Scan 5
Musical Courier 1895-11-06: Vol 31 Iss 818, 1895
83 lines. Read by computer on 22 September 2026. Printed page 6. See the scan on archive.org.
A town on its own line is one of the directory's headings. That is where the town on a maker's page comes from.
1in the finale of the overture, in the great massive and fortissimo repetition of the Pilgrims' chorus, there is a horn part which forms a perfect second voice to the trombones that carry the melody. This horn part hitherto was always covered by the trombones and you could not hear it except in so far as it pertains to the general harmony of the structure. By doubling the horns Nikisch succeeded in bringing out this underlying tenor voice and the effect was so novel, beautiful and telling that the entire audience and even the critics caught on to it and it quickly became the subject of a general and most animated discussion. Nikisch, however, was applauded to the sky, and the audience was so carried away and enthusiastic that it enacted scenes of tumultuous and most uproarious recalls such as I have witnessed before only in the cases of a Patti or a Paderewski.
3Between the two overtures were placed the Tschaikowsky fifth symphony in E minor and the Chopin piano concerto in the same key. The most gloomy, but also most intense and most masterly, of the Tschaikowsky symphonies, a work which I heard in New York under the composer's own direction and several times under the baton of divers other conductors, was a novelty for Berlin. I have mentioned several times the fact that the two most gifted composers of our day, Tschaikowsky and Dvorák, have been so far singularly neglected in Berlin's somewhat too conservative musical programs. These things are being changed, and the deep impression which the dead Russian's noble work made upon an audience entirely unused to music of such strongly marked national coloring and characteristics was all the more significant, as from a purely technical point of view the performance on the part of the Philharmonic Orchestra was anything but flawless. Nikisch's reading, however, was impressive in the extreme. For the first time also the daily press here (there are no musical papers worth mentioning) seem to recognize almost unanimously the great genius of Tschaikowsky. Even Tappert, who was not long ago a rabid anti-Tschaikowsky man, just as he is still a pronounced anti-Dvorákian, has given in and pronounces the work one of many and rare beauties.
5The Chopin E minor concerto was performed by Josef Hofmann, who scored a very popular success. Endless applause followed his playing of the last movement, and so strong and persistent were the enthusiasts that they finally had to be hushed down by hisses. To me, having always championed Hofmann from the time he was little Josie, his playing of this concerto was more than a disappointment. I cannot say that it was not good or musical, but it was entirely too dry, too square cut, and too pedantic. Evidently Hofmann is everything but a Chopin player, for in this concerto he lacked the delicacy and finish of Joseffy and the poetry and grace of Paderewski—the only two men in the world who ever performed the now just a trifle antiquated Chopin E minor concerto entirely to my satisfaction. There is, moreover, no use denying the fact that the day of the Chopin piano concertos has gone by, and no amount of refurbishing the orchestration will hold them very long upon the modern concert program.
7The new orchestration which Hofmann brought for his performance is one by Adam Muenchheimer, of Warsaw, and is evidently the work of an excellent and most cultured musician. He succeeds in investing Chopin's work with a considerable amount of the polyphonic element in which it is most painfully lacking in the original, but he quite overdoes the thing and consequently the score becomes overladen. There are added, however, some very nice solo episodes for the various orchestral instruments, and of telling effect is also the sustaining of chords originally held only by the loud pedal of the piano by means of pianissimo chords given mostly to the woodwind. The much too long original introduction to the first movement is retained in its entirety, but is nicely reorchestrated. Hofmann used a superb Bechstein concert grand on this occasion.
9The next concert will take place on October 28, and will include Goldmark's Sakuntala overture, Bach's prelude, adagio and gavot for string orchestra in Bachrich's arrangement, and Brahms' D major symphony. Raimond von Zur-Muehlen will be the soloist. I am glad to notice that the concerts have "caught on" again, for a supplementary subscription for the next nine concerts is announced by Bote & Bock this morning. Among the large, cultivated and really attentive as well as most demonstrative audience the American colony was particularly and most advantageously noticeable.
11This last remark applies also to the first chamber music soirée of the Joachim Quartet, which, as usual, took place at the Singakademie on Saturday night, and was very nearly sold out.
13The composition of this most celebrated of the world's string quartets is this season changed, and let me add right here improved, through the substitution of Professor Halir as second violin in place of Professor Kruse, the latter being detained in Australia through the illness of his father. As Halir's tone is stronger than Kruse's, and he has more individuality than his predecessor, he rather co-ordinates than subordinates himself to his illustrious leader, and this circumstance, without in the least disturbing the harmonious ensemble, gives the second violin more of a voice than it had during the last season or two.
15The Joachim organization gave for its opening night, as it usually does on this occasion, one quartet from each of the three great heroes of chamber music, Haydn, Mozart and Beethoven, and, in an ascending way, winding up with the great B flat string quartet, op. 130, by the Bonn master. Mozart was represented with the A major quartet, and this was the gem in the way of mellifluous interpretation. But Haydn's pretty G minor quartet was also well played, especially the slow movement in G minor, with its pathetic recitative, which Joachim sang out most exquisitely on his violin, and which movement was the most applauded one of the evening.
17Of the concerts which are now flooding the Berlin season and at least a couple of which I shall attend on evenings on which it can be done, I shall select only those for criticism in these columns which will prove of some special interest to Americans generally, or which through particular merit call for the attention of the readers of THE MUSICAL COURIER. With an account of the rest and greater multitude of more or less unimportant concerts which I have to listen to I shall not weary you in the future as I have done for the last three seasons.
19From among this multitude the efforts of the young Russian violinist Alexander Petschnikoff, of St. Petersburg, loom up like those of a giant among pigmies. Although only twenty-two years of age he is already one of the finest violinists I ever heard in my life. His first concert in Bechstein Hall on Friday night held the audience spellbound, and even our Prime Minister, Prince Hohenlohe, who is one of the most musical men of the capital, did not leave the concert room until the last note had been played. Bach, especially the unaccompanied great and difficult works of that master, the chaconne and the E major suite, were the principal attractions and were played with a beauty of tone, purity of intonation and generally musical interpretation which were simply wonderful. Mr. Abell will tell you all about the technical perfection of the young Russian's performances, and I can content myself with saying that he has an immense future before him. He play's on Laub's celebrated and, without the shadow of a doubt, genuine Stradivarius fiddle, and he elicits from this glorious instrument a tone which for beauty and charm, as well as sonority, cannot be surpassed.
21A concert fuller of good promises than actual musical realization was that of young Walter Meyrowitz in the Potsdamerstreet Concert Hall on Wednesday night of last week. The concert giver, who in piano playing is a pupil of Oscar Raif, appeared in the threefold capacity of pianist, composer and singer, and showed talent and ability in each direction, albeit he is finished as yet in none. As his baritone voice is quite agreeable in quality but very feeble as to quantity, Mr. Meyrowitz would perhaps do well to drop singing at least for the present and for the public, but in the two other fields he is bound to achieve success if he persists in faithful study.
23The bans for Eugen d'Albert's marriage to Miss Hermione Fink, of the Weimar Court Opera, were published at Baden-Baden on the 3d inst., the very day of the pianist's divorce from Teresa Carreño. The marriage will take place on the 20th inst. Congratulations are in order to this his third matrimonial venture.
25Emma Seebold, formerly a well-known operette singer, who is also well remembered in New York, is being educated for grand opera, following the example of Mmes. Offenby, Drucker, Kopka and some other former queens of the "light" operatic stage.
27A telegram from Munich informs me of the success of that artistic couple Josef and Gisela Staudigl at a Museum concert there last night.
29The rebuilt, redecorated and beautifully refurnished Royal Opera House will be reopened on the 22d inst. with a newly mounted performance of Beethoven's Fidelio.
31Felix Weingartner, who conducted the festival concert of the tenth anniversary celebration of the Leipsic Liszt Society, has been nominated for honorary member of that organization.
33Count Hochberg has been elected honorary member of the Allgemeiner Deutscher Musikerverbund, and an artistically furnished diploma was dedicated to the Royal Intendant by a deputation of members of the society.
35A telegram from Dessau tells me of the success of Sinding's D minor symphony, performed there last night under Court Conductor Klughardt's baton, and likewise of the great applause that followed Franz Rummel's performances of the Schytte piano concerto and of a charming little suite for piano and string orchestra by Ole Olsen. The program was, as you see, an exclusively Scandinavian one.
37Court Conductor Doppler celebrated the fiftieth anniversary of his conductorship at Stuttgart on the 26th ult.
39Musikdirektor Edward Mertke, composer and teacher of the piano at the conservatory, died at Cologne on the 25th ult. He was born in Russia and was sixty-two years of age.
41Among the interesting musical personages I recently met, or who called at this office, was Miss Riza Eibenschutz, of Budapest, en route for New York, where she is engaged by Walter Damrosch. She sang for me the Ah mon fils aria from Le Prophète and showed a noble voice and great dramatic verve. Miss Marguerite Melville played for me some Chopin music in most promising style. The young lady has great talent for the piano and will make her mark some day. There were also Misses Frances C. Sherford and Marie Mildred Marsh, both of whom are studying with Professor Klindworth; Miss Carrie Bowes, from San Francisco, who is now studying with Prof. Martin Krause, of Leipsic; Christian Sinding, the composer; Franz Rummel, the pianist, who leaves here for Scandinavia, where he will concertize; Borodin, a young American tenor with a celebrated Russian name; Julius Gantzberg, another American tenor, and Edgar Munzinger, director of the Eichelberg Conservatory of Music at Berlin.
43Last Saturday night Arthur Nikisch, in the best of health and spirits, celebrated the fortieth anniversary of his birthday. Among a small party of friends was
45Yours truly, O. F.
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