MUSICAL COURIER
34
January 26, 1922
Massenet; “Aria des cartes,” from “Carmen,” Bizet; “Pesca d’Amore,” (Neapolitan song) Berthelemy and “Ay! Ay! Ay!” (Spanish song), Don Perez. She gave five encores.
Ballet Intime
This reviewer went to hear and see the Krazy Kat, and sat through hours and hours of the most awful modern slush that was ever put before the long suffering public. The only relief from beginning to end of this dreadful program was a Griffes ballet, a set of songs by Carpenter, and the same composer’s “Krazy Kat.” The rest of it was a trial of patience that amounted to an unmerited penance. For what is more awful than to be eternally bored? And if ever an audience was bored it surely was upon this unforgettable occasion. One wondered, throughout the long preliminaries that led up to the “Krazy Kat” performance, who was responsible for it, and why Mr. Carpenter should have been thrust into such company?
Here is what they did: They held the beginning of the affair until everybody in the audience became impatient. Then they performed a senseless divertissement by K. Szymanowski. Perhaps the K. in this name stands for Krazy. But no! The work is not even Krazy; not even to this small extent does he resemble the delightful Kat.
Then there were a whole row of piano sketches by Pol-dowski, played by the composer, all of them giving the impression that the composer has no respect for anything but cleverness—no reverence for art, no depth of feeling. Afterwards there was a set of songs by Carpenter sung by Povla Frijsch, accompanied by the composer—real music, especially the second of the set, “Odalisque,” which is lovely. Then there was more Poldowsky—and again the impression of the pity and shame that this admirable technic should be so misused.
Part two of the program began with a Griffes ballet, the White Peacock, danced by Margit Leeraas—excellent music and a very pretty dance—followed by a “Suggestion Dia-bolique,” by Prokofieff, danced by Adolph Bolm. (It was diabolique! Then—oh ! worse and worse!—there was a set of songs by Szymanowski, sung by Alice Miriam. Evidently there was some mistake here, for the pianist, Alan Tanner, played the accompaniments of one set of songs while Miss Miriam sang another set; at least, that is the way it sounded. Hats off to Miss Miriam that she so well succeeded in singing the voice parts of her songs while the piano was playing something different! The accompaniments sounded as if the Krazy Kat had escaped and was walking over the keys.
Then there was another long wait—so long that people began to clap their hands to jog them up a bit behind the scenes where they were, presumably, feeding the Kat. And then, finally, the curtain opened and the orchestra began the interpretation of Carpenter’s “Jazz Pantomime.” As might have been expected, Mr. Carpenter succeeded in reproducing the “jazz” impression very faithfully. He wrote some really good “jazz”—humorous and interesting. But the action, the pantomime on the stage, call it a ballet if you will, was a great disappointment. The real humor of Herriman’s deservedly famous drawings was lost. The whole thing was not worth while, and it would no doubt be more effective to hear Carpenter’s music in concert form.
But may one be permitted to remark that it is a pity that a man like Carpenter, a man possessed of real talent as a composer, and capable of real depths, as exposed in some of his songs, should waste his time writing this sort of thing? One does not care what Poldowski does or what Szymanowski does, for they do not appear to amount to anything anyway. But Carpenter amounts to a good deal, and he might amount to a great deal more. He might be a real element of good in the present struggle of American music for recognition. But he will not accomplish this by cleverness, nor even by humor, although that is not out of place once in a way.	P.
Biltmore Morning Musicale: Grainger, Gigli, and Scotney Soloists
Percy Grainger, pianist; Beniamino Gigli, tenor, and Evelyn Scotney, soprano, were the artists who appeared at the sixth morning musicale at the Hotel Biltmore, on January 20. The drawing power of this trio was evidenced by an unusually large attendance.
Mr. Grainger, who opened the program with Liszt’s “Dream of Love,” No. 3, and polonaise in E major, mag-(Continued on page 36)
MME. LAURA E. MORRILL
TEACHER OF SINGING
Announces as Teachers of her method :
MRS. GRACE CRANDALL,
Music Conservatory at Moncton, New Brunswick, Canada.
GRACE NOTT,
York, Pa.
JESSIE PAMPLIN,
St. Petersburg, Florida
MORRILL STUDIOS: 148 WEST 72nd STREET, NEW YORK, N. Y. Telephone Columbus 2118
and scherzo in C sharp minor. He is a technician par excellence and at the same time able to get out of his playing all the delicate shadings and colorings that have made him the fine artist that he is.
Mr. and Mme. Lhevinne were heard together in the Rachmaninoff suite for two pianos (op. 17) which so delighted that the audience brought them back for an encore which was repeated when the handclapping continued. One had only to close his eyes to get the impression of one instrument, so evenly balanced were the two. Mme. Lhevinne also is an artist of the first rank and exhibited some bits of fine technical display in her part. It was a program certainly enjoyed and well worth hearing again.
JANUARY 19
The Singers Club
“When good fellows get together” there’s something doing, and this was proven at the first concert, nineteenth season, of The Singers Club, Frank S. Hastings founder and president, at Aeolian Hall, January 19. The club behind the doors sang Hastings’ “A Toast to Song,” a spontaneous outburst of real music, before entering the stage. Another smooth-flowing, melodious Hastings song was heard later, “Miller’s Song,” in G major, with a fine solo, well sung by Mr. Tuckerman, who gave out a high F of quality ; it was so much liked it had to be repeated. The second basses sang a low C in Hawley’s “Bugle Song,” and the full chorus, with organ and piano, attained tremendous climax in Grieg’s popular “Land Sighting,” with solo, again well sung by Tuckerman, instead of Stanley, named on the program. The fine unison singing of the men, their distinct enunciation, the evident enjoyment in their own singing—all this was observed, and it all conduced to artistic effects under Richard Henry Warren.
It is good again to see this capable organist, conductor, composer and former organist at St. Bartholomew’s Church “in the ring.” Works by Praetorius, Yon (“Gesu Bambina”), Mericanto, MacDowell and Kremser _ were contained on Part II of the program, the men visiting in the audience, and vice versa, between parts. Louise Stallings, soprano, was soloist, and pleased greatly with her fine voice and personality. She sang songs in French and English, and had to sing encores, President Hastings escorting her on and off the stage.
The urbane president has the affection of every member of the club, and evidently of the audience, too, such was the applause greeting his own songs, with the demand for a second hearing. Ned Hart, at the piano, and R. L. Grosvenor, organ, were very efficient. The hall was completely filled, an audience of distinctly social aspect especially filling the boxes. Officers of the Singers Club are: Frank Seymour Hastings, president; Thomas E. Whitbread, vice-president; Dr. Stephen.W. McGrath, secretary; Leon A. T. Chastel, treasurer; Joseph A. Preim, librarian; directors— Dr. George C. Albee, Dr. Stephen W. McGrath, Frank Seymour Hastings, Frederick W. Rauch, Leon A. T. Chastel, Robert J. Morse, Joseph A. Preim, and T. E. Whitbread.
New York Philharmonic: Erika Morini Soloist
At the pair of concerts given by the Philharmonic Society of New York, Josef Stransky conductor, on Thursday evening, January 19, and Friday afternoon, January 20, the following orchestral numbers were presented: “Fingal’s Cave,” overture, Mendelssohn; Debussy’s prelude to “The Afternoon of a Faun,” and Tschaikowsky’s symphony No. 6 (“Pathetic”), in B minor, op. 74. These compositions, performed with much authority and warmth, enabled the popular conductor to bring out some telling effects.
The soloist, Erika Morini, was heard in Bruch’s G minor concerto, which she played with marked abandon and fire, her left hand technic being at times surprising. Despite her youth, Miss Morini has already gained a firm hold upon New York audiences, which started last year when the then unknown young girl made her début here. The orchestral accompaniment was excellent.
Luella Meluis
On Thursday evening, January 19, Luella Meluis was the soloist with the People’s Chorus of New York, which celebrated its sixth birthday at the Town Hall. Mme. Meluis was heard to even better advantage than when she made her first appearance, and she was free from any trace of nervousness. She sang Bishop’s “La Capinera” with flute obligato and was obliged to repeat the cadenza at once. Then followed a group made up of Strauss’ “Serenade,” an air by Cimara, and Cyril Scott’s “Lullaby,” and later she gave “Old Kentucky Home” with the chorus. All of her numbers were followed by tremendous applause. Without doubt Mme. Meluis is a very distinct addition to the limited number of first class coloratura singers of the day. Her voice is pure and clear, her vocalization excellent— her trill has improved very much since her Carnegie Hall recital—and she has a sense of pitch which is so often lacking in her class of singers.
JANUARY 20 Emma Calvé
The second song recital by Emma Calvé, on Friday afternoon, January 20, in Aeolian Hall, attracted a very large audience. At this concert, as at her first New York recital on January 8, as well as at her appearances in London and Boston, she proved herself the same thorough artist as of yore. In short, she not only upheld the excellent impression made at her recent appearance in New York, but greatly enhanced it.
Her program contained many songs and arias, which during her long artistic career she helped to make famous. The audience was not slow in recognizing that she still possesses supreme qualities both from avocal and interpretative standpoint, and manifested its pleasure by outbursts of applause, which at times bordered on an ovation. A unique feature of her performance is, that she colors her numbers with dramatic action.
Romualdo Sapio accompanied sympathetically. The long program comprised an aria from Gluck’s “Alceste,” “Armour que veux-tu de moi,” Lull¡ ; “Quand on Aime,” Salvator Rosa; Casta Diva from “Norma,” Bellini; nocturne, Franck; “In questa tomba,” Beethoven; “Plaisir d’Amour,” Martini ; two old French folk songs ; “L’heure exquise,” Hahn; “Chanson du nil,” Vidal; “Sérénade du passant,”
or exaggerations. The choir, which sings entirely from memory, carries out his intentions with amazing fidelity. There is great precision of attack and some of the “cut-off” effects were strikingly fine and could not have been more perfectly accomplished. There were some gradual crescendos and decrescendos which were also very impressive and must have resulted from long and careful drilling.
The program, which is given in full below, was of a very interesting kind, and perhaps a' surprise to some people who believe ancient works to be dry. There was nothing dry about any of these as interpreted by the St. Olaf Choir, and the fourteenth century motet, “In dulci jubilo,” cleverly arranged, by Christiansen in imitation of certain forms of cannon with bass ostinato, was so well liked by the audience that its repetition was demanded. The program:
It Is a Good Thing...........................Georg Schumann
Yea Tho Thru Death’s Gloomy Vale.............Georg Schumann
Lord, How Long ..............................Georg Schumann
Motet for Advent Season......................Gustav Schreck
The Spirit Also Helpeth Us...................J. Sebastian Bach
Motet for double chorus.
*O Sacred Head..........................H. L, Hassler (1613)
*How Fair the Church of Christ Shall Stand,
(Choral from Schumann’s Gesangbuch, 1539)
Praise the Lord, O My Soul...................A. Gretchaninoff
A Christmas Song...........................F. M. Christiansen
*In dulci jubilo...........................Fourteenth Century
*Praise to the Lord .............................Peter Sohren
Choral anthem for double chorus.
*Arranged for this Choir by F. Melius Christiansen.
Mrs. George Lee Bready
It can not be too often or too insistently repeated that Mrs. George Lee Bready has a way of her own, and a very effective way, of giving opera recitals. It is really a recital —in no sense of the word a lecture. It is far better than a lecture. A lecture appeals to the intelligence—Mrs. Bready’s recitals appeal to the emotions. They are, in a word, tabloid operas, presented in such a way that one gets much of what is lost in the opera house, especially when the opera is given in a foreign language—which is, alas 1 almost always in America. Mrs. Bready does not cater to the affectation of those who pretend to understand European tongues. She talks plain English. A large part of what she says is quoted directly from the English translation of the text. When this text happens to be by Maeterlinck, as was the case at the Ambassador Hotel recital of January 17, when “Pelleas et Melisande” was given, it is an added pleasure, the pleasure of a real drama by a real poet. That Mrs. Bready herself is keenly alive both to the beauty of the libretto and to the beauty of the music as well is very evident. She gives them both—first reciting the poem, then playing passages from the music, in a way that indicates her love and enthusiasm for them and her highly trained musical and histrionic ability. To listen to Mrs. Bready is far better than to read a libretto at the opera house, for she places the whole matter before one in a way that is easily understood and assimilated without effort. It is an education and must add greatly to the pleasure of those who subsequently hear the operas.
JANUARY 18
Frances Nash
Frances Nash, who gave a piano recital at Aeolian Hall on the afternoon of January 18, is no stranger to New York audiences. She has the happy faculty of playing the piano—not as if doing so were a matter of profession with her but as if she really loved to do so—and the consequence is that her own joy in her art communicates itself to her listeners. She began with the prelude, ana and finale of Cesar Franck, and ended with a brilliant exposition of the familiar Liszt polonaise in E major. Between them were “Quejas o la Maja y el Ruiseñor” (E. Granados) ; “Du Soleil au Jardin” (Gabriel-Dupont),	Clair
de Lune” (Debussy), “Etude en forme de Valse (Saint-Saëns), “Arabeske” (Schumann). There was great delicacy in the Granados and Debussy works, and the required elegance of style in the Saint-Saëns study. In a word Miss Nash presented a well chosen and balanced program in the best manner. She was deservedly applauded by a good sized audience and compelled to play extra numbers.
Josef Lhevinne and Rosina Lhevinne
Josef Lhevinne, in recital with Mme. Rosina Lhevinne, offered so attractive a program at Carnegie Hall on January 18 that the large audience would not leave until many extras had been added at the close. Mr. Lhevinne s was masterful playing, and his program was varied enough to give one a chance to judge him from numerous angles. It began with Schumann’s toccata and finished (as far as the programmed numbers went) with Balakirefi s Islamey (Oriental fantasie). In between came Beethovens sonata, op. Ill, and two Chopin selections—nocturne in D flat major
THEODORE
SCHROEDER
The Art of Singing
Pierce Bldg., Copley Square, Boston, Mass.
THE TURANE TRIO
Robert Thrane, ceiiist
OF THE
Philharmonic Orchestra of New York
Hermione Thrane	Benjamin Posner
Pianist	Violinist
Now available for Intimate Recitals of Chamber Music, Address, MRS. KELLOGG DAVIS 19 Barrow Street -	New York C׳fy