The San Francisco Call. Newspaper, November 1, 1903, Page 50

THE SAN FRANCISCO CALL, SUNDAY NOVEMBER 1, 1903, wit omely as artook of the t Palo Alto affords to me than to 1 along the line,” 1 flattered. » know anything about asked Mr. Duss mmunists and - made his b aper in the " he continued, tory ever seen it,”” I said, “‘and if you resignedly scoring his heonidhveg » colony was founded “ather Rapp. He was a priest f rg. Persecution drove band of people who be- his country, where be free to believe as they And was?” t was return to first principles, n doctrines. They in common, all house- sperty and worshiped y prospered. Thelr first ler County, then the mboats drove them to where they built New Harmony nks of the Wabash''—he ended i the concert master came rushing down the aisle with a face full of tre “My C in the baggage,” the that shapes our ¥ uctor. “That's all ve to play the Wienlaw- r plece anyway.” nd left the leader to his me of the increasing now Franko smile Then he tol prosperity of the colony, of its museum, factories, parks, orchestra, and then of how it had fallen upon evil times through lack of executive ability among its fath- ., and of how he had been invited, a g stock farmer in Nebraska, to help set things straight, ‘But everything was prospering with me there,” he sald, warming to the tale— - k, crops, everything. It seemed mad- ss to leave the farm. But I was deeply flattered by the invitation. In Harmony they always waited for their leaders to be ‘sent’—heaven sent, you know. And then, too, 1 was deeply interested in the work. you think I decided 1t?” * 1 guessed. be smiled. T said to my wife the y the letter arrived: ‘Now, if nothing ppens to-night on the farm we stay here, If anything happens we pack up end go to Harmony.' Well, that night my best mare lost a colt that would have been worth $200 on its feet. I came back from the stable and sald to my wife: “Pack up. We go to Harmony.” We went, and it was curious after that thet every- 4 the farm. The should have been tayed.” g on we with a smile am here tormy ghting be- Duss nd set his and he 2d fist your s together nds for them, 1 la there was bank- order, and there papers did not accuse me i I had poisoned people, they y arity with women I en he stopped with a fields I asked. aced past “When did me, from a pocket full of wing, from a Middle West two ago, that as it rdorsement, is val- the great Ny Metropolitan phe Orchestra one i v something more of the nd history of the gifted man nd can direct such a al artists and so harmo- each and all as to bring ‘Harmoni indeed, keynote of the life of J. S. was in the communistic colony of ame in F ania that his first work as a mu conductor became fere and reared, an known. Her American of Later he , whence he d to the colony to take charge bringing a wife, althc ts of his sect (the Se ragement of n daily expected the nt > dise fin. rough him, of those above 1 the separating of others from the re- body, became the head of the and itu These he found incumbered with heavy debts, eve titles to the property not well as: period of his career where sished himself not only as re- r and preacher, but as f promoter and lawyer, for he fully carried through immense lit} lasting ten ye , restoring the former sph credit of the colon nd estab- shing new industries within it, for which e famous. All the time he was and leading the colony s of rec on, for music ways been his master passion and at tz showed at an early age. has been falsely stated, possibly through norance, that his phenomenal almost instantaneous success and rapidly achieved fame as an orchestral conductor are due to his im- mense wealth, and that the real work was done by substitutes. This is incor- rect. It takes more than money for a man to be the successful ‘mixer,’ as some Western papers have styled Mr. . and to gain the confidence, respect and admiration of a body of fifty famous s. That has gained these affections of his men is evidenced e beautiful jewel, a Greek cross set diamonds, rubles and emeralds, which he wears on a ribbon sround his neck, the gift of his orchestra. “Mr. Duss has in the last season recetved the most cordial acknowledgments of his practical knowledge of music in all its branches, his great qualities as a leader, requiring temperament and magnetism, from the most authoritative critics and the press generally. He plays every string and wind instrument and is thor- oughly conversant with the world's best mu In appearance he reminds one of he great conductor, Anton Seidl, if he wore his hair as long, but he is too Amer- jean and democratic for that, and he might be mistaken at first sight for a suc- cessful business man of large affairs. One of his big ventures during the spring was the spectacular and musical produc- tion of “Venice' at Madison Square Gar- den. It is hoped that he may live long to stir the hearts and elevate and edu- cate the feelings of his countrymen by the magic wand of his musician’s baton.” “There was always the music?” I said, nodding at the paper in my hand. “Always,” he replied. “It is so foolish of the papers talking as If it were a new thing with me. Why, I led a small brass band when I was 9 years old, and the very minute I was footloose I began with the orchestra.” “Had you a good orchestra in ‘Har- mony? “Oh, well, one had to take what ma- terial there was and it is only a small place.” “Great fun to do what you want to do, isn't it?” 1 asked, but little more than you or I does Mr. Duss do what he would. He fell to talking almost immediately of “the orchestra he would have if he had the opportunity.” Questioned as to its make-up, hé said naively; “Oh, that is what I am not going to tell you. All trades have their secrets, and that is where one's individuality comes in."” “] know a man who wants horns in his orchestra,” temptingly. “‘Sixteen horns, sixteen horns,” he mut- tered, “and there you see how foolish he Eias to speak of it. 1 might steal the - “I'm sure you're very welcame,” I said. “I have three trumpets,” he suddenly stated, “and a euphonium. You don’t often bave the euphonium. I'm fond of sixteen I murmured | | it—it's all a matter of taste, though. Then I'm cranky about the kettledrums. To me they are almost always too loud. The tympanists hammer away at them till they sound like hotel gongs. They’re only a background. Why, this looks like Ger- many,” looking out at the patch of or-, dered field, with squares of purple beets, g d greens of all degrees kly spinning past Pretty that—doesn’t give much milk thougi It was a bonny black and white beast, nding with a clutter of hens about its feet I respectfully queried. Doesn’t take an old stockman to tell that,” Mr, Duss smiled. “Too fat.” “Oh,” I said. “But about the kettledrums—you don't mind my moving?” This to the artist, who had expressed a desire to get the nose— delicate and strong—of the man before him. “Get the left side, it's the best,” he advised, fraternally, quite without vanity, sromptly facing to the left. > kettledrums?” I prompted. get in front too often. a background, an atmos- after all. Of course, they’'re backed against a wall usuall and that pro- jects their sound. Halls differ, of course. By the way, we haven't come across many with better acoustics than that good-for-nothing armory in Portland e we, Eddy?” bright-faced youth addressed as leaned over his seat to answer He is the first trumpet, and a won. t the trade. They went for you there, didn't they, Mr. Duss continued, smiling over at his young trumpeter. “Eddy” smiled back-and began: “But—" )h, you did the best you could,” his conductor affably said. *‘That particular < that came to criticize didn’t know He said the singling out our It was simply a matter that was all. was too loud, trumpeter there. of acoustics—they were o clear that cven every bit of the lip work could be rd. And you can’t criticize without you hear the band from all over the house. -It makes all the difference. Two critics, both good, came to me after a concert. ( s too loud.’ and > said, ‘It was fine, but your ‘It The other said, your bra v He the trombones pointed right at you.” eid] changed so much,” Eddy recalled. “At one time you couldn’t get enough tone for him—he'd shout, ‘Use your third lung?’ Then it seemed to hurt him the £ big sound, and we couldn’t get it down enough."” But Mr. Duss had not done with the critics. “I like the critic who tells what happens, doesn't advance theories,” he sald. “Ope said the other day that this orchestra played itself. Nonsense! An orchestra can’t any more play itself than—! The better they are the worse they play. An orchestra of amateurs, with very little individuality of thelr own. will get on much better than an orchestra like ours, for example.” “I have seen Richter and Sousa’—I murmured doubtfully. “Not a doubt of it,” Mr. Duss decided as to his own contention. “Then there is the prejudiced critic. Why should any one be prejudiced? A man came to me in Des Moines after the concert and sajd: ‘Well, Mr. Duss, I liked the concert im- mensely. 1 must confess I was preju- Gjced before’—'Prejudiced!” ”’ and the Duss fist flew out again and the men behind smilingly wondered what the meek per- son in front had sald to rouse such a storm. “Then he began to explain. ‘How dare you explain!’ I said. Then he told me, he a newspaper man, that he had formed an opinion from the newspapers!”™ “What am I to say, Mr. Duss,” I laughed. He laughed, too, and said then must say ‘Duss’ to rhyme with ‘pus: “Is it John?” 1 asked. “Yes. The name's just half as bad as ‘John Smith.” Impossible for a pro- gramme. The ‘S,’ worse still, stands for ‘Samuel.’” " Bayreuth, where the conductor has not been, somehow came up then with its hidden orchestra. “But I want to see the men,” Duss in- sisted. “True, the individuality of the players always rather interferes with the music. I'd enjoy the trombone better if the player didn’t puff out his cheeks. I don’t like to see a man sit pigeon-toed” —illustrating both. “But where every mo- tion agrees with the spirit of the music it rather helps than hinders. Now it is impossible for me to conduct In a rigid fashion. Of course I'm not a great con- ductor, but I have my ideas. The Ger- mans—not as a nation—would never go wild over me. They like the solid, ponder- ous, heayy style of conducting. With the French It is different, all finesse, airy, light, off the fingertips,” and I fancied then that Mr. Duss’ conducting must be in the French style. “How did you find Sacramento last ‘You o T et ohn Samuel Duss, the Millionare Who Has a Big Orchestra for a Toy. | night?’ 1 asked, apropos of nothing. “It was the first time I myself was not applauded every time I went on the stage —and I didn’'t like it, either,”” the con- ductor naively confessed. *“We were late, true 1 the audience between wrath and giggles when we began, and of course the conductor.is to blame when anything goes wrong! But we got them all right, vs do.” - n a shrill “toot, toot,” and we slid into Palo Alto. The millionaire s hungry, so was I, also the artist, and with the hungry trainful we meited into the restaurants. Mr. Duss took gluey soup and sticky ple, with an heroic sim- plicity that one couldn’t but admire him for, and then we drove him up to the uni- versity. On the way I asked: other hobby besides music? “It is not fair to call it a hobby,” he sald simply; “music is my passion.” ————————— ‘“Have you any Among the People of the Stage World at Home and Abroad ENRY WOLFSOHN, Mme. Schu- mann Heink’s American man- ager, has received a letter from the well-known prima donna, showing that the committee who arranged the fes- tival which took place in Berlin two weeks ago in conjunction with the unvell- ing of the Wagner monument had any- thing but clear salling. Many months ago, upon the invitation of the committee, Mme, Schumann-Heink promised to sing at the ceremonies of the unveiling the great Bayreuth master's statue. It seems that an opposition, head- ed by the Wagner family and recruited tq a great extent by the followers of Mme, Cosima Wagner, as well as the Wagner Soclety of Berlin, tried to influence all the artists who promised to assist, as well as other well-known celebrities in the musical world, to withdraw. The great contralto received a number of communications, requesting her not to participate. Among these was an urgent Jetter by Dr, Richard Sternfeld, president of the Berlin Wagner Soclety. To this Mme, Sehumann-Heink answered as fol- lows: “VILLA TINI, September 23, 1803. “Koetschenbroda, near Dresden. “Dr. Richard Sternfeld, Berlin, Ger- many: “Dear Sir—I regeet that my German im- presario, Herr Frankfurter, in Nurnberg, to whom I sent your letter, in accordance to your request for immediate attention, neglected to answer in time. I will write the gentleman at once. *‘As regards the matter of my assistance at the festivities in honor of the unvell- ing of -the Richard Wagner monument I must tell you that: Firstly—I sacrificed my big fall musical festivals in’America in order to assist with my modest means at the great national fete, a material loss of $10,000, equaling 40,000 marks. Second- ly—As a matter of principle I never have anything to do with other people’s quar- rels. Thirdly—I know that Frau Wagner never was opposed to the participation of any artist in the affair. Fourthly—I con- sider it a disgrace that so great an occa- sion should be made laughable by nar- row-minded and childish considerations. Take an example by the’ much abused Yankees. When there is occasion to honor a great man in their country, they are all ready to do it without any ifs and buts, I have nothing to do with your quarrels. Ilove and worship Wagner and Bayreuth and sing in honor and praise of the great German music reformer. “It is correct that the assistance of Americans, Frenchmen, Italians, etc., in fact all foreign nations and their artists, should have been requested. Wagner's music, all art, belongs to the whole world. Hail to the German master, who was able to enthuse the whole world as he did. Hail, Master Wagner, three times hail? “For me the one fact remains—a monu- ment to Richard Wagner is to be erected great important event I consider an honor. 1 sing for the German master, Richard Wagner, not for Herr Leichner, to whom, notwithstanding, I would under all circumstances have kept my word. Yours truly, SCHUMANN-HEINK.” During the Wagner memorial concert Mme. Schumann-Heink was presented with a magnificent medallion, the only artist on this occasion wHo was honored with a decoration. . . . How Mme. Patti travels is thus inle estingly told by her press man: The itinerary of Mme. Patti's trip through America is now fully settled. She léit Craig-Y-Nos October 1S, gave a concert at Liverpool October 24 and went aboard the Etruria of the Cunard line on the same day. Robert Grau has taken the entire suite on the liner known as the Cabines de luxe, which means the principal state- rooms on the hurricane deck. This is to accommodate not simply Madame Patti, but her sulte of eight persons, who will comprise, first of all, her maid, her com- panion, her private secretary, her man- ager (who will look after her personal business Interests during the tour), three servants, and, of course, the Baron himself, who, in the negotiations, ap- pears as one of the suite, but who dur- ing the trip will probably take charge himself of the numberless points that may come up in a matter so elaborate as a Patti contract. For instance, no one is to occupy the diva's private car except- ing herself; any others are there by her permission. The members of the com- pany will, of course, be relegated to other cars. Then, wherever rooms are taken, in the quietest hotel possible, the same number of rooms must be kept va- cant overhead. This clause may seem exacting, but it really is not. The singer must have rest whenever she pleases, and nothing is more annoying to the or- dinarily nervous person than the travel- ing overhead by strangers, who would resent being requested to keep still, es- pecially as it may occur at all hours of the night. Then there is the carriage that must be always at the depot ready to take her to the hotel, the carriage that must be at the hotel ready to take her to the thea- ter and the carriage that must be at the theater to take her either back to the ho- tel or the depot when the concert is over. These are important matters, too, for standing in a draught for one min- ute might mean the loss of thousands of dollars. In short, she must be taken care of with even more consideration than the most precious jewel in the world. Otherwise, there comes the loss of her services, which means loss to her- self and disaster to her managers. So, while such provisions may seem finical, they are in reality of first impor- tance. The statement that the Pullmans are building a special car for the diva is entirely true. The ventilation and the window hangings of this car will be quite different from those in any others that they make. Those who travel much know the frequency of draughts and, of colds caught while traveling. The car is designed to prevent just that sort of thing. A cook and waiters will be aboard, but this does not mean that Mme. Patti will live in the car by any means. The ser- vants will only be necessary during tran- sit, as upon arrival at any town the singer will immediately go to the hotel. Though the diva's route is, as a rule, an easy one, there are some heavy jumps made necessary by the condition of the towns at the time she will sing fn them. Thus, from Carnegie Hall, after her sec- ond concert on November 4, she will go to Pittsburg and sing at the Duquesne Gardens there on Friday, November 6. Her next concert will be given at the Philadelphia Academy of Music on No- vember 9, and from there she will travel as far as Montreal, to be heard in the vast Arena there on November 12. The trip is necessary at this time because there is danger that later in the season so big a place could not be properly heated. After this comes the concert at the Brooklyn Academy of Music on Novem- ber 17, and the first Boston concert will - - be given on Thursday, November 19, at Symphony Hall, with a matinee Novem- ber 2. On Monday evening, November 23, Mme. Patti will sing at the New Maryland Theater in Baltimore, and on November 25 the only concert to be given in New Je will take place at Newark. It is probable that the diva will be heard again in New York on one ocea- sion only, November 27. But after that she moves rapidly away, appearing in Buffalo November 30, in Louisville De- cember 4 and Milwaukee December 7. Then she will sing on Wednesday, Decem- ber 9, at the Auditorium in Chicago. On that day just fifteen years before she dedicated that edifice. After that will fol- low a concert each at Detroit, Cincinnati, St. Louis, Des Moines, Omaha, etc., out to \San Franclsco and as far as Seattle and Tacoma, and then as far south as Texas, and, in fact, embracing the entire country. Local Playhouses Offer Attractions of Great Variety HE spectacular production of “Ben Hur” will be the attraction this week at the Grand Opera-house A feature of “‘Ben Hur"” that has attract- ed a great deal of attention is the inci- dental music, composed by Edgar Still- man Kelley, formerly professor of music at Yale and at one time a resident of this city. Mr. Kelley's musical setting, which fs played by an orchestra numbering -four musicians, adds materially to reness of this extraordinary Mr. Kelley is considered an on both sides of the Atlantic twent authority on ancient and Oriental music, and here gives free play to his imagination. The dramatist of the play, Willjam Young, is a well-known literary man. His first play was “Jonquie,” produced by Ed- win Booth at Booth's Theater, New York. Then came “Pendragon,” a trag- edy in blank verse, to which Lawrence Barrett gave a superb production. A stm- ilar tragedy, ‘‘Ganelon,” was also pro- duced by Lawrence Barrett. His “Rajah,"” which ran for 250 nights at the Madison Square Theater, showed the versatliity of his genius. Among his other works was the adaptation of Bernhardt's “Joan of Arc,” produced by Margaret Mather. Mr. Young is said to have been especially happy in his dramatization of “Ben Hur."” Not only does he appear to have caught the spirit of General Wallace’s novel, but the dialogue is written in the author's dignified and picturesque style. Mr. Young has bandled the religious side of the story with a sincere and delicate ap- preciation of the danger of intrusion upon a sacred theme. There Is not a moment in “Ben Hur" that could offend the most sensitive Christian sentiment. The play begins to-morrow evening a season of four weeks at the Grand Opera. house. The box office record so far is phenomenal. wieshe ““Too Much Johnson,” an old favorite, will open to-day at the Alcazar. at’e m Haverly’s minstrels, with Billy Van as the “assassin of sorrow.” will be the at- traction at the California this week. [T A “Valléy Forge' promises to fill the Cen- tral this week with audiences as enthu- siastic as those that last week renewed acquaintance with “Uncle Tom's Cabin.” . . The musical comedy, “The Storks,” will succeed Robert Edeson at the Columbia. P “Rubes and Roses" is the vehicle se- lected to carry the efforts of the talented comedians at Fischer’s, where the “Pa- raders” has been keeping up the O'Far- rell-street theater's good reputation. & e e The Orpheum this week presents a new bill of high-class vaudeville. B riog e beVnudziv‘llLl; and other attractions will 4 pro as usual for the patrons of the Chutes o T is the band er's tury with the Ellery R as purv b band begins a K's this afternoon a \ r ater, and will 4 tless cordially welcomed. As u t ol er to greet r little di- rector of last y ur the ine 138 with the t cen rie the Chiaffarelli and said tc mphonic ng & . o Im mortality are d to be of ex His < Musica augmented even- of a The band brix repertoire, and 1r programn the new works. e noon will be Antonio De clarinet player who for his work with t ago. Signor Palma p and the accomplishe needs no recall Decimo will play (Cavallini), and Pa “Connais-tu le pays The programmes in full £t SUNDAY MATINEE, PART 1—March, ‘‘American B 2—Overture, “La Fanciu First . Chiafarelll Luders Palma. Macbeth Wagner .Thomas 4—‘Albumblat . Wagner 5—Sextet, “Polly . Dontzett! Signort_de ) . Lomonte, Bizet duc- 9—Grand fantaste, Prelude, Habanera, Toreador Solos novelties promised season of grand opera at the Tiv- At least one of the for the oli is now on the way to production, *“Zaza" of Leoncavallo. Just what this means is in danger of being forgotten by a public lazily a tomed to the grit and enterprise of the plue littla opera- house. There are two novelties promised this year, the aza™ aforesaid and the “Adrian Lecouvreur” of Ci these has yet been given in America. Both are new even in their own countries. New York gets never m operas during its seasc chinery of unlimited wealth and even this evokes a chorus ment for the enterprise therein evinced. Yet here, In the jumping off place, where without the whole company tucked up its sleeves to the work the production would ore than two new . with all the ma- behind it, of compli- be impossible, this absurd little place does things all along the line like its ridicu- good “T and “Andre Che- of last year, without turning a hair, The fame of it has reached even to New York. The Times comments both upon the iacts that “La Tosca™ and “Andre Chenier’ were given last year, and that we are to have this season the aforesald novelties. Neither does it fall to draw the unflattering comparison between the Metropolitan Opera-house and the Tivoli Opera-house managements. It is well to have one’s blessings labeled occasionall lest we forget, and perhaps a New York label carries more conviction than a local ticket “Zaza" promises extremely well. is about the opera the same virile ity, of music made because it must be made, of the »I'Pagliacci,” possibly the most powerful example of the modern Italian school. It is also very melodious and intensely dramatic in story. The libretto is by Illica, of the best of modern librettists. Ther: qual- ol The arrivals in New York last week in- cluded Jacques Thibaud, the French vio- linist, who is to make his first tour here this season. Thibaud is to make his debut on the evening of the 30th at the first of the Wetzler symphony concerts, in Carnegie Hall hosen for his introduction the B and Mozart concertos. Two we ater Thibaud is to be the solc at the first brace of con- certs of the Philharmonic Society, which occasion will also introduce the famous French director Edouard Colonne, who was the first to dis er Thibaud, while he was playing with a smail orchestra in a cafe in the Latin quarter of Paris. On this occasion, Thibaud is to play the Lalo Concerto. On November 2, Thibaud will give his first recital In Carnegle Hall, when the principal numver on the pro- gramme is to be the Cesar Frank Sonate. November 7 Thibaud will make his Bos- ton debut at the new Jordan Hall in that city. Thibaud is to play later with the New York Symphony Orchestra, the Phil- adelphia, Pittsburg, Cincinnati, Chieago and St. Louls symphony orchestras. He is also booked for ten recitals in Trenton Washington, Troy. Detroit, Buffalo, Min- neapolis, St. Paul, Milwaukee, Cleveland and Brooklyn. Ellery's Royal Italian Band opens this afternoon at the Alhambra and will .ive a performance every night except to- morrow night and up to and Ineluding next Sunday, with matinees on Saturday and Sunday. o 300 The Lyceum Theater in London, for many years the dramatic home of Henry Irving, is to be converts : i erted into a music Ay R At the Tivoll “La Favorita” and “Vaval- lerfa” and “Pagliacel” will be presented.