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THE MUSICAL CRITIC AND TRADE REVIEW.
February 20th, 1881.
to the satisfaction of the dilettanti. The compositions of Mr. Joseffy are very
effective, but hardly of sufficient musical interest to have a place in a piano
recital. Mr. Joseffy gave his second recital on Wednesday afternoon, Feb.
16, with the following programme: Variations, Handel; Variations, Haydn;
STEINWAY HALL.
Variations Serieuses, Mendelssohn; Sonata—Op. 53, C major, Beethoven.
Mazurka—B flat minor; Nocturne—F Minor; Chant Polonais; Valses in E
FOURTH OOKOEET OP THB SYMPHONY SOCIETY—OTHER ENTERTAINMENTS.
minor and F major; Impromptu—A flat major, Chopin. Second Concert
E concert given by this society on Saturday night, the 5th instant, was Study, Joseffy. Valse Caprice—No. 2, Strauss-Tausig ; Paraphrase (on Gil-
JL the occasion of the introducing to our music loving public, under pro- more's "Columbia"), R. Joseffy. The third and last recital will take place
per surroundings, of the boy-artist, Maurice Dengremont. The expression, on Tuesday evening, February 22d.
" boy-artist," mnst however be applied to him only on account of his age
Georg Henschel closed his series of vocal recitals on Thursday after-
and stature, for in his art he is a man fit to rank with Wieniawski, since noon, Mr.
February 10th, before a large audience, and appeared on the occasion
whom, with the exception of White, the Cuban, no such violinist has been as composer,
and vocalist. The vocal numbers of the programme
heard here. Even White has nothing like the extent of technique possessed were entirely pianist
from
Mr.
pen, and some very charming works we
by the young Brazilian. Mention is made of Wieniawski and. White, found among them. As Henschel's
there
is
a
chance
Henschel's settling in Boa-
because, like Dengremont, they chose the Mendelssohn " Concerto " for their ton, we hope to see him next season again of in Mr.
New
his sterling quali-
debut at a Symphony conoert here and are excellent standards of comparison. ties as an artist made him a great favorite here. The York;
programme of the last
It is not surprising that this work i» frequently presented since there is recital contained :
no other which can so truly be called a perfect violin concerto. It requires
Six songs from the Cyclus "Der Trompeter von Sakkingen," Georg
not alone a mastery of execution, but it also calls for musical intelligence and Henschel—Mr. Georg Henschel. '' Hommage a Handel," for two pianos, Ignaz
artistic feeling on the part of the performer. Dengremont possesses all these Moscheles—Messrs. Henschel and Sherwood. Three songs from Kingsley's
attributes and made them apparent in his presentation of the work.
" Waterbabies" (MS.), Georg Henschel—Miss Lillian Bailey. Two duets,
In the first movement he exhibited a verve and completeness of detail a, " Lass dich nicht gereu'n " (from op. 33); b, " Kein Feuer, keine Kohle,"
only second to that of Wieniawski, and in the andante, barring an occa- (from op. 4), Georg Henschel—Messrs. Chas. R. Hay den and Georg Hen-
sional faulty intonation and slightly exaggerated sentiment, he proved him- schel. Piano solos—Scherzo, E flat minor, from Sonata op. 35, Fred.
self a worthy rival of the Cuban, whose conception and performance of this Chopin; Romanza, F sharp, op. 28, Robert Sclmmaun. Toccata di Concerto,
movement may well be classed as a model. The pace at which the last move- op 36, A. Dupont—Mr. W. H. Sherwood. " Serbisches Liederspiel" (op.
ment was taken would be open to criticism if it had resulted in unclearness— 32), Georg Henschel (a Cyclus of ten Servian romances for one and more
although Mendelssohn in this class of writing will bear hurrying—but no voices)—Miss Bailey, Miss Homer, Messrs. Hayden and Henschel.
such fault could be noted. Here was opportunity for sparkling, crisp, clear
On Thursday evening, Feb. 10th, several of our German male-voice
execution, flexibility of wrist, independence of fingers. All these were found societies,
Jura, the Griitti, the Beethoven Maennerchor and the Harmo-
here in perfection. We may also say that Dengremont's tone, if not so nia gave a the
for the purpose of aiding the Swiss Benevolent Society.
resonant as Wilhelmj's, (who sacrifices everything to resonance,) is sound, They gave concert
fine entertainment, of which the chief feature was the larger
full, pure, and sympathetic. His execution is clean and facile, though we portion of a
second act of " William Tell," composing the trio and the
must not omit as before remarked a slight and occasional faulty intonation. finale. The the
result
of the singing of nearly 200 voices was inspiring and
His conception is musical and artistic. In a word, he is a virtuoso.
grand. The concert was largely attended, and probably gave substantial aid
We are sorry that he did not for his second appearance select another to the Swiss Benevolent Society.
violin piece, instead of the "Nocturne" of Chopin (transcription by Sarasate),
although he was thereby enabled in a " Cadenza," introduced by the Spanish
METROPOLITAN CONCERT HALL.
violinist, to demonstrate the neatness and chic which are such pleasant
HE last two Sunday concerts at the Metropolitan Concert Hall drew
features of his general excellence.
crowded audiences, the chief attraction being the young violinist,
The orchestral pieces, selected by the talented conductor of the
Society, Dr. Damrosch, were Schumann's "Symphony " in D minor; over- Maurice Dengremont. This boy with his wonderful tone and poetical con-
ture, " Leonore" (No. 3), Beethoven; and "March of the Three Kings" ception has been the rage in New York, and especially when in popular
( "Christus"), Liszt. Of Schumann, Moscheles has, with truth, said, "in places he performs on Sunday nights for a comparatively small admission
his symphonies he is great." In this work, and it is as strongly individ- fee, people flock to listen to his performances on the violin. The manage-
ualized as any of the works of this wonderful tone-poet, we find the very ment of the Metropolitan Concert Hall, (if there is such a thing as manage-
embodiment of not only fancy and passion, but also pure and romantic ment at that place,) recognized the attractive powers of the young artist,
imagination. This Symphony was sketched in 1841, and one of the instru- and re-engaged him for the next two concerts. Indeed, his drawing powers
ments designed to be employed in the " Komanza " was a guitar, where, in are too obvious for anybody to easily overlook them; thousands come to
the final orchestration (completed in 1851), the violins, pizzicato, are used. listen to his playing, and as soon as he has finished his performances at the
The orchestral performance was not up to the usual standard of excel- end of the second part, the hall becomes nearly empty, and the third i^art,
lence in ensemble which Dr. Damrosch as a rule set up before the auditors at consisting of orchestral music is performed before a small congregation of
these concerts, the strings being so inaccurate as to leave no room for musical enthusiasts, who like to get their money's worth. This may not be
very complimentary to Mr. Rudolf Bial, the conductor pro tempore at the
doubt that the rehearsals had not been frequent or thorough enough.
The rendering of the overture was less disturbed by the fault spoken of Metropolitan Concert Hall, but such is human character. The soloist
above except in the cadenza leading up to the presto {finale), where it becomes the star, and the orchestral performances are accepted as something
which must necessarily exist in order to fill the gap between the different
required the utmost tact of the Doctor to preserve the equilibrium.
The march which closed the concert may, perhaps, be ingenious, but it solo exhibitions.
On Sunday last Maurice Dengremont played Vieuxtemp's " Fantaisie
would not be surprising to find a large number of those who heard it, ready
Caprice " with so much verve and refined taste, that even the average listener
to exclaim, " Bequiescatin pace."
VHITE.
The seventh concert of the present series arranged by Mr. Saalfield, was struck by the earnestness and vigor of this juvenile player. His render-
took place on Monday night, February 7th. The hall was crowded, and ing of the Recitative in the beginning of the piece was an excellent work,
the smaller hall had to be thrown open. Mme. Anna Bishop was the attrac- and showed the enormous talent of the young artist. As second piece he
tion of the concert, as it was very stupidly called: "Jenny Lind Concert." played "Souvenir de Bade" by Leonard, which he played in the same
Mme. Bishop is a remarkable woman; generally it may be considered indeli- artistic manner. We have no doubt that, provided he does not go astray,
cate to speak of a lady's age, but in this special case it cannot make the Maurice Dengremont ten years hence will be one of the greatest violinists of
slightest difference, as the artiste is known to several generations. Mme. the world. Monsieur Le Blanc, the pianist and accompanist of the Dengre-
Bishop was a great singer, and is still a great artiste. Her voice, of course, mont troupe gave a very artistic performance of Weber's "Concertstiick;"
is faded, especially in the middle tones; but her style is so excellent, her unfortunately New Yorkers have so much piano playing this winter, that it
manner of phrasing so highly artistic, that it is a great pleasure to listen to takes a great reputation to command attention, and Sunday night audiences
her singing. Mme. Bishop shows us clearly how degenerated the art of are not very much in favor of piano playing. Monsieur Le Blanc is in an
singing has become of late, and all our young singers would do well to learn unfortunate position. He is a good artist and hardly anybody ever men-
from the great artiste the secret of style and phrasing. Mme. Bishop was tions him.
enthusiastically received, and was obliged to sing several encores. We pub-
Mr. Rudolf Bial has a fine orchestra which he leads with his wonted
lish the programme in full: Piano solo, Rondoletto, Henselt, Mme. Pupin; vigor and energy. The programmes are light and the performances spirited.
aria from " Ernani," Infelice, Verdi, Mr. Franz Reminertz; song, "Storm Some of Mr. Bial's new compositions are played, and the public receive
and Sunshine," Buck, Mrs. Geo. W. De Lano; ariabuffa, " L'Asiniao," Mat- them with kindly acknowledgments. The " Geistinger Polka " is among the
tiozzi, Signor Godoy; ballad, " She Wore a Wreath of Roses," Knight, Mme. novelties, although it occurred to us, as if we had met with this piece before.
Anna Bishop; duo, " I would that my love," Mendelssohn, Mrs. De Lano But, of course, we are mistaken. The treasure of Mr. Bial's invention is so
and Signor Godoy; German song, " Der Wanderer," Schubert, Mr. Franz abundant that he is able to furnish original works for many years to come,
Remmertz; piano solo, a, " Harmonious Blacksmith," Handel, b, Mazurka, and we hope that he will do so.
Chopin, Mme. Pupin; soprano aria, "Angels Ever Bright and Fair," Handel,
Mme. Anna Bishop; cavatina from " Maria de Rohan," Alma Soave, Doni-
CHICKERING HALL.
zetti, Signor Godoy; song, " The Old Street Lamp," Molloy, Mr. George
CONCERT OP THE NEW YORK PHILHARMONIC CLUB.
W. De Lano; duo, "Guarda che Bianca Luna," Campana, Mme. Anna
Bishop and Mr. Franz Remmertz. At the next Saalfield concert, which was r p H E New York Philharmonic Club gave their Fourth Soiree this season
announced for Saturday, February 19th, Mile. Maria Litta and Signor Brig- _L on Tuesday evening, Feb. 8th, before an audience which seemed to be
noli were to appear as the principal features of the entertainment.
unusually large. Chamber music is making friends here, and as the Phil-
On Wednesday night, February 9th, Mr. Rafael Joseffy gave the first of harmonic Club is the best organization of its kind, the members devoting a
his three recitals, the receipts of which are devoted to charitable institutions. great deal of time and practise to enseniblc playing, we are glad to see their
The audience was numerous and of excellent quality, and Mr. Joseffy went merits deservedly recognized. The programme of the last concert was com-
through a programme of difficult pieces with untiring energy. The pro- posed of works belonging to three different periods. Mozart represented
gramme of the evening was: (1) allegro and passacaille, Handel; sarabande, the classical epoch, Scharwenka was the representative of the new German
school, and Scliuniann was the exponent of the romantic period. The
Handel, and sonata op. 57, F minor, Beethoven, (2) des
Prophet, and toccata, Schumann; (3) two studies, No. 1 in E flat, No. 2 in A name of Beethoven was not on the programme, and we may add, to the
major; melodie and tanz arabesque, Joseffy; serenade, " Hark, Hark the advantage of the concert, as the interpretation of Beethoven is generally the
Lark! " Schubert-Liszt; (4) Rhapsodie Hongroise, from the eleventh and weak point of the Philharmonic Club. The concert opened with Mozart's
String Quartette in C, No. 6. It was exceedingly well rendered; the clear-
thirteenth rhapsodies, with additional candenzas by R. Joseffy, Liszt.
Mr. Joseffy's abilities are two well known to require any further ness of the phrasing was conspicuous, and the delicacy of the shading made
comment. Whatever ten fingers can do he is able to accomplish, and itself felt in the most prominent manner. In the tempo of the Menuetto they
even more than is generally considered possible. His conceptional powers failed, as so many modern conductors and players fail. A Menuetto is an
are less developed, and, consequently, the Beethoven Sonata was not played old dance, the stateliness of which must appear grotesque to our modern
MUSICAL PERFORMANCES.
T