Scan 7
Musical Courier 1902-02-12: Vol 44 Iss 1142, 1902
50 lines. Read by computer on 22 September 2026. Printed page 8. See the scan on archive.org.
1to the world. I should be wrong if I insisted on my future wife giving up opera."
3Madame Sanderson, who has also been interviewed, says that she is much pleased with the success of her recent season with Grau in the States, but that if she returns—as she would like to—she will not again sing "Manon," as she finds that American audiences do not like this work. Mme. Sibyl Sanderson would prefer to sing in "Bohème" or "Lohengrin." Asked her opinion as to the musical critics, she said that the opera critics in San Francisco knew very little about either opera or criticism, and she is indignant at being thought nervous. Madame Sanderson gave it also as her opinion that: "Some American audiences prefer quantity to quality; that is, they would rather listen to a voice with volume than to a smaller voice, but of better quality and cultivation."
5I think many of THE COURIER readers will find much that is very new to them, and possibly instructive, in all the above.
7De Valmour.
9SONG RECITAL BY ILMA DORE.
11MISS ILMA DORE, a pupil of Mme. Emilia Benie de Serrano, gave a song recital at Carnegie Lyceum last Tuesday evening (February 4), at which she was assisted by Louis Blumenberg, the 'cello virtuoso, and Emile Levy, accompanist.
13The singer, a youthful maiden, showed in her varied program the result of judicious training. Her voice production is remarkable, and as she will continue studying with Madame Serrano, no harm can be done to her naturally fine voice. Miss Doré made her bow before the audience in an aria from Verdi's "Ernani," and this she executed brilliantly. The remainder of the program for the evening follows:
15Mignon ………………………………………………… D'Hardelot
16Aufträge ………………………………………………… Schumann
17Sunshine Song ………………………………………….. Grieg
18Spring Song …………………………………………….. Abt
19La Paloma ………………………………………………. Yradier
20Tu me Dirais ……………………………………………. Chaminade
21Serenade ………………………………………………… Strauss
22Romance ………………………………………………… Davidoff
23Spinning Wheel …………………………………………. Dunkler
24Aria from Aida ………………………………………….. Verdi
25For All Eternity ………………………………………….. Mascheroni
26'Cello obligato by Louis Blumenberg.
27Irish Folksong ………………………………………….. Foote
28L'Eclat de Rir ……………………………………………. Aubert
29Ilma Doré.
31In Grieg's "Sunshine Song," in the "Spring Song," by Abt, and in the Irish Folksong by Foote, Miss Doré revealed to perfection the Serrano method of voice placing. The young singer has a great range, and when she gets older it will be time enough to expect her to interpret the styles of the different composers. On the vocal side Miss Doré attempted nothing that was beyond her voice, for she sang her arias and the songs with infinite ease and without affectation. Repose and, as we suggested, interpretative understanding will come in time. It would be manifestly unreasonable to expect from a girl in her teens what singers of thirty and older sometimes lack. Miss Doré was showered with bouquets and was cordially received. She was obliged to repeat the characteristic "La Paloma."
33The 'cello solos by Mr. Blumenberg added greatly to the musical importance of the concert. In Dunkler's "Spinning Wheel" Mr. Blumenberg displayed marvelous virtuosity, and it was all accomplished without a trace of affectation. The Romance by Davidoff was played with tenderness, and both solos evoked enthusiastic applause. As an encore Mr. Blumenberg played a charming arrangement of Rubinstein's Melodie in F.
35ERSKINE PORTER IN NEW ENGLAND.—This little artist has just returned from a most successful tour of the principal New England cities. On the 19th he sang at St. James' Episcopal Church, Derby, at 4:30, and in the evening at Christ Church, Ansonia, where his teacher, G. G. Daland, is organist and choirmaster. Both churches were crowded to hear the wonderful little singer, who made his reputation there in July. Master Porter sang while away for leading musicians of Bridgeport, New Haven, Westerly, Providence and Boston, by whom he has been heartily indorsed. He also had a flattering offer made him by a prominent Boston church, and booked engagements for the spring season
37MENDELSSOHN TRIO CONCERT POSTPONED.—Owing to the illness of one of the members, the concert by the Mendelssohn Trio Club, announced for yesterday afternoon, was postponed until next Tuesday afternoon, February 18.
39dietta, "La Malade Imaginaire," in which Mlle. Laurent was assisted by a number of her pupils. Altogether the evening was a great success.
41On Tuesday afternoon a totally unnecessary recital was given at the same hall by Frederick Norton. Mr. Norton is a baritone, with a decidedly good voice, who labors under the primary disadvantage of writing his own words, and tunes. His case is particularly unfortunate, as he is at his best in the lighter tunes, which he writes to words that are hopelessly feeble and futile, while some of his serious verses, which are really rather pretty, he fits out with melodies which do not even begin to pass muster. The humor of his puns about elephants and their trunks, and of his halting lines concerning dromedaries and fairies is of the very thinnest, while the coon songs, which he apparently produces in quite unlimited numbers, tell of the usual coon singing to the moon that he is true to his Sue, to the usual jerky tunes of which we have become so unutterably weary. If only Mr. Norton would content himself with singing other composers' songs his concerts might be of some interest, for he is a singer of talent. His own effusions, however, are so absolutely devoid of all literary or musical merit that they are too tedious for words.
43On Wednesday afternoon an orchestral concert was given at the Queen's Hall to commemorate the anniversary of the death of Her Majesty Queen Victoria. The program hardly calls for comment, as it was so perfectly familiar. Under the circumstances this was, perhaps, just as well, and it must be confessed that it was admirably chosen for the occasion. The symphony, it need hardly be said, was Tschaikowsky's "Symphonie Pathétique," and Mr. Wood has rarely given a finer reading of the work. In addition to these there were the "Trauermarsch" from "Götterdämmerung," and Sullivan's "In Memoriam" Overture, while Miss Florence Schmidt and Mme. Kirkby Lunn sang, Murray Carson recited and Mme. Beatrice Langlay played a violin solo.
45One of the pleasantest concerts of the week was that given by Leopold Godowsky at the Bechstein Hall. He opened the program with Tschaikowsky's fine but very little known Sonata in G. Godowsky was heard at his best in this most interesting work. His brilliant technic and extraordinary power enabled him to grapple most successfully with the almost orchestral effects of the first movement. He played the whole work with really remarkable breadth; in the loudest passages he never became noisy; while in the softest, such as the end of the slow movement, his pianissimo was beautifully soft and rich. He was also quite at his best in Brahms' fine Rhapsody in B minor, while among other pieces that he gave were those of Mendelssohn's "Songs Without Words," some studies by Poldini, and an arrangement of his own of Weber's "Perpetuum Mobile" in C, wherein the difficulties were greatly enhanced. The playing of this brilliant pianist is so much appreciated here that it is good news to learn that Schulz Curtius has arranged two more concerts for him in the spring.
47In the evening Coleridge Taylor's cantata, "The Blind Girl of Castel Cuillé," originally written for the Leeds Music Festival, was given by the Royal Choral Society at Albert Hall. When this work was first produced it was felt that several inconsistencies might well be remedied. The words of Jane, for example, were given to the chorus, while the part of the boy Paul was written for a baritone. Coleridge Taylor has altered all this, and Paul is now really a boy; while Jane, if not a "crippled crone," is at any rate single and of the feminine gender. The work is considerably improved by this, but it cannot be regarded as an example of the composer at his best. He has by no means been successful in catching the dramatic character of the words, while the choruses are sadly lacking in variety. The work suffered somewhat from being performed in so large a building. Much of its effect depends upon subtle points in the scoring, and Albert Hall is peculiarly unkind to subtle effects. It may not, therefore, be altogether the composer's fault if the performance did not prove an unadulterated success, and before damning the work it would be well to hear it again in a smaller building.
49On Friday afternoon Ernst von Dohnányi, a pianist who made a very decided success when he first came to
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