Scan 31
Musical Courier 1898-05-18: Vol 36 Iss 950, 1898
108 lines. Read by computer on 26 September 2026. Printed page 32. See the scan on archive.org.
1(Continued from page 31.)
3FIFTH SEASON (1895-96).
4PIANO—Mme. F. Bloomfield-Zeisler, I. Paderewski, Miss R. Zeisler, Mrs. J. Hess-Burr.
5ORGAN—W. Middelschulte.
6VIOLIN—F. Ondricek, E. Sauret, M. Bendix, M. Marsick.
7'CELLO—B. Steindel.
8VOCALISTS—G. W. Fergusson, Miss M. Hall, Mme. A. Materna, Miss E. Gifford, Miss F. Thompson, G. Hamlin, C. W. Clark.
10SIXTH SEASON (1896-97).
11PIANO—H. Bruening, L. Godowsky, Mme. T. Carreño.
12ORGAN—C. Eddy, W. Middelschulte.
13VIOLIN—J. van Oordt, C. Halir, B. Huberman.
14'CELLO—B. Steindel, L. Stern.
15VOCALISTS—Mme. L. Nordica, Madame Januschowsky, Miss S. A. Harrington, D. Frangcon-Davies, Miss N. E. Harrington, E. H. Dermitt.
17SEVENTH SEASON (1897-98).
18PIANO—R. Pugno, A. Siloti, J. Hofmann (2), Miss L. Sanford.
19ORGAN—A. Guilmant.
20VIOLIN—E. Ysaye (2), L. Kramer, E. Bare, H. Marteau.
21'CELLO—Bruno Steindel, J. Gérardy.
22HARP—E. Schuecker.
23VOCALISTS—Signor Campanari, Mme. L. Nordica, Miss Helen Buckley, Miss N. Estelle Harrington, Mrs. Clark Wilson, Mrs. Ch. Nielson-Dreier, G. Hamlin (2), G. E. Holmes, Pol. Plancq, Mrs. J. S. Jacoby, Mrs. S. Swabacker, Mrs. M. Fish-Griffin, C. W. Clark (2), J. S. Baernstein.
25THE CHICAGO ORCHESTRA.
26SEVENTH SEASON, 1897-1898.
27TRUSTEES—George E. Adams, Allison V. Armour, D. H. Burnham, C. N. Fay, Chas. R. Corwith, Charles D. Hamill, Bryan Lathrop, Philo A. Otis, Wm. B. Walker.
28CONDUCTOR—Theodore Thomas.
29ASSISTANT CONDUCTOR—Arthur Mees.
30MANAGER—Miss Anna Millar, Auditorium Tower.
31OFFICERS—George E. Adams, president; Bryan Lathrop, vice-president; Philo A. Otis, secretary; F. J. Wessels, treasurer.
32FIRST VIOLINS—L. Kramer, principal; E. Bare, F. Esser, A. Krauss, L. Becker, L. Schoeniger, R. Seidel, O. Schmidt, H. Braun, J. Chapek, E. Kruschwitz, C. Troll, L. Nurnberger, G. Du Moulin, J. Novak.
33SECOND VIOLINS—B. Kuehn, principal; F. Hladky, C. Hillmann, F. Mittelstaedt, A. Busse, H. Rabe, A. Ulrich, J. Zettlemann, E. Wagner, J. Baumgartner, C. Rychlik, W. Woollett, W. Quinn, E. Schmidt, J. Ohlheiser.
34VIOLAS—F. Keller, principal; F. Stock, G. Meyer, C. Wunderle, Th. Katsch, F. Volk, R. Fitzek, Ch. Voelmlar, J. Fitzek, E. Andauer.
35VIOLONCELLOS—B. Steindel, principal; W. Unger, C. Brueckner, L. Amato, C. Klammsmeiner, P. Schoessling, A. Heinicke, E. Clusmann, M. Eickheim, J. Kalas.
36DOUBLE BASSES—J. Beckel, principal; L. Klemm, F. Dreibrodt, H. Parbs, R. Glass, O. Wolf, F. Otte, A. Kramer, L. Mayer.
37HARPS—E. Schuecker, Mrs. C. Wunderle.
38FLUTES—A. Quensel, C. Baumbach.
39PICCOLO—M. Ballmann.
40OBOES—F. Starke, F. Allner.
41ENGLISH HORN—O. Hesselbach.
42CLARINETS—J. Schreurs, A. Busse.
43BASS CLARINET—C. Meyer.
44BASSOONS—M. Bachmann, J. Schon.
45CONTRA BASSOON—L. Friedrich.
46HORNS—L. De Mare, C. Wieder, C. Pieper, A. Wacker.
47TRUMPETS—Ch. Rodenkirchen, F. Dietz, A. Ulrich.
48BASS TRUMPET—E. Andauer.
49TROMBONES—O. Gebhardt, W. Zeller, J. Nicolini.
50BASS TUBA—F. Otte.
51TIMPANI—W. Loewe.
52SIDE DRUM, TRIANGLE, TAMBOURINE, &c.—J. Zettlemann, E. Wagner.
53BASS DRUM—Th. Katsch.
54ORGANIST—W. Middelschulte.
55LIBRARIANS—Th. McNicol, J. Hansen.
57Lewis W. Armstrong's Musciale.
58A musciale by pupils of Mr. Armstrong is announced for May 23 at his studio, 57 East 129th street. Admission by invitation only.
60Grand Conservatory Concert.
61Miss Gertrude Frisch, pianist, class of '99, gave her second annual concert on Saturday evening, assisted by Miss Marie Gunschol, soprano; Miss Rosianna Schlenker, mezzo-soprano; Emo Bardeleben, baritone; Chas. Bietsch, violin, and Miss Beatrice Eberhard, accompanist. Miss Frisch, an earnest, intellectual looking young girl, has studied three years with Dr. Eberhard, and gave many evidences of her pronounced talent and industry. Especially was this the case in the "Concertstück" by von Weber, and the concerti by Grieg and Schumann.
63La Boheme.
64THAT mythical "coast of Bohemia," beloved of Shakespeare and dear to the readers of Henri Mürger, has been musically exploited by Giacomo Puccini and Ruggerio Leoncavallo. The work of the former was presented for the first time in this city Monday evening last, at Wallack's Theatre, by the Royal Italian Opera Company, from La Scala, Milan, via Mexico. The house was crowded and enthusiastic at the wrong time, and the cast was as follows:
66Mimi ……………………. Signorina Linda Montanari
67Musetta …………………… Signorina Cleopatra Vicini
68Rodolfo, poet ……………… Signor Giuseppe Agostini
69Marcello, painter …………… Signor Luigi Francesconi
70Schaunard, musician ………… Signor Vittorio Girardi
71Colline …………………….. Signor Giovanni Scolari
72Benoit ……………………. Signor Antonio Fumagalli
73Alcicero …………………… Signor Algernon Asplandi
74Parpignol ………………….. Signor Algernon Asplandi
75Students, Merchants, Modistes, Singers, &c.
76Director, Signor J. Bielletto.
78The opera was given a first hearing at the Teatro Real, Turin, Italy, February, 1896. It has since proved a success, although not an overwhelming one. The book is by Giuseppe Giacoma and Luigi Illica—the latter a well-known librettist—and is of course founded on Mürger's famous novel.
80The librettists have utilized their material with considerable skill, keeping realism and sentimentalism in agreeable balance. To us of 1898 these roystering, artistic blackguards of 1830 seem very unreal, and, while Mimi Pinson was an indubitable forerunner to Marguerite Gautier—"La Dame aux Camélias"—the latter has the éclat of a Dumas play and several generations of actresses to interpret her. The story of Rodolfo, the poet; Marcello, the painter; Schaunard, the musician, and Colline, the philosopher, is a simple one. They lived in an attic; they were perennially impious and perennially joyous. They also loved, but as a rule were thirsty.
82The first act opens in a garret and in a garret the last act ends. The second act is a picture of rollicking times in the street before the Café Momus. Act III. also takes place in the open air. There is not much character development and the action is sluggish, but several brisk interludes and much bustle supplies fairly well the need of a well-told tale. The bohemians are cold, hard-up in their attic, and Act I. is almost expended in setting forth their almost unreal woes. Rodolfo, the poet, is left alone, and Mimi, the flower-girl, enters the apartment in search of a light. There is a pretty and impossible love episode and a curtain.
84Act II. gives us a capital bit at the café. The act resolves itself into a concerted finale, in which the expressive pantomime of Musetta—Cleopatra Vicini—called for a repeat. The act is without dramatic interest, although voluble, even chattering. Act III., the love interest is revived, and after a picturesque introduction with some characteristic choruses, Rodolfo and Mimi enjoy a duo of almost tragic intensity, interrupted only by the comedy of Musetta and Marcello. The composer at this juncture proved his skill in contrasting the two pairs of young people. Mimi, with her cough, her Mascagni-like utterances, seemed an odd blending of Camille and Santuzza. In the last scene she is entirely Violetta, dying of consumption, and even asking if she is as pretty as ever. Incidentally she has led a hard life. The bohemians cluster sympathetically about her, and Rodolfo is heart broken. Colline, the philosopher, with the bass voice, pawns his beloved coat, and, in a song of singular cleverness, bids it farewell. But the sacrifice comes too late. Mimi is dead, and the curtain falls on misery, pathetic and acute.
86Naturally these big hulking fellows could have worked and kept the girls from the street, but that would have spoiled the story, so we must accept Mürger and his swaggering raffish crew with its wild dreams and debauches. Later we got the same lot fixed up with moral British trimmings by Du Maurier in "Trilby," but the old charm was lacking.
88Puccini is the fifth of his name to be engaged in the occupation of music making. He is forty years old, was born at Lucca and educated at the Milan Conservatory. This is his fourth opera, the other three being "Le Villi," "Edgar" and "Manon Lescaut." The latter named was produced several years by Gustav Hinrichs in Philadelphia.
90Musically Puccini is intensely modern. He sacrifices all for the word and follows the curve of the book to an al-most dangerous extent, sacrificing euphony and form for the dramatic situation. In this he reminds one of Gior-dano, the composer of "Andre Chenier," which we heard here in the fall of 1896. Very free then is Puccini's orchestral commentary, and while he is not the victim of the leading motive he does not altogether discard it. The Bohemians, for instance, have a well defined theme, a harmonic progression which, as first announced, symbolizes their fantastic, free natures. It is not without a touch of the humorous; indeed, humor is a quality that Puccini possesses in more abundance than any of his native contemporaries. His comedy scenes are invariably strong and mercurial. The buffo element is excellent and nothing could be more fetching than the episode at the close of act two—Musetta and her tight shoe—while the quarrel scene in the next act and the mock duello in the last are all witnesses to the composer's ductile feeling for comedy. Verdi has been patterned after, but is he not the best of models in this respect?
92In Puccini's tragic music the note is not so sincere, so well sustained. He has at his finger ends every resource of counterpoint, is master of a grateful scheme of harmonization and knows the orchestra perfectly. If he, with all these technical resources, commanded a flow of original melody he might be ruler instead of so often crooking the hinges of his knee to Mascagni, Gounod, Wagner, Meyerbeer, Leoncavallo, Ponchielli and Verdi. He has no thematic invention, more's the pity, for his talent is a graceful, plastic and dramatic one. He says the right thing always, but his voice is not always his own. Thus the duo in act three was Mascagni; thus the finale to act two was Mascagni. Yet there is color, movement, rhythmical variety, and he manages his dialogue, his parlando, with uncommon skill.
94The death scene was impressive because of its simplicity. The best tune of the work strangely enough is given to Colline and his farewell to his old coat. There is no orchestral prelude and the score does not tarry a moment. Altogether, with its variety, swiftness, its humor, its pathos—a pathos not profound—"Le Bohème" is a work that adds greatly to the reputation of its composer. A second "Cavalleria Rusticana" it is not, but it is more alert, gracious, and above all written by a more accomplished musician than Mascagni.
96The performance was marred by one of the worst orchestras New York has ever listened to. Partly Italian, partly Italian, and wholly bad, it hopelessly distorted the music at every point. The work of the principals went with a vim. The men's voices are excellent, especially the baritone Francesconi and the bass Scolari. The tenor is of the conventional lyric type. Vicini is a capital actress, and Montanari sang with some intensity. The acting throughout was on a high plane. This evening "Ballo in Maschera," Thursday evening "La Favorita," Friday evening and Saturday matinee "I Pagliacci," and "Cavalleria Rusticana," and Saturday night "La Bohème."
98Helen Bertram's Return.
99Miss Helen Bertram is about to return to the United States; she will take a short vacation at Lake Placid, in the Adirondacks, and then come to New York to study her new repertory with her teacher, Madame Pappenheim. The Bostonians have had a good many prima donnas, but there was none that was so universally liked as Miss Bertram, and that is the reason why she is the first and only one who ever left the organization and who was asked to again enter it at an increased salary.
101Keim-Horneck, a Pappenheim Pupil.
102We are pleased to report that Mme. Henrietta Keim-Horneck, who was prevented by illness from appearing at Madame Pappenheim's concert, is now fully restored to health. Mrs. Horneck was rather unfortunate this winter as she had to refuse several good church positions on account of throat trouble. Mrs. Horneck is a pianist of reputation; she was a pupil of the late Dr. Damrosch, with whom she also studied counterpoint and composition.
103We hope that we shall have the pleasure to hear Mrs. Keim-Horneck in public next winter, as, according to her teacher, Madame Pappenheim, she is the possessor of a very fine contralto voice which she uses with a great deal of expression and style.
105SARA ANDERSON,
106SOPRANO.
107358 East 50th Street, New York.
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