Scan 10
Musical Courier 1894-11-21: Vol 29 Iss 767, 1894
63 lines. Read by computer on 20 September 2026, twice; the two readings disagreed in places. Printed page 11. See the scan on archive.org.
1THE MUSICAL COURIER.
3BERLIN BUDGET BRANCH
5European Headquarters of The Musical Courier, Berlin. W. Linkstrasse 17, October 30, 1894.
7Musical events of the week, from last Tuesday to this, were of steadily increasing interest from the beginning, the climax and culmination being reached last night with Mme. Nordica's first appearance and most glorious success as "Elsa" in "Lohengrin" at the Royal Opera House, simultaneously with Mrs. Fannie Bloomfield-Zeisler's first Berlin rentrée this season at a concert of the Philharmonic Society. The other points and moments of special interest were the first public production at Berlin of Emperor William's "Song to Aegir" at a charity matinée on Tuesday and the first production here of Cipollini's one act opera, "Piccolo Haydn," at the Royal Opera House on Sunday night. The last named event let me say right here was the only one which turned out to be somewhat of a fizzle, and then let me begin at the beginning.
9The first concert of the week to claim my attention was a joint affair given on Tuesday night of last week by Marie Busjaeger, soprano, together with Miss Betty Schwabe, violinist, and Felix Dreyshock, the pianist. Bechstein Hall was comfortably filled and considerable applause was bestowed, by no means injudiciously, upon Miss Schwabe, who, although the youngest of the trio gave the most satisfaction artistically. The handsome young lady is a favorite pupil of Joachim and in many ways comes nearest to his style of playing, more especially his bowing. I enjoyed the share she took in the performance of the "Kreutzer" sonata immensely, and I recognized Joachim's famous Beethoven reading in her reproduction without its giving me the impression of slavish imitation or lack of originality of conception. Especially broad and almost masculine were some of the beautiful variations, and the last movement was played with verve and abandon, despite the fact that the performer played from notes. She was aided in a fine production of tone by a rare and most valuable genuine old instrument.
11Much less was I fascinated by the pianist's performances, who also in his soli showed more technic than feeling, and a rather dry tone and by no means sympathetic touch. He played the Chopin F sharp major impromptu, a really very beautiful andante religioso in A flat, of his own composition, and Tausig's very difficult virtuoso piece, "Hungarian Airs."
13From Miss Busjaeger I heard an air from Händel's "Rodelinda" and three Lieder by P. Cornelius, Franz and Schumann, of which the last one ("Auftraege") was the best sung. A certain fluency and a fair but not a remarkably good or finely developed vocal organ are the distinguishing features of a young singer who, musically, has much to learn yet.
15A singer of a far different stamp is Mr. Hermann Gura, beg pardon, Andrew, under which pseudonym the son of old Eugen Gura made his Berlin début here at Bechstein Hall on Wednesday night. Despite this alias, to the assuming of which Mr. Andrew believed himself justified or forced since the great Aix-la-Chapelle theatrical scandal of last season, he is a genuine Gura, a veritable chip of the old block. Only he is much handsomer than the old man and his voice is much more beautiful and resonant than his father's now is. It is, however, by no means as thoroughly developed and as absolutely under the owner's control as is that of his father and prototype. In point of musical conception and especially dramatic characterization of what is being interpreted, Mr. Andrew seems to have learned much, if not everything, from his great paternal predecessor and consequently he is good; in fact, more praise and a greater compliment I could not possibly bestow upon him. The selections are also from his father's programs and they were highly enjoyable. With a fresh, singing baritone voice Mr. Andrew sang the following interesting program:
17"An die Leyen," op. 56, No. 2…………………….Franz Schubert
18Ballads—
19"Die Lauer," op. 49, No. 1…..
20"Edward," op. 1, No. 1…..
21"Der Feind," op. 145, No. 2…..
22"Der Teufel," op. 129, No. 1…..
23"Der Nöck," op. 129, No. 2…..
24"Stille Tränen," op. 35, No. 10………….
25"Lust der Sturmacht," op. 35, No. 1…..
26"Auf das Trinkglas eines verstorbenen Freundes," op. 35, No. 6………….
27"Gruppe aus dem Tartarus," op. 24, No. 1.
28"Du bist die Ruh," op. 59, No. 3………….
29"An Schwager Kronos," op. 19, No. 1………….
30Koptisches Lied, op. 59, No. 2………….
31Zweites koptisches Lied, op. 59, No. 3….. one of two readings
32Zweites koptisches Lied, op. 59, No. 3…………. one of two readings
33"Was zieht zu Deinem Zauberkreise," op. 15, No. 4…C. M. v. Weber
34"Odysseus," op. 11, No. 1………….
35"Wo ich mich zeige," op. 4, No. 3………….
36Franz Schubert
37Max Bruch
38Hans Sommer
40A large, fashionable and most enthusiastic audience followed all of his offerings with unabating interest, and after some of the particularly well sung numbers, such as Löwe's "Der Nöck," Schumann's sympathetic song, "To the Drinking Cup of a Dead Friend," and Schubert's mighty and difficult "Group from Tartarus" and "An Schwager Kronos" the applause grew to a perfect furore. Young Andrew—no matter what his failings as a man may be—as an artist and singer has won Berlin, and his second recital, a week from to-day, when he will sing some more Löwe ballads and Schumann's "Dichterliebe," will surely be attended by even a greater number of people than was the première of "Mr. Andrew," of whom only a very few knew who he was or what he could do.
42Thursday evening, coupled with the new favorite of the Berlin opera going public, Humperdinck's charming "Hänsel und Gretel," we had as a novelty, "Il Piccolo Haydn." This opusculum is one of the weakest products of the new Italian school I have so far heard, and I wonder how a man of Sonzogni's acuteness and astuteness could have been led into publishing it. The music to "Der Kleine Haydn" was written by Gaëtano Cipollini, while the libretto was furnished by Antonio Cipollini, the composer's younger brother, a member of the staff of the Roman newspaper "Fanfulla." The book treats of an incident in the sad period of Haydn's life, when as a young student in needy circumstances he became man servant and at the same time pupil of the old Italian operatic composer Porpora, then living at Vienna. "Porpora" has bound himself to finish his opera "Armida" by a certain day, but cannot find a theme for his last great aria. When "Count Kaunitz," on the day previous to the day stipulated for the delivery of the opera, comes to the old maestro, he finds him in despair. Then young "Haydn" jumps into the breach at the last minute with an aria which he has composed surreptitiously and which is said to be in the style of his old master. The latter is moved to tears, abdicates his title of maestro to his young body servant, whom he crowns with a laurel wreath which happens to lay around ready. Unimportant, tame and slow as the libretto is, the music beats it for all these qualities, and makes the novelty appear as the most insignificant I have heard for a long time.
44A good Haydn-like theme in the overture causes one to expect a real art work of merit, but the treatment of it with grand orchestra soon dispels that hope, and when the climax of the action is reached "little Haydn" sits down to a nice spinet and pretends to play his accompaniment to an aria which is as un-Haydnish, un-Porpora like and so absolutely insignificant, that the whole scene becomes ridiculous, an effect which is heightened by the orchestral accompaniment, which is held in anything but Haydnish spinet colors. Another fault of the little work is that it introduces two personages, the mother of Haydn, and the once famous prima donna, "Anzoletta," a pupil of Porpora, who have nothing to do and next to nothing to sing during the forty minutes of duration of "Il Piccolo Haydn." Imagine the stupidity of introducing a prima donna and not giving her at least a single aria to sing! The representation at the Opera House consequently fell flat despite its great merits as a reproduction. Philipp gave an excellent portrait, musically and histrionically, of the honest but worn out maestro piccolo Porpora (of course a tenor). Little Joseph Haydn was charmingly represented by Miss Krainz, who, but for a slight impediment in uttering sibilants, would be a most sympathetic singer. Krolop was a fine type of the old-time conjunction of statesman and imperial intendant, such as Kaunitz was under the régime of Maria Theresa. Miss Weitz, too, as "Anzoletta," deserves unqualified praise for the little she had to do, and the orchestra, under Steinmann's direction, as well as Tetzlaff's mise-en-scène were beyond reproach.
46The repetition of "Hänsel und Gretel" I heard on this occasion, the fourth one I have so far witnessed, made me love Humperdinck's masterwork all the more. It ought to be rechristened "I piccoli Meistersinger." Apropos of "Meistersinger," next Monday is the 400th anniversary of Hans Sachs' birthday, when the "Meistersinger" will be given at the Royal Opera House in an extra performance, in which Georg Anthes, of Dresden, will sing "Walter Stolzing."
48On alternating Fridays Mmes. Lilli Lehmann and Amalie Joachim give their popular song recitals at the Philharmonie. It was Mrs. Joachim's turn last Friday night, and she brought for her first program Johannes Brahms' new cycle of nineteen German folksongs. The latter announcement and the never ending popularity of the concert giver had drawn together quite a large and cultured audience, but I am sure that despite some show of enthusiasm and an occasional outburst of genuine applause on the part of some of the Brahms cranks, most of the listeners must, like myself, have felt very much disappointed. I don't care to repeat over and over again that Mrs. Joachim's singing days have gone by, for one might take pleasure in her art, and especially her Gestaltungskraft, but there was so little to be felt of this in the Volkslieder cycle. It would seem that Brahms also is completely done, or on the quick decline, if he cannot find anything more profitable to do than to make such selections and to work them up in the way he has done. Arid and dreary as the desert is, the entire cycle with the two little oases of "Da unten in Thale" and the dialect song, "Och Moderich wellen Dinghan," both of which were redemanded, possibly merely because they offered a little refreshment in this melancholy monotony. Even the five Lieder, which are arranged with refrain for solo quartet, are tedious beyond description. These solo refrains were sung by Misses Whitney White and Clara von Senfft and Messrs. Heinrich Grahl and Arthur van Eweyk, while Dr. Heinrich Reimann handled the accompaniments in most musicianly style. Even these accompaniments, usually the stronghold of Brahms' musicianship and the exponents of his master-technic, are for the most part uninteresting.
50A young American girl with the stage name of Mary Forrest (I believe her real name is Weinberg or something of the sort) claimed my attention during the first part of Saturday evening. She gave a successful concert at Bechstein Hall, and was much praised by public and press. A well trained, but not over powerful or wide ranged soprano voice of considerable flexibility, and above all fine musical instinct and powers of expression, are the distinguishing features of this young lady, who should make her way. Her pronunciation of the German text was faultless, and every syllable could be clearly understood. Her selections, too, were not commonplace, and among them three Lieder by Seuffert, hitherto unknown to me, were of special interest. The "Old Persian Love Rhyme" was one of them, and it pleased the audience so much by its quaintness and descriptiveness that it was stormily redemanded.
52The assistance at this soirée was furnished by Messrs. Gustav, Fritz and Franz Borisch (piano, viola and 'cello, respectively) who performed with good ensemble the Gade F major piano trio. The best artist among the three brothers is unquestionably Fritz, the violinist, who was also the only one who ventured upon some solo numbers.
54Joseph Schultz played the accompaniments with taste.
56The same evening the Joachim Quartet gave their second chamber music soirée at the Singakademie. The hall was absolutely crowded to suffocation, and, as usual on such occasions, the air was so bad and the heat so great that the general atmosphere detracted much from the possibility of a thorough enjoyment. The Singakademie management should be enjoined to provide better means for ventilation, and on days on which the chorus has held a rehearsal there the hall should certainly be thoroughly aired before a concert is given there.
58I missed the Beethoven C minor, op. 18, and the first half of the Brahms B flat string quartet, op. 67, but the last two movements I heard and greatly enjoyed. The artistic climax, however, was reached with a most admirable performance of that most divinely beautiful chamber music gem, Schubert's string quintet, in which Hugo Dechert took the second 'cello part. Each movement was received with genuine and most enthusiastic applause and a veritable appreciation such as only the cultured audience which forms the unvarying nucleus of the old habitués of the Joachim quartet evenings can boast of.
60The Sunday matinée at the Royal Opera House I mentioned in my introductory remarks. It was given by command of the Emperor and for the benefit of the building fund of the Emperor William Memorial Church, to which fund also the proceeds from the tremendous sale of the Emperor's compositions, "Song to Aegir," are to go. The performance of this work, from the most versatile pen of our German Admirable Chrichton, formed the centre point of attraction and of the program, and proved to be a veritable pièce de résistance. It goes almost without saying that it was received with an outburst of enthusiasm which led to a repetition that was received with even more applause, but no second repetition was granted. The Emperor listened attentively to the performance of his compositions, but did not pay the slightest notice to the success it had, and to all outward appearance he was not even conscious of it. After the repetition he accepted with a gracious smile the bow and complimentary remarks which the Prince of Wied made to His Majesty. When these two august personages entered the little side box, the Rhenish prince was by some taken for ex-Chancellor Caprivi and by some others for the new chancellor, Prince Hohenlohe. Even my usually better informed colleagues of the press did not know the Prince of Wied, but as I had often seen him at Neuwied I was able to be of some slight service to my confrères. The Empress sat with some ladies of the Court and the Princess of Wied in the great centre side box, and the lower box opposite was taken by the American legation. The house was crowded from pit to dome by the most fashionable audience the German capital can furnish.
62If I have thus truthfully and without the slightest exag-
The computer misreads some letters and numbers. Where a name matters to you, read the scan.