Chapter 10

WOMEN AS VIOLINISTS.

During the past forty or fifty years the violin has become a fashionable instrument for ladies, and has become correspondingly popular as a profession for those who are obliged to earn a living.

Formerly, for many years, it seems to have been considered improper, or ungraceful, or unladylike,--the reasons are nowhere satisfactorily given, but the fact remains that until recently few women played the violin.

From the year 1610 until 1810 the list of those who played in public is extremely short, numbering only about twenty, and of these several were gambists.

That women did, once upon a time, play on the violin, or the corresponding string and bow instruments which were its ancestors, there is evidence.

On the painted roof of Peterborough Cathedral, in England, which is said to have been built in the year 1194 A.D., there is a picture of a woman seated, and holding in her lap a sort of viol, with four strings and four sound-holes. This seems to indicate that in very early days ladies sometimes played on stringed instruments, if only for their own amusement.

Among the accounts of King Henry VII., dated November 2, 1495, is the following item, "For a womane that singeth with a fiddle, 2 shillings."

Anne of Cleves after her divorce comforted herself by playing on a viol with six strings. Queen Elizabeth, also, amused herself not only with the lute, the virginals, and her voice, but also with the violin.

These, however, were amateurs, and the earliest professional violinist known was Mrs. Sarah Ottey, who was born about 1695, and who about 1721-22 performed frequently at concerts, giving solos on the harpsichord, violin, and bass viol. Previous to her there was one Signora Leonora Baroni, born at Mantua about 1610, but she played the theorbo and the viol di gamba.

The next is "La Diamantina," born about 1715, who is referred to by the poet Gray in 1740, when he was at Rome, as "a famous virtuosa, played on the violin divinely, and sung angelically."

Anne Nicholl, born in England about 1728, played the violin before the Duke of Cumberland at Huntley in 1746, and her granddaughter, Mary Anne Paton, also, who was better known as a singer and who became Lady Lenox, and afterwards Mrs. Wood, was a violinist.

The celebrated Madame Gertrude Elizabeth Mara, one of the greatest singers of her time, was a violinist when young. Her father took her to England, hoping by means of her playing to get sufficient money to give her a thorough musical education. She was then a mere child, and as she grew to womanhood her voice developed and she became one of the celebrities in the history of song. There is no doubt that the training in intervals which her practice on the violin gave her proved invaluable as an aid to her in singing. In later days several of the most celebrated singers have been also good violinists, as, for instance, Christine Nilsson and Marcella Sembrich.

Maddalena Lombardi Sirmen, born about 1735, had an almost European reputation toward the end of the eighteenth century. She visited France and England about 1760-61, and was so good a player that she was looked upon almost as a rival of Nardini. She will always be celebrated in history because of the letter which was written to her by Tartini, and which is not only one of the rarities of musical literature, but constitutes also a valuable treatise on the use of the violin.

This letter, which has been printed in almost every book on the violin, would take up rather more space than can be afforded in this sketch. It is admirably clear and is divided into three parts, the first giving advice on bowing, "pressing the bow lightly but steadily, upon the strings in such a manner as that it shall seem to _breathe_ the first tone it gives, which must proceed from the friction of the string, and not from percussion, as by a blow given with a hammer upon it,--if the tone is _begun_ with delicacy, there is little danger of rendering it afterwards either coarse or harsh." The second section of the letter is devoted to the finger-board, or the "carriage of the left hand," and the last part to the "shake."

Maddalena Sirmen received her instruction first at the conservatory of Mendicanti at Venice, after which she took lessons from Tartini. She also composed a considerable quantity of violin music, much of which was published at Amsterdam. About 1782 she, emulating the example of Madame Mara, appeared as a singer at Dresden, but with comparatively small success.

Regina Sacchi, who married a noted German violoncellist named Schlick, was celebrated for her performances on the violin. She was born at Mantua in 1764, and educated at the Conservatorio della Pietà at Venice. This lady was highly esteemed by Mozart, who said of her, "No human being can play with more feeling."

When Mozart was in Vienna, about 1786, Madame Schlick was also there, and solicited him to write something for the piano and violin, which they should play together at a concert. Mozart willingly promised to do so, and accordingly composed and arranged, _in his mind_, his beautiful sonata in B-flat minor, for piano and violin. The time for the concert drew near, but not a note was put upon paper, and Madame Schlick's anxiety became painful. Eventually, after much entreaty, she received the manuscript of the violin part the evening before the concert, and set herself to work to study it, taking scarcely any rest that night.

The sonata was played before an audience consisting of the rank and fashion of Vienna. The execution of the two artists was perfect and the applause was enthusiastic. It happened, however, that the Emperor Joseph II., who was seated in a box just above the performers, in using his opera-glass to look at Mozart, noticed that there was nothing on his desk but a sheet of blank paper, and, afterward calling the composer to him, said: "So, Mozart, you have once again trusted to chance," to which Mozart, of course, graciously acquiesced, though the emperor did not state whether he considered Mozart's knowledge of his new composition, or Madame Schlick's ability to play with him unrehearsed, constituted the "chance."

The next virtuosa was a Frenchwoman, Louise Gautherot, who was born about 1760, and who played in London and made a great impression about 1780 to 1790, and about the same time Signora Vittoria dall' Occa played at the theatre in Milan. Signora Paravicini, born about 1769, and Luigia Gerbini, about 1770, were pupils of Viotti, and earned fame. The former made a sensation in 1799 by her performance of some violin concertos at the Italian Theatre at Lisbon, where she played between the acts.

Signora Paravicini attracted the attention of the Empress Josephine, who became her patroness and engaged her to teach her son, Eugene Beauharnais, and took her to Paris. After a time, however, the Empress neglected her, and she suffered from poverty. Driven to the last resource, and having even pawned her clothes, she applied for aid to the Italians resident in Paris, and they enabled her to return to Milan, where her ability soon gained her both competence and credit. She also played at Vienna in 1827, and at Bologna in 1832, where she was much admired.

Catarina Calcagno, who has already been mentioned as a pupil of Paganini, was a native of Genoa, born about 1797, and had a short but brilliant career. She disappeared from before the public in 1816.

Madame Krahmer and Mlles. Eleanora Neumann, and M. Schulz all delighted the public in Vienna and Prague. Miss Neumann came from Moscow, and astonished the public when she had scarcely reached her tenth year. Other names are Madame Filipowicz, Madame Pollini, Mlle. Zerchoff, Eliza Wallace, and Rosina Collins, who all played publicly and were well known.

In 1827 Teresa Milanollo was born, and in 1832 her sister Marie, and these two young ladies played so well, and were in such striking contrast to one another, that they proved very successful as concert players. They were natives of Savigliano, in Piedmont, where their father was a manufacturer of silk-spinning machinery. Teresa, the elder, was taught by Ferrero, Caldera, and Morra, but in 1836 she went to Paris and studied under Lafont, and afterwards under Habeneck, going still later to Brussels, where she took lessons of De Bériot, and received the finishing touch to her artistic education,--faultless intonation. Her career as a concert player began when she was about nine years of age. When Marie was old enough to handle a violin Teresa began to teach her, and in fact was the only teacher Marie ever had.

The two sisters, who were called, on account of their most striking characteristics, Mlle. Staccato and Mlle. Adagio, travelled together through France, Holland, Belgium, Germany, and England, and were everywhere received with the greatest interest. They played before Louis Philippe at Neuilly, and appeared with Liszt before the King of Prussia. They also created a furore at Vienna and Berlin.

Marie, the younger, who was of a happy and cheerful disposition, was not strong, and in 1848 she died in Paris. Teresa, the elder, after a long retirement, resumed her travels, and, having matured and improved, she played better and excited more interest than before. In 1857 she married a French officer, Captain Théodore Parmentier, who had seen service in the Crimean War, and she abandoned the concert stage.

From 1857 until 1878 she followed the fortunes of her husband, who became a general and a "Grand Officier de la Legion d'Honneur," and her public appearances were limited to such places as the vicissitudes of a military life took her to. Since 1878 Madame Parmentier has lived quietly in Paris, where she is still to be met by a few fortunate persons in select musical and social circles.

During the lifetime of Marie, the sisters had already put themselves into direct personal relations with the poor of Lyons, but after Teresa had roused herself from her mourning for her sister she established a system of "Concerts aux Pauvres," which she carried out in nearly all the chief cities of France, and part of the receipts of these concerts was used for the benefit of the poor. Her plan was to follow up the first concert with a second, at which the audience consisted of poor school-children and their parents, to whom she played in her most fascinating manner, and, at the conclusion of her performance, money, food, and clothing, purchased with the receipts of the previous concerts, were distributed.

From 1830 there has been a constantly increasing number of ladies who have appeared as concert violinists, but few have continued long before the public, or have reached such a point of excellence as to be numbered amongst the great performers.

Mlle. Emilia Arditi, Fraülein Hortensia Zirges, Miss Hildegard Werner, Miss Bertha Brousil, and Madame Rosetta Piercy-Feeny were all born during the decade 1830 to 1840, and were well known, but in 1840 and 1842 two violinists were born who were destined to hold the stage for many years and to exert a great influence in their profession. Wilma Neruda, now known as Lady Hallé and Camilla Urso are the two ladies in question, the former exerting her influence chiefly in England and on the Continent, and the latter in America.

Miss Werner has played an important part in advancing the art amongst women, having for many years conducted a school of music at Newcastle-on-Tyne, in England. She was also the first woman ever to address the Literary and Philosophical Society, when in 1880 she delivered an address on the history of the violin. There is little doubt, however, that the success of Teresa Milanollo gave the first great impulse toward the study of the violin by women.

Lady Hallé was born at Brünn, March 21, 1840. Her father was Josef Neruda, a musician of good ability, and he gave her the first instruction on the violin, and then placed her under Leopold Jansa, in Vienna. Wilhelmina Maria Franziska Neruda made her first appearance in public in 1846, at which time she was not quite seven years old. On this occasion her sister Amalie, who was a pianist, accompanied her, and shortly afterwards her father took her, with her sister Amalie and one of her brothers, on an extended tour. The family consisted of two sons--a pianist and a 'cellist--and two daughters--a violinist and a pianist.

In 1849 they reached London, where the young violinist played a concerto by De Bériot, at the seventh Philharmonic concert of that season. By the critics at that time she was said to be wonderful in bravura music, in musical intelligence, and in her remarkable accuracy.

As time went on, and her playing matured, she became known throughout Europe. In 1864 she married Ludwig Norman, conductor of the opera at Stockholm, and for a time she remained in that city and became a teacher at the Royal Music School.

Before long she was again busy with concert playing, and in 1869 she again appeared in England, where she became a great favourite, and has appeared there regularly almost, if not quite, every season since. Hans von Bülow spoke of her as Joachim's rival, and called her "the violin fairy."

Joachim has always been a great favourite in England, but Madame Norman-Neruda, or Lady Hallé, as she became later, has fully shared his popularity. What Joachim is to the sterner sex, just the same is Lady Hallé to the gentler.

Joachim was indeed one of the first to recognise the fact that he had in Mlle. Neruda a rival, for in the days when she was earning her reputation he heard her at some place on the Continent, and remarked to Charles Hallé, who afterwards became her husband, "I recommend this artist to your careful consideration. Mark this, when people have given her a fair hearing, they will think more of her and less of me."

Ludwig Norman died in 1885, and three years later Madame Norman-Neruda married the pianist, Charles Hallé, who had long been identified with all that was best musically in England, and who was knighted in recognition of his services to the cause of art.

Sir Charles Hallé established a series of orchestral concerts at Manchester in 1857, and by means of these concerts brought before the English public the works of many composers who would have remained unknown perhaps for years but for his efforts. In this work he was ably supported by this talented violinist, afterwards his wife, and with her he made many tours all over the British Isles.

In 1890 Sir Charles and Lady Hallé made a tour in Australia, which was highly successful. Five years later they went to South Africa, where they met with a flattering reception. In his memoirs, Sir Charles Hallé tells of a curious compliment which they received at Pietermaritzburg. The mayor invited them to play at a municipal concert to be given one Sunday afternoon. The concert began, and after an organ solo and a song had been given by other musicians, they played the Kreutzer sonata. At the conclusion of the sonata, a member of the corporation came forward, and said that after the impression just received he thought it would be best to omit the remainder of the programme, upon which the audience cheered and dispersed.

In 1895, shortly after their return from the South African tour, Sir Charles Hallé died, and Lady Hallé went into retirement. At this time her numerous admirers in England presented her with a valuable testimonial of their appreciation.

Throughout her career she has fulfilled the prophecies made of her in her youth, for her talent and musicianship developed as she grew up, and her genius did not burn itself out as that of many infant prodigies has done. She has never endeavoured to secure public applause at the expense of her real artistic nature. Her performances are and always have been synonymous with all that is good in musical art, and nothing but that which is of the best has ever been allowed to appear upon her programmes.

She is celebrated no less as a quartet player than as a soloist, and was for many years first violin of the Philharmonic Quartet in London.

In 1898, Lady Hallé had the misfortune to lose her son, Mr. Norman Neruda, who, while scaling a difficult place in the Alps, slipped and was killed.

In the following year she emerged from her retirement and visited the United States, where her playing was highly appreciated by unbiassed critics. There was a feeling, however, that she might have made the journey many years before, and allowed the American public to hear her in her prime, when she would have received not only a very warm welcome, but would have been judged rather by her merits than by her history, and she would not have challenged comparison with the violinists of the rising generation.

Camilla Urso has been for many years one of the best known violinists in the United States. She was born at Nantes, in France, in 1842, of Italian parents. Her father was Salvator Urso, a good musician, and son of a good musician, so that the young violinist inherited some of her talent. In 1852 the family crossed the Atlantic and settled in the United States, and almost immediately the little girl began to appear at concerts. Camilla Urso began to study the violin at the age of six years, and her choice of that instrument was determined by her hearing the violin and being fascinated by it during a celebration of the Mass of St. Cecilia. She was taken to Paris for instruction, for which purpose her father abandoned his position at Nantes. She entered the Conservatoire and became a pupil of Massart.

She made a tour through Germany, during which she met with immense success, and then returned to Paris to continue her studies.

She was fresh from Massart's instruction when, in October, 1852, she made her first appearance in Boston, where her playing and her style called forth eulogies from the critics of those days. John S. Dwight wrote to the effect that it was one of the most touching experiences of his life to see and hear the charming little maiden, so natural and childlike, so full of sentiment and thought, so self-possessed and graceful. Her tone was pure, and her intonation faultless, and she played with a "fine and caressing delicacy," and gave out strong passages in chords with thrilling grandeur.

For three years she continued to travel and delight American audiences, and then for a period of about five years she retired into private life, and did not resume her professional career until 1862, from which time she frequently made concert tours in America until she returned to Paris. It was about the period of these tours that her influence upon young women began to be felt, for she was at an age when womanly grace becomes evident, and her manners and character were as fascinating as her playing.

In Paris she so pleased M. Pasdeloup that he begged her not to allow herself to be heard in public until she had played at his concerts. "You may count upon a splendid triumph," he said. "It is _I_ who tell you so. Your star is in the ascendant, and soon it will shine at the zenith of the artistic firmament."

The result justified the prophecy, and Camilla Urso was the recipient of great honours in Paris. She was presented by the public with a pair of valuable diamond earrings, and was treated almost like a prima donna.

In March, 1867, Mlle. Urso received a testimonial from the musical profession in Boston, where a few years later she had a curious experience. She was playing a Mozart concerto, at a concert, when an alarm of fire was given, and caused a good deal of excitement. Many of the audience left their seats and made for the door, but the violinist stood unmoved until the alarm was subdued and the audience returned to their seats, when she played the interrupted movement through from the beginning.

In 1879 she made a tour to Australia, and again in 1894.

In 1895 she was in South Africa, and achieved great triumphs in Cape Town, besides giving concerts at such out-of-the-way places as Bloemfontein. She has probably travelled farther than any other violin virtuosa.

For the past few years she has lived in New York, and has practically retired from the concert stage.

Teresina Tua, who was well known in the United States about 1887, was born at Turin in 1867. As in the case of Wilhelmina Neruda and of Camilla Urso, her father was a musician, and she received her early musical instruction from him. Her first appearance in public was made at the age of seven, and up to that time she had received no instruction, except that given her by her father. During her first tour she played at Nice, where a wealthy Russian lady, Madame Rosen, became interested in her, and provided the means to go to Paris, where she was placed under Massart.

In 1880 Signorina Tua won the first prize for violin playing at the Paris Conservatoire, and the following year made a concert tour which extended through France and Spain to Italy. In 1882 she appeared in Vienna, and in 1883 in London, where she played at the Crystal Palace. Wherever she went people of wealth and distinction showed the greatest interest in her, and when she came to America in 1887 she appeared laden with jewelry given her by royalty. Her list of jewels was given in the journals of that day,--"a miniature violin and bow ablaze with diamonds, given by the Prince and Princess of Wales; a double star with a solitaire pearl in the centre, and each point tipped with pearls, from Queen Margherita of Italy." Besides these, there were diamonds from the Queen of Spain and from the Empress of Russia and sundry grand duchesses. No lady violinist ever appeared before an American audience more gorgeously arrayed. "Fastened all over the bodice of her soft white woollen gown she wore these sparkling jewels, and in her hair were two or three diamond stars," said the account in Dwight's _Journal of Music_. Yet with all this the criticisms of her playing were somewhat lukewarm. The expectation of the people had been wrought up to an unreasonable pitch, and Signorina Tua, while she was acknowledged to be an excellent and charming violinist, was not considered _great._ After a time, however, as she became better known, she grew in popular estimation, and before she left America she had hosts of admirers.

On returning to Europe she made another tour, but shortly afterwards she married Count Franchi Verney della Valetta, a distinguished Italian critic, and retired into private life, though from time to time she was heard in concerts in Italy.

In 1897 she was again on the concert stage, and played at St. James's Hall, London, after an absence of eight years, and it was considered that her playing had gained in breadth, while her technique was as perfect as ever.

Of the three hundred or more pupils of Joachim, there have been several ladies who have attained celebrity, of whom Miss Emily Shinner (now Mrs. A. F. Liddell) has been for some years the most prominent in England, while the names of Gabrielle Wietrowitz and Marie Soldat are known throughout Europe, and Maude Powell and Leonora Jackson are among the brightest lights from the United States.

Miss Emily Shinner has been in many respects a pioneer amongst lady violinists, for in 1874, when quite young, she went to Berlin to study the violin. In those days pupils of the fair sex were not admitted to the Hochschule, and Miss Shinner began to study under Herr Jacobsen. It happened, however, that a lady from Silesia arrived at Berlin, intending to take lessons of Joachim, but unaware of the rules against the admission of women to the Hochschule. Joachim interested himself in her, and she was examined for admission. Miss Shinner at once presented herself as a second candidate, and the result was that both ladies were accepted as probationers. In six months Miss Shinner was allowed to become a pupil of Joachim, and thus gained the distinction of being the first girl violinist to study under the great professor.

Again in 1884 Miss Shinner, having acquired a great reputation in musical circles in England, was called upon at very short notice to take Madame Neruda's place as leader to the "Pop" Quartet, on which occasion she acquitted herself so well that an encore of the second movement of the quartet was demanded. Since that time she has been always before the public, and has taken special interest in chamber music and quartet playing, the Shinner Quartet of ladies having acquired a national reputation.

Her marriage to Capt. A. F. Liddell took place in 1889.

Marie Soldat was born at Gratz in 1863 or 1864, and was the daughter of a musician, who was pianist, organist, and choirmaster, and who gave her instruction from her fifth year on the piano. Two years later she began to learn the organ, and was soon able to act as substitute for her father when occasion required her services. Until her twelfth year she studied music vigorously, taking violin lessons with Pleiner at the Steier Musical Union at Gratz, and composition with Thierot, the Kapellmeister, at the same time keeping on with the pianoforte.

She played the phantasie-caprice by Vieuxtemps in a concert at the Musical Union when she was ten years of age, and at thirteen she went on a tour and played Bruch's G minor concerto.

Soon after this she had the misfortune to lose her father, and a little later her violin teacher, Pleiner, also died, so that her progress received a check. Joachim, however, visited Gratz to play at a concert, and the young girl went to him and consulted him as to her future course. As a result of the interview she began to take lessons of August Pott, a good violinist at Gratz, and the following year (1879) she again went on a concert tour, visiting several cities in Austria.

During this tour, she made the acquaintance of Johannes Brahms, who took a great deal of interest in her, advised her to devote all her energies to the violin, and succeeded in arranging for another interview with Joachim, the result of which was that she was enabled to enter the Berlin High School for Music. Here she pursued her studies until 1882, after which she still continued her studies and took private lessons of Joachim.

At the high school she gained the Mendelssohn prize, and from that time commenced her career as a virtuosa, touring extensively throughout Europe. One of her greatest triumphs was when, in 1885, at Vienna, she played Brahm's violin concerto with Richter's orchestra.

Her career has been marked by hard work and continual practice, which have enabled her to overcome many obstacles, and have placed her on a level with the very best violinists of her sex.

The Ladies' String Quartet, which she formed in Berlin, consisting of herself as first violin, with Agnes Tschetchulin, Gabrielle Roy, and Lucie Campbell, had a creditable career, and appeared in several German cities.

In 1889 Marie Soldat married a lawyer named Röger, but did not retire from her profession. She is now known as Madame Soldat-Röger.

Gabrielle Wietrowitz was born a few years later, in 1866, at Laibach, and was also a pupil at the Musical Institute at Gratz. Her father was a military bandsman who had some knowledge of the violin, which enabled him to give his daughter elementary instruction on that instrument.

After a few years he left Laibach to settle in Gratz, and Gabrielle took violin lessons from A. Geyer (some accounts say Caspar). On entering the Musical Union she made a sensation by playing brilliantly at a concert before a large audience. She was then eleven years of age, and from that time she made the most rapid progress, taking first prize at the annual trial concert. In consequence of her great promise Count Aichelburg, who was a member of the Directorate of the Musical Union, presented her with a valuable violin, and the Directorate assigned her a yearly salary which enabled her to go to Berlin and enter the high school, where she became a pupil of Joachim in 1882.

At the high school her career was as brilliant as it had been in Gratz, for at the end of her first year she succeeded in capturing the Mendelssohn prize, which brought her 1,500 marks, and at the end of her third year she took it for a second time.

She remained at the high school three years, after which she began a splendid career by playing the concerto by Brahms at the St. Cecilia Festival at Münster. Then followed a series of concert tours, which resulted in securing her a reputation as one of the most brilliant stars amongst women.

Miss Wietrowitz plays with the most consummate ease the greatest works of the modern school. She has a powerful and brilliant tone, with sweet tenderness and sympathy, which appeal to the soul of the listener, and she confines her repertoire to the highest class of musical compositions. She has recently succeeded Miss Emily Shinner as first violin in the quartet which that talented lady established in England.

The most recent star of Europe is Madame Saenger-Sethe, whose appearances are invariably followed by eulogies from the critics. In Berlin, when she appeared at the Singakademie, in November, 1898, where she was assisted by the Philharmonic Orchestra, one critic declared that no violin playing had been heard to compare with it during that season, with the exception of Burmester's performance of the Beethoven concerto. "Such wealth and sensuous beauty of tone, such certainty of technique, such mental grasp of the work, and at the same time such all-conquering temperament have not been heard in Berlin at the hands of a female violinist during several years." After many recalls, she gave, as an encore, a rousing performance of a Bach sarabande.

Mlle. Irma Sethe was born on April 28, 1876, at Brussels, and such was her early aptitude for music that at the age of five she was placed under a violinist of repute, named Jokisch, who in three months from the start taught her to play a Mozart sonata. Five years of hard study enabled her to appear at a concert at Marchiennes, when she played a concerto by De Bériot and the rondo capriccioso by Saint-Saëns. The following year she played at Aix-la-Chapelle, and made such an impression that several offers of concert engagements were made, but were declined by her mother on the score of the child's health, and for three years after this she never appeared at a concert.

One summer, during the holidays, she met August Wilhelmj, who was charmed with her talent, and devoted his mornings for two months to giving her lessons daily. At the end of that time he emphasised his appreciation by making her a present of a valuable violin. She still continued her regular studies with Jokisch, until, acting on the advice of her friends, she obtained a hearing from Ysaye, and played for him Bach's prelude and fugue in G minor.

Ysaye at once recognised her immense ability, and advised her to enter the conservatoire at Brussels, which she did, with the result that in eight months she carried off the first prize, being then only fifteen years of age. She continued her studies for three more years, and was frequently employed as a substitute for Ysaye, as professor, to teach his classes while he was absent on concert tours.

In 1894 she appeared with him at a number of important concerts, and shortly afterwards made her first concert tour, visiting many of the principal towns of Germany. In November, 1895, she made her first appearance in London, where she was pronounced to be, with the exception of Lady Hallé, the most remarkable lady violinist who had ever appeared before the public in England, and where her excellent technique, perfect intonation, warmth of feeling, and musical insight were highly, almost extravagantly, praised.

In August, 1898, Mlle. Sethe married Doctor Saenger, a _littérateur_, and professor of philosophy at Berlin, but she continues her career as a violinist, and has made several tours of Europe. She has been compared to Rubinstein, inasmuch as her remarkable musical temperament and irresistible impulsiveness carry her at times almost beyond the limits of her instrument, but these are the very qualities by which she captivates and carries away her hearers.

Among other European ladies who have made their mark as violinists, and whose stars are in the ascendant, may be mentioned Sophie Jaffé, who has been called the greatest of all women violinists, and Frida Scotta.

Although many years behind the continent of Europe in musical life, and with a musical atmosphere not nearly as dense as that found in almost any village of Italy, France, or Germany, America has contributed to the musical world many shining lights during the past few years. Mlle. Urso has been claimed as an American violinist, though she was born in Europe and was a good violinist before she reached these shores, but in 1864, in New York, Anna Senkrah was born, who for a few years rivalled Teresina Tua.

The real name of Arma Senkrah was Harkness, which for professional purposes she "turned end for end," as the sailors would say, and dropped an "s." After Miss Harkness had been taught the elements of music by her mother, she went to Brussels to study under Wieniawski, and then to Paris, where she became a pupil of Massart She is said also to have taken lessons of Vieuxtemps and of Arno Hilf.

In 1881 she won the first prize at the Paris Conservatoire, a feat which always stamps the winner "artist." From 1877 to 1880 Arma Senkrah travelled a great deal throughout Europe, and in 1882 she played, under her proper name, at the Crystal Palace, London. She was created, at Weimar, a chamber virtuoso, by the grand duke. Here she met and shortly afterwards married a lawyer named Hoffman, and disappeared from the concert platform.

New York has contributed other stars to the violin firmament, for Nettie Carpenter and Geraldine Morgan are names which have become well known.

Miss Carpenter went abroad at an early age, though not until she had appeared in concerts in her native city, and created considerable interest.

On going to Paris, she was successful in passing the entrance examinations for the Conservatoire, and in 1884 won the first prize for violin playing. In 1882 she appeared in London at the promenade concerts, and again in 1884, when she confirmed the reputation which she had made two years previously, at the same concerts. From that time on she went through the usual routine of the concert violinist, with considerable success.

In 1894 she married Leo Stern, the violoncello player, but the union did not continue for long, Mr. Stern becoming about four years later the husband of Miss Suzanne Adams, the opera singer.

Miss Geraldine Morgan is the daughter of John P. Morgan, who was for some years organist of Old Trinity Church, New York. She studied in her native city under Leopold Damrosch, besides which she received much instruction from her father. Then she went to Leipzig, where she studied with Schradieck, after which she was the pupil in Berlin of Joachim, under whose guidance she remained eight years. She was the first American who ever gained the Mendelssohn prize.

Miss Morgan has made tours through the Continent and Great Britain, and had the honour of playing the Bach double concerto with Joachim at the Crystal Palace. In 1891 she appeared in New York under the auspices of Walter Damrosch.

A lady who holds a high position among the violinists of the world is Miss Maud Powell, who was born in Aurora, Ill., in 1868. Her father is American and her mother German. She began her musical education at the age of four, by taking piano lessons. At eight she took up the violin, and made such excellent progress that, when she was thirteen years old, she was taken to Leipzig, where she studied under Schradieck, and received her diploma in a year, playing also at one of the Gewandhaus concerts.

She next went to Paris, where she was the first selected out of eighty applicants for admission to the Conservatoire. In the following year she accepted an engagement for a tour in England, and had the honour of playing before the royal family. While in London Joachim heard her, and expressed his approval of her capabilities by inviting her to go to Berlin and become one of his pupils, which she accordingly did, and remained with him for two years.

In 1885 she made her début in Berlin at the Philharmonic concerts, when she played the Bruch concerto, which she also played in Philadelphia later in the same year. Her performance in America brought her much praise, and she was declared to be a marvellously gifted woman, one who in every feature of her playing disclosed the instincts and gifts of a born artist, though she had not yet reached the heights of her ability. Since that time she has gained in breadth, and has become a mature artist.

Miss Powell has appeared in the best concerts throughout America, and has gained a reputation second to no American violinist. By many she is declared to be the equal of Soldat and Wietrowitz in tone, technique, and interpretative power. She has an immense repertoire, and is also a student of literature. She also is said to have been the first to establish a female quartet in America.

The latest American lady violinist to gain honours abroad is Miss Leonora Jackson, who won the Mendelssohn state prize at Berlin, in 1898, and who has gained a great reputation by her performances before the most important musical organisations in Europe.

Miss Jackson was fortunate enough to attract the attention of Mrs. Grover Cleveland, who admired her talent, and, with Mr. George Vanderbilt, sent her abroad. For two years she studied in Paris, and then went to Berlin, where she became a pupil of Joachim. In Berlin she made her début in 1896, with the Philharmonic Orchestra, which was conducted by Joachim on that occasion. Shortly afterwards she was commanded by the Empress of Germany to play at the Royal Opera House, in Berlin, and she soon earned for herself a position amongst the best of the rising violinists of the day.

When she appeared in London, in 1898, she surprised and delighted the audience, displaying a fine tone, natural musical feeling, and complete technique. Few violinists can play with such quiet, intense sentiment. Miss Jackson, though but twenty years of age, is already a veteran concert player, for she has appeared in many cities of Europe, and was already known in America before she went to Berlin. She played in July, 1899, before the Queen of England at Windsor Castle, and again in August at Osborne House, in the Isle of Wight.

The time has long since gone by when mere showy technique would earn a reputation for any violinist, male or female, and she who expects to be numbered with the great violinists must be first of all a musician, capable of interpreting the greatest works. If in addition to this she has "the divine spark," she will be truly great.