Scan 6
Musical Courier 1927-11-10: Vol 95 Iss 19, 1927
64 lines. Read by computer on 27 September 2026, twice; the two readings disagreed in places. Printed page 7. See the scan on archive.org.
1November 10, 1927
2MUSICAL COURIER
4BERLIN'S VARIOUS ORCHESTRAL SERIES BEGIN SEASON'S PROGRAMS
6Furtwängler, Walter, and Others Conduct Auspicious Opening Concerts—Werner Wolf Introduces New Krenek Pieces—Louta Nouneberg Demonstrates Her New Piano Method—Another New Tenor.
8BERLIN.—An interesting, newly-studied production of La Bohème has been the only operatic event of importance here since the Krenek première, Jonny Spielt Auf. Leo Blech conducted a fine performance, with picturesque new scenery by Aravantinos, and a new cast. Helge Roswange (formerly a member of the Cologne Opera), an unusually gifted lyric tenor, who promises to become a singer of first rank, sang and acted Rodolfo with great impressiveness, and was a worthy partner to Maria Müller's touching Mimi. Gitta Alpar, a charming and effective Musette, deserves special mention.
10Furtwängler has commenced his series of ten Philharmonic concerts. The principal work on the first program was Richard Strauss' Tod und Verklärung, which was given a magnificent rendering. Haydn, whose E major symphony opened the concert, was followed by Beethoven, Strauss and Prokofieff; a somewhat unusual mixture.
12Elisabeth Rethberg, who was soloist, is indeed a singer of exceptional vocal attainments, though her essentially lyric style hardly satisfied the demands of Beethoven's heroic aria Ah, perfido. Four Strauss songs were vocally charming and technically flawless in her rendering, but musically they seem to have worn rather shabby from constant use during the last twenty-five years. Four pieces from Prokofieff's ballet-suite, Chout, were heard for the first time and were favorably received.
14WALTER LOYAL TO MAHLER
16Bruno Walter's first concert contained only a single work, but one with which Walter is more intimately identified than any other conductor: namely, Mahler's Lied von der Erde (Song of the Earth). He was the first to conduct this work, which Mahler himself never conducted nor even heard. Even today Walter's interpretation of this masterpiece has a tragic ring, a poignant and touching heart-felt melancholy, a clarity of conception and a beauty of sound effect rarely achieved by any conductor. He had eminent assistants this time in Jacques Urlus and Sigrid Onegin, who were visibly and audibly inspired to give their utmost, vocally and emotionally. The profound impression created by the work was materially increased by the excellent playing of the orchestra, especially the woodwind soli.
18Heinz Unger, conductor of the Society of the Friends of Music, has also given the first of his series of six symphony concerts. It was a convincing demonstration of Unger's steadily growing power as an orchestral conductor. The outstanding feature was a remarkably fine rendering of Strauss' Also sprach Zarathustra. Moritz Rosenthal was announced as soloist, but sudden indisposition forced him to cancel his engagement almost at the last hour, and Franz Vecsey took his place.
20Emil Bohnke, conductor of the Berlin Symphony Orchestra, is also offering an extensive series of concerts to the public, the first of which left as excellent impression. As an intermezzo between Richard Strauss' Don Juan and Brahms' fourth symphony, Mozart's charming and graceful piano concerto in E-flat major was played with remarkable finish by Rudolf Serkin, pianist of the Busch quartet. At one of Bohnke's interesting Sunday concerts (which nearly always contain some novelties) the soloist was Frieda Siemens, well known in English speaking countries by reason of her frequent concerts. She played the Schumann piano concerto with creditable skill and romantic temperament.
22FOUR YOUNG PIANISTS
24Four young pianists of remarkable attainments, Else C. Kraus, Franz Osborn, Hans Erich Riebensahm and Leopold Münzer, combined their efforts in presenting compositions for four pianos. Among these works Bach's concerti for four pianos with string orchestra (conducted by Jascha Horenstein) came out of the contest an easy first. One of the modern pieces a curious "Musikarbeit" consisting of a Toccata Euphonia and Fugato, written by a youth, Hansjörg Dammert, who has amused Berlin audiences in the past, is the immature effort of a musical fanatic who has imitated the methods of the American, Henry Cowell.
26A rhapsody for four pianos, by Jerzy Fitelberg, son of the well known Warsaw conductor, was much more agreeable to listen to, though its excessive length, loose form, mixture of styles and lack of individuality exclude it from consideration as a work of art. The fourth work, Vladimir Vogel's Komposition für Ein und Zwei Klaviere, is a very serious composition, reflecting Busoni's constructive ideas, full of interesting and even powerful stretches; but, on the whole, wearing out the patience of the listener with its endless length and excessive harshness of sound.
28Space forbids more than the merest mention of some of the dozen or more piano recitals which were given here in the past two weeks. Claudio Arrau is already entering the ranks of the real masters. Martha Baird of California, a pianist of high culture, gave her best in brilliantly played Spanish pieces by Granados and de Falla. She also played for the first time a piano sonata by Lyell Barbour for a work that is well written for the instrument, though not very weighty in its musical content, and rather in the nature of a modern sonatina. Mischa Levitzki, well accredited in America but less known in Germany, gave his first recital here. He is a virtuoso of rare perfection, and his playing is always highly interesting, especially from a purely pianistic point of view. Ethel Bartlett and Rae Robertson played on two pianos with excellent ensemble, clean technique and musical insight. one of two readings
29Space forbids more than the merest mention of some of the dozen or more piano recitals which were given here in the past two weeks. Claudio Arrau is already entering the ranks of the real masters. Martha Baird of California, a pianist of high culture, gave her best in brilliantly played Spanish pieces by Granados and de Falla. She also played for the first time a piano sonata by Llyell Barbour for a work that is well written for the instrument, though not very weighty in its musical content, and rather in the nature of a modern sonatina. Mischa Levitzki, well accredited in America but less known in Germany, gave his first recital here. He is a virtuoso of rare perfection, and his playing is always highly interesting, especially from a purely pianistic point of view. Ethel Bartlett and Rae Robertson played on two pianos with excellent ensemble, clean technique and musical insight. one of two readings
31A VERSATILE PLAYER
33Edward Weiss is giving a whole series of recitals for the benefit of the German-American academic exchange service. He is a versatile player and is covering a wide range of piano literature in his five programs. I heard him play a group of modern French pieces in which he displayed a fine sense of the tone quality required by this music. Lily Dymont, a very young pianist, made an unusually successful debut, playing three concertos. She had the distinction of being accompanied by Leo Blech and the Philharmonic Orchestra. Alice Ehlers, the masterly harpsichord player and founder of the Society of the Friends of Old Music, gave a delightful recital of compositions by Johann Sebastian and Philipp Emanuel Bach together with a small string orchestra. She was seconded by the able cellist, Georg Hermann.
35A number of violin recitals also demand attention. Mischa Elman is much the farthest advanced of any of these artists, in finish, musicianship and individuality. Franz Vecsey's performance is as smooth and polished as always, but somewhat cool and dry. Marta Linz, on the other hand, is a player of almost masculine energy and passion, and of high intellectual and musicianly powers. She played a concerto by Max Trapp, a composition along the lines of Richard Strauss, and still valuable for its melodic quality, fine craftsmanship, and effective solo work. Zlatko Balokovic, accompanied by the excellent pianist Ignaz Tiegermann, played sonatas by Mozart and César Franck, as well as a member of solo pieces, with high violinistic art and a captivating manner.
37WERNER WOLFF CONDUCTS
39Werner Wolff, the highly esteemed conductor of the Hamburg Opera, is also a symphonic conductor of rank. His concert with the Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra had its climax in Schnabel's magnificent rendering of Beethoven's C minor piano concerto. A charming, hardly known juvenile symphony by Mozart (C major K. 425) was a delightful surprise. The modern part of the program contained Ravel's La Valse and the finely played suite, Le Tombeau de Couperin. Seven orchestral pieces by Krenek were heard on this occasion for the first time. Here Krenek returns from his diverting excursion into popularity to his first love, austere cacophony and frowning seriousness. The new pieces gave little pleasure even to Krenek's avowed friends and still less to the rest of the public.
41PIANO LESSONS VIA THE MOVIES
43Louta Nouneberg, from Paris, gave a most interesting lecture, analysing the movements required in piano playing. She illustrated her lecture with moving picture snapshots of the playing of ten prominent pianists, including Cortot, Rubinstein, Orloff, Stravinsky, Horowitz and Landowska. Eight Chopin etudes were shown in moving pictures, as played by Cortot, Orloff and Horowitz, the hands of the different players being studied minutely in their characteristic movements. The light thus thrown on technical problems may become a valuable means of furthering the science of piano technique provided this new idea is developed systematically.
45AMERICAN SCORES IN COLOGNE
47News comes from Cologne of the successful recital there of an American singer, Elizabeth Day; her Berlin concert was referred to in an earlier issue of the MUSICAL COURIER. Philipp Jarnach, now professor of composition at the Cologne Conservatory, was an accompanist of such extraordinary quality that this, his Cologne debut in such a capacity, aroused wide-spread attention.
49At the opening Güterschen Concert the conductor, Hermann Abendroth, gave the first public performance of a new, extended choral work by Carl Ehrenberg, entitled Dein Vaterland. It is a powerful composition, pathetic and hymn-like in feeling and extremely well written; but somewhat monotonous, owing to a lack of contrasting episodes. Vladimir Horowitz, as soloist, played the Tchaikowsky concerto and Liszt's A major concerto.
51The Cologne Opera boasts a new discovery; namely Willy Störring, a tenor, who until a year ago was a factory workman. He is the happy possessor of a wonderful voice.
53DR. HUGO LEICHTENTRITT.
55ENGLISH PIANISTS CREATE SENSATION
57Ernest Schelling Plays and Conducts—Likewise Casella—Monteux Popular as Ever.
59AMSTERDAM.—The musical public of Amsterdam has just made the acquaintance of two extraordinary artists who gave a two-piano concert. These newcomers are Rae Robertson and Ethel Bartlett, and they created a real sensation. Virtuosity is not a word that can be applied to their performance for their artistry was of a much higher quality than that usually implies. Magnificent playing it was; clear, transparent, and intense without any exaggeration of feeling. The program included works of Couperin, Mozart, Brahms, Bax and Debussy, and the success was overwhelming.
61The last concert of the Concertgebouw orchestra under Monteux presented an interesting program. A Haydn symphony was played with great finesse, likewise a concerto grosso of Händel, in which the soloists, Ludwig Zimmerman, Helman and Marix Loevensohn displayed great taste. Later in the evening Ernest Schelling appeared in his Suite Fantastique for piano and orchestra, and his Victory Ball. A virtuoso pianist of the first order he undoubtedly is, but we doubt whether there is anything above the ordinary in his music.
63Of great interest was an evening devoted by the orchestra to Italian music, first Corelli and Rossini, then
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