Scan 37
Musical Courier 1896-12-02: Vol 33 Iss 874, 1896
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1ELMIRA. November 28, 1896.
3THE musical season in Elmira opened briskly. The Bostonians recently gave Robin Hood, and the International Opera Company, J. S. Leeburger director, presented on Thanksgiving Day Lucia di Lammermoor and Trovatore, with Myrta French, Marie Senta, Louise Engel, H. W. Goff, Thomas McQueen and others in the principal roles. It is understood this company disbanded in Elmira.
5The McKnight Choir, an organization composed of the singers in Trinity Church choir of this city, gave four performances of Pinafore, their fourth comic opera production.
7Mary Louise Clary, Katherine Hilke and the Listemann Brothers appeared together in the first of Director Ketley's course of concerts. His second concert next week will bring to Elmira Martinus Sieveking and Miss Myrta French. Other engagements include Marie Parcello, the Mozart Symphony Club, Aimé Lachaume and others.
9Local singers to the number of 150 or more have formed a new choral society, under the name of the Elmira Vocal Society, and hold weekly meetings. Henry Jacobsen, of Buffalo, is the conductor.
11The Elmira College School of Music has added another piano teacher, Miss Sara Shattuck Verrill, a graduate of the college.
13Arion Society—Newark.
15THE Newark Arion gave a successful concert on Monday night at the large Krueger Auditorium in that city, under the direction of Mr. Julius Lorenz. The instrumental numbers were the introductory overture, Weber's Euryanthe, Moszkowski's Spanish Dance and the March from Kretschmer's Die Folkunger.
17The Arion chorus sang the a capella music with dash, vigor and expression under the careful direction of Mr. Lorenz, who has become a most popular conductor with the Newark association. These a capella choruses were by Dregert, Neubner, Weinzierl, Podbertsky and a chorus with orchestra by Filke.
19The instrumental soloist was Miss Florence Terrel, who played the last movement of Saint-Saëns' G minor concerto. Miss Terrel is a technical executant, but besides this accomplishment she is also gifted with intelligence and she phrases and gives proper expression to her work like an artist. With her maturity she will ripen into a pianist of quality, and much of this will be due to her teacher, Mr. Alexander Lambert.
21Mr. Geo. W. Fergusson has a luxuriant baritone voice, full of the divine fire of nature's song, and supplemented by artistic culture. He sang Richard Wagner's Two Grenadiers and three songs, the chief of which, by Schumann, Du bist wie eine Blume, a true vocal gem, was delivered with remarkable musical feeling. As we do not believe in Bemberg songs we dismiss that number, for the soloist must not be criticised in place of the composer.
23Miss Caroline Montefiore, soprano, who sang the Michaela aria from Carmen, with orchestra, is a vocal artist gifted with the highest qualifications. The character of her voice and its methods were subsequently observed in three great songs: Ein Traum, by Grieg; Komm wir wandeln zusammen, by Cornelius, and Bruno Oscar Klein's The Bridegroom. The selection of songs of such calibre, songs that belong to the most elevated sphere of vocal art, gave an estimate of the singer's musical taste, which subsequently found expression in a most artistic interpretation of these difficult compositions. Miss Montefiore is one of the most accomplished sopranos we have recently heard. A voice of great sympathy, with a remarkable upper octave, is hers, cultivated to a degree that permits her to give intelligent expression to the musical motive. She has temperament, musical intelligence and address, and a splendid control of her rich organ.
25Mary Louise Clary.—During the next fortnight Miss Clary, the contralto, will make two short tours, the first in the West and the second toward the North. She will sing in the Erl King's Daughter, with the Cleveland Vocal Society, December 3; also in concerts in Alliance, Ohio, December 2; Parkersburg, W. Va., December 5, and probably Marietta, December 4.
27In the following week Miss Clary will sing in this city at the opening night of the grand bazar of the Professional Woman's League, St. Cloud Hotel, on December 7; in Montreal, with the Händel and Haydn Society, December 10; in Potsdam, N. Y., under auspices of Normal Institute, December 11; Hartford, Conn., operatic concert, December 13, and at the Hotel Majestic musicale, this city, December 14.
29Miss Clary is now closing a number of additional dates for another short Western tour during the last of December.
31Musical Items.
33Another Lambert Pupil.—Miss Florence Terrel, a young American pianist, will make her début with the Symphony Orchestra at Carnegie Hall on next Sunday evening.
35Eames Sings in Philadelphia a.—Mme. Emma Eames will go to Philadelphia on December 16, when she will appear in that city with the Damrosch Opera Company. She will sing Marguerite in Faust.
37Second Hubermann Recital.—Bronislaw Hubermann will give his second recital at Carnegie Hall on Saturday evening, December 5, when he will play Raff's Suite, Chopin's Romance from the E minor concerto, and Vieuxtemps' Ballade and Polonaise.
39Second Kronold 'Cello Recital.—Hans Kronold will give his second violin recital on Tuesday evening, December 8, at Steinway Hall. He will be heard in numbers by Spelter, Servais, Thoma, Popper, Gounod and Goltermann. MM. Gallico, del Papa and Baer will assist.
41A Boy Pianist.—Julius Schendel, the boy pianist, will be heard at Steinway Hall on Friday evening next. He will play Liszt's Rhapsodie Hongroise, No. 14, and the Mendelssohn concerto in G minor. Mmes. Emma Aron and Julie Levey and MM. Van Praag and Kriel will assist.
43Concert at Steinway Hall.—A concert will be given at Steinway Hall on Tuesday evening, December 10, by Sig. Tagliapietra. Mmes. Carlotta Pinner, Jean Balmaine, and MM. Arthur Hochman, Leo Tausig, J. Bimberg, Victor Clodio, H. B. Wilson, George Preston and Charles Pratt.
45Harlem Philharmonic Concert.—The first public rehearsal and concert of the Harlem Philharmonic Society, Henry T. Fleck conductor, will take place on December 9 and 10 at Hammerstein's Opera Hall. Following program will be given:
47Scandinavian Symphony, Cowen; Königskinder (first time in New York), Humperdinck; Tableau Symphonique, Tinel; Mlle. Camille Seygard will sing an aria from Massenet's Héroïdade, and also an aria from Auber's Crown Diamonds.
49Max Alvary Reported Cured.—Jena, Saxe-Weimar-Eisenach, November 30.—The reports circulated in the United States that Max Alvary, the tenor, is critically ill are misleading. The singer recently underwent a successful operation, which resulted in his complete cure. He is now taking long excursions daily.—Evening Post.
51Concert of the Kaltenborn-Beyer-Hane Quartet.—The first concert of this new string quartet takes place on Tuesday evening, December 8, in Carnegie Chamber Music Hall. The program is Mozart's D major quartet; the Grieg sonata, op. 36, A minor, 'cello and piano, by Mr. Beyer-Hané and Mr. H. Gruhler, and the Beethoven quartet, op. 18, No. 1.
53Darcelle and De Marchi Appeased.—In consequence of the request of the principals, chorus and all members of the Imperial Opera Company, Mme. Darcelle and Signor de Marchi have decided to appear in conjunction with the company in Boston. They left New York last night in order to join the company.
55David Bispham Recitals.—David Bispham, the American baritone of the Metropolitan Opera House, will give three subscription concerts during the season. The first of these will take place on Tuesday evening, December 22, at Chickering Hall. Mr. Bispham will be assisted by Charles Gregorowitsch, the Russian violinist, and Miss Marguerite Hall.
57Seventh Damrosch Popular.—The seventh popular concert, given by the New York Symphony Orchestra on Sunday evenings at Carnegie Hall, will take place Sunday next, December 6, and will be the last of this series, owing to the fact that the orchestra leaves New York to go on tour with the Damrosch Opera Company. This series of concerts has been one of the most successful ever given at Carnegie Hall, and they will be resumed in the early spring.
59Nordica's One New York Appearance.—Mme. Nordica's only appearance in New York this season will be made at the first concerts of the Oratorio Society, which will take place on Tuesday afternoon next and on Wednesday evening next at Carnegie Hall. The work to be sung is Verdi's Manzoni Requiem. Katherine Bloodgood, George Hamlin, David Bispham, and the full chorus of the society will sing. The New York Symphony Orchestra will play.
61Metropolitan English Grand Opera.—Mme. Georgeine von Januschowsky and her husband, Mr. Ad. Neuendorff, at present on a tour with the Metropolitan English Grand Opera Company, will return to New York in the middle of December, when their contract with the company terminates. Their engagement was a very successful one in every respect, and especially brought great honors to Mme. von Januschowsky for her highly dramatic and vocally perfect work. She has accepted quite a large number of engagements for concerts and oratorios during January, February and March, beginning with an engagement for two concerts with the Boston Symphony Orchestra on January 6 and 14, while Mr. Ad. Neuendorff returns to his post as director of the music at the Temple Emanu-El, in which church the artistically finished singing of the large choir is a great feature of the service.
63Mr. Hermann Grau, the manager of the Metropolitan English Grand Opera Company, intends to let the same rest in New York from the middle of December till after the Christmas and New Year's holidays, then reorganize the company, and start out again with it on an extended tour through the South, which is to last till late in the spring.
65First Musical Art Concert.—The first concert this season of the Musical Art Society, under the direction of Frank Damrosch, will be given at Carnegie Hall on Thursday evening, December 17. The principal work to be sung is Palestrina's Missa Papal Marcelli. There will be Christmas tide songs and part songs by Brahms, Cornelius, and Leo Damrosch. There will also be a novelty in the shape of a concerto by Bach, for viola da braccio, viola da gamba, violoncello and bass.
67Rosenthal Improving.—Chicago, November 30, 1896.—Drs. Kuh and Billing had a consultation at the bedside of Moritz Rosenthal, the pianist, to-night, and, while there is a well developed case of typhoid fever, they both say that if no further complications set in they have the strongest hopes that the patient will recover.
69There is nothing more to add to this dispatch except that Rosenthal will fill all his dates later.
71Sieveking.—Martinus Sieveking, the Dutch pianist, will present a new program at his first recital, on the afternoon of December 8, in Carnegie Hall. It includes selections from Beethoven, Chopin, Schumann, Mendelssohn, Brahms, Bizet, Moszkowski, and two of Mr. Sieveking's own compositions. The following clipping refers to Sieveking's performance with the New York Symphony Orchestra on November 15:
73The third soloist was a mighty eagle, strong, proud and confident in his own splendid power. It is with him that the public is concerned.
75Herr Sieveking has been heralded as "the Mephistopheles of the piano," probably on account of the extraordinary picture of the artist that has been so freely circulated, and which, though a fine specimen of modern French art, really resembles His Satanic Majesty more than it does the Dutch pianist.
77Considerate people have thought with a compassionate shudder that he indeed is a bold man who ventures to call attention to himself as a piano player while Rosenthal is in the same city. But, in fact, Sieveking can venture to compare himself with any living artist, and no doubt is conscious of this truth. Comparison is not criticism, but it is almost impossible not to weigh artistic work presented by several virtuosos in the scale of the highest art balance, and discover thereby in what measure the various ingredients of their productions are mixed—so and so much technic, a small pinch of poetic feeling, a great repertory—this for one perhaps—or one composer simmered down almost ad nauseam, mixed with extreme fluency and flavored highly with objectionable eccentricity. This for another pianist formula, or, like Gottschalk, a mélange of ecstasy, tropical knights, tuberoses and falling stars.
79But to come to Sieveking, to whom certainly we may be grateful for coming to us. He is a great, a wonderful pianist. Why? Because he has a fine technic. But not that alone, for in these days that is not sufficient to satisfy the demands made upon a pianist.
81To answer the question in one word, it is that he plays as though he were a pianist by virtue of all other knowledge and intelligence, not as though he were simply and solely a player of the instrument. Behind the piano virtuoso stands the man; the dignified, lofty character speaks through every interpretation.
83He has a sufficient tinge of melancholy to imbue all his work with that touching note of sympathy which is the world-wide concordant tone that alone rings out the truth. It was seen at a glance that Herr Sieveking has the courage of his convictions; that he is strongly individual, but without any mannerisms, having indeed a most perfect method of manipulation of the keyboard; that he has virile strength, tremendous concentration, a high bred reserve, broad intelligence to grasp the meaning of his composer, and a dignified repose in illustrating phrases in their most comprehensive sense.
85Besides this, he shows that deep tenderness that can only be felt by those who have the capacity for being, as a rule, stern and self-controlled. His playing is elegant to the last degree; his touches—for he has several kinds, to be used at will, as all great players should—are all beautiful, but especially so is the large, noble tone with which he sings out cantabile passages.
87The audience appreciated his most artistic playing, and after the lovely Tchaikowsky concerto recalled him many times. As encore he played an exceedingly poetic composition of his own entitled The Angelus, which was quite worthy of Grieg and somewhat in his style, with many rare harmonies.—Sun, November 16.
89Sieveking played on Monday night last at the residence of Mr. Wm. C. Whitney. On December 3 he plays with the Buffalo Symphony Society.
91A Pupil of Lankow.—Miss Marie Van Geldern, a pupil of Mme. Anna Lankow, of this city, has recently made a pronounced hit in opera at Berne, Switzerland. The local critics there are unanimous in their praise of her singing in the Merry Wives of Windsor, in Lortzing's Undine and in Die Freischütz, and she has a brilliant career in prospect.
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