Scan 7
Musical Courier 1895-12-11: Vol 31 Iss 823, 1895
46 lines. Read by computer on 28 September 2026. Printed page 8. See the scan on archive.org.
1sings it would be a pleasure to listen to him. What a glorious voice! And what a perfect artist! And yet he does not draw here. I really think it is because he allows his assisting artists to monopolize so much of the program. Probably few persons in the world enjoy good violin playing more than I do, but I confess that on that evening I heartily wished Nachez and his fiddle anywhere except in the Philharmonie. Here in Berlin we are accustomed to violin playing of a very different order. To say nothing of the many great visiting violinists, there are among our resident players nearly a dozen far superior to Nachez. With singing, however, it is different. Among our local tenors there is not one who can approach Ben Davies. If he would come here and give an evening of song unassisted, I think he would draw a full house.
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5On the following evening I heard two violinists in Bechstein Hall. Halir assisted at a concert given by a vocalist. He played the Tartini G minor sonata. What a contrast between this artist's playing and that of Nachez! He made more of this simple sonata ten times over than Nachez did of his entire program. It is wonderful how much Halir can make of the simplest works. He brings out and develops to the last degree every thought of the composer's, and not only that—he adds the charm of his own individual conception, which is so noble, so pure, so vivid, and from the absolute musical standpoint so perfect, that an antiquated composition like this is imbued with new interest, life and spirit.
7The other violinist was a new comer, Rosa Hochmann, of Vienna, who gave a concert at the Singakademie. She played a varied program, of which I heard only the last number, Sarasate's Faust fantasia. Miss Hochmann has a very respectable technic, a good, though small, tone, and a pleasing style. However, she is not a finished player, and hard study under a good teacher would, for some time to come, be wiser on her part than concert giving.
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11On Monday, the 4th, I heard the violinist Theodore Krelle and the 'cellist Otto Lüdemann, in connection with a vocalist and harpist, at the Singakademie. I will not criticise the artists, as neither of them has any special merit as soloist. Krelle deserves credit, however, for bringing out a work that had never been heard in Berlin, viz., an unpublished sonata in C minor, for violin or harp, by Spohr. The work was written by Spohr, presumably for his first wife, who was a good harpist, and who accompanied him during the early years of his virtuoso career. The harp part was played by Wilhelm Passe, who uses a splendid instrument from the house of Lyon & Healy, of Chicago.
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15On Sunday, the 3d, a matinée was given in the hall of the Stern Conservatory, by the principal instructors of the institution. The concert was given in celebration of the forty-fifth anniversary of the founding of the conservatory. There was a prologue spoken by Ludwig Bussler, a sonata for violin and piano by Gernsheim, performed by the composer and Professor Hollaender; songs by Schubert and Gernsheim, sung by Mrs. Nicklass-Kempner and Mr. Adolf Schulz. Furthermore, piano solos, a 'cello solo, and at the close Schubert's Rondo Brillante in B minor, played by Professors Hollaender and Gernsheim. The singing by Mrs. Nicklass-Kempner and the playing of Professor Hollaender were the features of the concert. As a Lieder singer Mrs. Nicklass-Kempner is unexcelled. She never fails to arouse enthusiasm among her hearers.
17Professor Hollaender I heard on this occasion for the first time in solo. He has an excellent, though not large, tone, an artistic finish, and a musical conception. His musicianship is his strongest point, and qualifies him for the important position he holds as director of this famous institution.
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21On Tuesday, the 5th, Hans Treichler, one of the new first violins of the Philharmonic Orchestra, made his début as a soloist in the Wieniawski D minor concerto. The first four of the first violins are heard in solo at the popular concerts, though Witek, the concertmaster, plays more than the other three together. Treichler did not distinguish himself; nor did he reflect credit on the orchestra. His playing was unripe, boyish and, aside from his technic, even amateurish. He has a fairly good left hand, which he acquired with César Thomson, but he has little else. Aside from this, his playing is characterized by no tone, no individuality, no warmth. But then he is very young yet, a mere boy, and has lots of time for improvement, though the chances are not much in favor of it as long as he is connected with this overworked orchestra. Even Witek, who is very talented, and who has a remarkable capacity for thriving under difficulties, does not seem to be able to hold his ground. He is not playing as well this season as he did last.
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25The next evening Carl Markees gave a concert in the Singakademie. He was heard in the Bach G minor sonata, the Tartini Devil's Sonata, Saint-Saëns' Rondo Capriccio and Spohr's eighth concerto. Markees is a good musician, and he has considerable theoretical and some practical knowledge of the violin. But he has not one single quality of the many that the modern virtuoso is expected to have. Try as he may, the only impression he makes is that of the dry, tedious pedagogue. The dryness of his style baffles description. It was really interesting to see how dry and uninteresting Saint-Saëns' charming Rondo Capriccio could be made. In the Tartini sonata and Spohr concerto he was not much better, though the Tartini composition is better adapted to his style.
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29On Thursday the youthful 'cellist Elsa Ruegger, about whom I have already written, gave a concert in Bechstein Hall, assisted by her sisters, Charlotte (violin) and Wally (piano). The favorable impression which this talented girl made on her first appearance was in no wise weakened on a second hearing. She has extraordinary talent and an amount of artistic finish that is really astonishing in one of her age. Her sisters assisted her in Rubinstein's B flat major trio. They both play well, though they are in no respect the equals of the 'cellist.
31Three other 'cellists have recently been heard in Bechstein Hall, namely, Achille Vandoeuvre, of Paris; Arthur Krasa, of Prague, and Anton Hekking. The first of these I did not hear, and the second one I will not attempt to criticise, as he was lacking in about everything that goes to make up a good 'cellist. Hekking, however, deserves special notice; he showed the frequenters of Bechstein Hall how the 'cello should be played. He appeared as assisting artist in a concert given by the vocalist Jeanne Golz on the 15th. He played Bruch's Kol Nidrei, the andante from Sitt's 'cello concerto, the Schumann Abendlied and a moto perpetuo by Fitzenhagen. His performance was finished in every respect, and it is needless to say that he aroused great enthusiasm. After the moto perpetuo the audience would not let him off without an encore, which he finally gave after repeatedly bowing his acknowledgments. This was a melody by Massenet. Hekking is unquestionably the greatest 'cellist in Berlin, and should be heard oftener.
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35The following evening the second soirée of the Hollaender Quartet took place. A new quartet in G minor, not yet published, by Hans Koessler; a piano trio in the same key, by Eduard Nápravnik, and the Mozart C major quartet were performed. Dr. Carl Muck played the piano part in the trio. Koessler is good at inventing themes, but weak in developing and working them out; his musicianship is not on a par with his inventive talent; so that on the whole he is not very satisfactory. There are beautiful moments in the work. Of the four movements, an allegro, adagio, scherzo and andante with variations, the scherzo is the most interesting; this is a charming bit of writing. The last movement is the weakest of all, and scarcely holds the attention till the end. The work is nevertheless more important than the Nápravnik trio. The piano has by far the leading part and puts the violin and 'cello in the shade. Dr. Muck is a sterling musician, and he gave a broad and able reading of his part. Professor Hollaender also made the most of his not very interesting part. The 'cellist did not shine; he is lacking in tone and is the weakest member of the Hollaender Quartet. It was refreshing to hear Mozart's fresh, spontaneous music after the two other works.
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39A unique performance was given on the 18th by Hugo Koppel in Bechstein Hall. He appeared in the double capacity of a singer and an improviser on the piano. He has a strong baritone voice, but is lacking somewhat in finish. His piano playing was more interesting than his singing. It is very unusual nowadays to hear a pianist improvise in public. Mr. Koppel has marked talent for this. He takes any given theme selected by the audience and improvises variations on it in the styles of Bach, Mozart, Haydn, Mendelssohn and Wagner. He succeeded remarkably well and was heartily applauded.
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43Two Danish artists, Frida Scotta, violinist, and Henry Bramsen, 'cellist, were heard in the Singakademie on the 19th. Miss Scotta has already something of a reputation. I was disappointed in her playing. It is rough in technic and tone and indifferent in conception. It is lacking utterly in feminine charm and grace. It is deplorable that the young ladies of to-day try to play like a man, with big tone and a bold bravura style, to the cost of those feminine qualities which are their natural heritage, and which should be the most charming features of their playing.
45Miss Scotta has decided talent, and has accomplished much, but she is far from being finished and has acquired some bad habits. The trouble with her is that she had success before the public too soon, and consequently did not continue to study seriously, thinking, no doubt, that her fortune was made. She ought now, instead of giving concerts, to take a course of at least two years under a great master. The impression she makes can never be satisfactory so long as one feels all the time she is playing that she might do much better. Then, too, her repertory contains too many trivial compositions. At this concert she played nothing but small things. The 'cellist performed the Locatelli sonata in D major, a berceuse by César Cui, a Chopin nocturne and the Paganini moto perpetuo. He displayed a big tone and an equally big technic, although in finish and intonation he left at times much to be desired. He was handicapped by playing on a
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