Philadelphia Conservatory of Music - Variations Yearbook (Philadelphia, PA)

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Young singers do noi' offen hear abouf fhe difficulfies and dis- couragemenfs which have plagued fhe road 'ro success for many of our greafesf singers. If is somefimes helpful fo consider whaf handicaps ofhers have successfully overcome when our own problems loom exfra large. Grace Moore's experiences as a young singer are candidly de- scribed in her aufobiography. Af fhe beginning of her vocal sfudies, affer working wifh an lfalian music feacher who had been described fo her as good and cheap and wifh whom she had sfrained and pushed her voice, she found one day fhaf she could nof uffer a sound. If re- quired fhree monfhs of complefe silence and very slow, careful vocal- izing affer fhaf fo bring back her singing voice. Whaf a period of discouragemenf fhose fhree monfhs musf have been! . There is also a descripfion in Loffe Lehmann's aufobiography, Midway in My Song , of her early difficulfies in learning fo sing as well as wifh rhyfhm-an ifem of inferesf fo many singers, l fhink. She did noi' feel she was progressing af fhe Royal Academy in Berlin, so she accepfed a scholarship al' Efelka Gersfer's school where her work was so discouraging fhaf, af fhe end of a year, she was fold fhaf she had worked very poorly, could nof be a singer, and was coldly advised fo furn 'ro some pracfical career. ln spife of such dishearfening advice, she was defermined fo fry again and, of course, was finally rewarded. Back in fhe middle of fhe ninefeenfh cenfury, fhere was a singer named Gabrielle Krauss who was for fwenfy-five years 'rhe leading soprano af fhe Paris Opera. As a girl, fhe direcfors of fhe Vienna Conservafory did nof wish fo accepf her as a pupil, being unimpressed by her appearance, and saying she had no voice. Buf for Mme. Marchesi, who insisfed on accepfing her as a pupil, she mighf never have begun her career. Then fhink of Jenny Lind, who, affer singing for several years in opera in Sfockholm wifhouf any knowledge of correcf voice fechnique, found fhaf her voice was failing her. She wenf fo Garcia in Paris fo see if he could help her. Garcia was nof hopeful of resforing her voice and did nof even feel fhaf she had an unusual one. Affer 'ren monfhs of infensive work, her voice was so much improved fhaf she could con- finue her career. Then, undersfanding how fo use her voice, she became fhe Swedish Nigh'ringale , a name which is pracfically synonomous wifh perfecf singing. During her early career, Schumann-Heink showed her fine qualifies as a person and her excepfional sfrengfh of characfer almosf more fhan any ofher singer of whom l have heard. ln spife of fhe responsi-

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Lasf nighf Carnegie Hall was fhrown info an unprecedenfed uproar by a series of wild evenfs. The program began quiefly enough. If was affer fhe infermission fhaf fhe fireworks came. As fhe audience slowly made fheir way back fo fheir seafs, fhey were sfarfled by fhe appear- ance of several Indians clad in fradifional garb siffing in fhe percussion secfion. 'Anofher one of fhaf cufe SfobIowski's fricks,' fiffered one old dowager fo her friends. The orchesfra slowly assembled on sfage, fhe baffered piano was wheeled info posifion, fhe house Iighfs dimmed. Ouf came Rorowifz, who bowed superciliously, and fhen Sfoblowski. No sooner had he sig- naled fhe orchesfra fo begin, fhan fhere arose from fhe rear of fhe hall a loud shouf. Down fhe aisle plummefed fhe pudgy figure of Pames Jefrillo, union boss. 'ln fhe name of fhe law, I forbid you fo confinue,' he roared. 'Those Indians are non-union men, and any man fhaf plays one nofe will lose his union card and be black-Iisfed for Iife.' ERN.. mx A dreadful silence ensued. Suddenly one of fhe Indians leaped fo his feef wifh a wild cry and sfarfed affer Jefrillo. He was soon ioined by ofhers. If fook fiffy policemen fo resfore order, and as I undersfand, Jefrillo is in fhe hospifal, where he has nof yef recovered consciousness. The performance of fhe new concerfo was cancelled, and Mr. Rorowifz was discovered fwo hours Iafer by his friends, enferfaining fhe Indians af his aparfmenf. BARBARA DAY BRIGHT SAYINGS Lauren Persicheffi lage fhreel says fhe word is nof cooperlafeI - leighfI, buf cooperfen : fhaf ice is a piece of wafer , and a hand- kerchief is whaf you puf fhe blow on. Miss Chrisfman: Who reformed Opera? Sfudenf: Oh! Some Cluck by fhe name of Gluck!

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bilify of an unforfunafe marriage and a large family, she managed fo supporf her children by her work af fhe opera in Hamburg, fhe salary being l50 pounds a year. She also accepfed all fhe concerf engage- menfs she could manage, besides affending fo fhe dufies of a mofher and housewife, cooking fhe meals and washing and mending as well. The very nighf her eighfh child was born she sang fhe role of one of fhe Rhine Maidens, and fwo weeks lafer was back again in fhe same role. Even af fhe Mefropolifan her early days were full of monefary worries, and her sad privafe life musf have been a greaf frial. Some people nafurally have an advanfage in healfhy consfifufions and disposifions, buf singers do nof realize enough how imporfanf a parf characfer can play in making a successful career. Noi' only fhrough sheer deferminafion, buf also from fhoughfful, defached considerafion of fheir problems, and by infelligenf and courageous affempfs fo solve fhem, many arfisfs have reached success and safisfacfion in fheir work and a richer personal developmenf fhan would have been ofherwise possible. MARION BRADLEY The Conserva'rory's would-be vocal aspiranfs are warned fo confine fheir pracficing fo fhe privacy of fheir own domiciles. One of fhese aspiranfs, however, dares from fime fo fime fo pracfice lmezzo-voce, of coursel cerfain vocalises or af leasf a do-mi-sol progression on fhe sfreef or in 'the crowded, noisy subways and sfreef cars. On one oc- casion fhis affempf fo make fhe mosf of fime caused him considerable embarrassmenf. Humming a minor scale and a phrase or fwo from an old Halian aria on a sfreef car one day, he was very much surprised when an elderly woman in fronf of him furned around and in a voice lNOT mezzo- vocei said, Shuf up. Having regained his decorum, our young singer confinued his vocalizing-a liffle more forfissimo, iusi' fo annoy fhis characfer who seemed nof fo have fhe fainfesf musical sfrain in her calloused soul. Nof confenf wifh one bifing exposfulafion, fhis non-musical crank furned fo fhe conducfor as she alighfed from fhe car and said lnof pianissimol, l don'f know why we have fo be bofhered wifh drunken singers on fhese sfreef cars! Our would-be aspiranf, cold, sober, and alighfing af fhe same sfop, reforfed wifh a ferse rebuke and sfomped off down fhe sfreef. He sfill fakes a chance and is now pracficing Brahms Lieder on fhe subway. BOB HEARN