Samuel Siegel Ad

**John Zimm** · Feb-09-2006, 6:17pm

While playing around (read: researching) something at work, I found this scan of an ad for a Samuel Siegel concert:

I checked the Madison and Milwaukee papers to see if I could find a description of this concert but couldn't find anything. Makes me think that maybe this venue was in Chicago or some other nearby metropolis.

-John.

**Eugene** · Feb-09-2006, 11:49pm

Groovy. Thanks, John.

**John Flynn** · Feb-10-2006, 8:35am

Here is a link to a Photoshop'ed flyer that was originally for Samuel Siegel, but was changed to "Samuel Rigel" for the Rigel website. It also has the head of of a guy named Mike Ryan superimposed.
http://www.rigelinstruments.com/rogues/article_37.shtml

**floyd floar** · Feb-10-2006, 3:24pm

Mando Johnny: It was cool to see your research. My late Mandolin teacher, Walter Kaye Bauer b.1899, was a pupil of Seigel, maybe his foremost. Mr. Bauer idolized Seigel and held him as the greatest of all the virtuosi. Mr.B also knew Lloyd Loar well and played in LL's mando quartet, The Gibsonians. I can't recall who played 1st and 2nd mando, being either Loar or Bauer. I only wish now I had gleaned more from Mr.B. To me, he was like having Haydn for a teacher. He's the Dean of American Classical Mandolin teachers. Thanks again for sharing that. Chordially yrs, FF

**JimD** · Feb-10-2006, 3:33pm

I want to know more about the "mandolin duetists".

How young were they?

**Jim Garber** · Feb-10-2006, 7:54pm

Originally Posted by (Buckley @ Feb. 09 2006, 18:17)

I checked the Madison and Milwaukee papers to see if I could find a description of this concert but couldn't find anything. Makes me think that maybe this venue was in Chicago or some other nearby metropolis.

I found this bio of Charles Hambitzer (originally of Beloit) on the Library of Congress site.

Originally Posted by

Biographical Note
Charles Hambitzer was born in Beloit, Wisconsin (his birth year is variously given as 1878 and
1881), to a musical family; his great-grandfather was a violinist at the Russian court and his father owned
a music store in Milwaukee. After studying with Julius Albert Jahn and Hugo Kaun, Hambitzer played in
the orchestra of the Arthur Friend Stock Company, and taught piano, violin, and cello at the Wisconsin
Conservatory. In 1908, he moved to New York City, where he joined Joseph Knecht’s orchestra at the
Waldorf-Astoria, frequently appearing as a piano soloist. At the same time, he opened a music studio on the
Upper West Side, and among his many pupils was the fourteen year-old George Gershwin, who began his
studies with Hambitzer in 1912. In 1914, Hambitzer’s wife died of tuberculosis, and in 1918 he succumbed
to the same disease, exacerbated by an emotional breakdown. It has been widely suggested that his death
caused the young Gershwin to abandon his own budding career as a concert pianist.

Hambitzer’s feverish approach to composition seems to reflect a prodigious musical talent. His works
include orchestral tone poems, incidental music for plays by Shakespeare and others (his Twelfth Night Suite
was used for a Sothern and Marlow production), two operettas, and numerous songs and short instrumental
compositions. Although a number of his tone poems were performed by the New York Philharmonic and his
operetta, The Love Wager, toured the United States, few of Hambitzer’s works were ever published, since
he seems generally to have lost interest in a piece upon its competition. Although he was under contract to
compose theatrical music for the Shubert Organization, nothing resulted from this arrangement; this
uncharacteristic lack of productivity has been attributed to creative and personal differences. In the 1930s
it was reported that a number of Hambitzer’s manuscripts were in the possession of his family, although some
relatives believed that his most significant scores had been retained by Joseph Knecht.

John, where are you working that you have access to this program. Also, do you have a scan of what Mr. Siegel and the others played on the program that night?
Jim

**John Zimm** · Feb-21-2006, 6:54pm

Originally Posted by

John, where are you working that you have access to this program. Also, do you have a scan of what Mr. Siegel and the others played on the program that night?
Jim

Hi Jim,

I was in Florida for a week, so I am a little late in responding to this.

I work for the Wisconsin Historical Society. I found this ad in a collection online that is free and open to anyone called Wisconsin Local History & Biography Articles. This basically consists mainly of newspaper articles collected by WHS staff in the 1890s.

I unfortunately don't have a copy of the program for the concert. I was hoping that it took place in Madison or Milwaukee as the newspapers for these two cities were pretty good about reporting on cultural happenings in the city. I hope to ask a few people here who are more knowledgeable that I if they have heard of the Carlton Club-I checked google and only found references to a place in England and possibly Chicago.

I'll let you know if I learn anything else. I may have time in the near future to check the Chicago papers to see if they shed any light.

-John.

**Linda Binder** · Feb-21-2006, 7:34pm

John, I went to the link for the ad and there is a 2nd page which lists the program for the concert. #I'm not on my computer so I'm not sure I can post it but I'll try.
--Linda

**John Zimm** · Feb-21-2006, 7:36pm

Woah, good work. #I should have looked more closely at that. #Thanks for posting it.

I just spent several minutes searching proquest for anything about the concert and I found a program printed on November 20, 1901 for a Siegel concert. #It is too large to post, so tomorrow hopefully I can resize it and post it.

Thanks again for posting the second page. #

Judging by the ad for the Milwaukee music store, it would seem most likely that the concert was held in Milwaukee. I'll have to check the papers again. I could have missed the writeup. It would be interesting to see what a reviewer had to say about Siegel's performance.

-John.

**Linda Binder** · Feb-21-2006, 7:38pm

Ha! did it. The concert must have been in Milwaukee since it has a Milwaukee ad. It's interesting to me that the Vesta store on Grand Ave. and the store that Hambitzer's father owned were close to the violin shop I work in. That area must have been hopping at one time. Those old buildings are now turning into condos....
--Linda

**Jim Garber** · Feb-21-2006, 10:47pm

Excellent work, Linda. Just what I wanted to see.

Jim

**Beanzy** · Jun-23-2013, 5:33am

As there was already a Samuel Siegel thread up and running I thought people may find it interesting to listen to some of his pieces. These ar the lighter end of the scale as they had to aim for the popularity stakes to guarantee the sales. Anyway you can still hear he had plenty of what it takes....

Samuel Siegel at the Library of Congress Archive