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THE MUSIC TRADE REVIEW
great casts so well known to all who know
the season's artists. The Twilight of the
Gods is still to be presented on Wednes-
day night.
BOSTON SYMPHONY CONCERTS.
T H E most notable work of the operatic
* season had two hearings in February.
This will be understood when it is stated
that Puccini's new opera, Tosca, was
presented and it is but fair to say that it
was magnificently mounted, and many
thanks are due the management because
it is no small matter to put into prepara-
tion a new opera, not knowing how it will
be received by the majority, and it is
enough to make one quail at trying on
a novelty especially when the trial costs
thousands of dollars. So much for the
management, now for the opera. It will
readily be seen that with one woman in the
cast the quartet was omitted, in fact, the
form is distinctly free, hardly dropping
into aria, duet, trio, or concerted form often
enough to speak of. The music is beau-
tiful, but it would have been just as beau-
tiful without the voices. The interest was
riveted upon the work in its entirety, not
upon this or that number. Were it not for
the all-important part that the orchestra
plays there would be nothing—-there being
but two parts of any importance, which
are, of course, Tosca and Scarpia, magni-
ficently assumed by Ternina and Scotti.
It is hardly possible that any one could
have made more of Cavaradossi than Cre-
monini did, for the part offers no possi-
bilities. There are many delightful bits of
melody in recitative, and the coloring and
orchestration are superb, ingenious and
dramatic. Puccini reverses the order of
great tonal masses to make his climaxes and
instead makes dead silence the height of
dramatic effect. It is not like Wagner, it
is not like Mascagni, nor like Leoncavallo,
nor, indeed, is it like Puccini; it is differ-
ent, and gives a thorough idea of
what music drama
might achieve
without singers, leaving the orches-
tra to furnish the music alone.
This cannot pass without adding, that
there is an abundance, even a superabund-
ance of cacophony. Vocally it is intensely
hard, for the voice seems to be a thing
distinct and apart from all else. After
a pause it is a marvel to any one
to know from where the singers get
their notes unless they carry them in
their heads from the last performance.
Ternina was positively triumphant and
wonderful in the role, her histrionic ability
really equals her beautiful brilliant voice.
Scotti also is an actor of vast ability and
power, and his beautiful voice is a never-
ending source of delight, for he is so
thoroughly artistic in his use of it. The
past week was also notable for a presenta-
tion of the Nibelungen Ring, with the
The pair of concerts given by the Bos-
ton Orchestra were exceptional, not
only in the magnificent soloists presented
(Aus der Ohe and Fritz Kreisler), but es-
pecially delightful and interesting were
The Death of Tintagiles by C. M. Loeffler,
and the Symphony No. 3 in C minor of Ca-
mille Saint Saens. After hearing Loefner's
Veillees de L'Ukraine splendidly given by
Kneisel and this great orchestra, I formed
an opinion which was substantially
strengthened after hearing "The Death of
Tintagiles," and that was the conviction
that there is no more gifted writer living
to-day than this modest, unassuming man
who shares Kneisel's desk in the or-
chestra. The program book states that
he was born in 1861, so it will be seen
that he is not old to have written with
such power and ingenuity. Homer A.
Norris of Boston in his lectures and in
private conversation holds that Loeffler
compares easily to Richard Strauss. Many
times I may have argued against this, but
I will join Norris in this belief. Loeffler
enjoys taking sombre, even morbid sub-
jects, but he never grows brutal in his
treatment: he is always keenly sensi-
tive, highly refined, essentially poetical,
strongly dramatic and intensely mil-
sicianly and intellectual. Gericke di-
rected the number with that magnificent
insight which is nothing short of wonder-
ful in its versatility. On Saturday after-
noon the Saint Saens Symphony was given,
to the delight of all lovers of the modern.
The symphony is scored with pianoforte
and organ treated purely as orchestral in-
struments, and the effect is quite astonish-
ing. Wallace Goodrich, one of Boston's
most skilful organists, was at the organ.
Aus der Ohe played the too familiar Liszt
major concerto, but in her hands it had many
charms notwithstanding its over familiar-
ity. Hers is the broad intellectual style
that fascinates not less by its technical
sweep, than by the wide and cool com-
prehensiveness which she manifests in
every measure. It is a privilege to hear
Aus der Ohe with orchestra, but it would
be essentially a delight and benefit as
well, to hear a recital by this pian-
ist who is important enough to have
been laden with honors in Germany.
Kreisler, in the Beethoven D major violin,
was noble, and the purity of his tone and
his unaffected manner gave additional
charm to the composition which is purity
of style at its highest. The accompani-
ment of the orchestra was the most finished.
The next concert will be the last for this
season.
PITTSBURG ORCHESTRA.
The second visit of Victor Herbert and
his orchestra occurred Feb. 12th, at
which time an excellent program was pre-
sented and the good opinion of Herbert's
work which was formed at first hearing was
sustained. Fannie Bloom field Zeisler was
the soloist and the Grieg concerto was her
selection. There was no unity of tempera-
ment between the executant and the direc-
tor, and it is not surprising that more than
once there was that which might have been
construed into a hiatus. Zeisler is a whirl-
wind, to say nothing of her cyclonic ten-
dencies, and nowhere is this temperament
more in place than in this great Norse com-
position, and it seems as though it might
have taken a Paur to come out even.
PEOPLE'S SYMPHONY CONCERTS.
In propria persona I attended for the
first time one of these concerts given at
Cooper Hall, and I must confess that
I was astounded no less by the
very large attendance than by the
interest and enjoyment
manifested
in that class of music to which it is
claimed that one must be to the manner
born. Much credit is due to F. X. Arens
and those who labor to assist him in this
excellent work. With forty musicians he
does most creditable work and his efforts
can only provoke admiration and the ear-
nest hope that he may succeed. His last
program consisted of compositions by
Gliick, Mozart, Beethoven of which the
Second symphony was one.
He had the assistance of Richard Byron
Overstreet, Louis B. Voigt and Heinrich
Gebhard, who played in exquisite taste the
Mozart D minor piano concerto. Gebhard
showed a beautiful simplicity of style, a
limpid, pearly technic, and a musicianly
reverence of the work. He was recalled
six times and finally gave insight to an-
other style entirely by playing one of the
Soirees de Vienne. Miss Voigt and Mr.
Overstreet, had to contend with bad
acoustics, but they gave evident pleasure
to their hearers.
THE KNEISEL QUARTET.
Two admirable recitals were given this
month by this quartet, and at both Doh-
nanyi figured as assisting artist. At the
first concert the Bach E major sonata for
piano and violin was given with all the
subtle finesse that belongs to the compo-
sition. Both Kneisel and Dohnanyi dis-
played not alone intellect, but deep musi-
cal sensibility.
At the last concert the splendid Tschai-
kowsky Quartet was presented with all the
Slav coloring and fire that it requires to
make it and its hearers tingle with the
emotional in music. Dohnanyi's violin
sonata suffered just a trifle, as anything
must have that was to follow the opening
number. The Brahms piano quartet
formed a superb finale for this essentially
modern program.
The quartet is booked for a lengthy tour
as soon as the symphony season closes.
BENDIX STRING QUARTET.
The Bendix String Quartet, composed
of Max Bendix, Ernst Bauer, Jacob Alt-
schuler and Leo Schultz, is an organiza-
tion which, by every reason of merit,
should find a haven in New York, which
for some years has contained no quartet of
importance except the Dannreuther organ-
Marie Parcel lo
DRAMATIC CONTRALTO
ORATORIO and CONCERTS
nusic
Rooms :
1103-4-5 Carnegie
NEW YORK.
Hall,