Scan 6
Musical Courier 1905-10-18: Vol 51 Iss 1334, 1905
58 lines. Read by computer on 23 September 2026, twice; the two readings disagreed in places. Printed page 7. See the scan on archive.org.
1Liszt and Reinecke. For the past four years Fräulein Zeisi has been living in Buenos Ayres, where she did a very lucrative business in teaching, but the musical life there was uncongenial, so she felt herself drawn to a great European art centre. She will henceforth reside here, where she will devote herself to instruction and to ensemble playing, which is her forte.
3Ferruccio Busoni will give three concerts with the Philharmonic Orchestra this season, the first of which will take place on October 21. As was the case last winter, his programs will comprise seldom heard or unknown works only.
5Conrad Ansorge's new tone poem, "Expiation," will be performed here in the coming season. The work is for orchestra and tenor chorus, and its words are from a poem by Johannes Schlaf.
7Ferdinand Hellmesberger has been appointed court orchestra conductor, and has been permanently engaged by the Berlin Royal Orchestra.
9Eugen d'Albert's new opera, "Flauto Solo," will have its première in Prague on November 15, and immediately after will be performed at the Court Theatre in Stuttgart. The same composer's "Tiefland" is also being studied at Mannheim and Freiburg, and will be given in both towns the end of October.
11Following the lead of Gregor, with his new translation of "Carmen," plans are now on foot to prepare an improved libretto for Mozart's "Don Juan." Two German texts of this opera are already in use, the older being by Rochlitz, and the newer by Herman Levi. As these do not seem in all respects satisfactory, however, a third translation by Max Halbeck is soon to be introduced at the Vienna Court Opera, and a fourth adaptation of the same libretto has even now been written by H. Heinemann, and is to be published by the Berlin firm of Raabe & Plothow.
13Minnie Coons, of New York, has been studying with Xaver Scharwenka during the summer, having accompanied him to Tarasp, Switzerland, where he always spends his vacation. Miss Coons, who studied under Scharwenka formerly for several years, and who made very successful appearances in Berlin, Leipsic and Potsdam with orchestra, has made remarkable progress since I last heard her a year and a half ago. She has gained in depth, in independence of conception, in expression, in tone and in technic—in short, in every way. I was surprised, on hearing her play the other day, at her artistic growth. She eschews display and externals, and goes direct to the kernel of the thing, devoting her whole energies to the interpretation of the work in hand. I heard her play a Bach fugue, a Chopin polonaise and part of the Weber "Concertstück." Her touch was delightful, her technic clear and crisp, and there was warmth and individuality in her work. In a letter to me concerning Miss Coons, Professor Scharwenka writes:
15"Last year Miss Coons, with her concerts here and in Leipsic, found the unanimous approval of all real connoisseurs. During the summer she continued her studies with me and made such enormous progress, particularly in point of penetrating into the musical meaning of works, that I was quite surprised. Miss Coons is a genuine musical nature, and she employs her technic for a higher purpose. I firmly believe that the American public, before which she will appear for the first time at Carnegie Hall, on November 2, will greet this new, fascinating artist with undivided interest and that it will soon perceive that this charming, amiable and modest child has a musical soul that speaks to the hearer more powerfully than all bravura virtuoso pianists."
17I fully agree with the opinion of Miss Coons' famous master. She has music in her soul, she has pianistic attainment, and with her charming appearance and sweet modesty she has a most winning stage presence. She sailed for America last Thursday. [Miss Coons now is in New York.—Ed.]
19The winter campaign begins this week in earnest. A few guns were fired last week; they were but scattering shots, however, and were forerunners of the real battles to come.
21The only concert of importance was the first of the winter series given by the Halir Quartet. This organization will play all of the Beethoven quartets during the winter, not in their chronological order, but arranged so as to give the hearer each evening one work from each of the three great periods of Beethoven's development. At the first concert on Wednesday, we heard op. 18, No. 1, in F major; op. 127 in E flat, and op. 59, No. 2, in E minor.
23The Halir Quartet is one of the best in Europe; it is superior to the Joachim, not only because of the first violin, but because the 'cellist, Dechert, and the viola player, Müller, are far better performers than Hausmann and Wirth, their more celebrated but dry and academic colleagues of the Joachim Quartet. Halir and associates played superbly on Wednesday, with great finish and perfect ensemble. The adagios of the works in E minor and E flat major were especially well rendered.
25The social season begins with the concert season. The first affair of importance in the American colony was a musical soirée given last evening by Mrs. William Eylau, at which a large number of representative members of the colony was present. Happily the musical program, in agreeable contrast to most social affairs, was short and interesting. Two very promising young pianists were heard, Florence Allen, of Salt Lake City, and Miss Moore, of Nelson, New Zealand, both pupils of Mrs. Eylau. Miss Allen played the first movement of the G minor sonata, and the romance in F sharp by Schumann, and MacDowell's shadow dance. Her playing was a surprise to all who heard her at Mrs. Eylau's last spring. Her progress during these few months has been remarkable. She played with a beautiful tone—a tone soft and yet full and round—with a fine sense of proportion and with a firm, clear technic. There was also warmth and character in her work.
27Miss Moore was heard in the Liszt sixth rhapsody, the Chopin G major nocturne and Sapellnikoff's "Dance of the Elves." Miss Moore has already acquired a high degree of virtuosity. Some things could hardly have been better done than she did them, as the octaves in the finale of the rhapsody, which she gave with great speed and lightness, and the difficult passage work of the lively "Elfentanz." On the poetic and temperamental sides Miss Moore has developed a great deal during the time she has been with Mrs. Eylau. She rendered the Chopin nocturne with genuine feeling.
29The coming week we will hear twenty-five concerts, several of which promise to be of exceptional interest.
31The accompanying photograph of Franz Liszt's hand is from R. M. Breithaupt's book, "Die Natürliche Klaviertechnik," published by C. F. Kahnt, of Leipsic. The original cast from which this was taken is in the Liszt Museum, at Weimar. Breithaupt's book contains much of value to the piano student, and much of interest to every musician. Especially interesting are the photographs of the hands of the great pianists of the past and present, including Tausig, Rubinstein, Chopin, Bülow and all the moderns.
33ARTHUR M. ARELL.
35Dr. Neitzel's Piano Lectures.
37D R. OTTO NEITZEL'S series of lecture-recitals, which formed one of the musical sensations of the last Berlin season, seem to have succeeded in instructing not only the babes in musical knowledge, but also the gray-haired elders and expounders of the law themselves. That his thoughts are profound and eloquently expressed, that his piano playing is of the highest order, the critics never omit to say—and then, with a little spurt of surprised confession: "I myself keenly enjoyed," "I won great profit,"
38(no line here) one of two readings
40WALTER MEYROWITZ. one of two readings
41Teacher of Harmony and Composition . . . one of two readings
42(In German and English.) one of two readings
43Special Two Months' Course for Teachers. one of two readings
44COACHING OF OPERATIC ROLES IN ENGLISH. one of two readings
45BERLIN W., LUITPOLD ST. 36. one of two readings
47Prof. Rudolf Schmalfeld, one of two readings
48Mme. Margarethe Schmalfeld-Vahsel, one of two readings
49Kammersängerin. one of two readings
50VOCAL INSTRUCTION. one of two readings
51Lessons given in English, French and Italian. one of two readings
52Wagner Singing. one of two readings
53Heilbronner Str. 3, BERLIN, W. one of two readings
55PIANO SCHOOL FOR THE LESCHETIZKY METHOD AND SCHOOL OF INTERPRETATION. one of two readings
56Pupils received in the house and practice supervised. one of two readings
57In charge of MRS POTTER-FRISSELL, pupil of Stepanoff, Prentner (certificated) and Leschetizky. Highly indorsed by Emil Sauer and leading Dresden musicians. Dunning System of Improved Music Study for beginners also represented. Instructor in Ehrlich's School of Music and Franklin College, Dresden. Apply Nurnbergerstr. 54, Pt. r. DRESDEN one of two readings
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