37
MUSICAL COURIER
March 2, 1922
ROSA PONSELLE A BRIDESMAID
On Washington’s Birthday, Anthony, brother of Rosa Pon-selle, the Metropolitan prima donna, was married at St. Thomas’ Church, New York, to Lydia Babusdo, Rosa Pon-selle acting as bridesmaid for the couple. The photograph shows her (right) with the bride and groom. In the evening Miss Ponselle gave a reception in honor of the newly married, which was attended by many prominent figures of the operatic world. (Photo © Underwood & Underwood.)
Pavloska just as busy. Her appearances with the Chicago Opera Association at the Manhattan Opera House, New York, necessitated the postponement of her appearance with the Orpheus Club at Battle Creek, Mich., from Feburary 6 until February 27.
Final Flonzaley Subscription Concert
The third and concluding subscription concert of the Flonzaley Quartet in New York this season will be given Tuesday evening, March 7, in Aeolian Hall. The program will consist of works by Ernest Bloch, Haydn and Schumann.
In addition to the foregoing concert the quartet will play in Long Branch, Millbrook, Princeton, Boston and Dobbs Ferry during the first ten days of March.
Lenora Sparkes Now Touring Texas
Lenora Sparkes left New York on February 7 for an extended tour of the south and southwest, which opened in Abilene, Tex., on February 10. Other cities to be visited in the Lone Star State are Dallas, Fort Worth, Orange, Marshall, Smithville and Beaumont. The Metropolitan soprano will also sing in Lafayette, La.; Hot Springs, Ark.; Pine Bluffs, Ark.; Grenada, Miss.; Tuscaloosa, Ala., and New Bern, N. C.
A Williams-House-FIinshaw Combination
When William Wade Hinshaw was planning his “Cosi Fan Tutte” company for next season, that delightful opera by Mozart, he naturally wanted two singers who would be real leaders, a soprano and tenor being required. In the Adelaide Gescheidt studio he found these singers—Irene Williams and Judson House—both of them exclusively products of the Gescheidt studio.
EDWIN HUGHES
THE EMINENT AMERICAN PIANIST
Management: RAOUL BIAIS	New York City	Personal Address:
1425 Broadway	Steinway Piano 316 West 102nd Street
JESSIE MASTERS
THE ALL AMERICAN CONTRALTO
Management: HARRY H. HALL, 101 Park Avenue, New York
ALBERT W. HARNED, 728 13th St., Washington, D. C.
and Lady Allen and Lady Moss. In the afternoon she was given a reception at Havergal Hall, the school which she attended as a girl, and another signal honor shown her was a luncheon at the Town Club, followed by a reception at the Government House, where she was the guest of His Honor Lieutenant-Governor and Lady Cockshutt. Her brother, Donald Gordon, a student at Toronto University, also gave a dinner for her at the King Edward Hotel.
Maurice Dambois on Tour
Maurice Dambois, the noted Belgian cellist, returned recently from new triumphs abroad, having met with great success in France, Holland, Belgium and England.
The demand for Mr. Dambois’ services in Europe is so great that he is able to devote only three months of his time to this country. He holds a unique position among musicians, as he is equally accomplished on the piano, and a composer, as well, whose compositions have called forth favorable comment.
At his appearance in London, the London Times accorded him the following glowing tribute: “The instrument is his obedient, humble servant, if, indeed, the man and the instrument are not one thing—that thing speaks with quiet persuasion, with exalted rapture, with bitter indignation, or with a stifled murmur as in a dream, but at all times with utter conviction. There is no waste, every note tells. We can not remember ever before hearing the instrument speak with such a human voice and say things that went so straight home.”
Following are the engagements booked for Mr. Dambois during the month of March:	Cincinnati, March 1; Des
Moines, March 3; St. Louis, March 6; Rochester, March 9; New York (Aeolian Hall), March 11; Terre Haute, March 16; Memphis, March 20; New Orleans, March 23; Washington, March 30.
Rudolf Polk Winning Success Abroad
Rudolf Polk, American violinist, sends word that his concerts in Germany, Austria and Poland continue with ever increasing success. At his first Vienna concert he was called out ten times after the Tschaikowsky concerto. He writes that travel is uncomfortable, as the trains are unheated in spite of the extreme cold. However, that the suffering was temporary, and that it in no wise interfered with the excellence of his art, is proved by the very high order of his press reports. The following from the Prager Tageblatt is a fair example of them all:	“The influence of Marteau is
evident in many characteristics of Polk’s playing, particularly in the carefully nurtured and polished tone, exhibited chiefly in the slow movement .... His technic is faultlessly perfect, and the clarity and sincerity of his interpretations are praiseworthy....That he is a highly gifted
young artist was proved by the hearty applause.” The Prager Bohemia also speaks of “the nobility of his tone” and adds that his interpretations are “earnest and dignified.” At his second Berlin concert he played the following program: sonata in G minor, Tartini; concerto in A minor, Vivaldi; concerto in F, op. 86, Gernsheim; “Albumblatt,” Wagner-Wilhelmj; etude, Kreutzer-Saar; waltzer, Schu-bert-Franck; “Perpetuum mobile,” Burleigh; introduction and tarantella, Sarasate.
May Peterson Captures Springfield Audience
Springfield, Ohio, February 19, 1922.—May Peterson, soprano of the Metropolitan Opera Company, made a very favorable impression here when she appeared in a concert on January 24, under the auspices of the Women’s Club’s Artists’ Course, held at Memorial Hall. Her concert is considered one of the best liked of the series, for she entirely captivated her hearers, not alone with the natural beauty of her voice but also with her charm of manner.
The critic of the Sun spoke of Miss Peterson’s voice as being of “exquisite fiber,” having “wonderful range, melodic beauty and color.” The Daily News commented in part: “Miss Peterson’s voice is of unusual sweetness and clarity, and especially noticeable were her wide range and resonance.” The singer was “most generous in her encores,” for in addition to six additional numbers she was obliged to repeat three of her programmed ones—“Le Coeur de ma mie,” Dalcroze; “Little David,” an old negro melody by Grant-Schaefer, and “Wi-um,” an Indian lullaby by Lieu-rance.	H. G.
Sklarevski to Revisit Orient
Alexander Sklarevski, the Russian pianist who was introduced to New York early in the season and instantly made a place for himself among the notable new artists, is shortly to return to the Orient for a second tour. He will visit Japan, China, the Philippines and Java between February and May, and then make a tour of Australia and New Zealand before coming back to America next fall. Arrangements for Mr. Sklarevski’s Australian and New Zealand concerts have been made by Charles Drake, who will also manage the pianist’s affairs in America next season.
Pavloska Active
Irene Pavloska, mezzo soprano of the Chicago Opera Association, is one of the most active members of that organization, singing three or four times a week. Her concert schedule at the close of the operatic season will keep Miss
Olin Downes Interviews Maria Ivogun
The following are lines that have been selected at random from an interesting interview that Olin Downes of the Boston Post had with Maria Ivogun:
“I’ve known music to come out of awfully funny-looking people. It’s only now and then that an artist has a personality and an appearance which corresponds with his or her art. But in the case of Maria Ivogun, the Hungarian coloratura soprano of the Chicago Opera Association, the two match, and the effect is pleasant.”
In touching upon Mary Garden’s opinion of the young singer, Mr. Downes is quoted as follows:
“She says Ivogun’s voice is a string of pearls from the very bottom to the very top; that she has a delightful style and a coloratura to make your eyes pop out. .	.	.”
“Did your parents make you sing?” asked Mr. Downes, “or did you sing first and thus inform your parents what they were to do with you thereafter?”
“It was this way,” she replied. “My mother was a singer of reputation. She soon saw that I had an uncommonly good voice. She did not give me lessons nor allow anyone else to do so for some years. Nor did she allow me to sing very much at play or at school. For a child may roughen a good voice by bawling about or singing with all the power of her lungs. She let my voice grow up, and then I studied with an admirable teacher, Ambrose, son of the musical historian, and started right. .	.	.
“A thing even more important for a singer, I think, is that she should keep her nerves and good spirits. It is not as necessary for a musician as for someone else to keep in good health. It is more so. The emotional strain of musical interpretation is at times very great. It is not only the tax on the concentration and on the most precise adjustment of muscles, etc., for the singer, but also the very real tax on the feelings. .	.	. We must learn to stimulate
feeling, and in order to stimulate feeling we must know feeling. We must whip up our emotions if they do not learn to respond of themselves to the prescribed situation. One is experimenting with a very delicate and complex machinery. There will be reactions. Only a steady brain and steady nerves can stand those reactions and not eventually be overstrained by them. Therefore I feel that I am specially fortunate in my love of outdoor sports and the fact that I do not have to have wild excitement outside of the theater to enjoy myself. Nor do I have to wrap my throat in cotton wool. It is possible to have a good, sensible time, even if you are a singer. .	. .
“I prefer a waltz to an American trot, remarkable as that dance is. I prefer the music of a Strauss, if I may be so frank, to your popular dance music. Not that it lacks its— persuasions! A saxophone,” she laughed, “playing in one key ánd an orchestra in two or three others has its wild charm. It is a peremptory command to dance, or at least to make rapid motions that you might call dancing. But it is rather a degeneration of primitive dances than a thing either primitive on the one hand or modern and of today on the other. Frankly, I don’t think this an art form, and I still think a waltz a very beautiful dance.”
Lost—Schumann-Heink
Lost—Mme. Schumann-Heink, famous contralto. Finder please notify Southern Pacific Glee Club.
Mme. Schumann-Heink was recently “lost” in the wilds of California. At least she was lost as far as the members of the Southern Pacific Glee Club and many others were concerned. The great contralto made her appearance at a local theater one night, and was scheduled to leave for other parts the next day. At noon a truck appeared at one of the Southern Pacific depots with her baggage. Then cathe an army of her admirers, all bent on seeing her off. And finally came the Glee Club, costumed in overalls, and with a choice collection of farewell airs. The club members lined up, cleared their throats and waited. But no “heavenly” melodies to the great star were rendered. The train came and went, but Schumann-Heink came not.
After waiting another hour the carolers gave it up and went back to work. Madame was lost! Now, some have it that Madame, not knowing of the reception awaiting her, had lunched at the home of a prominent citizen and departed by motor for San Francisco long before the train arrived. But that’s poor consolation for the Glee Club.
Institute of Musical Art Concert
The ninth annual public concert by students of the Institute of Musical Arts was held Saturday evening, February 25, in Aeolian Hall, before a capacity audience. These concerts are given under the auspices of the Auxiliary Society of the Institute of Musical Art, which provides a number of scholarships to enable talented students to pursue a thorough musical education.
The student orchestra of eighty performers, under the capable and inspired direction of Frank Damrosch, rendered with excellent tonal balance the “Husitska” overture, Dvorak; Goldmark’s “Rustic Wedding” symphony and Berlioz’s “Hungarian March.”
Marianne Kneisel played Bruch’s G minor violin concerto in which she had unusually fine support from director Damrosch and the orchestra. The vocal quintet from “Die Meistersinger” (Wagner) was particularly well rendered. Those who participated in this number were Nora Fanchald, Electa Havel, Arthur Phillips, John Townsend and Hyman Wittstein, their voices blending beautifully.
Alton V. Jones gave a brilliant performance of “Concert Allegro,” by Schumann. In this, the orchestra likewise supported the young artist admirably.
Jeanne Gordon Recaptures Toronto
One of the greatest demonstrations ever accorded any artist was that which greeted Jeanne Gordon, the Metropolitan Opera contralto, at her recent appearance in Toronto as soloist with the National Chorus of Toronto. The great auditorium was crowded to its utmost with one of the most fashionable audiences ever assembled in that city.
Besides singing two groups of songs an'd an aria, Miss Gordon gave the Schindler arrangement of “Eili, Eili” with the chorus. Her glorious voice was shown at its best in the aria from the “Masked Ball,” and her beautiful diction caused her English group to be specially well received.
After the concert Miss Gordon was the guest of honor at a reception given by the National Chorus. There were five hundred guests, among them Sir Henry and Lady Pellatt
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DUTCH VIOLINIST
Preparatory Teacher to
Studios: 20 Hemenway Street Boston
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ELIZABETH QUAILE
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225 West End Ave., New York
Assistant to HAROLD BAUER