Conducted by STANFORD ROBINSON
HEDDLE NASH (Tenor)
BELONGING to a rank of society which has given the world only a few great masters of music, D'Indy began his career as a somewhat scantily equipped amateur. When, after fighting through the franco-Prussian war, he submitted a quartet to Cesar Franck , the master had to point out, very gently no doubt, that it was alogethor badly written and badly put together. D'Indy, howover, devoted himself with such energy and enthusiasm to serious study, that for many years he has holdaleading ; lace in the French world of music, as composer, teacher, and author. During his years of apprenticeship, he made the acquaintance of such great men as Liszt, Wagner, and Brahms, and was one of the very few French-men who had a hand in the first performance of the Nibelung's Ring at Bayreuth. Ho took a largo share in the early presentations of Wagner operas in Paris, and, by way of gaining practical orchestral experience, acted as second drummer in the Colonne concerts for some three years. At the same time ho was chorus master there and organist in a Paris church. He became, eventually, César Franck's favourite disciple, succeeding him in 1890 as President of the National Society of Music, and two years later was a member of the commission set up to reform the Conservatoire. His biography of his master is one of the finest tributes of its kind in the whole of musical literature. A man of immense industry and the highest ideals, ho has done more for the music of his own day and country than it would be at all easy to reckon, and his compositions range over a very wide field. Essentially French, his music springs from the best impulses of the romantic movement though his own character has all along been too strong to be very much influenced from outside sources.