Scan 6
Musical Courier 1928-09-06: Vol 97 Iss 10, 1928
50 lines. Read by computer on 29 September 2026. No printed page number was found. See the scan on archive.org.
1Impressive Performance of Lohengrin Closes the Munich Wagner Festival
2First Presentation in Many Years at a Festival—Season Proves an Artistic and Financial Success
3MUNICH.—The main events of the Munich festival were brought to a close with a splendid and highly impressive, performance of Lohengrin. This is the first time in many years that a Wagnerian work other than the Ring, Meistersinger, Tristan and Parsifal has figured on the festival program. But the innovation was fully justified; the work itself had been completely re-studied and furnished with a new set of scenery, the masterly work of Leo Pasetti. As soon as the curtain rose one felt oneself transplanted into the atmosphere of the tenth century. The scene is of grim severity, all minor details which might distract the mind from the moving idea being eliminated. Costumes and heraldic designs are historically correct and attuned to one grand impression. Above all, however, the technical problem connected with the appearance and disappearance of Lohengrin has been solved in a most ingenious manner. Over the river Scheldt hovers a dense cloud-bank and one sees the figure of the Knight of the Grail appearing from a seemingly long distance through the mist which closes again behind him; the mysteriousness of the character is thus strongly accentuated.
5A veritable marvel of splendor is the wedding train which forms the final scene of the second act. Hundreds of people are congregated upon the scene, not idle onlookers merely, but seemingly playing an active part in the impressive ceremony. With this scene Max Hofmüller, the principal stage manager, has added a triumphant climax to his many artistic achievements, and it is with deep regret that Munich sees this truly gifted and capable artist leave. Hofmüller has been appointed intendant of the Opera in Cologne.
7CAST AND CONDUCTOR HIGHLY PRAISED
8From a musical point of view the performance maintained an equally high standard with the scenic display. Of course, minor irritants are always bound to occur; this time they were confined to the trumpets on the stage, which were not quite true to pitch and apparently not placed judiciously, and to a hitch in the rendition of the bridal chorus, due to the complicated separate entrances of the different choral groups. Aside from this it was one of the most touching and dramatic performances of Lohengrin I have ever witnessed. The musical leader was Leo Blech from the Berlin Staatsoper, who had been invited as guest conductor. Blech's splendid interpretative powers, his fine sense of dynamic proportions and his unerring dramatic instinct added much to the significance of an unusual production.
10The cast was excellent. Fritz Krauss, vocally predestined for the part of Lohengrin; Felicie Mihacek, a touching and beautifully singing Elsa; Wilhelm Rode, a most forceful and convincing Telramund; Elisabeth Ohms, at present perhaps the most dramatic and intense Ortrud of the German opera stage; Hermann List, the great-voiced King Henry; and Hermann Niessen, a splendid herald. It was a performance of such startling intensity that the work itself, the original splendor of which had grown a bit dim in the course of years, appeared in an entirely new and interesting light. The audience was enthusiastic beyond words.
12THE PLOT OF LOHENGRIAN CRITICIZED
13Personally I may perhaps be permitted to make a few remarks about the plot of Lohengrin which has been a painful subject to me for many years.
14If (according to many authorities, and among them Richard Wagner), it is true that the equalization of justice is one of the fundamental laws and principles of a stage plot, then Wagner has most grievously disavowed himself in Lohengrin. Here he permits two men to engage in mortal combat, and God himself is invoked as the final judge. Both men fight for what they consider a just cause, both are pure in their intentions. Telramund, whom Wagner proclaims through the mouth of Ortrud as a man of undisputed virtue, accuses Elsa, on the basis of facts and circumstantial evidence, of the murder of her brother. Telramund acts in absolutely good faith, he is convinced of Elsa's guilt, a brave man, a man ready to forfeit his life if his accusation be false. His honesty is supported also by his own plea for the support of the Almighty, and we must remember that this was in a pious and superstitious age.
16AN UNEQUAL COMBAT
17Against this brave but mortal man an antagonist, gifted with supernatural powers is pitted: Lohengrin; consequently Telramund is compelled to fight against insurmountable
19Sokoloff Returns from Europe
20Nikolai Sokoloff returned from an extended visit to Europe on August 21 on the S. S. Berlin. Going to Europe in the early summer, he went direct to Paris and motored from there to Germany, visiting Munich, Salzburg and Bayreuth. At Bayreuth he had a long talk with Dr. Muck, under whose direction he played with the Boston Symphony Orchestra. The two conductors found much in common, and compared friendly notes, past and present. On his return to America, Sokoloff went direct to his summer home at Hancock Point, Maine, which is just across the sound from Mt. Desert, the summer home of the Damrosches, Olga Samaroff, Carlos Salzedo, and other musical notables.
21Adella Prentice Hughes, manager of the Cleveland Orchestra, was in New York for a short visit recently, after having had a summer vacation at Santa Fe, seven thousand feet up in the Rockies. While there Mrs. Hughes entertained herself with riding horseback over breakneck trails. There were also entertaining and thrilling Indian tribal ceremonies which helped pass the time. Evidently, from the account Mrs. Hughes gives of it, Santa Fe is a pleasant place for summer residence. From New York she returned to Cleveland to resume her managerial duties.
22Among other items of news, Mrs. Hughes recalled the fact that the Cleveland Orchestra will be ten years old on December 11 of this year. Sokoloff has conducted it since the beginning.
24The Ravinia Opera Closes Its Doors
25Resumé of the 1928 Season
26RAVINIA.—The last week of the Ravinia season was made up of repetitions beginning with Aida on Sunday night, with Rethberg, Johnson and Claussen in the leads. Monday an extra performance of Fra Diavolo again presented Macbeth, Chamlee, Bourskaya, Mojica and Treviran. On Tuesday, Romeo and Juliet had its final performance, with Queen Mario once more the Juliet and Edward Johnson the Romeo. Wednesday night Mme. Butterfly was given with Rethberg and Chamlee in the leads. A repetition of Martha on Thursday night gave another opportunity to hear Schipa, Macbeth, Swarthout, Lazzari, Treviran and D'Angelo. The last performance of Marouf was given on Friday night. Saturday night Lucia was sung with Macbeth in the title role and Schipa as Edgardo. On Sunday Pagliacci followed by the second act of the Jewels of the Madonna brought out a large cast and the season closed on Monday night with a gala performance made up of acts of various operas, which afforded opportunity to most of the principals to bow their au revoir to the Ravinia patrons.
28RESUMÉ
29Looking in retrospect over the season that has just closed we notice that seventy-two nights of opera and twenty-two orchestral concerts constitute the record of Ravinia's seventeenth season. Of the concerts there were one Monday night, eleven on Sunday afternoons, and ten (for the children) on Thursday afternoons. During the ten weeks and three days of the season, which began on June 23, thirty-three operas were brought to production—a signal achievement when one takes into consideration what it means to arrange such a repertory as that which was presented at Ravinia this year. This fact sets a new record for Ravinia, for never before in the history of this opera house have so many works been produced.
31NOVELTIES AND REVIVALS
32Two operas entirely new to Ravinia were given with marked success during the season. They were Marouf and L'Heure Espagnol. Le Chemineau, Don Pasquale and the
34Attendance at Stadium This Season Surpassed All Previous Records
35Final Concert, Under Direction of Van Hoogstraten, Draws Audience of More than 13,000
36Willem Van Hoogstraten opened the final week of Stadium concerts on August 27 with a program which contained a most novel feature, namely, four numbers of "ether music" by Professor Theremin. In addition to these there were Rimsky-Korsakoff's Scheherazade, Liszt's first Hungarian Rhapsody and the Rhapsodie Espagnole by Ravel.
37Schumann, Bach, Wagner and Tchaikowsky were the composers represented Tuesday evening. Mozart's Sinfonia Concertante, a diverting and enjoyable part of the program, was given for the first time at the Stadium. There is some obscurity concerning the authorship of this work, but its delicate and piquant charm, so characteristic of Mozart, leaves little doubt of its origin. The Schumann number, the fourth symphony in D minor, has the distinction of being the only work of Schumann presented at these concerts during this season. The ever-popular 1812 Overture was given in conclusion.
38The last concert of the season took place on Wednesday evening before an audience that occupied every available foot of space at the Lewisohn Stadium and numbered more than 13,000. That Mr. Van Hoogstraten's work is highly valued and keenly appreciated by the public was evidenced by the warm reception given him at this final performance, and by the enthusiasm displayed after the playing of each number. The program, according to tradition, was chosen by the previous vote of the audience and consisted of Tchaikowsky's Nutcracker Suite, Strauss' Blue Danube Waltz, Wagner's overture to Tannhäuser and Beethoven's Fifth Symphony. At the conclusion of the last number, the conductor was vociferously applauded, mats were sent flying in the air; and in response to which he made a short speech, thanking the audience for their inspiring support during the season and also expressing gratitude to the members of the orchestra for their musicianship and cooperation in making the concerts a great success.
39It is understood that a new record in concert attendance was established this season. Despite the ten concerts given indoors because of rain, the two cancelled for the same reason, and the many poorly patronized because of threatened storms, audiences were larger than ever before, according to Mrs. Charles S. Guggenheim, chairman of the Stadium concerts committee. The single event which drew the largest attendance this summer was the second performance of the Denishawn Dancers, with Ruth St. Denis and Ted Shawn, on the evening of August 21. It is estimated that more than 16,000 persons were present on that evening. Second in attendance was the initial performance of Anna Duncan and her dancers on August 8, before an audience of 14,000.
40A few days after the conclusion of the final concert, Mr. Van Hoogstraten left New York for a three weeks' vacation at the summer estate of Adolph Lewisohn, honorary chairman of the concert committee, at Saranac Lake, N. Y. Upon his return to the metropolis, the conductor will leave immediately for Portland, Ore., where he will resume his duties at the head of the Portland Symphony Orchestra early in October.
42The Visit of the Prague Teachers' Chorus
43In January, The Prague Teachers' Chorus is coming to America and will present in this country, under the direction of Metod Dolezil, music which represents the age-long development of Czechoslovakian music and the music of the Slavs and the Bohemians. Throughout the history of these peoples their songs were born of strife and suffering, and since the thirteenth century famous choirs have carried on and have handed down the traditions of this important development of Czechoslovakian music and the music of the their music, and sung as it is by the perfectly balanced voices of the Prague Teachers, it gives to the audience the whole panorama of religious strife. The best of the choirs have always been in Prague, and the Teachers' Chorus, made up actually of teachers and university professors, is representative of the best that has existed in Czechoslovakia since the beginning of musical history. Its American tour will be a sensational event in the world of choral music.
45Alfred Pochon's Daughter to Wed
46Mr. and Mrs. Alfred Pochon announce the engagement of their daughter, Erica Millar, to Lieutenant Francis Mentz, U. S. N., the wedding to take place in the early autumn at Mountain View, country home of Miss Pochon's grandfather, Colonel Samuel Rolfe Millar, near Front Royal, Va. Mr. Pochon is a member of the Fonzaley String Quartet and a native of Switzerland. Lieutenant Mentz is a graduate of the Naval Academy in the class of 1919 and is now stationed at Annapolis.
48A Thousand Dollars for a Suite
49Hollywood Bowl, through the generosity of Katherine Yarnell, offers $1,000 for an orchestra suite requiring not more than fifteen minutes for performance. Full scores are to be sent anonymously to Hollywood Bowl, 7046 Hollywood Blvd., Hollywood, Calif., before February 1, 1929.
The computer misreads some letters and numbers. Where a name matters to you, read the scan.