Books › Musical Courier 1907-11-20: Vol 55 Iss 21, 1907 › scan 34
Scan 34
Musical Courier 1907-11-20: Vol 55 Iss 21, 1907
167 lines. Read by computer on 23 September 2026, twice; the two readings disagreed in places. Printed page 35. See the scan on archive.org.
1KREISLER'S RECITAL TRIUMPH.
2Favorite Violinist Charms With His Finished Art.
4Fritz Kreisler, the ever popular and constantly growing master of the violin, drew a very large audience to his first recital at Carnegie Hall last Wednesday afternoon, November 13, when he played the following tasteful and characteristic program:
6Sonata, A major………………………………………Handel
7Sonata, G minor, No. 1 (for violin alone)………………Bach
8Andantino, F major…………………………………….Martini
9Siciliano and Rigaudon…………………………………Francouer
10La Precieuse…………………………………………….Couperin one of two readings
11La Precieuse……………………………………………..Couperin one of two readings
12Menuet…………………………………………………….Porpora
13Variations…………………………………………………Tartini
14Canzonetta……………………………………………….Dvorak
15Caprice…………………………………………………….Wieniawski
16Twenty-fourth Caprice…………………………………Paganini
18The foregoing list, in its selection and arrangement, is an eloquent index to the scope of Kreisler's violin art. His musical sympathies seem to embrace every school and style of composition, and in their playing he shows that the same eclecticism extends also to his interpretation and execution. It is a far cry indeed from the simple, almost coy morceau by Martini to the ornate caprice of Paganini, with its bristling technics and showy externals, but Kreisler bridged the evolutionary chasm with sure knowledge of the style of both periods, and he was as delightful and convincing in the one as he was in the other.
20The formal opening of the program, Handel and Bach, gave the player a fine opportunity to blend classical dignity with modern romantic warmth, a combination which certain artists have made deservedly popular during the past few years, and none more so than Kreisler. He does not belong to the pedantic cranks who make a specialty of sawing with stiff bow arm and dead, dry tone, at all violin music written with a serious purpose. The so-called "German school" is used by Kreisler only as an academic foundation, on which he builds freely with a fancy and warmth of temperament truly and fascinatingly Gallic. He is of a kind with the pianists who apply modern pedaling and tonal effects in their Bach playing, and make that composer a joy in the concert room instead of a deadly bore. Kreisler also may be compared to those really great vocalists who have taught the world that in order to get the best out of Wagner he must be sung and not declaimed or preached. Kreisler "sings" his music on the violin and he uses its every tonal and technical resource during each moment of his active execution. Those who understand modern violin art in its highest sense will comprehend the point just set forth, and to them the secret of Kreisler's success with audiences of every kind and degree must be apparent.
22The Martini, Francouer, Couperin, Porpora and Tartini numbers were made wells of purest enjoyment in their presentation, tender, whimsical, gently sentimental and lovingly reverential. No one excels Kreisler in the playing of such music, just as no one else seems to have his knack of finding these neglected gems and preparing them for public performance.
24The Dvorak canzonetta promises to be as widely popular in Kreisler's reading, as the Bohemian composer's "Humoresque," first introduced here several years ago by the same player. Of course it had to be added to last Wednesday's regular program, after tumultuous demand on the part of the audience.
26The two "modern" works that closed the concert left Kreisler free to make display with the pyrotechnics of his profession, but he did it in a legitimate and ingratiating fashion which sought not merely to astonish but rather to make music even out of material which most other violinists skim over lightly and superficially.
28It has become a trite thing to say of a foreign artist on each American visit, that he has grown "broader" or more "mature" or "mellower" since his previous appearances here. If all three of those terms herewith are applied to Kreisler it is with the special understanding that they are used knowingly and not as commonplace relief from finding more original words of praise. Fritz Kreisler today has reached an artistic eminence so lofty that it can safely be said no one of our times has gone beyond him, and as all real artists never stop learning, it is left to conjecture what Kreisler will achieve in the years to come. He is a very young man, as art matters go, and the future stretches before him with marvelous invitation and promise.
30Needless to state, the audience at the Kreisler concert hung on every note that he charmed from the fiddle, and acclaimed him after the last number to such an extent that a miniature recital of encores then and there took place, which had reached the imposing total of three—with unmistakable signs of more to come—when the present chronicler reluctantly had to leave Carnegie Hall.
32MRS. EDDY'S SONG RECITAL.
34Mrs. Clarence Eddy, wife of the celebrated concert organist, presented an attractive program at her song recital at the Waldorf-Astoria Saturday night of last week. The appearance of Jean Gerardy, the world renowned cellist, in a number of solos, and Mr. Eddy as the piano accompanist, enhanced the musical offerings of the evening. The recital took place in the Astor Gallery and was listened to by a distinguished company of music lovers and friends. Mrs. Eddy's rich contralto voice gave pleasure, and the singer seemed to interest her audience most in the songs by native composers, especially those songs by Chadwick and Homer N. Bartlett (who was present) and the cycle by Mary Turner Salter.
36Gerardy played with his usual beauty of tone and consummate musicianship. Mr. Eddy's accompanying was artistic in the highest degree. The program follows:
38Aria, Ah! mio cor (from the opera Alcina)………………Handel
39My Mother Bids Me Bind My Hair………………………..Haydn
40The Spirit's Song………………………………………Haydn
41To Sylvia……………………………………………….Schubert
42The Trout……………………………………………….Schubert
43Variations Symphonique………………………………..Boellmann
44Jean Gerardy.
45Biblical Songs, op. 99, Nos. 1, 2, 3—
46Um ihn her ist Wolken und Dunkel…………………….Dvorak
47Du bist, O Herr……………………………………….Dvorak
48Gott erhöre mein Gebet……………………………….Dvorak
49Im Herbst……………………………………………….Franz
50O weine nicht…………………………………………..Kücken
51A Night in Naishapur (New)……………………………Mary Turner Salter
52(A Cycle of Six Songs.)
53Long, Long Ago.
54In the City, the Misgar.
55The Song.
56The Moon Has Long Since Wandered.
57If I Could Prove My Love.
58The Farewell.
59Air………………………………………………………..Bach
60Abendlied……………………………………………….Schumann
61Pavillon…………………………………………………Popp
62Jean Gerardy.
63A Ballad of the Trees and the Master…………………..George W. Chadwick
64June……………………………………………………..Roger Quilter
65Turner…………………………………………………..Homer N. Bartlett one of two readings
66Turner……………………………………………………Homer N. Bartlett one of two readings
67Nur wer die Sehnsucht Kennt………………………….Tchaikowsky
68With Violoncello Obligato, played by Jean Gerardy.
69The Rose……………………………………………….Noel Johnson
70The River and the Sea………………………………..Noel Johnson
72The recital was under the direction of Mrs. A. McIver-Kerr, who will continue to manage Mrs. Eddy in other recitals and musicales.
74Miss Goodson in Michigan.
76The Jackson (Mich.) Citizen-Press of October 31 contains an excellent review of the appearance in that city of Katharine Goodson at what they call the St. Ambrose Recitals. The St. Ambrose Society gives the recitals in the interest of music in this country. Miss Goodson played a splendid program—Mozart, Brahms, Schubert, Richard Strauss, Saur, Chopin, Liszt—and she simply took the Jackson people by storm. The paper says among other things:
78Miss Goodson's pianistic resources were shown to great advantage in the well known Liszt Rhapsodie No. 2, for it was given breadth and played with greater fluency and spirit than ever heard before. One word for the piano. We have always thought of no other piano but one, but we are convinced of the futility of an opinion. The piano was of a beautiful tone and gave the best of satisfaction. The large audience agreed that Miss Goodson's recital was a brilliant success and the occasion was pleasantly significant of the spirit that sustains artists and incidentally advances the cause of art.
80Attention must be called to the fact that the piano used by Miss Goodson was a Mason & Hamlin grand. Here is another case where the daily papers call attention to the piano—its beauty, its quality, its character—and what it has done toward enabling the artist to perform satisfactorily before a musical public. In this manner the use of artists is a legitimate course, because it produces the effect which is sought in the arrangement made, but there must be a piano to back it up, and that is what the Mason & Hamlin is doing for the pianists who play on it. The pianists are not backing up the instrument; the instrument is backing up the pianists.
82Carlo Mascheroni, a young and talented composer, died recently at Bergamo, Italy.
84CONCERT RECORD OF WORKS BY SOME OF OUR BEST AMERICAN COMPOSERS.
86Mrs. H. H. A. Beach.
87"My Sweetheart and I." (Song.) Madame Sembrich, Boston, Mass.
88"I Know Not How to Find the Way." (Song.) Mme. Caroline Clarke-Bartlett, Boston, Mass.
89"June." (Song.) Elias Blum, Weimar, Germany.
90"When Soul Is Joined to Soul." (Song.) Gertrude Holt, Boston, Mass.
91"When Soul Is Joined to Soul." (Song.) Maude Fenlon Bollman, Boston, Mass.
92"Wouldn't That Be Queer." (Song.) Bertha Swift, Boston, Mass.
93"The Year's at the Spring." (Song.) Edward Strong, Bristol, Tenn.
94"The Year's at the Spring." (Song.) Helen A. Hunt, Boston, Mass.
95"The Year's at the Spring." (Song.) Mme. Seveithac Donalda, Montreal, Canada.
96"Ecstasy." (Song.) Adale Sheffield, Columbus, Ohio.
97From "Eskimos," op. 64 (piano)—
98"Arctic Night." E. Ruth Lavers, Boston, Mass.
99"Exiles." E. Ruth Lavers, Boston, Mass.
100"With Dog Teams." E. Ruth Lavers, Boston, Mass.
101"Arctic Night." Stella Barnard, New York City.
102"Exiles." Stella Barnard, New York City.
103"With Dog Teams." Stella Barnard, New York City.
104"Fireflies." Op. 15, No. 4. (Piano.) Stella Barnard, New York City.
106H. Clough-Leighter.
107"April Blossoms." (Song.) Florence Pierron Hartmann, Chicago, Ill.
108"O Heart of Mine." (Song.) Edith Rosina Godbe, Salt Lake City, Utah.
109"O Heart of Mine." (Song.) Anna Miller Wood, Catskill, N. Y.
111M. W. Daniels.
112"Before the King." (Song.) Elizabeth Moor, Grand Rapids, Mich.
113"Before the King." (Song.) Edith Rosina Godbe, Salt Lake City, Utah.
114"In the Dark, in the Dew." (Song.) Lillian Lanphear, Galesburg, Ill.
115"My Soul Doth Call." (Song.) Edward Strong, Bristol, Tenn.
117Arthur Foote.
118"The Hawthorn Wins the Damask Rose." (Song.) Adina Malmsten, Chicago, Ill.
119"Love Me if I Live." (Song.) Ralph Osborne, Sharon, Mass.
120"The Milkmaid's Son." (Song.) Anna Miller Wood, Catskill, N. Y.
121"On the Way to Kew." (Song.) Anna Miller Wood, Catskill, N. Y.
122"Persian Song." (Song.) Susan Hawley Davis, New York City.
123"The Rose and the Gardener." (Song.) Mary E. White, Trenton, N. J.
124"The Rose and the Gardener." (Song.) Marion Hay, Boston, Mass.
125"The Sun Is Low." "Love Is a Bubble." (Songs with violin obligato.) Sigmund Beel, London, England.
126"I Fly Like a Bird." (Duet.) Miss Woodward and Miss Stewart, Boston, Mass.
127"The Voice of Spring." (Duet.) Miss Davidson and Miss Consigny, London, England.
128"Four Poems" (after Omar Khayyam), op. 41. (Piano.) Mary van Orden, Alameda, Cal.
130G. A. Grant-Schaefier.
131"A Garden Romance." (Song.) Arthur Garthwaite, Hamilton, Ont.
132"A Garden Romance." (Song.) Adah Sheffield, Columbus, Ohio.
134Margaret Ruthven Lang.
135"Day Is Gone." (Song.) Ethel Crane, Elmira, N. Y.
136"Day Is Gone." (Song.) Milicent Brennan, Granville, Ohio.
137"Day Is Gone." (Song.) George Hamlin, Chicago, Ill.
138"Irish Love Song." (Song.) Anna Miller Wood, Catskill, N. Y.
139From "Nonsense Rhymes and Pictures." (Songs.) "There Was an Old Person of Skye." H. C. Hammond, Galesburg, Ill.
141Edward MacDowell.
142"A Maid Sings Light." (Song.) David Stevens, New York City.
143"Long Ago, Sweetheart Mine." (Song.) David Stevens, New York City.
144"The Swan Bent Low to the Lily." (Song.) David Stevens, New York City.
145"Merry Maiden Spring." (Song.) David Stevens, New York City.
146"Thy Beaming Eyes." (Song.) David Stevens, New York City.
147"Long Ago, Sweetheart Mine." (Song.) Grainger Kerr, London, England.
148"The Swan Bent Low to the Lily." (Song.) Grainger Kerr, London, England.
149"A Maid Sings Light." (Song.) Dell Kendall-Werthner, Granville, Ohio.
150"The Swan Bent Low to the Lily." (Song.) Dell Kendall-Werthner, Granville, Ohio.
151"Thy Beaming Eyes." (Song.) Dell Kendall-Werthner, Granville, Ohio.
152"Clude de Concert," op. 36. (Piano.) Mrs. Herman Schaeffer, St. Paul, Minn. one of two readings
153"Shadow Dance," op. 36. (Piano.) Mrs. Herman Schaeffer, St. Paul, Minn. one of two readings
154"Earth Sonata" (Keltic), op. 59. (Piano.) Phillip Werthner, Granville, Ohio.
155"Scotch Poem," op. 31, No. 2. (Piano.) Hallene Hall, Spokane, Wash.
156"Scotch Poem," op. 31, No. 2. (Piano.) Carla Surburg, New York City.
157"Dance of the Gnomes," op. 39, No. 4. (Piano.) Ruth E. Lavers, Springfield, Mass.
158"Shadow Dance," op. 39, No. 8. (Piano.) Agnes Lapham, Chicago, Ill.
159"Shadow Dance," op. 39, No. 8. (Piano.) Lilah Nelson, Galesburg, Ill.
161Charles Fonteyn Manney.
162"Affinities." (Song.) Raymond Wesley, Boston, Mass.
163"Transformations." (Song.) Ralph Osborne, Swampscott, Mass.
164"Transformations." (Song.) Ralph Osborne, Boston, Mass.
165"Love's Largess." (Song.) Ralph Osborne, Boston, Mass.
166"How Many Times Do I Love Thee?" (Song.) Frank Ellis Currier, Trenton, N. J.
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