Her Majesty's. Commissioners for the Great Exhibition of 1862 have,
it appears, invited Rossini, Meyerbeer, and Auber to compose works to be performed on the occasion of the opening of the Exhi- bition, in conjunction with a work by an English composer, so that the art of music in Italy, Germany, France, and England may thus be represented. Meyerbeer and Auber have accepted the invitation, but Rossini has declined it. His excuse (according to The Musical World) is couched in the following terms : "I regret that I cannot accept the honour which her Majesty's Commissioners for the Frhi- bition of 1862 are good enough to do me. Were I still a member of the musical world, I should make it a duty and a pleasure to prove on this occasion that I am not forgetful of the noble hospitality of England." The name of the English composer who has been, or is to be, honoured with this invitation, has not transpired.
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