At rehearsals all difficulties are got over by means of mutual congratulations and a pious allusion to the “old established fame of our Orchestra.”  Who can venture to say that the performances of that famous institution deteriorate year by year?  Where is the true authority?  Certainly not amongst the critics, who only bark when their mouths are not stopped; and the art of stopping mouths is cultivated to perfection.

Recently, the post of chief conductor has here and there been filled by a man of practical experience, especially engaged with a view to stimulating the slumbering energy of his colleagues.  Such “chiefs” are famed for their skill in “bringing out” a new opera in a fortnight; for their clever “cuts”; for the effective “closes” they write to please singers, and for their interpolations in other men’s scores.  Practical accomplishments of this sort have, for instance, supplied the Dresden Opera with one of its most energetic Capellmeisters.

Now and again the managers look out for “a conductor of reputation.”  Generally none such are to be had at the theatres; but, according to the feuilletons of the political newspapers, the singing societies and concert establishments furnish a steady supply of the article.  These are the “music-brokers,” as it were, of the present day, who came forth from the school of Mendelssohn, and flourished under his protection and recommendation.  They differ widely from the helpless epigonae of our old conductors:  they are not musicians brought up in the orchestra or at the theatre, but respectable pupils of the new-fangled conservatoires; composers of Psalms and Oratorios, and devout listeners at rehearsals for the subscription concerts.  They have received lessons in conducting too, and are possessed of an elegant “culture” hitherto unknown in the realms of music.  Far from shewing any lack of politeness, they managed to transform the timid modesty of our poor native Capellmeister into a sort of cosmopolitan bon ton; which stood them in good stead with the old-fashioned philistine society of our towns.  I believe the influence of these people upon German orchestras has been good in many respects, and has brought about beneficial results:  certainly much that was raw and awkward has disappeared; and, from a musical point of view, many details of refined phrasing and expression are now more carefully attended to.  They feel more at home in the modern orchestra; which is indebted to their master—­Mendelssohn—­for a particularly delicate and refined development in the direction opened up by Weber’s original genius.