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Musical Courier 1895-01-09: Vol 30 Iss 774, 1895
166 lines. Read by computer on 22 September 2026. Printed page 34. See the scan on archive.org.
1The impression which this work made upon me was altogether delightful. It seems to me to be at once music charming to hear and interesting to study. The cleverness with which he took the characteristic humorous mixture of comicality, grotesquerie, pathos and fire to be found in the negro melodies, and out of these materials wrought a serious work, aroused my extreme admiration. As always with Dr. Dvorák's works, I found the tone coloring a constant marvel of delight and beauty. How can he think of so many exquisite and delicious combinations of sound! The largo especially charmed me. Both the concerts, taken as a whole, were fine specimens of music well chosen, well learned and faultlessly played. The orchestra numbers over seventy, and its work was so finished that nothing but the most captious perversity could find fault with it. The audience for "The Messiah" was good, but for the two concerts that were held upon January 1 the attendance was disheartening and not especially creditable to our "great musical centre." More anon.
3JOHN S. VAN CLEVE.
5Frida Simonson.
7SCATTERED about the floor was a profusion of dolls, toys and other playthings that might naturally appeal to the fancy of a child of eleven years. The scene suggested more the idea of a nursery room than the salon of a little princess of the piano. But in direct contrast to the dolls and the playthings was a grand piano situated in one corner of the apartment. It was the living room, the playroom, the workroom of little Frida Simonson, at the Savoy; the Hanover prodigy who is to make her American début Tuesday, January 15th. She evinced great pleasure when told that she was to be made the subject of an "interview" in THE MUSICAL COURIER.
9"It is kind of you, sir!" she exclaimed to the representative. "I like all of the critics."
11"But I am not a critic. I am only going to say something about your life, your birthplace, your home. Where were you born?"
13"In Hanover, sir. I am in my eleventh year now."
15"You must have met many people."
17"Oh, yes, sir, a great many great ladies and gentlemen. They were all very kind to me. Mme. Patti was so good to me! You know that I traveled over England with her and Master Jean Gerardy."
19"And you toured with Mme. Albani and Melba, too, remember," suggested Frida's mother.
21"Oh, yes, mamma, I was going to tell the gentleman about that," was the precocious answer.
23"And you like to play in public?" the representative continued.
25"Yes, sir, I love the public—and the critics. Please don't forget to say that I love them, too."
27"No. And now tell THE MUSICAL COURIER readers, please, the name of your masters."
29Mrs. Simonson answered the question.
31"Frida's musical talent made itself manifest when she was three years of age, and even then she played some little melodies. In time we sent her to the Klindworth Conservatory, of Berlin, where she was taught by Karl Klindworth. Her next teacher was Prof. Leipholz, and it was in a measure due to him that her musical training was developed to such a degree that we felt justified in permitting her to make her début in Berlin. Upon that occasion she played Beethoven's C major concerto. She gave great satisfaction and the critics pronounced her playing correct and her conception of the works remarkable. We (her father, sister and I) felt greatly elated, and at the age of seven we allowed Frida to play at Kissingen, the program including Beethoven's C minor concerto."
33"And, mamma," put in the little girl, "don't you remember what Mr. Rubinstein said to me when I played for him?"
35"What did he say?" asked the representative.
37"He told me," Frida returned, "that I was 'bound to be a great artist.'"
39"Why?"
41"You tell the gentleman why, mamma," the child exclaimed. "The words are too hard and long for me."
43"Well," acquiesced Mrs. Simonson, "Rubinstein said that Frida possessed the two prime qualifications—a perfect ear and a great artistic conception."
45"Yes, mamma, yes, that's it! And Mr. Rubinstein called me his 'dear,' too."
47"No doubt some day you will fall in love with a musician and marry him," suggested the representative.
49"Oh, I don't know! I'm almost too young to think about that yet, but he must be a great musician, if I do fall in love with him."
51"I suppose that you are very fond of Master Gerardy?"
53"He and I are good friends."
55"And Master Josef Hofmann?"
57"Master Hofmann's father once told me that I played better than Josef—and that's something to be proud of, isn't it?" she asked, with a childish smile.
59By this time the block house was completed. The little architect had gone on making it while she chatted. Now she arranged a tiny tea service outside of the block house door, sat a row of four or five dolls in the position to take "tea," called each one tenderly by name, bade them adeu, took her place upon the stool of the instrument and philosophically began running through something by Beethoven.
61The child was gone. In her place reigned the little princess of the piano.
63Boston Symphony Orchestra.—The Boston Symphony Orchestra, ninety-five performers, Mr. Emil Paur, conductor, will give its third concert at the Metropolitan Opera House next Thursday evening with the assistance of Mme. Nordica and Mr. Anton Schott. The program, consisting entirely of Wagner selections, is as follows:
65"Rienzi"—Overture.
66"Tannhäuser"—Act II, "Elizabeth's Aria"; Act III, prelude.
67"Flying Dutchman"—Overture.
68"Lohengrin"—Act II, Balcony Scene; Act III, prelude.
69"Meistersinger"—Act III, prelude; Act I, "Walther's Preislied."
70"Rheingold"—"Procession of the Gods."
71"Die Walküre"—"Spring Song."
72"Siegfried"—"Waldweben."
73"Götterdämmerung"—"Siegfried's Passage to Brunnhilde's Rock, Morning Dawn and Rhine Journey" (arranged by Hans Richter).
75Jeanne Franko's Pupils' Concert.—The pupils of Jeanne Franko, who is, as is well known, a pianist and a violinist, will give a concert on Saturday evening at Steinway Hall. The program will be:
76"Kaiser Marsch"—two pianos (eight hands)……..Richard Wagner
77Misses Oppenheim, Buchsweller, Franko and Mme. Jeanne Franko.
78Violin Solo—Sarabande………………………………………Bohm
79Miss Madeline Sinauer.
80Piano Solo—Valse (D flat)………………………………………Chopin
81Miss Jeanne Oppenheim.
82Violin Solo—"Rolling Waves"……………………………G. Hollander
83Master A. Hammerschlag.
84Piano Solo—Second Mazourka……………………………….B. Godard
85Miss Viola Buchsweller.
86Violin Solo—Nocturne………………………………………….M. Hauser
87Miss Bella Kuttner.
88Piano Solo—Concerto (G minor)……………………………Mendelssohn
89Andante e molto allegro e vivace.
90Miss Ines Oppenheim.
91Piano Accompaniment, Mme. Jeanne Franko.
92Cavatine………………………………………………………..Raff
93Miss Bessie Wiener.
94"Hochzeitsmusik"—(Festzug) four hands…………………A. Jensen
95Miss I. Oppenheim and Miss D. Franko.
97Eleventh Peabody Concert.—The Eleventh Peabody concert was given on December 21. The program, which was as follows, was given by Professor and Madame Burmeister:
99Variations in E flat minor. Composed for two pianos……………………………………………..C. Sinding. (1856)
100Fantaisie Hongroise. For piano. With accompaniment of a second piano……………………………F. Liszt. (1811-86)
101Opera without words. Op. 30. For orchestra. Transcribed for two pianos by R. Burmeister…Asger Hamerik. (1843)
102In the woods.
103Hunter's song.
104Chorus of chattering women.
105Maiden's romance.
106Interrupted serenade.
107Love duet.
108Rustic waltz.
109Bridal song.
110Procession to the village church.
112Kneisel Quartet Series of Concerts.—The Kneisel Quartet will give on Friday evening the first of a series of three concerts at Mendelssohn Glee Club Hall. The program at the first concert will consist of compositions by Dvorák, Cherubini and Beethoven as annexed:
113Quartet in F major, op. 96………………………………………Dvorák
114Larghetto and Scherzo, from the Quartet in D minor……Cherubini
115Quartet in A minor, op. 132………………………………………Beethoven
117Ellen Beach Yaw.—On the occasion of Miss Yaw's recent concert at Tyler, Tex., Governor Hubbard was present and, before the last song, appeared on the stage, paying a beautiful and glowing tribute to Miss Yaw, and said "that he did not doubt but that she would yet relegate Patti to the shades and snatch the laurels from Nilsson's head and wear them her own dear self with becoming grace and dignity."
119Alexander Stocking Dead.—Alexander Stocking, a citizen of Worcester, Mass., died on January 4, at the age of seventy-seven. He was the pioneer leader of many quartet choirs and one of the founders of the old Mozart Society, of Worcester, and was thirty years ago well-known as a tenor.
121Sousa's Tour.—Sousa's Concert Band has just concluded a tour unprecedented in point of time, travel, musical achievement and endurance. This tour embraced an uninterrupted daily series of concerts of ten months, or over 300 days, in which, including matinées, over 498 concerts were given to audiences numbering nearly 1,000,000 of people. The territory covered stretched from the Atlantic to the Pacific Coast, and from the Great Lakes to the Gulf of California. What is more remarkable during this long time and extended travel, not a member of Sousa's fifty musicians was injured, not a piece of baggage went astray, not a railroad connection was missed, not a single concert failed to be given, and no advertised promise of the management failed of fulfillment. Director Sousa and Manager Blakely vied with each other in making this tour a great success, both musically and financially. And the result, it is needless to say, amply justified their efforts. The new year opens with still greater promise for this peerless organization. Brief tours in January and February will be followed by a series of longer tours, by Manhattan Beach and the St. Louis Exposition engagements, beginning in March and reaching as before up to the winter holidays.
123Inez Grenelli.—Inez Grenelli, the charming soprano, has gone South for a fortnight to fill concert engagements in Chattanooga, Tenn., and other cities.
125The Mozart Symphony Club.—The Mozart Symphony Club will play this month on the following dates in Western cities:
126January 10………………………………………………………..Norwood, Ohio.
12711………………………………………………………..Hillsboro, Ohio.
12812………………………………………………………..Leesburgh, Ohio.
12914………………………………………………………..Richmond, Ind.
13015 and 16…………………………………………………….Lima, Ohio.
13117 and 18…………………………………………………….Cleveland, Ohio.
13219………………………………………………………..Elmore, Ohio.
13323………………………………………………………..Lansing, Mich.
13424………………………………………………………..Big Rapids, Mich.
13525………………………………………………………..Manistee, Mich.
13626………………………………………………………..St. Joseph, Mo.
13728………………………………………………………..Wheaton, Ill.
13829………………………………………………………..Chicago, Ill.
13930………………………………………………………..Yorkville, Ill.
14031………………………………………………………..Dixon, Ill.
142Minna Wetzler.—Great stress is laid upon the manner in which Miss Minna Wetzler, of Cincinnati, interpreted Schumann at the performances of the O. M. T. A. at Delaware, Ohio, in which she participated. The Cincinnati papers criticise Miss Wetzler most favorably, and from what we know of her she deserves it.
144A Caperton Pupil.—Miss Marie Warren, a pupil of Mrs. Ratcliffe Caperton, was recently the soloist at the concert given by the Germantown Music Club. Her beautifully trained voice gained for her an immediate success. The pure quality and pathos of her tone, together with the artistic phrasing and enunciation, promise for her a foremost place among American singers.
146Berlin.—The betrothal of Howard Brockway and Miss Boise is announced. Miss Boise is the daughter of a conspicuous member of the American colony here, Mr. O. B. Boise, the composer. Mr. Brockway is a rising young composer.
148English Musician Writes.
149Editors The Musical Courier:
151I WAS greatly interested in your last week's editorial entitled "No Money in Chamber Music." It does, indeed, appear strange that this delightful form of art is not better appreciated in a city so professedly musical as New York. In London things are very different. The Monday and Saturday Popular concerts, which are given every winter at St. James' Hall, in that city, at prices ranging from 25 cents for the cheapest seats to a little under $2 for the best, are always well attended, and have now, I believe, passed their thirty-fifth season. Such supremely fine artists as Joachim, Clara Schumann, Marie Krebs, Norman-Néruda (Lady Halle) and Patti were associated with the performances for years, and the quartet playing was not excelled, if indeed equalled, in any other city in Europe. I would like to direct the attention of some of the New York critics, who are everlastingly prating about English devotion to Händel and Mendelssohn, to these facts.
153We have likewise in London a Bach choir of which Jenny Lind in the last years of her life was proud to be a member, and which has already given some fourteen performances of the great Mass in B minor; while a Bach Festival lasting three days has been arranged for next April at the new Queen's Hall. When are we to hear the B minor Mass in New York?
155ENGLISH MUSICIAN.
157Among the visitors in this city this week is Mr. A. Howard Hinckle, one of the chief musical powers of Cincinnati.
159Mrs. Cecilia Niles.—Mrs. Cecilia Niles, the soprano of the English Lutheran Church, New York, and who has often appeared in concerts with much success, has placed herself for further voice training under the guidance of Miss Alice Garrigue.
161Sibyl Sanderson Is Here.—Sibyl Sanderson arrived Monday on the Champagne. She is stopping at the St. James.
163Miss Fay Will Converse.—Miss Amy Fay will give a piano conversation at Evansville, Ind., on January 24, by invitation of the Musical Club there.
165Marie Engel.—Gustav Amberg says that his wife, Marie Engel, has signed a contract as prima donna in Augustus Harris' Italian opera company at Covent Garden, beginning May next.
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