Scan 22
Musical Courier 1895-11-06: Vol 31 Iss 818, 1895
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1THE MUSICAL COURIER.
3Clifford last season was unquestionable, and there is a possibility of the work being given in England by the Carl Rosa Company. Meanwhile the composer's talented librettist, Mr. "Mountjoy," has completed the libretto of a three act romantic opera, founded upon Washington Irving's tale of "The Spectre Bridegroom."
5RICHTER CONCERT.
7The first concert of the twenty-fifth series of the Richter Orchestral Concerts was given in St. James' Hall on Monday, October 21, to a crowded house. Of this orchestra and its famous conductor nothing new can be said, for everybody in London, and in Europe for that matter, has learned to honor the name of Hans Richter. The program opened with the ever welcome Meistersinger prelude, which was given with superb breadth and finish. I was struck with the increased tempo in which the principal theme was given out, just at the end where most conductors make a rallentando. Tschaikowsky's B minor symphony, the last of this gifted composer, was interpreted in a manner which would have doubtless delighted the composer himself.
9There is little to comment on after the extended notice I have already given of this remarkable work when it was given at the Philharmonic concerts and by Dr. Richter last season. The nuances were even more carefully marked than when played by the same orchestra in this hall last spring. On the whole, however, the audience did not manifest the same enthusiasm as at the first time of hearing it. Brahms' genial, almost humorous, Academie overture followed. Then by way of contrast Wagner's deeply poetic and melodious Good Friday music was played with the most careful expression and refinement. Beethoven's colossal overture, known as Leonora No. 3, ended the concert. The gigantic power of Beethoven's work was in most marked contrast to all which had preceded it. In fact, I may briefly define the different compositions which were so skilfully selected and arranged on this program as follows: Meistersinger overture—splendor, magnificence, pomp; Tschaikowsky's symphony—moody, feverish, delirious, pessimistic; Brahms' overture—genial, good natured; Wagner's Parsifal excerpt—meditative, poetic, tender; Beethoven's overture—herculean power, majesty of unlimited but restrained power.
11SARASATE CONCERT.
13The first concert for this season of the Sarasate concerts was given in St. James' Hall on Saturday, October 19, to a large and enthusiastic audience. This famous violinist is too well known to London music lovers to require any more than the announcement that he played. Criticism is superfluous in this case. Still, I have heard Sarasate play better than he did last Saturday, although his performance was very fine. The Bach B minor sonata and the Raff E minor sonata, both for piano and violin, were the most important numbers on the program. Mme. Berthe Marx played the piano part of the sonatas and several piano solos with her accustomed charm and grace. She played, among other items, Chopin's seldom heard Polonaise fantaisie.
15ROSARIO SCALERIO.
17Rosario Scalero, a violinist from Turin, who gave a violin recital in the Queen's Hall on Thursday, October 24, is an artist of intelligence and musical feeling, and he produces a full, singing tone from his instrument. His intonation is, on the whole, true, and his rhythm is marked, but his technic is rather rough and his playing lacks repose. It seems as though the muscles of his arm are too much contracted—a bad habit which invariably hampers the fingers and causes them to fail in delicate and rapid passages. The most important item on the program was Dvorák's concerto in A, which suffered from the orchestral parts being played on a piano. Bach's adagio and fuga in C was fairly well played as regards technic and very intelligently interpreted.
19ESPERANZA KISCH-SCHORR'S RECITAL.
21The piano recital of Miss Esperanza Kisch-Schorr, in Steinway Hall, on Tuesday, October 22 (which date, by the way, is the eighty-fourth anniversary of Liszt's birthday), was poorly attended, for which, no doubt, the bad weather was somewhat to blame. Miss Kisch-Schorr has a good technic and she plays with considerable variety of nuance. Her use of the pedal was not always satisfactory, and she was occasionally tempted to force the tone of her instrument.
23I cannot commend her playing of Chopin's Funeral March, for it is at variance with the composer's published version. In a slip inclosed in the program the pianist explained that she had Rubinstein's authority for making it sound like a procession approaching and passing by, but this clap-trap effect was condemned by Rubinstein himself when he played this march in London many years ago. If Miss Esperanza Kisch-Schorr is so anxious to imitate Rubinstein why does she not play the broken arpeggios in the slow movement of the Beethoven D minor sonata for the left hand alone, and not divide them up between the two hands? Beethoven wrote them for the left hand and Rubinstein used to play them as they were written. I advise Miss Kisch-Schorr to play as much as she can before audiences, even if only in drawing rooms, so as to overcome the nervousness which very much handicaps her.
25ROYAL COLLEGE OF MUSIC.
27On Wednesday evening the students of the Royal College of Music gave one of the best of their many concerts, the work throughout showing that the instruction received at this institution and the atmosphere of music that has been created there have developed the musical intelligence of the students to such an extent that their performances were praiseworthy in every particular. The program opened with Brahms' sextet in B flat, the players being Marie Motto, William Read, Charles Jacoby, Edward Behr, Ethel Uhlhorn-Zillhardt and Robert Grimson. Their playing was perfectly in tune, their interpretation showed a thorough appreciation of the work, and the ensemble was excellent.
29This was followed by Mozart's duet, Crude! Perche Finora, by Miss Ena Bedford and Mr. Emlyn Davies, and Miss Morfydd Williams sang Rossini's Ah, Rendimi Quel Core. These three vocalists showed good voices, an excellent method, and intelligence in interpretation. A piano solo—Schumann's Carnaval—was played by Miss Ada Walter, and we must speak in the very highest terms of the talent displayed by this young lady, who is a very promising artist. A fine performance of Dvorák's quartet for strings in E, op. 96, closed the concert, the players being Otie Chew, Maude Harper, Edward Behr and Ethel Uhlhorn-Zillhardt.
31ALFRED REISENAUER.
33Alfred Reisenauer, who gave his first recital this season in St. James' Hall yesterday, appeared here in 1881, and also visited us in 1882, when in midseason he, however, passed almost unnoticed. He was for some time a pupil of Liszt, and he is essentially a pianist of the modern executive school. His playing of Schumann's Carnaval was one of the best interpretations of this number that I have ever heard. He gave a very fine performance of the Funeral March in Beethoven's sonata, op. 26, played one of Scarlatti's harpsichord pieces very artistically, and was at home in some of the transcriptions of his teacher, Liszt, especially in the paraphrase of Schubert's Erlkönig.
35On Saturday afternoon the fortieth anniversary of the organization of the Saturday concerts at the Crystal Palace was given and only the compositions of English composers were given, nearly all of which had been first brought out at these concerts.
37OPERA AT COVENT GARDEN.
39Grand opera in English at Covent Garden, under the management of Mr. E. C. Hedmont, the American tenor, goes merrily on. Audiences are large and enthusiastic, especially for Die Walküre, Lohengrin and Tannhäuser. Last evening The Flying Dutchman was given for the first time this season. Mr. William Ludwig was Vanderdecken and Mme. Duma Senta, while Mr. Dudley Buck, jr., made his début this season as Erik. Mme. Duma made a distinct step in advance over the work she did as Elsa last week. Her voice is well adapted to the rôle, and she sang it very artistically, acting with conscientious care. Mr. William Ludwig, who was in excellent voice, has had so much said in his praise that anything further would be
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