Scan 6
Musical Courier 1903-07-15: Vol 47 Iss 1216, 1903
34 lines. Read by computer on 26 September 2026. Printed page 5. See the scan on archive.org.
A town on its own line is one of the directory's headings. That is where the town on a maker's page comes from.
1Berlin
3German Headquarters of the Musical Courier,
4Berlin, Schoeneberg, Hauptstrasse, 20A.
5June 30, 1903.
7No door nail could be deader than the musical season in Berlin at midsummer. Hence there is nothing else to do if one has to write about music, but go to the New Royal Opera, where the Ferenczy company announced a first performance?
9The question of "when is a novelty not a novelty?" might easily be settled nowadays by the never failing answer, when it is a modern operetta, for modern in this case does by no means mean new. The press agents have for some time been booming from Vienna a new operetta called "Wiener Frauen." Well, if that work was well liked in Vienna, it may possibly be because the libretto and the composer sing the praises of the women of Vienna. That is as it should be, but it will not do for Berlin. The women of the Kaiserstadt, justly renowned as they are for their beauty, had to be generalized into the fair sex at large, which includes the Berlin representatives, and therefore the title of the new operetta was carefully changed from "Wiener Frauen" into "Der Klavierstimmer," which, in the vernacular, means "The Piano Tuner." Not a bad title, and it would do also for New York, if that special member of the guild had only something witty to say for himself. This is not the case, however, for he is lacking in every ingredient of humor and originality. He might just as well be a barber, or a letter carrier, or a festive boothblack. Not that these professionals are in any way to be despised, but in the course of a long experience I found that on the average the piano tuner is an intelligent and a musical fellow. Willibald Brandl, however, in the operetta in which he represents the principal personage is neither one nor the other. He is represented as a sort of genius, who, finding no recognition (and in consequence no money) in his profession as composer, gradually "sinks down" to the occupation of piano tuner. It is a mighty sight better to be a good piano tuner than a poor composer. Brandl seems not much of a hand at piano tuning either, for he returns from New York, where they pay good piano tuners well, without a penny in his pocket. Nevertheless he smites the hearts of half a dozen females in the plot, and this with nothing else than his talent as a composer. But this all around "masher" winds up by marrying the maid servant—and serves him right, too.
11A little better than the plot is the music, but not very much. It is at least pleasing, and Mr. Lehár knows how to write in all sorts of rhythms and how to orchestrate lucidly and euphoniously. Well, that's something, but it is not everything, and everything else is wanting in his music. His instrumentation calls for a complete orchestra, and the able conductor, Curt Goldmann, luckily presided over such a one this time, while in the "Girofle-Girofle" performance of the previous week there was more empty space in the orchestra than Lecocq's sprightly music and clever French orchestration deserved or could afford in order to do it justice. In other respects, however, the latter performance was far superior. Notably the chorus was better. Then Miss Josefine Vettori could not replace Mia Werber, who had originally been announced to sing the soprano part of Claire. There is a "Lohengrin" sort of attempt at grand opera finale in the first act of "The Piano Tuner," which is entirely out of place in an operetta, but which would have fallen flat anyhow because of Miss Vettori's screaming and off pitch singing of the high notes. The tenor, Oscar Braun, was much better than his partner, only he acted as haplessly and hopelessly as tenors usually do. Carl Schulz in the title role was better histrionically than vocally, and Rudolf Ander in the part of a Bohemian ex-tambour major, and later owner of a conservatory and three step daughters, would have been more funny if he had tried to be less funny. Miss Henny Wildner was a pert and amusing chamber maid.
13The fifteenth Silesian music festival was held last week at Goerlitz, under the wonted protectorate of His Excellency Count Bolko von Hochberg, who, though no longer general manager of the royal theatres, has apparently not lost his genuine interest in music.
15Dr. Muck, on the first day, gave a solemn interpretation to Mozart's Great Mass in C minor in the revised edition of Aloys Schmitt. His wife, Mrs. Cornelia Schmitt-Czany, was the soprano solo singer of the occasion, and Mrs. Schuman-Heink, together with Ludwig Hess and Baptiste Hoffmann, made up a solo quartet of the very highest rank. The "Credo" of this mass belongs among the most fervently devout musical inspirations that were ever penned by mortal man. Its effect in such rare perfection of performance was an overwhelming one. Beethoven's Ninth Symphony formed the second half of this memorable program. On the following two days the programs contained of orchestral works the unfinished symphony of Schubert, Eugen d'Albert's overture to his opera "Der Improvisator," Liszt's "Mazepa," Wagner's "Meistersinger" Vorspiel, the Fourth Symphony of Tschaikowsky (in the scherzo of which Dr. Muck let loose all his concentrated and scintillating musical humor), and Wagner's "Kaisermarsch." The festival chorus of over 500 voices greatly distinguished itself, as it had also done on the first day, in the reproduction of Mendelssohn's "Walpurgisnacht." Bach's drama per musica, "The Contest Between Phoebus and Pan" (Bach's witty satire upon a Beckmesser critic of his day, who was a thorn in the great composer's flesh), found in Mrs. Reuss-Belce, Schumann-Heink, and in Messrs. Hess, Hoffmann, Fiedler and Joern delightful interpreters. On the third or soloists' day the "Lieder" singing of such eminent artists as Ludwig Hess, Baptiste Hoffmann and Mrs. Schumann-Heink was greatly relished by the audience. A special success was scored by Miss Bella Alten, a novice, who jumped into the breach for Miss Emmy Destinn, of the Berlin Royal Opera. Miss Alten has a charming style of delivery, as shown in the "Wiegenglied" of Brahms, which was the most applauded song upon the program. As her voice is pleasing and well trained, and as she seems thoroughly musical, this young débutante will soon make a reputation for herself. At present she belongs to the Braunschweig Opera personnel.
17Financially this festival has been the most successful one of any so far given, as all the concerts and also the public rehearsals were completely sold out. As the money taken in above expenses is devoted to a fund for the building of a music festival hall, this long cherished project is near the point of realization. The board of aldermen has voted a sum of 100,000 marks for that purpose, so that the building fund now amounts to 300,000 marks.
19In spite of the fact that his health is not the very best Max Bruch, the fertile composer, has just finished a new work for chorus, orchestra and soprano solo. Its title is "Nala and Damayant," and its text is made up of a number of coherent scenes from the well known Indian epos of that name, which has repeatedly been translated into German, but which, principally through Friedrich Rückert's famous rendering into the language of the Fatherland, has become part and parcel, so to speak, of German literature.
21Bayreuth is taking time by the forelock. There being no performances this summer, the Wagner heirs are now already beginning to let loose preliminary puffs for the summer of 1904. The Rhenish Westfaelische Zeitung is the first one in the field by telling the world at large that though there are no festival plays this summer they are not idle at Villa Wahnfried. First Director of the Machinery Herr Kranich with his men began a few days ago the comprehensive technical advance work for the festival plays to be performed next summer. "Tannhäuser" will be put on in an entirely new mounting. A great improvement is to be made, especially in the last act, in which the gradual approach of Venus and her suite is to be represented in a style that will make the illusion a complete one, a thing which has never been attempted before. Then several scenes in "The Nibelungen" cycle will also be newly mounted. Nothing is said about a new mise-en-scène of "Parsifal," although this work, which is always the prop of Bayreuth, is still being given in the same garb and outfitting it received in 1882 at the first performance, and could very well stand a few scenic improvements and better costumes in the way of new colors instead of the homely and faded ones which the Knights of the Holy Grail have been wearing for now over twenty years. The only news vouchsafed about "Parsifal" is to the effect that Theodore Bertram, the noble baritone from the Berlin Royal Opera House, will take the part of Amfortas, formerly usually impersonated by the late Theodore Reichmann. It is reported that Bertram is in Bayreuth studying the difficult role with Musikdirektor Kniese, and a few other artists are also temporarily in Bayreuth, either for the purpose of rehearsals or to have their voices tried. A homo novus who comes in for a share of preliminary puffing is Kapellmeister Beidel. He would in all likelihood never have been heard of if he had not lived at Bayreuth, where he became a son-in-law of Frau Cosima Wagner. Now, however, it is asserted of him that for the next festival period he will engage some Russian "orchestra artists" to whom he holds connections dating from the time of his activity as a conductor at Moscow. It must have been very long ago, or Kapellmeister Beidel kept it secret from the remainder of the musical world, for though we know of Safonoff's and Kes' activity as conductors at Moscow, we never heard anything about the son-in-law of Cosima Wagner.
23The news from the Berlin Royal Opera House for the coming season flows rather sparsely so far. But it is learned that Verdi's "Falstaff," with Bachmann in the title role, will be among the first reprisals. The same masterwork will also be brought out in a new version at the Vienna Opera. An opera which is no novelty for New York, but which has been given in Berlin so far only by a French traveling operatic company, will be given next season as one of the first novelties at the Royal Opera. It is Massenet's "Manon," in which Naval is to take the principal part.
25Hugo Wolf's opera, "Der Corregidor," which so far has met with but scanty recognition except on the part of the musical connoisseurs and which has been performed on only a few operatic stages in Germany, has now, after the composer's demise been accepted for performance at the Vienna Opera by Director Gustav Mahler.
27No less than three well known composers are reported to have finished an opera. One of them, Wassily Sapelnikoff, is better known here in his capacity as pianist, while his renown as composer was so far confined more or less to his native land. His new opera is entitled "The Khan and His Son," and the libretto is drawn from Maxim Gorki's novel of the same title.
29Eugen d'Albert's latest and newly finished opera is called "Tieland," and will in October next be brought out for the first time at the German Landes Theater in Prague, under Leo Blech's or the composer's direction.
31Hermann Zumpe's newly completed opera is based upon a libretto that draws its action from an Indian legend. It will have its first performance during the coming season at the Munich Opera, and the composer will also be the conductor of the novelty.
33Interesting letters and diary notices are contained in the six parts of Modeste Tschaikowsky's biography of his illustrious brother, Peter Illitsch Tschaikowsky. A German translation has been done by the young composer Paul Juon, who was born in Moscow, but lives near Berlin. In this form the biography has just appeared with P. Juergensohn, and I cannot refrain from quoting a few characteristic paragraphs. Tschaikowsky's ideas of Brahms, as expressed to Hans Von Buelow have been made known before. Here is a similar view, contained in a letter of Tschaikowsky to the Grand Duke Constantin Constantinowitsch: "As regards Brahms I cannot be quite of the opinion of Your Highness. In the music of this master (his mastership cannot be denied) there lies something dry and cold, which is repulsive to me. He possesses very little talent for melodic invention. The musical thoughts he never brings to a finish; one scarcely hears an allusion to an acceptable melodic formation, when it is already being swept away by an eddy of unimportant harmonic progressions, as if the composer had placed for himself the task of remaining unintelligible. His depth is not a real, it is a manufactured one? In a letter to Juergensohn can be found the following opinion of Patti, who had been the soloist of one of the Imperial Russian Musical Society's symphony concerts at Moscow: "The invitation of Patti was a disgrace and a bad mistake. La
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