A "Smart" Drummer

An anecdote told of Haydn in connection with one of the rehearsals
is better worth noting. The drummer was found to be absent. "Can
anyone here play the drum?" inquired Haydn, looking round from
his seat at the piano. "I can," promptly replied young George
(afterwards Sir George) Smart, who was sitting among the
violinists. Smart, who lived to become the doyen of the musical
profession in England, had never handled a drumstick before,
and naturally failed to satisfy the conductor. Haydn took the
drumstick from him and "showed to the astonished orchestra a new
and unexpected attitude in their leader." Then, turning to Smart,
he remarked: "That is how we use the drumsticks in Germany."
"Oh, very well," replied the unabashed youth, "if you like it
better in that way we can also do it so in London."

New Acquaintances

Haydn made several new acquaintances during this visit, the most
notable being, perhaps, Dragonetti, the famous double-bass
player, who had accompanied Banti, the eminent prima donna, to
London in 1794. Banti had been discovered as a chanteuse in a
Paris cafe, and afterwards attracted much notice by her fine
voice both in Paris and London. "She is the first singer in
Italy, and drinks a bottle of wine every day," said one who knew
her. In her journeys through Germany, Austria and Italy she won
many triumphs. Haydn composed for her an air, "Non Partir," in E,
which she sang at his benefit. As for "Old Drag," the familiar
designation of the distinguished bassist, his eccentricities must