent  sang  English  songs,  and  Signor 
and  Madame  Lablache  operatic  excerpts.  I 
was  announced,  in  the  quaint  phrase  of  the  day, 
"  Herr  W.  Ganz  will  preside  at  Kirkman's  Grand 
Piano  Forte."  Then  came  the  clou  of  the  enter- 
tainment : 

MR.  RICHARD  SANDS' 
GREAT  ANTIPODAL  EXPERIMENT, 

As  Demonstrated  by  him  at  the  New  York  Amphitheatre. 

WALKING    ACROSS 
THE    CEILING 

WITH    HIS    FEET    UP 

and 

HEAD    DOWNWARDS. 

The  Entertainment  concluded  with  an  Oriental 
Spectacle,  entitled,  The 

TURKISH     LOVERS 

The  characters  in  which  were  Abdallah,  Selim, 
Scamp,  Captain  Tandem,  Loo-loo,  Shireen,  and 
Bustle.  In  the  course  of  the  Spectacle,  a 


H.R.H.    THE    DUCHESS    OF   TECK        291 

GRAND   BALLET 

PAS  NEAPOLITAIN  by  Misses  SHARP  and  SMITH. 
PAS  DE  FASCINATION  by  Miss  ADA  MONTGOMERY. 
GRAND  PAS  DE  SCHAL 

By  Mademoiselle  JULIE  and  the  whole  of  the 
Corps  de  Ballet. 

All  this  was  to  be  seen  at 

W  REDUCED    PRICES! 

Stalls,  4s.     Dress  Boxes,  Ss.     Pit,  2s.     Gallery,  Is. 

Upper  Gallery,  Qd. 

Second  Price — Boxes,  Is.  Qd.  Pit,  Is.   Lower  Gallery,  Qd. 
Private  Boxes,  £l  Is.  and  £2  2s. 

No  Second  Price  to  Stalls  or  Upper  Gallery. 

VIVAT    REGINA 

The  "  Great  Antipodal  Experiment  "  was,  I 
rather  think,  the  chief  attraction  1 

In  1883  I  was  asked  by  H.R.H.  the  late 
Duchess  of  Teck  to  help  her  in  getting  up  a 
concert  for  the  restoration  of  Kew  Parish 
Church,  and  it  took  place  at  St.  James's  Hall 
on  May  31st. 

The  Duchess  herself  wrote  to  most  of  the 
artists  and  lady  patronesses,  and  worked  day 
and  night  for  the  concert.  She  frequently  came 
to  my  house  in  Harley  Street  to  attend  the 
committee  meetings,  and  my  wife  always  pro- 
vided tea  for  her.  She  greatly  enjoyed  the  tea, 
.especially  the  brown  bread  and  butter,  which 


292     CHARITY  CONCERTS  AND  DINNERS 

she  told  me  she  liked  immensely,  and  she  took  a 
great  fancy  to  one  of  my  arm-chairs,  a  low,  com- 
fortable one,  and  always  sat  in  it  during  the 
meetings,  and  was  delightfully  unceremonious. 

I  often  visited  her  at  Kensington  Palace,  where 
she  was  then  living,  and  she  complained  to  me 
of  the  way  in  which  the  Government  made  her 
pay  for  coals  and  other  necessities,  which  I  sup- 
pose had  in  former  years  been  freely  granted  to 
her.  We  also  had  a  committee  meeting  at 
Devonshire  House,  under  her  presidency,  at 
which  the  Duchess  of  Devonshire,  the  late 
Countess  of  Rosebery,  and  other  lady  patronesses 
were  present,  and  I  was  much  struck  by  the 
splendid,  business-like  way  in  which  these  ladies 
carried  out  every  detail.  On  that  occasion  the 
Duchess  read  aloud  a  letter  from  Queen  Victoria, 
in  which  the  Queen  addressed  her  as  "  Dearest 
Mary,"  and  said  she  would  take  some  tickets 
and  wished  the  concert  every  possible  success. 

This  wish  was  fulfilled,  for  it  realised  over 
£1,100,  and  the  agents  and  some  artists  told  me 
afterwards  that  it  spoilt  the  other  concerts  of 
the  season  by  taking  away  so  much  money  ! 
What  would  these  fault-finders  have  said  in 
these  days,  when  so  many  charity  concerts  are 
constantly  being  arranged,  and  large  sums 
collected  ? 

The  concert  was  under  the  patronage  of  the 
Queen,  the  Prince  and  Princess  of  Wales,  and 
other  members  of  the  Royal  Family,  most  of 


AT    THE    GERMAN    EMBASSY  293 

whom  were  present,  and  the  following  great 
artists  took  part  :  Madame  Albani,  Madame 
Trebelli,  Madame  Alwina  Valleria,  Madame 
Patey,  Madame  Christine  Nilsson,  Miss  Agnes 
Larkcom,  Mr.  Sims  Reeves,  Mr.  Edward  Lloyd, 
Signor  Foli,  Mr.  Bernard  Lane,  Mr.  Barrington 
Foote,  and  Mr.  Frederick  King.  The  instru- 
mentalists were  :  Madame  Norman  Neruda,  Mr. 
Charles  Halle,  and  Mr.  Franz  Neruda,  the 
brother  of  Madame  Neruda.  Signor  Tosti  ac- 
companied one  of  his  popular  songs,  and  apart 
from  this  great  array  of  artists  we  had  an 
additional  attraction  in  Sir  Henry  (then  Mr.) 
Irving,  so  no  wonder  the  hall  was  crowded,  and 
nearly  the  whole  of  the  hundred  and  four  patro- 
nesses were  present.  I  conducted  the  whole 
concert,  and  received  the  gracious  thanks  of  the 
Duchess,  who  was  delighted  with  the  result. 

Another  great  charity  concert  with  which  I 
was  associated  took  place  at  the  German  Em- 
bassy, in  Carlton  House  Terrace,  and  was 
arranged  by  me  for  the  late  Prince  (then  Count) 
Minister,  who  was  then  German  Ambassador. 
It  was  in  aid  of  the  families  of  the  officers  and 
sailors  of  the  German  battleship,  Der  grosse 
Kurfiirst,  which  foundered  off  Dover  with  all 
hands  on  board,  and  it  took  place  in  the  year 
1878. 

The  Crown  Prince  Frederick  William  and  the 
Crown  Princess  of  Prussia,  the  Princess  Royal  of 
England,  were  present,  and  when  the  Imperial 


294     CHARITY  CONCERTS   AND   DINNERS 

visitors  arrived  and  walked  through  the  corridor 
leading  to  the  concert-room  Count  Minister 
introduced  me  to  the  Crown  Prince,  who  said  in 
German,  "  Sie  sind  wohl  gar  ein  Berliner  Kind  ?  " 
(You  are,  no  doubt,  a  Berlin  child  ?)  and  I  replied 
that  I  was  not,  but  came  from  Mainz.  He  said 
he  knew  my  name  through  my  uncles,  Leopold 
and  Moritz  Ganz,  in  Berlin. 

Just  as  the  concert  was  about  to  begin  the 
Crown  Prince  noticed  that,  as  I  sat  at  the  piano, 
the  sun  was  shining  into  my  face  through  the 
window,  and  thoughtfully  pulled  down  the  blind, 
and,  later  on,  when  I  was  opening  the  top  of 
the  grand  piano  he  got  up  immediately  and 
came  and  helped  me.  The  following  artists 
assisted  on  this  occasion  :  Madame  Etelka 
Gerster,  Madame  Trebelli,  Herr  Henschel,  Wil- 
liam Shakespeare,  and  Charles  Halle. 

Another  memorable  charity  concert  took  place 
at  Covent  Garden  Theatre  on  February  22nd, 
1900,  in  aid  of  the  widows  and  families  of  the 
officers  who  fell  in  the  Boer  War.  The  concert 
was  organised  by  the  Marchioness  of  Lans- 
downe,  whose  husband  was  then  the  Secretary 
for  War.  Mr.  Alfred  de  Rothschild  took  an 
active  part  in  the  arrangements,  and  asked 
Madame  Patti  to  give  her  services,  which  she 
at  once  did.  He  consulted  with  me  about 
everything,  and,  as  we  wanted  a  good  operatic 
tenor,  and  there  was  none  available,  he  suggested 
that  I  should  go  to  Paris  and  see  if  I  could  obtain 


A    KIDNAPPED    TENOR  295 

the  help  of  M.  Alvarez.  I  accordingly  went  to 
Paris  the  following  morning,  and  in  the  evening 
went  to  the  opera,  where  Faust  was  being  per- 
formed, and  was  shown  into  the  director's  box, 
where  I  met  M.  Gailhard  and  M.  Capoul,  whom 
I  had  known  from  meeting  them  in  London. 
M.  Jean  de  Reszke,  whom  I  knew  well,  was  also 
in  the  box.  During  the  interval  I  spoke  about 
Alvarez,  and  M.  Gailhard  said  he  had  no  objec- 
tion to  his  singing,  and  I  had  better  telegraph 
him  to  New  York,  where  he  was  then  singing. 

I  accordingly  sent  Alvarez  a  long  wire  asking 
him  to  appear  in  a  scene  from  Romeo  et  Juliette 
with  Madame  Patti,  and  asked  his  terms.  The 
same  evening  I  received  a  wire  from  him  in 
which  he  said  he  would  be  most  happy  to  sing 
without  any  fee,  as  the  English  public  had 
always  been  very  kind  to  him. 

Next  day  I  showed  the  wire  to  M.  Gailhard, 
who,  however,  made  some  objection  to  Alvarez 
singing  in  London,  as  the  Parisian  public  wanted 
him  first  when  he  returned  from  America.  I 
wrote  to  Mr.  Alfred  de  Rothschild  telling  him 
the  difficulty,  and  when  I  saw  him  in  London  on 
my  return  he  said  he  would  send  a  confidential 
clerk  to  "kidnap  "  Alvarez  and  bring  him  over  to 
London,  which  he  succeeded  in  accomplishing  ! 

I  had  engaged  a  very  good  orchestra,  which  I 
conducted.  The  scene  from  Romeo  et  Juliette 
with  the  "Alouette"  duet,  was  the  clou  of  the 
evening,  and  everything  went  off  well.  The  con- 


296     CHARITY  CONCERTS   AND   DINNERS 

cert  was  a  huge  success ;  all  the  tickets  were 
sold  and  the  boxes  fetched  as  much  as  a  hundred 
guineas,  and  the  stalls  ten  guineas.  The  sum- 
total  was  £11,000 :  such  a  large  amount  has  never 
been  collected  through  any  other  single  concert. 

When  it  was  over  supper  was  served  in  the 
foyer  of  the  opera.  A  large  round  table  was 
reserved  for  the  Prince  of  Wales,  at  which  he 
graciously  invited  M.  Alvarez  and  me  to  sit. 

Lady  Lansdowne  afterwards  presented  me 
with  a  gold  cigarette-case,  with  a  diamond  star 
in  the  corner,  inscribed  as  follows  : 

ROYAL  OPERA-HOUSE,   COVENT  GARDEN 


CONCERT 

Given  on  the  22nd  Feb.,  1900 

PBESENTED   TO 

WILHELM      GANZ 

WITH   THE   MOST  GRATEFUL  THANKS  OF  THE   MARCHIONESS 

OF   LANSDOWNE'S   COMMITTEE.    THE   OFFICERS'   WIVES   AND 

FAMILIES   FUND 

S.  A.  WAR 


General  Herbert  Eaton  told  me  afterwards 
that,  while  Madame  Patti  was  singing,  the  soldiers 
on  the  stage  cut  holes  in  the  drop-scene  in  order 
to  peep  through  and  see  her. 

The  National  Anthem  was  sung  by  Madame 
Patti  and  Mr.  Edward  Lloyd,  and  the  orchestra 
and  a  military  band  accompanied  the  chorus. 

Another  big  concert  which  I  arranged  was 
given  in  the  summer  of  1890  for  the  benefit  of 


HOSPITAL  DINNERS  297 

the  Society  for  the  Prevention  of  Cruelty  to 
Children ;  a  society  in  which  Princess  Mary, 
Duchess  of  Teck,  took  a  great  personal  interest. 
As  a  result  of  the  concert  a  sum  of  £876  5s.  3d. 
was  handed  over  to  the  Executive  Committee. 

I  also  arranged  a  great  entertainment  in 
July  1904  in  aid  of  the  Ophthalmic  Hospital 
of  the  Order  of  St.  John  at  Jerusalem,  at  His 
Majesty's  Theatre.  Among  the  artists  were 
Madame  Albani,  Ben  Davies,  Kubelik,  and 
Madame  Ada  Crossley. 

Then  there  are  the  charity  dinners,  at  which 
large  sums  of  money  are  collected.  I  have 
assisted  with  musical  entertainments  at  many 
of  them  ;  for  instance,  the  annual  dinners  in  aid 
of  the  German  Hospital  at  Dalston,  of  which 
the  late  Duke  of  Cambridge  was  President  for 
many  years,  and  presided  at  the  annual  dinners 
every  second  year. 

I  have  had  no  difficulty  in  getting  the  assist- 
ance of  first-rate  English  and  foreign  artists. 
At  these  dinners  I  always  had  books  of  the 
words,  with  full  programmes,  which  is  often  a 
troublesome  affair,  as  it  is  difficult  to  get  the 
titles  and  words  of  the  songs  beforehand  from 
the  artists.  I  have  arranged  the  music  at  these 
dinners  for  at  least  fifty  years,  twenty  years 
with  Sir  Julius  Benedict,  and  afterwards  alone, 
and  one  of  the  standing  toasts  given  by  the 
chairman  is  to  the  health  of  the  artists,  with 
best  thanks  for  their  kind  services  and  coupling 


298     CHARITY  CONCERTS  AND  DINNERS 

my  name,  to  which  I  have  always  had  to  make 
a  suitable  reply. 

Another  annual  dinner  is  that  in  aid  of  the 
Royal  General  Theatrical  Fund,  at  which  all  the 
well-known  actors,  such  as  Irving,  Toole,  Ban- 
croft, Hare,  and  Alexander  have  presided,  as 
well  as  politicians  and  other  friends  of  the 
theatrical  profession.  For  many  years  I  have 
arranged  the  music  at  these  dinners,  and  also  at 
those  of  the  Newspaper  Press  Fund  (of  which 
Lord  Glenesk  was  president  and  was  succeeded 
by  Lord  Burnham),  and  the  German  Society  of 
Benevolence. 

The  dinners  given  in  aid  of  the  Middlesex 
Hospital  I  often  attended,  and  gave  them  a 
good  musical  entertainment,  and  for  several 
years  I  helped  at  the  dinners  given  by  Sir  Morell 
Mackenzie  in  aid  of  the  Throat  Hospital  in 
Golden  Square,  which  he  built  and  equipped, 
where  we  generally  had  a  galaxy  of  singers.  I 
also  frequently  assisted  in  getting  up  the  musical 
soirees  of  the  Austro-Hungarian  Franz  Joseph 
Institute,  at  which  Count  Mensdorff  always 
presided. 

I  have  received  several  Orders  from  foreign 
sovereigns,  one  of  which  is  the  Order  of  the 
Crown  of  Prussia,  bestowed  upon  me  by  the 
Emperor  'Wilhelm  I,  on  December  12th,  1881, 
as  a  recompense  for  the  work  I  had  done  for  the 
German  Hospital  and  the  German  Society  of 
Benevolence  by  arranging  the  music  at  their 


MY  ORDERS  299 

dinners  for  so  many  years.     Count  Minister,  the 
German  Ambassador,  presented  it  to  me. 

Then  I  received  from  the  present  Emperor, 
Wilhelm  II,  the  Prussian  Order  of  the  Red 
Eagle,  Fourth  Class,  presented  to  me  by  Count 
John  Bernstorff,  who  represented  the  German 
Ambassador  after  the  death  of  Count  Hatzfeld. 

The  Austrian  Emperor,  Francis  Joseph,  hon- 
oured me  by  giving  me  the  Franz  Joseph  Order, 
presented  to  me  by  His  Excellency  Count  Mens- 
dorff,  the  present  Austro-Hungarian  Ambassa- 
dor, and  King  Oscar  of  Sweden  presented  me, 
through  his  Minister,  Count  Lowenhaupt,  with 
the  Order  of  Wasa,  First  Class. 

The  late  Duke  Ernest  of  Saxe-Coburg  gave 
me  the  Order  of  the  Ernestiner-Sachsischer 
Family  House  Order  of  Saxe-Coburg  and  Gotha 
of  the  high  rank  of  First  Class,  and  I  am  very 
proud  of  being  the  possessor  of  these  distinguished 
Orders. 

A  well-known  politician  I  used  to  meet  occa- 
sionally was  the  late  Mr.  Bernal  Osborne,  M.P., 
a  popular  wit  of  his  day.  I  remember  urging 
him  to  propose  a  vote  of  money  for  the  Royal 
Academy  of  Music  and  kindred  institutions,  but 
he  said  the  English  were  not  sufficiently  musical 
to  be  encouraged  by  Government  support.  We 
had  a  hot  argument,  as  I  held  quite  contrary 
views,  and  I  flatly  contradicted  him  and  gave 
him  my  reasons,  which  I  need  not  specify  here. 
Many  years  ago  I  had  the  same  argument  with 


300     CHARITY  CONCERTS  AND   DINNERS 

the  Right  Hon.  Robert  Lowe,  of  "  Lucifer 
Matches  "  fame,  who  was  then  Chancellor  of  the 
Exchequer.  In  both  cases  my  plea  came  to 
nothing. 

I  had  another  talk  with  Bernal  Osborne  at 
Mrs.  Ronalds's  on  musical  subjects,  and  he  still 
maintained,  as  he  always  did,  that  the  English 
are  not  a  musical  nation,  and  we  had  another 
argument  about  it.  As  a  case  in  point,  when 
Patti,  Titiens,  Nilsson,  Trebelli,  and  the  latest 
star,  Tetrazzini,  appeared  at  the  opera  here  for 
the  first  time,  they  were  always  at  once  appre- 
ciated, without  preliminary  puffs.  The  English 
orchestral  players  read  music  at  sight  better 
than  their  confreres  on  the  Continent,  and 
abroad,  when  a  new  opera  is  produced,  no  end 
of  rehearsals  are  needed  before  it  is  ready  for 
production  ;  while  here  only  a  few  orchestral  re- 
hearsals are  required  to  obtain  a  good  result. 
I  find  the  following  note  in  my  diary,  apropos 
of  the  chorus  at  Her  Majesty's  in  1851  : 

"  The  chorus  is  very  strong.  The  women, 
mostly  English,  read  excellently  at  sight,  and  the 
men  are  German,  Italian,  French  and  English, 
the  last  of  whom  could  be  reckoned  the  best 
musically." 

When  Faust  and  Carmen  were  first  produced  in 
Paris  they  were  a  failure,  and  Gounod  had  the 
greatest  difficulty  in  getting  a  publisher  to  buy 
his  Faust  for  the  English  copyright.  When  both 
these  operas  were  performed  here  under  Gye 


ENGLAND   IS   A  MUSICAL  NATION       801 

and  Mapleson  at  Covent  Garden  and  at  Her 
Majesty's  Theatre  they  were  an  instantaneous 
success.  So  who  can  say  the  English  are  not  a 
musical  nation  ? 

Mrs.  Ronalds's  musical  parties  on  Sunday 
afternoons  at  her  pretty  house  in  Cadogan 
Square  are  well  known,  and  she  is  a  true  friend 
to  musicians.  I  first  met  her  at  Witley  Court, 
Lord  Dudley's  house,  where  she  sang  most 
beautifully,  having  a  very  fine  soprano  voice. 
Sullivan  composed  and  dedicated  his  "  St.  Agnes 
Eve  "  to  her,  and  I  accompanied  her  in  it,  and 
in  all  the  rest  of  her  songs.  At  her  Sunday 
musical  parties  some  of  the  best  artists  from  the 
opera  are  frequently  heard,  and  she  also  gives 
the  chance  of  a  hearing  to  young  American 
artists  (she  being  herself  an  American)  and  other 
promising  singers. 

I  often  regret  the  musical  receptions  given  by 
Sir  Julius  Benedict  and  Sir  Charles  Halle,  where 
musical  people  had  an  opportunity  of  meeting 
one  another.  There  is  nothing  quite  like  them 
nowadays. 

I  have  before  referred  to  the  fact  that  the 
musical  schools  and  academies,  with  their  good 
and  inexpensive  teaching,  have  almost  done 
away  with  private  pupils.  This  brings  me  to 
the  change  in  the  style  of  vocal  music  taught  at 
the  present  day. 

Formerly,  artists  sang  mostly  Italian  cava- 
tinas  and  songs  from  Italian,  French,  and  Ger- 


302  FALSE    HOPES 

man  operas  ;  but  now  these  are  seldom  heard. 
One  very  seldom  hears  trios  and  quartettes  from 
Italian  or  other  operas,  or  concerted  music  at 
soirees  and  "At  Homes,"  with  the  exception  of 
the  ever-popular  quartette  from  Rigoktto. 

I  have  asked  concert  singers  who  have  come 
to  me  for  engagements  whether  they  knew  this 
or  that  duet  or  trio,  and  their  reply  is  generally 
in  the  negative. 

I  have  often  been  asked  to  hear  young  singers 
and  be  useful  to  them,  and,  in  examining  them, 
I  have  found  out  that  hardly  any  of  them  are 
capable  of  singing  scales  or  shakes. 

Not  long  ago  a  lady  came  to  me  to  hear  her 
voice.  When  she  entered  my  study  I  could  not 
help  noticing  her  appearance ;  she  was  short 
and  stout,  and  not  at  all  prepossessing  in  any 
way.  That  would  not  have  mattered  if  her 
voice  had  been  good,  or  she  had  sung  well.  I 
heard  her  sing  a  few  ballads,  which  she  sang 
wretchedly.  She  said  she  was  forty-two,  and 
that  she  wanted  to  enter  the  musical  profession. 
She  added  that  she  had  been  for  four  years 
under  a  master,  who  had  told  her  she  could 
easily  earn  four  pounds  a  day  by  concert  singing. 
I  at  once  disillusioned  her  and  told  her  she  had 
better  give  up  all  idea  of  singing  in  public ;  and 
then  she  departed,  very  despondently.  Poor 
woman !  it  was  a  nasty  task  to  have  to  disap- 
point her ;  but  it  would  have  been  far  more 
cruel  to  have  raised  her  hopes. 


SOME    CURIOUS    MISTAKES  303 

I  have  often  had  to  disappoint  young  artists 
by  telling  them  their  voices  were  not  what  they 
thought  them — contraltos  saying  they  were 
sopranos,  and  baritones  calling  themselves  tenors. 
Their  professors  had  humoured  them  by  falling 
in  with  their  ideas. 

This  reminds  me  that  a  young  lady  once 
came  to  me  bringing  me  the  usual  letter  of 
introduction  and  sang  the  air,  "  With  Verdure 
Clad,"  from  the  Creation.  Her  high  notes  were 
very  flat,  and  she  said  they  made  her  throat 
sore.  I  at  once  knew  the  cause,  and  asked  her 
to  sing  a  scale  very  slowly,  singing  downward 
and  finishing  at  the  low  G.  As  she  sang,  the 
lower  notes,  beginning  from  the  middle  register, 
were  perfect  notes  from  the  chest,  and  really 
beautiful.  I  then  told  her  she  wras  a  con- 
tralto, and  that  her  voice  was  of  true  con- 
tralto timbre — certainly  not  a  high  soprano,  to 
which  category  "  With  Verdure  Clad  "  belonged. 
I  advised  her  to  go  on  studying  as  a  contralto, 
and  she  accepted  my  advice  and  later  on  became 
a  well-known  artiste. 

It  has  so  often  happened,  too,  that  "  tenors  " 
who  came  to  me  could  not  reach  the  high  notes 
properly,  because,  being  really  high  baritones, 
they  forced  their  voices  and  sang  flat,  as  well  as 
getting  their  throats  constantly  out  of  order. 

Nowadays  English  artists  do  not  change 
their  names  as  they  did  formerly  by  Italianising 
them,  as,  for  instance,  Signer  Foli  did,  his  real 


304  TRICKS 

name  being  Foley.  Now  they  are  proud  of  their 
nationality.  Voice- training  is  taught  on  sounder 
lines,  and  although  there  is  not  much  evidence 
of  the  traditions  of  the  "  bel-canto "  school, 
yet  our  methods  tend  to  bring  out  any  charm 
there  is  in  the  pupil's  voice.  At  the  same  time, 
there  are  always  drawbacks.  It  is  unfair  to 
expect  professors  to  give  a  satisfactory  lesson  in 
twenty  minutes,  which  is  the  usual  length  of 
the  lessons  at  some  of  the  academies.  Again, 
vocal  students  are  led  away  by  such  tricks  as 
singing  on  a  particular  tone,  or  singing  a  scale 
with  interludes  of  counting  between  the  notes 
to  take  breath,  or  lying  down  flat  on  the  floor 
to  learn  breathing.  All  these  tricks  tend  to 
ruin  the  young  voice,  and  I  must  caution  young 
singers  against  having  their  upper  notes  forced. 
Besides,  they  ought  to  be  trained  from  the  be- 
ginning to  learn  the  ABC  of  the  art,  the 
scales  and  intervals.  Far  be  it  from  me  to 
suggest  that  the  tricks  I  have  mentioned  are 
learnt  at  the  academies ;  but  they  are  too  often 
taught  by  private  masters. 

I  remember  a  young  singer  who  had  a  beau- 
tiful production  and  method  of  singing,  telling 
me  that  when  he  first  came  over  from  abroad  he 
found  great  difficulty  in  getting  anything  to 
do,  until,  one  day,  he  called  upon  a  fashionable 
teacher  of  singing,  who  no  sooner  heard  him 
than  he  said,  "  Will  you  be  my  show  pupil  ? 
I  will  give  you  £3  a  week." 


CHAPTER   XVII 

MY   JUBILEE    CONCERTS,    ETC. 

My  Jubilee  Concert  in  1898 — Dinner  at  Lord  Blyth's — My 
Diamond  Jubilee  Concert — Lady  Bancroft's  speech — Signa- 
tures in  the  autograph  album — Recollections  of  Charles 
Kean — Other  great  English  actors. 

I  GAVE  a  Jubilee  Concert  to  celebrate  my  fifty 
years'  residence  in  England.  It  took  place  at 
the  Queen's  Hall,  June  7th,  1898,  and  was  a 
tremendous  success. 

When  first  the  idea  struck  me  that  I  might 
venture  to  give  such  a  concert  I  thought  I 
would  ask  my  dear  friend,  Madame  Adelina 
Patti,  to  assist  me,  and  I  therefore  called  on  her 
at  the  Hotel  Cecil  and  told  her  about  the  con- 
cert. She  at  once  consented  to  sing,  and  I  was 
overjoyed  at  her  generosity. 

The  Prince  and  Princess  of  Wales  and  the 
other  members  of  the  Royal  Family  gave  their 
patronage  to  the  concert,  and  a  representative 
honorary  committee  was  formed.  My  brother 
and  sister  artists  all  came  forward  to  show  their 
friendship  for  me. 

The  morning  of  the  concert  I  visited  Madame 
Patti  at  her  hotel  and  brought  her  a  silver  vase, 

305 


306          MY  JUBILEE   CONCERTS,  ETC. 

which  made  her  shed  tears  of  emotion,  and  to 
commemorate  the  occasion  she  gave  me  a  silver 
paper-knife,  and  her  two  faithful  attendants, 
Karo  and  Patro,  also  gave  me  silver  presents, 
which  I  greatly  appreciated. 

The  hall  was  crowded,  and  all  the  tickets  were 
sold.  There  were  so  many  wonderful  hats  worn 
by  the  ladies  present  that  the  hall  looked  like 
a  garden  of  roses.  The  concert  began  with  an 
organ  solo,  played  by  Mr.  Tonking,  and  Madame 
Patti  had  a  great  reception.  Being  in  mourning, 
she  wore  black,  with  beautiful  diamonds.  She 
first  sang  "  Bel  Raggio  "  from  S  emir  amide,  and 
her  second  song  was  my  "  Nightingale's  Trill,'* 
and  then,  as  an  encore,  "  Home,  Sweet  Home," 
followed  by  "  Comin'  thro'  the  Rye.'5  Mile 
Marie  Engle,  from  Covent  Garden,  sang  my 
song  "  Sing,  Sweet  Bird,"  and  had  to  repeat  it, 
and  also  the  duet  "  SulParia"  from  Le  Nozze  di 
Figaro,  with  my  daughter  Georgina,  which  was 
encored.  Miss  Clara  Butt  had  met  with  a  car- 
riage accident  a  short  time  before,  and  although 
not  quite  recovered  she  was  determined  to  sing 
for  me,  and  gave  my  song  "  Forget  me  not," 
which  she  had  to  repeat.  Unfortunately,  she 
was  so  overcome  by  the  exertion  that  she  fainted 
when  entering  the  artists'  room ;  but  so  far 
recovered  that  later  on  she  sang  "  Oh  that  we 
two  were  Maying,"  with  Mr.  Kennerley  Rumford. 

Miss  Ada  Crossley  sang  "  Caro  mio  ben  "  to 
perfection,  and  Madame  Blanche  Marchesi  sang 


CONCERT    IN    1898  307 

three  songs  in  her  own  incomparable  way. 
Madame  Alice  Gomez,  Madame  Giulia  Ravogli, 
Signor  Ancona,  Mr.  Edward  Lloyd,  Mr.  Ben 
Davies,  and  my  old  friend  Santley  also  sang, 
and  I  played  Mendelssohn's  concert  in  G  minor 
with  quintette  accompaniment  by  M.  Johannes 
Wolff,  Mr.  Lewis,  Mr.  Emil  Kreuz,  M.  Hollman, 
and  Mr.  Haydn  Waud.  Sir  Charles  Wyndham 
and  Miss  Mary  Moore,  Mr.  Cyril  Maude  and  Miss 
Winifred  Emery  recited,  and  my  son  Charles 
sang  the  serenade  from  Tschaikowsky's  Don  Juan. 
My  old  friend,  George  Grossmith,  gave  some  of 
his  musical  sketches,  and  at  the  end  of  the 
concert  I  had  to  make  a  speech,  in  which  I 
thanked  Madame  Patti  and  the  other  artists  for 
their  generous  help,  and  said  I  felt  deeply 
grateful  to  the  English  people,  who,  during  a 
period  of  fifty  years,  had  been  so  kind  to  me 
in  my  musical  undertakings.  After  this  little 
speech  I  played  two  pianoforte  pieces  of  my  own. 

I  don't  think  there  was  ever  a  concert  in  which 
so  many  world-renowned  and  celebrated  artists 
took  part,  and  I  must  not  forget  the  conductors 
and  accompanists,  Signor  Alberto  Randegger,  Mr. 
Wilhelm  Kuhe,  Mr.  Sewell,  and  Mr.  Bendall. 

Lord  Blyth  (then  Sir  James)  gave  two  dinner- 
parties at  his  house,  33,  Portland  Place,  in  my 
honour  on  that  and  the  following  evening,  at 
which  Madame  Patti,  all  the  artists,  and  a  most 
distinguished  company  were  present,  the  guests 
numbering  forty  at  each  dinner. 


808  MY  JUBILEE  CONCERTS,   ETC. 

When  I  had  resided  sixty  years  in  this  country 
I   celebrated  the   event  by   giving   a  Diamond 
Jubilee  Concert,  and  again  Madame  Patti  most 
generously  consented  to  sing.     I  also  obtained 
the   kind    services   of   Madame   Donalda,    Miss 
Evangeline    Florence,    Madame    Ada    Crossley, 
Mr.  Ben  Davies,  Mr.  Gregory  Hast,  Mr.  John 
McCormack,  M.  Edouard  de  Reszke  (who,   un- 
happily, was   ill  and  not  able  to  appear),  Mr. 
Hamilton  Earle,  Mischa  Elman,  Miss  Irene  Van- 
brugh,  Mr.  Lewis  Waller,  Miss  Margaret  Cooper, 
and    Mr.    George    Grossmith.     My    son    Charles 
also   sang   for   me.      The   conductors   were   Mr. 
Hamilton  Harty,  Mr.  Adolph  Mann,  and  myself. 
Her  Majesty  Queen  Alexandra  and  the  rest  of 
the  Royal  Family  gave  me  their  patronage,  and 
H.R.H.  Princess  Henry  of  Battenberg  was  present. 
Madame  Patti  sang  "  Voi  che  sapete  "  and  "Pur 
Dicesti,"  and  when  I  began  the  first  few  familiar 
bars  of  "  Home,  Sweet  Home,"  the  whole  audi- 
ence   rose    and    thundered    their    applause.     I 
played  the    first  movement   of  Beethoven's    C 
minor  Concerto  with   quintette  accompaniment 
and  at  the  end  of  the  concert  my  new  "  Adelina 
Valse,"  which  I  had  just  written  and  dedicated 
to  Madame  Patti. 

Between  Part  I  and  Part  II  Lady  Bancroft 
came  forward  with  Madame  Adelina  Patti,  all 
the  artists,  and  the  members  of  Executive 
Committee,  and  presented  me  with  an  album 
of  autographs. 


DIAMOND    JUBILEE    CONCERT  309 

LADY   BANCROFT'S   SPEECH   AT   MY 
JUBILEE   CONCERT 

She  began,  "  I  am  not  going  to  make  a 
speech,  but  will  read  you  a  letter." 

"  HONOURED  AND  MUCH-LOVED  FRIEND," 

Here  Lady  Bancroft  paused,  and,  looking  up 
at  the  grand  circle  where  my  wife  was  sitting, 
said,  "  Don't  be  jealous,  dear,"  and  then  con- 
tinued : 

"  I  am  here  to  perform  a  most  delightful 
duty.  I  have  to  congratulate  you  on  your 
Diamond  Jubilee,  and  to  present  to  you,  on 
behalf  of  the  committee,  a  beautiful  album, 
which  contains  the  autographs  of  distinguished 
sincere  admirers  and  affectionate  friends. 

"It  is  a  tribute  to  you,  not  only  as  an  artist 
who  has  lived  amongst  us  for  sixty  years  in 
this,  your  adopted  country,  but  as  a  man  who 
has  won  the  hearts  of  every  one  by  a  kind  and 
genial  nature. 

"  In  the  midst  of  your  own  hard  work  you 
have  never  been  unmindful  of  the  necessity  of 
others.  You  have  never  been  deaf  to  the  calls 
of  charity.  You  have  ever  been  ready  and 
anxious  to  lend  a  helping  hand — I  may  say, 
two  helping  hands — and  with  your  whole  heart 
you  have  contributed  your  talent  when  a  good 
cause  presented  itself. 

"  Your  gifted  and  sweet  old  friend  has  come 
from  her  retirement  to  give  you  a  tribute  of  her 
affection — I  mean,  of  course,  Madame  Patti,  our 
.well-beloved  and  never-to-be-forgotten  Adelina. 

"  You  have  been  her  companion  in  art  for  so 
many  years  that  to  see  one  without  the  other 
on  the  platform  would  have  made  one  wonder. 
The  nightingale  and  its  attendant  bird.  I  my- 


310  MY  JUBILEE   CONCERTS,   ETC. 

self  have  often  heard  you  speak  of  her  with 
adoration,  and  I  know  her  love  for  you  will 
endure  whilst  memory  holds  a  place. 

"  This  will  be  a  red-letter  day  in  your  re- 
membrance, and  this  book  will  be  to  you  a 
treasured  possession.  It  contains  the  autographs 
of  most  distinguished  personages,  celebrated  ar- 
tists, many  of  whom  are  here  to-day  to  do  you 
honour,  and  all  good  friends  and  well-wishers. 
It  will  be  a  joy  to  you  to  read  it  in  years  to 
come,  and  will  be  a  proud  inheritance  for  your 
family.  And  now  let  me  offer  you,  in  addition, 
my  love,  and  God  bless  you.  Auf  Wiedersehen. 
And,  in  the  words  of  Rip  Van  Winkle,  'Here's 
your  good  health,'  and  your  family,  and  may 
you  live  long  and  prosper. 

"  Believe  me  to  be 

"  Your  affectionate  old  friend, 

"  MARIE  EFFIE  BANCROFT." 

Naturally  I  felt  quite  overcome.  Madame 
Patti,  noticing  this,  came  forward  and  kissed  me 
on  the  cheek  and  placed  a  laurel  wreath  on  my 
head,  and  Lady  Bancroft  also  kissed  me.  I 
could  only  say  a  few  words  of  thanks  in  reply. 

The  audience  cheered  and  sang  "  He's  a  jolly 
good  fellow." 

The  album  was  signed  by  King  Edward  and 
Queen  Alexandra,  the  present  King  and  Queen, 
and  all  the  members  of  the  Royal  Family,  the 
Ambassadors,  the  Prime  Minister  (Mr.  Asquith), 
Mr.  Arthur  Balfour,  Lord  Lansdowne,  Lord 
Rosebery,  the  Speaker  (Mr.  Lowther),  Lord 
Londonderry,  Carrington,  Cadogan,  Derby, 
Selby,  Alverstone,  Cawdor,  Dunraven,  Mr.  Henry 


THE    AUTOGRAPH   ALBUM  311 

Chaplin,  Mr.  Lewis  Harcourt,  Mr.  George  Wynd- 
ham,  Mr.  Herbert  Gladstone,  Mr.  Alfred  Emmott, 
Field-Marshals  Lord  Roberts,  Lord  Grenfell,  Sir 
Evelyn  Wood,  and  Sir  John  French,  the  Duke 
of  Devonshire,  the  Duke  of  Sutherland,  Lords 
Londesborough,  Kintore,  Plymouth,  Lonsdale, 
Esher,  Howe,  Blyth,  Claud  Hamilton,  Arthur 
Hill,  Burnham,  Rothschild,  and  Mr.  Alfred  and 
Mr.  Leopold  de  Rothschild,  Lord  Strathcona,  Sir 
Ernest  Cassel,  Sir  Frederick  Milner,  Sir  Horace 
Rumbold,  Sir  Charles  Mathews,  Sir  George 
Faudel  Phillips,  Baron  F.  d'Erlanger,  Baron 
Schroeder,  Sir  Henry  Mackinnon,  Sir  Robert 
Baden-Powell,  Drs.  Saint-Saens,  Max  Bruch, 
Nikisch,  W.  H.  Cummings,  and  Hans  Richter, 
Sir  F.  Bridge,  Sir  Frederick  Cowen,  Prof. 
Leschetizky,  Sir  Douglas  Powell,  Sir  William 
Church,  Mr.  Justin  McCarthy,  Sir  F.  Burnand, 
Mr.  Anthony  Hope,  Sir  Luke  Fildes,  Sir  F. 
Carruthers  Gould,  Sir  Douglas  Straight,  Sir  W.  S. 
Gilbert,  Sir  Arthur  Pinero,  Sir  Charles  Wynd- 
ham,  Sir  John  Hare,  Sir  Squire  Bancroft,  Sir 
George  Alexander,  Sir  H.  Beerbohm  Tree,  and 
others  too  numerous  to  mention,  as  well  as  the 
artists  who  took  part  in  the  concerts. 

I  have  spoken  of  the  great  musical  geniuses  I 
have  met  since  1848.  I  ought  also  to  mention 
some  of  the  actors. 

I  had  the  good  fortune  to  be  engaged  in  the 
orchestra  at  the  Princess's  Theatre  in  Oxford 
Street  when  Charles  Kean  was  the  lessee  and 


812  CHARLES    KEAN 

manager.  I  say  good  fortune,  because  it  gave 
me  the  opportunity  of  seeing  Kean  act.  He 
was,  as  all  the  world  knows,  a  short,  high- 
shouldered  man,  and  he  spoke  a  little  through 
his  nose ;  but  his  acting  was  so  wonderful  that  it 
overshadowed  these  defects. 

His  wife,  Mrs.  Charles  Kean,  was,  on  the  con- 
trary, a  fine,  tall  woman,  with  a  glorious  and 
melodious  voice,  and  her  Lady  Macbeth  was,  of 
course,  historical. 

I  remember  a  performance  of  King  John  in 
which  Mr.  Terry  and  his  daughter  Kate  (sister 
of  Miss  Ellen  Terry)  took  part ;  she  played  the 
part  of  little  Prince  Arthur  most  pathetically. 
In  those  days  The  Corsican  Brothers,  by  Dion 
Boucicault,  had  made  a  great  sensation,  and  all 
London  rushed  to  see  it.  The  incidental  music 
was  composed  by  M.  Robert  Stoepel,  and  there 
was  one  air  in  it — the  "  Ghost  Melody  " — that 
had  a  great  effect  when  played  pianissimo  on 
the  strings.  Charles  Kean  played  the  double- 
role  of  the  brothers,  Mr.  Alfred  Wigan  the  Mar- 
quis de  Chateauneuve.  Wigan  was  a  fine  actor, 
and  in  the  Duel  Scene  he  was  splendid.  The 
handsome  Miss  Murray  was  also  in  the  cast. 

In  Kean's  company  was  also  Miss  Agnes 
Robertson,  who  acted  in  Boucicault's  plays  and 
became  his  wife.  She  was  the  original  Colleen 
Bawn  in  his  play  of  that  name.  Other  members 
were  the  beautiful  and  clever  Miss  Carlotta 
Leclercq,  Mr.  John  Ryder,  Mr.  Paul  Bedford,  Mr. 


VESTRIS    AND    MATHEWS  813 

Harley,  and  Dion  Boucicault.  The  incidental 
music  for  the  Shakespearean  dramas  was  com- 
posed by  John  Hatton  and  others. 

Kean  used  to  arrange  theatrical  performances 
for  Queen  Victoria  at  Windsor  ;  but  he  gave 
them  up  eventually.  I  believe  I  am  the  only 
person  outside  the  theatrical  world  who  remem- 
bers Kean's  splendid  season  of  Shakespeare  at 
the  Princess's.  He  was  followed  by  Sir  Henry 
Irving  and  Sir  Herbert  Tree,  whose  productions 
of  Shakespeare's  works  have  certainly  eclipsed 
all  that  have  gone  before  them. 

I  have  seen  on  the  stage,  about  1848,  the 
wonderful  Madame  Vestris  and  Mr.  Charles 
Mathews.  I  knew  Mathews  personally ;  he  was 
a  great  genius,  and,  curiously  enough,  acted  in 
French  both  here  and  in  Paris  without  being 
able  to  speak  that  language.  I  know  this  for  a 
fact.  In  some  of  his  own  pieces,  such  as  Chatter 
versus  Patter  he  spoke  at  an  extraordinary  rate. 

I  also  remember  Fechter,  who  had  a  fine  figure 
and  resonant  voice,  and  spoke  English  well, 
with  only  a  slight  French  accent.  I  also  saw 
Mr.  and  Mrs.  Keeley,  Mr.  Wright  as  Paul 
Pry,  Mr.  Sothern  as  Lord  Dundreary,  Mr.  Ben- 
jamin Webster,  father-in-law  of  Lord  Burnham, 
Madame  Celeste  in  the  famous  play  Green 
Bushes^  Mrs.  Robson  at  the  Olympic,  and  many 
others.  I  must  not  forget  to  mention  my  old 
and  personal  friends,  Sir  Squire  and  Lady  Ban- 
croft ;  at  the  time  of  which  I  am  writing  Lady 


314     OTHER  NOTABLE  PLAYERS 

Bancroft  was  Miss  Marie  Wilton,  and  brought 
out  all  the  well-known  and  popular  comedies 
written  by  Tom  Robertson,  such  as  Ours,  Caste, 
School,  and  many  others.  She  carried  them  on 
for  many  years  at  the  Prince  of  Wales's  Theatre, 
Tottenham  Court  Road,  with  her  husband,  Mr. 
Bancroft,  and  afterwards  they  took  the  Hay- 
market  Theatre,  where  they  remained  until  they 
retired.  Sir  Squire  has  made  a  great  feature 
of  his  Dickens  readings  for  charity,  which  have 
realised  an  immense  sum.  They  have  a  charm- 
ing house  at  Sandgate,  facing  the  sea,  where 
they  welcome  their  friends  on  Sunday  after- 
noons. 

I  recollect  Madame  Genevieve  Ward  (who 
was  famous  in  a  play  called  Forget  Me  Not), 
coming  out  as  a  dramatic  singer  in  Bellini's 
Puritani  in  1862.  She  continued  on  the  operatic 
stage  for  some  years  under  the  name  of  Madame 
Guerrabella.  She  last  acted,  I  believe,  in  Rudolf 
Besier's  Greek  play,  The  Virgin  Goddess,  and 
now  lives  in  retirement  at  St.  John's  Wood. 
Mr.  and  Mrs.  Kendal  I  have  often  seen  play, 
and  I  must  not  forget  my  dear  old  friend, 
Johnny  Toole.  In  his  own  time  none  could 
surpass  him,  and  he  had  a  heart  of  gold. 


CHAPTER    XVIII 

MODERN    ARTISTS   I   HAVE   KNOWN 

Jean  de  Reszke  comes  out  as  a  baritone — I  introduce  Madame 
Melba  to  the  English  public — Carl  Rosa  forgets  an  appoint- 
ment— Tetrazzini — Destinn — Calve — Nordica — Kirkby  Lunn 
— Ada  Crossley — Clara  Butt — Ruth  Vincent — Maggie  Teyte 
— Aino  Ackte — Huge  fees  paid  to  modern  singers — Modern 
violinists — Ysaye — His  "  quick  change  " — Kreisler — Elman 
— Modern  'cellists — Hollman  —  Casals  —  Gerardy  —  Modern 
pianists — Paderewski — Eugen  d' Albert — Godowsky — Busoni 
— Madame  Carreno — Her  Jubilee — Robert  Hichens  as 
musical  critic — Conductors,  past  and  present — Richter — His 
wonderful  memory — Thomas  Beecham — An  interesting  letter 
from  him — Nikisch — He  pays  me  a  visit — Henry  J.  Wood 
— Landon  Ronald — Sir  Edward  Elgar — Sir  Hubert  Parry — 
Sir  Charles  Villiers  Stanford — Norman  O'Neill — Dr.  Vaughan 
Williams — Walford  Davies  and  the  Temple  Church. 

IT  is  a  strange  fact  that  M.  Jean  de  Reszke 
first  came  out  in  London  as  a  baritone.  He 
sang,  under  my  direction  in  1874,  at  one  of  the 
New  Philharmonic  Concerts,  the  aria  "  Sei 
Vendicata,"  from  Dinorah,  and  his  first  appear- 
ance at  Covent  Garden  was  in  the  opera  Les 
Huguenots,  in  which  he  played  the  role  of 
the  Count  de  Nevers — a  baritone  part.  Signer 
Cotogni,  who  was  in  the  same  opera,  helped  him 
to  dress  and  make  up,  and  gave  him  some  good 
advice  about  the  part,  little  thinking  that  in 

315 


316  MELBA 

after-years  he  would  become  the  great  tenor  who 
would  captivate  all  his  hearers  not  only  by  his 
marvellous  voice,  but  by  his  clever  and  most 
intelligent  acting.  His  brother,  Edouard,  has 
also  been  a  great  favourite — hardly  any  one  else, 
except,  perhaps,  Pla^on,  could  sing  and  act  the 
part  of  Friar  Laurent  in  Romeo  et  Juliette  as 
well  as  he  could,  and  his  fine,  commanding  pre- 
sence and  magnificent  basso-profundo  made  him 
greatly  esteemed.  Both  brothers  have  long 
since  retired  from  the  operatic  stage.  M.  Jean 
de  Reszke  has  now  settled  in  Paris,  where  he 
has  become  famous  as  a  teacher  of  singing,  and 
many  young  aspirants  study  grand  opera  with 
him. 

I  pride  myself  on  being  the  first  to  introduce 
Madame  Melba  to  the  English  public.  She 
came  to  me  soon  after  her  arrival  from  Australia 
in  1886,  and  brought  me  a  letter  of  introduc- 
tion from  a  friend  in  Melbourne.  I  asked  her 
whether  she  had  brought  any  songs  for  me  to 
hear,  and  she  said  "  Yes."  So  she  sang  the 
grand  aria  "  Ah  !  fors'  e  lui  "  from  La  Traviata. 
I  was  delighted.  It  could  not  have  been  better 
sung ;  the  vocalisation  was  perfect,  and  she 
warbled  her  runs  and  shakes  without  any  effort. 
When  I  asked  her  to  sing  something  else,  she 
pleased  me  very  much  with  her  rendering  of 
my  song,  "  Sing,  Sweet  Bird,"  and  she  told  me 
she  had  sung  it  a  great  deal  in  Australia  and 
made  it  popular  there. 


316] 


MADAME   MELBA. 


MELBA  31T 

After  hearing  her,  and  being  satisfied  that  she 
would  be  very  successful  in  public,  I  said  that 
I  Would  like  her  to  sing  at  Prince's  Hall  in 
Piccadilly  (now  demolished  and  changed  to 
Prince's  Restaurant),  at  a  concert  given  by  a 
pupil  of  the  late  Chevalier  Emil  Bach.  I  con- 
ducted the  concert,  and  had  a  small  orchestra, 
and  Madame  Nellie  Armstrong  (that  was  her 
real  name  in  those  days,  as  she  adopted  the 
name  of  "  Melba  "  later  on  when  she  appeared 
in  opera  in  Brussels  and  at  Covent  Garden)  sang 
the  two  songs  which  I  had  heard  at  my  house, 
and  she  was  encored  in  both  of  them. 

A  few  days  afterwards  I  told  her  that  I  was 
arranging  the  music  at  the  dinner  of  the  Royal 
Theatrical  Fund  at  the  Freemason's  Hall,  when 
the  late  Sir  Augustus  Harris  (at  that  time  Mr. 
Augustus  Harris)  took  the  chair,  and  I  asked 
her  to  help  for  this  good  cause,  to  which  she 
consented.  One  of  her  songs  was  Gounod's 
"  Ave  Maria,"  with  Mademoiselle  Anna  Lang's 
violin  obbligato.  It  created  a  great  sensation, 
and  Augustus  Harris,  who  had  never  heard  this 
beautiful  song  before,  was  charmed  with  it.  At 
the  conclusion  of  the  entertainment  Mrs.  Arm- 
strong, with  the  rest  of  the  artists  who  had 
assisted,  remained  to  a  convivial  supper,  at 
which  I  presided. 

When  I  met  Mrs.  Nellie  Armstrong  again  I 
suggested  that  she  should  become  the  prima 
donna  of  the  Royal  Carl  Rosa  Opera  Company, 


318  MELBA 

and  she  replied  that  she  would  be  glad  to  accept 
an  engagement  for  that  English  opera  company. 
I  told  her  that  I  knew  Carl  Rosa  very  well,  and 
should  ask  him  to  come  to  my  house  to  hear 
her.  I  fixed  the  interview  for  the  following 
Tuesday  afternoon  at  three  o'clock  at  my  house, 
and  called  on  Mr.  Carl  Rosa.  He  said  he  would 
come,  and  wrote  the  appointment  in  pencil  on 
his  shirt-cuff.  Well,  on  the  appointed  Tues- 
day Mrs.  Armstrong  punctually  came  at  three 
o'clock,  and  waited  a  whole  hour  for  him  ;  but, 
unfortunately,  he  never  came.  He  told  me 
afterwards  that  he  had  forgotten  all  about  the 
appointment !  That  was  very  unfortunate  for 
him,  because  I  am  convinced  that,  if  Rosa  had 
heard  this  Australian  singer,  he  would  have 
engaged  her  then  and  there  for  a  number  of 
years  and  the  company  would  have  made  a 
fortune. 

I  asked  Mrs.  Armstrong  to  come  on  another 
day  to  meet  Rosa,  but  she  would  not  hear  of  it. 
She  then  told  me  that  she  was  going  to  study 
with  Madame  Mathilde  Marchesi,  and  was  going 
at  once  to  Paris  for  that  purpose  for  eight  or 
nine  months.  I  said  to  her  that  I  thought  it 
was  hardly  necessary  for  her  to  do  so,  as  her 
singing  was  then  already  so  perfect.  Shortly 
afterwards  she  wrote  me  the  following  letter : 

"  MY  DEAR  MB.  GANZ, 

"  I  am  so  sorry  I  was  unable  to  come  and 


MELBA  319 

see  you  before  I  left  London  ;  but  I  was  so  busy. 
I  had  no  time,  and  we  left  a  day  sooner  than  we 
intended.  Have  you  heard  of  any  possible 
engagements  ?  I  am  so  anxious  to  get  on,  I 
hope  you  will  put  in  a  good  word  for  me  when- 
ever you  can.  Were  there  any  notices  in  the 
papers  about  either  entertainments  ?  I  did  not 
see  any.  Do  you  think  I  could  get  an  engage- 
ment at  any  of  the  Patti  concerts  ?  I  would 
not  mind  singing  there,  for  then  I  should  have 
a  chance  of  singing  before  a  big  audience.  What 
beautiful  weather  we  are  having,  quite  a  treat 
after  all  the  rain. 

"  Give  my  love  to  Mrs.  and  Miss  Ganz. 

"  Hoping  you  are  all  well. 
"  Yours  sincerely, 

"  NELLIE  ARMSTRONG." 

She  went,  however,  and  made  her  first  appear- 
ance in  grand  opera  in  Brussels,  afterwards  in 
Paris,  and  then  at  Covent  Garden,  where  she 
appeared  for  the  first  time  in  1888,  as  Lucia, 
under  Sir  Augustus  Harris's  management.  I 
was  present  on  that  occasion.  Everybody  knows 
the  brilliant  career  which  she  has  had  ever  since 
in  this  country,  on  the  Continent,  in  America, 
and  Australia  and  New  Zealand. 

I  ought  here  to  mention  that  about  the  same 
time  she  called  upon  me  she  visited  also  Sir 
Arthur  Sullivan  and  Signor  Alberto  Randegger, 
and  sang  to  them  with  the  object  of  getting 
engagements  from  the  former  and  receiving 
lessons  from  the  latter.  Sir  Arthur  put  her  off 
by  saying  that  he  would  give  her  a  part  in  his 
22 


320  TETRAZZINI 

Mikado  in  a  year's  time,  and  the  latter  told  her 
that  he  had  no  time  to  give  her  lessons.  She 
has  mentioned  these  facts  in  a  book  of  her 
musical  career  in  which  she  states  that  "  the 
only  musician  who  gave  her  encouragement  was 
Mr.  Wilhelm  Ganz."  In  after-years,  when  she 
became  famous  here  and  met  these  two  musical 
gentlemen,  she  and  they  had  a  good  laugh  on 
these,  to  them,  unflattering  events. 

Curiously  enough,  when  Madame  Tetrazzini 
first  appeared  in  Lucia  di  Lammermoor,  the  tenor, 
Signer  Carpi,  who  took  the  part  of  Edgardo, 
asked  me,  a  few  days  before  the  performance, 
whether  I  would  come  and  hear  him  in  the 
opera.  I  told  him  I  had  heard  Lucia  so  often 
that  I  should  be  glad  if  he  would  excuse  me. 
He  had  not  mentioned  that  there  was  a  new 
prima  donna  making  her  first  appearance,  or  I 
should  have  gone. 

The  next  morning  the  papers  were  full  of 
Tetrazzini's  great  success.  There  had  been  no  pre- 
vious announcement  of  her  remarkable  powers, 
and  the  public  were  taken  by  surprise  and 
highly  delighted,  and  I  felt  sorry  I  had  not 
gone  to  hear  her,  even  for  a  short  while ;  but  I 
managed  to  do  so  later  on,  and  was  charmed 
with  her  singing.  The  house  had  been  sold  out 
the  nights  she  appeared,  and  I  had  the  greatest 
difficulty  in  even  getting  standing  room  to  hear 
her.  There  is  no  need  for  me  to  dwell  upon  the 
beautiful  quality  and  exceptional  compass  of 


TETRAZZINI  321 

her  voice  and  her  brilliant  powers  of  execution. 
In  the  great  Mad  Scene  she  brought  down  the 
house  with  thunders  of  applause.  The  revival 
of  interest  in  the  old  operas  of  Rossini,  Bellini, 
and  Donizetti  is  largely  due  to  Tetrazzini. 
These  florid  operas  exactly  suit  her  style,  and 
she  has  brought  them  again  into  vogue,  such  as 
La  Sonnambula,  II  Barbiere,  and  Lucia,  and  I 
will  also  include  Verdi's  Traviata,  though  it  is  not 
such  an  old  opera  as  those  I  have  mentioned. 


Of  course  it  requires  a  great  artiste  of  excep- 
tional powers  to  sing  these  old  operas.  I  have 
been  present  in  the  staUs  at  Covent  Garden  when 
Tetrazzini  was  singing  and  noticed  the  delight 
in  people's  faces  when  they  heard  all  the  old 
familiar  melodies,  notwithstanding  the  fact  that 
they  were  constantly  hearing  the  Wagner  operas, 
and  those  of  Puccini  and  Richard  Strauss,  and 
the  later  operas  of  Verdi,  such  as  A'ida,  Otello, 
and  Falstaff. 

To  conclude  my  impression  of  Madame  Tetraz- 
zini, I  should  like  to  add  how  wonderfully  she 


822  DESTINN 

finished  the  Cabaletta  in  Lucia,  commencing 
a  shake  on  B  flat  and  finishing  her  cadenza  on 
the  high  E  flat  in  Alt. 

Soon  after  this  I  made  the  acquaintance  of 
the  gifted  artiste  and  found  her  most  charming 
and  unassuming.  One  day  when  I  called  on  her 
she  asked  me  to  try  over  some  English  songs 
with  her,  which  she  has  since  sung  at  con- 
certs. When  I  gave  my  Diamond  Jubilee  Con- 
cert in  1908  she  insisted  on  buying  tickets  for 
it,  as  she  was  very  anxious  to  hear  Madame 
Patti,  whom  she  had  never  heard  sing.  She 
was,  of  course,  enchanted  with  the  great  Diva, 
and  spoke  most  enthusiastically  of  Patti' s 
singing,  and  was  full  of  veneration  for  her. 
When  we  gave  a  reception  in  honour  of  Madame 
Patti  we  specially  invited  Madame  Tetrazzini 
to  meet  her,  when  I  introduced  them  to  one  an- 
other, and  they  became  the  greatest  of  friends. 

The  splendid  impersonations  of  Mile  Emmy 
Destinn  in  La  Tosca,  Madama  Butterfly,  and 
Aida,  won  for  her  immediate  recognition  as  a 
dramatic  soprano  of  incomparable  powers  and 
the  highest  artistic  gifts.  In  such  roles  as  Tess 
in  Baron  Frederic  d'Erlanger's  fine  opera,  she 
has  the  voice  and  personality  that  transfigure 
the  part  and  move  her  hearers  to  tears.  She 
is  a  native  of  Prague,  and  before  she  came  to 
England  was  engaged  at  the  Royal  Opera  in 
Berlin.  Every  winter  she  appears  at  the  Metro- 
politan Opera-house  in  New  York.  Apropos 


DESTINN 


323 


of  her  assumption  of  the  part  of  Madama 
Butterfly,  when  it  was  first  performed  at  Covent 
Garden,  I  heard  a  Japanese  gentleman  remark 
that  it  was  the  only  truthful  presentment  of 
Japanese  life  on  the  stage  that  he  had  seen  since 
he  came  to  Europe. 

My    readers    who    have    in    years    past    had 
the  advantage  of  hearing  Signor  Graziani,   the 


greatest  foreign  baritone  of  his  time,  will  re- 
member his  luscious  voice  and  the  wonderful 
delivery  of  his  Italian  method.  He  has  now  a 
worthy  successor  in  Signor  Sammarco,  the  most 
admired  baritone  at  Covent  Garden.  I  shall 
never  forget  the  first  time  I  heard  Sammarco's 
splendid  singing  of  the  prologue  in  Leoncavallo's 
Pagliacci,  as  his  voice  reminded  me  so  much 
of  Graziani' s,  and  I  do  not  wonder  he  has 


824  CALVE 

become  such   a  great  favourite  in  England  and 
America. 

Madame  Calve's  vivid  presentment  of  the  char- 
acter of  Carmen  is  still  fresh  in  our  recollection. 
Although  she  is  a  dramatic  soprano,  her  voice  is 
particularly  sweet  in  the  upper  register  and  in 
florid  music  where  her  coloratura  and  her  lovely 
shake  show  off  to  perfection.  She  revived  the 
charming  Barcarolle  from  Offenbach's  Conies 
d'Hoffmann,  and  another  of  her  most  attractive 
songs  is  "  Les  Couplets  de  My  soli,"  by  Felicien 
David,  with  flute  obbligato. 

Madame  Nordica,  the  well-known  and  much 
admired  American  prima  donna,  has  often  sung 
her  Wagnerian  roles  at  Bayreuth   and   at   the 
Prinz  Regenten  Theater   at  Munich,   while  she 
is  also  a  very  fine  concert  singer.     To  my  mind 
her  greatest  part  is  that  of  Isolde  in  Wagner's 
Tristan.      I    have   already   spoken   of   Madame 
Emma   Eames    on    a  previous    page,    and   also 
of  Madame  Sembrich.     Both  these  artistes  have 
of  late  years  sung  principally  at  the  American 
Opera-houses,   where  they  are  great  favourites. 
Madame  Kirkby  Lunn,  the  great  English  con- 
tralto, first  came   out   as  Norah   in   Stanford's 
Shamus  O'Brien  in  1896,  then  joined  the  Carl 
Rosa  Opera  Company  at  Manchester,  and  then 
sang    with    great    success    at    Covent    Garden, 
where  she  created  the  part  of  Dalila   in  Saint- 
Saen's   opera.      How   can   we    ever   forget   her 
delivery    of    the    beautiful    aria    "  Mon    Cceur 


KIRKBY    LUNN  325 

s'ouvre  a  ta  voix,"  or  "  Printemps  qui  com- 
mence "  ?  She  is  also  great  as  Amneris  in  A'ida, 
and  as  a  concert  singer  she  is  simply  perfection. 
I  have  heard  her  sing  at  most  of  her  recitals 
and  her  voice  reminds  me  very  much  of  Alboni's. 
I  cannot  pay  her  a  greater  compliment  than 
this.  She  is  always  accompanied  by  that  ac- 
complished musician,  Mr.  Percy  Pitt,  whose 
song,  "  Love  is  a  Dream,"  she  sings  to  per- 
fection. 

Another  splendid  contralto  is  the  Australian 
singer,  Madame  Ada  Crossley.  I  was  not  sur- 
prised to  hear  that  on  a  recent  tour  in  her 
native  country  the  horses  were  taken  out  of 
her  carriage  and  it  was  dragged  by  young 
Australians  to  her  hotel.  She  is  a  fine  musician 
and  a  universal  favourite,  and  was  chosen  to 
sing  the  National  Anthem  when  King  George 
laid  the  foundation-stone  of  the  Australian 
Commonwealth  building  in  the  Strand  the  other 
day. 

England  may  certainly  be  proud  of  being  the 
native  country  of  Madame  Clara  Butt,  who  has 
made  a  great  name  for  herself  not  only  in  Great 
Britain,  Australia,  and  South  Africa,  but  also  in 
Germany,  where  she  has  sung  in  German  before 
the  Emperor  and  Empress.  She  excels  in  such 
songs  as  Liddle's  "  Abide  with  me,"  and  in 
Frances  Allitsen's  "  Song  of  Thanksgiving," 
and  Elgar's  "  Sea  Pictures,"  and  is  equally  at 
home  in  oratorio.  Her  commanding  presence — 


326  CLARA   BUTT 

she  is  over  six  feet  in  height — always  creates  an 
impression  wherever  she  sings. 

Madame  Butt  is  ably  assisted  by  her  husband, 
Mr.  Kennerley  Rumford,  in  her  various  tours 
and  over-sea  engagements.  He  is  the  possessor 
of  a  very  attractive  baritone  voice,  and  is  a 
thoroughly  good  artist.  It  is  a  pleasure  to  hear 
him  sing  duets  with  his  wife,  such  as  the  "  Night 
Hymn  at  Sea,"  which  they  sang  at  my  Jubilee 
Concert.  They  are  both  such  favourites  that 
whenever  they  announce  a  concert  they  are 
always  sure  of  a  full  house. 

I  should  like  to  mention  another  English 
singer,  Miss  Ruth  Vincent,  who  has  made  a 
good  reputation  for  herself.  One  of  her  first 
successes  was  the  part  of  Veronique,  in  Mes- 
sager's  charming  opera,  and  it  was  chiefly  owing 
to  her  singing  and  acting  that  it  had  such  a 
long  run.  Since  then  she  has  been  one  of 
Beecham's  prima  donnas  at  Covent  Garden,  sing- 
ing the  leading  roles  in  Hansel  und  Gretel  and 
Conies  d'Hoffmann.  She  has  an  extensive  com- 
pass, and  her  upper  notes  are  specially  good. 
As  prima  donna  in  The  Grand  Duchess  at  the 
Savoy  she  was  exceedingly  popular,  and  by  way 
of  contrast  she  has  sung  in  Handel's  Messiah 
with  great  success. 

A  young  and  rising  artiste  is  Miss  Maggie  Teyte, 
whose  debut  at  Covent  Garden  as  Marguerite 
in  Faust  at  once  brought  her  into  the  front  rank 
of  singers.  She  created  the  part  of  Melisande 


AINO    ACKTE  327 

in  Debussy's  Pelleas  et  Melisande,  and  has  been 
very  successful  at  the  Opera-Comique  in  Paris, 
singing  French  like  a  native. 

All  these  modern  singers  I  have  mentioned 
have  often  sung  at  my  annual  concerts,  and  I 
have  accompanied  them  all,  with  the  exception 
of  Miss  Maggie  Teyte,  who  sang  at  my  benefit 
concert  at  the  Royal  Albert  Hall  (of  which  I 
will  write  fully  later  on),  when  through  my 
accident  I  was  not  able  to  be  present,  as  did  also 
Madame  Amo  Ackte,  one  of  the  most  distin- 
guished singers  who  have  appeared  during  this 
century.  Her  success  as  Salome  in  Strauss's 
opera  is  known  to  everybody,  and  she  is  a  mag- 
nificent singer  and  actress  in  the  most  difficult 
roles.  She  was  born  in  Finland  and  made  her 
first  appearance  in  London  in  January  1907. 

Things  have  moved  very  rapidly  of  late  years. 
It  was  only  in  1904,  I  remember,  when  Massenet's 
opera  Herodiade  was  given  at  Covent  Garden 
for  Madame  Calve,  that  the  management  were 
compelled  by  the  Censor  to  change  the  title  of 
the  opera.  The  title  chosen  was  Salome,  as 
likely  to  give  less  offence  to  public  prejudice! 
Herod  was  renamed  Moriame,  roi  d'Ethiope, 
and  Herodias  was  also  renamed.  But  it 
was  difficult  to  make  the  illusion  complete.  In 
the  scene  in  the  Temple  the  seven-branched 
candlestick  was  seen,  and  Madame  Calve  led 
a  procession  of  girls  carrying  palms  and  singing 
"  Hosanna."  When  the  Roman  prefect  ap- 


328  SINGER'S    ENORMOUS    FEES 

peared  and  began  his  address  to  the  Ethiopian 
crowd,  he  mistook  their  nationality  and  ad- 
dressed them  as  "  Peuple  juif  "  ! 

Talking  about  modern  singers  reminds  me  of 
the  enormous  fees  which  they — principally  the 
sopranos — receive  for  singing  at  private  parties, 
sometimes  as  much  as  300,  400,  and  500  guineas, 
while  in  former  years  such  great  artists  as  Grisi, 
Mario,  Bosio,  and  the  old  Lablache  only  received 
15  or  20  guineas  for  each  entertainment.     It  is 
therefore  difficult  for  hostesses  to  keep  up  the 
former  custom  of  opening  their  salons  to  their 
friends  and  having  the  most  renowned  artists 
to  sing  for  them.     Unless  they  have  an  exor- 
bitantly expensive  star  to  attract  their  guests 
in  the  height  of  the  London  season  they  cannot 
give  these  private  concerts.     The  guests  who  are 
invited  to  musical  parties   try  to  find  out,  be- 
fore accepting,  who  is  going  to  sing,  and  unless 
it  is  some  great  singer  they  stay  away,  which 
is  very  hard  on  hostesses  who  cannot  afford  to 
pay  these  high  prices. 

During  my  long  musical  career  I  have  known 
many  great  violinists,  and  have  already  alluded 
to  the  famous  ones  of  past  days.  In  the  present 
time  M.  Ysaye  is,  of  course,  one  of  the  very  first. 
I  remember,  on  one  occasion,  he  gave  a  concert 
at  Queen's  Hall  and  played  a  Concerto  by 
Vieuxtemps  and  the  ever-popular  Mendelssohn 
Concerto,  which  were  so  greatly  applauded  that 
he  gave,  as  an  encore,  Saint-Saens'  "  Rondo 


A    "QUICK    CHANGE"  329 

Capriccioso."  It  was  five  o'clock,  and  he  had 
to  play  the  same  evening  at  Birmingham,  and 
was  obliged  to  change  into  his  evening  clothes  in 
the  artists'  room,  so  as  to  catch  the  six  o'clock 
train.  This  was  quick  work,  and  artists,  years 
ago,  would  not  have  dared  to  do  such  a  thing, 
as  they  always  rested  hours  before  playing  at 
a  concert,  and  kept  thoroughly  quiet.  Now 
they  rush  about,  and  if  on  tour  where  they  have 
to  sing  or  play  every  night  in  a  different  town, 
they  sometimes  arrive  just  as  the  concert  begins, 
and  I  have  known  cases  where  they  arrived  so 
late  that  they  had  no  time  even  to  dress  suitably 
beforehand,  but  had  to  appear  in  travelling 
dress,  owing  to  their  trains  being  delayed. 

In  recent  years  Herr  Fritz  Kreisler  has  main- 
tained his  great  reputation  here  by  introducing 
Elgar's  First  Violin  Concerto  to  the  public, 
which  he  plays  magnificently.  Mischa  Elman, 
who  came  here  from  Russia  as  a  boy,  and  is  a 
most  marvellous  player,  has  the  most  faultless 
expression  and  fine  technique.  He  is  a  real 
genius,  and  his  career  has  been  one  long  triumph. 
I  have  reason  to  be  particularly  grateful  to 
him,  as  he  played  for  me  at  my  Jubilee  Concert 
in  1908,  and  my  benefit  concert  in  1911. 

Of  the  'cellists  in  the  present  day  my  old 
friend,  M.  Joseph  Hollman,  is  one  of  the  most 
popular.  He  plays  here  every  season,  and  is 
in  great  request  at  private  musical  soirees.  His 
tone  is  grand,  and  his  execution  splendid.  He 


330  FAMOUS    'CELLISTS 

has  composed  concertos  for  his  own  instrumentv 
and  his  Morceaux  de  Salon  are  charming  and 
full  of  melody.  He  has  assisted  me  at  my 
annual  concerts  for  a  great  many  years.  He  is 
a  great  favourite  at  At  Homes.  I  remember, 
on  one  occasion,  when  he  was  playing,  a  foot- 
man entered  the  room  bearing  a  tray  with  cups 
of  tea.  Seeing  Hollman  seated  in  the  middle 
of  the  room  playing  his  'cello  he  walked  up  to 
him  and  offered  him  some.  Hollman  at  once 
laid  down  his  'cello,  drank  off  the  tea,  and  then 
resumed  his  piece  where  he  had  left  off.  That 
fine  'cellist,  Senor  Casals,  has  proved  himself 
one  of  the  greatest  living  artists.  M.  Jean 
Gerardy,  who  came  over  from  Liege  and  played 
on  Madame  Patti's  concert  tours,  when  I  always 
accompanied  him,  already  made  his  name  here 
as  a  boy. 

Among  the  modern  pianists  M.  Paderewski 
continues  to  hold  his  high  place  as  an  artist  of 
rare  charm  and  poetical  feeling. 

Then  there  is  Mr.  Eugen  d'Albert,  the  great 
Beethoven  player,  who  reappeared  here  this 
summer,  but  rarely  comes  over  since  he  settled 
in  Berlin.  I  am  told  he  does  not  like  to  be 
reminded  that  he  was  born  in  Great  Britain.  I 
knew  his  father  when  he  lived  at  Newcastle, 
where  he  wrote  popular  dance-music  in  the 
fifties.  Eugen  d'Albert  now  goes  in  for  com- 
posing operas,  one  of  which — Tiefland — was 
lately  performed  at  Covent  Garden  with 


CARRENO  331 

siderable  success.  His  operas  are  very  popular 
in  Germany,  the  land  of  his  adoption. 

It  is  unnecessary  for  me  to  do  more  than 
mention  the  brilliant  Chopin  playing  of  Godow- 
sky,  Busoni's  development  of  pianistic  tone- 
painting,  and  Moritz  Rosenthal's  phenomenal 
feats  of  execution. 

I  have  known  Madame  Teresa  Carreno  for 
many  years,  and  we  have  always  kept  up  our 


friendship,  ever  since  she  first  came  over  here. 
On  my  recent  birthday  she  sent  me  two  big 
bouquets  of  flowers  and  her  signed  photograph. 
She  has  travelled  all  over  the  world,  and  de- 
lighted many  thousands  of  people  with  her 
playing,  which  is  remarkable  for  its  wonderful 
power.  Carreno  is  full  of  charm,  and  a  brilliant 
conversationalist.  She  has  a  beautiful  smile, 
and  speaking  dark  brown  eyes.  It  is  hard  to 
believe  that  she  has  been  fifty  years  before  the 


332  RICHTER 

public   and   announced  her  Jubilee  Recital  last 
year. 

One  of  the  most  brilliant  critics  I  ever  knew 
was  Robert  Hichens,  the  novelist,  who  for  some 
years  in  the  nineties  used  to  contribute  a  weekly 
article  in  The  World  which  was  a  wonderful 
medley  of  scintillating  wit  and  humour  and 
keenly  appreciative.  I  recall  such  phrases, 
apropos  of  a  pianist  of  the  ultra- strenuous  type 
who  shall  be  nameless,  "  He  will  even  hit  a 
piano  when  it's  down !  "  and  of  a  modern 
string  quartette  of  continuous  arpeggios — "  It 
seems  as  if  the  arpeggios  would  go  on  till 
the  last  trump  turned  the  quartette  into  a 
quintette." 

He  also  told  me  that  his  original  intention  in 
early  life  was  to  become  an  organist,  and  that 
he  had  studied  with  George  Riseley  at  Bristol. 
"  I  never  was  able  to  master  the  organ.  When 
sitting  there,  it  always  seemed  so  aloof,  so  far 
away.  I  never  could  get  into  any  personal 
relation  with  it." 

Of  conductors  I  have  known  many,  one 
of  the  greatest  being  undoubtedly  Dr.  Hans 
Richter,  who  has  worked  hard  here  for  many 
years  as  conductor  of  the  Charles  Halle  Man- 
chester Concerts  and  Liverpool  Philharmonic 
Concerts,  and,  above  all,  Wagner's  musical 
dramas  at  Covent  Garden.  For  many  years  he 
gave  orchestral  concerts  at  St.  James's  Hall, 
where  he  excelled  in  Beethoven's  Symphonies, 


RICHTER  333 

all  of  which  he  conducted  from  memory.  I  have 
already  referred  to  him  in  writing  of  the  first 
performances  at  Bayreuth,  which  he  also  con- 
ducted from  memory ;  indeed,  it  is  always  said 
of  him  that,  if  all  the  Wagner  scores  were  to 
be  burnt,  Richter  could  write  them  out  from 
memoiy ! 

He  has  now  retired  into  private  life,  and  his 
many  friends  and  admirers  will  wish  him  to 
enjoy  his  well-earned  rest  in  good  health,  peace, 
and  contentment. 

In  a  letter  he  wrote  me  shortly  after  he  had 
conducted  The  Ring  at  Covent  Garden  in  1903, 
he  says  : 

"  Fur  mich  war  das  Schonste  und  Erfreu- 
lichste  das  Publicum  ;  welche  weihevolle  Stille 
wdhrend  und  welcher  Enthusiasmus  nach  den 
Akten  !  Wenn  man  Wagner-Ehrungen  erleben 
will,  muss  man  wahrlich  in's  Ausland  gehen. 
Noch  immer  werden  die  Schiiler  der  Berliner 
Musikschule  vor  dem  Besuche  der  Wagner'schen 
Werke  gewarnt ;  selbst  in  der  Zeit  der  tiefsten 
Verkennung  Berlioz's  hatte  es  kein  Professor  oder 
Director  des  Pariser  Conservatoire  gewagt,  die 
Schiiler  von  dem  Besuche  Berlioz'scher  Auffiih- 
rungen  abzureden ;  aber  in  Deutschland  ist  es 
noch  heute — 20  Jahre  nach  des  Meisters  Tode — 
moglich,  unehrerbietig  iiber  Richard  Wagner 
reden  zu  horen.  Ich  bin  froh,  dass  ich  diesen 
unerfreulichen  Verhaltnissen  entronnen  bin,  und 
diese  letzten  Auffuhrungen  haben  es  mich  recht 
fiihlen  lassen,  wie  richtig  es  war,  mein  Heim  in 
England  zu  suchen  und  auch  zu  finden,  darf  ich 
hinzufiigen." 


834  RICHTER 

("  For  me  the  finest  and  most  delightful  thing 
was  the  Public  ;  what  a  solemn  stillness  during 
the  acts,  and  what  enthusiasm  afterwards  !  To 
experience  what  honouring  Wagner  means  one 
must  really  go  abroad.  The  pupils  of  the  Berlin 
Music-school  are  still  warned  against  attending 
performances  of  Wagner's  works  ;  even  in  the 
time  of  the  worst  misjudgments  of  Berlioz,  no 
Professor  or  Director  of  the  Paris  Conservatoire 
would  have  dared  to  warn  the  pupils  against 
going  to  Berlioz  performances  ;  but  in  Germany 
it  is  still  possible — twenty  years  after  the  Master's 
death — to  hear  disparaging  remarks  about 
Richard  Wagner.  I  am  happy  that  I  have  seen 
the  last  of  this  unhappy  state  of  things,  and 
these  last  performances  have  made  me  really 
feel  how  right  it  was  to  seek,  and,  if  I  may  add, 
to  find  my  Home  in  England.") 


&i&£&~f<~x< 

.ye? 


Of  the  conductors  at  Covent  Garden,  Signor 
Campanini  in  Verdi's  and  Puccini's  operas 
proved  himself  as  great  as  any  of  his  Italian 
confreres,  where  previously  my  old  friend,  Luigi 
Arditi,  composer  of  "II  Bacio,"  which  Madame 
Patti  has  rendered  so  popular,  Alberto  Ran- 
degger,  and  Mancinelli  were  famous  names,  and 
Utterly  we  had  Thomas  Beecham,  who  con- 


NIKISCH 


335 


ducted  Richard  Strauss's  Elektra  and  Salome 
splendidly.  The  incomparable  Arthur  Nikisch 
won  fresh  laurels  this  year  as  conductor  of 
Wagner's  Ring  at  Covent  Garden. 


c-/ 


I  was  deeply  touched  by  a  visit  he  paid  to  me 
recently.  He  came  quite  unexpectedly  and  stayed 
a  long  time.  He  knew  all  about  the  musicians 
from  abroad  I  had  known  in  earlier  days,  and 
talked  about  their  various  characteristics.  When 
I  showed  him  the  programmes  of  my  orchestral 
concerts  with  the  performances  of  Berlioz's 
Symphonies  and  Liszt's  Divina  Commedia,  he 
compared  the  difficulties  I  must  have  had  in 
those  days,  when  there  were  no  permanent 
23 


336  MODERN    COMPOSERS 

orchestras,  with  the  present  time,  when  there 
are  several,  and  spoke  of  my  courage  in  giving 
those  works  over  thirty  years  ago.  I  told  him 
I  remembered  attending  an  afternoon  concert 
in  Queen's  Hall,  when  he  made  his  first  ap- 
pearance here  and  electrified  every  one  by 
his  rendering  of  Tschaikowsky's  Fifth  Sym- 
phony in  E  minor,  then  still  a  little-known 
work. 

Among  concert  conductors  of  the  front  rank 
is  Sir  Henry  J.  Wood,  who  has  made  the  Queen's 
Hall  Symphony  Concerts  so  popular,  and  is 
acknowledged  to  be  the  greatest  English  con- 
ductor. Sir  Edward  Elgar  has  only  recently 
entered  the  ranks  of  conductors.  The  youngest 
conductor  of  the  present  time  is  Mr.  Landon 
Ronald,  son  of  my  dear  old  friend,  the  late 
Henry  Russell.  He  has  established  some  sym- 
phony concerts  with  a  new  orchestra  of  his  own 
creation,  and  conducts  at  the  Sunday  Concerts 
at  the  Royal  Albert  Hall. 

One  day  Mr.  Henry  Russell  brought  his  little 
son  to  me  and  said  he  wished  me  to  hear  him 
play,  and  give  my  opinion  about  his  talent.  The 
boy  played  the  "  Moonlight  Sonata  "  to  me,  and 
when  he  had  finished  I  played  it  to  him  to 
correct  some  of  his  faults.  I  told  his  father 
that  he  had  great  gifts,  and  should  continue  to 
study  under  a  good  master,  and  he  was  quite 
satisfied  with  what  I  said.  Many  years  after- 
wards, when  Landon  Ronald  had  risen  to  fame, 


ELGAR  337 

he  spoke  of  the  circumstance  to  me,  and  said 
he  would  never  forget  it.  He  has  now  become 
a  first-rate  accompanist  and  clever  conductor, 
and  has  been  engaged  to  conduct  some  of  the 
symphony  concerts  in  the  principal  cities  on 
the  Continent,  while  his  songs  and  orchestral 
compositions  have  become  very  popular.  He  is 
now  Principal  of  the  Guildhall  School  of  Music, 
the  "  right  man  in  the  right  place." 

Among  the  modern  English  composers  whose 
name  stands  in  the  first  rank  is  Sir  Edward 
Elgar,  who  quickly  rose  to  fame  by  his  oratorios 
Gerontius  and  The  Apostles,  and  by  his  First 
Symphony.  Since  then  he  has  gained  fresh 
laurels  by  his  new  Violin  Concerto,  which 
Herr  Fritz  Kreisler  has  played  so  often  with 
enormous  success,  and  which  is  a  monumental 
work  of  its  composer,  and  his  Second  Symphony, 
which  has  also  been  so  much  admired,  and  his 
charming  "  Sea  Songs,"  which  Madame  Clara 
Butt  sings  at  nearly  all  her  concerts.  England 
may  well  be  proud  of  him,  for  his  orchestral 
works  are  performed  with  great  success  and 
much  appreciated  on  the  Continent. 

Well-established  favourites  among  English  com- 
posers are  also  Sir  Hubert  Parry,  Director  of 
the  Royal  College  of  Music,  and  Sir  Alexander 
Mackenzie,  Principal  of  the  Royal  Academy  of 
Music,  to  whose  operas  and  their  performance 
by  the  Carl  Rosa  Opera  Company  I  have  alluded 
in  a  previous  chapter.  His  cantata,  The  Rose 


338  MODERN    COMPOSERS 

of  Sharon,  is  a  splendid  work,  and  his  "Bene- 
dictus  "  for  the  violin  has  been  performed  by 
all  the  leading  violinists.  It  may  not  be  gener- 
ally known  that  Alexander  Mackenzie  settled 
some  time  ago  in  Florence,  but  returned  at  the 
instigation  of  the  late  Dr.  Francis  Hueffer,  who 
advised  him  to  come  over  to  England,  and 
recommended  his  opera  Columba  to  Carl  Rosa 
for  production. 

Another  favourite  British  composer  is  Sir 
Charles  Villiers  Stanford,  to  whose  well-known 
opera,  Shamus  O'Brien,  written  quite  in  the 
Irish  style,  I  have  also  previously  alluded.  His 
symphonies  and  other  works  have  had  well- 
deserved  success.  Then  I  come  to  my  old 
friend,  Frederick  Cowen,  on  whom  King  George 
has  now  bestowed  a  knighthood,  that  honour 
being  highly  deserved  and  much  appreciated  by 
his  numerous  friends  and  admirers.  His  com- 
positions of  all  kinds  are  voluminous,  including 
his  many  songs  and  symphonies.  "  The  Better 
Land,"  his  most  popular  song,  was  one  of  the 
favourites  of  Madame  Antoinette  Stirling,  and 
"  The  Swallows  "  is  sung  by  Miss  Evangeline 
Florence.  His  latest  cantata,  The  Veil,  which 
was  written  for  the  Cardiff  Musical  Festival,  was 
performed  with  great  success. 

I  am  glad  that  my  friend  Arthur  Hervey  has 
found  more  leisure  since  his  retirement  from  his 
duties  of  musical  critic  to  continue  composing 
so  admirably. 


MODERN    COMPOSERS  339 

One  evening,  many  years  ago,  I  went  to  see 
Richard  Mansfield,  the  American  actor,  in  his  fine 
performance  of  Richard  III.  He  was,  I  believe, 
a  nephew  of  Alberto  Randegger.  I  was  much 
struck  by  the  incidental  music,  and  went  to  ask 
one  of  the  band,  whom  I  knew,  about  the 
composer  who  was  conducting.  It  was  Edward 
German,  who  afterwards  attained  such  great 
popularity  with  his  charming  music  to 
Henry  VIII. 

I  must  also  mention  Mr.  Norman  O'Neill,  a 
young  composer  who  writes  incidental  music  to 
dramas,  his  music  for  Maeterlinck's  Blue  Bird 
being  specially  delightful,  and  Mr.  Roger  Quilter 
and  Mr.  Cyril  Scott,  who  have  composed  many 
charming  songs  as  well  as  more  ambitious  works. 
Mr.  Balfour  Gardiner  is  also  a  rising  young 
composer,  and  so  is  Mr.  Joseph  Holbrooke,  whose 
opera,  The  Children  of  Don,  to  the  libretto  of 
Lord  Howard  de  Walden,  was  performed  under 
Mr.  Hammerstein's  management  at  the  New 
Opera-house ;  Herr  Nikisch  conducted  two 
performances  of  it,  and  the  composer  conducted 
the  third.  Dr.  Vaughan  Williams  has  won  a 
high  place  by  works  representing  the  best 
tendencies  in  modern  English  music.  I  have 
followed  his  career  with  interest  since  his  under- 
graduate days  at  Cambridge. 

The  works  of  Dr.  Walford  Davies  are  well 
known,  and  considered  very  fine,  and  apart 
from  this  he  is  a  wonderful  organist,  being 


340  MODERN  COMPOSERS 

attached  in  that  capacity  to  the  Temple  Church., 
where  he  has  trained  the  choir  to  a  high  pitch 
of  perfection,  as  I  have  noticed  when  at- 
tending services  there,  if  it  is  permissible  to 
say  so. 


CHAPTER   XIX 

MY   BENEFIT    CONCERT 

Our  golden  wedding — Wilhelm  Kuhe — Benefit  concert  at  the 
Albert  Hall. 

I  THINK  I  ought  to  mention  our  golden  wedding 
day,  which  took  place  on  August  3rd,  1909. 

My  wife  and  I  had  no  end  of  handsome  pre- 
sents and  telegrams  from  relations  and  friends, 
as  well  as  bouquets  of  flowers  and  gilded  laurel 
wreaths. 

In  the  afternoon  we  had  a  garden  party  in  the 
grounds  opposite  our  house,  and  snapshots  were 
taken  of  us  and  our  children  as  well  as  photo- 
graphic groups.  In  the  evening  we  had  a 
family  dinner-party  and  some  music  afterwards, 
during  which  Madame  Blanche  Marchesi  and 
Madame  Zelie  de  Lussan  charmed  us  and  our 
friends  with  their  singing.  We  spent  a  most 
delightful  evening  (though  as  host  I  ought  not 
to  say  so  !) ;  and  it  was  twelve  o'clock  when  the 
festivities  of  this  glorious  day  finished. 

FROM  THE  "PALL  MALL  GAZETTE" 

"  The  worst  that  anybody  ever  said  of  Mr. 
Wilhelm  Ganz  was  that  he  was  a  German  adverb 

341 


342  OUR    GOLDEN    WEDDING 

of  emphasis  ;  but  that  was  in  a  humoursome 
speech  proposing  the  toast  of  his  health  many 
years  ago.  To-day  everybody  is  toasting  Mr. 
and  Mrs.  Ganz  with  emphasis  on  the  occasion  of 
their  golden  wedding,  and  wishing  them  many 
more  years  of  happiness.  The  man  who  has 
accompanied  Madame  Patti's  songs  for  more 
than  half  a  century  needs  no  reminder  that  he 
is  over  seventy  years  of  age,  and  has  filled  a 
busy  life  with  many  professional  triumphs. 
But  these  achievements  of  his  have  been  so 
varied  that  half  of  them  are  possibly  forgotten, 
even  by  the  genial  impresario  himself.  His 
compositions  include  many  favourite  lyrics,  and 
his  pupils,  at  the  Guildhall  School  of  Music  and 
elsewhere,  include  many  famous  professionals 
and  amateurs.  Few  men  have  crowded  so  much 
music  and  friendship  into  the  limits  of  an  active 
public  career,  or  have  won  and  retained  so  many 
golden  opinions  from  all  sorts  and  conditions  of 
men  and  women.  Doubtless  those  who  have 
known  him  longest  wrill  remember  him  oftenest 
as  a  courtier  of  the  old  school,  leading  the  great 
Diva  on  to  the  platform  amid  thunders  of  ap- 
plause ;  and  then,  with  a  touch  of  the  piano, 
leading  her  off  again  into  an  ecstasy  of  song  that 
left  ineffaceable  memories  with  all  who  heard  it. 
To-day,  the  lady  that  Mr.  Ganz  leads  down  to 
the  footlights  of  public  acclamation  is  his  life's 
partner — his  own  best  '  accompanist ' — and  the 
song  is  '  Home,  Sweet  Home.'  : 

I  cannot  conclude  my  Reminiscences  without 
giving  an  account  of  the  wonderful  concert 
which  Madame  Patti  so  generously  gave  for  my 
benefit  on  Thursday,  June  1st,  1911. 

Some  weeks  previously  Madame  Patti   asked 


342] 


ADELINA  PATTI 

A  Souvenir  of  the  Concert. 


ARTISTS    WHO    ASSISTED  343 

my  daughter  Georgina  to  call  on  her,  when  she 
told  her  how  concerned  she  was  about  my 
accident,  which  had  quite  incapacitated  me  from 
following  my  profession,  and  said  that  she  in- 
tended that  I  should  have  a  benefit  concert,  at 
which  she  would  sing  for  me,  in  spite  of  the  fact 
that  she  had  already  retired  into  private  life. 

Soon  after  she  called,  with  Baron  Rolf  Ceder- 
strom,  to  see  me,  and  told  me  what  she  proposed 
to  do.  She  said  she  had  written  a  letter  to 
Lord  Blyth  asking  him  to  interest  himself  in 
the  concert  and  assist  her  in  getting  it  up,  which 
he  had  kindly  consented  to  do. 

Lord  Blyth  formed  an  honorary  committee, 
including  many  notable  names.  Their  Majesties 
the  King  and  Queen,  Queen  Alexandra,  and  the 
whole  of  the  Royal  Family  gave  their  gracious 
patronage. 

All  the  great  artists  who  were  asked  by  the 
committee  to  give  their  services  at  once  com- 
plied. Madame  Ai'no  Ackte,  who  had  only  a 
short  time  before  arrived  in  England,  promised 
at  once  to  sing ;  also  Miss  Maggie  Teyte,  Mr. 
Ben  Davies,  Mr.  Gregory  Hast,  and  Mr.  Robert 
Radford.  Mischa  Elman,  who  had  only  the 
previous  day  returned  from  America,  said  he 
would  play.  Mr.  Harold  Bauer  came  specially 
from  Paris,  and  M.  Jean  Gerardy  from  Brussels. 
Miss  Ellen  Terry,  Miss  Cecilia  Loftus,  Mr.  George 
Alexander,  and  Mr.  Henry  Ainley  consented  to 
recite,  and  the  conductors  were  Messrs.  F.  A. 


344  MY  BENEFIT  CONCERT 

Sewell,  Adolph  Mann,  Percy  Kahn,  and  Alfredo 
Barili,  Madame  Patti's  nephew.  With  such  a 
splendid  array  of  distinguished  artists  the  suc- 
cess of  the  concert  was  assured.  Much  to  my 
regret,  I  was  compelled  by  my  doctor's  orders 
to  stop  at  home ;  but  I  was  not  alone,  as  I  had 
asked  my  old  friend,  William  Kuhe,  to  come  and 
take  tea  with  me.  He  arrived,  and  we  chatted 
pleasantly  together,  when  presently  my  daugh- 
ter Georgina,  who  had  gone  to  the  concert, 
arrived  in  a  taxi  to  tell  me  the  news  that  Madame 
Patti  had  just  finished  her  last  song  and  that 
she  was  in  wonderful  voice.  Her  reception  by 
the  enormous  audience,  said  my  daughter,  was 
something  to  be  remembered  ;  they  kept  cheer- 
ing and  applauding  for  at  least  five  minutes, 
and  Madame  Patti  was  quite  overcome  by  the 
ovation.  She  sang  in  the  first  part  Mozart's 
"Voi  che  Sapete,"  with  Lotti's  "  Pur  Dicesti" 
as  an  encore,  and  in  the  second  part  Tosti's 
"  Serenata,"  and  for  the  encore  "  Home,  Sweet 
Home."  Many  people  had  tears  in  their  eyes, 
for  nobody  has  ever  sung  this  simple  ballad  with 
greater  pathos  than  Madame  Patti,  and  every 
syllable  was  distinctly  heard  by  the  vast  as- 
sembly. Even  the  wife  of  the  composer,  Sir 
Henry  Bishop,  who  sang  it  often  to  my  accom- 
paniment many  years  ago,  could  not  equal 
Patti  in  the  singing  of  it. 

The  Diva  received  numerous  bouquets,  and  I 
sent  her  a  large  laurel  wreath,  with  the  dates 


MY    BENEFIT    CONCERT 

1861  and  1911  on  satin  streamers,  as  a  remem- 
brance of  her  first  appearance  at  Covent  Garden 
fifty  years  before.  She  has  indeed  had  a  won- 
derful career,  and  has  kept  her  voice  as  fresh 
and  beautiful  as  when  she  first  carried  Londor* 
by  storm. 

William  Kuhe  had  known  many  great  artists 
in  his  time,  and  it  was  always  a  delight  to  me 
to  hear  him  speak  of  the  golden  days  of  fifty  or 
sixty  years  ago,  telling  me  stories  about  them. 
He  had  heard  Chopin  play  at  a  concert  he  gave 
in  Eaton  Place,  when  he  (Chopin)  was  so  weak 
that  he  had  to  be  carried  up  into  the  drawing- 
room  to  the  piano,  and  yet  his  playing  was 
unique  and  unforgettable.  He  had  also  heard 
Thalberg,  Hummel,  Rubinstein,  Von  Bulow,, 
Madame  Pleyel  (whom  I  had  heard  frequently 
in  1852),  and  Moscheles,  Mendelssohn,  Madame 
Schumann,  and  many  celebrities  of  bygone  days. 
All  these  pianists  I  had  heard  play  and  knew 
them  personally,  with  the  exception  of  Men- 
delssohn, Chopin,  and  Hummel,  who  died  before 
my  time.  Kuhe  had  also  heard  all  the  great 
singers,  such  as  Jenny  Lind,  Sontag,  Persiani, 
Patti,  Grisi,  Nilsson,  Alboni,  and  a  host  of  others, 
whom  I  had  also  heard  and  accompanied,  and 
knew  personally ;  so  we  could  both  talk  about 
these  stars  and  musical  matters  in  general.  We 
exchanged  our  impressions,  and  it  was  a  special 
pleasure  to  me  to  be  with  my  old  friend.  When 
he  was  alive  I  think  he  and  I  and  John  Thomas.,, 


-346  MY  BENEFIT  CONCERT 

the  harpist,  and  Alberto  Randegger  were  the 
oldest  musicians  living  in  London. 

So  anxious  was  Madame  Patti  to  sing  her  best 
for  me  and  not  to  disappoint  the  public  that, 
as  I  heard  afterwards,  for  weeks  she  had  taken 
care  of  her  voice  and  health,  not  even  going 
out  of  doors,  to  avoid  risking  a  cold,  and  when 
she  arrived  in  London,  although  invited  out  to 
innumerable  dinners,  etc.,  she  would  not  accept 
any  invitations,  nor  would  she  attend  any  theatres 
until  the  concert  was  over. 

A  striking  incident  occurred  when  Madame 
Tetrazzini  left  her  seat  to  ascend  the  platform 
and  present  Madame  Patti  with  a  large  bouquet 
of  flowers.  The  two  prima  donnas  embraced 
coram  populo  amid  scenes  of  enthusiasm. 

It  will  be  news  to  my  readers  to  hear  that 
Madame  Patti  always  felt  very  nervous  before 
going  on  the  platform,  and  has  often  said  to  me : 
"  Ganz,  what  shall  I  do  ?  I  feel  so  dreadfully 
nervous ;  my  heart  is  palpitating  terribly."  I 
always  tried  to  reassure  her,  but  as  soon  as  she 
got  on  the  platform  and  began  to  sing  she 
forgot  everything.  This  was  also  the  case  with 
Sims  Reeves,  Edward  Lloyd,  Thalberg,  and  other 
great  artists. 

Between  the  first  and  second  parts  Sir  Herbert 
Tree  addressed  Madame  Patti  and  the  rest  of 
the  distinguished  artists,  and  thanked  them  in 
my  name  for  their  valuable  assistance,  and  said 
lie  hoped  I  would  soon  be  well  again. 


MY    BENEFIT    CONCERT  34T 

SIR  HERBERT  BEERBOHM  TREE'S  SPEECH 

He  almost  wished,  he  said,  they  had  left 
the  building  with  the  sweet  tones  of  that  dear 
and  wonderful  lady  ringing  in  their  ears.  But,, 
alas  !  he  had  a  duty  to  perform  which  must  be 
done.  He  would  be  lacking  in  gratitude  to 
Madame  Patti  if  in  the  name  of  the  committee 
he  did  not  thank  her  for  her  generous  thought 
in  getting  up  this  concert  for  her  dear  friend, 
Mr.  Ganz,  who,  as  they  knew,  was  her  faithful 
friend  and  accompanist.  It  was  appropriate, 
for  he  had  in  his  entire  career  done  many  acts  of 
kindness  for  his  comrades,  and  it  was  right 
that  that  great  lady  should  show  that  act  of 
friendship  in  which  they  joined  that  day. 

Madame  Patti  had  just  celebrated  her  fiftieth 
anniversary.  On  May  14th,  1861,  Madame 
Patti  made  her  first  appearance  in  La  Sonnam- 
bula  in  Covent  Garden  Theatre.  It  remained 
for  him  to  thank  the  artists. 

"  We  all  regret,"  he  continued,  "  that  Mr. 
Ganz,  through  ill-health,  is  sitting  in  *  his  sweet 
home '  with  tears  in  his  eyes,  thinking  of  the 
friendship  of  Madame  Patti  to-day  and  the 
echoing  shouts.  He  is  not  in  the  building,  but 
we  wish  him  many  golden  days  to  enjoy  the 
golden  proof  of  the  esteem  of  the  public  and 
the  esteem  of  his  friends.  It  is  a  delight  to- 
them  to  see  the  great  audience  assembled  on 
this  occasion." 

During  the  day  I  received  no  end  of  sym- 
pathetic letters  from  friends  and  relatives,  and 
also  many  bouquets  of  beautiful  flowers,  one  of 
which  was  sent  by  my  sister,  Marie  Ganz. 
Madame  Clara  Butt  and  her  husband,  Mr* 


348  MY  BENEFIT  CONCERT 

Kennerley  Rumford,  sent  me  a  wire  from  South- 
ampton, and  said  how  much  they  regretted  not 
having  been  able  to  sing  at  my  concert.  Madame 
Kirkby  Lunn  also  sent  me  her  regrets  at  not 
being  able  to  sing  for  me. 

As  I  close  these  pages  I  am  filled  with  a  feel- 
ing of  gratitude  for  the  kindly  thought  which 
prompted  Madame  Patti  to  offer  me  yet  another 
and  most  striking  testimony  of  her  valued 
friendship  and  affection,  and  I  am  no  less  proud 
to  remember  the  loyal  artists  who  rallied  round 
.her  and  all  who  helped  to  make  the  concert  a 
success. 

In  placing  on  record  these  memories  of  musical 
events  that  have  happened  during  my  long 
career  it  has  been  a  great  pleasure  to  me  to 
recall  the  many  kindnesses  that  I  have  always 
received  from  my  brother  and  sister  artists, 
which  will  remain  amongst  the  happiest  of  my 
recollections. 


LIST  OF  MY  COMPOSITIONS 

PIANOFORTE  SOLOS 

Adelina  Valse. 

Aliens  Vite  !    Galop. 

En  avant.     Galop. 

Grande  Valse  brillante. 

Je  me  souviens.     Melodic. 

La  Ballerina.     Mazurka. 

La  Vivacite.     Polka. 

Le  Bonheur  supreme. 

Paroles  d'amour.     Romance. 

La  Voglia.     Mazurka. 

Qui  Vive.     Galop ; 

Souvenez-vous  ?    Melodie  chantante. 

Souvenir  de  Wrest.     Mazurka. 

Souviens-toi  ?    Melodie  chantante. 

Tyrolienne. 

Vision  du  passe.     Reverie. 

PIANOFORTE  DUETS 

Adelina  Valse. 

Allons  Vite  !     Galop. 

La  Vivacite. 

Qui  Vive  !     Galop. 

Souvenir  de  Wrest.     Mazurka 

En  avant.     Galop. 

349 


350  LIST  OF  MY  COMPOSITIONS 

SONGS 

A  Damsel  Fair  was  singing. 

Camelia  and  Rose. 

Dear  Bird  of  Winter. 

Forget  me  not. 

Faithful  Echo. 

God  save  the  Prince  of  Wales. 

I  seek  for  thee  in  every  Flower. 

Kindred  Spirits. 

Love  shall  never  die. 

Love  hailed  a  little  Maid. 

My  Mother's  Song. 

Since  Yesterday. 

Sing,  Birdie,  sing. 

Sing,  Sweet  Bird. 

The  Fisherman's  Wife. 

The  Mountain  Flower. 

The  Murmuring  Sea. 

The  Nightingale's  Trill. 

When  thou  wilt  be  my  Bride. 

When  we  went  a-gleaning. 

When  the  Thrush  sings. 

VOCAL  TUTOR 


INDEX 


Ackte,  Madame  Aino,  327,  343 
Ainley,  Mr.  Henry,  343 
Albani,  Madame,  92,  172 
d' Albert,  Mr.  Eugen,  330 
Alboni,  Madame,  13 
Alexander,  Sir  George,  109,  343 
Alexandra  (Queen),  29,  219,  278, 

305,  308 
Alvarez,  M.,  295 
Alverstone,  Lord,  235 
Amelie  of  France  (Queen),  46 
Ancona,  Signor,  307 
Apponyi,  Countess,  40 
Ardgowan,  tenants'  ball  at,  45 ; 

grouse-shooting  at,  46 
Arkwright,  Mrs.,  211 
Armstrong,  Madame  Nellie.     See 

Melba 

Arnoldson,  Mile  Sigrid,  225 
Arts  Club,  The,  283 
Ascherberg,  Mr.  Eugene,  236,  239 
Auer,  Herr  Leopold,  94,  133 
d'Aumale,  Due  and  Duchesse,  40 

46,  49,  218 
Autograph  Album,  310 

Bache,  Mr.  Walter,  184 
Balfe,  Michael,  4,  7, 12,  27,  31,  32, 
63,  64,  65 

—  Miss  (Duchesse  de  Frias),  65 
Ballet,  The,  15 

Bancroft,  Lady,  her  speech  at  the 
author's  Jubilee  Concert,  309  ; 
in  Robertson's  plays,  314 

—  Sir  Squire,  313 
Barili,  Ettore,  197 

—  Alfredo,  344 
Barnett,  John  Francis,  127 
Barrett,  Dr.  W.  A.,  139 

24  361 


Battenberg,  Prince  Henry  of,  159 

Battistini,  Signor,  237 

Bauer,  Harold,  343 

Bazzini,  Signor,  252 

"  Beating  of  my  own  Heart,  The," 

227 

Beaufort,  Duke  of,  275 
Beecham,  Mr.  Thomas,  273,  334 
Beethoven,  36 
Benedict,  Sir  Julius,  80,  82,  211, 

256  et  seq.,  297,  301 

—  Mr.  A.  E.,  260 
Beresford-Hope,    Lady    Mildred, 

168 
Berlioz,  Hector,  4,  26,  51,  53,  61, 

62,  138,  144,  147 
Bernhardt,  Sarah,  60 
Bernstorff,  Count  and  Countess, 

227 

"  Better  Land,  The,"  95,  338 
Birch,  Miss  Charlotte  Ann,  51 
Bishop,  Sir  Henry,  32,  344 
Blessington,  Lady,  58 
Blyth,  Lord,  307,  343 
Boito,  268,  269 
Berwick,  Leonard,  272 
Bottesini,  35,  104 
Boucicault,  Dion,  312 
Braddon,  Miss  (Mrs.  Maxwell),  169 
Braham,  Augustus,  39 

—  Charles,  18,  39 

—  Hamilton,  39 

—  John,  18,  34,  38,  39 
Brahms,  95,  131 
Bridge,  Sir  Frederick,  283 

"  British  Army  Quadrilles,"  37 
Bruch,  Max,  134,  268, 269 
von  Biilow,  Dr.  Hans,  128,  131, 
151,  193,  195 


354 


INDEX 


Hill,  Lady  Arthur,  211 
Holbrooke,  Mr.  Joseph,  339 
Holland,  Miss  Fanny,  67 
Hollman,  M.  Joseph,  100,  329 
Houghton,  Lord,  227 
Hueffer,  Dr.  Francis,  150,  287,  338 
Hullah,  John,  66 

Irving,  Sir  Henry,  54,  293 

Jacoby,  M.,  221 

Jaell,  Alfred,  131 

Janotha,  Mile,  134 

Jansa,  Herr  Leopold,  35 

Jehin,  M.,  250 

Joachim,  Herr,  65,  112,  115,  228 

Joran,  Miss  Pauline,  281 

Jubilee    Concerts,    the    author's 

(1898  and  1908),  305  et   seq., 

308  et  seq, 
Jullien,    Monsieur    (Director    at 

Drury  Lane),  37,  51,  52 

Kahn,  Percy,  344 

Kalkbrenner,  M.,  53 

Kean,  Charles,  311 

Kemble,     Miss     Gertrude     (Mrs. 

Santley),  50,  82 
Kendal,  Mr.  and  Mrs.,  314 
Kent,  Duchess  of,  6,  12 
Kingston,  Mr.  Beatty,  184 
Kirkby  Lunn,  Madame,  324,  348 
Kontski,  Antoine  de,  89 
Kreisler,  Herr  Fritz,  329,  337 
Kreuz,  Mr.  Emil,  307 
Kuhe,  Mr.  Wilhelm,  53,  307,  345 

Lablache,  Signer,  8,  9, 13, 17,  244 
La  Giselle,  revival  of,  16 
Lansdowne,  Marchioness  of,  202, 

294 

de  Lara,  Mr.  Isidore,  103 
Lathom,  Lord,  260 
Lehmann,  Liza,  107 
Leschetizky,  Professor,  128,  269, 

270,  271 

Levy,  Mr.  J.  M.,  233 
Liebhart,  Madame  Louisa,  68,  83 
Lind,  Jenny,  3,  5,  6,  7,  69,  70,  71, 

72,  73,  74,  75,  76,  136 
Lindsay,  Col.  Hon.  C,  H.,  28, 29 


Liszt,  The  Abbe,  183  et  seq. 
Liszt's  Dante  Symphony,  149,  150 
Lloyd,  Mr.  Edward,  39,  65,  93,  94, 

102,  106,  186,  284,  296,  307 
Loftus,  Miss  Cecilia,  343 
Lohengrin,  181 
Londesborough,  Lady,  217 
"  Lost  Chord,  The,"  94 
Louis  Philippe  and  his  sons,  46,  49 
Lowe,  Rt.  Hon.  Robert,  300 
Lucca,  Pauline,  164 
Ludwig,  King  of  Bavaria,  175, 179 
Lumley,  Mr.  Benjamin  (Director 

of  Her  Majesty's),  4,  6,  17,  286 
de  Lussan,  Mile  Zelie,  105,  121 
Lutheran  Chapel  (Savoy),  48 

Maas,  Mr.  Joseph,  102,  122 
MacCunn,  Hamish,  122 
Macfarren,  Sir  G.  A.,  34,  227 
Mackenzie,  Sir  Morell,  54,  298 

—  Sir  Alexander,  337 
Mackintosh  of  Mackintosh,  Mrs., 

225 

Mann,  Adolph,  344 
Manns,  Sir  August,  119 
Mapleson,  Colonel,  J.  H.,  19,  20 
Marchesi,  Mile  Mathilde,  284 

—  Mile  Blanche,  285 
Mario,  Signor,  21,  22,^25 
Marlborough,  Duchess  of  and  her 

daughters,  167 
Mascagni,  136,  238,  239,  241 
Mary  (Queen),  100,  343 
Mathews,  Charles,  313 
Maude,  Mr.  Cyril,  307 
May  brick,    Michael   (Stephen 

Adams),  102 
McCormack,  John,  308 
Meister singer,  Die,  181,  280 
Melba,  Madame,  316  et  seq.,  280 
Mendelssohn,    at   Chester   Place, 

55  ;  not  a  Jew,  179 
Mengelberg,  Herr,  272 
Menter,  Madame  Sophie,  144, 148 
Messent,  Miss  Sophie,  32,  214 
Meyerbeer,  138,  162,  164, 165 
Milan,  251 

MiUais,  Sir  John,  108 
Mir  an,  Miss,  51 
Monte  Carlo,  250 


INDEX 


355 


MonteCristo  atDrury  Lane  (1848), 

59 

Moore,  Miss  Mary,  307 
Morley,  Viscount,  229 
Moscheles,  Madame,  54 
Moszkowski,  270 
Munich,  and  Wagner's  operas,  181 
Miinster,  Prince,  228,  293 
"  Musical  Union  Concerts,"  The, 

111 
"  My  Pretty  Jane,"  33 

Naples,  243,  244 

Napoleon  Bonaparte  at  Mainz,  2 
Napoleon  III,  154,  180 
Napoleon,     Prince    Louis.      See 

Prince  Imperial 
New  Meistersinger's  Club,  281 
New  Philharmonic  Concerts  ( 1 852 ), 

60,  61,  125  et  seq. 
Ney-Biirde,  Madame,  25 
Nicolini,  Ernesto,  156 
Niemann,  Herr,  173 
Nikisch,  Herr  Arthur,  335,  339 
Nikita,  105 
Nilsson,  Madame  Christine,  219, 

223 

Nordica,  Madame,  104,  182,  324 
Norman   Neruda,  Madame.     See 

Halle 
Novello,  Madame  Clara,  78,  227, 

259 
Nuneham  Park,  38,  46 

Offenbach,  Jacques,  79 
O'Neill,  Mr.  Norman,  339 
Orchestral  Concerts,  125  et  seq. 
d'Orczy,  Baron  B6dog,  134 
—  Baroness  Emma,  135 
d'Orteans,  Duchesse,  218 
OrleansHouse,Twickenham,40, 47 
Orpheus,  Gluck's,  148 
Osborne  House,  159 
Osborne,  Mr.  Bernal,  M.P.,  299 

de  Pachmann,  M.  Vladimir,  150 
Paderewski,  129,  269,  330 
Paganini,  104 
Parepa,   Madame   (wife   of   Carl 

Rosa),  35,  83,  84,  247,  287 
Paris,  154, 180, 187 


Parkinson,  Miss  Elizabeth,  108 
Parkyns,  Lady,  211 
Parodi,  Madame,  9 
Parry,  Sir  Hubert,  337 

—  Mr.  John,  67 
Pas  de  Quatre,  15 
Pasta,  Madame,  16 
Patey,  Madame,  85,  86,  106 
Patti,  Adelina,  70,  75,  86,  87,  187, 

191,  196  et  seq.,  221,  247,  280, 

294,  296,  305,  308,  309,  342, 

344,  348 

Piatti,  Signer,  14,  70,  73,  74 
Piccolomini,  Mile,  18,  19,  286 
Pitt,  Mr.  Percy,  325 
Plan9on,  M.,  109,  222 
Ponsonby,  Sir  Henry,  161 
Prince  Consort,  The,  12,  162 
Prince  Imperial,  219 
Prince  of  Wales.     See   Edward 

VII  (King) 

Princes  Theatre,  55,  57 
Pringle,  Lady  Elizabeth,  168 
Promenade  Concerts,  37 
Prussia,  King  of,  165 

—  Queen  of,  90,  165 
Puzzi,  Madame  Giacinta,  286 
Pyne,  Miss  Louisa,  31,  63,  85,  257 

Susan,  31,  64 

Quilter,  Mr.  Roger,  339 

Rachel,  Madame,  60 
Radford,  Mr.  Robert,  343 
Rampolla,  Cardinal,  241 
Randegger,    Signer  Alberto,    85, 

307,  319,  248 

Ravogli,  Giulia,  107,  148,  307 
Redeker,  Madame,  131 
Reed,  Mr.  and  Mrs.  German,  66, 

67,  68,  69 
Reeves,  Herbert  Sims,  141,  142 

—  Sims,  8,  33,  39,  51,  65,  81,  142, 
259 

Reichardt,  Herr  Alexander,   78, 

166 
de  Reszke,  M.  Jean,  130, 187, 279, 

315 

-  M.  Edouard,  187,  279,  316 
de  Reuter,  Baron  and  Baroness, 

223 


356 


INDEX 


Richards,  Brinsley,  28,  275 
Richter,  Dr.  Hans,  93,  171,  176, 

332  et  seq. 

Rigby,  Mr.  Vernon,  86 
Ring  des  Nibelungen  at  Bayreuth, 

172  et  seq. 

Ristori,  Madame,  60,  242 
Robertson,     Miss     Agnes     (Mrs. 

Boucicault),  312 
Romeo  and  Juliet,   Berlioz's,  61, 

147 ;  Gounod's,  187 
Ronald  Landon,  336 
Ronalds,  Mrs.,  301 
Rosa,  Carl,  120, 122,  246,  318 
Rosavella,  Mile,  133 
Rosebery,  Lord,  227 
Rosen  thai,  Moritz,  331 
Rossini,  157,  203 
de  Rothschild,  Mr.  Alfred,  220, 294 

—  Baron  and  Baroness  Meyer,  226 

—  Lord  and  Lady,  229 

—  Miss  Hannah,  227 

Royal  Academy  of  Music,  217, 299 

Royal  Amateur  Orchestral  So- 
ciety, 211 

Roze,  Mile  Marie,  91,  121,  130, 
158 

Rubinstein,  Anton,  115,  131,  192 

Rumbold,  Lady,  211 

Rumford,  Mr.  Kennerley,  326, 
348 

Russell,  Henry,  336 

St.  Cecilia  (Benedict's),  258 
Saint-Saens,  M.  Camille,  135,  143, 

264,  265  et  seq. 

Sainton-Dolby,  Madame,  82,  86 
Sainton,  M.,  82 
Salome   (Massenet's    opera),    the 

origin  of  its  title,  327 
Sammarco,  Signer,  323 
Samson  and  Dalila,  265 
Santley,  32,  50,  82,  102,  106,  131, 

211,  257,  307 
Sarasate,  Senor   Pablo,  96,  133, 

134 
Savoy,  Lutheran  chapel  in  the,  48 

—  Theatre,  263 
Saxe-Coburg-Gotha,  Duke  Ernest 

of,  224 
Schoell,  Rev.  Dr.,  48 


Schumann,  57 

—  Madame  Clara,  114,  115,  232 
Scott,  Mr.  Clement,  239,  243 

—  Mr.  Cyril,  339 

Sembrich,     Madame,    234,    280, 

324 

Sessi,  Mile  Mathilde,  91 
Sgambati,  Signor,  243 
Shakespeare,  William,  95,  294 
Shaw-Stewart,  Lady  Octavia,  45 

Sir  Michael,  12,  41,  42,  45 

Sherrington,  Madame  Lemmens, 

80 

Silas,  M.  Edouard,  61,  261,  262 
"  Sing,  Birdie,  sing,"  263 
Sivori,  Signor  Camillo,  35,  245, 

249 

Smart,  Henry,  34 
Soldene,  Miss  Emily,  83 
Sontag,  Henrietta,  9, 10, 13, 17 
Sonzogno,  Signor,  253 
Spalding,  Mr.  Augustus,  213 
Stanford,  Sir  Charles  Villiers,  338 
Staudigl  (baritone),  56 
Sterling,  Madame  Antoinette,  94, 

338 

Stevens,  General,  251 
Strauss,  Johann,  27 

—  Richard,  271  et  seq. 
Sullivan,  Sir  Arthur,  67,  68,  94, 

119,  212,  262,  319 
Swansea,  Patti  at,  198 
Symphonie  Fantastique,  Berlioz's, 

144,  147,  152 

Tagliafico,  Signora,  250 
Taglioni,  15 
Tamagno,  Signor,  240 
Tamberlik,  Signor,  25,  26 
Tamburlini,  Signor,  254 
Tanrihauser,    first    performed    in 

England,  137  ;    in  Paris,  180  ; 

in  Munich,  181 
Targioni-Tozzetti,  241 
Ternina,  181 
Terry,  Mr.  (father  of  Ellen  Terry), 

312 

—  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Edward,  281 

—  Miss  Ellen,  343 
Tetrazzini,  Madame,  320,  321,  346 
Teyte,  Miss  Maggie,  326,  343 


INDEX 


357 


Thalberg,  13 

Thillon,  Madame  Anna,  30 

Thomas,  M.  Ainbroise,  190 

—  Madame,  190 

—  Goring,  121,  149 
Titchatsckek,  56 

Titiens,  Madame  Theresa,  19,  20, 

130 

Tosti,  Signer,  242 
Tracy,  Miss  Minnie,  251 
Traviata,  247 
Trebelli-Bettini,  Madame,  87,  88, 

97,  131 

Trebelli,  Signer,  37 
Tree,  Sir  Herbert,  346,  347 
Trial  by  Jury,  68 
Tristan   and    Isolde   (Wagner's), 

181 
Tschaikowsky,  268,  269 

Valleria,  Alwina,  101,  102 
Vaughan-Williams,  Dr.,  339 
Venice,  253 
Verdi,  245  et  seq. 
Vert,  Mr.  N.,  187,  189 
Vestris,  Madame,  313 
Vianesi,  Signer,  251 
Victoria  (Queen),  6,  9, 12, 41, 158, 

160,292 

Villiers,  Lady  Clementina,  217 
Vincent,  Miss  Ruth,  326 
Violinists,  328  et  seq. 
Vogl,  Herr  u.  Frau,  173,  181 
Von  Possart,  Herr,  272 

Wagner,  Frau  Cosina,  177,  179, 
195 

—  Mile  Johanna,  17, 173 


Wagner,  Richard,  17,   132,  165, 

170  et  seg.,  254 
"  Wahnfried  "  (Wagner's  home  at 

Bayreuth),  177  et  seq. 
Waldegrave,   Frances,    Counteaa 

of,  18,  38,  39,  40,  42,  43, 161 
Waldweben,  Wagner's,  135 
Wallace,  Vincent,  32 
Waller,  Lewis,  308 
Ward,  Madame  Genevie've,  314 
-  Mrs.  Dudley,  217,  232 
Warwick,  Countess  of,  168,  276, 

277 

Weber,  9,  34 

Weiss,  Mr.  Willoughby,  70,  74 
Weldon,  Georgina,  185 
Wellington,  Duke  of,  6, 11 
Westminster,  Marquis  and  Mar- 
chioness of,  45 
Westmorland,  Earl  of,  217 
White,  Miss  Maude  Valerie,  102 
Wieniawski,  M.  Henri,  136 
Wigan,  Alfred,  312 
Wilberforce  (Bishop  of  Oxford), 

218 

Wilhelmj,  Herr,  94,  131,  177 
Windsor  Castle,  159, 160,  277 
Wiseman,  Cardinal,  218 
Wolff,  M.  Johannes,  105,  307 
Wood,  Sir  Henry,  107,  124,  273, 

336 

Woodford,  Mr.  John,  212 
Wortham,  Colonel,  283 
Wylde,  Dr.  Henry,  60,  125,  126, 

140 
Wyndham,  Sir  Charles,  307 

Yeaye,  M.,  328 


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