Scan 33
Musical Courier 1898-06-01: Vol 36 Iss 952, 1898
93 lines. Read by computer on 23 September 2026, twice; the two readings disagreed in places. Printed page 34. See the scan on archive.org.
1ing of the different local singing societies was very good, and by far better than ever before, each and every society doing its very best to show the improvement they had made since the last Saengerfest, which was held at San Antonio. The result accomplished must have given them great satisfaction. The San Antonio societies especially made a brilliant showing, a great deal of which is due to their excellent training; their execution of "Frederich Barbarossa," with orchestral accompaniment under the leadership of Carl Beck, was magnificent, and will long be remembered by all who had the good fortune to listen to the same. Podbertsky's martial composition was one of the crowning events of the fest; it was repeated the second night by special request. The San Antonio gentlemen showed splendid training, and their attack was accurate; Mr. Beck had perfect control, not alone of the men, but also of the orchestra, which under his experienced baton played brilliantly—in fact, many of the audience who applauded thought it was a special orchestra, brought down for the purpose by the San Antonio singers.
3Speaking of the orchestra brings me to a different subject, and that is to its leadership. Mr. Bauer may be a first-class pianist and an excellent teacher, but as a leader he was a drawback to the fest; he showed lack of experience in conducting and should not have undertaken the task unless he felt confident that he had the ability to bring it to a successful result. I admit that I myself voted for him for the position, but I did so upon assurance I received of his ability; but if the good Lord will forgive me this time I promise never to do so again. A great deal of the blame was laid upon the musicians by certain parties, claiming that they and not the leader were incompetent; but how could the orchestra have made such a delightful showing under Mr. Lindenbergs and then again under Mr. Beck's leadership and be a complete failure under Mr. Bauer's? The result speaks for itself, and I believe in giving credit to those who deserve it and place the blame where it belongs. As a matter of fact, Miss Grenelli declined to sing with "orchestral accompaniment" after the first evening. one of two readings
4Speaking of the orchestra brings me to a different subject, and that is to its leadership. Mr. Bauer may be a first-class pianist and an excellent teacher, but as a leader he was a drawback to the fest; he showed lack of experience in conducting and should not have undertaken the task unless he felt confident that he had the ability to bring it to a successful result. I admit that I myself voted for him for the position, but I did so upon assurance I received of his ability; but if the good Lord will forgive me this time I promise never to do so again. A great deal of the blame was laid upon the musicians by certain parties, claiming that they and not the leader were incompetent; but how could the orchestra have made such a delightful showing under Mr. Lindenberg's and then again under Mr. Beck's leadership and be a complete failure under Mr. Bauer's? The result speaks for itself, and I believe in giving credit to those who deserve it and place the blame where it belongs. As a matter of fact, Miss Grenelli declined to sing with "orchestral accompaniment" after the first evening. one of two readings
6The selections by the Quartet Society received a rousing reception, a reception which they fully deserved on account of this body's splendid work. Special credit is also due to the said organization for the interest they have taken from the beginning to make the Saengerfest a success, three of their members being on the executive committee, and their leader, Mr. Savage, being a member of the music committee. The good work done by the Quartet Society at all the Saengerfests, beginning with the eighteenth, has borne excellent fruit, as it has stimulated the German organizations to better work and accounts for the decided and continued improved showing of all the participating organizations.
8The Quartet Society's work as a whole cannot be compared with the performance of "Jung Werner" by the Beethoven Maennerchor, as the latter's selection was by far the most difficult. The encore number of the Beethoven Maennerchor, Mohring's charming composition, "Liebchen Wach Auf," was a delightful piece of work—in fact, faultless and hence superior to "Jung Werner." The shading was superb.
10Another very taking mass chorus number was "Dein Gendenk Ich Margaretha," by Meyer Helmund, which also was repeated by special request.
12Respecting the soloists Mrs. Fischer-Baxter, of Austin, Tex., did not come up to the expectations, which is to be regretted, and especially on account of her good work at the 1894 Houston Saengerfest.
14Mrs. Alonzo Millett sang the "Jewel Song" from "Faust" the first night and on the second night an aria from "Herodiade," by Massenet.
16Mrs. Bessie Bell Andrews, a well-known and popular San Antonio singer, proved to be quite an attraction. Her songs were interesting and pleased the audience very much. The applause was well merited. Mrs. Andrews sings with a great deal of taste and finish.
18Now to the prima donna, Miss Inez Grenelli, of New York: The audience was charmed and delighted with Miss Grenelli's singing, and to say that she made an excellent impression is inadequate. Miss Grenelli changed her selections somewhat, singing the "Freischutz" aria the opening night and "Elsa's Dream" the following night. For the matinee she gave a "Cradle Song" by Grieg, an interesting little selection by Mascagni, "He Loves Me, He Loves Me Not," and a song by Kretzmann. There was quite a little delay the first evening in Miss Grenelli's appearance, the leader having misplaced the orchestral score, which placed Miss Grenelli in quite an embarrassing position. Miss Grenelli's exquisite singing of the "Freischutz" recitative and aria was a grand piece of work, which captivated her audience, notwithstanding the setbacks she at times received from the tempi of the orchestra. It was on this account that she decided to sing without orchestral accompaniment at the balance of the concerts. Miss Grenelli's voice is a splendidly cultivated, pure, sweet and sympathetic soprano; her temperament is artistic, her enunciation of both the English and German clear and perfect. The intelligent conception of her various selections showed her to be an artist of decided merit—a true artist. It was indeed a pleasure and treat to listen to her. She also deemed it best not to risk the "Norma" aria with orchestral accompaniment at the matinee and substituted the three above named selections for the same. For an encore she sang Brahms' "Lullaby" the first night and "The Fox and the Grapes" the second night.
20A. J. F. Parker scored a genuine success with his masterly delivery of Rossini's "Lo! the Factotum!" He did some good work and received quite an ovation; his voice is rich, strong and pleasing, and in response to a recall he gave "The Yeoman's Wedding Song."
22The closing number of the Saengerfest was the selection by the Concordia, under the leadership of Carl Weis. As that organization is not even two years old, they made a highly creditable showing; their attack was good, as was also their shading; in fact, their artistic interpretation of Spicker's composition took everybody by surprise. There is no doubt in my mind that it is simply a question of time when the Galveston Concordia will make it quite interesting to the other organizations at future Saengerfests.
24The next Saengerfest will take place at Austin in April, 1900, and from present indications William Besserer will have charge of the same.
26JACOB SINGER.
28Boston Music Notes.
30BOSTON, Mass., May 28, 1898.
32THE choir as now arranged at the Eliot Church, Newton, under the direction of Everett E. Truette, organist, is Miss Elizabeth K. Pelton, soprano; Miss Adah C. Hussey, contralto; George J. Parker, tenor; Perry Fenton Hunt, bass, with a chorus of thirty-five. On Sunday evening, June 5, Stainer's "Jairus" will be given, the chorus of First Parish, Watertown, of which chorus Mr. Truette is also director, uniting with the Eliot Church choir.
34Miss Hattie Goddard sang at Waltham on Thursday evening for the Musical Club in the garden act of "Faust," and completely captivated her audience, being highly complimented for her acting as well as singing.
36At the annual meeting of the society controlling the Oliver Ditson fund for aiding needy musicians these officers were elected: President, B. J. Lang; secretary, C. F. Smith; treasurer, C. H. Ditson; trustees, B. J. Lang, A. P. Brown and Arthur Foote. Applications for aid may be made to any of these officers.
38The nucleus of this fund is a sum of $25,000 left by the late Oliver Ditson for the purpose of aiding musicians and their families in distress. The society has already relieved many cases of real want, and done much substantial work in its chosen field.
40The Virgil Clavier School of Boston gave the first of its four closing piano recitals of the season on May 23. The attendance was as usual very large, larger even than at C. A. Ridgway's recital, on April 27, who so charmed his audience with the wonderful progress he has made lately. His musical nature is gaining fast in expression, and he is much in demand, having only given, among other musicales, a recital on April 20 to the Lasell Instrumental Club at the Lasell Seminary with great success. It was astonishing to see at this last recital the decided improvement in the playing of pupils who only recently were far from the point they have now attained. Among others it is felt that Miss Gilmore and Master Elwin Shaw are pupils who have a future before them, for their artistic tone and musical expression show already a strength and power which will with persistent work lead them to success. H. S. Wilder must be congratulated for the rapid advance of his pupils, who not only give proof of his ability, but also of his thorough individualization of them as a teacher. The next recitals are looked forward to with much pleasure. They take place June 6, 13 and 20.
42Madame de Berg Lofgren, who represents the Viardot-Garcia method in this city, gave her annual pupils' recital at Union Hall recently.
44In reviewing this concert a local paper says:
46The solo which Madame Lofgren contributed must be mentioned, it called forth such a furore of applause. The work of her pupils gave proof of Madame Lofgren's thoroughness as a musician, the singing of Miss Ellen Cornell being the most brilliant. Her tones are firm, clear and well placed, and she has the composure and confidence of an experienced singer. Miss Mabel Hinckley and Miss Mattie Horne, contraltos, also deserve praise. Miss Horne's voice has a resonant quality which makes it particularly pleasing, and Miss Hinckley's is delightfully wholesome and flexible, and she sings with a refreshing lack of affectation or straining for effect. The duet, "The Belle of Saratoga," sung by Miss Grace Adams and Henry Lawton, was another delight.
48Miss Theresa Redmond opened the program with Ardit's "Se Saran Rose," and later gave "Convien Partir," by Donizetti, in a manner deserving of praise. August Rumin has a good voice, and Miss Blanche Gouley is another pupil whose work gives promise of future excellence.
50Other soloists were Seth Palmgren, Miss Annie Mork and Miss Rose Cohn. There were trios by Misses Stanton, Lane and Lynch, and by Misses Gouley, Cohn and Hinckley, and the program closed with "Il Guarany." Carlos Gomez, by Miss Cornell, Messrs. Lofgren and Rumin and a chorus of twenty-five pupils.
52The annual meeting of the Handel and Haydn Society, held Monday evening, May 23, at Bumstead Hall, developed no opposition of any consequence, and most of the members of the old board of government who were eligible for re-election were successful:
54The officers elected are: E. P. Boynton, president; S. R. Dow, secretary; F. E. Long, vice-president; G. M. Brooks, treasurer; J. A. Leonard, librarian; F. E. Chapman, L. B. Guyer, F. E. Keay, W. C. Martin, James McCormick, C. A. Ricker, H. E. Cousins and F. M. Leavitt, directors.
56A letter was read from former Vice-President Hagan announcing that he should accept no office, and requesting that his name should not be presented.
58I. W. Risdon wrote withdrawing his name from re-nomination as treasurer, and C. R. Adams withdrew from his nomination as director. A single ballot sufficed to elect for each office save that of treasurer, for which there was a triangular contest. Mr. Brooks, who had the largest number of votes on the first ballot, won on the second.
60Vice-President Boynton's address called attention to the fact that the society is somewhat better off financially than it was a year ago.
62The society now numbers a few more members than a year ago. Mr. Boynton recommended that the society give during the coming season five concerts, all of tried, popular oratorios, and refrain from any concert simply for art's sake, which would prove a loss financially. He also recommended the continuance of the "social evening" feature.
64The report of the treasurer showed cash on hand at beginning of year, $177.57; income of permanent fund, $1,409.28; direct receipts from concerts, $10,061.35; other receipts, $217.46. The disbursements were: For running expenses of the society, $3,381.95; direct cost of concerts, $8,236.77; balance on hand, $240.94.
66RECITAL BY PUPILS OF MRS. L. P. MORRILL.
68Mrs. Morrill presented a number of her pupils to her friends and the public on Thursday evening at Pierce Hall in an interesting and well arranged program, which was carried through in a splendid manner. There were a large number of well-known musicians present, all of whom complimented Mrs. Morrill so enthusiastically that a less balanced and dignified woman might well have given way to vanity and pride.
70Mrs. Morrill does not need to talk about herself; her pupils speak for her and her work by wonderfully fine singing. They were all self-contained, unaffected, and there was not a trace of nervousness. Someone remarked that Mrs. Morrill had imparted her own dignity and responsible presence to her pupils, for they never faltered through the whole program.
72Miss Edith Rice Cushney did fine work; her voice has gained much in power and ringing quality, which, added to its sweetness, makes her singing always so delightful. Mrs. H. M. Faxon sings with artistic beauty and elegance. Miss Mary Eulalia Bass, Miss Grace Burnap, Mrs. Clari-bel Miller and Henry Taylor all did themselves and their teacher credit. Miss Bass has a fine, clear cut execution, her high tones being specially beautiful. Those who have heard Miss Burnap's contralto know the richness of its quality. Miss Franc M. Reece is one of the newer voices, but she has a phenomenal low voice, and with good and continuous work promises much for the future. Miss Loveren is a young contralto who will be heard from in the future, while Mrs. Miller's voice has been compared to Annie Louise Carey's. She sang with much sentiment and musical temperament. Miss Mary Buckley has a fine voice, which showed to excellent advantage.
74OVIDE MUSIN,
76Professor-in-Chief of the Superior Class of Violin,
77Liege, Belgium, Royal Musical Conservatory.
79By contract with the Belgian Government Mr. Musin has, annually, six months' leave of absence, which he proposes to utilize by establishing in New York a
81Virtuoso School of Violin,
82based upon the Liége System.
84Celebrated exponents of that system are:
85WIENIAWSKI, VIEUXTEMPS, LEONARD, MAR-SICK, CÉSAR THOMSON, YSAVE, MUSIN.
87The Ovide Musin Virtuoso School of Violin,
88of New York, will be open throughout the year.
90Mr. Musin will occupy his official position at Liége from February 1 to August 1, and in New York from August 1 to February 1.
92New York address: Steinway Hall.
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