Scan 17
Musical Courier 1893-12-27: Vol 27 Iss 720, 1893
53 lines. Read by computer on 21 September 2026, twice; the two readings disagreed in places. Printed page 18. See the scan on archive.org.
1MY weekly pensum begins with the concert which Mrs. Elizabeth Feininger gave at the Singakademie a week ago to-day. The lady, who is the wife of the New York violinist and composer, Carl Feininger, has made for herself here quite a desirable reputation as a vocal teacher. I take it for granted that her concert was intended more for the purpose of showing her excellent training and the fact that she evidently has learned and knows a good deal vocally, than in order to give great pleasure with her voice. For that, her once brilliant soprano is now a little too threadbare, and singing is evidently much of an effort to her, to judge by the grimaces the tone production forces from her. Her phrasing and delivery, however, are very intelligent and musical and her intonation pure. She sang Lieder by Schumann, Grieg, Zepler, Jomelli and Pergolese, and arias by Mozart and Handel, and was much applauded by a good-sized audience, among whom I noticed many Americans.
3A lady, whose name for charity's sake I forbear to mention, essayed to play some stock piano pieces. It was the most dreadful amateurish effort I ever heard in public. Mr. C. E. Clemens accompanied most acceptably, considering that he seems very hard of hearing.
5At the Royal Opera House the Mozart cycle was continued on Wednesday night with the master's chef-d'œuvre "Don Giovanni." It was likewise a masterly performance. The scenic arrangement of the work, which is here given in two acts, is much better than it was at New York at the Metropolitan Opera House. There are three good prime donne needed for a good representation of "Don Giovanni," and we had them here. Leisinger was elegant and sure as "Donna Elvira." Pierson, as "Donna Anna," showed to advantage, and her fine Italian method stood her in good stead in the "Mask" trio, and especially in the "letter" aria. Mrs. Herzog, as "Zerlina," was delightful beyond description, vocally as well as histrionically. The male element was by no means inferiorly represented. Bulsz is celebrated and justly so for his impersonation of the title rôle. He is as graceful as he is convincing, and his beautiful, sonorous voice seems as fresh as ever. Moedlinger is very humorous in the part of "Leporello," and he is vocally one of the most satisfactory interpreters of "Don Giovanni's" servant I know of. Schmitt was a burly "Masetto," Stammer a powerful and impressive "Commthur," and Sommer not quite as bad an "Ottavio" as he had been a "Belmonte." He has plenty of voice, but it sounds so dead and nasal. His acting like a stick seems to stick to him in all parts he undertakes.
7Great praise is due to Dr. Muck for his really admirable conducting. Chorus and orchestra were very nearly flawless.
9Although Joseph Joachim and Eugene d'Albert appeared jointly at the Philharmonic the next evening, I forsook music on that occasion. The American colony gave their usual Thanksgiving dinner last Thursday at the Hotel Kaiserhof. General Runyon presided; Mrs. Runyon sat at his right, Miss Runyon at his left hand. Next came Mr. and Mrs. Hornsby, of Washington, D. C. Colonel Siebert, Consul-General Edwards and Professor Miller headed the other three tables.
11The rooms were brilliantly lighted, but rather scantily decorated with American and German flags. The commit-
13tee on printing had furnished exceedingly tasteful programs and dancing cards. The menu included as American specialties sweet potatoes and mince pie and, of course, the traditional turkey with cranberry sauce.
15There was, however, nothing seductive about the viands themselves; indeed, at least one of the guests supplemented the dinner (not complimented) by a beefsteak in a cosy and congenial restaurant in Krausenstrasse. (You probably think it was I, but you are mistaken: it was Mr. O. B. Boise.)
17There were about 250 present at the dinner, and the handsome toilettes as well as the very attractive brightness of American eyes and happy faces made amends for any shortcomings on the part of the landlord.
19Arthur van Eweyk, of Milwaukee, led the assembly in various songs, patriotic and otherwise. He also gave Schumann's "The Two Grenadiers" and a song by Ethelbert Nevin, after the "Roman Punch." He possesses a strong, resonant baritone voice which he uses with more than ordinary skill.
21General Runyon responded to the toasts "Emperor William II." and "Our President" with good judgment, dignity and elegance. Among the other speakers Mr. Braisted, a future member of the faculty of the Chicago University, shone to advantage by his refined and eloquent toast to "The Ladies."
23Some prominent people present were: Secretary of Embassy Jackson and Mrs. Jackson, Military Attache Captain Evans and Mrs. Evans, Naval Attache Lieutenant Vreeland, Consul-General and Mrs. Edwards, Mr. and Mrs. Gustavus Arnold, Colonel and Mrs. Siebert, Mr. and Mrs. Arthur Bird, Mr. O. B. Boise and his attractive family, Miss West and her three pretty young ladies, Mrs. Cary and son, of Cleveland, Mr. and Mrs. Hornsby, Mr. and Mrs. Griscom, &c.
25Opposite to me sat a Brooklyn young lady of great beauty who hummed "The Bowery" all evening between courses. When the band in the next room struck up the "Tannhäuser" march she nudged her best fellow and said: "Listen, Joe, 'Cavalleria Rusticana.'" Fact! I was glad to learn from her that she is studying painting here, not—music.
27After the dinner the young people and some of the older ones danced their fill, and went home later on feeling that they had done something distinctively American, although living in a foreign environment.
29Friday night I was on deck again for duty. Not custom house, but opera house. The Royal Orchestra gave their fourth symphony evening, and the house, as usual, was crowded with a fashionable and enthusiastic audience.
31The program chosen and originally to be conducted in performance by Felix Weingartner comprised Schumann's "Genoveva" overture, the "Harold" symphony by Berlioz, Beethoven's first symphony and Weber's "Oberon" overture. As I wrote last week, however, Weingartner is ill and in bed. It turned out to be a case of gastric typhoid fever, superinduced by the eating of a bad oyster, and the great young conductor was for a few days very dangerously sick. His strong, youthful physique seems to have been able however to regain the upper hand, and according to latest reports Weingartner, although very weak yet, is on the road to recovery. Meanwhile his colleague, Dr. Muck, who has been a very hard worked man all through these last two weeks, took Weingartner's baton also for this concert and, leaving the program entirely unaltered, conducted the concert in a style that convinced everybody that he is by no means inferior in concert work as well as in operatic conducting to his popularly favorite confrère. The Royal Opera House management and its patrons may well congratulate themselves upon having, besides Sucher, two such eminent young forces like Weingartner and Muck. The latter's style is perhaps a little more quiet, unobtrusive, less demonstrative and less sensational than that of Weingartner, but last Friday's concert proved convincingly that it is just as effective; and Muck's "reading," although the works were not selected by him for reproduction, was by no means less interesting, thoughtful or musically than that of the pet of the orchestra. This great body of artists felt it too, and were generous enough to show it by the willingness and faithfulness with which they followed Dr. Muck's firm but not graceful beat; and in the Berlioz symphony, which was to have been the pièce de résistance for Weingartner, they all joined in the applause which followed after each of the four movements, and which at the close of the brilliant performance of this interesting work broke out among the vast audience with a perfect furore, which was renewed with ever increasing force after some unwise friends of the absent conductor tried to check the enthusiasm by some foolish hissings. A short, but decisive battle followed in which the applauders had so much the majority, and consequently the best of it, that they succeeded in "recalling the modest and unassuming Dr. Muck half a dozen times upon the platform.
33Mr. Gentz (Kamervirtuos) played the viola obligato part admirably and at times exquisitely, and rightly shared in the applause.
35Beethoven's C major symphony was also well performed, but in both symphonies Dr. Muck overhurried the tempo of the slow movement. In the "Harold" symphony the "March of the Pilgrims" thus assumed a military cast and in the Beethoven symphony the beautiful andante cantabile con moto the character of an allegretto un poco scherzando. This is the only adverse criticism I have to offer on the entire evening's proceedings, which wound up with a brilliant performance of that trusty standby, the "Oberon" overture.
37The next concert will be on December 15, and the program is to be entirely devoted to Beethoven, in honor of the commemoration of his birthday. Dr. Muck will again conduct, as in all likelihood Weingartner will not be able to resume his duties for several weeks to come.
39The week ended with a continuation of the Mozart cycle Saturday night, being both the première of one of the master's youthful efforts and one of his best but most rarely heard operas. The former is "La Finta Giardiniere," which Mozart probably wrote at the age of nineteen. Its libretto, however, was so nonsensical that the little work could not be performed. Max Kalbeck, the genial Viennese littérateur, undertook the difficult love's labor of supplying a new libretto, with a considerable change for the better. The new book, however, is so complicated that I dare not venture upon an exposé of the alleged action. Moreover, there is considerably too much dialogue for so little music; the play now consumes an hour and a half, of which only about one-fourth is given up to music. There are two or three pretty numbers in the latter, but altogether the game seems hardly worth the candle, and it seems at least doubtful whether any service is done to Mozart's memory by this well meant resurrection. All there is in it of the future great Mozart has later in life been used by him in more skillful and effective manner. In a complete Mozart cycle a performance of "The Gardeneress," however, is entirely in order, and the Royal Opera House management must indeed be thanked for the great pains they took all round in order to secure a performance worthy of the occasion. The cast was a good one, and as of all those concerned I spoke repeatedly heretofore it suffices to print it here in full:
41Don Anchine, podesta of Lagonera…………………….Medlinger
42Arminda, his niece………………………………………Miss Rothhauser one of two readings
43Arminida, his niece………………………………………Miss Rothhauser one of two readings
44Sandrina, a female gardener…………………………..Miss Leisinger
45Serpetta, chambermaid…………………………………Miss Dietrich
46Count Luigi Belfiori…………………………………….Sommer
47Don Ramiro……………………………………………..Phillip
48Nardo, a gardener………………………………………Krolop
50Old man Sucher conducted with energy and fervor and Tetzlaf's mise-en-scène was in good taste throughout, except that for the duel scene he had chosen an Egyptian darkness, which, if the duel had actually taken place, would have made it very like an American one.
52In agreeable juxtaposition to this unripe work the same evening brought us one of the master's most finished and most enjoyable, ripest efforts. I mean his genial opera "Cosi fan Tutte." Musically it represents a string of pearls from one end to the other, but in point of the book it is also rather weak, and this is probably the main reason why so noble and beautiful a work is scarcely heard on the stage. In the United States I have never witnessed a performance of it, and it is almost twenty years since last I heard it in Germany. I was eager to see what effect now, after having
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