Scan 32
Musical Courier 1902-03-05: Vol 44 Iss 1145, 1902
41 lines. Read by computer on 21 September 2026, twice; the two readings disagreed in places. Printed page 33. See the scan on archive.org.
1applied. I make bold to say that you cannot tell me which muscles of the forearm turn the palm downward, nor which bend the fingers toward the palm, when you wish to play?"
3"No, I can not," admitted Mayburn, miserably.
5"The pronator radii teres and the flexor profundus digitorum," said the Professor. "Now, before we go any further, at our next lesson," he added, glancing at his watch, "I wish to call your attention to some of my inventions, which all my pupils must use. Here is the 'Uptodate Patent Reversible Deltoid Exerciser,' the 'Uptodate Nickel Plated Triceps Developer,' the 'Uptodate Electric Inducer, for Stimulating the Ulnar Nerve,' and the 'Uptodate Galvanic Generator, for Generating Calcic Phosphate'—very useful in octave playing," concluded the proud inventor. "The price is reasonable; only $200 for the lot, oak finish; $250, mahogany finish."
7With a ghastly smile, Mayburn took his leave, after being informed that his next lesson would be on the following morning, at which time he would be expected to pay for twelve lessons in advance, and to buy the professor's musical machine shop.
9"Well," reflected the student, as he left the house of learning, "that simplifies the task of selection at any rate. The race now narrows down to the other two. Professor Uptodate has seen the last of me. Whew! It feels good to be able to talk straight English to myself. Wonder if he thought I wanted to study medicine?"
11Berlin Music.
13The seventh Nikisch concert, with the Philharmonic Orchestra, was memorable, inasmuch as it brought us an almost unknown symphony and an American soloist, Miss Edyth Walker, of the Vienna Royal Opera.
15Felix Draesecke's Third Symphony, called "Sinfonia Tragica," op. 40, opened the program. Draesecke, who is sixty-seven years old, lives in Dresden. In his youth an ardent disciple of Wagner, Liszt and Berlioz, he was for a time brought into prominence with other followers of the new German school, but the composer from Coburg had nothing to say that could command more than merely passing interest. The public would have none of Draesecke, and for a time nothing further was heard of him. Later he wrote the "Tragic Symphony," first played in Berlin, 1891, under the direction of von Bülow. This work brought Draesecke some recognition, and since his music is everywhere received with respect, if not with enthusiasm.
17To-day the "Tragic Symphony" does not sound at all tragic. Its hero is a stage hero, his pathos rings hollow, his combats are fought with a wooden sword, and he dies with the calcium upon him and his face turned toward the audience. In the whole work there are too audible the creaking of the orchestral cogs, and the rumbling of the contrapuntal machinery.
19Richard Strauss' "Heldenleben," and Tschaikowsky's "Pathétique" Symphony have fully opened our eyes to the grandiose technic of tragical expression.
21Draesecke fails in characterization almost from the first. Although the opening movement is in C major, he gropes about through various nebulous harmonies (chiefly B flat minor) until he finally arrives at a spineless theme, which constitutes anything but an impressive beginning. Even the risoluto episode does not make us sit up. The development is rather free in treatment, but neither its manner nor its matter is of striking newness. The second movement is a "Funeral March" of conventional form. The melodies are short breathed and unpleasing. There is nothing imposing, nothing epic in this march. It is the funeral procession of a successful grocer rather than of a hero.
23The scherzo is easily the best movement of the four. (Scherzos usually are!) The five measure rhythm, the friendly trio in G major, the short development, and the lightness of the orchestration all serve to make the scherzo a marked and welcome contrast to the heavy first and third parts.
25The last movement, C minor, in 6-8 rhythm, rondo form, is inordinately long. At least one-third of it is devoted to a sort of recapitulatory coda, wherein the themes of the other movements are gone over and rubbed in, as it were. This process might have been spared us, but was necessary, I suppose, in order to give the work a certain unity and justify its title. This movement probably determined the title, for in it is something of power and passion. Strangely enough, the work ends quietly, with a violoncello solo, con sordini. It may be that Draesecke has tried to present the mental battle of man against his fate and the triumph of death. Dr. Schmidt hints as much in the Tageblatt review. If that is the proper interpretation, the program should have told us so. Perhaps it might have improved the music.
27Edyth Walker sang the aria, "Parto, ma tu," from Mozart's "Titus," and Eglantine's recitative aria, from Weber's "Euryanthe." Miss Walker has a grand, rich, glorious mezzo soprano voice, of force, volume, fire and color. She declared her text with intelligence and intensity. Her success with the audience was easily greater than that of any other soloist at this season's Nikisch concerts.
29Unfortunately, less important musical doings at another hall prevented your correspondent from hearing the overture to "Euryanthe" and the introduction to D'Albert's "Kain."
31Alas, Richard Strauss, as a program maker you are not pre-eminent! Your concerts of contemporary composers are beginning to put a great strain on our interest and on our patience. Why on earth did you dig out such lugubrious stuff as Paul Ertel's "Harold" Symphony (second movement), Otto Neitzel's unintelligible Piano Concerto, op. 26, and Georg Schumann's "Variations and Double Fugue on a Lively Theme"? Are those our representative living composers? Is that the best and most interesting music that we are producing to-day? Oh, what a sorry to-day! Oh, what an eloquent admission toward a public which you are trying to wean from a too slavish adoration of the classical composers! Give us better music, or give us Haydn, Bach and Mozart! Did you hear the galleries whistle and the parquet hiss? Those were the voices of your friends and admirers. Give heed to them.
33Leo Blech's Barcarolle was at least pretty and well made. This composer has a fund of pleasing melody, and he uses orchestral color with tact and cleverness.
35A magnificent performance of Liszt's colossal "Prometheus," symphonic poem, led by Richard Strauss with characteristic verve and abandon, at least and at last made us feel that the evening had not been entirely wasted.
37At the Grünfeld-Zajic concert, Mme. Matja von Niessen-Stone carried off the principal honors with her singing of a group of modern songs by Strauss, Gunkel, Berger, Wolf, &c. This Russian-American artist has a sympathetic voice of dark quality, and is a past-mistress in the art of delivery. one of two readings
38At the Grünfeld-Zajic concert, Mme. Matja von Niesen-Stone carried off the principal honors with her singing of a group of modern songs by Strauss, Gunkel, Berger, Wolf, &c. This Russian-American artist has a sympathetic voice of dark quality, and is a past-mistress in the art of delivery. one of two readings
40Conrad Ansorge, a pianist formerly resident in New York, is giving a series of three recitals. The first of these presented four sonatas by Beethoven, in C minor ("Pathétique"), C sharp minor ("Moonlight"), E flat ("Les Adieux") and E major, op. 109. This is a program which should be in the repertory of every pianist with the slightest pretensions to public consideration. And I should expect him to make with it a better showing than did Ansorge. An exaggerated pianissimo, a blustering forte and a faulty technic are not sufficient excuse for the perpetration of a Beethoven recital. Ansorge has a large and frenzied following here, consisting principally of his pupils and their friends, and a few friendly critics have helped him to a reputation in other German cities. But to a dispassionate listener this enthusiasm is absolutely incomprehensible. If Ansorge is a "great" player, then what are Paderewski, Rosenthal, Godowsky and a few others of their kind? Ansorge seemed at home only in andante movements, where he can display several shades of pianissimo. The least technical difficulty costs him so much effort, and is so rough and awkward in its presentation, that I can but marvel how Ansorge had
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