Anecdotes of Great Musicians/Anecdote 29

by Willey Francis Gates

29.—THE MUSIC BUT NOT THE FACE.

While the great composers have, as a general thing, had remarkably retentive memories for musical matters, some of them were not so good at remembering other things. Rossini was one of these. He had a remarkably poor memory for names but could remember faces. On one occasion he met Bishop, the English composer, and, recognizing him, started to greet him with:

"Oh! my dear Mr. ——," but he could get no farther. The name was gone. But to show Bishop that he remembered the man, if not the name, he began to whistle Bishop's chorus, "When the Wind Blows." This was a compliment that the "English Mozart," as Bishop has been called, was not slow to recognize.