MUSICAL COURIER
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Cesar Thomson to Play as Well as Teach
Cesar Thomson, who will teach at the Ithaca Conservatory of Music this season, is considered one of the three or four most noted violin teachers of the present day. He has been principal teacher of the violin at the Brussels and Liege conservatories for the past twenty-five years, succeeding Ysaye, Leonard Vieuxtemps, Massard and Wieniawski, former holders of this position. His list of pupils is indeed a lengthy one, including Betty and Pochon of the Flonzaley Quartet.
Mr. Thomson recently re-appeared in concert in London, where he was received with great enthusiasm. Upon his arrival in Ithaca he will give a concert at the Conservatory. And during his stay in America he will also concertize in many of the leading cities of the country.
He was born in Liege in 1857 and frequented thé conservatory where he afterwards taught. First, however, he studied with his father, then with Dupuis and Leonard. At the age of elevèn he had finished his studies and won (he gold medal. Almost immediately his long career began. The most critical audiences of the world have heard him and pronounced him a giant in his art. Under his fingers, it has been said, “the violin becomes a divine instrument, for he is not only the master technician in whose hands no difficulties are too great, and who surmounted all the most difficult technical complications that exist on the
CESAR THOMSON
instrument, but he is also the wonderful interpreter who plays with equal ease both ancient and modern works. He knows how to express the whole scale of human sufferings and human joys. Humanity lives in art under these magic sounds—the suffering humanity of Beethoven, the romantic of Mendelssohn, the poetic pf Chopin—and the strength and even severity of a Bach, the agility and freshness of Paganini, Brahms, etc.
“To speak of Thomson apart from his art would require many pages. We have before us the type of a truly great man, a great genius essentially simple and modest, the sign of true greatness—coupled with this a genuine goodness of heart, a deep and profound sincerity, a superb intelligence. In his eyes besides infinite gentleness and sweetness which reveals true goodness, are the reflections of an artist, of a genius, of a dreamer and of a deep thinker, and withal brimming over with life and energy. His brain is an encyclopaedia—an endless source of knowledge and wisdom illimited.”
To sum up, as one of his colleagues writes in an article on Cesar Thomson: “This is a man.”
Sundelius’ Concert Dates During February
Besides singing at the Metropolitan during February, Marie Sundelius, soprano, appeared in a Biltmore Musical Morning in New York on February 2, in a Faust performance in concert form at Norwalk, Conn., on February 7 and will be soloist with the Seventh Regiment Band at the armory in New York, on Saturday evening, February 17, at a special concert.
MacMannus. Romualdo Sapio and Carl Fique are the musical conductors, and Leila Troland Gardner is chairman of the Choral (her National Opera, Grand March, started the ball which followed this musical evening).
Alexander Roman at Rochester
From Petrograd, Russia, to Rochester, New York, is a long way, but that is the route traveled by Alexander Roman, violinist, now concertmaster and soloist of the Eastman Theater Orchestra (Arthur Alexander, conductor), which is doing such fine work in the New York up-state city and which will eventually form the nucleus of a Rochester symphony orchestra.
Mr. Roman was a pupil in Russia of Leopold Auer, a graduate of the Imperial Conservatory of Petrograd, later a professor at the Moscow Imperial Conservatory arid for fifteen years concertmaster and assistant conductor of the orchestra of the Imperial Opera House, Moscow. Besides his orchestral work, in Rochester, Mr. Roman is also teaching violin at the Eastman School of Music.
During his European career he traveled extensively as soloist with the Berlin Philharmonic and other famous European orchestras. Way back in 1901 Arthur M. Abell, then Berlin representative of the Musical Courier, wrote of him: “A newcomer was heard in the young Russian violinist, Alexander Roman, a pupil of the great Leopold Auer. Roman is a violinist of exceptional ability. His left hand is quite remarkable for clearness and precision. Every note is there, even in the most difficult passages. He plays with great energy, with a fine sense of rhythm and with much warmth.” Eourteen years later the same writer heard him in Moscow and wrote:	“Alexander
Roman, the concertmaster for operatic performances, is a violin soloist of the first rank. A pupil of Leopold Auer, he had a large and varied solo repertory, besides being thoroughly versed in the entire operatic literature. Auer declares him to be one of the best concertmasters of Europe.”
Since he came to the United States three years ago, after an adventurous war career as a band master in the Russian army, he has appeared as soloist a number of times, making an especially good impression with the Detroit Symphony Orchestra (Ossip Gabrilowitsch, conductor) in one of its regular concerts last March. The Detroit Journal said of him: “Patrons of Orchestra Hall had an opportunity Sunday afternoon to witness the combining of the ultra in violin technic and the colorful feeling that a sympathetic interpretation of Tschaikowsky makes possible when Alexander Roman, as soloist in the Tschaikowsky program, gave his interpretation of the concerto for violin and orchestra. Seldom have music loving Detroiters had opportunity to hear the skilful fingering of so difficult a work, or been favored with so skilful a performance.” And the Tree Press wrote: “Roman showed himself to be entirely capable, and at times possessed of great feeling and understanding. He was called back six times to acknowledge the appreciation of the audience.”
Gescheidt’s Voice Analysis Class Heard
At the regular monthly session of Adelaide Gescheidt’s Voice Analysis Class at her Carnegie Hall studios, January 9, many points of special interest in the scientific principles of Miss Gescheidt’s System for Normal Natural Voice Development were discussed and demonstrated by the large number of pupils in attendance.
The class session was followed by an hour of song, and just before the regular program an unusually interesting-demonstration of voice development was given by George Sharp, bass, a youth of sixteen years and a pupil of Eleanor Waite. He sang Duna (McGill), and Give a Man a Horse (O’Hara). Then followed: Memento (Tirindelli), My Mother Bids Me Bind My Hair (Hayden), The Steppe (Gretchaninoff), A June Morning (Willeby), Margaret Sherman, soprano; Life and Death (Coleridge-Taylor), A Memory (Ganz), Wings of Night (Watts), Prelude—Cycle of Life (Ronald), Foster House, tenor; Lied der Mignon, Der Neugierige, Wohin, Haiden-Roselein, Gretchen am Spinnrade (Schubert), Lucille Banner, soprano. Anne Tin-dale was at the piano.
American Institute Students’ Recital
Five pupils of Miss Chittenden, three of Mr. Moore, two of Mr. Spiering, one each of Mrs. Zedeler-Mix and Miss Burt,, and two of Tebbs were associated in a students’ recital at the American Institute of Applied Music, Kate S. Chittenden, dean, January 30. Thoroughly representative music was performed by all these young singers and instrumentalists, showing the splendid teaching they have received.
Coming events at this institution are as follows: February 17, 3 p. m., children’s recital, Synthetic Guild, at MacDowell Club; at 212 West Fifty-ninth street—February 19, 8:15 p. m., recital of music composed by former members of the faculty and students of the American Institute of Applied Music; February 26, 8:15 p. m., students’ public recital, and March 3, 3 p. m., junior public recital.
National Opera Club Russian Music and Ball
The ninth annual evening devoted to grand opera performance and ball, of the National Opera Club of America, Baroness Katharine Evans von Klenner, founder and president, occurring on the slushiest evening of the decade, January 24, began with William Edward Forster’s Serenaders’ Orchestra, some thirty mandolins, with drums and traps, seated on the stage. They played a pleasant suite by Gruen-wald with life and variety, showing themselves well drilled
BARONESS KATHARINE EVANS von KLENNER
players. The banjo club, W. D. Kenneth, director, played pieces with vivacity. Mme. Vladitchenskaia (Petrograd Russian Opera), a delightful personality, sang with fire and animation, with splendid high notes, so that she had three encores.
Yakov Loukin (Petrograd Musical Drama), a big man with big voice, sang the monologue from Boris Godounoff with splendid high G flat, adding to it, as an encore, Song of the Flea and The Toreador Song, all with splendid effect. Michael Schvetz, bass, has a heavy resonant and expressive voice, singing with unction an aria from Prince Igor, and a buffo aria full of humor as encore. Eugene Plotnikoff furnished the artistic accompaniments for the singers, playing with an authority and orchestral finish much appreciated by them, and by musical observers. Samuel Siegel played a mandolin solo of his own with big technic, and some Russian dances, including a Trepak and a Boyer dance, were given by Mme. Klemontovich and A. Bourman (Petrograd Imperial Ballet).
During an intermission President von Klenner, received with applause, greeted the guests of honor, members and friends ; said she had three speeches all ready, but would deliver another, an impromptu one. She made a plea for American composers, saying there was little to incite them to work and that we must have our own stories and plots, and not go to India, England and Siberia for them. She gave a personal welcome to prominent guests—Mesdames Pennipacker, Booth, and Chapman—and also mentioned the presence of Herr Gottlieb, of the coming Wagnerian performances. She said that “New York is Russian mad, both in music and in drama.” Her talk was punctuated with rousing applause. Following, the third act from Rubinstein’s opera, The Demon, was given with the three singers previously mentioned, the soprano’s captivating appearance as Tamara, the baritone’s noble voice as the Demon, and the well sung role of The Old Servant by Basso Schvetz, all contributing to the desired success. For this operatic excerpt Mr. Plotnikoff furnished truly orchestral and brilliant accompaniments.
• A glance at the officers’ names shows why this club occupies such a high and unique place in the musical world of New York. They are : Founder and president, Baroness Katharine Evans von Klenner; honorary vice-president, Mme. Giulio Gatti-Casazza (Mme. Frances Alda) ; vice-presidents, Mme. De Vere Sapio, Angélique V. Orr, Berenice De Pasquali, Julie Claussen, Claudia Muzio; directors, Eva Phipps, Mrs. Joseph Gutman, Mrs. M. T. Nixon, Mrs. Clarence Meeks, Leila Troland Gardner, Mrs. Nathan Loth, Mrs. Owen Kildare, Mrs. Samuel Schiff, Mrs. George Schmiedel, Marian Avery; recording secretary, Katherine Noack Fique; corresponding secretary, Mrs. William M. Backhaus; assistant corresponding secretary,‘Mrs. Avadne P. Turner; historian, Mrs. J. Willis Smith; chairman of reception, Mrs. Joseph Gutman; treasurer, Mrs. Augusta
Address his Personal Representative, A. J. MARINUS, 303 Carnegie Hall, New York City
Mr. van Bommel is a singer who knows how to attract and hold his audience.—Staats Zeitung.
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