THE CENTENARY PORTRAIT OF MANUEL GARCIA BY JOHN S. SARGENT. Signed by the Maestro Six Weeks before his Hundred-and-First Birthday. Copyright, 1905 by Photographische Gesellschaft. handwritten signatures of subject & artist included as well Copyright, 1905 by Photographische Gesellschaft. Signed by the Maestro Six Weeks before his Hundred-and-First Birthday. THE CENTENARY PORTRAIT OF MANUEL GARCIA BY JOHN S. SARGENT. Signed by the Maestro Six Weeks before his Hundred-and-First Birthday. B

—— I N presenting this Memoir of Don Manuel Garcia, I wish to thank those friends and pupils of the Maestro who have assisted me with reminiscences, photographs, and other material. But especially I would thank Mrs Alec Tweedie for the kind way in which she read through the MS., when it was still in a rough state, and made many invaluable suggestions with regard to its arrangement and improvement generally. >M. S. M. Oxford and Cambridge Musical Club , Leicester Square , March 1908 ....

M ANUEL G ARCIA , the Centenarian. How much do those words imply!—words which it is impossible to pen without a feeling of awe. Garcia, a member of that family of Spanish musicians whose combined brilliancy has probably never been equalled in the annals of the musical world. The father and founder of the family, renowned as one of the finest tenors of his day; as a prolific composer, and as a singing teacher of distinguished ability, as well as conductor and impressario; in fact, a fine vocalist

A ND now let us take up the career of Maria Malibran, since the next six years of Manuel Garcia's life are chiefly concerned with the triumphs of this his first pupil. We have already seen how, shortly after her return from America in the early autumn of 1827, she had been joined in Paris by Manuel; how the two lived there together for some months, while he helped his sister with her singing and coached her in her operatic work, and how, after a brilliant début at Galli's benefit in the January

A T the close of June 1848 Manuel Garcia, at the age of forty-three, arrived in London, where he was to make a new home and spend the rest of his days. What changes had taken place in the capital since he had last been there in the autumn of 1825! When he left George IV. was still king; when he returned William IV. had reigned and been succeeded by Queen Victoria, who had already been on the throne over ten years, while our present king, as Prince of Wales, was six years old. Let us glance for a

I N commencing this chapter I must apologise for the personal tone, which is almost unavoidable, since I am giving purely personal reminiscences of the years of study that I spent under Manuel Garcia. It was early in the May of 1895 that my mother (Antoinette Sterling) took me up to see her old master, in order that he might give his decision as to the advisability of my entering the musical profession. When we had driven out to his house on Shoot-up-hill, we rang the bell, and a maid came to th