Page:A Dictionary of Music and Musicians vol 1.djvu/77

ANCIENT CONCERTS. Harrison and Bartleman (1795). Up to 1795 the concerts were held in the new rooms, Tottenham Street, afterwards known as the Queen's or West London Theatre, but in that year they were removed to the concert-room in the Opera House, and in 1804 to the Hanover Square Rooms. In 1811 Catalani made her first appearance, and two [App. p.522 "three" refer to iii. 710 b] years later Miss Stephens (afterwards Countess of Essex) made her debut at these concerts. In 1816 Mrs. Salmon was heard, and shortly afterwards Messrs. Braham and Phillips were engaged. In addition to the twelve concerts given every year a thirteenth was added, when 'The Messiah' was performed in aid of the 'Fund for the Support of Decayed Musicians and their Families', a practice still maintained in the annual performances by the Royal Society of Musicians. In accordance with one of the customs connected with the concerts it was the rule for the director of the day to entertain his brother directors and the conductor at dinner. The library of old masters belonging to the society was after its discontinuance removed to Buckingham Palace. [App. p.522 "The last concert took place June 7, 1848. The Library was presented to the Royal College of Music."] [ C. M. ]

ANDANTE (Ital., participle of the verb andare, ' to go'). Going, moving along at a moderate pace. In modern music this word is chiefly used to designate a rather slow rate of movement; formerly however it was used more generally in its literal sense. Thus in Handel's music we frequently find the indication 'andante allegro,' a contradiction in terms in the modern sense of the words, but by which is simply meant 'moving briskly.' Andante is a quicker rate of movement than larghetto, but on the other hand is slower than allegretto. As with most other time-indications it is frequently modified in meaning by the addition of other words, e. g. 'andante sostenuto' would be a little slower, and 'andante un poco allegretto' or 'andante con moto' a trifle faster, than 'andante' alone. Like adagio, largo, etc., this word is also used as the name of a piece of music (e. g. Beethoven's 'Andante in F') or as the name of a slow movement of a symphony, sonata, etc. [ E. P. ]

ANDANTINO (Ital.). The diminutive of ../Andante (q. v.). As 'andante' means literally 'going,' its diminutive must mean 'rather going,' i. e. not going quite so fast; and properly 'andantino' designates a somewhat slower time than andante. Some modern composers however, forgetting the original meaning of the word, and thinking of andante as equivalent with 'slow,' use andantino for 'rather slow,' i. e. somewhat quicker. In which sense the word is intended can only be determined by the character of the music itself. No more striking proof of the uncertainty which prevails in the use of these time-indications can be given than is to be found in the fact that three movements in Mendelssohn's 'Elijah' the first of which, 'If with all your hearts,' is marked 'andante con moto,' the second, 'The Lord hath exalted thee,' merely 'andante,' and the third, 'O rest in the Lord,' 'andantino,' are all in exactly the same time, the metronome indication being in each case = 72. [App. p.522 "See Beethoven's opinion as to the meaning of the term, in Thayer, iii. 241."] [ E. P. ]

ANDER,, one of the most famous German tenor singers of recent times; born August 24, 1821, at Libitz in Bohemia. His voice though not powerful was extremely sympathetic in quality. He went to Vienna in the hope that his talents would be recognised there, but it required all the energy and influence of the singer, at that time Ober-Regisseur to the court opera-house before he was allowed to make the experiment of appearing there for the first time (Oct. 22, 1845) as Stradella in the opera of that name, though with no previous experience of the boards whatever. His success was complete, and decided his course for life, and that single night raised him from a simple clerk to the rank of a 'primo tenore assoluto.' Still more remarkable was his success in the 'Prophéte,' which was given in Vienna for the first time on Feb. 28, 1850. Meyerbeer interested himself in the rapid progress of Ander, and from that date he became the established favourite of the Vienna public, to whom he remained faithful, notwithstanding tempting offers of engagements elsewhere. His last great part was that of Lohengrin, in which he combined all his extraordinary powers. As an actor he was greatly gifted, and had the advantage of a very attractive appearance. His voice, not strong and somewhat veiled in tone, was in harmony with all his other qualities; his conceptions were full of artistic earnestness, and animated by a noble vein of poetry. His physical strength however was unequal to the excitement of acting, and was impaired by the artificial means which he took to support himself. His last appearance was as Arnold in 'William Tell,' on Sept. 19, 1864; he was then failing, and shortly afterwards totally collapsed. He was taken to the Bath of Wartenberg in Bohemia, where he died on Dec. 11, but was buried in Vienna amid tokens of universal affection. [ C. F. P. ]

ANDERSON,, was the daughter of Mr. John Philpot, a professor of music and music-seller at Bath, where she was born in 1789 [App. p.522 "Dec. 1790"]. Miss Philpot early manifested a love for pianoforte playing, and although she never received any other instruction upon the instrument than some lessons given, at very irregular intervals, by her cousin, Mr. Windsor, of Bath, she soon, by perseverance and observation of the eminent players who occasionally appeared at the Bath concerts, arrived at such a degree of skill as to be able to perform in public at those concerts, which she did with great success, and also to follow music as a profession. Ill health, however, induced her to quit Bath and to come to London, where her success was speedily assured, she soon becoming eminent in her profession. In July 1820 Miss Philpot was married to Mr. George Frederick Anderson, a violinist engaged in all the best orchestras, and subsequently, for many years [App. p.522 "from 1848 to 1870", master of the Queen's private band. Mrs. Anderson was distinguished as being the first female pianist who played at the 