Scan 7
Musical Courier 1909-03-17: Vol 58 Iss 11, 1909
25 lines. Read by computer on 26 September 2026, twice; the two readings disagreed in places. Printed page 8. See the scan on archive.org.
1nic and delightful touch and she plays with musical intelligence and temperament. She seemed to be perfectly at home on the stage and thoroughly at ease while playing with orchestra. She undoubtedly has pianistic talent of a high order, and she has been well trained by Alberto Jonás, who has taken a great interest in her. Her passage work was crisp and clear and she brought out the themes with proper emphasis and with a fine sense of dynamics and tone color. She was warmly applauded. The composer of the concerto was present and he expressed himself as highly pleased with Miss Huebner's interpretation of his work. At this concert Hugo Kaun's "Festival March," in which he has made use of the "Star Spangled Banner," was repeated by request. The overture to Max Marschalk's "Und Pippa Tanzt" was also performed. Marschalk is critic of the Vossische Zeitung. This short orchestra number shows him to be a composer of ideas and skill. He does not attempt to do anything of revolutionary character, but handles the orchestra with refinement. There is a certain pleasing atmosphere about the work. The other American girl who made her debut here was Sybella Clayton, of Salt Lake City, also a pupil of Jonás. She gave a concert at Beethoven Hall with the Philharmonic Orchestra, under Kunwald, on Thursday evening, playing the Tchaikowsky B flat minor and the Liszt E flat concertos, also César Franck's "Symphonic Variations." This was Miss Clayton's first appearance in public, and she acquitted herself of her difficult task in a highly creditable manner. One does not expect a great artist in a debutante. Miss Clayton is of the brilliant type of pianists; she has a certain elegance of style and she has a very efficient technical equipment. With her clean, pearly finger work she made the passages stand out very clearly; she produces an excellent tone, and in point of rhythm, dynamics and accents she revealed good musicianship. Her conceptions were straightforward and legitimate, and, all in all, she made a very good impression. The American colony was well represented in the audience, which applauded Miss Clayton to the echo. As an encore, at the conclusion of the program, she played Rubinstein's staccato study. Miss Clayton's father came all the way from Salt Lake City to attend his daughter's concert. This is probably the only instance on record where a man, coming and going, traveled 14,000 miles to attend a concert.
3Moritz Mayer-Mahr and Bernard Dessau have finished their series of three sonata evenings. The three concerts proved to be very successful. The program of the third contained sonatas by Schubert, Mendelssohn and Brahms. The two artists, as I am informed, were in excellent trim and played with finish and with a proper attitude toward the works in hand, as well as toward each other's individuality. Mayer-Mahr is a virtuoso who has a brilliant technic and a tone capable of great modulation, while the tone of his partner reveals an orchestra player of long years' standing; such violinists unconsciously acquire a certain roughness of tone.
5Martha Schley, a singer, who, if I mistake not, has been heard here in former years, but who has for two or three seasons past withdrawn from public work and devoted herself to perfecting her vocal attainments under the guidance of Etelka Gerster, gave a concert at the Singakademie, which won for her gratifying recognition. Her voice is sympathetic and she sings with a great deal of expression and with good artistic taste. Her program comprised songs by Kahn, Reyer, Taubert, Schubert, Liszt and others.
7Lilli Lehmann was very well disposed at her last song recital, which, as usual, drew an audience that filled the Philharmonie to the last seat. This queen of song, in the smaller lyric numbers, such as, for instance, Schumann's "Mondnacht," is still wonderful. This and other lieder of a similar genre she sang with exquisite tone production and with a delivery full of esprit. In works like "Belzazar" and the "Erl King" she lacked the dramatic verve and the powers of vocal endurance to give the necessary emphasis and character to their interpretations. Still it was very interesting to hear so near together two such famous stars as Lilli Lehmann and Marcella Sembrich, who differ so widely in their views and conceptions of art. one of two readings
8Lilli Lehmann was very well disposed at her last song recital, which, as usual, drew an audience that filled the Philharmonie to the last seat. This queen of song, in the smaller lyric numbers, such as, for instance, Schumann's "Mondnacht," is still wonderful. This and other lieder of a similar genre she sang with exquisite tone production and with a delivery full of esprit. In works like "Bel-sazar" and the "Erl King" she lacked the dramatic verve and the powers of vocal endurance to give the necessary emphasis and character to their interpretations. Still it was very interesting to hear so near together two such famous stars as Lilli Lehmann and Marcella Sembrich, who differ so widely in their views and conceptions of art. one of two readings
10I heard her some years ago in the small hall of the Philharmonie, where the instrument, the tones of which have slight carrying power, was better displayed. Beethoven Hall is rather too large for this kind of intimate music. The artist at her recital played both the piano and the cembalo alternately. Her selections included the Bach Italian concerto and works by Rameau, Handel, Scarlatti, Purcell and Couperin. She proved to be thoroughly at home on both instruments, but her offerings on the cembalo were listened to with greater interest, naturally, as we do not often have an opportunity to hear this old instrument played.
12The Sevcik Quartet of Prague gave a successful concert at Beethoven Hall. I heard three of the four artists in Dvorák's beautiful trio for two violins and viola, of which they gave a spirited and finished reading. I heard the Quartet play at the home of Louisa Wolff at a musical given by her on Wednesday afternoon, when they played César Franck's glorious quintet, with the assistance of Paul Goldschmidt at the piano. This, one of the greatest of modern ensemble chamber music works, was given a masterly performance. The ensemble of these four artists from Prague is noteworthy for precision and unity, and they play with finish and temperament. At Madame Wolff's Elena Toro, an exceptionally gifted Russian violinist of fifteen summers, played Tartini's "Devil's Trill" and the first Brahms "Hungarian Dance" in G minor. This girl, a pupil of Alexander Friedemann, at the Stern Conservatory, already has a big virtuoso technic and a fine command of the bow. Her arm could be made still more pliable and that will undoubtedly be done by her teacher, who shows genius for pedagogic work. The girl has a very musical nature, and she played with a fire and an energy of accent that belied her age. Last week I heard her also at Rudolph Ganz's house at an afternoon musicale, when she played the first movement of the Saint-Saens concerto in a very commendable style. Arthur van Ewyk and Madame Grumbacher de Jong also contributed to the afternoon's enjoyment at Madame Wolff's by singing each a group of lieder and two duets. Wanda Landowska plays the cembalo with exquisite finish and much grace. The dainty, tinkling tones of this old instrument, as produced by her, have a peculiar charm.
14The second and third recitals by pupils of Vernon Spencer, the new Berlin piano pedagogue, who is making a name for himself here, were given at the American Women's Club on February 18 and 25 by Marie Sloss and Floyd Weston Robbins, both Americans. Miss Sloss played the Rubinstein D minor concerto, twenty-four Chopin preludes and the Grieg concerto. My assistant informs me that she played with a great deal of virtuosity and brilliance of style. I have repeatedly heard Miss Sloss on other occasions myself and have found that she has a singularly fleet and reliable, scintillating technic, and that her memory is really quite remarkable. Floyd Robbins' program comprised Beethoven's C minor concerto with the Alkan cadenza, nine Chopin etudes and the Chopin E minor concerto. He gave a very smooth performance of the Beethoven concerto, as my representative tells me, and he was also excellent in the etudes. The Chopin concerto was not quite up to the standard he maintained in the other numbers, but considering that this was his first public appearance and that he has studied seriously only two years, he acquitted himself very creditably. Both pupils did credit to their teacher and proved the efficiency of his method of instruction.
16The fourth concert of modern French chamber music will be given here at the home of the French Ambassador on March 2. The program will be devoted to Charles M. Widor, who will assist in person.
18Edmund Munger, a young American pianist, gave a recital at the home of Mrs. Bennett last Friday evening, when he played the Schumann fantasy, two Chopin etudes, the D flat nocturne and F minor fantasy, two rhapsodies by Dohnanyi, Dreyeschock's minuet in E flat major and Moszkowski's "Caprice Espagnol."
20H. H. Wetzler, who is now conductor of the Elberfeld Opera, as I stated last week, scored an enormous success with his production of "Electra." The Elberfeld papers all state that he led the orchestra and singers through the wonderful mazes of the Strauss score with a master hand. One paper writes: "H. H. Wetzler acquitted himself of his enormous task admirably. He brought the motives out of the flood of tones in a beautiful and plastic manner, and the enchanting lyric parts he expressed in glorious colors. All in all he revealed a conception of the Strauss work that challenges admiration."
22Charles H. Keefer, a young American composer-pianist, who is studying in Berlin, has just completed a composition for piano, entitled "Meeresleuchten," which reveals a great deal of creative talent. It is a short presto movement, built up on similar lines to Henselt's "Bird Study" in the fundamental idea. It is technically very difficult and demands a virtuoso. There is an exotic charm in the rapid harmonic changes and when played very fast and legato the effect is altogether charming.
24The dearth of first class heroic tenors makes it sometimes necessary for two operatic stages to employ the same one. That is the case with Hans Taenzler, a pupil of Teresa Emerich. He is at present singing alternately
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