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Music Trade Review -- © mbsi.org, arcade-museum.com -- digitized with support from namm.org
March 5th, 1882.
THE MUSICAL CRITIC AND TRADE REVIEW.
ed by his pupils, Mrs. Forsyth, Mr. Slocum, and ruary 11, and the programme consisted of parts of
Rubinstein's "Ocean Symphony;" "Thusnelda,"
Mr. Millward.
Mr. de Zielinski played march in B flat (Silas), a character-piece for orchestra, by Foerster; Boise's
melodeon F (Scotson Clark), postlude in F (Guil- ~estal Overture, and songs by Miss Antonio
mant), Pilgrim's Chorus (Wagner-Liszt), and with lenne.
Mr. Jersey (cornet), Handel's Largo for cornet and The Third Peabody Concert, on February 25,
consisted of Beethoven's D major symphony, No. 2,
organ.
and Hamerik's Fifth Norse Suite, "composed in Bal-
The
vocal
numbers
were
selections
from
the
PATTI
"Messiah," and sung in a most scholarly manner, timore (mind you, do not forget, in Baltimore),
and her coadjutors. The diva proved to be in a with a proper appreciation and understanding of 1879-80."
suprisingly agreeable mood, and sang to repeated Handelian accents by the above-named singers.
The orchestra could, under no circumstances,
encores in an inspired manner.
Especial mention can be made of the capital phras- do its duty to the Beethoven symphony, as the
It required only the illusion of the stage to fill ing exhibited by Mr. Slocum in the air, "Ev'ry division of the instruments left it in an unbalanced
the measure of universal admiration and content. Valley," and of the broad and truly artistic deliv- ondition.
There were, for instance, ten violins, eight
By way of contrast, we have had the concerts of ery of the air, '' I Know That My Redeemer Liv-
the Detroit Musical Society, and whether the gen- eth," by Mrs. Forsyth, notwithstanding the igno- basses, and three 'cellos. What possible justice
eral taste has become fastidious from the recent rant comments by a writer for a local weekly sheet, can be done to such a work when the number of
acquaintance with high art, or has become sated, in which his delicate nerves and ignorance-denot- basses are nearly equal to the number of first
certain it is that the numbers of the programmes ing ears are disturbed by the mark accents, and for iolins, and three 'cellos are completely left in
scarcely reached expectation, and their rendition him too rapid tempi, as indicated by Sir Henry ;he shade?
Smart.
was deplorably weak and unsatisfactory.
HAMERIK'S FIFTH NOR8E StJITE
Many causes have been assigned for this un- On Saturday, February 18, Mr. J. de Zielinski ares very favorably under such circumstances.
pleasant revelation, but it would be ungenerous gave a matinee at the hall over Whitney's music All that this work requires is a noisy demonstra-
to be too harsh with an organization which has store, on which occasion the following programme tion, in order to disguise the plagiarisms, espe-
done so much good in the past as a public edu- was presented with various results:
cially in instrumentation.
cator.
Piano Soli—Etude Op. 10, No. 12, Chopin, Por- It will be noticed that this is the second com-
The brilliant
traits Nos. 14 and 16 from Kamennoi-Ostrow Al- position of Hamerik's played this season at the
JOSEFFY
bum, Rubinstein, Mr. J. de Zielinski; Song, "The Peabody concerts, although this is only the third
Champion," Watson, Mr. Taylor; Song, oncert.
came, like an angelic visitation, to dispel our King's
"The Bridge," Hartogg, Miss Jones; Avanera, Hamerik has a weakness of always putting his
gloomy forebodings. Such brightness and crisp- from
"Carmen," Bizet, Miss Perry; Scene and ompositions on the same programme with a Bee-
ness and delicate wooing, in his instrumental med- Cavatina,
Un altra notte ancora, Trovatore, Verdi, thoven composition. He should beware of doing
itations, were never before witnessed. His style Mrs. Forsyth;
Air, "Honor and Arms," Samson, such a thing, as the contrast is entirely too strik-
is, apparently, not the grandiose, though it is quite Handel, Mr. Adams;
Duo, Etude for Pianoforte ing, and always places his work in a decidedly
possible that he is capable of larger effects on an and Organ, Mikuli, Messrs.
Hunt andde Zielinski; disadvantageous position.
instrument of less modified action than the one he Song, " Mignon," Liszt, Miss
Song, "Good No matter, if he pursues his usual plan of re-
played here. We may hear from him again under Bye," Tosti, Mrs. Forsyth; Perry;
Song, "Evening,"
altered conditions, for his pleasant associations and Clapius, Mr. Taylor; Song, "Tidings from Afar," hearsing his own work about twice or three times
handsome entertainments by some musical ad- Dick, Mrs. Forsyth; Piano Soli—Souvenir, Zielin- as often as he does the Beethoven work, in order
to give it a more satisfactory rendition, this does
mirers deeply impressed the eminent pianist.
ski, Etude, "If I were a Bird," Henselt, Tarantel- not save it from the fate that is sure to overtake it
la, Mills, Mr. G. W. Hunt.
when a Beethoven symphony is played on the
DETROIT.
I did not like Mr. de Zielinski's playing of the same night, and even if the latter is played as
Chopin Etude; it was hurried, marred, and un- hamefully as it was that evening, and worse than
DETROIT, MICH., February 21.
to tke enterprise of Manager C. J. even. He redeemed his reputation, however, as any Beethoven symphony that has ever been played
± Whitney, the Detroit public, as well as the pianist, in the two numbers from Rubinstein's at the many disastrous Peabody concerts.
This is an acknowledged public fact, recorded
musically inclined ones from the neighboring Kamennoi-Ostrow Album, which he interpreted
by the newspapers, that the performance of this
cities, had an opportunity of hearing Mme. Patti with surprising tenderness and breadth of tone.
Mrs. Forsyth gave a most artistic delivery of the seeond Beethoven Symphony was the most com-
at Music Hall on the evening of February 10.
And yet the hall was not as crowded as it should aria from "Trovatore," and showed her excellent plete failure that must be added to the many for-
have been, considering the occasion and the sched- method in the song by Tosti. With continuous ap- mer musical failures that have taken place at the
ule of prices. Of course, Patti sang divinely, and plication she will succeed in perfecting her upper Peabody.
notes, which, though good, are not yet as well No matter what the cause of these failures is,
received encore after encore.
Signor Nicolini shouted, sometimes flat, while placed as those of the middle and chest registers. whether it is to be attributed to parsimony on the
Mr. Hunt exhibited his facility of execution and part of the trustees, or ignorance, or false views
Signor Leville did not even try to make himself
heard. The contralto exhibited a good voice, good conception equally well in the three pieces of the director, or incompetence and overpowering
good method and abominable taste, while Mile. he played. Suffering from a severe cold in the egotism on his part, is not the question. The
Castellan pleased everybody with her graceful, head, Miss Perry's rich voice sounded better in cause of the failures is at present hidden under
unassuming manners and artistic handling of the the Avanera, from "Carmen," than in the song by all these various conjectures—but the failures
are facts, and that ends it.
Liszt.
bow.
Her Majesty's Opera Company played "Lohen- Mapleson will be here this week at the Academy
On the following Monday evening, February
13, Joseffy played to a large audience at Whitney's grin" on Monday evening, February 20, at Whit- of Music. "Carmen," "Lohengrin," "Aida," and
Opera House. There was too much Joseffy on the ney's, to a large house, notwithstanding the nasty Faust" are announced.
programme, and too little of Chopin—only the weather. This Tuesday evening " Carmen;" to-mor- Mr. Wm. F. Apthorp, of Boston, delivered a
Romanza and Rondo from the E minor concerto; row afternoon "Aida," and in the evening "Faust," lecture at the Peabody Conservatory of Music
but even that little must have served as a lesson with Dotti—I doubt if any one will be brave enough recently, entitled "History of the Development of
to the numerous piano-thumpers and Chopin an- to go to hear her—are announced by the manage- Music from the Fourth to the Fourteenth Cen-
ment, unless some contretemps impre'vu occurs, and
turies."
YOUTEKX'E.
nihilators that were present.
The ever-genial Dulcken was the musical direc- the everlasting " Lucia" or " Sonnambula" is sub-
tor, and Miss Laura Bellini the singer, if her stituted.
PITTSBUEG.
Mews reaches us here, that in the famous inland
vocal vagarits can be called singing.
PITTSBURG, February 25.
city, Grand Rapids, the wife of a cantankerous
SIDE from the Ninety-ninth Reception of the
DETROIT MUSICAL SOCIETY.
and dyspeptic music teacher has been granted a
Art Society, there is nothing to report from
On the evening of February 15, a small but divorce from the crabbed individual, who was old this city.
enough
to
be
her
father.
Congratulations
to
the
fashionable audience assembled in the spacious
This reception was held Thursday evening.
V. E. Misses
Music Hall to listen to the fortieth concert of the plucky little lady are in order.
Lynch, Snowden, and Palson, and Messrs.
Detroit Musical Society. The selections comprised
Bussman, Stern, Raphael, Vogel, and Cunning-
numbers from Bruch s "Lay of the Bell," and
BALTIMORE.
ham furnished the music.
from Donizetti's "Daughter of the Regiment;" and
Mr. Sterns's cornet solos were rendered in good
BALTIMORE,
JDALTIMORE, March
m a r C I l 1.
1.
as a novelty, Saint-Srcn's ode, "La Lyre et la
style, as usual, and the genial "tooter" was made
—_. the
— very
—j successful
~^jsful production
of
"1
Harpe," orchestrated—if such abominable work A FTER
production
of
"Th
the recipient of much praise.
Messiah" during the past month, by the
can be called by that name—for the occasion by
The programme was an enjoyable one, and its
the conductor of said society.
ORATORIO SOCIETY,
rendition quite pleasing, notwithstanding the
Being totally ignorant of the composer's inten- musical performances seemed to have received an "stage fright" of some of the performers.
tions, or even of the modern resources as applied impetus, as the number has since been very large
Mr. Vogel was suffering from a cold and from
to orchestral works by French composers, the The Oratorio Society has undoubtedly stimu fear, for which he has a small reputation, and
result was a colorless arrangement of the piano lated the community into an appreciation of thi. which it is to be hoped he will soon conquer.
score for string quartette, with wind and percussion benefits to be derived from organizations which
Mr. Retter has filed March 30 as the date for his
instruments thrown in!
tend toward cultivating the taste of the people concert, of which, as before stated, the "Lay of
Of course, to one that has heard it at the Birm- Our local press has given the performances rathe the Bell" and the "Prayer from Lohengrin" will
ingham Musical Festival, in August, 1879, the short limited notices, considering the importance of th< be the choral features.
prelude given to the organ without harmonies event.
Much curiosity is manifested as to the former
sounded funny enough when played by a lot of
The names of the gentlemen who acted a work, which is comparatively unknown here, and
scrambling violins.
ushers seems to have occupied a good portion o of which Mr. R. speaks very enthusiastically.
The same fate befel the tenor solo, "Gt>d the space and to have been as important a part of thi
Mr. Whiting, conductor of the Mendelssohn
Monarch of all Creation," so beautiful in its notice as the criticism itself. This is so exceed Union, has been made the victim of "disclosures,"
choral-like effects when helped by the quaint ingly provincial that it disgusts the better par emanating from sources unknown, and regarding
organ-like accompaniment as in the original score. of the people.
events of years gone by in his career.
The solo singers (Mrs. Walker, Mrs. Tilden, Think of a musical criticism which closes with
It is deplorable indeed that musical circles
Mr. Bassett and Mr. Hunt) did fairly well, espe- a list of the full names of the ushers and door- should so often be turned into schools for scandal,
cially so in the selections from Bruch.
keepers, following that of the solo singers and th and your correspondent has no doubt that Mr.
Mr. J. de Zielinski, organist at St. John's director!
Whiting can hold his own and come out of the
Church, gave an organ recital February 11, assist- The Second Peabody Concert took place Feb battle unscratched.
his enterprise largely in the active centres of the
State, as well as across the border.
But if he escaped without loss, I am not cor-
rectly informed.
It is history repeating itself at extremely short
intervals.
It is needless to speak of
A