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April 20th, 1882.
THE MUSICAL CRITIC AND TRADE REVIEW.
287
A PARISIAN JOURNAL'S MISTAKE.
The next number will
PERFORMANCES.
{Continued from page 285.)
contain a resume of the Festival.
f T I H E Paris VEurope
Artiste says that
_L "Mignon" is a very popular opera in
Such was the case several times on this occa-
America. W e must tell our contemporary sion.
THE LAT3ST ABOUT PATTI.
Neither Miss Little, nor Mr. Remmertz,
that
this
is
incorrect.
"Mignon"
is
one
of
nor Mr. Toodt have the quality of voice required
T HAS been reported that Colonel Ma-
pleson has probably engaged Adelina the least popular of all the operas produced by Berlioz for the parts in "Romeo and Juliet"
Patti for the coming season to sing with his here, whether by an Italian or French com- assigned to them.
They sang the music correctly, yet the quality
company at the Academy of Music. As pany.
of the voices were inadequate, Miss Little's voice
every statement made by Patti and her
being too small, Mr. Toedt's entirely too small,
ENGLISH AND EUROPEAN MUSIC.
and Mr. Remmertz's voice not within the register
managers has been contradicted either by
N referring to Mr. Gye's coming season, of Berlioz's score.
the diva or her managers themselves, we
the London Illustrated Sporting and The "Leonore Overture, No. 3 , " which opened
simply mention the report, which should be
the concert, was performed with finish and ex-
Dramatic
News of A p r i l L s i , . . :
taken cum grano salis.
"For many reasons the coming season at Co vent ceptional expression by the orchestra.
Garden will be regarded with special interest. Our
German friends, who seldom hesitate to let us know
PHILHARMONIC CONCERT.
that they are the proper persons to dictate to us on r
GEO. GBOVE AND OTTO GOLDSCHMIDT.
musical matters, declare that Italian opera is 'played T^HE fortieth season of Philharmonic concerts
OME of the London journals do not out,'and that the chief musical attractions of this JL ended with the one hundred and ninety-ninth
approve of the appointments of Mr. year will be the German operatic performances at concert of the society, which took place at the
George Grove as "director" and Herr Otto Her Majesty's Theatre and Drury Lane. This re- Academy of Music on April 15.
mains to be proved. The German performances will
The season was pre-eminently successful, and
Goldschmidt as "conductor" of the Royal meet with a courteous and impartial reception, but
the society can be congratulated on its choice of
neither
English
amateurs
nor
English
musicians
will
College of Music which is to be.
to foreign dictation on matters of taste. Mr. Thomas as director. His selections, his con-
One of the journals calls Mr. George Grove submit
Nous avons change tout cela, and if we find the struction of programmes, and his intelligent di-
"a cultivated amateur of distinguished abili- 'music of the future' and its interpreters unsatisfac- rection have resulted in a series of concerts that
ty," and Herr Otto Goldschmidt, "a German tory we shall not hesitate to say so. It is, however, have not been excelled during any of the pravious
a curious fact that, whereas London has for many seasons.
conductor of third-rate rank."
years supported two Italian opera houses and dis- The programme of the last concert was inter-
This meets the views of many who have pensed with German opera, we shall this year have esting.
two German opera companies and only one Italian
any knowledge of the situation.
Beethoven's overture, "Consecration of the
opera company. The performances of the "Ring des
The great conservatories of Europe, those Nibelungen," with its hideously repulsive details in House," was the first number, followed by Her-
institutions that have graduated the most cel- the second portion of the tetralogy, is only welcome mann Goetz's piano concerto, op. 18, played here
for the first time, Mr. Hermann Rietzel being the
ebrated musicians, are in Germany, France for the reason that it is likely to do much to cure the soloist.
craze for unmusical noises in the shape of opera.
and Belgium. Our institutions, like the Col- We may rely on it that Mr. Ernest Gye will make a
Signor Campanini sang the aria, "Unter Blii-
lege of Music in Cincinnati and the Peabody gallant fight in favor of that form of musical enter- henden Mandelbaumen," from Weber's "Eury-
tainment which has for a century and a half been anthe." The "Vorspiel," from "Lohengrin," was
Conservatory in Baltimore, have done abso- popular
in England. English lovers of music will
lutely nothing, except to produce gossip and wish success to him and to the Royal Italian then played, the concert closing with Schubert's
Ninth Symphony.
Opera."
discussion.
The members of the Philharmonic being famil-
The private conservatories in New York,
Our English cousins should control their iar with the Beethoven overture, they played it
well. An interesting number was anticipated in
and the New England Conservatory in Bos- tempers.
the piano concerto. Goetz's works have not been
ton, being under proper and able manage-
There never has been a complete perform- heard here, although his name is known.
ment, have been doing much better in all re- ance of the "Ring des JSibelungen" in Eng-
His "Taming of the Shrew" was to be produced
spects than subsidized institutions here and in land, and in the interest of the art, in which here by Mapleson this season.
England.
For certain reasons not known to many, the
no prejudice should exist, all opinions should
opera was not included in the repertoire of the sea-
An intelligent and capable management be withheld.
son just closing, although the musical world was
must direct a conservatory of music, and
The fact that a certain class of musical per- anxious to hear it.
neither distinguished amateurs, nor third-rate formances has been popular in England for a
The opera has had a successful entree in some of
conductors, nor conceited laymen can be suc- century and a half is no indication of posi- the large European cities, and Goetz is spoken of.
cessful in managing the destinies of such in- tive merit; at least, the century and a half there as a gifted composer.
The concerto is an elaborated composition con-
stitutions.
has not produced a single great musician in ceived in a broad spirit, and the technical execu-
England.
tion of the score shows Goetz to have been a mu-
BRAHMS AND ENGLISH AUDIENCES.
Therefore, a little innovation and less con- sician of splendid attainments.
TP1HE sudden popularity which Brahms ceit may be productive of good results, and
The themes are concisely developed, the piano
_L achieved in the musical circles of Lon- a little less of Handel and Donizetti and is treated in a scholarly style, and the labor of
don does not appear to have continued for Verdi, and more of Rubinstein and Wagner, studying it is fully repaid. The orchestration is
an attractive feature, and the composer is fully in-
any length of time.
may also be beneficial to our friends across the itiated in the secrets of modern instrumentation.
The "Andante" movement is built upon a de-
The later overtures from his pen did not water.
licious liquid theme, the melody being quite orig-
create any impression on English audiences,
ABOUT GROVE'S DICTIONARY OF MUSIC.
inal. Taking it all in all, although not one of the
and even the finished performance of his vio-
heroic class of piano concertos, it can be produced
N
casually
looking
over
this
work
again,
we
lin concerto by Joachim at the Crystal Palace
notice some more discrepancies. But a pecu- successfully at concerts of this description.
Concert, London, on March 18, was coldly re- liar spirit seems to pervade it, in addition to posi-
Mr. Hermaun Rietzel must have studied assidu-
ously in accomplishing the difficult task of mem-
ceived.
tive errors regarding facts.
This spirit consists of the undue prominence orizing the work. He did not succeed in creating
Judgment is suspended in the criticisms,
any artistic effects, although his technique is suf-
but it appears as if there exists a unanimity which is given to English composers. For ex- ficiently developed to have risen above the mere
ample, Bishop, the English composer, gets two
of opinion in regard to the pedantic style and one-half columns, while Glinka, the renowned difficulties of execution. Tone and breadth of
which prevails in his compositions. They are Russian composer, is finished up with not quite treatment were lacking. Mr. Rietzel is talented
and to all appearances a student, yet in the per-'
considered overburdened and obscure.
one column.
of this concerto he did not evince any
The London violin makers have four columns, formance
but Maggini, a great Italian violin maker, is not in scholarly attainments.
Campanini tried to sing the Weber aria, but
the dictionary at all.
THE WOOD COLLEGE OF MUSIC.
made a wretched display, his voice giving out
Mathew
Lock,
an
Englishman,
who
was
born
in
W E E K or so ago some friends of the the seventeenth century, and who wrote some completely. As we have heretofore mentioned,
Samuel Wood College of Music, met at mediocre sacred hymns, has over two columns. he is by no means a youth. His voice has had a
the residence of Dr. William A. Hammond, Metastasio, the Italian, born in the same century, great deal of wear, and is, in fact, worn out. All
the consummate skill he possesses in covering the
and, after some talk, appointed a committee and whose name has become immortal in connec- weak points does not compensate for the positive
tion
with
the
classical
works
of
Gluck,
Mozart,
"to wait on the Trustees of the 'Samuel Wood
Porpora, Meyerbeer, Handel, Cimarosa, Scarlatti, absence of voice. I t was a most painful exhibi-
College of Music,' and respectfully request Haydn and Spontini, all of whom used bis libret- tion.
them to hold a meeting at their earliest con- tos for some of their operas, has about one col- In order to have a remnant of voice for next
season, he must go into retirement, and cease all
venience, for the purpose of filling the umn.
As the opportunities present themselves, we will efforts to sing in public, unless he wishes to make
vacancies now existing in the Board of Trus-
such failures as he did at the Philharmonic.
tees, electing a president, and doing such take a look into Grove's Dictionary of—of—Eng-
It is surprising that the audience insisted upon
lish Music and Musicians—as it might aptly be
other acts as may be necessary to put the col- called.
an encore, and more surprising that Campanini
^___
gratified them.
lege in a condition to effectively carry out the
The "Vorspiel" of "Lohengrin" was played in
Mr. Courtney's Pupils' Concert at Steinway
purposes of the testator.''
a perfect manner. We do not remember having
Hall on April 14 was largely attended.
This looks encouraging. In a century or
Madame Julia Rive-King is on her way to San heard a more satisfactory performance of this re-
two the trustees will meet, and shortly there- Francisco, where she will give a series of piano markable prelude.
The symphony of the evening, Schubert's No.
after we may see the foundation for the recitals and grand concerts, with orchestral ac-
9 in C, is a true exponent of the grace and individ-
Wood College of Music started.
companiment.
TKADE REVIEW.
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