Scan 12
Musical Courier 1895-02-27: Vol 30 Iss 781, 1895
48 lines. Read by computer on 22 September 2026. Printed page 13. See the scan on archive.org.
1BERLIN, January 30, 1895.
3IT is a very unusual thing for a violinist to give five concerts in Berlin at which he is the sole attraction. He who can do it and draw a good house each time must be a great artist.
5That is what Willy Burmester has done. With no assistance whatever except orchestra accompaniment this young Titan has held the attention of his audience through five entire evenings; he appeared, moreover, as soloist at one of the Strauss Philharmonic concerts, and all within eight weeks' time.
7He gave his fifth and last concert at the Philharmonie on the 21st, when he played the following program:
8Concerto in D minor………………………………………Wieniawski
9Concerto in E minor………………………………………Mendelssohn
10Introduction et Rondo Capriccioso…………………….Saint-Saëns
11Hungarian Airs……………………………………………..Ernst
13I had heard the Wieniawski concerto several times this season, and was rather tired of it. The work has many fine points, but cannot stand the test of oft repeated hearings like the Beethoven, Mendelssohn and Bruch G minor concertos. It has not the wearing qualities of these three great classics of violin literature.
15But Burmester's interpretation lent it new interest; he played it superlatively well, especially the first and last movements; I have never heard the first played with such clearness, nor the last with such verve. In the Mendelssohn concerto he was not so fortunate. Hampered by the indifferent accompaniment of the Philharmonic Orchestra, and by strings that would persist in getting out of tune, one felt that he was not doing himself justice, especially in the andante and finale. The first movement went better. The opening theme was beautifully sung, somewhat slower and with more breadth than one usually hears it. This first page is, in point of interpretation, one of the most difficult, if not the most difficult, of the entire work. One hears so much about the difficulties of the last movement of this concerto. In my opinion, it requires a greater artist to play the first than the last. The first movement requires a musician and virtuoso; for the last a mere virtuoso will do fairly well.
17Burmester progressed splendidly until he came to the cadenza, when it was very evident that his E string was flat, and a faulty intonation, quite uncovered by the mantle of orchestration, which hides so many sins, seemed imminent; it appeared plain that Burmester would either have to stop or play the cadenza out of tune. He did neither. By a clever use of the A string, and by avoiding the natural harmonics on the E, he got through bravely, proving himself equal to the emergency. It is a good thing in general to avoid the natural or open harmonics. I have observed and admired this in Burmester at different times. I do not mean to say that a violinist should never use harmonics. In certain pieces they can be introduced with a purpose and with great effect, but in the classics, and quite especially in slow movements, they are out of place. The abuse of the harmonics is more noticeable with cellists than with violinists, perhaps on account of the greater volume of tone. I noticed it particularly in the playing of a French 'cellist a few weeks ago. He was an admirable artist, with a beautiful tone and finished technic; but in playing slow melodies he frequently made use of the natural harmonics, for the most part A and D, an octave above the open strings. These harmonic tones are very different in quality from those produced by stopping the strings; this difference, and the unevenness caused by suddenly producing them when playing a broad theme with rich, full, throbbing tones, must be noticeable and disagreeable to all sensitive ears.
19In the case of the 'cellist it also looked absurd. He made an extensive use of the vibrato; in going up and down the fingerboard he kept up a constant shaking of the hand on all sustained notes, except the two harmonics in the middle of the strings; when he came to these he would suddenly stop that trembling motion, holding the hand perfectly still until the next note above or below was reached, when the shaking begun again. Those harmonics reminded one of a barefoot boy stepping on the business end of a tack-nail.
21It is sometimes very convenient to not be obliged to jump and hit the note right on the head, with strong pressure of the finger; the harmonic responds to the touch much more readily than the note that is stopped; they are a great help to a deficient ear and to an unsteady technic, but by avoiding them one learns to rely upon the ear more, and a greater left hand certainty is acquired. But above all, tone quality should be borne in mind. Most violinists play the highest E harmonic; also the G sharp and B at the end of the fingerboard. These very high tones are more brilliant thus played, and here the difference in quality is not so marked as in the lower positions.
23Burmester frequently plays them, however, as he does the lower tones. For this reason he is not so handicapped when his E string becomes flat as other players who rely upon the harmonics. His hand perspires very freely, and his strings are in consequence, often out of tune; if he did not help himself out in this way he would be in a sad plight in nearly every one of his solos. As it is, he is often at a disadvantage when playing double notes; this was the case in the andante of the Mendelssohn concerto. As I stated above, this movement and the last were not as effective as the first, but the bad accompaniment was partly to blame for it. In the Finale, in particular, the orchestra accompanied abominably; I could not understand why they should follow so badly in this, of all concertos. The violins probably all know it from memory, but they particularly distinguished themselves by their indifferent playing.
25In the Saint-Saëns number the accompaniment was equally bad; Burmester seemed rather ill at ease in it, and did not play as well as usual. In the Ernst Hungarian airs he was himself again; he played magnificently and was most enthusiastically applauded. He appeared and bowed again and again, but did not seem inclined to play an encore. The audience would not let him off without one, however; they were thirsting for Paganini. At last he yielded and played Nel cor Piu non Mi Sento, with which he invariably brings down the house. Then followed one of those scenes that I have described in a former letter; the hearers rushed in a body for the platform and applauded and shouted until another Paganini encore was given. Whoever hears Burmester interpret Paganini will at once be convinced that he can play the fiddle.
27Berlin has now lost this young giant; he has moved to Weimar, which city will be his headquarters for some time. It is a delightful little place, and, being very near the centre of Germany geographically, is a suitable home for a virtuoso who is continually traveling in all directions. He spent the Christmas holidays and New Year's at Helsingfors, Finland, the home of his charming young wife.
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31At a recent Hochschule concert Miss Leonora Jackson, of Chicago, played Spohr's twelfth concerto, accompanied by the Hochschule orchestra under Joachim's direction. I did not hear the young lady, but she is said to be a talented and promising violinist. She is a pupil of Joachim. If I mistake not, she studied formerly with Jacobsohn, of the Chicago Conservatory of Music. There are many American and English girls studying the violin in Berlin. The most promising ones are at the Hochschule.
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35Last Saturday evening a sacred concert was given in one of the principal churches, in which Joachim and Gabriele Wietrowetz, one of the best of his young lady pupils, took part. They played several movements from double concertos by Bach and Spohr. Miss Wietrowetz is a sterling young violinist. Unlike most of the young ladies whose répertoires contain the Bruch and Mendelssohn concertos and a few smaller pieces by Sarasate, Wieniawski and Vieuxtemps, she plays great standard works, including the Beethoven, Brahms, Spohr and Joachim concertos. Few girls attempt to play the Brahms concerto or Joachim's Hungarian concerto in public.
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39Tuesday evening Miss Irene von Brennerberg gave a concert at Bechstein Hall. She played Spohr's eighth concerto, a Rêverie by Marsick, Wieniawski's Sielanka, and an adagio and rondo by Vieuxtemps.
41The young lady has many good qualities; her tone is quite large, her technic fairly well developed and her bowing free and vigorous. In point of finish and tenderness of expression, as required in a Spohr adagio, she could improve, however. Spohr is rather too much for her as yet. In the smaller pieces she undoubtedly played better. Unfortunately I could not hear her in these, as a concert at the Singakademie demanded my attention.
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45This was given by the singer Ottilie Fellwock. My interest was centred not in the concert giver but in the assisting artist, Anton Hekking, the 'cellist. I had read a great deal about Hekking, but this was my first opportunity of hearing him. He played a fantasia, Le Désir, by A. E. Servais; a sarabande, by Popper; a melody, by Massenet; a Bach gavot for 'cello alone; the andante from Hans Sitt's 'cello concerto; an Abendlied, by Schumann, and Davidoff's Springbrunnen. He also played the 'cello obligato in Braga's stale La Serenata, which I never expected to hear in a Berlin concert.
47Hekking is a great 'cellist. He ranks with Hugo Becker, Klengel and two or three other really great artists. He is above all a finished performer; his work is in all styles of compositions well rounded off. His tone is full and sympathetic and carries well. I tested its carrying qualities by sitting in different parts of the hall during his solos. Hekking has not the prodigious technic of a Klengel nor is his tone as large as that of one other player whom I have heard, but he has a happy blending of good qualities such as I have observed in but one other 'cellist, Hugo Becker. I heard all of his selections except the Servais fantasy. They were all admirably played, but I enjoyed the Bach gavot most. This is a difficult thing on this instrument, although it did not seem so as Hekking played it. I greatly admired his graceful, free and easy bowing. In the Davidoff number he played with real spiccato, as one does on the violin. As a rule this bowing is unsatisfactory on
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