Scan 4
Musical Courier 1898-05-18: Vol 36 Iss 950, 1898
77 lines. Read by computer on 25 September 2026, twice; the two readings disagreed in places. Printed page 5. See the scan on archive.org.
1(no line here) one of two readings
2BRITISH OFFICES OF THE MUSICAL COURIER, one of two readings
321 Princes Street, Cavendish Square, one of two readings
4LONDON, W., April 29, 1898. one of two readings
6GEORG LIEBLING is to play at the German Atheneum on Saturday, and he will be assisted by Miss Regina de Sales, who will sing selections by Brahms, Henschel and Georg Liebling.
8M. Georges Jacobi is to have a benefit performance at the Alhambra on the occasion of his retirement.
10Arthur Friedheim will give two piano recitals on May 2 and 11 at St. James' Hall. The first program will contain Beethoven's sonata, op. 57 (Appassionata), Chopin's twenty-four preludes, op. 28, and a fantaisie and fugue, ballade in B minor and nocturne, by Liszt.
12The Hallé Manchester concerts have, during the past season, been sufficiently successful to warrant the continuance of the enterprise, and we may hope that they will become a permanent institution.
14The concert next Saturday afternoon in Queen's Hall for the benefit of Mr. Newman will be the 106th performance of his orchestra during the present season. The promenade concerts have been forty-three in number: the Sunday afternoon, thirty-two; the Saturday symphony, seventeen, under the direction of Henry J. Wood. M. Lamoureux has conducted the nine concerts bearing his name (the orchestra being always that of the Queen's Hall), and four choral concerts have been given. This is an excellent record, especially when we consider the good reputation which Mr. Newman's orchestra has already attained.
16A costume concert of West Country folksongs will be given by Frank Pemberton's concert party in the small Queen's Hall on Monday afternoon, May 2. The program will be selected from S. Baring-Gould's and H. Fleetwood-Sheppard's well-known collection entitled "Songs of the West," and will include such popular dialect songs as "Widdecombe Fair," "Jan's Courtship," "The Cottage Well Thatched With Straw," &c., as well as quartets, duets, and other ditties equally popular and more valuable from a musical point of view. The fact that songs, acted as well as sung, are to be given with all the attractive effects of appropriate costume adds additional interest to the concert.
18Massenet's "Herodiade" was performed for the hundredth time on April 16 at the Theatre de la Monnaie, Brussels, the composer being present. This work, because it is based on biblical subjects, cannot be represented in London.
20Madame Moriani, of Brussels, is in London at the First Avenue Hotel, to receive pupils and give advice on vocal culture.
22The operatic rehearsals at Covent Garden are under the management of Signor Mancinelli, M. Baudu and Herr Pohlig, of Bayreuth.
24Miss Marie Brema continues to appear with great success in opera abroad, particularly in "Die Walküre," at Mayence, and in "Samson et Dalila," at Liège.
26G. C. Ashton Johnson will deliver a course of four lectures on "Der Ring des Nibelungen" in Queen's (small) Hall with the assistance of Edwin H. Lemare. The dates will be as follows: May 5, "Das Rheingold"; May 12, "Die Walküre;" May 19, "Siegfried," and May 26, "Götterdämmerung."
28I understand that Dr. Richter has his eye on America as a sphere in which he may extend his great reputation as conductor after his term of service at Vienna has extended to the number of years entitling him and his family to a pension for life. I may have something interesting to say upon this a little later on.
30I understand that Ivan Caryl is the latest man asked to compose an opera for the Savoy; but the probabilities are that the soon-to-be-produced Sullivan and Pinero work will make it problematical when the new commissioned opera will be required.
32The rehearsals commence at Covent Garden next week in earnest, and as the syndicate have acquired the entire services of the orchestra for Covent Garden, they hope to push the rehearsals without any interruptions, and should be in fighting trim for the opening of the season on the 9th prox.
34A concert devoted exclusively to British music was given at Bologna last Sunday. It was conducted by Signor Martucci. Among the items performed were Sullivan's "Tempest" music, Dr. Stanford's "Irish" symphony, Dr. Hubert Parry's "Symphonic Variations," the intermezzo from Dr. A. C. Mackenzie's "Rose of Sharon" and Mr. Cowen's "In Fairyland."
36Jean Gérardy is engaged to accompany Madame Patti on her provincial tour in the autumn.
38I understand that Denis O'Sullivan has accepted an operatic engagement in America for next autumn.
40There seems to be some promise in the Mapleson opera scheme after all, and it is reported that Leoncavallo has promised to come to London to conduct "La Bohème" at the Olympic.
42CONCERTS.
44The Mottl concert of last Tuesday evening consisted of a program that should please the classical, romantic and popular tastes, for it comprised the "Jupiter" Symphony, overture to the "Flying Dutchman," Rubinstein's "Feramor" ballet, the "Siegfried Idyll," the "Kaisermarsch" and a Beethoven overture. If Cramer had the right to christen Mozart's symphony the "Jupiter," others may justify themselves for continuing the descriptive analysis. To ears accustomed to modern orchestral sonority there seems little of the heroic in this sunny, melodious score. Yet, when it was written, the public of that day might have found in the first movement a representation of the Corybantes drowning the cries of the infant god with the sound of cymbals and drums. The second movement might portray his childhood in the secluded cave on Mount Ida; the third, the beginning of his happy reign, while the finale, with its energetic fugal complexities, might stand for the rebellion of the giants whom Jupiter finally subdued. The only thing classical about the Rubinstein ballet is its name, meaning "cruel death." In the way of harmony and melody it is no better than the average Alhambra or Empire ballet, while it is inferior to these in rhythmical energy. The playing of the orchestra and the interpretation of the various numbers on the part of the conductor were uniformly good throughout the evening. Miss Ella Russell sang Beethoven's enormously difficult "Abscheuflicher," from "Fidelio," with success, though at times nervous. She was not so successful in Senta's ballad later in the evening. Miss Rosa Green gave a very satisfactory account of the few measures set down for her. Her telling voice was heard distinctly above the orchestral accompaniment. Among the audience I noticed Friedheim, the pianist and conductor, and the Norwegian composer, Harvolsden, and Henry J. Wood attentively following Herr Mottl.
46After nine years' absence from England, Arthur Friedheim once more appeared at St. James' Hall on Saturday last, and with conspicuous success. The program of this, the first of his three recitals, was marked by unconventionality in selection as well as in interpretation. It opened with Balakireff's Oriental Fantaisie, "Islamey," which, though celebrated in Russia, is comparatively little known here. It is surely one of the most difficult pieces in piano literature. A Chopin group, including the study in A flat, was charmingly interpreted, but it was in the music of Liszt that Mr. Friedheim was altogether at his best. For eight years he studied under Liszt, and was known as one of the master's favorite pupils. His great strength, enormous command of technic and admirable delicacy of execution were displayed to peculiar advantage in the great B minor Sonata, the Tenth Hungarian Rhapsody, and the sketch "Au Lac de Wallenstadt." To an entire sympathy to his master's music Mr. Friedheim unites a refreshing freedom from all those extravagances affected by so many pianists, and which Liszt himself frequently deprecated. The overture to "Tannhäuser" was so finely interpreted that it almost overcame the prejudice against piano transcriptions, which, from an artistic standpoint, are sheer waste of effort. It elicited four recalls, after which another Liszt rhapsody was added to the already fatiguing program.
48Herr Theodore Werner's first historical violin recital at Steinway Hall on the 22d included the compositions of Corelli, Bach, Spohr, Wieniawski, Joachim and Saint-Saëns. Herr Werner's is now well known to London music lovers, and wants but little comment. He commands a marvelous technic, and his tone is always pure and beautiful. It was therefore the more surprising to find him wanting in almost all these qualities in Wieniawski's Fantaisie on Gounod's "Faust." The third string of his violin seemed imbued with a spirit of mischief, which may have been the primary cause of it all. Corelli was interpreted with all the charm of perfect execution; Bach's now so familiar "Chaconne," that touchstone of classical violin playing, was, however, not given with all the breadth and grandeur with which it can be executed. The selections of Spohr showed Herr Werner's exquisite quality of tone at its best. Mlle. Cortesi sang extremely well, and gave Mr. Hillier's "Berceuse," in English, as an encore. Ernest Walker's accompaniment is remarkably pleasing.
50A vocal recital of unusual interest was given on Monday afternoon at Queen's (small) Hall by Mme. Clara Poole-King. Her work in itself is always attractive, but she had gathered to her assistance such artists as Miss Evangeline Florence, Mme. Clara Mansfield, Plunket Greene, Miss Clara Asher and Louis Pecskai in a program of much artistic excellence. Mme. Poole-King's selections were given in Italian, French, German and English, bringing out in a marked degree her versatility of style and delivery. The audience was charmed by her naive reading of "Wiengenlied" (Harthen), and the "Come Raggio di Sol" was given with excellent breadth and power. She was equally fortunate in her singing of the lighter numbers, and was the recipient of several hearty recalls. Mme. Poole-King should be heard more frequently in our concert halls. Miss Florence gave "L'Amero," by Mozart, in her own inimitable style, with violin obligato by Mr. Pecskai, and was heard with pleasure in a duet with the concert giver. Plunket Greene gave an interesting group of songs, including Maude V. White's "Stand by Your Horses." Mme. Mansfield's clear soprano voice was heard to advantage in Gluck's "Spieggi Amati" and "A Message to Phillis," by Florence Gilbert. Mr. Pecskai contributed some violin solos, his delivery of Bach's aria showing particularly his purity of tone and breadth of style. Miss Clara Asher played a "Spinning Song," by Clarence Lucas and a selection by Liszt. Frederick Peachey was a sympathetic accompanist.
52Miss Elizabeth Patterson, a young American from Cincinnati, was associated with Miss Maude Rihll, a pianist, in giving a recital at Queen's (small) Hall on Wednesday evening. Her voice is limited in range, and she was apparently nervous, but her intonation was pure, her sostenuto excellent, and in the impassioned passages there was evidence of reserved power. Her diction was faulty, particularly in English, in marked contrast to her delivery of an old Italian air by Lotti, which she sang with much clearer articulation.
54The Musical Artists' Society gave its eighty-third concert at St. Martin's Town Hall, Monday evening, the special feature being a Quintet by Sir George Macfarren for piano, violin, viola, 'cello and double bass, and Mozart's beautiful quartet for strings in B flat.
56F. V. ATWATER.
58Brooklyn Heights Seminary Club.
60The annual reunion of the Brooklyn Heights Seminary Club took place at the Farm House, Prospect Park, on May 9. Mrs. H. R. Steel, Grant Odell, Miss Bertha Clark, Miss Mary Byrne and Victor Harris, accompanist, took part in the program.
62Broad Street Conservatory.
64On Wednesday evening, May 11, in the Concert Hall of the Broad Street Conservatory of Music, at No. 1331 South Broad street, Philadelphia, an interesting musical event was a recital given by a number of the advanced pupils. While the whole program was worthy of favorable comment, probably the most artistic presentation was that of the Beethoven Sonata, op. 27, by Miss Julia T. Wilson, who displayed excellent taste in her interpretation.
66The entire recital reflected credit upon Gilbert Raynolds Combs and his able faculty. Those who participated were Misses Ella O. Maning, Gertrude Slemmer, Clara Pfander, Maud Stout, Josephine Kosek, Mabel Clement, Carrie Rash, Mary Curley, Gertrude Humphrey, Leon Arkless, William Standring.
68Howard F. Peirce.
70Howard F. Peirce, who has been en tour in Canada with Camilla Urso, received the following notices from the musical critics of Montreal and Quebec:
72Howard F. Peirce, the pianist, contributed nearly as much to the musical success of the concert as did Madame Urso. He is quite the equal of any pianist who has appeared in Montreal this year, and far superior to the majority in the delicacy of his interpretation, which, without verging on sentimentalism, brought out in its completeness last night the full beauty of the two Chopin numbers. A Liszt polonaise was rendered with unusual fire and brilliancy, and both the encores Mr. Peirce received were well deserved.—Montreal Gazette.
74The ripple of applause that greeted Howard F. Peirce as he appeared to play the opening selection swelled to a wave when he had concluded. * * * Mr. Peirce is a pianist of great ability, being easily one of the best ever heard in the city.—Montreal Star.
76The pianist, Howard F. Peirce, a handsome and elegant performer, secured his share of the success achieved by the great virtuoso with whom he is connected. His playing is replete with grace, and his delicate shading, fine touch and the lovely tone he brings out of the Gerhard Heintzman grand selected for the occasion won him the heart of every listener. Mr. Peirce is one of the few pianists who are sure to captivate their audience.—Quebec Chronicle.
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