Scan 6
Musical Courier 1905-11-29: Vol 51 Iss 1340, 1905
42 lines. Read by computer on 24 September 2026. No printed page number was found. See the scan on archive.org.
1was engaged for twelve big concerts in St. Petersburg, Moscow, Odessa, Riga, Wilna and Helsingfors. He left Berlin for St. Petersburg just before the big strike broke out, and his train was the last to cross the Russian border. He gave one concert in St. Petersburg, and attempted to play the others for which he had been engaged, but the revolutionary party compelled him to stop, and threatened to kill him if he did not do so. The revolutionists were using all the halls for agitation meetings. Godowsky reached Moscow, but was unable to play there. During all of his stay in Russia he was in constant danger of his life. Mrs. Godowsky was with him. The following letter which he wrote from Moscow to his assistant, Maurice Aronson, will be found full of interest:
3Moscow, November 1, 1905.
5"You would have heard from me long ago, but as you likely know from the Berlin papers, for almost a week we have been isolated from the world. Everything, the post, the newspapers, even the shops, were closed. Threatening, uncanny murmurs were heard, and crowds of people, Cossacks, and soldiers patrolled the streets. At last even the telephone and telegraph services were suspended. The last ones to strike were druggists, doctors, bankers, judges, and marines. Things here came to a full stop, and had the Constitution been delayed another forty-eight hours a frightful revolution, like the French Revolution, would have been inevitable. As it is, the people are so embittered against the Czar that they want nothing less than a democratic republic. We saw in both towns processions with red flags, heard the populace singing the 'Marseillaise,' and shouting 'Down with the despot!'"
7"The conservatory cannot give its symphony concerts in the halls on account of the people holding meetings and taking possession of the concert halls without asking anyone's permission. A number of people here were wounded and killed. Indescribable was the joy of the crowd over their victory. It was crazy intoxication, and was a sight to be remembered forever. Russia will now be free, completely free, more so than Germany and Austria, even. Imagine! For those who know Russia it seems impossible. A new era has begun for Russia and for the world.
9"We arrived in Russia and St. Petersburg an hour and a half late, as the strikers would not allow us to reach the dépôt. Our train was the last to go over the Russian frontier. The first concert I played was well attended, but everybody had electric pocket lamps and candles, as it was expected that the electric light would strike, which indeed it did, but a day later. At my concert, among the many musicians present, were Rimsky-Korsakoff, Glazounow, César Cui, Siloti, and Blumenfeld. I played well, and had a big success. Since the concert we were in doubt whether anything could be done at all. We thought we could go by water to Helsingfors, thence by water to Stockholm, and from there by rail to Berlin via Stockholm. We decided to wait, however, and on Monday forenoon we got a message from Metzel (brought by soldiers who secretly pulled through a locomotive with a mail car from Moscow to St. Petersburg), in which he asked me to see whether I could not get an automobile to take me to Moscow. Mrs. Godowsky and I were ready to undertake the risky venture, but the automobile people did not think I could get to Moscow in less than thirty hours. It was useless to attempt it, so we remained and waited. Monday night at 8:30 we heard that the new Constitution had been signed by the Czar. We knew it before it became generally known, because Mr. Swertshkoff, a painter, came over in high excitement to tell the great news. He had heard it over the 'phone from a private secretary of Trépoff, and a good friend of his. Yesterday we came here with the first train that left St. Petersburg. It was very hard to get to the station, as the streets were crowded.
11"Metzel does not know and cannot tell when the recital can take place, neither can the conservatory tell when the chamber music and symphony concerts can take place. We have to wait for developments. Mrs. Godowsky runs every time she sees a Cossack on the street. Several times she thought herself already shot, and was trying to extract the bullets."
13As a matter of fact Mr. Godowsky did not play in Moscow at all, because conditions became worse and worse, and he was finally compelled to flee the country. A telegram of a later date which he wished to send to Mr. Aronson was refused by the Moscow telegraph officials on account of its mention of anarchy. Mr. Godowsky kept it as a souvenir, and it now lies before me on the original telegraph blank, with the Russian inscriptions. It reads:
15"Anarchy everywhere. Human life in constant danger. Mobs shot into our hotel and the guests were imprisoned for hours. People were killed at the entrance to the hotel and to the restaurants. Was forced by the Revolutionary party to stop concerts. Leave Moscow by the next train, via St. Petersburg to Berlin. Other lines don't go. So far unharmed. Don't tell the children details. GODOWSKY."
17George W. Chadwick, the eminent American composer of Boston, has been spending a few days in Berlin. He has taken a year's leave of absence from his post as director of the New England Conservatory, and will spend the winter in Europe. Here he has been looking into Conservatory methods, and he will do the same in Leipsic, Dresden and other cities. Mr. Chadwick studied at the Leipsic Conservatory, and graduated in the class of 1898, among his fellow students being Dr. Carl Muck. He is still well remembered in Leipsic, and at its concert with the Leipsic Philharmonic Orchestra next week the "Concordia" Society will give several important compositions of Mr. Chadwick. After a brief stay in Leipsic and Dresden he will return to Berlin for a couple of weeks, and then rejoin his family in Switzerland. The greater part of the winter he will spend in Lausanne and Geneva.
19Wednesday evening I took Mr. Chadwick to the Philharmonie, and he was very much interested in hearing the Mahler symphony. He did not particularly care for the composition, but he was profuse in his praise of the playing of the Philharmonic Orchestra, and of the singing of the chorus. Afterward we spent a very pleasant evening together, and I found Mr. Chadwick to be a man of broad musical intelligence, sound judgment and keen powers of discrimination, and, above all, honest to the core. He is a man of strong convictions, and is not afraid to say what he thinks. Moreover, he is not only one of the greatest composers America has ever produced, but he is one of our best and truest musicians in the broadest sense of the word. He has always labored in the advancement of art. I hope that some of his orchestral compositions will get a hearing here during the winter.
21Fitzhugh Coyle Goldsborough has been playing in London with good success. P. J. Partello, the famous violin collector of this city, has become much interested in the young American violinist and has presented him with two valuable fiddles, old Italian instruments, namely, a Seraphino and an Andreas Guarnerius. Mr. Goldsborough is indeed fortunate to possess two such gems.
23Hugo Kaun's new piano concerto scored a big success at its first performance, which took place at Leipsic on Thursday. It was played at a Gewandhaus concert, under Nikisch, and the soloist was the brilliant young Russian pianist, Vera Maurina. Richard Burmeister came up from Dresden to Leipsic to hear the work, and he was very much impressed with it. Maurina is a remarkable pianist and she plays the novelty con amore.
25Yssay Barmas, the new head of the violin department of the Klindworth-Scharwenka Conservatory, is achieving notable results at that institution. At a conservatory concert on last Saturday evening five of his pupils played the following selections: The Mendelssohn concerto, Edith von Voigtländer; the Bruch second concerto, first movement, Maximilian Ronis; the Lalo F major concerto, Maurice Rubinstein; Corelli's "La Folia," Johannes Woiku; the Paganini D major concerto, Else Daegling. These five budding young artists played exceptionally well, and did great credit to their instructor and the institution.
27Mrs. Rudolf Ganz gave a musicale on Saturday afternoon, at which Charles W. Clark was the guest of honor. As was to be expected in view of his magnificent gifts, Mr. Clark is fast becoming a great favorite here. On this occasion he sang the following program:
29Der arme Peter …………………………………………….. Schumann
30Frühlingsnacht …………………………………………….. Schumann
31Verrat ……………………………………………………….. Brahms
32Was ist Liebe ………………………………………………… Ganz
33Three Comrades ……………………………………………. Hermann
34La Cloche ……………………………………………………. Saint-Saëns
35La vague et la cloche ……………………………………… Duparc
36Le passe qui file ……………………………………………. Hollier
37Aime moi ……………………………………………………. Bemberg
39Mr. Clark has every requisite of the great singer. His voice is rich, full and mellow, capable of every degree of modulation. His vocal technic is perfect, his interpretation vivid, artistic, in good taste, and his delivery impassioned and full of soul. In the Saint-Saëns "La Cloche" he rose to great interpretative heights.
41Worthy of mention also were the accompaniments, which were played by Madame Possart, wife of Hermann von Possart, who, as theatre censor, holds an important position in Berlin, and daughter-in-law of the famous Ernst von Possart. Madame von Possart is an American, and a native of Dubuque. In her accompaniments she displayed a clear, finished technic, much refinement and a beautiful tone. She also showed great skill in following the inten
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