Scan 26
Musical Courier 1901-11-27: Vol 43 Iss 1131, 1901
69 lines. Read by computer on 22 September 2026, twice; the two readings disagreed in places. Printed page 27. See the scan on archive.org.
1JOSEF HOFMANN'S FIRST PIANO RECITAL.
3THE size of the audience at Carnegie Hall last Saturday afternoon put to shame any lurking suspicion that the interest in piano recitals was declining. The occasion was Josef Hofmann's first appearance here this season in a recital program:
5Variations, F minor…………………………………………………Haydn
6Sonata Appassionata……………………………………………..Beethoven
7Impromptu, G major……………………………………………….Schubert one of two readings
8Impromptu, G major……………………………………………..Schubert one of two readings
9Soirée de Vienne, D major………………………………………Schubert
10Ballade, A flat major……………………………………………..Chopin
11Prelude, op. 45…………………………………………………….Chopin
12Valse, op. 64, No. 3……………………………………………..Chopin
13Gnomengenien…………………………………………………….Liszt
14Nachtstück in F…………………………………………………….Schumann
15Jongleur………………………………………………………..Moszkowski
16Rhapsodie, No. 2…………………………………………………Liszt
18How much this young artist has improved since his last year's work was apparent in the Haydn Variations, where he at the very outset showed a charm of manner and grace of one in hearty sympathy with that tuneful period, with not a trace of brusqueness; it was a naive composition, naively played.
20With the Beethoven Sonata the player's difficulties increased a hundredfold, and he did not appear at his happiest until the short but furious presto was made to ring out under those fleet and firm fingers, flexible and enduring wrists.
22In the elegiac Impromptu there sung a strain of sentiment which appealed mightily; and it was offset completely by the following brilliant "Soirée de Vienne"; the latter Hofmann played with a verve which displayed the vaunted Viennese spirit in its sprightliest.
24A set of Chopin selections next came under his fingers and were accorded rather pretty readings; not too much of the sentiment—Hofmann does not lean that way—but more with breadth and understanding. The C sharp minor Prelude gave him an opportunity to display the thorough subjugation of his wonderful left hand, the one which during strenuous episodes shows such remarkable speed and surety. He played the little valse with unaffected good nature, fighting very shy of "conservatory effects," or even the usual feminine interpretation.
26He succeeded in the Liszt "Gnomengenien" of calling up an atmosphere of the tricksy mystic by controlling easily his dynamic forces, and played the Schumann number nobly—a trifle more manly than the usual way, but if this is an error it at least is one in the right direction. Moszkowski's "Jongleur," with its Chopin echoes, went brilliantly, and the concluding Liszt Rhapsody he kept well in hand until the climax, when he made telling effects at a point at which most players show fatigue.
28But the most tremendous part of his recital was yet to come. It was the list of encores. A Liszt transcription of Alabieff's "The Nightingale" showed that the player had a whole sleeveful of unused trumps, and when the audience began to suspect this the demand for extra numbers threatened to exceed the length of the original program. So closely upon the heels of this difficult "Nightingale" thundered the Schubert-Tausig Marche Militaire, which was literally marched through with not a sign of tiring. And to continued applause came the best selection of the entire recital, the bonne bouche of the afternoon—Liszt's tremendous "Mephisto Walzer." Hofmann played this huge work with understanding and a display of technic that was marvelous. His youth seemed to disappear as the composition unraveled, one felt that in his place sat a mature man of inexhaustible strength and unfathomable feeling who was reading big meanings into this vast work.
30With this performance Hofmann deepened the impression made earlier in the afternoon, and left no doubt in the minds of the listeners of his great powers of execution and interpretation, coupled with a versatility practically boundless. With these he has earned his own place in the list of pianists. And when his age is taken into consideration the possibilities seem vast.
32Tew's Successes Continue.
34H. WHITNEY TEW, the distinguished basso, sang twice last week. Once with the Brooklyn Institute and also with the Century Club in Buffalo. At both recitals he was enthusiastically received. The following are excerpts from the Brooklyn papers, after his recital before the Institute:
36Mr. Tew has, in his voice, an instrument of very wide range of power or of sweetness at will in any register chosen, and his repertory is a wide one. That for which Mr. Tew will be long remembered by those who heard—and heard with understanding—his singing last evening was "In Memoriam." Mr. Tew rose to the occasion. He gave to the soft and meditative passages the requisite tenderness, his voice sinking to almost a whisper, yet distinctly giving the words of the poet. In the passages where Tennyson carried sustained thought and the musical composer strove to express the thought musically, Mr. Tew was delicate and conscientious, and in the conclusion, where the appeal to the Deity was made, the singer had quite the grand air. There was an outburst of applause at the conclusion.—Eagle, November 14.
38Whitney Tew's renderings left no doubt that he is a singer of pronounced ability.
40Mr. Tew is an American who has been trained as a concert singer abroad and who has won popularity in London. He has a bass voice of unusual range, agreeable in tone and of good carrying power. His singing of "In Memoriam" was a fine bit of interpretation. * * * Mr. Tew's enunciation is exceptionally distinct, and he has learned the art of bringing out the meaning of the text.—Brooklyn Times, November 14.
42The following extracts are from reports on his New York recital:
44The singer has a fine bass voice, very smooth, rich and with a lower register that has unusual resonance. He sings with taste. * * * The numbers on the program—classic, romantic and folk-songs—were all sung with good diction.—New York World.
46(Regular Telegraphic Correspondence of the Public Ledger, New York, November 11.)
48Mr. Tew enunciates with extraordinary clearness, every word being as distinct as if spoken by a trained elocutionist. His principal selection was a song cycle, by Liza Lehmann, the words being taken from Tennyson's "In Memoriam," and gave proof of Mr. Tew's power in a composition calling for a high level of sustained emotion.—Philadelphia Ledger, November 12, 1901.
50SUCCESS.—"Nothing succeeds like success." This oft quoted axiom has never been better illustrated than by the growth of the Townsend H. Fellows Church Choir Exchange. Having realized the necessity for an institution where assistance could be rendered church musicians who desired positions, Mr. Fellows started this branch of his business in 1897. Since that time its growth has been so phenomenal that to-day it stands pre-eminent among institutions of its kind. A great measure of this success is no doubt due to the fact that only a nominal sum is charged upon enrollment, and no commissions of any kind are exacted from those who secure positions through its assistance. Many of the most prominent soloists in the different churches of this city and elsewhere, and a whole host of less prominent ones are indebted to Mr. Fellows' Exchange for their advancement.
52THE LAMPERTI SCHOOL IN PARIS.
54WE understand that a successful opening took place of the vocal school of Madame Lamperti in Paris, which is located at 14 bis Rue Jadin, near the Parc Monceau. In this school not only vocal lessons are given, and vocal studies in the various languages, but Italian, French and German diction are also taught. The price for instruction is 500 francs monthly, which includes board, or, as they call it over there, pension.
56Madame Lamperti is the widow of the late Francesco Lamperti, of Milan, the teacher of Albani, of Campanari, of Sembrich, of Galassi and others, and she, of course, has become imbued with all of the various methods of that renowned school, one of the greatest schools of singing that the world has had. Madame Lamperti is herself a highly educated lady, a woman of the world, an intelligent teacher and an experienced musician and singer. Pupils who place themselves under her care will receive the best kind of and most modern vocal education.
58Philadelphia Students Play for Charity.
60FRIDAY evening, November 22, some of the advanced pupils and the Students' Symphony Orchestra of the Broad Street Conservatory, Philadelphia, gave a concert at Musical Fund Hall, under the auspices of the Germantown Door of Hope. The orchestra, under the leadership of Mr. Combs, the director, is always a feature of the Conservatory concerts. The precision and ensemble of their playing accounts for the services of its members being so much in demand in professional orchestras. The violin soloist, Mr. Witzmann, received quite an ovation. His playing, always artistic, is growing broader and more mature, his bowing and intonation are flawless. Miss Louise de Ginther, who has been under the personal instruction of Mr. Combs for a number of years, was the piano soloist, and played the Schumann A minor Concerto in an effective manner. She also played, without the orchestra, a nocturne by her instructor, Mr. Combs, and the F sharp Etude de Concert, by MacDowell. Miss De Ginther is a most carefully trained and conscientious player whose performance shows that she uses her brains as well as her fingers. She possesses discrimination and plenty of contrast in her playing. The vocalists, Miss Ruth Kedzie Wood and Miss Julia Davenport, both pupils of Herbert Wilbur Greene, the head of the vocal department of the Conservatory, were delightful singers to listen to.
62Miss Wood, a soprano of the dramatic type, showed her rare voice to excellent advantage in the Cavatine from the "Queen of Sheba." This young woman has one of the few voices that can be classed as brilliant, with none of the disagreeable qualities that are usually associated with that much overworked word.
64She required an orchestra as a background to fully reveal her depth.
66Miss Davenport possesses a charming mezzo-soprano voice, combined with a personality so winning that her audience was in sympathy with her at once and her second number was enthusiastically encored.
68ARNOLD SOMLYO'S MUSICALE.—Arnold Somlyo gave a musicale last evening (Tuesday) at the Baldwin studios in Carnegie Hall, in honor of Mme. Lisa Delhaze Wickes, pianist; Miss Gertrude von Betz, pianist; Miss Katharine Pelton, mezzo soprano; Mrs. Minnie Humphries, soprano; Miss Henriette Weber, pianiste; Charles Russell, cellist, and Alfred D. Wickes, violinist.
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