No pen-sketch of the young Crown Prince of Germany would be complete without a reference to his remarkable skill as a violinist, an instrument which he has been studying steadily ever since his eighth year, under the direction of the Berlin court violinist Von Exner. He seems to have inherited all the musical talent for which the reigning house of Prussia is so celebrated, and to which I propose to devote at least a part of the following chapter.
CHAPTER X
If it is observable that the taste, ear, and talent for music prevail among the inhabitants of the mountain districts of the world far more extensively than among the populations of the plains, it is no less true that nearly all persons belonging to the exalted spheres of life, for instance, emperors and kings and their consorts, as well as princes and princesses of the blood, are not only passionately fond of music, but frequently absolute melomaniacs. In none of the reigning houses, however, is this particular branch of art developed to such an extent as in the Hohenzollern family. Thus the collection of the compositions for the flute by Frederick the Great discovered some ten years ago in the lumber rooms of the "Neues Palais" at Potsdam, and recently published after being edited by Professor Spitta, proves that the royal patron of Voltaire, and the founder of Prussia's military power was no mere dilettante, but a real genius in the art of composition. Prince Louis Ferdinand, the son of Frederick the Great's brother, who courted and met with a premature death at Saalfeld, while rashly engaging the French enemy, against strict orders, showed, with all his eccentricities, remarkable musical gifts, leaving in fact behind him a variety of compositions for orchestras. He also wrote a march which is published under his name.
Among the collection of marches constantly used in the Prussian army, is one composed by Frederick-William III. in 1806, which occupies a place between that of Frederick the Great, written in 1741, and the well-known Dessauer march. In that very same collection are the so-called "Geschwind Marsch," No. 148, for infantry, the "Parade Marsch" No. 51, for cavalry, and the "Marsch Für Cavallerie" No. 55, which emanate from the pen of Princess Charlotte of Prussia, niece of old Emperor William, and first wife of the present reigning Duke of Saxe-Meiningen. It is doubtless from her that Prince Bernhardt of Saxe-Meiningen, married to the eldest sister of the present kaiser, has inherited his powers of composition, for his name figures on the title page of many a piece of music; and among his other more important works has been the setting to music of "the Persians of Aeschylus," which has been most successfully staged at Athens. This is published under the initials of "E.B." (Erbprinz Bernhardt).
Though King Frederick-William IV. did not himself add anything to royal musical literature, as did his predecessors on the throne, he devoted much attention to ecclesiastical melody and song. The Berlin cathedral choir of men and boys—trained to sing without musical accompaniments—owes its origin to his ambition for having a choir in his own Protestant basilica at Berlin, corresponding more or less to the Pope's in the Sistine Chapel of Rome. It was he who engaged Mendelssohn as director of this choir, as well as composer; and it was the latter's successor, the director of the music of the Chapel Royal at the Prussian court, who compiled a collection of volumes containing settings of many of the Psalms of David, most beautifully arranged.
Among living Hohenzollerns, musical talent is most strongly developed. Prince Albert, regent of Brunswick, is not only a composer of rare genius, but likewise a most talented organist. His son, Prince Joachim, has inherited his talent for composition, and is the author of some eight works, which have been printed for circulation, in court circles only, and have not become the property of the public; the cleverest of them being a festal march, written for his father's birthday, and a grand funeral march. He shares his father's intense devotion to Bach and Handel, as well as his fondness for the works of Mendelssohn, Beethoven and Mozart, and is a most accomplished performer on the violoncello, being a pupil of the well-known master of that instrument, Professor Luedemann. Prince Albert's sister, the widowed Duchess William of Mecklenberg-Schwerin, has been particularly active as a composer of songs for mezzo soprano, but none of her works, which are printed for private circulation under the initials of "A.H.M.", have been placed on public sale. Her songs, some thirty in number, are melodious and full of feeling. She seems to thoroughly understand how to bring out the meaning of the words of her composition, the melody of one of them, "Ein Duerres Blatt" furnishing a particularly striking illustration of this peculiarity; they left a very lasting impression upon my mind. Among her collections is an English song, beginning with the words:
"No ditch is too deep,
And no wall is too high,
If two love each other
They'll meet by-and-by."
The music of this is particularly sweet, graceful and tender.
Prince Henry, the sailor brother of the kaiser, has written a number of pieces, one of the best known and most popular of which is called the "Matrosen Marsch," which is to be purchased in all large music stores. He also holds his own as a first-class amateur performer, both on the violin and the piano. His sister, the crown princess of Greece, a pupil of Rufer, excels on the organ, as does also the widowed Empress Frederick, while there is not one of the children of the present kaiser who does not possess musical gifts of a high order, which are being developed both in theory and in practice by celebrated professors and masters.
There is no doubt that, but for the weakness of his left arm, Emperor William would have been as skilful a performer as the other members of his family. As it is, his devotion to music is restricted to composition and to conducting. The kaiser is very fond of acting as bandmaster during the musical soirées given at court, and other entertainments of this kind honored by the presence of the reigning family. It has been claimed that he is the first Prussian ruler to thus wield the bâton since the days of Frederick the Great. But this is not the case, for I recall being present, many years ago, at a dinner at the palace of Koblenz, given by Empress Augusta in honor of her consort, old Emperor William, who had come over from Ems for the purpose, when during the dinner the old emperor remarked that the band of the Augusta regiment, which was playing at the further end of the White Hall, had played the ballet melody of "Satanella" in too fast a time. Rising from his seat, and pushing aside the screen which concealed the band from view, he took the bâton from the hand of the bandmaster, and after exclaiming: "Very quietly and slowly, gentlemen, if you please," he tapped twice on the music-stand in front of him, and then commenced to conduct with as much skill and art as if he had never done anything else in his life. Several times during the course of the piece he exclaimed "Noch rühiger," (still more gently) and when the end of the piece was reached he laid down the bâton with the remark, "Now, that was fine," and, thanking the band with a very friendly and kindly smile, returned to his seat at table.