ing useful their talents, and are consequently very likely to be stirred by the prospect of gaining such a munificent prize. We are led to this belief by the apparent and just importance the Committee lays upon the words, awarding to the author the full prize, provided he adapts them to some melody he thinks proper, a circumstance from which we infer, that the Committee with ourselves do consider the melody of the Star-Spangled Banner so universally proper, so beautiful and vigorous, and at the same time so well known, that it would be first almost impossible to produce any thing better and more proper, and second that it would require a very long time to outroot it from the hearts and memory of the people and to replace it by a new one. The circumstance that the new melody must be fit to be sung by "ordinary voices," rather confirms us in our impression, for if this is to be the test, we think our glorious Star-Spangled Banner has stood it often enough. Besides, the so-called difficulty of execution of the song, which has been occasionally complained of, is entirely imaginary; those who can learn to sing a song, will soon overcome that, and those who can not, will, of course, never learn a hymn, even if it was as easy or as difficult as-Dixie's Land. Moreover, every good national song offers certain difficulties, and we, for our part, consider for instance the execution of the Marseillaise by no means easier than that of the Star-Spangled Banner. No; we believe we are right, when we suppose the Committee to be acting merely upon a generous impulse for the benefit of that large class of people, whose profession in these times is not likely to prosper. But if this is really the case, then we should suggest the propriety of being a little more explicit with regard to that condition, which says that $250 will be paid for the music alone, if original. Have we to infer from this, that music without the words will be accepted by the Committee? Would it not have been much better, to first unite upon the best poetry and then make an appeal to our composers for the setting of that poetry? For only then it is at all likely that really to the best music will be awarded the prize, unless it should happen, as has been the case in similar circumstances, that some hitherto unknown poet-musician should suddenly find in himself the means to give us the best poetry and the best music. We hope so. HISTORY OF PIANO-FORTE VIRTUOSITY. (From "Esthetics of Piano-forte Playing,” by Dr. Adolph Kallak.) (CONCLUDED.) WHETHER the technics of younger pianists can compete with the abilities of former masters, such as Liszt, Dreyschock, and Thalberg, is a question we will not at present discuss. With the exception of the cases of Hans von Bulow and Rubenstein, such abilities have not been found in public performers. Schulhoff is, of modern players, perhaps the most entitled to be ranked among the pianists of the old school. He even circulated a kind of new genre of musical fly leaves, which is stamped with an individual character, and not ornamented with Thalbergian devices. But with regard to contents, his pieces appear like a miniature edition instead of the old folio, and do not appeal to technics in all their branches. The present times are still inclined towards the old masters, (Liszt, etc. ;) a disposition which is so much more to be justified, as they, according to the spirit of the age, use their abilities for the expression of good and solid music. Amongst these old masters, Dreyschock, especially, has developed technics to such an extent, that he is now to be esteemed one of the greatest virtuosi. They are raised by him to an expression of the purest grace, and his bravura is based in most instances on intellectuality. Of the new pianists, credit is mainly due to Hans von Bulow, for having exalted to honor Virtuosity, in its pure and noble sense; for, in objective faithfulness of reproduction of the most different styles, he has raised himself very high. Besides him, Jaell must be mentioned. The best technics in the service of the best idea. This is what Art wants the highest aim piano-forte playing has for ambition, and this must be recognized in the efforts of the best pianists of the day. We learn from our English exchanges that Mile. Lucca, a new German dramatic singer, has been successful in London, and "furnishes a proof that a really beautiful voice has not yet become a myth." MUSICAL EDUCATION AND INSTRUCTION. By Dr. Marx, of Berlin. (CONTINUED.) OF THE DISPOSITION OR VOCATION FOR MUSIC. CONSIDERING the importance which we attribute to musical education, and the large demands on time and powers which application to it requires, the question becomes serious: what result can be reasonably expected by each individual from his exertions in this pursuit? This education, in order to be profitable, assumes certain predispositions in the pupil; and many a person may be drawn into a chain of labors and sacrifices, which, from want of natural appliances, may remain unrewarded. Many, indeed, not ungifted individuals, capable of participating to a certain extent in art, being seduced by its charms, devote their whole lives to it, and discover too late that their musical power is not sufficient for the profession, although it enables them to increase their enjoyment of art, and to have a deeper inward perception of its richness and beauty. The danger of a grave error, perhaps of a life thrown away, is more considerable to a gifted individual, than to one not so endowed; and even in the minor case of a mere amateur, the question is so important, that we cannot pass it over in a serious view of musical education, although we cannot hope to give a general and particular answer, which shall be in all cases satisfactory. All men, with extremely few exceptions, have a disposition for music. They have even more disposition than is generally attributed to them; more than they themselves are accustomed to think. But nothing is more common than that this disposition, unrecognized by hesitating prejudice, neglected through idleness and indifference, or led astray by erroneous treatment, should become suppressed. The extremely rare exceptions are manifested by a perfect indifference to music, even to its corporeal effect, or, indeed, in some cases, by a physically perceptible repugnance to it. In this case, pleasurable sensations can be derived from the measure or the rhythm only. It is much more difficult to decide how far the disposition of any determined individual extends; what may be expected from its cultivation; and whether it be such as to justify the adoption of music as the special vocation of life. It may be asserted in general, from hundreds of experiments and instances, and from the contemplation of the subject, that The disposition of each individual is equivalent, and is worth cultivation, in proportion to the pleasure felt by the individual in the art itself. The pleasure in the art itself, not in the many subsidiary gratifications it may produce, and which may accompany an artistic life-not, therefore, the caprice of fashion, to learn music because others do-not the vanity of being better educated, nor of gaining the highest prize by redoubled exertion; all these pleasures abandon us, either before or soon after we have accomplished our object; they have been our reward, such as it was, but they were not the true pleasures of art, which, in the real artist, grow with his growth, and are immortal as the soul that fee's them. Hence, we see so many scholars discontinuing, as soon as the days of instruction are past, all connexion with art; and hence, also, many a master, when his daily task is done, drags on the burthen of a weary life in an unloved profession, in useless sighs or resigned indifference. But that the disposition exists in the proportion of our love of art, will be confessed by every keen observer of experience; and even without experi ence, we might infer that such would be the fact, since it would be purposeless to have a faculty implanted in us, which we have no power of calling into action. He who takes pleasure in music, will soon try to imitate it; as we may remark in the youngest children, who generally sing, after their fashion, before they speak. It is chiefly in the means of musical employment, from ignorance of technicalities, that errors occur. A person may be seized with a desire to sing, but have only an indifferent voice, or rather, more probably, whose voice has been injured; or he may devote himself to an instrument, for the performance on which he is deficient in power or in corporal structure. But even in this latter case, nature will often maintain her rights, if the musical desire be original, (not instilled or caught from example;) and the insufficient organ will at last be developed, or it will be sustained by other powers, and completed or replaced. In all such cases, however, it is advisable to seek counsel from the skilled in the matter. If, apparently contrary to our views, the disposition for and pleasure in music be so often concealed, or, indeed, seemingly absent-or, if the advance or delay of the learner vary from our expectations, we shall be led to acknow ledge the probability of our departure from the system required by nature for education in music, in addition to our doubtful judgment as to the musical disposition. This disposition is composed of several powers, which are sometimes found singly, and sometimes in combination, but each of which must be separately sought and nourished, long before musical instruction, commonly so called, begins. We must come to a clear understanding upon these points. They are decisive as to the question, whether music ought to be comprehended within the course of our occupations, and very important in the consequences of its admission. Every participation in music presupposes that it makes some pleasurable impression, either corporeal or mental. The most immediate is that which is produced by the mass of sound, or any particularly agreeable character of sound, the crash of a brass band, or the silvery tone of a little bell, &c. It is simply of an elementary and material nature, and warrants no mental participation, and therefore no mental disposition. It is only in the higher region that the spiritual effect of sound is perceived, and the corporeal sensations then show themselves to be a distinct portion of the disposition for art. Our attention is next called to motion, measure, and rhythm. A deep meaning may be in rhythm; and the forms of bars are susceptible of endless variety, whereby significance is endeavored to be shown. The groundwork of all this is the placing or distribution of more or less emphatic moments in equal measures of time. Rhythm and measure depend upon the fixing or estimating one tone to be twice, four times, one-half, one-fourth part, &c., as long as another. The process is facilitated by placing together parcels of moments collectively equal (though unequal among themselves) into equal divisions of time, which time within the divisions is divided in the simplest manner possible, by two or three, forming the bars of two or three parts, or of more parts in the same ratio. This is a matter merely of the understanding, of measuring and reckoning. The distinguishing of the chief and secondary parts of the bar, by accentuating the first, is also purely mechanical. We therefore consider the rhythmic disposition to be within the capacity of any rational being. We may conclude, further, from the multitudes of raw recruits who march in exact time, and of threshers, who wield the flail in perfect three or four-part order, that the idea that men in general are defective in the perception of measures in time, is a mere prejudice. may A higher qualification, quite distinct from the preceding, is the perception of tone; the capability of distinguishing different tones, and of forming a determined and more or less durable conception of their relation to each other. very imperfectly-developed appreciation of tone, accompanied by very considerable susceptibility for music.* On the other hand, the keenest percep tion of tonic differences is by no means a sign of, nay-it is not essentially necessary for musical talent. Still less are certain external capabilities of this faculty, which are not uncommon, to be considered of any importance. Thus, there are persons not at all remarkable for musical talent, who can carry home with them from the orchestra the pitch of any piece of music, and reproduce it at pleasure. This is certainly not a useless faculty of memory, but it has no connexion with deeper powers, and may, indeed, rather indicate a diminished activity of the imagination, unless it have been acquired by long habituation to the orchestra. On the other hand, it occa sionally happens that highly-gifted singers and violinists permit themselves certain deviations from abstract purity of intonation, not from any want of perception, but from an impulse of the original and natural relations of sound, as distinguished from our artificial temperaments, or, possibly, from exaggerated expression. If to these fundamental qualifications we add memory for musical compositions, a moderate activity of intellectual comprehension, and a certain degree of courage or confidence, with the necessary dexterity of limb, member, voice, and speech,—we shall have assembled all the qualifications necessary for the cultivation of music. We should, however, never delay in encouraging the growth of the higher faculties-the sensibility of the mind, and feelings for the significance of compositions, and of the forms of composition, and that direction of the mind which tends to give musical form and embodiment to sensations and ideas-the so potent spell and mystery of the poet-musician. We have thus endeavored to give a determined idea of disposition for music. It is, as we have seen, a combination of properties, and is therefore found in different states of completeness. It is rarely denied altogether to any individual, but seems to exist in the most diversified gradation and variety. But as this aptitude, like every other human faculty, is capable of indefinite extensions and improvement, it is never possible, at least in the beginning or before some cultivation, to predict how far we may expect any specified individual to advance. We must return to our original assumption— Every one will advance or be led so far as his sincere but unalloyed pleasure in music calls him. He, therefore, who has a susceptibility for music, and feels pleasure in it, may with confidence devote so much time and labor to it as his peculiar calling and circumstances may allow. So long as it is a labor of love to him, it will be a labor of profit also; and thus, to such a one, instruction will be no unnecessary nor useless burthen, until the limits of his faculties be attained. And let every one remember, that the chief end of all artistic educa The pitch, or height or depth of a tone, is represented scientifically by the number of vibrations of a sounding body which produces it. Leibnitz has even described Music (mathematically considered) as a concealed mental arithmetic, making unconscious calculations. But it seems more probabletion is no other than the exaltation of our susceptibility of and participation that the immediate apprehension of tones depends on a sympathy between the nerves of the hearer and the vibrations of the sounding body. The vibrations, however, of even inanimate bodies, produce sounds in other bodies similarly tuned, and, moreover, call forth different but related sounds; and we find, also, that trained or imitating birds, and the youngest infants, when they begin to learn singing or whistling from us, become imbued with, and can reproduce, tones and successions of tones simply from hearing them. Hence we may presume that also the faculty of a musical ear is common to most if not to all men, so far as they can hear at all. But in this particular quality, the degrees of endowment are widely different, according to inward disposition or foreign assistance. The author has never met with an instance of any person incapable of perceiving the difference between low and high; but it is common to find persons unable to distinguish with certainty a tone from half a tone, a third from a fourth, or a fourth from a fifth, until after some instruction and practice. Smaller intervals, as, for example, a comma, or even what is called a quarter-tone, are often unappreciable to otherwise gifted musicians, especially pianists; while, on the other hand, the finest gradations are usually perceptible to persons not possessed of any considerable musical qualifications, such as experimenters in acoustics, and piano-forte-tuners, who have educated the ear to such minute discrimina tion. It is very common to confound this fine appreciation of sounds, with talent for music; or, at least, to consider it an indication of that talent. This, however, must not be assumed without many allowances. If this faculty be deficient or manifes ly feeble, we may certainly suppose that the original powers of the mind have not been applied to the living sounds of music; nevertheless, more than one example can be named of very small or in art, for our greater happiness and improvement. In this view, neither Answers to Correspondents. F. W., Oneida.—The Leader of an Orchestra has control over all the instruments, and therefore you are wrong in your supposition that his direction is limited to the class you name. E. L M., CALIFORNIA, inquires in reference to the proper playing of the tune Harvey's Chant, Jubilee, p. 126, on the organ or harmonium. Our answer is, that in giving out the tune, that is, playing it over in advance of the singing, each chord should be struck, but yet not in exact piano or staccato style. This is necessary to give the rhythmic idea of the tune, which would not be necessary if the chords constantly changed, as they should generally do in a model hymn-tune. When accompanying the singing, each chord should not be independently struck, unless, from the imperfect drill of the singers, this may be necessary to keep them in time. Harvey's Chant is a chant in tune form, and it is well established, that in a regular chant, the accompanist is expected to hold the chanting chords, without repeating, for each word of the phrase chanted. This seems to be particularly the case among the mass of the people of France. In that country, singing is perpetual, and yet it is, in an incredible proportion, false and unsteady in tone. The small development of the musical faculties, in this instance, seenis to arise from the manner of life, more external than intellectual, of the nation. It is indicated by the cir cumstance, that, notwithstanding general education and a great susceptibility for music, so few great composers have been produced in France, and that the most remarkable advances in art in that country have been occasioned by foreigners, namely, Lully, Gluck, and Sportit, We Germans, however, remember with gratitude, that our Gluck acquired his perfection and recognition in the bosom of the refinement and intellectual activity of that highly distin guished nation in his days, and that the susceptibility of that nation has shown an equally noble appreciation of Haydn and Beethoven. Sheet Music Review. Firth, Pond & Co., New York. FIRST PERIOD. THE DIXIE GALOP. By Helmsmüller. 25c. SECOND PERIOD. LA PROMESSE. Morceau de Salon. Wm. Berge. 50c. A polka movement; pleasing and brilliant. LA GITANELLA. Caprice caracteristique. Par L. M. Gottschalk, 40c. PERCE-NEIGE. (Snow-Flower.) Jules Egghard. 35c. A pretty melody, varied in a brilliant manner. "OUR GOOD SHIP SAILS TO-NIGHT." Stephen C. Massett. 35c. This is the song which has been "sung with the most enthusiastic applause by Mad. Anna Bishop, Miss Isabella Hinkley, Signor Brignoli, and Mr. Harrison Millard." A SONG FOR MY COUNTRYMEN. Henry Drayton. 40c. Another of the vigorous patriotic songs of the times. I'M GOING HOME TO DIXIE. (A.) Words and music by D. D. Emmett. 25c. This is intended as a sequel to the same author's famous song, "Dixie's Land." We hope, for the publishers' sake, it will meet with the same success. LONG HAS THE WINTER BEEN. (F.) Solo and quartet. By S. Lawrence. 50c. OH, IF I HAD SOME ONE TO LOVE. (F.) Ballad. By Frederick Buckley. 25c. MUSICAL EVENINGS. A collection of vocal duets. Words by George Linsley. Adapted to favorite operatic melodies: No. 1. "Sweet is the Dream." Music by Campani. No. 2. Tender Blossoms." No. 3. "We love thee, sweet night." The music of the two last numbers are taken from Bellini's "Sonnambula." We like the first and third best; the words to the second do not suit the music. MUSICAL GOSSIP. THE first regiment of the Gerinan Riflemen gave a concert at the Academy of Music, in which a March, by Mr. Charles Fradel, was performed by the Band of the Regiment. The March introduces, of course, the melody of the Star-Spangled Banner. It is a pretty March, melodious and not difficult. Messrs. J. Schubert & Co. are its publishers. The American Musical Directory for 1861, edited by Mr. C. Dingley, has at last made its appearance. It is a neat and useful book, giving the names and places of residence of teachers, publishers, organists, singers, societies, etc., in the principal cities of the Union, south and north. We have no doubt that in the end the American Musical Directory will be well patronized by the profession. Of Mr. Wollenhaupt's Waltz, "The Song of the Syrens," the third edition has just been published. Mr. Theodor Hagen will publish next week a Paraphrase of the Star-Spangled Banner by the same favorite author. This new composition of Mr. Wollenhaupt will undoubtedly increase his popularity, as it is a very brilliant and effective piece, and of only moderate difficulty. MADAME ANNA BISHOP gives so-called Chamber Concerts at Stuyvesant Institute. Admission twenty-five cents. MR. H. G. CARY, of Malden, Mass., has given two hundred and fifty children under his direction a chance to delight the old folks with their singing. The Concert was very interesting. CONCERTS in aid of the Volunteers for the war are becoming quite frequent. The Sons of Temperance Choir, of Fall River, Mass., have recently given a very successful one. They were assisted by Mr. W. H. Jones, a colored gentleman, whose performances are highly commended. EUROPEAN ITEMS. FROM a letter written by Richard Wagner to a friend, immediately after the failure of his Tannhauser, in Paris, we quote the following interesting details : "I continue to claim for the Parisian public very agreeable qualities, especially that of a very lively susceptibility of impression, and a really noble feeling of justice. A public, I say, a whole public, to whom, personally, I am a stranger, that by journals and lazy chatterers was daily fed with the most absurd stories and that had been with an almost unheard-of care prejudiced against me, to see such a public for quarters of an hour struggle by the most resolute demonstrations of applause against a clique, must fill me with warm appreciation, even if I was the most indifferent person. That I did not err in looking upon the result of this evening as a triumph, was proved to me by the behavior of the public on the evening of the second performance; for here it was decided what opposition alone I had to meet henceforth, namely, the Jockey Club, as with the acclamation, ‘A la porte les Jockeys,' the public themselves have loudly and openly marked as my principal oppopents. The members of this club, who felt deeply injured by the nonappearance of the usual ballet at the time when they make their appearance at the opera, that is to say towards the middle of the performance, had become convinced with horror that Tannhauser at the first performance had not fallen, but actually triumphed. Henceforth it was their cause to prevent that this opera rid of the ballet should be performed for them night after night, and for this purpose they had brought a number of dog whistles and similar instruments, with which they soon after their entrance manoeuvered in the most unconstrained manner." A NEW piece, by Stephen Heller, will soon be published. It is called "Improvisations on the Romana," Fluthenreicher Ebro, from R. Schumann's Spanish Love Songs, op. 98. MR. RICHARD РоHL in Weimar has arranged the Grand Festival at Capulet's from Berlioz's Symphony "Romeo and Juliet," for piano, for eight hands. On the occasion of the second meeting of Musicians next August in Weimar, Beethoven's "Missa Solennis," and Liszt's Symphonies," Faust," and "The Unfettered Prometheus" will be performed. THERE is a rumor afloat, writes the Manchester Weekly Times, that Mr. Lumley may once more open Her Majesty's Theater as manager, if not as lessee; a rumor which is warranted by the fact that some of the leading vocalists who were to appear at that house under the direction of Mr. Smith were sub-let by Mr. Lumley to that gentleman, and consequently the latter, now that the Haymarket temple is closed, will have the artists on his hands, and we most of us know that they are rather an expensive luxury if kept idle. WITH regard to the failure of "Tannhauser" in Paris, a journalist there has the following: Such manifestations are regrettable. Is Mr. Wagner's opera good or bad? We do not judge, but Mr. Wagner is not a man to be guilty of want of respect towards the public, nor a charlatan, who would cut off his dog's tail to gain celebrity. He may be mistaken, but he does not seek to deceive. The most severe critics acknowledge that he is a very learned musician, and there are beautiful pieces in the "Tannhauser;" that Mr Wagner has a popular name in Germany, and has conquered it through a thousand obstacles by the most courageous efforts; lastly, he is a foreigner, all motives to have insured him at least politeness. But that indecorous laughter displeases, not only as a want of politeness, but an imprudence which may bring its punishment tomorrow, the most cruel punishment that can be inflicted upon jesters, that they shall become ridiculous. How is it that we, French, after so many lessons, still laugh at what is new? What man have we admired, what works applauded, what discovery adopted, without a laugh at first? We have laughed at Shakspeare, at Parmentier, at Victor Hugo; we have laughed at Racine's "Phædre" before laughing at the Phædre of Pradon; we have laughed at the circulation of the blood, at vaccination, at the employment of steam; we have laughed at Beethoven, at Piccini with the Gluckites, and at Gluck with the Piccinists; we have laughed at Mr. Jaques with the adherents of Mr. Delacroise, and at Mr. Delacroise with the adherents of Mr. Jaques. On the other side, we have accepted in earnest Mesmer, Cagliostro, magnetism, table-turning, spirit-rapping, infinitesimal doses, and the Black Doctor. My fellow-citizens, let us distrust our admirations and our disdain-let us remember! What proof of the badness of Wagner's music was afforded by the noisy "damnation" of a crowd that allowed no one an opportunity to listen, is more than we can detect; how the feuilletonists, who wrote quite as violently against the "Tannhauser" before they had heard it as they have written since, were able to judge of its peculiarities after a single performance, and that interrupted and accompanied by continuous hisses, shouts, catcalls, stamps and uproars of every imaginable description, is another mystery which cis-Atlantic critics would do well to look into. The fact is, Wagner's defeat was a foregone conclusion; a fact, however, which by no means precludes his eventual and brilliant success, even in Paris. Those whom the crowd maligns most bitterly to-day, are all the more likely to be recognized as great men to-morrow,-if they have the true metal in them. THE director of the Royal Domchor, at Berlin, Mr. Neidthardt, died last month. Of his 150 published compositions little has become known beyond the circle of his pupils and friends. But his reputation as conductor of the choir is deservedly very wide. He was also well known by his editions of older pieces, mostly of Italian church music, which have become standard works in the libraries of most singing clubs. Somewhat strange does the portrait of Neidthardt look, which is found in these editions, and which bears the funny inscription: "I am a Prussian; do you know my colors?" BOSTON. Our Musical Correspondence. MAY 6th, 1861. Dear Review: A fortnight ago we spoke of the new Berkeley Street Organ, and promised to give a little description of its twin-sister, the Eliot Church Organ, in this letter. This organ is smaller than the other, but is, in some respects, its superior, we have no hesitation in saying. It is situated in one end of the gallery opposite the pulpit, and is entirely hidden from view by lattice work. The action is reversed, and the organ-box situated out about six feet from the front pipes. This arrangement possesses some disadvantages perhaps, but certainly some decided advantages. The position of the organist, in relation to the choir and congregation, must be seen to be very favorable to unanimity in musical performances. The action is not thereby affected at all, and we are assured that the extra complication induced will not have the least effect to increase the liability to get out of order. The instrument has two banks of keys and thirty-three stops, as follows: Messrs. Wilcox and Blodgett "opened" the instrument in presence of a large audience, Wednesday evening, April 3d, to the apparent satisfaction of all present, both performers and audience. In this connection we cannot fail to notice the kind assistance of Mrs. Towle, Mrs. Shattuck, and Misses Tuckerman and Powers, of Boston, in the vocal department, adding greatly to the interest of the occasion. What was remarked in our last of the unison stops is emphatically true of those in this organ. The tone is rich and full, affording a solid foundation to build combinations upon. We do not remember to have heard a more effective swell, either here or elsewhere, than the one in this instrument. The German Gamba is superior, we think, to the one in the Berkeley Street Organ, and is certainly a very valuable stop. The character of its tone is not entirely unlike that of the old-fashioned Cremona, but is considerably smoother and fuller. Both of these societies have abundant reason for all the satisfaction they feel in their new instruments, and it is sincerely to be hoped that as long as they use them for the purposes of Divine Worship, they will never permit them to be perverted into humdrums, tickling the ears but carnalizing the hearts of those who come within the range of their tones, to be by them lifted heavenward, and inspired with devotional thoughts and feelings. A young pianist, by the name of Carlyle Petersilea, gave a musical soiree at Hallet, Davis & Co.'s rooms, last Wednesday evening. He played Lizst's "Lucia" and "Midsummer Night's Dream," Fantasies, Thalberg's Prayer from "Moses," Chopin's A flat Ballad, and a Prelude and Fugue of Mendelssohn. His execution is remarkable for one of his age, (he is but eighteen we understand;) but, of course, as yet he lacks in power of conception and expression. Mrs. Long assisted him in two or three songs with her usual ability and acceptableness. The piano used on the occasion (of H., D. & Co.'s manufacture) was one of the finest, if not the finest, we ever listened to, either in this country or Europe. This house has made enormous strides in the manufacture of pianos, and musicians are coming to acknowl edge that, for richness of tone, evenness and elasticity of action, &c., it has no equal in our country. B. MAY 20, 1861.-The inquiry on all sides in this vicinity among readers of the REVIEW is, Where is the letter promised for the last paper? We can only reply in entire ignorance, throwing the blame upon Uncle Sam by presumption -hope it will ultimately come to light. The past fortnight with us has been one of comparative inactivity, as regards things musical. Mad. Varian has been here, and (though undoubtedly an artiste) she achieved her greatest success in the performance of the Star-spangled Banner-a patriotic melody with which your readers may be familiar-attired in the colors of the glorious flag of which she sang; but in the midst of all the excitement which so completely turns the public attention away from any thing and every thing not pertaining to the "wars," it is doubly gratifying to be able to record a worthy testimonial tendered to a worthy artiste: a well attended concert complimentary to Mrs. J. U. Long. Some of your readers may not be acquainted with the fact of her hus band's severe and long continued illness, which makes this token of the respect and affection with which her friends regard her, peculiarly grateful to the gifted recipient. Mrs. Kempton, Miss Whitehouse, Mr. Carlyle Petersilea, and the Mendelssohn Quintet Club assisted in the concert which occurred last Saturday evening at Hallet, Davis & Co.'s rooms. The club played Mozart's E flat quartet, and the Canzonet from Mendelssohn's E flat quartet, with their usual |