Scan 23
Musical Courier 1905-11-29: Vol 51 Iss 1340, 1905
35 lines. Read by computer on 24 September 2026. No printed page number was found. See the scan on archive.org.
1cert the two artists were in their dressing room, when the door opened, and a little old man stood there, bowing. Consolo and Hartmann stared, and then with one accord cried 'Grieg!' It was indeed the great composer, who had come to tell the players how much he appreciated their putting one of his sonatas on the program. When the number was finished, Grieg himself was possibly the most enthusiastic one in all the audience, and the frenzy of hand clapping, shouting and 'bravo' cries would not subside until the last movement of the sonata had been repeated. Hartmann's playing of the Bach chaconne was something to be remembered for a lifetime, and after the stupendous performance of that classic Grieg stood up and said audibly: 'That was the greatest violin playing I've ever heard!' The sentiment was echoed by Björnsen and Halvorsen, who also occupied seats in the front row. Next day Björnsen had the two artists at his house for dinner. Grieg was also there. He brought a photograph of himself for Hartmann, and wrote on it: 'To the violin master Hartmann, with deepest gratitude for the rare musical delights of last evening.' The old master has seldom displayed such unbounded enthusiasm. When he bid good-by to Hartmann the tears came into his eyes, and he said: 'You are such an artist! You played as though you had composed those works yourself. God bless you, and come again to Christiania!'"
3Carreño played with the Philharmonic Orchestra in Berlin on November 24, and had the courage to choose as two of her numbers MacDowell's second piano concerto and Cowen's "Concerstück," for piano and orchestra.
5The New York World remarks of Olga Samaroff, the excellent pianist, that "at times she feminizes her playing." That is a very remarkable thing for a woman to do.
7This department has received no answer to the query propounded here last week: "Why should the American musician be thankful?" We accept the rebuke. A page had been reserved for this special Thanksgiving feature of The Musical Courier, but the space now has been turned over to the business manager, who filled it with sordid advertisements.
9"Among those present at the Opera." Some of us would rather see a list of "among those who were not present." It would be instructive.
11LEONARD LIEBLING.
13AMES J. JEFFRIES, the famous American prize-fighter and "champion of the world," said to the press of the United States last week: "I am no Adelina Patti; I have retired from the ring, and when I say that I mean that I shall stay out of it." Jeffries is jealous of Patti. She is fighting a tremendous bout with old Pa Time—the most hard hitting opponent of them all—and so far the contest has been all in her favor. Artists should rejoice in each other's successes, not belittle them.
15JAN KUBELIK'S debut will be made tomorrow evening, Thursday, November 30, at Carnegie Hall. The great violinist is to play Mozart's concerto in D, Wieniawski's concerto in D minor, Weber's "Perpetuum Mobile," and Paganini's "Campanella." The New York Symphony Orchestra, under Walter Damrosch, will assist. Kubelik's second appearance is scheduled for Saturday afternoon, December 2, also at Carnegie Hall.
17So insistent was the demand in Toronto last week for an extra performance of "The Valkyrie" (being given there in English by the Savage Company) that the management was obliged to put on an extra matinee of Wagner's opera. Such events are of constant occurrence on the Savage transcontinental tour. Next season Mr. Savage will produce "Siegfried." This week his company is in Buffalo.
19THE Evening Telegram says: "The Musical Courier gives a list of the 'honest musical critics' in New York city, but fails to mention its own distinguished novelist-critic, the Hon. Leonard Liebling. That's mean. Such a nice appearing young man, too." Modesty forbids, etc., but if we remember correctly, the talk was about the critics on the daily newspapers. However, on general principles, and with no thought of being specific, we should say that one must not judge by appearances lest one be bitterly deceived.
21The Musical Courier has no music critics. They were all discharged from this office and are now doing their peculiar and fearful writing on the daily newspapers of this city. So far The Musical Courier has not found any of its concert reporters dishonest, but there is no telling what may happen in the future, if human nature remains frail, and the example set by some of the daily newspaper critics remains as bad as it is now. We never said that a critic who wines and dines with artists and does business with them is dishonest. The dishonesty lies only in his pretending to be able to write unbiased criticism about such artists. The Hon. Leonard Liebling, for instance, has more than once dined with artists, and several times in his nefarious career has been engaged by them to write "annotations" and "program notes" for money. He doubts, however, had he been required to furnish "criticisms" of those artists, whether he would have been able to furnish any very striking examples of critical high mindedness and impartiality. Of course, he has not been placed in such an embarrassing position, but he fancies that he might have been either unnecessarily severe on the artists to ease his own conscience, or he might have been unnecessarily lenient, especially if the dinners were very good and the "annotations" not too long, but well paid. That would be human, and all the concert reporters on The Musical Courier are human.
23(From the Musical Courier Extra, November 25, 1905.)
24Daniel Mayer, J. P., C. C., the well-known proprietor of the London house of S. & P. Erard, 18 Great Marlborough street, W., has announced his intention of retiring from business at the end of the year. On the 9th inst. he was elected and sworn in as the Mayor of the borough of Bexhill-on-Sea, Sussex.
26The above is from the London and Provincial Music Trades Review of November 15. Mr. Daniel Mayer is to retire from the business of handling pianos, but he will be more active than ever in music, for he will re-enter the managerial realm, and will have as his leading artist the phenomenal violinist Elman, of whom musical Europe is ceaselessly talking.
28A LINE in the Old Testament is of timely interest: "Jeshurun waxed fat and kicked." Never knew they had music critics as early as that.
30LONDON, too, seems to be deeply affected by the New York critical verdict on Strauss' "Sinfonia Domestica." It was performed in the English capital only five times in five weeks.
32"Paderewski has recovered" is a headline in a local Sunday paper. Yes, we believe he recovered something like $20,000 from the railroad company which bumped his private car into another last spring.
34Kubelik arrived in New York last Monday aboard the Amerika, of the Hamburg-American Line. Neither his wife nor the famous twins accompanied him. Kubelik is looking well, and says he feels himself to be in better artistic form than ever.
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