Books › Musical Courier 1907-03-20: Vol 54 Iss 12, 1907 › scan 12
Scan 12
Musical Courier 1907-03-20: Vol 54 Iss 12, 1907
42 lines. Read by computer on 26 September 2026. Printed page 13. See the scan on archive.org.
1MUSIC IN CANADA.
3East and West.
5TORONTO, March 5, 1907.
7The Vancouver Woman's Musical Club's program for the present season consisted of twelve interesting events, arranged by Mrs. Coulthard, Mrs. Peter, Mrs. Quigley, Miss Walker, Mrs. Burke, Miss Crysdale, Mrs. Weld, the program committee, and Mrs. Boyle. Remaining events will include: March 7, miscellaneous program; March 21, oratorio and opera; April 4, Children's Day; April 18, Request Day; May 1, evening concert.
9Sara E. Dallas, Mus. Bac., formerly a member of the Toronto Conservatory of Music's staff, is meeting with much success in the musical circles of the beautiful "Terminal City," Vancouver.
11Rechab Tandy, the well known tenor, recently completed a six weeks' concert tour in the Canadian Northwest. Mr. Tandy is a member of the Toronto Conservatory of Music's staff.
13The gifted organist, Albert D. Jordan, of London, Ont., has given noteworthy recitals this season at the First Methodist Church, in that flourishing Canadian city. Among compositions performed were: "Coronation March," Tschaikowsky; fugue, "St. Ann," Bach; "Meditation" and toccata, d'Evry, and overture, "Sakuntala," Goldmark.
15It is rumored that Canada's famous Mendelssohn Choir may be heard in Boston as well as New York next season, and that in the latter city the New York Symphony Orchestra will co-operate.
17The Oshawa Choral Society, under the direction of W. E. Pickard, will give a concert on March 12 in the Simcoe Street Methodist Church, Oshawa. The soloists will be Greta Masson, soprano, of Chicago; Maude Busehlen, violinist, and Rhynnd Jamieson, Baritone.
19This spring J. M. Scherlock, tenor, will sing Rossini's "Stabat Mater" with the Kingston Vocal Club, Mendelssohn's "Hymn of Praise" with the St. Thomas Choral Society, Cowen's "Rose Maiden" with the Highland Choral Society, at Toronto Junction, and Haydn's "Creation" with the Brockville Philharmonic Society.
21The Canadian Conservatory of Music gave a creditable symphony concert before an artistic and fashionable audience at the Russell Theater, Ottawa, on February 26.
23Mrs. Alexander Cartwright was in charge of the Ottawa Women's Morning Music Club's excellent program of February 28, when the soloists were Dora Aisbitt Gibson, Miss Ridout, W. Wright Symonds, Mrs. Jenkins and Mrs. Cartwright.
25M. H.
27SUPERLATIVE PRAISE OF ROSENTHAL.
29(From the San Francisco Musical Review.)
31While I was listening with raptest attention to the almost inconceivable technical and musical feats of Moriz Rosenthal at Christian Science Hall Thursday evening, February 28, there presented itself to my mind's eye a few tiny voices of the past that whispered with a weak semblance of hypercritical tendencies, the well known legend of a giant with a wonderful technic and a lack of poetic instinct. In the face of the miraculous achievements that my willing ears were almost incapable of absorbing to their fullest extent, these sickly whispers seemed indeed strange hallucinations. And yet I felt the force of a prophetic inspiration that persisted in giving me the impression that even in the face of such marvelous skill and such eminent musicianship as displayed by Rosenthal throughout his program, in spite of the avalanche of applause that thundered its enthusiastic approval again and again, one or two tiny, squeaky voices in the gallery would still persist in nasal accents to harp upon that ridiculous legend of the giant with the lack of poetic instinct.
33While glancing over one of the morning papers, I discovered that my prophetic instinct had not played me false and that the nasal, squeaky voice was still busy in uttering its weak disapproval of a lack of feeling. Now let us understand this proposition once for all. In my estimation Rosenthal never in his life lacked depth of feeling. In the face of such brilliant musicianship and such wonderful skill of intellectual force, there cannot possibly exist a lack of poetic instinct—this is an absolute physical impossibility. Any one—and I will make this statement with all due knowledge of its broadness—any one, I repeat, who accuses Rosenthal of lack of poetic instinct is either hopelessly ignorant as to the significance of poetic instinct, and consequently will be unable to designate the particular phrase and ideas supposed to lack such feeling, or he or she labors under a fixed imagination which must be regarded as the result of repeating a statement heard time and again.
35I have known of cases where a man had told a lie so often that he finally believed it to be the truth. Now to me it is inconceivable how any one who has heard Rosenthal play a Beethoven sonata, a Chopin sonata, and particularly his own "Papillons," can have the effrontery of accusing him of a lack of depth of feeling. The matter is, on second thought, so utterly ridiculous that I almost regret having devoted this space to it.
37As far as I know, Moriz Rosenthal is the world's greatest pianist, judging from a review before my mind's eye of all the great pianists I have heard within the last sixteen years. The piano being an instrument that is, by its very nature, limited in the transmission of poetic sentiment and is almost unlimited in its mechanical or technical possibilities demands of its greatest exponent the greatest exhibition of technical skill. Careful operation has convinced me of the fact that truly great technical skill carries with it a corresponding amount of musicianship, and musicianship includes in itself poetic instinct. All twaddle regarding the fictitious assertions of great technicians lacking in depth of feeling is pure imagination, and in my opinion simply unadulterated "rot."
39In the face of such pianistic skill as displayed by Rosenthal in his concerts so far, criticism becomes simply ridiculous and to pen here my impressions of Rosenthal's gigantic work causes me almost as much embarrassment as it would for me to tell him after his concert, "Oh, Mr. Rosenthal, your playing is simply too lovely for anything." At this time words fail me to express my admiration and respect for such a musical colossus. My pencil is still too dwarfed to enable me to express so soon after the concert the exaltation of spirit that Rosenthal's matchless skill created in my soul. Just now I can only take off my hat, make my profoundest bow and pay silent homage to a great genius.
41Traugott Ochs, the well known director of the Bielefeld Conservatory, and conductor of the symphony orchestra of that town, has been chosen to fill the post just vacated by Professor Schroeder, of Sondershausen. This is an appointment of importance, as it includes the directorship of the Sondershausen Conservatory and Court Opera and the conductorship of the symphony concerts. The Conservatory and Opera are State institutions. Director Ochs will enter upon his new duties April 1. Professor Schroeder, who has hitherto occupied this position at Sondershausen, has gone to Leipsic, where he will found a school of conducting at Herdenberger strasse, 21. He will instruct pupils in the art of reading scores and leading the orchestra in concert and opera.
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