Show Rare Letters Collected by Music Society Documents of Famous Musi Musicians i Gathered Over 40 Years by Nathan Franko I NEW YORK Jan 12 More 12 than 2 O rare autographs and letters i signed by famous musicians were I recently presented to the New York I 1 Symphony Philharmonic socIety by Clarence ll E. E Mackay chairman of the board of directors The documents documents docu- docu i ments were collected over a period of forty years by Nahan Franko formerly a conductor of the Metropolitan Metro Metro- I politan Opera company from whom they Were purchased by the donors Schumann Rossini Verdi Ruben Ruben- stein and Grieg are but a few or of those represented Many were written written writ writ- ten byor to Richard hard Wagner Vagner Each letter is accompanied by a photograph photograph photo photo- graph of the writer The collection I is now hung in the of office lice of the I Symphony Philharmonic society at atthe atthe the Steinway building New York Cit City LETTERS This collection which Is to be known as the Nahan collection collee- collee tion forms an interesting and valuable valuable able addition to the many historic documents already In the possession of the Philharmonic said Mr Mackay It contains many items which bear directly on the history of the orchestra As almost every musician of note In the past five eightY years has appeared on the programs of the society either eith- eith er as a composer or it seems particularly appropriate that this representative collection should find a home with the society The majority of these letters have never been translated Into English Many of the items areS are however ot of historic Interest Among them Is a aletter aletter letter wrItten by Verdi to Franz Hiller in 1884 1384 in which he compares Aida and Don Carlos Canlos Verdi wrote You ask me to tell you whether I prefer Aida or Don Carlos Canlos You embarrass me slightly Fathers love and prefer clever clevel children so it can easily be imagined that my preference preference prefer prefer- I ence would fall on the more vital Nevertheless I must say that In Don Carlos Caries there are some phrases some passages whIch passages which are of greater I value than those in AIda and in Aide Aida some are more pointed and andr r more pardon the word theatrical i I do not use this word In the vulgar i s sense nse ANTON LAZY The following note was addressed to ilis publisher by the temperamental temperamental tempera tempera- mental Russian composer HenrI in 1854 Gurk- Gurk haus It If you dont don't immediately im- im mediately send me proofs of my sonata sonata so- so nata I will write to the Emperor Nicholas to send you to Siberia I Woe Voe to you In 1878 Felix Motti asked Richard Wagner for the position of copyist and on January 22 the great German German Ger- Ger man composer replied Inasmuch as I need a very capable capable cap cap- able young musIcian as my assistant assistant assist assist- ant I have deci decided d on Anton who has just becA bea offered an unusually unus- unus gOOd ment in Hamburg It will be necessary for him to study a good deal in order to play my orchestral sketches It will also be necessary to break him of his born laziness Anton later became one of the worlds world's leading conductors lIe was vas later engaged by the tho New York symphony and was considered one of the best musicians ot of the day He was 28 years ears old at the time the letter was written |