Scan 5
Musical Courier 1927-01-13: Vol 94 Iss 2, 1927
100 lines. Read by computer on 29 September 2026, twice; the two readings disagreed in places. No printed page number was found. See the scan on archive.org.
1BERLIN HAS STAR REVIVAL OF MOZART'S FIGARO
3Many Notable Performances of Beethoven—Works by Janacek and Szymanowski Heard—Schnabel's Piano Sonata Listened to Without Protest—Vahdah Gara Sings
5BERLIN.—The most remarkable opera performance during the first half of December has been Mozart's Figaro, with a new cast and new decorations, under the direction of Erich Kleiber. It was a most enjoyable evening, bordering perfection. Kleiber's high musicianship in the service of Mozart (whom he adores), an admirable little orchestra composed of virtuosos on their instruments, Aravantino's charming new scenery and a vivid and interesting stage management combined to give the impression of a rarely reached excellence.
7This absolute mastery was only partly reached by the singers. Frida Leider as Countess and Tilly de Garmo as Susanna were indeed fully adequate for their tasks and of high artistic fascination. Leo Schutzendorf's Figaro, Jessyka Koetrik's Marcellina, and Waldemar Henke's amusing and characteristic Basilio are also worthy of high praise. But Janssen's Count Almaviva and Gitta Alpar's page were not quite in keeping with the high standing of the rest of the cast. Nevertheless, one has an abiding impression that this Figaro performance is a revelation of Mozart's spirit and something altogether precious and exceptional.
9LEO FALL, CLASSIC
11The Municipal Opera has gone in for operetta by bringing out Leo Fall's posthumous Jugend im Mai (Youth in May). It had originally been written to a different libretto. Schanzler and Wehlich, the expert and fashionable Viennese gentleman-tailors of operetta librettos, have made an entirely new theatrical action to order. The way they fitted the new suit to the score is highly creditable to their skill. But it seems questionable whether their sugary and sentimental new plot is really an improvement. The former libretto could not possibly have been less exciting.
13Also, Fall's music is far from exciting; but the score is written cleanly, shows many a masterly touch and maintains a level of workmanship hardly ever reached by any other of the popular operetta matadors. A very good performance, conducted by the operetta specialist, Arthur Guttmann, did full justice to the music. Singers of the rank of Lotte Schoene, Margarit Pfahl-Wallerstein, Karl Aagard-Oestvig, Kandl and Lohfing and so excellent an orchestra will not often be the lot of this operetta, which has been considered worthy to be promoted to the ranks of a comic opera.
15KREISLER PLAYS BEETHOVEN
17Bruno Walter's third symphony concert had its culmination in Kreisler's wonderful performance of the Beethoven violin concerto. Less powerful than Huberman's exciting rendering a few weeks ago, it was nevertheless masterly in the ease and elegance of the technical part, altogether convincing by the simplicity and heartfelt directness of its musical expression and the fascinating beauty of Kreisler's tone. Prokofieff's Symphonic classique, finely interpreted by Walter, shows this champion of modernism as a disciple of Haydn. It sounds as if it had been written by Prokofieff as a school exercise for his teacher Glazounov many years ago (the score is dated 1916). Nevertheless, it shows the composer's great talent by the ease of its motion, in its amiable melodic invention and clever instrumentation.
19Kleiber's third State Symphony concert contained as a novelty a set of orchestral variations and fugue written by Gustav Cords. Well written, solid music, cropped from the Reger and Strauss fields, without marked personal traits. The composer, entirely unknown in the musical world, bowed his thanks to the applauding public, stepping out from the desks of the second violins in Kleiber's orchestra. It is gratifying to know that musicians of so much skill and learning are members of the State Orchestra, and Cords is by no means the only one.
21FLORESTAN IN THE ORIGINAL
23Furtwangler's sixth Philharmonic concert was filled out mainly by Liszt's Faust Symphony, not heard in Berlin for years. His splendid rendering revealed the many beauties of this remarkable score which evidently was one of the richest sources of the so-called Wagnerian style, in chromatic harmony as well as in orchestral color. At the same time, however, lengthy developments and symphonically empty spots blur the impression.
25Carl Martin Oehmann, tenor of the Municipal opera, was the soloist, singing the rarely heard first version of Florestan's great aria from the second act of Fidelio. Beethoven later replaced this version, together with the orchestral prelude, by the more effective version now universally heard. It was interesting, though, to hear this original form of the celebrated scena, which contains many expressive and even grandiose details that were later discarded. Oehmann, principally a dramatic singer, did not feel himself fully at home in the concert hall and did not do full justice to his task.
27SCHNABEL IN THE CHORAL FANTASY
29Heinz Unger's third concert with the Philharmonic orchestra was devoted to Beethoven exclusively. The choral fantasy for piano, chorus and orchestra was offered in a carefully prepared performance, which did honor to Dr. Unger's qualities as conductor and as musician. Artur Schnabel's playing of the piano part was a delight—polished in the subtle technical details, full of power and well balanced in all the varying moods of expression—in short, masterly. The ninth symphony suffered from an inadequate solo-quartet, was however, especially in the choral portions, remarkably impressive.
31JANACEK'S CHAMBER MUSIC
33Chamber music by Leos Janacek, veteran master of Czech music, filled the program of a concert given by the excellent pianist, Flona Kurz-Stephanowa from Prague, the Waghalter Quarter, and a number of solo wind instruments.
35Janacek, at the age of seventy-three years, is still busy at work and, what is more, constantly advancing. His music is a strange and fascinating mixture of primitive Czech folk elements and modern technical procedure. His quartet and violin sonata and his sextet and concerto for piano and chamber orchestra sound more like rhapsodies than like solidly constructed sonatas. In spite of a certain monotony this music is genuine art, the product of a creative mind, a powerful musicianly temperament, a warm-hearted personality. Especially effective the piano concerto, played with vigorous rhythm and brilliancy by Mme. Kurz-Stephanowa.
37SZYMANOWSKI'S VIOLIN CONCERTO
39Huberman's concert with the Philharmonic Orchestra was an event of unusual importance. The great violinist played for the first time in Germany Szymanowski's violin concerto. This remarkable composition has little in common with what is usually called concerto. It is tremendously difficult to play, but these difficulties are not easily noticed, save in a few places. The orchestra has the principal part in this "concerto," but this orchestra is not symphonic. It is, rather, coloristic, superbundantly coloristic, and in this respect truly interesting. An extravagant kind of music, but still music speaking to the senses! The Polish composer had a full success, due not only to his score of a fantastic number of instruments, but also to Huberman's superb playing and to the conducting of Gregor Fitelberg, the well-reputed Warsaw conductor.
41Eduard Erdmann, champion of modern piano music, gave his listeners a few hard nuts to crack. After Alban Berg's opus 1, a piano sonata combining Tristan reminiscences with early Schönbergisms, Schönberg himself was heard with his latest work, a suite, opus 25. The mystery of the "twelve-tone system" was not solved by this tough, very tough, music, which is moreover extremely dry and has nothing left of that fantastic element, which gives so strange a charm to Pierrot Lunaire. Even Schönberg's sworn adherents were not prompted to enthusiasm by the problematical suite.
43GETTING USED TO IT
45Artur Schnabel's sonata was by far more impressive. Erdmann played it with more clearness and greater mastery of its intricacies than two years ago at the Venice Festival. Schnabel's music appeared less aggressive this time in some parts, especially the soft and slow episodes, it came even near to what is popularly called "beautiful." Any-
47STRAUSS RETURNS TO VIENNA STAATSOPER
49Americans Still Abound
51VIENNA.—The great event of the past weeks was the home-coming of Richard Strauss to the Vienna Opera House. A portion of the press has been clamoring for his return for the past two years, in fact, ever since he left his comfortable directorial office disgruntled, and with an oath never to return "as long as Schalk was director." Since then he has evidently found that he is no longer young enough to await Schalk's retirement, and was therefore open to compromise when General Director Schneiderhan approached him last summer with a view to reconstructing the broken bridges.
53Negotiations were not easy, for Strauss' demands—$500 a night, and twenty nights each season for five seasons—were high. When the agreement was tentatively made Schneiderhan was enthusiastically congratulated by some of the papers. Great efforts were put forth to make the first night of Strauss' return a great event, and indeed the ovations which he received were overwhelming. The finan-
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57ALMA ROSE
58Offspring of a famous musical family, daughter of Arnold Rose and niece of Gustav Mahler, who has made an auspicious début at Vienna.
60cial side of the long-heralded "big night," however, was a sad disappointment, the receipts being eighty-one millions of crowns ($1,150), of which almost one-half went to Strauss as his salary.
62STRAUSS' PLANS
64Under the circumstances, Schneiderhan is perhaps less sad now that the contract is not yet completed, although several circumstances point to the possibility of Strauss increasing his demands. There can be no question, of course, of this musician's great value to the Staatsoper as a conductor. The orchestral part of that Elektra performance was indeed marvelous, and even atoned for what took place on the stage. Gertrude Kappel, peculiarly timid in her tone production, could not efface memories of the great Guthiel-Schoder (who, incidentally, made her debut as a stage manager of the Staatsoper on this occasion), nor Claire Born those of Lucy Weidt's Chrysothemis. Maria Olszewska's Clytemnestra was a vast improvement over her former portrayal of this impossible role. She is a singer of the "Tracy" type, and her unbridled temperament often mars her otherwise fine work. All she needs (with apologies to Anita Loos) is "to go home and develop a few inhibitions," to be a perfect artist. After his Elektra debut, Strauss immediately began rehearsals for the Vienna premiere of his Intermezzo.
66To visitors at his magnificent new Vienna home the high-spirited man has confided a few secrets of his present work. The first act of his Egyptian Helena is completed, the orchestration of the second not even begun, and the new opera will therefore not be ready for production before 1928. Meanwhile he is busy with a new concerto for Paul Wittgenstein, the one-armed pianist. It is entitled Panatheneen-
68way, its seriousness of purpose—the purity of its artistic tendency—could not be mistaken, and it was received with respectful applause, without the least trace of those ugly scenes which disgraced the Venice premiere. Erdmann, an admirable performer of all these difficult modern pieces did not do full justice to Busoni's monumental Fantasia contrappuntistica, failing somehow to catch that characteristic mixture of lofty, spiritual, mystic, visionary, passionate, and intellectual elements which Busoni knew to combine in so unique a manner.
70Modern music of a more moderate stamp was finely played by Deman Quartet, which is continually gaining prominence. James Simon's Legend for string quartet is the work of a thoroughly cultivated musician who is, however, not in sympathy with the modern idiom. Max Trapp's Quartet, opus 22, goes several steps farther towards the present. It is, moreover, so amiable in character, so frank in its emotional expression, that it will always please, whenever well played. Zoltan Kodaly's string trio is very different in tone, its strange, fantastic, passionate strains, full of Hungarian local color have only the fault of too extensive elaboration.
72A word about the Busch Quartet, which has now attained to the first rank. One has been accustomed to hear only classical works and Reger played by these splendid artists, but their finished rendering of Ravel's quartet proved that they are equally at home in modern music whenever it finds favor in their critical eyes.
74AN AMERICAN SINGER
76An American concert singer, Vahdah Gara, made her Berlin debut. Her recital excited interest by its program of modern songs exclusively. Debussy, Ravel, Poulenc, Castelnuovo-Tedesco, Casella, Stravinsky, Schönberg and Schreker were represented, and thus the listeners had an interesting survey of the most recent phase of song-writing in France, Italy and Germany. Mme. Vahdah Gara interpreted these widely different songs with remarkable comprehension of their style and with much linguistic proficiency, singing in all the original languages. Her voice is agreeable, her rendering cultivated, and of a genuinely musical ring. Alfredo Casella was in the audience.
78HUGO LEICHTENTRITT.
80Zug, and is a symphonic etude with orchestra, in Passacaglia form. It is inspired by Strauss' recent visit to Greece and will be ready for performance in the summer.
82WEINGARTNER'S PHILHARMONIC
84One of Strauss' plans, according to his own statement, is to conduct "a few concerts of the Vienna Philharmonic"—a natural desire, as this is still the first orchestra in Central Europe and, according to many, in all Europe. From the nature of things the Strauss concerts will, if they materialize, be "extra" ones, as the regular subscription concerts, five of which have been given, are in the hands of Felix Weingartner. The nucleus of the programs are the nine Beethoven symphonies, which are still Weingartner's own and greatest domain, and which he still conducts with all his old mastery. Weingartner's performance of his orchestral setting of the Hammerklavier sonata I could not, unfortunately, attend, owing to the première of Janacek's new opera, but I have heard many praise his ingenuity in transforming the pianistic sounds into the more colorful medium of the orchestra. It is interesting, by the way, that Friedrich Nietzsche, the German philosopher (and anti-Wagnerite of later years) in one of his books foretells and advocates the transcription of Beethoven's Sonata, opus 106, which Weingartner has just made. one of two readings
85One of Strauss' plans, according to his own statement, is to conduct "a few concerts of the Vienna Philharmonic"—a natural desire, as this is still the first orchestra in Central Europe and, according to many, in all Europe. From the nature of things the Strauss concerts will, if they materialize, be "extra" ones, as the regular subscription concerts, five of which have been given, are in the hands of Felix Weingartner. The nucleus of the programs are the nine Beethoven symphonies, which are still Weingartner's own and greatest domain, and which he still conducts with all his old mastery. Weingartner's performance of his orchestral setting of the Hammerklaviersonate I could not, unfortunately, attend, owing to the première of Janacek's new opera, but I have heard many praise his ingenuity in transforming the pianistic sounds into the more colorful medium of the orchestra. It is interesting, by the way, that Friedrich Nietzsche, the German philosopher (and anti-Wagnerite of later years) in one of his books foretells and advocates the transcription of Beethoven's Sonata, opus 106, which Weingartner has just made. one of two readings
87KLENAU CHAMPIONS HONEGGER
89The strange fact that Vienna alone of most large musical centers had so far heard Honegger's widely-applauded King David gave Paul von Klenau an opportunity for pioneer work on behalf of the Franco-Swiss modernist. Coming after Liszt's obsolete Bells of the Strasbourg Cathedral, Honegger's bold piece had the effect of a tonic, albeit one of which several of the musical sages partook with reluctance and, judging by their critical effusions, with bad after-effects. With the commanding gesture of an inspired musical general Klenau led his big army to victory once more and visibly enjoying the evident improvement that the Konzertverein chorus has effected during his term as conductor of this organization. There is something appealing and invigorating about the whole-heartedness and fire with which this conductor always goes to his work.
91VAHDH GARA AND OTHERS
93Irene Sentheim, a singer from the ranks of Viennese society, has returned to the concert stage with visible signs of increasing assurance. Frau Sentheim is not possessed of remarkable vocal gifts, but excels more on the interpretative and musicianly, side of her work. To cope with Paul Scheinpfug's pale lyricism in the Worpswede song cycle showed courage rather than a striving for easy success. Much the same may be said of Una Buenos, an American soprano, who is well remembered from her last year's concert here. She, too, waived all possible desires for a "grateful" program in her effort to break a spear for the moderns (notably Webern). Miss Buenos, too, is not a singer of the brilliant type, but rather of the intellectual and serious sort, and her success was as notable as last year. Paul Pisk mastered the tremendously difficult piano accompaniments.
95The third member of a modernistically inclined trio of singers was Vahdah Gara. In two recitals this singer gave a survey of song literature ranging from Schubert to Schönberg, with Wolf, Marx, Strauss, Schreker, Debussy, Casella, Stravinsky, Ravel, Poulenc and Charles T. Griffes (representing the U. S. A.) filling the wide gap. A formidable task, but excellently prepared and carried through with authority and ability. The voice of this American artist is not big nor of the "velvety" sort, but a very expressive instrument which she used with intelligence and artistry and which is a suitable medium for the manifold moods and colors of modern songs. By welcoming this singer, Vienna merely endorsed the verdict which Paris had previously passed on the same program.
97ARTHUR SHATTUCK PLAYS
99The variety of instrumentalists has been very great during the last few weeks. Robert Goldsand, on the eve of his departure for American shores, was heartily bidden good-bye and all good wishes, and Arthur Shattuck, returning from there, after prolonged absence, to the city of his studies with Leschetizky, was welcomed back no less enthusiastically.
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