Books › Musical Courier 1910-02-16: Vol 60 Iss 7, 1910 › scan 34
Scan 34
Musical Courier 1910-02-16: Vol 60 Iss 7, 1910
56 lines. Read by computer on 26 September 2026, twice; the two readings disagreed in places. Printed page 35. See the scan on archive.org.
1San Francisco, January 31, 1910.
3Nellie Widmann-Blow made her San Francisco debut in the new Kohler & Chase Hall with artistic success. She has studied with Madame Macklin, of St. Louis, and Alexander Heinemann, of Berlin, and has received a thorough and comprehensive pianistic education. She is possessed of a well trained mezzo-soprano voice of surprising range and beautiful quality, which, combined with powerful dramatic intensity and a most charming personality, brought her a complete success. The splendid rendition of the aria and recitative from the opera "Xerxes" gave her ample opportunity to display the beautiful qualities of her voice, while the songs evinced that Madame Widmann-Blow is a rising star of the concert stage. Her renditions of the Brahms songs roused the audience, while again her execution of the "Bettelarie" from "Der Prophet," touched everyone deeply by reason of her dramatic interpretation. The Strauss and Wolff songs showed that Madame Widmann-Blow's repertory includes many rare German songs.
5Another musical event of this season was the performance of Saint-Saëns' "Samson and Delilah," in oratorio form, at the first concert of the San Francisco Choral Society under the leadership of Paul Steindorff. It was a difficult task. The orchestra, with Hother Wismer as concertmaster, did surprisingly well. The work of the chorus during the first act did not quite come up to expectations, but it improved in the second and last acts. There is an abundance of splendid material in the chorus, particularly among the women's voices. Mr. Steindorff deserves the greatest praise for his able conducting of the choral and orchestral forces at this concert. The solo parts were not altogether satisfactory. George Walker, basso, who recently arrived from Berlin, made his San Francisco debut in the roles of Abimelech and the Old Hebrew. He has a sonorous voice, showing good training, and sang with admirable repose and ease. Lowell Redfield, baritone, made a fine showing and deserves to be heard much oftener. Mrs. Caroll Nicholson's mezzo-soprano voice is well trained, but not large enough for so great a task as this occasion demanded. The Dreamland Ring auditorium, in which the performance took place, has very bad acoustics, and the selection of another hall would have given more satisfaction both to audience and choral society. San Francisco needs a concert auditorium of proper size and equipment.
7The Mansfeldt-De Grassi-Villapando Trio gave the first of a series of three chamber music concerts on January 24 in the new Kohler & Chase Hall. On the program were Saint-Saëns' trio in E minor, Bach's "Chaconne" and Sinding's trio in D major. Antonio de Grassi is a violinist possessed of a good technic. He seemed to please the audience more by his ensemble playing than as a soloist. The rendition of the Trio was excellent. Mrs. Mansfeldt is a fine pianist and an artist of rare taste. Mr. Villapando is one of our best cello players; he has a brilliant technic and an elegant style of bowing. The next concerts of the Trio will be given on February 17 and March 17.
9There is at the present time an abundance of chamber music. A series of four Sunday afternoon chamber concerts by the Minetti String Quartet begins on February 20, and the concerts of the Lyric Quartet began yesterday. Another new string quartet, the California Conservatory String Quartet, with Ignaz Edward Haroldi, head of the violin department of the California Conservatory of Music as leader, and Paul M. Friedhofer, cellist, will shortly make its appearance.
11The reorganization of the California Conservatory of Music of San Francisco, a corporation created and existing under the laws of the State of California, is an event destined to exercise the greatest influence upon the musical future of our city, the State of California, and the entire Pacific Coast. The officers of the new board of directors are men of experience in the management of educational institutions which, together with the financial reorganization that has been effected, guarantees a successful future. E. P. Heald, president of Heald's College, is president; L. M. Hoefer, the well known attorney, is vice president; Ernest Horstmann is secretary, and R. S. Knudson is the treasurer and general manager. Georg Krüger, who for many years was the head of the piano department of the Cincinnati Conservatory of Music, has been engaged for the piano department; associated with him in that department are seven other teachers of merit, Ignaz Edward Haroldi, a Berlin violin virtuoso, will be head of the violin department. For a number of years he has served as concertmaster of the Dresden Symphony Orchestra, and has repeatedly been engaged as soloist with the Mozart Symphony and the Philharmonic Orchestra in Berlin. Paul M. Friedhofer, one of the leading cellists of the West, is the head of the violoncello department, while Eva König-Friedhofer, a pupil of the famous German vocal teacher, Molly v. Kotzebue, Dresden, has been secured for the vocal department. A new feature of the conservatory will be the establishment of an opera school under Herman Perlet. A branch of the conservatory will be opened in Oakland during the month of February, in appreciation of the growing musical importance of the cities of Oakland, Berkeley and Alameda. one of two readings
12The reorganization of the California Conservatory of Music of San Francisco, a corporation created and existing under the laws of the State of California, is an event destined to exercise the greatest influence upon the musical future of our city, the State of California, and the entire Pacific Coast. The officers of the new board of directors are men of experience in the management of educational institutions which, together with the financial reorganization that has been effected, guarantees a successful future. E. P. Heald, president of Heald's College, is president; L. M. Hoefer, the well known attorney, is vice president; Ernest Horstmann is secretary, and R. S. Knudson is the treasurer and general manager. Georg Krüger, who for many years was the head of the piano department of the Cincinnati Conservatory of Music, has been engaged for the piano department; associated with him in that department are seven other teachers of merit. Ignaz Edward Haroldi, a Berlin violin virtuoso, will be head of the violin department. For a number of years he has served as concertmaster of the Dresden Symphony Orchestra, and has repeatedly been engaged as soloist with the Mozart Symphony and the Philharmonic Orchestra in Berlin. Paul M. Friedhofer, one of the leading cellists of the West, is the head of the violoncello department, while Eva König-Friedhofer, a pupil of the famous German vocal teacher, Molly v. Kotzebue, Dresden, has been secured for the vocal department. A new feature of the conservatory will be the establishment of an opera school under Herman Perlet. A branch of the conservatory will be opened in Oakland during the month of February, in appreciation of the growing musical importance of the cities of Oakland, Berkeley and Alameda. one of two readings
14Carreño Plays for Wagner Club of Spokane.
16Spokane, Wash., February 1, 1910.
18Teresa Carreño made her first appearance in Spokane on January 20 under the auspices of the Wagner Club. Madame Carreño repeated her Eastern triumphs and received an ovation from the audience which had assembled to greet her. Madame Carreño is certainly one of the greatest pianists now living, and won the sympathies of her hearers as no other artist has done who has visited this city. She charmed by her personality and by her complete command of her wonderful resources. The audience followed every note with breathless interest and with full confidence in the perfection of the interpretation. Madame Carreño's great art gave point and emphasis to her rendering of the masters; technic, poetry and passion, all were called into play, and made up a whole which was absolutely satisfying to the ear of music.
20To Halliene Hall, president of the Wagner Club, and the officers belong the credit of introducing world famed artists to the public of Spokane. They are to be greatly commended for their public spirit, and their efforts deserve the fullest support.
22Concerning Becker's Playing.
24William A. Becker's piano playing continues to draw forth most laudatory comment from the press. The following extracts are from New York and Cleveland papers:
26William A. Becker, a pianist of American origin and European experience, gave a recital yesterday afternoon in Mendelssohn Hall. He has an admirable feeling for tone and variety of tonal coloring on the piano, and gained some interesting results in this direction. His rhythmical sense can hardly be strongly developed in him, or he would not have treated some of the music he played quite as he did, especially the last movement of Beethoven's "Waldstein" sonata. He gave in other respects an excellent performance of that sonata. There was poetic feeling in this and several of his other numbers.—New York Times, December 1, 1909.
28Appreciative auditors were pleased yesterday afternoon with the piano recital by William A. Becker at Mendelssohn Hall. He is a fine musician and that which he attempts he does well. Mr. Becker plays with expression and he interprets with intelligence which go far toward making his efforts enjoyable to those who are assembled to listen to him.—New York Evening Telegram, December 1, 1909.
30American talent, training and composition, as represented by William Becker, the young pianist, was heard to excellent advantage at Mendelssohn Hall yesterday afternoon at the recital given by him. Those who heard Mr. Becker's playing were pleased with his skill, taste and well-defined appreciation of the subtle details and shading.—New York American, December 1, 1909.
32Becker is a pianistic genius. He has in recent years attained a maturity of interpretive conception which imparts to his playing both authority and inspiration. He can be both heroic and poetic as the mood requires. I have no hesitation in classing Becker with the great living pianists.—Cleveland Daily Press.
34Seldom has the debut of a pianist been more thoroughly successful than that of William Becker at Mendelssohn Hall last Tuesday. Before a large and enthusiastic audience the artist appeared with a program of ample dimensions chosen with artistic discrimination and in every respect well balanced and well arranged. It was a test sufficient to reveal all the powers of a pianist who is at once a virtuoso and a musician. Compositions of every type were interpreted with equal skill.
36The piece de resistance was the immortal Waldstein sonata of Beethoven. Here Mr. Becker's noble sympathetic tone, marvelous digital facility, exhaustless power and penetrating musical insight were all conspicuous. The turbulent questioning of the first movement, the noble calm of the short reflective adagio, the exuberant raptures of the brilliant rondo with its trumpet theme and its ecstatic thrills of double thrill, and its episodes of prodigious difficulty, came forth warm, plastic, thoroughly alive.
38In the Chopin Mr. Becker showed that he felt and could express the melancholy tenderness of the C sharp minor waltz and the heroic martial fire of the great A flat polonaise with absolute equality. The same command of lyric sweetness and tragic passion was manifested in the great B minor scherzo; in the tiny tone poems of Schumann ("Warum" and "Bird as Prophet") he attained the acme of the lyric style and dainty crispness. Handel's harmonious blacksmith and Schubert's lovely impromptu in B flat were delivered with repose and impeccable technic, and in the great battle horse of virtuosos, the C major wrist study by Anton Rubinstein, Mr. Becker displayed a power, speed and accuracy of octaves rarely equaled and never surpassed. His own composition, a barcarolle in G, showed that he has the metal of a composer as well, and was played with a matchless sparkle and flowing charm of cantilene. From every point of view, technical and poetic, the recital was a notable one, and America need not hang her head, for her own sons without foreign aid can achieve the very highest things in musical art.—Cleveland Leader, December 5, 1909.
40Elman's Corrected Program.
42As a number of changes have been made in the list of works which Mischa Elman will play at his violin recital in Carnegie Hall, Saturday afternoon, February 20, the corrected program is published, as follows:
44Concerto, D major …………………………………………..Paganini
45Chaconne …………………………………………………….Bach
46Sonata, E major …………………………………………..Handel
47Romanze in F ……………………………………………..Beethoven
48Perpetuo Mobile …………………………………………Sinding
49Air ………………………………………………………..Pergolesi
50Tambourin …………………………………………………Gossec one of two readings
51Tambourin ……………………………………………….Gossec one of two readings
52Meditation, Thais ………………………………………….Massenet one of two readings
53Meditation, Thais ………………………………………Massenet one of two readings
54Jota ………………………………………………………..Sarasate one of two readings
55Jota ………………………………………………………Sarasate one of two readings
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