April 6, 19 22
10
MUSICAL COURIER
HERMA MENTH TELLS OF HER PECULIAR RECEPTION IN VIENNA
Crystal Sugar, Pounds of Coffee, Loaves of Bread and Fresh Pork Showered Upon Her Following Her Farewell Appearance with the Philharmonic Orchestra—Other Experiences in America
happened i began to accent the tempi for the orchestra Mr Mendoza with quick thought stopped looking for the ־־־ght ™״sic, and in a flash realized that he knew by memory the fourth movement, so in about two seconds, in less time than it takes to tell, he caught the tempi and gave a very brilliant reading of the score. What a wonderful oppor-tunity for those young conductors to gain training that is not afforded in any other field in America! I shall never forget my experience. I had a wonderful letter from Mr. Kothafel and I hope to play there again at an early date.” Miss Menth, in private life, is the wife of Prof. Stoehr a professor at Columbia University. Mr. Stoehr has created considerable interest during the past few weeks on account of his invention which is an extra keyboard, to be placed over the keys. The musician reads the music in the original key m which it is written and by shifting this additional keyboard, he can transpose the selection to any other key It has been experimented with by many notable musicians. Lately Conductor Mengelberg, Ignaz Friedman, Josef Hofmann, Levitski, Josef LeYtnne, and others, were present at a demonstration They all tried it out and pronounced it an extraordinary achievement. Of course its practical use will appeal only to a limited field. Apparently it will be invalu-aoie to schools and conservatories, or to teachers. The completed sample is on exhibition at Steinway & Sons.
Miss Menth is now filling concert engagements and expects to complete a tour which will take her through the middle west.
Robert Menth, a brother, has been decorated for bravery during the war. He is responsible for saving the lives of his entire regiment. His Excellence, Auffenberg, came to the home ol Miss Menth for the ceremony, bringing his wife and daughter. The family gave a reception in which his Excellence spoke, and they had quite a celebration. J.
Edmund Burke Heard in Montreal
Edmund Burke formerly baritone of the Royal Opera Covefit Garden, London, and now in this country on a concert tour, gave a recital at Montreal February 20 the occasion being a benefit for the Cottage Home for Girls under the patronage of Lord and Lady Byng Mr Burke presented a program of old Italian and modern French songs.
organization. The conductors were perfectly wonderful to me. Mr. Mendoza and Mr. Kline directed for most of my performances. Naturally I had the rehearsals and the first performances with Conductor Rappe. I had never seen such quick thinking on the part of a young musician as one evening while Mr. Mendoza was conducting. I was
Rogers Artist Gets Church Position
Marjorie Greiner, artist pupil of Francis Rosters has been engaged for 1922-23 as soprano soloist at the Second Congregational Church, Greenwich, Conn. At Yale University on March 21 Mr. Rogers gave his program, “Three Centuries of Songs by English Composers,” with Alfred Boyce at the piano.
HERMA MENTH,
pianist.
playing the first and fourth movement of a Tschaikowsky concerto. I had been playing the first. It had been decided we play the fourth at that performance. I started the fourth, the orchestra had the music for the fourth, but Mendoza had been told that it would be the first movement. There was not one in the audience who knew that this had
In an interview with Herma Menth a few days ago she told of her experience in Vienna at her last recital there with the Philharmonic Orchestra.
“Of course in Vienna it is the same as in America. Your friends send you beautiful flowers at your concerts; but now the necessity for food is so tremendous, that the artists no longer get flowers, but real substantial articles that are considered most valuable. It was perfectly fascinating! I received several pounds of real crystal sugar, not the brown sugar that is being used every place but that white sugar that you know here; and there were pounds of wonderful coffee, and one of the ushers came down the aisle with an enormous loaf of bread tied with a piece of ribbon. It was large enough to last an average family for a week; but the most valued offering I received at my farewell concert was a strip of fresh pork. It was considered something very difficult to obtain and a rare delicacy. The audience cheered and applauded me very much when these wonderful gifts were brought on the stage. Of course it is hard to appreciate such a condition here in America, but it is a very serious thing there, this lack of some of the essential food products.
Her American Successes.
“I have had a wonderful experience this winter. One of the most delightful engagements was at Hollins, Va., where I played before an audience composed almost entirely of the students of Hollins College. For two days I lived in the school and took part in all of the activities. They made up a little song which they sang as I was leaving, and it rhymed with ‘Came to play for us and played with us.’ They were adorable, those girls, and I enjoyed every moment that I was with them. I am engaged to play there again in a few weeks.
Miss Menth was specially engaged by S. L. Rothafel for a week’s engagement at the Capitol Theater' She made a splendid impression and got considerable favorable comment for her playing. She was asked about this and was most enthusiastic and wanted to tell of her experience.
“The lighting of the huge theater positively fascinates me, and Mr. Rothafel, I can frankly say. is really one of the greatest men I have ever met. It was a marvelous revelation to see how he controlled the lights and the music, and the beautiful presentation for the motion pictures. To my mind, music in the motion picture houses is taking the place of the popular concert. The first thing I observed about this great theater was that things were not calculated on the hour, or by the minutes, but by the second. Each event is scheduled to a fraction of the minute. Mr. Rothafel has only to sit at his desk, where he has a dictaphone, and knows just exactly what is going on down on the stage, every moment during the performance. I cannot say enough about the wonderful treatment that I received from the Capital
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