peu de verite.”  Happy he who need not consult them!  In 1816 Elsner was entrusted by the minister Staszyc with the direction of a school of dramatic singing and recitation; and in 1821, to crown all previous efforts, a conservatorium was opened, the programme of which might almost have satisfied a Berlioz.  The department of instrumental music not only comprised sections for the usual keyed, stringed, and wind instruments, but also one for instruments of percussion.  Solo and choral singing were to be taught with special regard to dramatic expression.  Besides these and the theoretical branches of music, the curriculum included dancing, Polish literature, French, and Italian.  After reading the programme it is superfluous to be informed that the institution was chiefly intended for the training of dramatic artists.  Elsner, who was appointed director, selected the teaching staff, with one exception, however, that of the first singing-master, for which post the Government engaged the composer Carlo Evasio Soliva, a pupil of Asioli and Frederici.

The musical taste and culture prevailing in Poland about 1819 is pretty accurately described by a German resident at Cracow.  So far as music was concerned Poland had hitherto been ignored by the rest of Europe, and indeed could lay no claim to universal notice in this respect.  But the improved culture and greater insight which some had acquired in foreign lands were good seeds that began to bear fruit.  As yet, however, the greater part of the public took little or no interest in the better class of music, and was easily pleased and satisfied with polonaises, mazurkas, and other trivial things.  In fact, the music in Cracow, notwithstanding the many professional musicians and amateurs living there, was decidedly bad, and not comparable to the music in many a small German town.  In Warsaw, where the resources were more plentiful, the state of music was of course also more prosperous.  Still, as late as 1815 we meet with the complaint that what was chiefly aimed at in concerts was the display of virtuosity, and that grand, serious works were neglected, and complete symphonies rarely performed.  To remedy this evil, therefore, 150 amateurs combined and organised in 1818 a concert institution.  Their concerts took place once a week, and at every meeting a new and entire symphony, an overture, a concerto, an aria, and a finale, were performed.  The names of Beethoven, Haydn, Mozart, Cherubini, Spohr, Mehul, Romberg, &c., were to be found on their programmes.  Strange to say, there were no less than seven conductors:  Lessel, Lentz, Wurfel, Haase, Javurek, Stolpe, and Peschke, all good musicians.  The orchestra consisted in part of amateurs, who were most numerous among the violins, tenors, and violoncellos.  The solo department seems to have been well stocked.  To confine ourselves to one instrument, they could pride themselves on having four excellent lady pianists, one of whom distinguished herself particularly by the wonderful dexterity with