Scan 15
Musical Courier 1895-02-27: Vol 30 Iss 781, 1895
121 lines. Read by computer on 22 September 2026, twice; the two readings disagreed in places. Printed page 16. See the scan on archive.org.
1point, and the many guests enjoyed it. The reception ended up with dancing. Here are the names of some of those who were present: Mr. and Mrs. John Noble, Mrs. P. J. O'Hara, Dr. and Mrs. Wesley Smith, Mr. and Mrs. George J. Vestner, Mr. and Mrs. William Noble, Mr. and Mrs. Henry Hess, Mr. and Mrs. A. L. Adams, Miss E. A. Adams, Mr. and Mrs. W. J. Arkell, Mr. and Mrs. Jerome Berheimer, Colonel and Mrs. Albert Barlitz, Mr. and Mrs. C. B. Butler, Mr. and Mrs. Jacob Hess, Mr. and Mrs. C. H. Lester, Mrs. Frank Leslie.
3Mrs. Joseph Doyle, of No. 328 West Eighteenth street, gave a musciale Wednesday night, on which occasion Mrs. Charles Conners, Mrs. James Burrows and Mrs. B. Kelly assisted her in receiving. The musical program proved interesting to the guests, among whom were: Mr. and Mrs. McCormick, of Perth Amboy; Mr. and Mrs. Brady, Miss Doyle, Miss S. M. Kelly, Mr. W. S. Percival, Miss Halpin, Miss McCoy, Mr. S. Wolf, Miss Fogarty, Mr. John Glackner, Miss Burrows, ex-Alderman and Mrs. Charles Duffy, Mr. and Mrs. James Traynor, Mr. and Mrs. Fleury.
5Musicales in Washington, D. C., during the past week have been the means of introducing some of the most noted artists of the country. At the Corcoran House, in Lafayette square, Monday evening, February 18, there was a decidedly important function in the apartments of Senator Brice, of which the ensuing program is proof:
7'Cello solo—
8Andante…………………………………………………J. Hollman
9Mazurka…………………………………………………Mr. Hollman.
10Song, Serenade………………………………………Tschaikowsky
11M. Edouard de Reszké.
12Aria, Mad Scene, Lucia di Lammermoor…………….Donizetti
13(Flute obligato, Mr. Môle.)
14Mme. Melba.
16'Cello solo—
17Aria from D majorsuite……………………………….J. S. Bach
18Tarantelle……………………………………………..J. Hollman
19Air, Etoile du Nord………………………………….Meyerbeer
20M. Edouard de Reszké.
21Song, Good Bye………………………………………Tosti
22Mme. Melba.
24Flute solo—
25Romanza……………………………………………..Saint-Saëns
26Valse………………………………………………….Godard one of two readings
27Valse……………………………………………………Godard one of two readings
28Mr. Môle.
29Air, La Juive…………………………………………..Halevy
30M. Edouard de Reszké.
31Song, Se Saran Rose…………………………………Arditi
32Mme. Melba.
33'Cello solo, Fantaisie Carmen………………………..Bizet-Hollman
34Mr. Hollman.
35Duet, Don Juan………………………………………Mozart
36Mme. Melba and M. Edouard de Reszké.
37At the piano, Mr. Victor Harris.
39There was a crush of guests, some of the best known men and women in social and Congressional circles having been present.
41The program below indicates the order of the music sung Tuesday evening, February 19, at the Washington residence of Mrs. Phoebe Hearst, widow of the late Senator from California, No. 1400 New Hampshire avenue:
43Invocation…………………………………………..Chaminade
44L'Amour Captif………………………………………Chaminade
45Le Voyageur (Ballade)……………………………….Godard
46Couples de Vulcan (Philémon et Baucis)…………….Gounod
47M. Pol Piançon.
48Aria, Deh vieni non tardar (Nozze de Figaro)………Mozart
49Mme. Lillian Nordica.
50Air, De Tambour-Major (Le Cid)……………………Thomas
51M. Piançon.
52Songs, in French and English……………………….Mme. Nordica.
53Le Pas d'Armées du Roi Jean (Paroles de Victor Hugo)..Saint-Saëns
54Kypris Berceuse…………………………………….Holmes
55Le Deux Grenadiers…………………………………Schumann
56M. Piançon.
57Aria, La Reine de Saba……………………………..Gounod
58Mme. Nordica.
59Duet, Cruel, Perche (Marriage of Figaro)…………..Mozart
60Mme. Nordica and M. Piançon.
61Mr. Victor Harris……………………………Accompanist.
63The musciale was quite as well attended as that of February 7, an account of which was published in the columns of THE MUSICAL COURIER.
65Mrs. Hearst gave another elaborate eighteenth century musciale last night (February 26), a full account of which will be published next week.
67Mr. Robert Loftin Newman's studio in Carnegie Building was placed at the disposal of his many friends for a musciale last Tuesday night. Mrs. Pedro de Cordoba, Miss Mathilde Cordoba, Miss Corinne Flint and Miss Anna Meigs Case received the guests, whose names included Capt. A. A. Reed, ex-Lieut. Warner H. Nostrand, U. S. N.; Mr. Frederick W. Flint, the Messrs. Morgan, Mr. Smith, Dr. Frederic Gillette, Mr. Goddard, Miss Estelle Ysaacs, Miss Chambers, Miss Decker and Mr. Francis P. Hastings. Miss Flint, accompanied on the piano by her brother, Mr. Peter Flint, played violin selections, including a nocturne by Field, a composition by Sarasate and a Wieniawski. Miss Addie L. Ysaacs, pianist, played compositions by Chopin, Liszt and Schumann.
69Mrs. Dillon Oliver's house at No. 988 Madison avenue was crowded last Wednesday afternoon on the occasion of her orchestral concert, given by the Junior Philharmonic Society, Mr. Henry Thomas Fleck, director. Piano selections were played by Miss Bertha Hankinson and Master A. Hochmann. The guests included those whose names are frequently heard in connection with the visitors at the musicales, among them being: Mrs. J. Jarrett Blodgett, the Misses Blaine, Mrs. Theodore Ralli, Mrs. Graef, Mrs. Jordan L. Mott, Mrs. George W. Best, Mrs. Henry Thomas Fleck, Mrs. John G. Nessar, Mrs. A. G. Compton, Mrs. Daniel Butterfield, Mrs. Clarence Day, Mrs. Henry Ross, Mrs. Charles Fraser MacLean, Miss Cauldwell, Mr. and Mrs. Pierce, Mrs. Copenhagen, Mrs. Arthur Friedheim, and Mrs. Thomas H. Newman.
71A Reply to Carl Fique.
72DES MOINES, Ia., February 16, 1896.
73Editors The Musical Courier:
75I WAS much amused at Mr. Carl Fique's criticism of my article on Sonata Form which appeared in THE MUSICAL COURIER of January 30. It cannot be possible Mr. Fique read that article carefully and intelligently, for at the very beginning of it I distinctly stated that the article would not be a dry, learned or historical one, for the reason I had no access to books of authority on the subject at that time. Now, from this statement, it would seem Mr. Fique has jumped to the conclusion that I never read any historical works on sonata form. Well, well! Let me ask Mr. Fique if he ever studied or read correctly Kruger, Koster, Brendel, Grove, Faisst and Von Elterlein?
77Dear Mr. Fique, you may believe me, but I have read and studied all these authorities with considerable diligence, and have good reasons to think I understand them fairly well, even if all my statements do not tally word for word as they are printed in the books. I did not set out to write a complete, historical work on sonata form, for others have done that thoroughly well long before my day, but to write a pleasant and readable paper for those who cared to know something about such a rather dry subject. Perhaps my reading and studying have not enlightened or benefited me so much as they ought. But we will pass that by.
79Without doubt I am like most other people inhabiting this cold world, and consequently liable to make mistakes; as, for example, in referring to the Russian constitution.
81I had forgotten the "Czar was the embodiment of the law and the despotic ruler of all the Russians," so permit me in this to take off my hat to you! That was simply a figure of speech used to enforce a point I wished to make, and perhaps it ought not to have been made. The first sonatas with more than one part or movement were published in 1681 by Henry Biber; they were followed by twelve sonatas for violin, 'cello and piano by Corelli; Kuhnau, who comes next, was considered a more important composer of sonatas for the harpsichord or piano (so we read), and his sonatas appeared in 1696. They consisted of four and five movements, so the historians inform us. No, Mr. Fique, sonatas are not written for unknown instruments. That is one of your own suggestions. There is no good reason why they could not be written for a majority of instruments found in our best orchestras, leaving out percussion and brass instruments. I have not time at my disposal to enter into a detailed statement of the character and style of all the sonatas as I would like, though it would afford me pleasure to do so. Matheson next appeared with a sonata dedicated "to whoever will play it best." Scarlatti wrote many sonatas. Durante, an Italian, wrote sonatas. Bach the elder, Father Martini and Emanuel Bach followed.
83The above writers made their sonatas in two, three and more parts, though a majority contained three movements. Movements with variations, dance forms, minuetttes, polonaises, gavottes and rondo forms were dominant at this period. After the Bachs came Haydn, who perfected the sonata form, and, as I stated in my article, his form has been adhered to, though elaborated by Mozart, Clementi, Beethoven and others, according to the demand of the times in which they lived and the improvements taking place in the perfection of instruments, notably the piano.
85Birth, education and surroundings, probably, had more to do with the elaborated sonatas of Mozart and Beethoven than any change of form or principles that were involved in their construction. While it is true Haydn's sonatas are light and joyous, they are so because he was possessed of a light, happy, joyous nature. Beethoven's sonatas are more solid, elaborate, and ponderous than Haydn's, because he was possessed of a larger and more colossal intellect was a more grave and dignified man than Haydn.
87A very fine article on sonata form appeared in the columns of THE MUSICAL COURIER some months ago from the pen of a lady, giving quite a full description of the progress of the sonata from its inception to the present time. It was more complete and historical than mine, therefore not in any way misleading to the general public. Read it, Mr. Fique.
89The way I used "pastoral" seems to have troubled you seriously. Were you ever a shepherd, and did you compose poems and watch your herds at Christmas-tide in a severe blizzard, with the snow piled up in drifts of five, ten and twenty feet deep? If so, did you not think how much better it would have been had you and your flocks been housed in some good warm place? Seriously, do the shepherds ever watch their flocks while feeding under such trying conditions? Don't you think summer a much more appropriate time? Would you not prefer summer time for such an occupation, and don't you think the play of your imagination would be more vivid than in winter, with the thermometer down to forty degrees below zero?
91Philip Hale has said in THE MUSICAL COURIER that "there was no good reason why the Messiah should be given at Christmas any more than at any other time of the year," except you can get a better paying house at that time than on the Fourth of July. This is what Grove's Dictionary has to say about the sonata:
93The history of the sonata is the history of an attempt to cope with one of the most singular problems ever presented to the mind of man, and its solution is one of the most successful achievements of his artistic instincts. A sonata is, as its name implies, a sound piece, and a sound piece alone; in its purest and most perfect examples it is unexplained by title or text, and unassisted by voices it is nothing but an unlimited concatenation of musical notes. The name seems to have been first adopted purely as the antithesis to cantata, a musical piece that was sung. It is hardly likely that it will ever be ascertained who first experimented in sonatas of several distinct movements. The difference between Haydn's and Mozart's sonatas is plainly neither in structure, thought nor expression, but in advantages of temporal position. The progression of artistic instinct is at present an unexplained phenomenon.
95Why Mozart possessed a more artistic instinct than Haydn, or Beethoven more than Mozart, is not known by man, but by Him who rules above.
97Now, Mr. Fique, you will see my intention was not to dissect, analyze and explain the harmonic structure of the sonata form; that was beyond the scope of my article; but to make a pleasant, readable paper which would in a measure interest and instruct the general reader. You know, or ought to know, that the general reader understands nothing about harmonic forms, and doesn't know a subject or theme in music any more than he does about the character of the inhabitants of Jupiter or Mars. If you can enlighten them on this subject I say, God speed.
99JAMES M. TRACY.
101Servian Honors.—The King of Servia, who is a present on a visit to Paris, has bestowed on Gaston Salvayre the commander's cross of the Order of Takova. Salvayre had charge of the organization of the Servian military music and has succeeded to the great satisfaction of that country's authorities.
103Felicia Kaschowska.—Felicia Kaschowska, who has a contract with the Leipsc Stadt Theater for five years, beginning in 1896, will sing next season at Düsseldorf the dramatic rôles. She sang at the latter place recently in Carmen, Elizabeth in Tannhäuser, and Brünnhilde in the Walkyrie with much success. The Poles are furnishing a large contingent to the operatic stage. The ladies Beeth, Brajin, Arkel, Irene Abendroth, the two De Reszkés, Rothmühl, Mierzwinski and many others who have achieved renown. one of two readings
104Felicia Kaschowska.—Felicia Kaschowska, who has a contract with the Leipsc Stadt Theater for five years, beginning in 1896, will sing next season at Düsseldorf the dramatic rôles. She sang at the latter place recently in Carmen, Elizabeth in Tannhäuser, and Brünnhilde in the Valkyrie with much success. The Poles are furnishing a large contingent to the operatic stage. The ladies Beeth, Brajin, Arkel, Irene Abendroth, the two De Reszkés, Rothmühl, Mierzwinski and many others who have achieved renown. one of two readings
106Music in Russia.—Since the opening of the theatres in Russia, on January 13, two new operas were performed. Doubrowsky, by M. E. Naprawnik, in St. Petersburg, and Melusine, by Prince Troubetskof, in Moscow. At Kiew will shortly be given the opera La Fée de la Neige (Snegourotchka), by Rimsky-Korsakoff, which must not be confounded with the symphonic work of the same title which the lamented Tschaikowsky had written in his youth. At Saratov is in preparation an opera, Dans la Tempête, by Rebikov, a young composer of Odessa. By this can be seen that the decentralization of music is practiced in Russia on a large scale, as Saratvo on the Volga is almost an Asiatic city.
108"The foremost man in the musical world to-day."
109-Vide Press.
111XAVER SCHARWENKA,
112Pianist, Composer, Conductor.
113ROYAL PRUSSIAN PROFESSOR,
114COURT PIANIST TO THE EMPEROR OF AUSTRIA.
115PIANO RECITALS, CONCERT ENGAGEMENTS.
116ADDRESS
117JOHN LAVINE,
118MANAGER,
119STEINWAY HALL, . . . NEW YORK.
120Apr. 10.
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