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Musical Courier 1891-06-03: Vol 22 Iss 589, 1891
79 lines. Read by computer on 19 September 2026. Printed page 585. See the scan on archive.org.
1count up how many pianists I have heard play this work, some of them finely, too, as I thought at the time; I am now obliged to confess that I never either heard or understood it before. One of the distinctive peculiarities of Mr. Rummel's playing I believe to lie in the fact that he so utterly makes you forget the mere outside clothing of a work and shows you its inmost heart. Through such a treatment passages which had before seemed insignificant or unnecessary suddenly take on meaning and importance; details hitherto overlooked now show themselves as vital portions of the story; and (not least of his greatnesses) the technical difficulties which may occur are not only forgotten by the listener but absolutely buried out of sight by the predominating influence of the soul of the piece—they seem to exist no more for the player than they do for the auditor.
3In the Beethoven sonata all these factors came forcibly into play; the formal framework of the sonata disappeared and left in its stead a living romance, a connected story, which went logically on its way untrammeled by conventionalities of form or movement. It is difficult, even now, on looking back calmly, to recall the feats of virtuosity which contributed to this complete and rounded whole, but one must be mentioned; it sent a curious thrill of mingled surprise and delight through the intently listening audience. I allude to the octave passages alternately for two hands which appear in the short final prestissimo; for the first time I heard them played as octaves (not by the two hands, each taking single notes) and pianissimo; the effect was as unexpected and striking as it was appropriate.
5I must not attempt to speak in detail of the Chopin sonata; I should be carried beyond all reasonable length. It would be useless, also; those who have heard Mr. Rummel play it will need no reminder of his marvelous interpretation; to those who have not no description would give any idea of it. I must, however, say that I never heard even him play the last movement so wonderfully well. It was a credit to the audience as well as a compliment to the performer that the end of the well-known funeral march was not the signal for applause; they were listening with too rapt an attention even to think of applauding.
7The remaining numbers on the program hardly demand individual mention; they made more demands upon the virtuosity of the player than on his powers of musical conception, and we all know that Mr. Rummel's technical resources are fully equal to any demands which may be made upon them. As a purely personal matter I may say that I do not like the Brahms "Capriccio," even when Mr. Rummel plays it; I am strongly tempted to apply to it the title of one of Rubinstein's compositions, "A Study on False Notes;" it is very wonderful and (I think) very ugly. The Raff "Spinnerlied," in which the pianist introduced some very novel effects and a completely new way of playing the melody (divided between both hands, instead of all with the right hand, as written), had to be repeated. Floersheim's "Elevation," which no one can play properly except Mr. Rummel, made its usual effect; and the "Gondoliera" and the "Tarantella" of Liszt brought the recital to an end with a display of virtuosity which drove the audience to such a pitch of excitement that the performer, after bowing again and again, was obliged to resume his seat at the piano and quiet them down with the D flat nocturne of Chopin, which was given with perfect poetry and finish.
9I have barely alluded to the spontaneous and enthusiastic applause which greeted every number on the program, to this Mr. Rummel is accustomed; but I think that even he does not often find an audience so responsive as the one he had on this occasion. More than once the applause was preceded by that dead hush which shows the listeners to be too enrapt to be able to break the spell immediately—the sincerest homage the real artist can receive.
11If Mr. Rummel does not repeat his visit to Wells College it will not be for lack of efforts to induce him to do so.
13I am much afraid that to readers who peruse this account in cold blood I shall seem to have written in a rather crazily enthusiastic fashion, yet I have not spoken as strongly as I should have liked to do. Those who know me will know that "wild enthusiasm" is by no means my normal condition and will appreciate the fact that an occasion which can call from me such expressions as I have used in this letter must have been no ordinary one.
15Yours very truly, CARYL FLORIO.
17WHO ISN'T GOING?—Who isn't going to Bayreuth this season?
19THE MUSIC CLUB.—The Music Club, which is now a thriving institution, devotes Friday evenings to card parties and other social relaxations. The club address is 39 West Thirty-first street.
21WHAT BENHAM WILL PLAY.—Mr. A. Victor Benham intends to play the following concertos during his engagement at Brighton Beach with the Seidl Orchestra:
22Beethoven concertos, Nos. 3 and 5; Mozart concerto, D minor; Weber concerto, E flat major and concertstück; Chopin E minor concerto, "Don Juan," variations and polonaise, op. 22; Liszt fantaisie hongroise; Mendelssohn concerto, G minor; Hummel concerto, A flat major, and Schumann A minor.
24The National Conservatory of Music of America,
25Nos. 126 and 128 East Seventeenth Street, New York.
27THE annual entrance examinations of the National Conservatory of Music, Nos. 126 and 128 East Seventeenth street, New York, will be held as follows:
28Singing—September 24 and 25, 1891, from 9 A. M. to 12 M.; 2 to 5 P. M.; from 8 to 10 P. M.
29Violin, 'Cello, Contrabas, Harp and all other Orchestral Instruments—September 28, from 9 A. M. to 12 M. and 2 to 5 P. M.
30Piano and Organ—September 29, 9 A. M. to 12 M. and 2 to 5 P. M.
31Orchestra—November 2, from 4 to 6 P. M.
32Chorus—November 4, from 8 to 10 P. M.
33Operatic Chorus—November 2, from 8 to 10 P. M.
35The object of the National Conservatory of Music being the advancement of music in the United States through the development of American talent, applications for admission into the classes of the conservatory are hereby invited. It is expected that positive aptitude shall be shown by the candidates for admission, without regard to the applicant's stage of progress, and that his or her desire to receive the instruction imparted in the conservatory shall be the outcome of a serious and well defined purpose. The successful candidates will enjoy the tuition of the best teachers that can be engaged, and after graduation will be afforded opportunities of making known their accomplishments, thus securing engagements. The conditions of admission, as to fees, &c. (varying according to the classification of the pupil), are determined by the board of directors. Instruction in all branches will be given free to students whose talent and circumstances warrant it. The course embraces tuition in singing, operatic and miscellaneous, solfeggio, stage deportment, elocution, fencing and Italian, piano, organ, harp, violin, viola, 'cello, flute, oboe, clarinet, bassoon, French horn, cornet, trombone, harmony, counterpoint and composition, history of music, chamber music, orchestra and chorus. For further particulars address
36CHARLES INSLEE PARDEE, A. M., Secretary.
38The Finnish Kantele.
39THE Finnish newspapers recently brought the news that Mr. Potter, of New York, the well-known collector of national melodies, intended to go to Finland to hear its songs from the mouths of the people, and that he designed the arrangement of a concert in New York to make these songs known to a greater public in America. This information was, of course, gladly greeted in Finland. We always appreciate being noticed abroad, but especially by Americans, whose intellect and wise judgment we so highly respect. Perhaps the readers of THE MUSICAL COURIER will allow me a few words on the topic of these songs and the instrument called kantele, to the accompaniment of which they are generally sung by the people.
41The Finnish melodies are of a simple, melancholy, soft character, being, like all national songs, more or less the immediate expression of the soul and the character of the people, and breathe the air of the lonely scenery of the country where they were first sung; for there is a solitude in that beautiful scenery of the "land of the thousand lakes," as it has been poetically called, a loneliness so deep, so entire, that only he who has spent some time there—an autumnal day in the vast forests or a clear summer night on one of its innumerable waters—can imagine. There lies a sublime quietude, something desolate, over those nights which deeply impresses even the native, and which must still more strangely touch the mind of the traveler of nowadays, this epoch of speed and restlessness and hurry.
43At intervals some kind of anachoretic feelings may overcome him, which also often find an expression in the songs; a sort of resignation into one's fate, showing that the people "learned in suffering what they taught in song." The rough climate made them sturdy in resistance, and all the hard trials which in course of time often broke in upon them were braved valiantly until better days dawned again. This theme of a "hope on, hope ever" is also applicable to the Finns. Even some of their erratic songs bear this feature, although there are exceptions, several specimens of a more passionate coloring. Many of them also are a mere communion with the singer's nearest and truest friend, the beauty of nature around him.
45The kantele, to which those melancholy strains are sung, is an instrument constructed somewhat like a harp. The national epic of the Finns, "Kalevala," narrates the ancient myth of the origin of this instrument. It is a most poetical invention, a pity to describe it with prosaic words; still I will try to give a short account of the story.
47For those who perhaps take an interest in the original I mention that this myth begins in the fortieth canto of the Kalevala (translated into English by Mr. Crawford).
49Old Wainamoinen, the inspired bard, the ideal musician, so says the epic, had made himself an uncommonly lovely instrument—a kantele—out of the jawbones of a big fish which he once happened to catch during his lonely sailings. For strings he took some hairs of the mane of Husi's (the bad spirit) horse, which gave it a mysterious, bewitching tone. When he sang to its accompaniment he awakened the sympathy of all beings, charming and ruling the powers of nature by his soul controlling melodies. The sun, the moon and the stars came down to listen to the songster, who was himself touched to tears by the power of his own mighty song.
51But his happiness did not last very long. His greatest comfort, his harp, was lost in the waves. The king of the water and the sea nymphs got it now for their eternal joy to play on. When they sounded the cords to their fair songs of old the waves carried the tunes onto the shores, where they were distantly echoed back by the rocks around, and this, one says, causes the melancholy feelings which overcome the wanderer at the lonely quietude of the Northern clear summer nights.
53Deploring the loss of his kantele old Vainamoinen, the bard, was driving restlessly along through the fields, wailing aloud. He there saw a solitary young birch, which complained of its sad lot. In vain it dressed up so fairly in tender foliage, in vain it allowed the summer breezes to come and play with its rustling leaves; no one enjoyed it; it was born only to "lament in the cold, to tremble at the frost" of the dreary, long winter. Finally they came to hew it down, it had to die.
55But the songster took pity upon it, saying that just out of it would spring the joy and comfort of mankind, and so he carved himself a new harp out of the birch tree's wood. For chords he took the tresses of a beautiful maiden, who was waiting for her lover. By means of this golden hair, her languishing sighs crept into the new instrument, which sounded more fascinating than ever the old one did. It restored to the bard the full possession of his supernatural power. His success was immense.
57The following cantos may be regarded as proofs of the influence of Christianity upon the epic. A maiden, Mariatta, and a child (the Virgin Mary and Christ) came to deprive the bard of his reign. He found that his work had come to an end. But once more he took his harp; he sang for the last time, and by words of magic power he called into existence a copper boat. On this he took his departure, passing away over the waste of waters, sailing slowly toward the unfathomable depths of space, bequeathing at last his harp, as a remembrance of him, to his own people for their everlasting bliss.
59Musical Items.
60TO PLAY AT UTICA.—Mr. F. W. Riesberg, of Buffalo, has accepted an invitation to play at the Utica meeting of the New York State Music Teachers' Association.
62ERNEST LENT.—This excellent teacher gave his seventh musicale last Thursday at the lecture room of All Souls' Church, Washington, D. C. Many of his pupils participated and an excellent program was offered.
64MISS WINTON.—Miss Elsie Winton particularly distinguished herself by her violin solo, "Scène de Ballet," by De Beriot, at the musical recital of the pupils of Fred. F. Kopff, which took place at Scranton last Thursday evening.
66ADELE LEWING'S ENGAGEMENTS.—Miss Adele Lewing, pianist, has returned to Chicago after having played in Detroit on May 26. Her last recital in Boston called forth many highly gratifying criticisms, in fact a string of them from the "Times," "Advertiser," "Courier," "Saturday Evening Gazette" and "Herald." She played a program including Beethoven, Schumann, Henselt, Rheinberger, Reinecke, Wagner-Liszt, Chopin and some manuscript compositions of her own.
68THE VIRGIL CLAVIER AND MISS BOWMAN.—The good results of the Virgil practice clavier are strikingly apparent in the playing of little Bessie Bowman, the daughter of E. M. Bowman, the president of the American College of Musicians. So William Mason says, and he ought to know. The young pianist played Mr. Mason's "Serenata," and received a letter from the composer complimenting her on her touch, tone and technic.
70The idea of forming musical colleges and academies, with which we are so familiar, is, of course, not modern, though such institutions are comparatively of recent date. The first suggestion of such a music school would appear to have been formulated by Dr. Burney, about 1796, in a treatise entitled "A Plan for a Public Music School."
72INCORPORATED 1878.
74New York College of Music,
75163 East Seventieth Street, New York.
76ALEXANDER LAMBERT, Director.
77Acknowledged by artists and the press as the leading Music School of America.
78Catalogues free on application. The College will be open all summer.
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