MUSICAL COURIER
30
April 27, 1922
“Pagliacci,” and gave delight with a number of smaller pieces. He was announced on the program as the Popular American baritone, and he proved himself not only popular but also a highly cultured artist, possessed_ of a splendid vocal equipment and excellent style, musicianly interpretative ability and much magnetism. He was enthusiastically received. Nyiregyhazi, the young and gifted Hungarian pianist, played works by Sinding, Liszt, Brahms and Scriabin with brilliancy and taste and was loudly applauded. Mrs. Louise M. Baxter of the Mozart Society Choral sang a set of songs with much charm.
The entire evening entertainment was a marked success and Mrs. Noble McConnell, president of the society, is to be congratulated upon this newest evidence of her efficient control.
Luella Meluis
On April 18, Luella Meluis, coloratura, was heard in her last song recital of the season. She was in good voice and spirits and rendered with her accustomed ease and technical skill a program that taxed her ability. But she went through it with little difficulty and impressed her hearers with her beautiful voice and worthy handling of it.
Mme. Meluis is the possessor of a coloratura soprano voice of good range but her lyric singing is also commendable. Her middle register has a pleasing warmth and roundness and when she soars up into the loftier regions she does do with clarity and trueness to the pitch. She sings intelligently and her interpretations are colorful and interesting.
Coenraad V. Bos was at the piano and added to the enjoyment of the concert as did Raymond E. Williams, flutist, in the following program:
Canzonetta ................................................ Loewe
Sweet Bird, II Penseroso ..................................Handel
(With flute accompaniment)
Ah, sans meme, L’enlevement	au Serail....................Mozart
A Pastoral ...............................................Stravinsky
Fiocca la Neve..............................................  Cimara
Titania ........................................... Peterson-B erger
Air du Rossignol. :..................................Saint-Saëns
Comment disaient-ils	.......... ■t............................ Liszt
La Capinera (with flute	accompaniment),... ■Arr. by Jules	Benedict
Aria: Qui La Voce from	II	Puritani.......................Bellini
Moon of Roses.................................................Webber
Tonight .....................................................Barnett
Wings of Night...............................................  Watts
Nature’s Holiday ............................................Hageman
Philadelphia Orchestra
Carnegie Hall held a huge mob (if one may use such an undignified term to designate a large number of very respectable concertgoers) of wildly enthusiastic listeners on the occasion of the Philadelphia Orchestra’s “Goodbye for 1921-1922 and au revoir for 1922-1923.” The ovation went through the person of Leopold Stokowski, of course, at whom all the frenetic applause was directed and who very gracefully and justly diverted a good part of it to his men by waving his hands at them and asking them to give the audience a rising “Thank You.” It was a gala night and the music was performed and received in that spirit.
Scriabin’s prodigious “Prometheus” was the chief work of the evening, so far as the curiosity of the listeners was concerned. They heard what the Musical Courier described, after a previous hearing of the Scriabin opus, as, a complicated and skillful piece of instrumentation,_ interesting in spots, not particularly attractive in melodic content, and diffuse and erratic in development. The Scriabin pages, like those of Mahler’s cosmic symphony heard here recently, attempt a “program” of vast philosophical, physiological, and psychic and spiritual (not to say abstruse and esoteric) aspects and problems, ordered and sequenced, no doubt, in Scriabin’s mind, but practically impossible for the hearer to grasp through the'medium of tones sym-phonically treated and in most intricate polyphonic and contrapuntal fashion. Stokowski and his orchestra played the piece brilliantly, but while the audience no doubt respected it, no signs were apparent that they loved it deeply. Harold Bauer played the piano part of “Prometheus.”
Palpably more affection was lavished by the auditors upon Mozart’s lovely E flat symphony, done with delicacy of reading, refinement of tone, and perfection of technic.
Rimsky-Korsakoff’s “Easter,” a timely thought on Stokowski’s part, also made a gentle appeal, while Bach’s C minor “Passacaglia” represented the noblest kind of musical thought, feeling, and workmanship. It was delivered accordingly, by the leader and the orchestra.
The Philadelphia organization has given splendidly vital and uplifting concerts here this season, and its series next winter is looked forward to expectantly as the “sold out” subscription indicates even now.
APRIL 19
Banks Glee Club: Kathryn Meisle and Ilse Niemack Soloists
Bruno Huhn has demonstrated on numerous occasions his ability to train a chorus of amateurs into an organization of artistic standing. On April 19, however, a very large Carnegie Hall audience witnessed a program which probably surpassed in shading, balance of parts, and fine all round singing any concert this club has ever given. The men, many of whom have sung with this organization־ for many years and all of whom are employed in the various banking houses of the city, acquitted themselves splendidly and the audience was not slow in showing its keen delight and enjoyment. Probably the best number of the program was “Caroline,” that always popular work of Caro Roma, which had to be repeated. The “Balaklava” of Conductor Huhn’s own writing, was also cleverly done and excited no little applause; it is a splendid number and one which undoubtedly will be used extensively by clubs. A word of praise is also due the assisting singers in the first number —Edgar Hayhow, Eugene Gravel, George Parrish and William Turner.
It is peculiar how some soloists make a particular appeal to a particular type of audience. Kathryn Meisle, contralto, the possessor of a big, luscious voice, seemed to be especially fitted for such an audience as heard her at this concert. She not only sang beautifully but also her numbers were well chosen and each one “hit home.” The aria from “The Barber of Seville” was especially fine, as were
exceed. As an interlude George Hamlin sang arias and songs from Bach, Handel, Schumann, Brahms^ and Wolf with great artistic perfection which won for him a gratifying personal success, and no less so for Hugo Wolf, whose “Rattenfänger” was repeated in response to insistent demand,—and one is led to wonder why Wolf is not more frequently introduced by our singers to their metropolitan audiences ?
APRIL 18
NEW YORK CONCERTS
APRIL 17
Harvard Glee Club
Mendelssohn and University Glee Clubs and
Rosa Ponselle
On Tuesday evening, April 18, at the Metropolitan Opera House, the Mendelssohn Glee Club and the University Glee Club appeared separately and together in the first concert of either organization for which tickets had ever been for sale, the two clubs volunteering to help out the Vassar Salary Endowment Fund, which benefited from the profits. In two groups of numbers they united, once under the baton of Nelson P. Coffin (Mendelssohn) and once under that of Dr. Woodruff (University), the two most interesting numbers being Dudley Buck’s “At Sea” and the final Schubert-Liszt “Omnipotence,” in which Rosa Ponselle, the soloist of the evening, added interest by her splendid singing of the soprano obligato. Each club sang two groups by itself. The University Club was particularly effective in Henry Hadley’s spirited “Song of the Marching Men,” and the Brahms “Lullaby,” with fine pianissimo effects, had to be repeated. From the Mendelssohn Club numbers an Armenian folk song, “The Well Beloved,” in a good Deems Taylor transcription, was particularly effective, and Henry F. Gilbert’s “Gathering Song” of the Scotch clans was, musically speaking, about the best thing of the evening. Incidental solos in the Mendelssohn numbers were sung by Reed Miller and a young tenor with an unusually good voice, A. R. Crooks.
Rosa Ponselle, the Metropolitan Opera soprano, did some of the best singing she has offered in New York. With Romano Romani at the piano, she sang first the “Suicidio” aria from “Gioconda,” and later the cavatina from “11 Trovatore.”
She was called upon to sing three or four encores after each aria, one of them being the Bolero from the “Sicilian Vespers,” the fioratura of which she tosses off with a lightness and surety remarkable for so large a voice. Miss Ponselle has improved tremendously as a concert singer in the last two seasons. She always had the glorious voice —one of the finest in the world today—and now she has acquired that professional finish, both in vocal style and platform demeanor, which distinguishes the great artist from the mediocre. She swept the audience out of itself on both appearances.
N. Val Peavey
N. Val Peavey gave an unusually interesting piano recital in Aeolian Hall on Tuesday evening, April 18. The program was made up of three groups. He opened with andante and variations in F minor, Haydn, and sonata (quasi una fantasia), op. 27, No. 2, Beethoven, in both of which the concert giver’s musicianship and intellectual grasp were strongly in evidence. His second group was devoted to Chopin compositions and comprised the etude, op. 25, No. 12; Nocturne, C minor; valse, A flat: “Trois Ecossaises” and polonaise, op. 53, which he rendered with poetic feeling, beautiful tone color and sincerity. The closing group contained the rhapsody in G minor, Brahms; “Margaret at the Spinning Wheel,” Schubert-Liszt; “The Sea,” Palmgren; “Golliwog’s Cake Walk,” Debussy (which had to be repeated) ; “La Fee de la Fontaine,” Mrs. H. H. A. Beach, and scherzo, op. 10, No. 4, Ernest Hutcheson. At the conclusion of the program he was obliged to give several encores.
Mr. Peavey revealed in his performance that he is a mature artist, one who possesses a facile and absolutely reliable technic, clarity, rhythmic precision and musicianship.
Mozart Society Choral: John Charles Thomas and Nyiregyhazi Soloists
John Charles Thomas and Erwin Nyiregyhazi were the soloists at the concert of the Mozart Society Choral at the Hotel Astor on April 18, and aided the chorus and orchestra in giving one of the most pleasing evenings of music that has been heard in New York this season. The chorus, under the skilled direction of Richard T. Percy, sang “Now Lovely Spring,” Saint-Saëns “Penance,” Wick; “Hymn to the Sun” from “Le Coq d’Or,” Rimsky-Korsa-koff, choral version by Victor Harris, with obligato solo by Margaret Northrup; “Fantasy on a Russian Folk song,” Gains; “The Long Day Closes,” Sullivan; “Now Is the Month of Maying,” Strong.
Mr. Thomas made a profound impression in the “Vision Fugitive” from “Herodiade” and the “Prologue” from
The Harvard Glee Club is a misnomer for the organization which, under the direction of Dr. Archibald T. Davison, visited Carnegie Hall for a concert on Monday evening, April 17. The nearest thing to a glee that the club sang was one single number, Morley’s “Dainty, Fine, Sweet Nymph.” But aside from that there was Bach, Palestrina, Pergolesi, Gretchaninoff (Credo), Florent Schmidt (Chant de Guerre), Bantock, Franck, Ballantine, Milhaud (Psalm 121), Kurt Schindler’s transcriptions of three Finnish student songs (one by Merikanto and two by Palmgren), Brahms’ song from Ossian’s “Fingal,” the Morley piece already alluded to, and “Let Their Celestial Concerts All Unite,” from Handel’s “Samson.” It was, as a whole, rather a solemn list. The Milhaud composition, determinedly different, presented decided difficulties which were ably overcome. The three Finnish student songs added a pleasant lighter touch. Particularly notable was the enunciation of the club in whatever language it sang. Dr. Davison obtains remarkable results dynamically and succeeds in obtaining an agreeable quality of tone from his men at all times, full and well colored. The Harvard Glee Club is one of the very first choral bodies in America today but, to be honest, it is no longer a glee club.
Dwight Fiske
An attractive recital of original compositions was given at the Princess Theater on April 17 by Dwight Fiske, assisted by Dorothy Fox and Paul Leyssac. The program consisted of piano pieces, played by Mr. Fiske himself, recitations with music by Mr. Leyssac, accompanied by the composer, and songs sung charmingly by Miss Fox. The entire afternoon of music proved conclusively that Mr. Fiske is a composer of talent and technical attainment who should win a high place among American composers.
Beethoven Association
The sixth and last concert of the season by the Beethoven Association was given at Aeolian Hall on April 17 before a very large audience. There was a long list of artists, eight of them to be exact, and they gave readings of the classics that were as nearly perfect as may be. The program began with a concerto by Wilhelm Friedemann Bach, played by Ernest Hutcheson in a manner indicative of his complete mastery of the classic style, and with great taste in the matter of restraint and delightfully clear phrasing and purity of tone. He was accompanied by a quintet of strings—multiplied by about five—made up of students from the Institute of Musical Art under the direction of Franz Kneisel.
This was followed by another concerto, the leading or obligato instruments being two violins and cello and the composer, Antonio Vivaldi. It was played with understanding by Michel Piastro, Louis Svecenski and Emme-ran Stoeber. These same players, assisted by L. E. Manoly and Harold Bauer, played the Schubert “Trout” quintet with a brightness and charm that it would be difficult to
CLAUDIA MUZIO’S
Endorsement of
FRANCO DE GREGORIO
Vocal Teacher and Coach
“A Master of the Old Italian Bel Canto School. An artist and comrade!”
Studio: 18, Metropolitan Opera House Building 1425 Broadway, New York City Phone: Bryant 7169
THE
NORFLEET TRIO
Crusaders for Chamber Music
Now booking season 1922-23
25 CONCERTS ALREADY BOOKED In 15 STATES
Marvellous harmonic effects.—Dallas, Tex., News.
Highly cultured musicians. . . . Can be assured of a welcome on any return trip.—Evening Reporter-Star, Orlando, Fla.
Rarely has a musical event in Cairo been so wholesomely and thoroughly enjoyed by everyone as was the Norfleet Trio.—Cairo Evening Citizen.
An originality of conception hard to_ associate with these young southerners of gentle personality is combined with vivid poetic imagination and ample technical resources.—Austin Statesman, Texas.
More exquisite or more perfect ensemble playing could not be imagined. These artists are glorious as a trio; an unimpeachable unity. It was the second sensation in novelties that Dallas has had this season.— Times-Herald, Dallas, Texas.
Address Norfleet Trio M’g’t, 342 West 71st Street, NEW YORK Tel. 8102 Columbus