Books › Musical Courier 1913-12-10: Vol 67 Iss 24, 1913 › scan 60
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Musical Courier 1913-12-10: Vol 67 Iss 24, 1913
75 lines. Read by computer on 26 September 2026. Printed page 61. See the scan on archive.org.
1MIDDLE WESTERN TOUR OF PHILADELPHIA ORCHESTRA.
3Noted Organization to Appear in Several Important Cities En Tour—Orchestra's All Wagner Concert in Philadelphia a Great Event—Mahler's Fifth Symphony Played by Boston Symphony Orchestra—"Madame Butterfly" Presented by Metropolitan Opera Company—Geraldine Farrar Still Indisposed—General Musical News.
5Philadelphia music lovers will find little to attract them next week in contrast to the multitude of concerts which have marked the last month. We will have neither opera nor symphony concert; the New York Metropolitan Opera Company has suspended its Tuesday evening performances over the holidays and the Philadelphia Orchestra is about to leave on its annual tour through the Middle West. Few recitals of unusual importance are in the immediate prospect. The present paucity of musical events only marks a lull, however, in the season—a sort of pre-holiday lull. Clustered about the brilliant closing of the first half of the opera season—and in spite of it—we enjoyed a series of excellent song recitals by well known artists. David Bispham and Edwin Evans are representative. They both presented all-English programs according to the best traditions of the concert stage, and though both artists were subject to the drain of counter attractions, they succeeded in completely filling Witherspoon Hall, one of the largest local concert rooms. At the Evans recital more than two hundred persons were refused admittance.
7This season's first all-Wagner program, offered by the Philadelphia Orchestra last week, proved an event of unusual interest and commensurate success. While the interest was centered about two Wagner excerpts seldom heard in concert, the Bard of Bayreuth must share the success with Leopold Stokowski. Much credit is due Stokowski for casting aside what is apparently an unspoken tradition, at least of American conductors, and putting the music of the Bridal Procession from "Lohengrin" and the Prelude to Act III of "Tristan and Isolde," long recognized as gems of their respective works, upon his Wagner program. Moreover, he conducted them magnificently and without the assistance of a score. Hardly less striking than the "Lohengrin" and "Tristan" selections was Mr. Stokowski's interpretation of the overture and "Venusberg" music from "Tannhäuser." The orchestra was assisted in the latter number by a group of picked voices from the Mendelssohn Club. The song did credit to the high standards of the club and distinctly heightened the effect of the number. At its close both orchestra and singers received prolonged applause. Other numbers on the program were Prelude to Act I, and "Liebestod" from "Tristan," the prelude to "Lohengrin," the "Siegfried Idyl" and "The Ride of the Valkyries."
9The orchestra will leave for its Western tour this year on Monday, December 8, opening the same evening with a concert at the Carnegie Music Hall, Pittsburgh, in conjunction with the Mendelssohn Choir. On Tuesday evening, December 9, the orchestra will play at Ann Arbor, in the Hill Auditorium, under the auspices of the University of Michigan. Thaddeus Rich will be the soloist. Detroit will be the next city visited, on Wednesday evening, and Daniel Maquarre will be the soloist. On the following evening a concert will be given at Akron with Mr. Rich and Mrs. Sieberling, a well known singer of that city, as the soloists. Katharine Goodson will play the Paderewski concerto at a concert in Cleveland on Friday evening, and the week will be brought to a close with a concert on Saturday evening at Oberlin College. Sunday will be spent in travel to Scranton, where the orchestra will be heard for the first time in several years, on Monday evening, with Evan Williams as soloist. From Scranton the orchestra will go to Washington, where the first of a series of three concerts will be given on Tuesday afternoon. Josef Hofmann will be the soloist. Members of the orchestra will return to Philadelphia immediately after the concert. The entire trip will be made in a special train consisting of four sleeping cars, one parlor car, two day coaches, a dining car, and a baggage car.
11It was announced last week that Mrs. Leopold Stokowski, known to music lovers in all parts of the country as Olga Samaroff, will play forty concerts in her tour next season. One of the concerts will be with the Philadelphia Orchestra.
13It was with much pleasure that Philadelphia music lovers crowded the old Academy last Monday evening to hear the Boston Symphony Orchestra perform the Fifth Symphony of Gustav Mahler and Fritz Kreisler in Brahms' D major concerto. Many "regulars" who recall Gustav Mahler's numerous visits here with the New York Philharmonic Society just prior to his death in 1911 found double pleasure in the concert: they found pleasure in listening to what they believed to be one of the greatest of modern symphonies; and they were pleased to see the work on a Boston Symphony program.
15Emmy Destinn was substituted for Geraldine Farrar in the title role of "Madame Butterfly" at its presentation by the New York Metropolitan last Tuesday evening. The performance brought back Antonio Scotti as Sharpless. Martinelli was the Pinkerton and Rita Forina, the Suzuki. Arturo Toscanini, than whom no conductor was ever more highly regarded in the Quaker City, led with splendid effect.
17The Hahn String Quartet will give its second recital in Estey Hall on Friday evening, December 19, with Robert Brann, pianist, as assisting artist. One of the important numbers will be the "Kreutzer" sonata, to be played by Frederick Hahn and Mr. Brann.
19The first of the series of three recitals in which the Flonzaley Quartet is to be heard here this season is announced for early in January.
21Richard Zeckler announces a series of lectures on acoustics with demonstrations on his celebrated collection of instruments, made by Dr. Koenig, of Paris, and Appun, of Hanau.
23The Philadelphia Musical Club has added seventy-two new members to its roll since the opening of its season the first of November.
25May Porter will present the Cantaves Chorus at Drexel Institute next Thursday evening, in a program including "The Village Blacksmith," by Charles Noyes, and other interesting numbers.
27Elizabeth Donato, a talented pupil of Gilbert Raynolds Combs, was heard in an interesting recital on Saturday afternoon, at the Combs Broad Street Conservatory of Music. On Thursday evening Virginia Synder, piano, Clarence Cox, violin, of the faculty of the school, were assisted by Paul Carpenter, violin, in a sonata recital.
29A program composed chiefly of operatic selections is announced for the joint recital of Marie Ladue Piersol, soprano, and Burton Piersol, basso, at Witherspoon Hall, next Thursday evening. Ellis Clark Hammann will be at the piano. Both Mr. and Mrs. Piersol have had operatic experience in Germany. Mr. Piersol is a Philadelphian.
31George Dundas, tenor, will be the principal artist at the free concert to be given in Estey Hall next Thursday afternoon at three o'clock. He will be assisted by Henry S. Fry, organist, S. G. Riggins, baritone, and F. Nevin Weist, cornetist.
33H. P. QUICKSALL.
35Max Jacobs String Quartet Concert.
37The first of a series of concerts to be given in the Carnegie Lyceum, New York, by the Max Jacobs Quartet took place last Sunday afternoon. It was with pleasure that one noted the same general success accompanying this worthy organization on this initial appearance in its fifth season, as upon similar occasions in the past. The personnel of the quartet remains as attractive as ever with Mr. Jacobs and Hans Meyer as the violinists; William Eastes, the infallible violist and James Liebling as cellist.
39The Mozart quartet in D was given an intense reading; all the fineness and delicacy of the different movements predominating in their pureness under a beautiful and an absolute ensemble.
41A new "Romantische Serenade" for string quartet by Fan Brandts Buys was heard for the first time. Arranged into four divisions—Nocturne, Alla Marcia, Serenade and Schemen—this work is worthy of notice. Unfortunately a lengthy review of it cannot be given at present; suffice it to say that it is constructed along modern lines, at no time approaches any extraordinary limits, but can be considered very effective and interesting. Apparently the best writing has been done in the first and third movements.
43The Vitali "Giacona" for violin and piano was played by the brothers Max and Ira Jacobs. In this selection one had more favorable occasion to note the individual qualities of the violinist. His playing was well received, and deservedly so, for he is an artist of sincerity.
45The Glazounow "Novelettes" were presented as the closing number by the quartet, and received the usual highly effective rendition which marks in such high degree all the work of these players. It was undoubtedly the best concert yet given by this American quartet of string players.
47The Pilaster.
49"Give us a poem!" the night desk cried;
50"Come on; the hour is late!
51"A bundle of the Byron stuff,
52"But crisp and up to date!"
54We heard the wild, imploring cry,
55And straightway scratched our dome;
56A shrill December song we planned,
57Or else a Mexican pome.
59Or else—there loomed Dakota Dan
60And sundry kindred souls;
61Perhaps we might an epic pen
62Ament Josephus Knowles.
64And so we pondered divers themes,
65Each fraught with prospects bright—
66Until the night desk broke the spell
67In tones that sounded like a knell—
68"We want that stuff tonight."
69—R. E. McMillin, in the Boston Journal.
71"What kind of shoes do you want, madame?"
72"I don't want such a loud squeak as the last pair had. Can't you give me some with a still, small voice?"—Satire.
74MAX JACOBS QUARTET.
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