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MUSICAL COURIER
compared with the more or less sophisticated way in which a great deal of music is received in New York, with just the perfunctory patter of polite applause that many times leaves the artist chilled, in spite of the fact that he knows he has given his best. Yet possibly many artists would rather sing once in New York than three times in lesser known cities on the road. Such is the perversity of human nature. But Mrs. Miller and I enjoyed every minute in the West. It will be a long while until we forget those “honest” audiences, that were not afraid to applaud what they like, and instil enthusiasm into the artist, so that we strived everywhere to give of our best.”
How well they succeeded may best be seen by the many enthusiastic press notices from their tour.
Thelma Given Succeeds with Orchestra
“Thelma Given was a success beyond expectation and certainly a credit to her teacher, Mr. Auer. I wish to thank you for recommending her for our concerts”—thus wrote the president of the Reading Symphony Orchestra to Miss Given’s managers after the violinist’s very successful recent appearance in that city as soloist with the orchestra.
Mrs. Peter Brecht Passes Away
Mrs. Alfred Blackman, wife of Alfred Blackman of the Cincinnati Conservatory of Music, has received word of the death of her mother, Mrs. Peter Brecht, at Christiania, Norway. Mrs. Blackman, a talented pianist, came to this country last July with her husband. She is a member of one of the most distinguished families of Norway and a granddaughter of Consul Bache.
Stopak Touring with Chaliapin
Besides giving his second New York violin recital at Carnegie Hall on January 14, Josef Stopak will tour with Chaliapin all this month, his latest engagements with the Russian basso being in Cleveland, Boston and Chicago, with many engagements pending on account of the phenomenal success achieved everywhere by the concerts.
D’Alvarez’ Only New York Recital
Marguerite D’Alvarez, contralto of the Chicago Opera Association, gives her only New York recital of the season at Town Hall on Tuesday afternoon, January 10. Mme. D’Alvarez will sing an interesting program of French, Russian, Spanish and English songs. Walter Golde will act as accompanist.
Hofmann at Carnegie Hall January 14
Josef Hofmann gives his first piano recital of the season at Carnegie Hall on Saturday afternoon, January 14. His American season will last only through March, 1922.
and chorus of more than eighty persons was trained by J. Alfred Spouse, and the staging was directed by George P. Culp, while Charles H. Miller, director of music in the public schools, was general supervisor of the production. The work of Joseph Schnitzer as Ko Ko, the lord high executioner, was particularly popular, although all of the principals won plenty of applause. Among them were Lafayette Clapp, Lewis J. Marsh, Nathaniel G. West, Glenn Gildersleeve, Julius F. Seebach, Florence E. Wright, Adah Burke, Carlotta W. Green, Eva Wannamacher, A. Maude Lambert and Albert D. Dysinger. In some of the principal parts two sets of players were trained to appear at different performances.
The Students’ Club of the Tuesday Musicale gave a recital on November 29. Those who took part were Florence Reynolds, Margaret Hartman and Mrs. Charles J. Gerling, vocalists; Betty Rosner, pianist; Norman Prince, vocalist, and Jerome Diamond, pianist.
Edwin Arthur Kraft, well known Cleveland organist, gave the first of a series of organ recitals in Lake Avenue Baptist Church on December 13, assisted by a male quartet consisting of Ralph Scobell, Floyd West, Harold Wollenhaupt and Edwin T. West. This is a series arranged by George E. Fisher, organist of the church, to bring famous organists to Rochester during the winter.
The second morning recital by the Tuesday Musicale was given on November 22, with members of the club participating. A feature of the program was an outline of the story of the Puccini opera, “Tosca,” with vocal and piano interpolations by Mrs. Leon Lewis, assisted by Loula Gates Bootes. Others who took part were Mrs. Harry P. Cohen, Mary Ertz Will, Mildred Bond, H. Lucile Curtis and Alice Wysard.
Recitals have been given recently by pupils of Edith Thompson, Edgar J. Rose and Mrs. M. E. Williams.
A concert in the V. W. Raymond series, scheduled in November, by Frances Alda and Charles Hackett in joint recital, was postponed at the last minute at the request of the two artists. Announcement was made that the concert might be given late in the Spring.	H. W. S.
Reed Miller Back from Tour
Nevada Van der Veer and Reed Miller are again in New York after having made a very successful western concert tour that took them through five states—Texas, Arizona, Oklahoma, Kansas and Nebraska—singing in all over twenty concerts. They opened at Fort Worth, Texas, October 18, their last date being at Omaha, Neb. Everywhere this artist couple were enthusiastically received, as the numerous newspaper clippings relating to their tour indicate. It fell to them to open several new “Artists’ Courses,” and to give the opening performance in several new auditoriums.
“It was undoubtedly the most satisfying tour of our career,” said Mr. Miller, “for the Westerners have come to appreciate music in a way that is deeply gratifying, when
January 5, 1922
EASTMAN SCHOOL FURNISHES
ROCHESTER A STRING QUARTET
Eastman Faculty Series Delights—Detroit Symphony Orchestra Heard—Anna Pavlowa Acclaimed—Discriminating Audience Greets Rachmaninoff—Rochester Symphony Completes Twenty-fifth Year
Rochester, N. Y., December 17, 1921—A new quartet for the playing of chamber music, made up of members of the faculty of the Eastman School of Music, made its first appearance at a concert on December 12 as the second event in a season series at Nazareth Academy. The quartet is made up of Alf Klingenberg, director of the Eastman School, piano; Gerald Klunz, violin; Samuel Belov, viola; Gerald Maas, cello. The first concert was a delight to the large audience and indicated that the quartet will achieve considerably more than a local reputation, as each member is an artist of established ability and known in Europe and America. The ensemble is the successor of the Kilbourn Quartet, which gave many successful recitals last season, and which was composed entirely of strings, with Arthur Hartmann playing first violin. At the concert by the new quartet the program included the E flat quartet of Beethoven and the G minor quartet of Brahms, both of which were played with great brilliancy and technical proficiency. In addition Mr. Kunz and Mr. Maas were heard in solos.
The first recital in this Eastman factulty series was given on November 22 by Pierre Augieras, well known French pianist, assisted by Lucile Davis, a young local soprano of much promise. Mr. Augieras came into prominence last season when he toured with Kubelik, playing the violinist’s accompaniments, as well as his own solos. He is an artist of mature skill and intelligence and his program, especially a Chopin group, was received with enthusiasm.
The first orchestra outside of the New York Symphony to visit Rochester in many seasons came to Convention Hall on December 13 in the form of the Detroit Symphony Orchestra, conducted by Ossip Gabrilowitsch, which appeared under direction of the Tuesday Musicale. The playing of this superb organization and the conducting of Mr. Gabrilowitsch were a revelation to Rochester concertgoers, who had not seen nor heard Mr. Gabrilowitsch since an occasion many years ago when he wielded the baton as guest conductor at a concert of the old Rochester Orchestra, which has since disbanded. Tschaikowsky’s fifth symphony was the principal number by the orchestra, and it was given a performance of thrilling beauty. The other numbers were Weber’s “Der Freischütz” overture, Humperdinck’s dream pantomime from “Hansel and Gretel”; the scherzo from Mendelssohn’s “A Midsummer Night’s Dream,” and the prelude to Wagner’s “The Mastersingers.” At the end of the program the audience applauded so insistently that Mr. Gabrilowitsch repeated the Mendelssohn scherzo.
Anna Pavlowa and her company gave two performances in Convention Hall on Thanksgiving Day and won her usual acclaim. This was under the management of James E. Furlong. The afternoon program included the “Cho-pinana” suite and the favorite, “The Swan,” and in the evening Mme. Pavlowa introduced a dance new to Rochester, “The Night,” to music by Rubinstein, and her familiar numbers, “The Dragon Fly” and the “Bacchanale,” with her new male partner, Laurent Novikoff. The most elaborate ensemble of the performance was the “Coppelia” dance by Delibes, with Hilda Butsova as ballerina. The stage of Convention Hall, which is intended for nothing more elaborate than concerts or lectures, is too small for some of the more pretentious numbers in the Pavlowa repertory, which was a matter of deep regret to many persons who were desirous of seeing some of the new dances that she is introducing this year.
A large and discriminating audience greeted Sergei Rachmaninoff when he played in Convention Hall on December 1 as the second event in the Ellis series under the local management of Arthur M. See. Mr. Rachmaninoff won a complete conquest a year ago when he came to Rochester for the first time, and the reports of his exceeding talent doubtless were responsible for the increased size of the audience that was present this year. Three ballades were on his program, the second Liszt, the Grieg, op. 24, and the third Chopin, and at the end he played the Liszt tarantella, “Venice and Naples.” His Chopin group included the op. 27 nocturne, the D flat major valse and the op. 39 scherzo. An arrangement by himself of Kreisler’s charming “Liebeslied” and a Dohnanyi etude, op. 28, were also on his program. He played his own “Elegie,” op. 3, and “Polka de W. R.,” and for a final encore his C sharp minor prelude.
One of Rochester’s most important educational organizations in a musical way is completing twenty-five years of existence this year. This is the Symphony Orchestra of Rochester, which is composed of amateur players who are earnestly seeking to advance in their art and who prepare programs of symphonic music, which they present to the public free of charge. The first concert of its series was given on December 6, with Mildred Lewis, Rochester contralto, as soloist. Ludwig Schenck, who is conductor of this orchestra, has been connected with it virtually since it was organized, and largely through his efforts it has become a definite feature of each year’s musical season. The officers are: President, C. W. Curtis; secretary and treasurer, Fred G. Rockwell, and these, with Mr. Schenck and Effie Knauss, concertmaster; Hazel Nagel, A. Weyrauth, John Van Voorhees, Lee Brewster, William Worner, George Welch and John Klein, constitute the board of directors. At its opening concert the orchestra played Mozart’s C major or “Jupiter” symphony, Tschaikowsky’s “Mozarti-ana” suite, and the “Euryanthe” overture, and Mrs. Lewis was heard in an operatic aria and songs.
Germaine Schnitzer, pianist, gave an attractive recital on the evening of December 6 in the Tuesday Musicale series. Her program included Bach, Mozart, Chopin, a first performance of Chabrier’s “Idylle,” MacDowell, Staub, Saint-Saëns, Schubert and Schubert-Tausig, all of the numbers revealing the ripe powers and artistic intelligence of this well known pianist. The audience was large and enthusiastic.
The Rochester Teachers’ Association gave an excellent production of “The Mikado,” in the Lyceum Theater on December 2, 3 and 4. _ The association presented “Pinafore” last Spring and won so much praise that the more pretentious production was attempted this year. The cast