Scan 10
Musical Courier 1895-12-11: Vol 31 Iss 823, 1895
108 lines. Read by computer on 28 September 2026, twice; the two readings disagreed in places. Printed page 11. 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.
1tage, and of consequent gain in eminence, in a smaller auditorium.—Tribune.
3The soloist was Franz Ondricek, the Bohemian violinist. He is a man of striking appearance, comparatively small in stature, but with a very fine head. Unruly locks of very dark hair overhang his forehead, and his eyes are fiery.
5He played Dvorák's concerto, op. 53, first, and the audience warmed to him. Then he played a lighter number with the piano, and delighted everybody. In Ernst's Hungarian Airs, however, Ondricek showed his ability with more authority. His playing evidenced a complete command of technic, and the spirit which shone through it was daringly sincere and fetterless. It was not trickly playing, but rather masterful and always musically. There was a delightfully sure and graceful touch, a vividly dramatic style, and something personal and potential in itself in the character of his playing to charm the audience, and the applause which he evoked was spontaneous and sincere. It would seem that in dealing with the lighter and more sentimental style of music Ondricek's violin might prove hard to surpass. He will play again with the orchestra to-night.—Chronicle.
7Mr. Franz Ondricek, the Bohemian violinist, who has come to this country unheralded by the great amount of horn blowing which usually precedes an artist of his rank, made his first appearance in this city, in the Auditorium, yesterday afternoon at the regular concert of the Chicago Orchestra. Before he had finished his afternoon's task he had aroused the audience to enthusiasm and was recalled several times, being compelled to give two encore numbers. The new violinist proves to be a man of rather striking appearance, although not impressive in stature, who has easy and unaffected poses and attacks his work with great vim. His first number yesterday was Dvorák's concerto, op. 53, and before the first movement was well over the auditors arrived at the conviction that Mr. Ondricek is a violinist of high distinction. In the upper notes it is pure, if not particularly broad, and especially in piano passages is very smooth. Another point to be noted in his favor is unfailing accurate intonation, which seems to be a matter of conscience with him, as it ought to be. Aside from these points the two impressive features of his playing are great dash and brilliancy in technique and the authority and intelligence of the true artist.
9Technically alone, his work would place him in the ranks of the greater violinists, and yesterday he attacked the difficulties of concerto and the tremendous obstacles of Ernst's Hungarian Airs with something like zest. One gets the impression that he enjoys the work of overcoming difficulties, and this element of animation is to be observed not only in his technique, but in his feeling. He has the temperament for his work—a temperament which announces itself at times in a deep sentiment and again in the robust strength and animation of his playing. It will be a long time before Chicago gets a chance to hear more virile violin playing than that of Franz Ondricek. The ovation he received shows that his attributes have already taken the public.—Record.
11His intonation and harmonics are perfect, his tone is broad and full, but inclined to the sentimental rather than the heroic, and his work would be of rare worth in the salon.—Dispatch.
13It needs more than one hearing to estimate him fairly. His technic is remarkably fine, and he has emotional feeling in profusion. At the risk of passing a snap judgment, it may be said that he is a cross between Ysaye and Cesar Thomson, with much of the merit of both.—Post.
15EIN GLAENZENDER TRIUMPH FUER DEN BOHEMISCHEN VIOLINVIRTUOSEN FRANZ ONDRICEK.
17Der sehr gute Besuch der gestrigen Matinee war ein gutes Zeichen für die Ausnahmefähigkeit des Chicagoer Publikums bei vermehrten Kunstgenüssen. Der böhmische Geiger Franz Ondricek errang mit dem neuen Violin-Concert von Dvorák, Op. 53, einen äusserst warmen Erfolg, der in den hervorragenden Vorzügen seines Spiels seine volle Berechtigung findet. Schon nach wenigen Takten hatte er die Hörer durch seine sichere Technik, seinen markigen, vollen Ton, seine stramme feste Rhythmik und dan auch durch die markige Schönheit seiner Cantilene für sich gewonnen. Er besitzt wohl die grösste Klangfülle, die einem Geiger der Gegenwart beschieden ist und entbehrt dabei nicht einer gleichmässigen, schönen Gefühlswärme. Die Kunststücke im letzten Satze gelangen ihm mit verblüffender Unbefähbarkeit. Während Mahe süßlich anmutet und Thomson durch wunderbare Technik besticht, verbindet Ondricek hohes technisches Können mit einem markigen, kraftvollen Ton, der aber stets von wunderbarer Reinheit ist. Der Jubel nach der Beendigung seiner Nummer war denn auch ein ganz colossaler. Immer und immer wieder wurde er hervorapplaudiert und musste schliesslich sich zu einer Zugabe—Legende von Wieniawski—bequemen.—Illinois Staatszeitung.
19It did not take long to demonstrate that Ondricek knows how to play the violin, which is the main consideration after all. Before many phrases fell from his bow it was evident that he was an adherent of the romantic school which Ysaye adorns. His command of the bow is remarkable in fluency. His phrasing went straight to the heart of the mystery with a firm tone, which was invariably true and artistic.
21His first number was the Dvorák concerto, the three movements of which were given out with that impetuous enthusiasm that marks his playing, an enthusiasm that sometimes sacrifices finish to feeling. His manner, however, was invariably that of the virtuoso, possessing both style and authority, and the enthusiasm following the final tour de force was well earned, and was repaid by the Bach Chaconne. The second violin number was Airs Hongrois, by Ernst, one of those compositions full of the wild gypsy movement and swing long since made familiar by Liszt. This selection suited the native temperament of the artist much better than the more staid and formal Dvorák concerto, and still further confirmed him in the good will of the audience.
23Just where Ondricek belongs in the company of great violinists cannot be easily determined, and perhaps it is not essential that it should be determined at all. Suffice it to say that he is a fine performer, fully commanding the resources of his instrument as well as the sympathies of his audience.—Times-Herald.
25The Apollo Club concert at the Germania Theatre on Tuesday evening was one of the notable events of the season—not surpassed even by the Melba concert in the brilliancy of the audience or the brilliancy of the program. The chief features of attraction were two stars of the first magnitude, and the occasion served as the reappearance of one and the introduction of the other. Of the two, the great soprano and the great violinist, it must be admitted that for once place aux dames had to yield to masculine claims. Ondricek undoubtedly carried off the honors.
27Rarely has such a reception been accorded a newcomer as that which greeted the great Bohemian violinist as he stepped, violin in hand, upon the stage—a reception which amounted in effect to an ovation. The impression which he created at the start was maintained to the end, for Ondricek at once proved himself to be one of the great violinists of the world. He is imaginative, ardent, rather than tender, perhaps. His is not the melting style, and there is not the velvety softness of a Thomson in his tones, but the "harshness of his G string," so dwelt on in Eastern criticism, was notably absent, and his whole scale, from the lowest to the highest note, beautifully, brilliantly clear. He made a grand effect with the Hungarian Airs, and there was a weird fascination in the remarkable piece of Bazzini, Le Rande des Lutins; but all his best and most characteristic qualities were brought out in the last thing he played, which was not on the program, the Legende of Wieniawski.—St. Louis Post-Dispatch, December 1, 1895.
29German Geography.—"Adelina Patti ended her English tour in Belfast."—Leipzig Signale.
31Kessel.—The Cecilia Society of Kaiserslautern gave its first winter concert under its new director, Franz Kessel, with great success.
33Wagner Performances.—The managers of the Bayreuth Theatre and the Munich Opera have made an agreement respecting the Wagner performances next summer. In Bayreuth the Ring of the Nibelungs will be given, after July 19, for five consecutive weeks, from Sunday to Wednesday inclusive, while Munich will produce the other works of Wagner, with the exception of Die Feen, till the conclusion of the Bayreuth festival, on Thursday and Saturday of each week.
35Dresden Conservatory.—On November 18 the seventeenth musical performance of the Royal Conservatory took place, when the following program was gone through: Mozart, piano concerto, A major; with two pianos; concerto, E flat major, for waldhorn; air from Don Juan for tenor; sonata, C major, for piano and violin; concerto, B flat major, for fagotto; Rheinberger (op. 119), sonata, E flat minor, for organ; Goltermann, concerto No. 2, D minor, for 'cello, and Hummel, concerto, A minor, for piano, with two pianos.
37Music in Cincinnati.
39CINCINNATI, Ohio, December 6, 1895.
41THE Apollo Club gave the first concert of its season last night. The principal number on the program was Chadwick's Phoenix Expirans. The chorus, at least the male portion of it, was scarcely adequate. Ever since Mr. Bush W. Foley induced the club to change from a male to a mixed chorus interest has seemed to flag. The woman's chorus is of excellent material, but the male voices grow fewer and weaker each season. This year the chorus is utterly without balance. The soloists last night were Miss Geraldine Morgan, violinist, and Mr. G. W. Ferguson, baritone. It was the latter's first appearance in this city. His reception was a warm one. Miss Morgan played, among other things, the Sarasate Seapateado and Vieuxtemps' Reverie. The young violinist played the latter at a much too rapid tempo. Her principal failing seems to be lack of repose. The plural program, with the exception of Mr. Chadwick's hymn, was gray and uninteresting.
43Mr. Henry Wolfsohn, the New York manager, came to Cincinnati last Tuesday to invite Mr. Van der Stucken to finish the series of symphony concerts of the Brooklyn Seidl Society. Mr. Wolfsohn stated that the society was willing to arrange their dates to suit Mr. Van der Stucken's convenience. Mr. Van der Stucken is thinking seriously of accepting. At all events, he will probably conduct the next concert of the Seidl Society, which occurs the same week as the New York Symphony Orchestra concert, at which he will take Mr. Damrosch's place.
45The trustees of the College of Music have not yet decided upon Mr. Neff's successor. There has been some talk of giving the new president an advisory board of three. Mr. Neff would be asked to serve on this board. I hear that the trustees are about to make some sort of proposition to Mr. Van der Stucken in regard to the musical directorship. The latter will not accept the position, however, unless he is given absolute authority in matters musical. The position of musical director has been vacant ever since Mr. Thomas resigned in 1880.
47The students of the College of Music give their first orchestra concert on Tuesday of next week. The orchestra numbers seventy, and this year it is composed entirely of students, even to the woodwind and brass. The official circular states "an artistic ensemble is assured." Leandro Campanari is the head of the orchestral department of the college. The program includes the first Beethoven symphony and Schubert's overture, Alphonso and Estrella. Miss Jeanette Orlopp will play the Spohr No. 8 violin concerto.
49Among the interesting things in the next Symphony program will be the Vorspiel to Max Schilling's music drama Ingelwelde. Ingelwelde, it will be remembered, was the only opera conducted at Weimar last year before the Stavenhagen trouble.
51Mr. Louis Elson lectured at the college the other night on "Scottish Songs." Some charitable person ought to persuade Mr. Elson not to sing.
53Mr. Schoeffel, of the managerial firm of Abbey, Schoeffel & Grau was in the city during the Damrosch opera week, sounding the city for a season of grand opera in March. A week has been secured for them at the Walnut Street Theatre, but the contract has not yet been signed. In view of the financial success of the Damrosch company it is more than likely that the Abbey & Grau company will fill their date here. ROBT. I. CARTER.
55Reissmann.—The composer August Reissmann celebrated his seventieth birthday on November 14.
57Mainz.—Reinhold Becker's opera, Frauenlob, was given at Mainz, November 18, with success. The composer was repeatedly called out. The opera will remain in the repertory of the Mainz Theatre. The Minnesinger was a native of Mainz, and the local patriots are now looking out for a composer who will take as his subject another celebrated Mainzer, Johann Gutenberg, who cursed the world by his invention of printing.
59WALTER J. HALL,
60VOCAL INSTRUCTION.
61Studio: Nos. 705 & 706 Carnegie Hall, New York.
62Oscar Franklin Comstock,
63Assistant Organist of St. Bartholomew's.
64LESSONS IN—
65Voice Placing, Artistic Singing
66and Pianoforte Playing,
67100 ROSS STREET, BROOKLYN.
69THE HEINE RECITALS.
70L. FLORENCE HEINE, Violinist. MARIE L. HEINE, Pianist.
71Available for engagements in the Eastern States and Canada, for short tours during the season and for a tour to the Pacific Coast in the Spring of 1896. The Misses HEINE will also accept engagements for ensemble playing (Sonatas, Trios and Quartettes) and a limited number of pupils. For terms and dates address
72114 E. 18th STREET, NEW YORK CITY.
74MARSICK.
75SOLE MANAGER:
76N. HERLOFSEN,
77Steinway Hall,
78NEW YORK.
79Theodore Thomas
80Orchestra
81Chicago. December 18 and 14.
82Cincinnati Symphony
83Orchestra,
84January 10 and 11.
85Boston Symphony
86Orchestra,
87February 1.
89ROBERT COCKS & CO.,
90Music Publishers to H. M. the Queen and H. R. H. the Prince of Wales,
91LONDON. (ESTABLISHED 1828.)
92EDWARD SCHUBERTH & CO., New York.
93NEW PUBLICATIONS
94By the Leading Composers and Authors of the Day.
95Full detailed Novelty List on application; also Catalogues comprising over 20,000 Standard and Popular Publications for Voice, Piano, Organ, Violin, Guitar, Mandolin, Orchestra, etc.; also Elementary and Theoretical Works. Please state which Catalogues are required.
96SOLE PUBLISHERS OF COMPOSITIONS BY ANGELO MASCHERONI,
97LAWRENCE KELLIE AND EMILIO PIZZOL.
98SOLE IMPORTERS OF WINKELMANN PIANOS, FROM 57 GUINEAS;
99AND 'NEWMAN'S DOS.' ORGANS, FROM 21 GUINEAS.
100PIANOS OF ALL MAKE (importers) Trios, from 28 GUINEAS. one of two readings
101PIANOS OF ALL MAKE (importers) TRIOS, FROM 28 GUINEAS. one of two readings
102FULL DESCRIPTIVE LISTS ON APPLICATION.
103THE PUBLICATION OF AUTHORS' OWN WORKS UNDERTAKEN UPON MOST FAVORABLE TERMS AND CONDITIONS.
104Estimates prepared Free of Charge. Full particulars on application.
105OVER 2,000 AUTHORS' WORKS ALREADY PUBLISHED.
106DEALERS IN EVERYTHING CONNECTED WITH MUSIC.
1076 NEW BURLINGTON STREET, LONDON, W.
The computer misreads some letters and numbers. Where a name matters to you, read the scan.