Books › Musical Courier 1927-10-27: Vol 95 Iss 17, 1927 › scan 24
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Musical Courier 1927-10-27: Vol 95 Iss 17, 1927
108 lines. Read by computer on 29 September 2026. Printed page 25. See the scan on archive.org.
1October 27, 1927
3NEW YORK CONCERTS
5OCTOBER 17
6Rose Zulalian
7On October 17, at Town Hall, Rose Zulalian, Boston contralto, made her entrance into the musical profession by giving a song recital which will long be remembered by those who had the pleasure of hearing her. A unique and varied program was presented, comprising compositions which would put the mettle of any singer to a thorough test. Miss Zulalian has a rich contralto voice of wide range and good volume. She sings with much skill and intelligence, and her diction is clear and distinct. This singer has all the attributes necessary to climb the ladder of fame. The New York press was unanimous in praise of her voice and ability as an artist. There is hardly a doubt but that more will be heard of this gifted vocalist.
9Mabel Deegan
10The New York debut recital of Mabel Deegan, violinist, was made in the intimate confines of Steinway Salon on October 17. The program opened with La Folia by Corelli. The writer arrived just a moment too late to be admitted within the salon before the concert began; consequently La Folia was heard from without these portals. If there is any time that a reviewer can be absolutely cold-blooded, it is when he is standing at the outer side of closed doors. But Mabel Deegan stood the test remarkably well; though, after the manner of recitals, she did not do the quality of work in her first number that she accomplished later in the program. The A major sonata of Brahms received a reading that was sympathetic, if somewhat lacking in the smouldering fire that lies in Brahms. The delicacy and finesse of the Mozart concerto in D major was caught by the player and infused with a glow of romance, a characteristic so often lost by the young performer of the old classic master. Further offerings were the atmospheric Baal Shem of Bloch, followed by the Rapsodia Piemontese of Sinigaglia.
12Miss Deegan's work, on the whole, showed a regard for detail and a technical ability that should serve as a solid foundation for her future development. Her musical understanding is sound, and many of her best results were gained in her playing of cadenzas, a severe test in that there is no supporting accompaniment. W. Frank Chatterton was the accompanist and his excellent work was an important half of an effective whole.
14OCTOBER 18
15Francis Moore
16Francis Moore, in an early season piano recital at Town Hall on October 18, gave another impressive exhibition of solid musicianship. His apparently quiet temperament is undershot with virility of conception and the refined sense of mastery of the true piano virtuoso. His technical equipment is superb. Mr. Moore is a pianists' pianist, to paraphrase a popular sporting phrase. He does not select the easy path of program music, but rather the rocky and dangerous heights that call for genuine musical knowledge and appreciation. His program fairly bristled with technical and interpretative difficulties. Among the selections played were Godowsky's transcription of Rameau's Sarabande, Daquin's Le Coucou, Paradies' Sonata in A major, Schubert's Impromptu, Schumann's Fantasie, op. 17, the Friedman transcription of Gartner's Wiener Tanz, and Alkan's The Wind—enough originality of selection to supply half a dozen programs. Mr. Moore was given a real ovation at the conclusion of his recital.
18Olive Cornell
19A remarkably gifted coloratura soprano is Olive Cornell, of Texas, whose recital at Carnegie Hall resulted in a decided success for the young singer.
21Unlike many other coloratura artists, Miss Cornell possesses also an undeniable lyric quality and qualifications, and a well developed bent for interpretation.
23Her program opened with Bach's My Heart Ever Faithful, which she delivered sincerely and broadly, with excellent breath control.
25Giordani's Caro Mio Ben revealed knowledge of the restrained classical style. In the brilliant Angui D'Inferno from Mozart's The Magic Flute, Miss Cornell gave the first intimation of her prowess in the coloratura domain. She encompassed the difficult staccato passages with scintillating ease and accuracy.
27Arne's The Lass with the Delicate Air was sung in charming fashion. Dvorak's Songs My Mother Taught Me, had convincing feeling.
29Leoncavallo's Serenade Francaise, Alabieff's The Nightingale, the Lucia Mad Scene, and the Shadow Song from Dinorah, all represented impressive feats of technical vocalism interspersed with piquant nuancing. Trills, all sorts of rapid scales, staccati, and dazzling cadenzas, were projected by Miss Cornell, with astonishing mastery.
31She registered strongly also in a varied group of folk songs.
33The audience received the newcomer with every mark of favor, and she had to give encores in response to the warmly prolonged applause.
35In the Dinorah aria, the brilliant cadenza was written especially for Miss Cornell, by Estelle Liebling.
37OCTOBER 19
38Frederick Gunster
39Frederick Gunster, American tenor, delighted an appreciative audience on October 19 at Town Hall. His well-chosen program displayed to advantage the pleasing quality of his voice, his remarkable diction and charming stage presence. Mr. Gunster establishes an immediate contact with his audience, which continues to the end of his program; he makes you feel a salon atmosphere in a concert hall.
41That Mr. Gunster's voice is admirably suited to the singing of lyrics was demonstrated in his first suite, a group of Schubert lieder. The second group consisted of more dramatic pieces by Robert Franz, Anton Rubinstein, Richard Strauss, and Hugo Wolf.
43Most satisfying was Mr. Gunster's singing of A Swan, by Grieg, a number of whose songs comprised the third group. The moderns featured in the final group of Mr. Gunster's program; interesting songs by Wintter Watts and A. Walter Kramer held the attention of the audience. At the conclusion of Mr. Kramer's Pleading the composer was applauded by Mr. Gunster and asked to rise. Another American composer was also present—Geoffery O'Hara, whose composition was given as the first encore. One of the best received numbers of the evening was the last encore, Standin' in the Need of Prayer, arranged by William Reddick. Charles Doersam ably accompanied Mr. Gunster at the piano.
45Mischa Weisbord
46Mischa Weisbord, a young violinist whose debut a year and a half ago elicited much attention, was heard in recital at Carnegie Hall on October 19. In a program consisting of Corelli's La Folia variations, Saint-Saens' concerto in B minor, Hubay's Hullamzo Ballaton and the usual show pieces by Paganini, Ernest and Wieniawski Mr. Weisbord showed that since his last appearance here he has developed in every branch of his art.
48Saint-Saens' graceful work, which calls for velvety tone quality, delicacy of nuance and, in the last movement, buoyant rhythm, received all these in the performance accorded it by the youthful exponent. The harmonies at the conclusion of the charming second movement were flawless, a rare achievement in the case of those particular passages. Many a first rate fiddler has come to grief in them.
50The tours de force of Paganini, Ernst and Wieniawski were made palatable and even enjoyable by Mr. Weisbord, an achievement that is possible only to a technician of a very high order. Throughout his playing was marked by dignity, repose and charm, which earned for him applause and encores in profusion.
52OCTOBER 20
53Agnes Fleming
54A pupil of Ethel Grow was heard in a program of songs at the Guild Hall on October 20 under the auspices of the Washington Heights Musical Club. This excellent young artist's name is Agnes Fleming and she has a soprano voice of such appealing quality, so excellently trained, that her name will undoubtedly become familiar with concert audiences if she continues her public appearances.
56Her program was one of unusual interest. One may not care especially for the aria, Ombre legere, from Le Pardon de Ploermel by Meyerbeer, but this piece gave Miss Fleming an opportunity to display the excellence of her coloratura and the wide range of her voice, and such music is after all to the taste of the average audience. More likely to appeal to cultured music lovers are songs of the type of the other numbers on Miss Fleming's program. These were, to begin with, five selections by Brahms and, later on, three by Cadman, and one each by Moussorgsky, Arensky and Rachmaninoff. Miss Fleming sang the Brahms songs in German, the Meyerbeer aria in French, and the other works in English, and sang all three languages with equal purity of pronunciation and sharp clarity of diction. The hearing of the Three Songs to Odysseus, by Cadman, was especially welcome, as they are seldom given and are among the best of Cadman's creations. The last of the three, Thou Wouldst Not Say, has an especially beautiful melody, and it is really a wonder that it has not been discovered by the singers and made popular, as are so many other works by the same composer.
58Miss Fleming was received with vigorous demonstrations of approval and sang a number of encores.
60New York Philharmonic
61That Ernest Bloch at twenty-one knew as much about orchestration as Berlioz, Wagner and Tchaikowski was evident in the second performance by the Philharmonic Orchestra of his youthful symphony in C sharp minor on October 20. It is an amazing work, which caused contemporary critics of 1903 (in Basle, Switzerland) to say such things as "Cacophony as never heard before," "Composer ought to be in jail," "Instrumentation ridiculous," etc. Nevertheless, the New York audience of 1927 distinctly disagreed with such pronouncements, for the music, Conductor Mengelberg, and his men were vigorously applauded whenever opportunity offered. Composer Bloch certainly works his orchestra hard, with high-pitch sustained tones for brasses and almost impossible things for the reeds; yet all was done, and nobly, too, not forgetting frequent incidental violin solos by Concertmaster Guidi, and a clarinet solo toward the end by S. Bellison. The work was repeated at the second students' concert, October 22.
63Featuring both modern grand piano and ancient harpsichord, Mme. Landowska provided the cheerful, happy-natured music of Mozart with proper setting, playing the concerto in E flat with beauty of tone, and the D major concerto finale (harpsichord) with dainty vigor; there was an ideal orchestral accompaniment, and at the close, mutual congratulations by soloist and conductor, amid applause from the audience. More good-natured music for the orchestra was the opening Gluck Ballet Suite, played with grace and finish, and all heard by an audience which filled Carnegie Hall.
65Gil Valeriano
66Gil Valeriano, tenor, gave a varied program at Town Hall on October 20, assisted at the piano by his instructor, Frank La Forge. Divers folk songs, staid classics, French songs, and Spanish airs comprised an unusually interesting and well balanced program. It was apparently the Spanish songs which the large and spontaneously enthusiastic audience came to hear, judging by the applause these offerings elicited. Encore followed encore, and still Mr. Valeriano's hearers asked more of him. He caught the proxy sorrow, the sheer gayety of the songs, and they held a characteristic vitality. His voice is especially well suited to the gayety of the Spanish tempo, and the verve and color of the songs found response in his imagination. It is little wonder that his hearers were moved to such evident approval, and that they seemed prone to tell him that his artistry had given them true pleasure.
68It is unusual to find a singer who can meet the moods and demands of such a cosmopolitan group of composers as Mr. Valeriano chose for his program. The studied grace of Brahms and Franz were as vital in Mr. Valeriano's hands as the free abandon of the Spanish group. And the deft grace of the French songs of Debussy, the folk song arranged by Wekerlin, and the Walcourt of Szule were test indeed of his imaginative abilities and interpretive skill. The songs, Like the Rosebud, and Supplication, by La Forge found much favor, as they always do.
70OCTOBER 21
71New York Symphony
72The fiftieth year of the existence of the New York Symphony Orchestra will be celebrated this winter and was inaugurated with a Carnegie Hall evening concert at which Fritz Busch (of the Dresden Opera) guided the baton. He is the first of the guest conductors who will lead the N. Y. S. O. during the present season. The others are to be Walter Damrosch (formerly permanent director of the organization), Ossip Gabrilowitsch, Fernandez Arbós, and Maurice Ravel.
74Busch chose a conservative program for his initial concert, consisting of Beethoven's fourth symphony and Brahms' first symphony.
76The excellent impression which the Dresden leader had left behind him after his appearances in New York last season with the same orchestra, evidently was remembered well, for a large audience turned out and gave Busch a warm reception when he made his first entrance. In fact, throughout the entire evening, the atmosphere was one of cordial affiliation between the conductor and his listeners.
78His musical gifts are entitled to the admiration and re-
80(Continued on page 32)
82"MUSICAL COURIER"
84"RUTH SHAFFNER A SENSATION"
85Portland, Me., October 13
86ENRAPTURES AUDIENCE WITH HER SINGING
87The soprano created a veritable sensation by her wonderful voice, the perfection of her technique, and her pleasing personality. The power and richness of her voice, beautiful in quality throughout its wide range, her dramatic ability, capable of expressing vividly the meaning of each song, as well as the artistry and perfection of her phrasing, arousing the appreciation of her listeners who at once realized that she was a really great artist.
89The ease with which she interpreted each song, surmounting all difficulties, and leaving only the beauty of the song pre-eminent in the minds of her audience, aroused her listeners to unusual enthusiasm.
91"Inflammatus," from "Stabat Mater," was the most inspiring number on the program, the glorious voice of the soloist, which is unusually rich and beautiful in the upper register, rising above the combined voices in a most appealing manner.
93—Portland Press Herald, Oct. 14, 1927
95TELEGRAM
96DB13 30 NL 1927 OCT 14 AM 2 27
97PORTLAND ME 13
98JAMES PRICE
99167 WEST 81 NEWYORK NY
100MANY THANKS FOR SENDING MISS SHAFFNER SHE IS AN ARTIST OF THE FIRST RANK AND HER SUCCESS WAS INSTANTANEOUS OUR PEOPLE WERE GREATLY DELIGHTED WITH HER BEAUTIFUL VOICE AND ARTISTRY
101WILL C. MACFARLANE
103Re-engaged
104Available for concert, recital, Oratorio, Festival.
105Address Secretary, RUTH SHAFFNER
10642 West 58th Street, New York
107Telephone—Plaza 3500
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