sed to
his own and lashed with scathing satire the whole musical cult of the
Italian race.

In "Aida" and the "Manzoni Mass," written in 1873, Verdi, the leader
among living Italian composers, practically conceded that, in the long,
bitterly fought battle between Teuton and Italian in music, the former
was the victor. In the opera we find a new departure, which, if not
embodying all the philosophy of the "new school," is stamped with its
salient traits, viz.: The subordination of all the individual effects
to the perfection and symmetry of the whole; a lavish demand on all the
sister arts to contribute their rich gifts to the heightening of the
illusion; a tendency to enrich the harmonic value in the choruses, the
concerted pieces, and the instrumentation, to the great sacrifice of the
solo pieces; the use of the heroic and mythical element as a theme.

Verdi, the subject of this interesting revolution, has filled a very
brilliant place in modern musical art, and his career has been in some
ways as picturesque as his music.

Verdi's parents were literally hewers of wood and drawers of water,
earning their bread, after the manner of Italian peasants, at a small
settlement called La Roncali, near Busseto, where the future composer
was born on October 9, 1814.

His earliest recollections were with the little village church, where
the little Giuseppe listened with delight to the church organ, for, as
with all great musicians, his fondness for music showed itself at a very
early age. The elder Verdi, though very poor, gratified the child's love
of music when he was about eight by buying a small spinet, and placing
him under the instruction of Provesi, a teacher in Busseto. The boy
entered on his studies with ardor, and made more rapid progress than the
slender facilities which were allowed him would ordinarily justify.

An event soon occurred which was destined to wield a lasting influence
on his destiny. He one day heard a skillful performance on a fine piano,
while passing by one of the better houses of Busseto. From that time
a constant fascination drew him to the house; for day after day he
lingered and seemed unwilling to go away lest he should perchance lose
some of the enchanting sounds which so enraptured him. The owner of
the premises was a rich merchant, one Antonio Barezzi, a cultivated
and high-minded man, and a passionate lover of music withal. 'Twas his
daughter whose playing gave the young Verdi such plea