10
April 5, 1923
MUSICAL COURIER
SYDNEY, N. S. W., NO LONGER ON THE MUSICAL MAP	honesty was not so strong as his ardent affections?” Sir
Basil shook an uncertain head. The mystery was too much for him. To date no trace of the thief has been discovered.
Loss of Verbrugghen Keenly Felt in Australia—State Orchestra Goes to Smash	___________
Recital at David Mannes School
A vocal recital, given by soloists and the two ensemble vocal groups at the David Mannes Music School, March 22, was the first of an interesting series of four spring recitals arranged by Mr. and Mrs. Mannes, directors of the school. The individual singers, pupils of Guilio Silva, were heard in operatic arias both ancient and modern, followed by the Cimaroso trio from II Matrimonio Segreto for two sopranos and contralto; Pergolesi’s Stabat Mater, given by Mr. Silva’s ensemble class, and two selections—Cesar Franck’s Far O’er the Bay, and Myles Foster’s Song of the Gale—sung by David McK. Williams’ choral class.
The second recital of this new series will be given by David and Clara Mannes on April 12. The third, announced for April 26, is to have the string choir of the school, under Mr. Mannes’ direction and with instrumental soloists, while the fourth will be presented by the younger students on the afternoon of May 2.
Reception at Frederic Dixon Studios
On Sunday afternoon, March 25, Mr. and Mrs. Frederic Dixon gave a delightful musicale-tea at their home on West Eighty-sixth street. Their studios are spacious and artistic, the two-story height affording fine acoustics. A most enjoyable program was rendered by Flora Greenfield, Vivienne de Veau and Helon Mara, sopranos, and Mr! Dixon, pianist. Miss Greenfield recently returned from a trip as assisting artist with Martinelli and will soon start on another tour. She has a lyric soprano voice of wide range and coloring, with dramatic qualities in evidence. She sang the aria, Adieu Forets, from Tschaikowsky’s Jeanne d’Arc, with intense feeling and excellent diction A lighter number was Heart, Will You Go With Me? (Berwand). Miss Greenfield’s charming personality is also a valuable asset Vivienne de Veau, soprano, sang the Romanza from Cavallena Rusticana effectively, and Beau Soir (Debussy) was given with admirable feeling for atmosphere and mood. For her last number she sang Rhea Silberta’s effective song, Samson Said, with the composer at the piano A voice of unusual power, brilliancy and flexibility was revealed in the singing of Helon Mara, who offered Una Voce Poco fa, from the Barber of Seville; Nymphs and Fauns, Bemberg, and The Theft, Rhea Silberta, with the composer accompanying the last number. These three artists are pupils of Anne Stevenson, who was at the piano providing sympathetic accompaniments.
The excellent tone production, diction and style of each spoke well for their training. Another noticeable feature was the evenness of their voices in all registers, the body of tone and rich coloring in the lower as well as higher tones. •
Frederic Dixon was prevailed upon to play several solos He chose three of the numbers which proved popular at his ״cent successful Aeolian Hall recital—the F minor ballade ot Chopm and two of Marion Bauer’s preludes. Mr Dixon interpreted with his usual artistic feeling, sympathetic tone and excellent style and technic. The preludes of Marion Bauer grow m favor with each hearing.
Among the guests present were Mr. and Mrs. Alfred Cortis, Emily Frances Bauer, Marion Bauer, Marian Morgan, Barbaia Maurel, Mr. and Mrs. Aubrey Eads, Mr. and Mrs Max Burnheim Mr. and Mrs. Gustave Saenger, Herbert Peyser, Mr. Hayes, Richard Hammond, Mr. and Mrs. bydney Dalton, the Misses Thomas, Mrs. Berthal Nover Katherine McNeal Mrs. Frank Riley, Enrica Clay Dillon,’ Stanley Ohnsted, Rhea Silberta, William Greenfield, Mrs! David Allen Campbell, Mr. and Mrs. Sydney K. Ruffell Edna Horton Anne Schingleur, Mary Mathers, Charles Pearson, and Dr. Leo Ross.
Diaz Contract Renewed at Metropolitan
Rafaelo Diaz, tenor of the Metropolitan Opera Company for several years past, has signed a new contract with ML Uatt;־Lasazza f°r the season of 1924-1925.
Mr. Diaz, who takes daily strolls in Central Park left his home one morning for his customary exercise, when his attention was called by a pedestrian to a black kitten that was following him. Mr. Diaz, who is very fond of animals—particularly black cats—petted the animal for quite a time and on returning to his home, discovered that the fol!ow,ed aSam• This prompted the tenor
said th־.thMamr at.l-tr'hlS r°°m׳ Upon arriving, his mother said that Mr Gatti-Casazza wanted to see him at once.
Dl“־ toget.hfer wl‘h his newly acquired friend, drove to the Metropolitan, vvhere the new contract was at once
am-mfi .Follo״lnVhls’ thesmger took the little kitten to an animal store, bought an elaborate blanket, and other trinkets
and inftanedSth-10n-0f a ^etr°P°litan 0Pera tenor’s mascot,
might wdl env^ m 3 h°me SUCh 35 °ther black kittens
i Mr'.uDlai •says: “J am not superstitious, but I will always keep that kitten. He brought me good luck.”
Hurlbut Scheduled for California in May
Harold Hurlbut, the De Reszke disciple, whose secoi ranscontmental tour of master classes and lecture recto P lyh c.overed twenty-two weeks, has been urged to inclu! An״f?Jnla T c1S ^.ay Fmerary. He will be heard in L Angeles and San Francisco, in which latter city he w
!״ the" NorthweH.	daSS Pri°r t0 his regular cIass
• .Mr• Hurlbut’s recent successes in Europe are of especi Californians, as he is a Leland Stanford alumn (06) belongs to the Kappa Sigma fraternity, and h members of his pedagogy classes teaching in California fro San Francisco to Santa Barbara
Renee Chemet for Biltmore Series
E. Johnston has secured the services of Renee Cheme the violinist, for one of the concerts of his Biltmore serie next season. H Godfrey Turner announces that she wi give her first New York recital immediately after he return from the middle-western tour, which has been a?
ranged for her and which includes Pennsylvania, Ohio Illi nois. Mmsmiri anrl TToncoc	’ u» aid
the Conservatorium and gave the subsidy to the orchestra is now only a memory. It was not a good government in all matters, but at least it had the saving grace of being a first rate government in musical matters. The government that followed was not too kind and got on the wrong side of Verbrugghen. But the present government is worse, as it allowed that fine organization, the State Orchestra, to smash. Of course, had not Verbrugghen gone away when he did, the orchestra would have remained. It was at least secure for three years. But he went away and apparently a conductor could not be found who could attract the requisite support at the concerts. Besides a portion of the press, a very small portion to be sure, was actually hostile to the orchestra and to the idea of its being kept on as a permanent organization.
We felt the loss of our band at the Christmas time performances of the Messiah by our choral societies, which had to do the best they could with the remains of the State Orchestra and what other instrumentalists that could be begged, borrowed or stolen from their jobs in the theaters.
But though the State Orchestra is indeed dead, its remains refuse to be buried. A percentage of the members cling together and hold weekly rehearsals at the Conser• vatorium.
Meanwhile that part of Sydney which is truly musical is feeling the loss of Verbrugghen more and more keenly as the days go by.	Griffen Foley.
Statuette of Ruth St. Denis Stolen from Exhibition
Actresses and prima donnas get publicity every so often by the reported theft of their jewels, but for Ruth St. Denis a variant was found very recently when it was reported in all the New York dailies that a bronze statuette,
LYRA
Statuette hy Alice Morgan Wright.
entitled Lyra, modelled by Alice Morgan Wright, had been stolen from the exhibition of the Society of Independent Artists while in progress on the Waldorf-Astoria roof. The figure was that of a dancing girl and the sculptor admits that Miss St. Denis furnished the inspiration. The work had been much admired and Sam A. Lewisohn had bought the one on exhibition and a copy had been ordered by A. H. Bahr. One morning last week when the secretary of the Independents was looking over the show he found that Lyra had 'been wrenched from her base and the wire which held her had been broken.
Sir Basil Thompson, former head of Scotland Yard, now on an American lecture tour, was called in and he reasoned out the mystery in this fashion:
“Would it be a professional art show Raffles who would neatly break a wire and make off with a valuable piece of sculpture, or would it be a poor but otherwise worthy young artist in love with Ruth St. Denis—since Miss Wright’s sculpture was inspired by that dancer—whose
Sydney, N. S. W., February 15.—Since the departure of Henri Verbrugghen for your country, the bottom has pretty nearly fallen out of our domestic music. Last season we chiefly lived on visiting artists, deriving most of our art nutriment from Maier and Pattison, the delightful American pianists who specialize in playing compositions for two pianos; the Sistine Choir under Monsignor Rella, and Alt-house and Middleton, the American tenor and basso. Nor must Rosina Buckman, the New Zealand dramatic soprano, be left unmentioned. Miss Buckman, after an absence of several years in England, where at Covent Garden she achieved a big success in Wagnerian roles, made a very successful and long tour of her native land and the Commonwealth, supported by her husband, Maurice d’Oisly, the tenor. The dramatic soprano is due in London for the beginning of the next season there, but I believe she intends visiting America sometime during the year.
The State Orchestra Goes to Smash.
The withdrawal of the Government subsidy from the State Orchestra and its consequent disruption have dealt a heavy blow to music in Sydney. It has been truly said that the State Orchestra, founded by Verbrugghen, had put Australia on the musical map. It may now be alleged, with equal reason, that its demise has, temporarily at least, wiped New South Wales off the musical map and earned an unenviable name for Sydney as a place that threw away its chance of becoming recognized as an important art center. The position is now that we have no permanent orches-. tra, no permanent chamber music organization, such as we had in Verbrugghen’s time, and no permanent opera, which we did not have at any time. In fact, unless something exceptional happens our last state threatens to become worse than our first, i. e. our condition before the advent of the State Conservatorium.
Victim of Circumstances.
Still, Sydney is not so much to blame. Our city has been a victim of circumstances more than anything else. After all, we are the only city in the wide British Empire, I believe in the whole English speaking world, that has a State Conservatorium and had a State Orchestra. And this being so it means that our government spends incomparably more on music annually than does the British Government, which merely contributes a paltry subsidy to the Royal Academy, Royal College and Royal Irish Academy. At least it did so before the war. Whether it has resumed these small subsidies since the cessation of hostilities is not clear.
But the trouble is that we have suffered from unsympathetic governments. The government that established
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