Scan 12
Musical Courier 1898-01-05: Vol 36 Iss 931, 1898
52 lines. Read by computer on 21 September 2026. Printed page 13. See the scan on archive.org.
1pretty, and her charming stage demeanor was also in part responsible for the two encores she was forced to give. Miss Boye is an alto of promise. She needs more strict training, however.
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5Conservatory pupils' concerts are not always a pleasure to listen to, although it is frequently very interesting to watch "the young plants shoot." I must say that I was really pleased with the performance of Beethoven's First Symphony on the part of the orchestral class of the Klindworth-Scharwenka Conservatory at a benefit concert that was given by that institution at the hall of the Society of Friends. Herr Concertmeister Max Gruenberg has trained this youthful orchestra, in the string department of which the female element plays an important part, in a most thorough manner and they play with precision, as well as a promising attention to details of phrasing and general delivery.
7The only individual performance I could stay to listen to was that of Miss Eva Lessmann, the pretty young daughter of my confrère Otto Lessmann. She is a very talented and musical young lady, with a nicely developed finger technic and a good, soft touch, which, however, is still somewhat lacking in power. She played the Weber Concertstück, and that she was able to pull through without a real disaster with such accompaniment as Professor Klindworth was able to afford her, shows that the young lady is just as plucky as she is musical and possessed of rhythmic feeling.
9The program further consisted of the following selections:
11Der Wanderer……………………………Schubert
12Three Christmas songs……………………Cornelius
13Miss Elisabeth Arnold, pupil of Dr. Goldschmidt.
14Sonata, op. 5 (first and second movements)……Brahms
15Miss Marguerite Melville, pupil of Dr. Jedliczka.
16Sonata, op. 13, first movement, for piano and violin……………………………Gabriel Fauré
17Karl Kessler, pupil of Mayer-Mahr; Franz Jerabek, pupil of Florian Zajic.
18Polonaise in E flat………………………..Chopin
19Miss Margarethe Freund, pupil of W. Leipholz.
20Scenes from The Crusaders………………..N. W. Gade
21Miss Else Pochu and Herr Boderke, pupils of Dr. Goldschmidt, and the chorus of the Conservatory.
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25On the same evening I heard some new piano compositions performed by Wilhelm Kurz at his second recital at the Bechstein Saal. About this young Prague pianist Leonard Liebling writes at length, and so I only give in short my impressions of the new pieces, among which the two most important seemed to me two serenades in A flat minor and D flat major, by Vitezslav Novak. They are rather dreamy and very interesting in harmonization. An antique flavor has Nedbal's (viola player of the Bohemian Quartet) little suite "Aus Vergangener Zeit," and two little pieces by Josef Suk, second violin of the Bohemians, pleased me by means of their National flavor. While all these works bore the decided stamp of Czech origin, Felix Blumenfeld's variations characteristic were in invention of the theme as well as in treatment, and especially in rhythmic and harmonic devices, quite Russian. I could not get up any enthusiasm for them nevertheless.
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29A concert interesting to Americans was the one which Ritter-Brown, of New York, gave at the Singakademie with the Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra, and with the soloistic co-operation of Miss Edith Walker, formerly of New York, now of the Vienna Imperial Opera.
31If Mr. Ritter-Brown intended to show his ability as a conductor he made a great mistake, for he succeeded in demonstrating the very opposite thing, viz., that he is no conductor at all. The forces of the Philharmonic Orchestra performed the two Bizet "Arlésienne" suites, the Wagner "Waldweben," from "Siegfried," four Schumann piano pieces in canon form, orchestrated by Théodore Dubois, and three dances from Edward German's "Henry VIII," a peculiar program, by the way. They managed to play these things without an apparent breakdown, despite the fact that Mr. Ritter-Brown waved a baton before their eyes.
33This shows that the Philharmonikers have routine and can hold together, if needs be, even without an orchestral conductor. Mr. Ritter-Brown, however, is a mere tyro, and he does not seem possessed of any of those qualities (least of all, with the command over his forces) which would go toward making him a conductor in the future. Better give it up entirely, while it is not yet too late, Mr. Ritter-Brown.
35The orchestra refused to play the accompaniment to the Revenge aria from Massenet's opera "Herodias," which was Miss Walker's first solo, and Mr. Breuer, from the first violin, had to take up the baton.
37Miss Walker sang admirably, with great sweep, intensity and passion. Her voice is a big luscious alto, of great compass, and especially good in the upper register. She also gave three Lieder (Brahms' "Waldesinsamkeit," Franz's "Das Meer hat seine Perlen," and Schubert's overwhelming "Die Allmacht"), and of course was most enthusiastically encored. She followed up her success with Sullivan's "The Lost Chord," which, however, fell flat with the partially German audience. Leonard Liebling played the piano accompaniments to the songs.
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41Last night the Royal Orchestra gave its fourth symphony evening, and of course likewise with a Beethoven program. This embraced the overture and the well-known Turkish March from the "Ruins of Athens," which, under Dr. Muck's concise and yet inspired, as well as inspiring direction, were performed so tellingly that the march was most enthusiastically redeemed.
43Then followed the G major piano concerto, in a performance by Edouard Risler, the Alsatian pianist, which was just as smooth and finished as to technic as it was highly individual and interesting as to reading. When Risler interpreted at the Philharmonic the Beethoven E flat concerto, and scored a semi-failure with it, I foretold that he would make a hit with the G major concerto, which is the most polished and virtuoso-like of Beethoven's concertos, and consequently is more in Risler's vein. "Es liegt ihm besser," as the Germans say, and I was justified in my supposition therefore. The cadenzas which Mr. Risler performed, although not quite Beethovenish in style or spirit, are superb, and I think they are Eugen d'Albert's, worked over by Risler.
45The third "Leonore" overture was played under Dr. Muck's baton just as rousingly, if not more so, than it had ever been given under Weingartner's, and also in the reading and general interpretation of the B flat symphony it was demonstrated that these concerts of the Royal Orchestra can and will be given just as successfully in every way under Dr. Muck's as they had before been given under Weingartner's direction.
47At the next concert we shall have the Berlioz "Corsair" overture, Raff's symphony, "Im Walde," and Beethoven's Fifth Symphony.
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51As successor to Kapellmeister Langert in the Coburg court conductorship, Karl Pohlig has been selected. Poh-
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