both enjoyed prosperous careers, and Miss Louie Freear successfully bore on her shoulders the entire burden of "A Chinese Honeymoon," produced at the Strand in the autumn. 99 66 "The Belle of New York" was successfully revived at the renamed Century Theatre, but other American musical comedies produced during the year, viz., "The Fortune Teller," The Whirl of the Town," "The Girl from up There" and "The Belle of Bohemia," though characteristically noisy, apparently possessed no compensating advantages. At the death of Mr. D'Oyly Carte the Savoy passed into new hands, but continued to be conducted on the old lines. Sir Arthur Sullivan died before he had completely finished the music of "The Emerald Isle," of which Captain Basil Hood supplied the libretto. The score was, however, completed by Mr. Edward German, and the piece enjoyed a considerable run. "Ib and Little Christina," also by Captain Hood, failed to draw, and on December 7 "Iolanthe was once more seen in London after too long an absence, and proved as delightful as ever. At Christmas, besides the usual number of pantomimes, two or three plays specially for the benefit of children were produced, including "Shock-headed Peter," "The Man that Stole the Castle" and "Bluebell in Fairyland." III. MUSIC. The first year of the new century was marked by manifold signs of activity on the part of British musicians, both in composition and performance; and the public appreciation of British music, both at home and on the Continent, was more pronounced than it has been for a long time past. Perhaps the most important event of the year was the production of an English opera in the summer season at Covent Garden, the libretto being the work of Mr. Julian Sturgis, founded on Shakespeare's "Much Ado about Nothing," and the music composed by Dr. Villiers Stanford. In spite of the somewhat niggardly behaviour of the Covent Garden authorities, who allowed only two performances of the opera after having promised three, the work produced a considerable sensation in musical London, and did much to advance the rather lagging cause of English opera. Dr. Stanford has long been known for his consummate musicianship, his catholic taste and his wide artistic sympathies, and in this opera he put forth his best powers, with brilliant results. While not avoiding the use of representative themes, he refrained from following too closely in Wagner's steps, and the music reflects rather the inherited excellencies of many different composers than the definite style of any one master. If the opera has a prototype at all, it is perhaps to be found in Verdi's "Falstaff,” and it is giving high, but not too high, praise to "Much Ado about Nothing" to compare it in brilliance and sparkle, in lightness of touch and in finish of workmanship to the great Italian's comic masterpiece. An excellent performance was secured under the conductorship of Sgr. Mancinelli, the cast including such well-known names as Miss Suzanne Adams, Miss Marie Brema, Mr. Bispham and M. Plançon. Apart from the production of Dr. Stanford's work, the season of grand opera at Covent Garden was singularly uneventful, not to say uninteresting. There was the first performance in England of Lalo's "Le Roi d'Ys," a work that was produced in Paris as long ago as 1888, and has since had considerable vogue in France. It is not a work of any very serious artistic merit, but it has much of the piquancy and gracefulness characteristic of the nation from which it sprang. Mr. Isidor de Lara's "Messaline," first given in 1899, was thought worthy of revival, though it must be admitted that a further acquaintance with the work does not tend to modify the opinion that the disagreeableness of the subject is by no means atoned for by the value of the musical treatment. Of individual performers, Sgr. Tamagno made a welcome reappearance, and once more electrified his hearers by his extraordinarily forcible and realistic rendering of the title-part in Verdi's "Otello"; Fraulein Ternina repeated her incomparable performance of Isolde to the Tristan of Herr Van Dyck, and still further strengthened her claim to the foremost rank among operatic singers; and Mme. Calvé again won a familiar triumph in "Carmen." The absence of M. Jean de Reszke was severely felt, and there were no signs of the appearance of a new star who could adequately fill the great tenor's place, though Sgr. Anselmi won considerable favour by his refined and attractive singing in "Rigoletto" and "Faust." As usual, throughout the season the cheaper seats in the house were crowded to overflowing, thereby once more demonstrating the fact that there is abundant audience in England for high-class opera at reasonable prices, and pointing to the need of the establishment of a national opera-house, where the claims of pure art could be satisfied without regard to financial considerations. While on the subject of opera in England, it is interesting to record the revival in April of Purcell's "Dido and Æneas" at the Coronet Theatre, Notting Hill, under the auspices of the Purcell Society, the opera being followed by the quaint "Masque of Love," from the same composer's "Dioclesian." Another notable event was the performance in London of Purcell's music to "A Midsummer-Night's Dream" in concert form. On this occasion several numbers were heard for the first time, the complete score of the work, which had been lost for two centuries, having been recently discovered in the library of the Royal Academy of Music. A comic opera called "Fantasio," by an English composer, Miss Ethel Smyth, had the distinction of being produced at Carlsruhe under the direction of Herr Mottl, and it is to be hoped that English music-lovers will not have to wait long before being given an opportunity of becoming acquainted with the work of their country woman. On the Continent the chief operatic events of the year have been the first performances of two music-dramas by Richard Strauss"Guntram" at Prague and "Feuersnoth" at Dresden, and the production at Dresden of M. Paderewski's long-expected opera “Manru." The latter was brilliantly given, and was received with abundant enthusiasm. Another Bayreuth Festival took place in July and August, this being the twenty-fifth year since the production of the gigantic Nibelungen" tetralogy. The demand for seats was greater than on any previous occasion, and the performances were on the usual high level of excellence. Besides "Der Ring des Nibelungen," which, as at its original production in 1876, was conducted by Dr. Richter, and "Parsifal," the festival scheme included for the first time "Der Fliegende Holländer," which, with Herr Mottl as conductor and Herr Van Rooy in the principal part, was given an almost ideally perfect representation. In the sphere of chamber music the most notable event of the year was the visit to London of Dr. Joachim and his famous quartet in the spring. Six concerts were given in St. James's Hall, the performers being placed on a raised platform in the middle of the hall according to the practice prevailing in Berlin, thus giving a far larger proportion of the audience a chance of hearing satisfactorily than is possible under the ordinary arrangement. It is satisfactory to record that the public assembled in unusually large numbers to hear quartet playing, which, in point of ensemble and artistic unanimity of style, has perhaps never been paralleled, certainly never surpassed. The programmes exhibited a representative selection of the masterpieces of chamber music, special attention being devoted to the works of Beethoven's third period, in the interpretation of which the Joachim quartet display their finest qualities. These quartets, which are so difficult for the ordinary amateur to appreciate, seemed to acquire a new significance and beauty under the guidance of the great violinist and his colleagues, and what had before appeared disjointed or chaotic was for the first time given organic cohesion. It would be false flattery to say that Dr. Joachim's powers are entirely untouched by the hand of time, but he still retains the secret of a style so noble and dignified that he is able to render the great works of Mozart, Beethoven and Brahms with a perfection that none of his younger rivals have approached. And when it is added that the three other players in the quartet are thoroughly imbued with his spirit and act in loyal co-operation with him, there is no difficulty in understanding the excellence of the artistic result achieved. The visit of the Joachim quartet served, among other things, to draw attention to the loss which London suffers in not possessing a permanent company of players, who by constant practice and association would be able to attain to the highest standard of ensemble performance. There can be no question that the artistic value of the time-honoured Popular Concerts would be immensely enhanced if this desirable change could be introduced. It is true that in the early part of the year the directors made a move in this direction by engaging M. Ysaye's quartet for a series of concerts. But M. Ysaye, great player as he undoubtedly is, has not the peculiar qualities required in the first violin of a string quartet. His artistic personality is so domineering and masterful that he cannot refrain from treating the three other strings somewhat as if their duty was to supply an accompaniment to his solo performance, and this defect was emphasised by the fact that the other members of his quartet were quite undistinguished players, who were neither willing nor able to assert themselves. In the autumn season the old system was reverted to; a new leader generally appeared at each concert, and the performances were neither worse nor better than what was to be expected from scratch organisations, who in many cases had never played together before. The répertoire of the Popular Concerts has been enlarged during the year by a new quartet in E minor by M. SaintSaëns, dedicated to M. Ysaye, and obviously adapted with peculiar skill to his style and method, and by some interesting specimens of the work of César Franck, Vincent d'Indy and Borodine. In the autumn Mr. Arthur Chappell retired from the management of the concerts after a long and honoured career in the service of art, and the occasion was celebrated, with strange inappropriateness, by a glorified ballad concert at the Albert Hall, in which all the most popular singers of the day took part. Turning to orchestral music, we record with regret the end of the famous series of Saturday Concerts at the Crystal Palace, with which the name of August Manns has been so long and so honourably associated. Of the great part which these concerts have played in the spread of good music in England, in the encouragement of young composers, and in the education of the public taste, it is impossible to speak too highly. But the days when a journey to Sydenham was the only way of hearing the best orchestral music are happily past, and while the high artistic standard of the Saturday Concerts was maintained to the end, the audiences had in later days become far less numerous owing to the great multiplication of orchestral performances in central London. Thanks to the untiring energy and enterprise of Mr. Robert Newman a permanent orchestra has been established at the Queen's Hall, which by dint of continued association, under the inspiring guidance of Mr. H. J. Wood, has reached a high level of excellence, and now has nothing to fear in comparison with the finest orchestras to be heard in continental towns. The usual number of symphony concerts were given in the spring and autumn seasons, and Mr. Newman once more relied too exclusively on the works of Tschaikowsky and the Russian school to attract and fascinate the public. The London Musical Festival was again held in the spring, and was attended with a large measure of popular success. The leading characteristic of the festival on this occasion was the appearance of five eminent conductors, M. Saint-Saëns, M. Colonne, Herr Weingartner, M. Ysaye and Mr. H. J. Wood, who exercised their skill on Mr. Newman's orchestra in various styles and with various degrees of success. The immense versatility of M. SaintSaëns does not extend apparently to the art of conducting, and the concert for which he was responsible, consisting almost entirely of his own works, did not reach such a high level of performance as that prevailing generally during the week. M. Ysaye proved that he was almost as fine a conductor as a violinist, and Herr Weingartner made a profound impression by securing a rendering of Beethoven's C Minor Symphony unequalled in dramatic power and breadth of style. Among several interesting features of the festival may be mentioned a Symphonic Prelude, by César Franck, an Adagio for Strings by the Belgian composer Lekeu, M. Saint-Saëns' brilliant "Africa" fantasia, a finely scored Symphonic Poem, by Herr Weingartner, Dr. Cowen's charming new overture," A Butterfly's Ball," and Dr. Elgar's now famous Orchestral Variations. As to the solo performers, it is noticeable that three of the most eminent violinists of the day appeared during the week, Lady Hallé, M. Ysaye and Dr. Joachim, the latter introducing a delight ful early concerto by Mozart, and the pianists were hardly less distinguished, including such names as M. Saint-Saëns, Sgr. Busoni and Mr. Harold Bauer. During the dead season of the year Mr. Newman once more stepped into the breach with his admirable Promenade Concerts, and the crowded audiences night after night told eloquently of the rapidly increasing popularity of good classical music with the English public. A large number of interesting novelties were brought to a first hearing, among which may be mentioned a symphony by the Swedish composer Alfven, Glazounow's ballet called "The Seasons," and two military marches by Dr. Elgar. Mr. Newman amply atoned for the cold treatment he has meted out in the past to British composers by showing them especial favour during the Promenade season, and on one very memorable occasion the programme consisted exclusively of compositions by native musicians, the list of names being Cowen, Parry, Stanford, Elgar, Coleridge Taylor, Percy Pitt, Cliffe, German, and MacCunn. In the season of the Philharmonic Society the most notable new work produced was an overture by Dr. Elgar with the title "Cockaigne,” the composer's idea being to express in musical terms the many-sided activities of London life. The ingenuity with which a realistic representation of a walk through the London streets is given within the strict limits of the sonata form, the splendid variety and richness of the orchestral colouring, the masterly polyphonic skill shown in the combination of themes, and the exhilarating vivacity which pervades the music from first to last, combine to make the overture a very notable piece of work, entirely worthy of the brilliant English musician who is already beginning to acquire something like a European reputation. His Orchestral Variations have been given in several German towns under eminent conductors during the year, and there seems every prospect of "Cockaigne" following in the steps of its predecessor. Besides Dr. Elgar's work the Philharmonic novelties were not very remarkable. Herr Emil Sauer played a new pianoforte concerto of his own, brilliant and attractive enough, but possessing few of the higher musical qualities. There was a symphonic poem by Mr. W. Wallace, and a pretty cycle of songs by Mr. Landon Ronald called "In Summer Time." Dr. Cowen conducted the concerts with his usual zeal, but the general standard of performance, though undeniably improved, is still not as high as that of many societies who do not boast such an historic name as the Philharmonic. The dearth of choral music in London has been as marked as ever during the past year. The Royal Choral Society, who are practically the sole occupants of the field, confine their attention, as is well known, mainly to entirely familiar works, and they labour under the permanent disadvantage of performing in a hall whose acoustic properties are notoriously bad. As a relief from the routine succession of the "Elijah," the "Messiah," and the "Redemption," the society produced the cantata "Hora Novissima" by the American composer Horatio Parker, which had attracted considerable notice at a provincial festival the previous year. A further hearing confirmed the impression that it is a work remarkable rather for |