Scan 5
Musical Courier 1903-02-25: Vol 46 Iss 1196, 1903
30 lines. Read by computer on 23 September 2026. No printed page number was found. See the scan on archive.org.
1throughout, and that the quartet as a whole is just as pleasing as it is unpretentious.
3Another novelty performed at this soirée was a String Quartet in F minor by Karl Klingler, a pupil of Joachim in violin playing and a young composer of some promise. His quartet does not call for much comment, as it offers no extraordinary traits, but is well rounded off in form, and treated intelligently as to sound thematic workmanship. The themes themselves, however, show less originality than terseness, but are replete with fluent melody not too commonplace. Both works were excellently performed by the Geneva Quartet Association.
5On Wednesday night, in celebration of the Emperor's birthday, we had a gala performance at the Royal Opera House, attended by the entire court and the Emperor's august guests. The house was festively decorated and brilliant with light and gay colors. The bill was not a remarkable one, consisting of the second act from "The Flying Dutchman," conducted by Dr. Muck, and with Miss Destinn, Mrs. Goetze, Knuepfer, Baptiste Hoffmann and Ernst Kraus in the cast. After a pause of nearly one hour, during which the court took tea in the foyer of the opera house, and the swell audience was left to its own devices, proceedings on the stage were resumed with a reproduction of Saint-Saëns' ballet "Javotte," in which dell' Era in the title part displayed perfect grace.
7The program for Dr. Ludwig Wuellner's third vocal recital offered lieder by Hugo Wolf Brahms, Eugen d'Albert and Carl Loewe, also a group of songs by the late Hans von Bülow. "Der Fichtenbaum," "Wunsch," "Nachts," and a setting of Immermann's "Volkslied" must date back from Bülow's earliest musical period, for the melodic lines show a decided leaning toward Mendelssohn, and it is only here and there in the accompaniments that one can notice the harmonic progressions influenced by Wagner. Of d'Albert's lyrics, "Leuchtende Tage," and especially his setting of Mackay's "Heimliche Aufforderung" (which Richard Strauss also composed) will surely become repertory songs. The last named was rapturously redemanded.
9Thursday night brought the first Berlin appearance this season of Teresa Carreño. Our handsome countrywoman is such a prime favorite here that the mere announcement of her concert always draws an enthusiastic and large audience to the hall. It was so this time, and it is no use to argue with these people or with one's self in regard to her interpretation of the Beethoven E flat Concerto, and to say that, after all, Carreño is no truly artistic or exhaustive interpreter of its contents. One is carried away by the irresistible temperament of the woman, and by her victoriously brilliant technic. Some of the piano episodes were almost inaudible and disappeared completely against the orchestral accompaniment. Her interpretation lacked nobility as well as distinction. In the Weber "Concertstück" she carried everything before her with the virtuosity of her performance of the finale, which was taken and carried through without the slightest mishap at a tempo with which the Philharmonic Orchestra under father Rebicek's baton had some difficulty in keeping pace.
11There was a concert by a talented and exceedingly well taught young pianist, Miss Clara Kuske. She gave an interesting interpretation of Schumann's "Davidsbündler" dances. Better still was the playing of Philipp Scharwenka's deeply conceived Ballad in G sharp minor; which was followed by d'Albert's well known "Gavotte and Muette," from his op. 1 Suite, two of the writer's preludes, Saint-Saëns' clever "Mignonne" waltz in E flat and a fetching Mazurka, from op. 5, by Mayer-Mahr, the débutante's teacher. Encores in quantity were also demanded of Miss Kuske.
13René Schidenhelm, a 'cellist, has not much individuality, but considerable culture and the Paris style of good bowing. On the program, which offered a modern sonata by Boëllmann and an ancient one by Locatelli, was also a simple but touching Elegy in C minor by Fauré, which (with orchestral accompaniment, and played as nicely and tenderly as Mr. Schidenhelm did) must surely prove an effective addition to the limited repertory of the 'cellists.
15Two young Russians, Samuel Guenzburg, violin, and Mark Guenzburg, piano, gave a joint recital with an interesting program. The violinist is blind, has some technic, but cannot be considered a serious artist. The pianist, on the other hand, has considerable talent, which requires an adequate guidance to make of him a first class performer. He gave a brilliant interpretation of a peculiar work, Serge Liapounoff's E flat minor Concerto in one movement, which I heard on this occasion for the first time. The same was the case with Rimsky-Korsakov's C sharp minor Piano Concerto, op. 30, dedicated to the memory of Liszt. It proved to be the more valuable work of the two.
17Bernhard Scholz's opera, "Anno 1757," seems to be destined to be withdrawn even before the usual three performances. It had been set down for representation at the Royal Opera House last Wednesday night, but those who went there—and they were not many—found the house bill changed to "Mignon."
19Baron Georg von Huelsen evidently was born with a silver spoon in his mouth. Scarcely has he been appointed Intendant-General of the Berlin Royal Theatres when the art loving and charitable Baroness Cohn-Oppenheim dies at Dessau, and leaves him all her art treasures and $200,000 in cold cash. It never rains but it pours!
21Leopold Godowsky telegraphed to his wife from Budapest: "Tremendous success; criticisms stunning; have immediately been re-engaged for another concert." Good for Leopold!
23The Roman tenor, Rafael Grani, who is meeting with great success as a Wagner interpreter in his own country, as well as in France and Spain, has the intention of giving performances of the entire "Nibelungenring" cycle in the Italian language—in Germany! It seems a venturesome undertaking. There was a performance of "Lohengrin" in Italian at the old Academy of Music, on Fourteenth street, in New York, with Campanini in the title role, of which many a German opera house might well be proud. The "Meistersinger" performance in Italian at the Metropolitan Opera House, under the late Anton Seidl, was also not to be sneered at. Why, then, should not the "Nibelungenring" be enjoyable if sung in their own tongue by good Italian artists?
25The picture herewith is a good likeness of Gustav Lazarus, one of the most popular as well as most highly esteemed of Berlin's piano pedagogues. He is himself a pianist of considerable eminence, having studied the instrument at the Cologne Conservatory under the late Prof. Dr. Wuellner and the equally well known professors Isidore Seiss and Gustav Jenssen. Later on in Berlin also with Moritz Moszkowski. As a composer, Gustav Lazarus is as fertile as he is prosperous, he having published so far no less than eighty opus numbers. Among these the most important are his opera "Mandanika," which has been given on nine of the leading operatic stages of Germany, such as Cologne, Frankfort-on-the-Main, Hamburg and Elberfeld. His best known works for the piano are études for concert use, a suite of seven fantasy pieces entitled "Waldes Romantik," "Three Russian Dances," which are published by Arthur P. Schmidt, of Boston, and a number of other pieces. His works embrace every field of composition, from the simple "lied" to works for chorus, soli and orchestra, among which latter I may mention "The Magic Song," also published by Arthur P. Schmidt, of Boston. Mr. Lazarus, who at present is and has been for many years director of the Berlin Conservatory, founded by Prof. Emil Breslaur (up to the time of his death one of the most eminent piano pedagogues), desires to go to the United States, and to fill there a position similar to the one he holds in the capital of Germany. He is induced to make this change by the greater financial remunerativeness America offers to artistic pursuits than are generally to be obtained in this country. Mr. Lazarus can teach in English just as fluently as in German, is a pianist who has achieved success in the biggest cities of Europe, can conduct a chorus as well as an orchestra, and is personally a gentleman in every sense of the word, and a most amiable, cultured and pleasant fellow.
27The Berlin première of Charpentier's "Louise" is promised at the Royal Opera House for March 4.
29Among the musical callers at the Berlin office of THE MUSICAL COURIER was Mme. Adele Lewing, who, after a short sojourn in Germany and England, intends to return to New York on February 15 from Southampton. M. Elfert-Florio, a cosmopolitan tenor who has gained operatic honors in Italy and elsewhere, brought a card of introduction from Mrs. Frank H. Mason, the amiable and charming wife of the American Consul General at Berlin. Mr. Elfert-Florio's plans are not fixed ones as yet, but from all I could learn of him I gleaned that he intends to
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