Books › Musical Courier 1928-03-01: Vol 96 Iss 9, 1928 › scan 23
Scan 23
Musical Courier 1928-03-01: Vol 96 Iss 9, 1928
43 lines. Read by computer on 28 September 2026. Printed page 24. See the scan on archive.org.
1New York Concerts
2(Continued from page 22)
3in her audience an affirmative response to the passion which pervades her playing.
5FEBRUARY 26
6Elisabeth Rethberg
7Elisabeth Rethberg's recital, which took place on Sunday evening, at Carnegie Hall, was attended by a capacity audience. The stage had been tastefully decorated with palms and flowers, to which were later added a great number of floral pieces, producing the effect of a beautiful conservatory; in these surroundings Mme. Rethberg made a most charming picture.
8The singer was in excellent voice and spirits, and everything she sang was a perfect piece of work, the highest form of vocal production as well as artistic interpretation. Especially noteworthy—although it is difficult to state that any one number was better than any other—were the aria from Titus by Mozart, Willow Willow, an old English ballad arranged by Percy Grainger, The Messenger by Deems Taylor and a group of Hugo Wolf songs. The singer was constrained to repeat several of the songs and give a number of encores. After the last number on the program, an aria from The Masked Ball by Verdi, the applause being especially enthusiastic, she delighted the audience by singing Un bel di from Madame Butterfly with beautiful tone, warmth and feeling. More encores followed before the audience took its leave.
9Mme. Rethberg was ably assisted at the piano by Kurt Ruhrseitz, who is a very fine pianist and knows how to play accompaniments.
11Alliance Symphony Orchestra
12The Alliance Symphony Orchestra, Alexander Bloch, conductor, gave its second concert in the Strauss Auditorium of the Educational Alliance on February 26, before a large and appreciative audience. The orchestra being made up mainly of strings, the program was chosen accordingly, and under the excellent leadership of Mr. Bloch very satisfactory results were obtained, the young players producing a large and sonorous tone always pleasant and noble.
13Handel's Concerto Grosso in G minor, with the oboe solo well played by Engelbert Brenner, was well performed. The second number, Elgar's Serenade op. 20, was given with precision, fine shading and excellent tone quality. Mr. Gerald Felix Warburg, cellist, was the soloist of the evening, playing a concert by Boccherini. He was at first a little nervous, which handicap he overcame, playing with much feeling and a good clear technic.
14The closing group, made up of Elegie op. 48 and Walzer by Tschaikowsky, gave the orchestra ample opportunity to show its clean execution and beauty of tone.
15The audience was very generous with its applause of leader and orchestra, many of whose members are still very youthful. Mr. Bloch is to be highly commended for the excellent results he has obtained from his charges.
17Musical Forum of New York
18The last concert of the season of the New York Forum of Music Kurt Schindler, director, presented an evening of Italian music with Italian artists, given at an Italian theater, The Gallo. It took place February 26 and Tito Schipa and Mario Corti were the highlights of the concert. The tenor was in fine form, vocally, and joyous in spirit. But who would not be put in a real singing mood when received with the spontaneous pleasure of an audience such as Mr. Schipa aroused on this occasion? The pleasure of this audience continued through three groups of songs, made up of early classics, two rarely heard operatic arias, from L'Arlesiana, and Luisa Miller, and Italian Folk songs. The art of the singer was that of "song," smooth legato, impeccable diction and countless colorings. His mastery of production is such that his voice can be of the lightest, most ethereal quality at one moment and fully dramatic at the next. And because of this very mastery Mr. Schipa is always in the pink of perfection and his singing is always of the highest caliber.
19Mario Corti with Arthur Loesser, played the Pizzetti sonata for violin and piano, dedicated to Mr. Corti. The work, except for the second movement, seems rather disjointed in the development of the musical ideas, and some might have taken this as a characteristic of Mr. Corti's playing; but where a real opportunity was offered the violinist he displayed ample musicianly ability. Mr. Loesser, at the piano, made the most of his part of the work. Mr. Corti also interpreted solos by Tartini, Martini and Chabran with charm and technical finish.
21George Liebling
22To those people who consider Sunday afternoons and piano recitals dull, the Chopin recital of George Liebling at the Gallo Theater last Sunday might well have given cause for a revision of their opinion. Mr. Liebling addressed his ripened musicianship to thirteen compositions of the Polish piano poet, giving unalloyed pleasure to his large audience.
23The recitalist belongs to that class of pianists who have long since ceased to exploit technic for its own sake, and who employ the dexterity amassed in early years with the sole object of expounding the innermost meaning of the music and bringing out in the most alluring lights its moods and beauties. The B flat minor sonata, the Ballade in F minor and the B minor scherzo provided examples of Chopin playing such as is vouchsafed to few pianists. But this must not be taken to disparage in any sense the quality of the remainder of the program. Everywhere there was a wealth of beautiful tone, crystalline clearness and crispness, poetry and grace—in short all the qualities called for in the music he was playing. The Berceuse, an encore, was breathed on the keyboard with gossamer like delicacy, and the "Trilby Impromptu" in Liebling's intricate arrangement in double notes might have been dictated by the departed spirit of Svengali.
24From a purely pianistic standpoint the outstanding qualities of the recitalist would seem to be as near an approach to legato as can be attained on the piano, crisp rippling passage work, a sparkling finger staccato and rich and sonorous chord and octave playing. Perfect use of the pedal insures clarity at all times.
25The conclusion of the recital brought the usual encores, all by Chopin.
27London String Quartet
28The London String Quartet played at Carnegie Hall on February 26, in a program consisting of Schubert's Quartet in A minor, op. 29; the pseudo-Brahmsian one in D flat, op. 15, of Dohnanyi, and the sprightly Pixy Ring by H. Waldo Warner, violist of the organization. As in times past the ensemble did notable work, playing with a unity of style, a fullness of tone, and intelligent interpretative insight that are most praiseworthy.
29It is unusual for a chamber music combination to hold forth in so large a hall as Carnegie, and this reviewer had his misgivings as to the outcome. But there need have been no fear, for the quartet possesses a tone that, though never harsh, is almost orchestral in quality.
30The audience was both exceptionally large and enthusiastic.
32Beatrice Weller
33A beautiful young girl manipulating a great big harp with ease, assurance and musicianship attracted a good sized audience to the Edyth Totten Theater on Sunday evening. Much applause and delighted comment showed that the audience was much attracted after passing through the portals. Miss Weller has appeared several times this season in joint performances with Carola Goya, the dancer, who is her sister.
34Assisted in places by members of the Barrere Little Symphony, the harpist was heard in numbers by Bach, Corelli, Rameau, Lulli, Tournier and Durand, as well as pieces by French and Russian composers and Goossen's suite for flute, violin and harp.
35The winsome young recitalist showed throughout solid musicianship, abundant temperament and a formidable technical command of her instrument. Her personal attractions was much enhanced by a simple and unaffected manner of delivery that quite captivated her listeners.
37Musical Art Quartet
38A composition from the classical period, a modern work, and an ultra-modern number were played by the Musical Art Quartet at the Guild Theater on Sunday evening. This appearance brought to a close a series of three subscription concerts given during the season by this organization whose personnel is comprised of Sascha Jacobsen, first violin; Paul Bernard, second violin; Louis Kaufman, viola and Marie Roemaet-Rosanoff, cello.
39A featured novelty of the evening was by Randall Thompson, a Harvard graduate of 1920 and now a professor at Wellesley; it is entitled The Wind in the Willows, after the book of the same name by Kenneth Grahame. Schubert's A minor quartet, op. 29, opened the program, and Debussy's quartet, op. 10, closed it. There are elements of charm, sincerity, good-taste and sensitive musicianship in whatever fields of composition this string ensemble may turn its attention, and thorough and intelligent workmanship characterize its every effort. In the hands of these four musicians the Schubert work was a vibrant and lovely tone-drama; the Debussy an appealing, lyrical flight of fancy, and the Thompson a fantastical fable.
41Roxy Symphony: Gadski, Soloist
42One of the best concerts thus far in the series being offered Sunday mornings at the Roxy, was that of last Sunday when Johanna Gadski was soloist. A record audience was in attendance to give the former Metropolitan star
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