MUSICAL COURIER
26
January 5, 1922
ter; also kettle drums, of which he calls for six. Five men are busy all the time in the battery. This is especially true of the first number, “Mars, the Bringer of War,” who leads it on to a vigorous 5-4 rhythm and a most ungodly collection of noise. Number 2, “Venus, Bringer of Peace,” in strong contrast, has nice color effects for the woodwind, a melodious passage for a solo violin, and clever use of the celesta. Number 3, “Mercury, the Winged Messenger,” is in a great hurry indeed. This is an effective bit of light scoring and very suggestive of its subject. “Jupiter, the Bringer of Jollity,” Number 4, evidently has German blood in his veins way back somewhere, to judge by the tune he dances to, although in his trio he shows a decided fondness of roast beef of good old England. Number 5, “Saturn, the Bringer of Old Age,” brings it, one guesses, in the form of rheumatism, for the figure which begins this number, played by three flutes at the bottom of their register with harmonics on the harps, was suggestive of nothing as much as creaky joints. Incidentally there are some three-note tympani chords before one gets through. “Uranus, the Magician,” starts off with a sturdy four-note theme—6, E flat, A, B— and then floats around with a sort of parody on “The Sorcerer’s Apprentice,” which Mr. Holst without doubt created with malice aforethought. For the final number, “Neptune, the Mystic,” there are dim colors, both harmonic and orhestral, and a chorus of female voices off stage which was omitted because the chorus parts did not arrive; probably, however, that made no difference. The first four numbers of the suite were decidedly interesting. Mr. Holst has more or less to say and says it in a rather different manner than most of the young gentlemen who are writing today; he is a thorough master of orchestration, but he would do himself and us a favor if he would take out the last three numbers of his suite.
Max Kotlarsky
Max Kotlarsky, whose interesting piano recital last year in the same hall is readily recalled, appeared at Aeolian Hall, December 29, before a good sized audience, playing a program of some of the most difficult piano music written, including the Bach-Busoni “Chaconne,” pieces by Liapounoff, and the famous “Islamey” fantasy of Balakireff, as well as MacDowell’s tragic sonata and a Corelli-Godowsky pastorale. He surmounted the contrapuntal figuration of the Bach work with complete self possession, making much of it sound like organ music and attaining a great climax. The obligatory boldness, playfulness and sentiment were present in MacDowell’s work, which he played to a triumphant conclusion. The Russian works were much enjoyed and vigorously applauded, and at the close the youthful pianist (Sam Kotlarsky, the violinist, is his brother) was surrounded by admirers, some of whom also sought out Albert Ross Parsons, his teacher, kindly yet most just and severest of critics.
Gadski, Schnitzer, Schulz and Storr
At the Town Hall on Thursday evening, December 29, a concert was given for the benefit of the relief fund of the German Press Club of New York, the following artists participating: Johanna Gadski, soprano; Germaine Schnitzer, pianist; Leo Schulz, cellist, and Lionel Storr, bass baritone. Mme. Gadski gave her usual artistic interpretations of Schumann and Schubert songs and two Wagner numbers from “Tristan and Isolde.” Mme. Schnitzer was much appreciated in her masterly renditions of Chopin, Saint-Saëns and Schubert numbers and the Schubert-Tausig “Military March.” An andante and rondo from the concerto for cello (B. Molique-Schulz), a Bach sarabande for cello alone and “Am Springbrunnen” (Dav-idoff), besides delightful shorter selections, which included one of his own compositions and his arrangement of the Schubert “Moment Musical” made up Mr. Schulz’s part of the program. Mr. Storr afforded much pleasure in his singing of an aria from “Simon Boccanegra” (Verdi), and songs by Schubert, Rubinstein and Franz. Catherine (Continued on page 58.)
A reception was held at Mills College in honor of Ernestine Schumann-Heink.
The Flonzaley Quartet is filling twenty engagements this month.
Ferenc Vecsey, the Hungarian violinist, is recognized as an authority on fiddles.
Cecil Fanning has been reengaged for a recital in Derby, Conn., February 25.
The San Francisco Chronicle states that Paderewski will devote his time to growing almonds on his ranch.
Albert Coates conducted the New York Symphony Orchestra in two concerts last week.
Tetrazzini has just completed a tour of the English provinces.
Ida Geer Weller, contralto, sang at the New York Evening Mail concert last Sunday.
Josef Lhevinne is making two trips South within a few weeks in order to fill recital engagements.
Lalo’s “Le Roi d’Ys” will be׳ sung for the first time at the Metropolitan tonight.
Carl Engel has been appointed head of the music division of the Library of Congress in Washington.
Mischa Elman is booked for forty recital engagements in London and the English provinces.
The music critic of the Pittsburgh Post called Hans Kindler a cellist in a thousand.
Leo Ornstein made an address at the recent meeting of the Music Teachers’ Association in Detroit.
“The Wild Cat,” a musical operetta, began its sixth week at the Park Theater last Monday.
Alice Gentle was the guest of honor at a recent Gamut Club dinner in Los Angeles.
The London String Quartet is booked solid for December.
Fred Patton is rapidly becoming known in Canada.
A report on the status in 1919-20 of music in schools of the United States can be procured from the Superintendent of Documents, Government Printing Office Washington, D. C.	-	b
Arthur Middleton is touring in four states this month.
Rochester has a new chamber music quartet made up of members of the faculty of the Eastman School.
Max Jacobs will reenter the chamber music field with the Max Jacobs String Quartet.	G N
N E-W YORK CONCERT*/־
broad technic of all the players, each of whom gave solos as well as participating in the trios, brought every number appropriate applause. The explanatory remarks given by Helen Norfleet served to bring many smiles to the audience of young folks, also elucidating the meaning of the various numbers.
The affair was under the auspices of the Children’s Matinee Association, and more such music would do our young folks a heap of good.
Oratorio Society in “The Messiah”
In “The Messiah” performance (the ninety-sixth by the Oratorio Society) given at Carnegie Hall, December 28, New Yorkers made the formal artistic acquaintance of Albert Stoessel, the new conductor, and Olive Marshall, soprano (said to be from Boston), the other soloists, Alcock, Murphy and Patton, being nationally well known.
Mr. Stoessel achieved some unusual effects, such as the light beginning in “For Unto Us” and the soft phrase beginning with “Peace” in “Glory to God,” both followed by tremendous crescendos. He was given a welcome by the audience, and later on quite a demonstration by both audience and singers occurred, all well deserved, for he is a conductor of poise, unaffected and sincere, who knows his work and prepares it with every attention to detail. Miss Marshall sang all her music with delightful voice, clear and true, her very first tones in “There were shepherds” prognosticating fine things, later realized in “Come Unto Him” and in her brilliant, effortless singing of “Rejoice Greatly.” Miss Alcock’s rich contralto tones brought her admiration, and tenor Murphy sang the long phrases of “Every Valley” . with ease and rhythmic accuracy. Mr. Patton’s singing was * altogether dignified and well considered, “But who may abide” being done with dramatic effect. “The people that walked” also brought him big applause, richly deserved, for it was most artistic The attainment of the chorus in the high B flats of “His yoke is easy” deserves mention, and of course the immense audience stood in the “Hallelujah Chorus.” Noticeable for years past in “The Messiah” performances is the middle-aged chorus soprano who always sings from memory, and likewise with personal enjoyment.
DECEMBER 29
Albert Coates’ Debut
Albert Coates, the English conductor who has come over to lead the New York Symphony Orchestra for ten weeks, appeared for the first time at Carnegie Hall on Thursday afternoon, December 29, the program being repeated on Friday evening, December 30. It would be untrue to say that Mr. Coates sustained the excellent impression which he made in the three concerts he directed last year. He began with the “Meistersinger” prelude. If you like your “Meistersinger” noisy and then still more noisy, you will like Mr. Coates’ reading, which was dominated by the brass—so much so that numerous passages were badly distorted through inability to hear the strings or woodwinds, although they were working their hardest. Next came Tschaikowsky’s “Romeo and Juliet” fantasy. This was a bit more moderate. After that came the novelty of the afternoon, Gustav Holst’s symphonic suite, “The Planets,” a set of seven long numbers named after the planets of our system. It would have been fairer to Mr. Holst to separate the suite into two parts—as there i no integral connection between the numbers—and to pla״ four at one concert and three at another. The whole suite lasted over an hour and with so much new matter presented it was impossible to digest the whole. Mr. Holst is fond of trombones and tubas—he uses two of the lat-
I SEE THAT
The tax on complimentary tickets for concerts and recitals has been lifted.
Prokofieff’s opera, “The Love for the Three Oranges,” was given its world premiere in Chicago, December 30.
Erika M'orini won her usual success at her debut recital in Boston.
Marguerite D’Alvarez will make at least eleven appearances in New York this season.
The Norfleet Trio is giving matinees for children.
Nevada Van der Veer and Reed Miller have returned to New York from a Western concert tour.
About 3,000 persons recently heard Idelle Patterson sing in Springfield, Mass.
Frieda Hempel will give her second New Year recital of the season at Carnegie Hall on January 13.
New songs by Mabel Wood Hill are attracting attention.
Mary Garden scored one of the greatest triumphs of her career in the Chicago Opera’s revival of “Salome.”
The Verdi Club gave a New Year’s Eve supper and dance at Hotel Astor.
A cablegram from London tells of the birth of a daughter to Dr. and Mrs. Leopold Stokowski.
Guy Maier and Lee Pattison will play at the February festival of the Mendelssohn Choir of . Toronto.
Edwin _Grasse_ scored a success at the violin and organ recital which he gave at Wilkes-Barre.
May Mukle has left New York and is en route to Hawaii.
Elena Gerhardt will give a recital at Wells College, Aurora, N. Y., Februap15 ׳.
Christiaan Kriens is conductor of the Plainfield Symphony Orchestra.
Emma Calve was warmly welcomed when she appeared in recital in Boston on December 25.
Samuel Â. Baldwin resumed his free organ recitals at City College on January 1.
Lucrezia Bori returned to the Metropolitan last Thursday evening as Mimi in “La Bohême.
DECEMBER 26
Reuben Davies
Reuben Davies, American pianist, was heard in recital at Aeolian Hall on the evening of Monday, December 26, in a program which comprised the following :
. •Bach-Busoni
........Ravel
......Debussy
......Debussy
.......Griffes
.......Davies
.......Bartok
........Ravel
......•Chopin
. . Chopin-Liszt Paganini-Liszt . . . . Rubinstein
Chaconne .....................
Sonatine .....................
Arabesque ....................
An Evening in Granada.........
The White Peacock.............
The •Spirit of Passing Clouds.
The Bear Dance..................
Jeux d’eau ...................
Etude, op. 25, No. 7..........
My Joys ......................
The Chase ....................
Staccato Etude ...............
Mr. Davies is not unknown to New York concert audiences, having appeared in recital in the metropolis before, when his artistic work also won the approval of both press and public. _ His performance of the “Chaconne,” Bach-Busoni, which he chose as his opening number, revealed him as a deep thinking musician, while in his playing of the group of modern compositions, his tonal color was at all times appealing. His rendition of the closing group gave the artist opportunity to display his virtuosity. “The Spirit of Passing Clouds,” by the concert giver, proved to be an original, brilliant and interesting composition, and received enthusiastic applause.
At the end of the concert Mr. Davies was obliged to give three insistent encores: Nocturne, Chopin; his own “Remembrance” (an unusually beautiful number), and Liszt’s “Liebestraum.”
The audience manifested its approval by recalling the artist many times.
DECEMBER 27
Philadelphia Orchestra, Richard Strauss, Conducting; Bronislaw Huberman, Soloist
Richard Strauss and the Philadelphia Orchestra, assisted by Bronislaw Huberman, violinist, gave a concert before a very large audience at the Metropolitan Opera House, on December 27, at which two of the symphonic poems were played and a youthful violin concerto, written when the composer was only nineteen. Considering his youth and his traditions, Strauss accomplished rather an amazing feat when he penned this concerto. It is far from being a great work, but it shows invention, is well put together and orchestrated, and gives an occasional glimpse of the freedom which later led to the Strauss scandal, a scandal which has died down now, when even the most advanced of his works sound tame and rather old fashioned. They bid fair, in fact, to have attached to them the ignominious term classic” and to be studied in the schools. Strauss is already Herr Doctor. How soon will be also be Herr Professor?
Certainly the modernistic works given at this concert were not in any way shocking. We heard some people express regret that they were not—as if they had expected to purchase a penny dreadful and had picked up a Sunday school tract by mistake. “How Mendelssohnic this sounds as compared with Korngold!” said one. Quite so! It does, indeed. Very mild and gentlemanly, aristocratic and “comme il faut.” And to think that even a few of us who are not old (far from it) can remember when all Germany was howling at Strauss, and the whole world was treating him to much the same sort of praise that is now showered upon Schonberg and his disciples.
The poems given—and they were very well given—were Zarathustra” and “Heldenleben.” Comment is surely unnecessary. Everybody knows them—and those who do not will benefit nothing from critical comment or appreciation.
Herbert Schmidt
At Aeolian Hall on Tuesday afternoon, December 27, Herbert Schmidt gave a piano recital before an interested audience. Mr. Schmidt’s playing is of a decidedly clean-cut style; it shows intelligence and sincerity, and his tones are of good quality and never forced. In the Chopin sonata he obtained some lovely, smooth singing effects. He was perhaps at his best in the modern numbers of Scott, Ravel and Carpenter. He had an easy, swinging rhythm in the “Passacaglia,” and he gave a quiet atmosphere to “Bells in the Valley.” It was in the Liszt number, however, that full display of his technical power was given. He has a supple wrist and masters technical difficulties with little effort. Several encores were given in response to the applause.
The program follows:
. . . Chopin .. .. Scott .... Ravel Carpenter ....Liszt
Sonata, B minor, op. 58
Passacaglia ..............
Bells in thè Valley.......
Little Dancer ............
Mephisto Waltz ...........
DECEMBER 28
Norfleet Trio Children’s Matinee
Particular interest was shown in a musical matinee fo! children, given December 28 at the Academy of Music Brooklyn, by the Norfleet Trio, consisting of Helen, Cath erine and Leeper Norfleet, playing piano, violin and cello respectively. The program was divided into three parts— “Merry Dancers,” “Nature Stories” and “The Night Be׳ fore Christmas.” In the dances was included Grainger’: “Molly on the Shore,” Brahms’ “Hungarian Dance ’ Haydn’s “Gypsy Rondo,” etc; the “Nature Stories” hac “The Butterfly” (Popper), “The Lark’s Song” (Tschai kowsky), “The Bee” (Schubert), “The Rooster and Hens’ (Leonard), etc., and the Christmas pieces had “The To■: Soldier” (Warner), “The Music Box” (Rebikoff), “Thl JDancmg Doll (Poldini). etc. Thp evrplfpnf־ facfp ׳!.<׳