February 22, 1923
Weingartner in Difficulties.
Vienna, January 20.—As a result of the dismissal (following Weingartner’s return from South America) of practically his entire staff at the Vienna Volksoper, Weingartner is now entangled in no less than four law suits for heavy damages brought against him by the former officials of the house. Meanwhile the Volksoper is nearing complete collapse, owing to poor business. At present Weingartner is supervising rehearsals for Joseph Holbrooke’s opera The Children of Don, scheduled for première at the Volksoper in February.	p, p
Annual. International Music Festivals For Vienna.
Vienna, January 22.—Vienna is to have big annual festivals of International Music under government auspices, according to an authentic report published by the Vienna Morgan. The festivals will comprise concert and operatic performance on a big scale. The idea originated with Richard Strauss who expects to take active interest in the festivals, and the Austrian Ministry of Culture has been eager to respond to his suggestion. (“Active interest” is what Strauss also promised to the promotors of the Salzburg Modern Chamber Music Festival, where he was com-spicuous for his absence, when the plan materialized). P. B.
Swiss Music Festival in Geneva.
Zurich, January 22.—'The annual musical festival of the Society of Swiss Musicians (president: Dr. Volkmar Andreas, conductor of the Zurich Tonhalle Orchestra) will this year be held at Geneva, on April 7 and 8. The scale will be a considerably larger one than during the previous four years. There will be one concert of chamber music at the Reformation Hall, and two concerts with orchestra, mixed choir and organ at the Victoria Hall. Some new works by Swiss composers will be performed for the first time. The^ Orchestre de la Suisse Romande, under Ernest Ansermet, is to be the symphonic organization of the festi-val•	H. W. D.
Erna Rubinstein Soloist with Philharmonic
Erna Rubinstein will be soloist with the Philharmonic tonight, Thursday evening, playing Vieuxtemps’ violin concerto in D minor, in a program which will include Gade’s overture to Ossian, Schreker’s Chamber Symphony and three numbers from Berlioz’ The Damnation of Faust— the Minuet of Will o’ the Wisps, Dance of Sylphs and the Rakoczy March—Mengelberg conducting.
Tomorrow afternoon the orchestra will play, under Mr. Mengelberg’s direction, Tschaikowsky’s fantasy-overture, Romeo and -Juliet, with the Gade, Schreker and Berlioz numbers.
Next Sunday afternoon, February 25, also at Carnegie Hall, the Philharmonic conductor will offer Tschaikowsky’s Pathetic Symphony and Erna Rubinstein will play the Vieuxtemns rnncertn
MUSICAL COURIER
it no hearer can remain unmoved at the musical emotion in some of the measures, particularly in the first and second movements. Throughout the entire reading the interpretative line was lofty and inspiring. The finale exhibited all the jubilation which Brahms endeavored to put into his pages, and an intensive and interpretative climax was achieved at the finish. It seemed that the audience liked the Brahms symphony best of all the Walter performances, and truly warm applause was extended to the conductor.
Contests at Lindsborg Messiah Festival
In connection with the annual Messiah Festival to be held at Lindsborg, Kans., March 25 to April 1, there will be contests in piano, organ, violin, voice, expression and girls’ glee clubs. Seven hundred and fifty dollars in cash and scholarships are to be the awards. Prizes will be offered as follows: Individual contests—first prize, $30 cash and a $60 tuition scholarship; second prize, $15 cash and a $30 tuition scholarship. Girls’ Glee Club contest— first prize $50 cash, second prize $30 cash. In addition to prizes, successful contestants will receive a certificate of merit signed by the president of Bethany College, the dean of the College of Fine Arts and the acting judges.
In piano, voice, violin, organ and expression the contests are open to students over fifteen and under twenty years of age. Bethany College students and residents of Lindsborg are excluded. There is no entrance fee. The selection of numbers is left to the contestant. One or more numbers may be used. To perform from score or memory is optional. Contestants must furnish their own accompanists. A glee club must have a membership of at least twelve, and numbers rendered must be in three or four part harmony. In voice, a minimum of seven minutes and a maximum of ten minutes will be permitted; in all other contests eight to twelve minutes. No contest will take place unless there are at least four applicants. The management reserves the right to hold a preliminary contest for those who register late, if the number of applicants make it necessary.
: The members of the faculty of Bethany College of Fine Arts will ;act as judges. No contestant will be awarded first prize in the same class two successive years. The following basis for grading contestants will prevail: Organ— technic (35), registration (25), interpretation (40)• piano —technic (35), tone quality (15), pedaling (10), interpretation (40); voice—technic (15), accuracy of pitch (15), tone quality (15), enunciation (15), diction and interpretation (40); violin—technic (30), intonation (15), tone quality (15), interpretation (40); expression—voice (15), articulation (15), memory (15), bodily expression (15), interpretation (40) ; glee club—accuracy of pitch (15), bal-
3■nce Ais'׳ enun«ation (15), ensemble (15), interpretation (40).
30
BRUNO WALTER MAKES DEBUT HERE
Arthur Hackett Well Again
Arthur Hackett, the tenor, has made a prompt and complete recovery from the sudden attack of appendicitis which laid him low a few weeks ago, and has already resumed tilling his concert engagements.
Munich Conductor Registers a Dignified Success in a Serious Program Splendidly Played
There was great eagerness on the part of lovers of orchestral music in this city to make the acquaintance of Bruno Walter, the well known German conductor, who has risen to the top ranks of the baton wielders of Europe within the past few years. He made his American debut at Carnegie Hall at the New York Symphony Orchestra concerts on Thursday afternoon, February 15, and Friday evening, February 16.
Mr. Walter had elected to introduce himself in an ultra-classical program consisting of Beethoven’s Leonore No. 2 overture, Mozart’s symphony in D, No. 35, annd Brahms’ symphony in C minor.
It is not^ a difficult matter to analyze Mr. Walter’s style of conducting, for it is neither complicated nor sensational. He is a musician to his very fingertips; he has a keenly analytical bent, and he understands fully and finically the style and spirit of the scores he reads. He is serious, dignified, and devotional. He has no disturbing physical surface mannerisms, and succeeds in getting his effects without undue gesturing, posturing, or swaying. He is one of the quietest conductors New York ever has observed.
So far as his interpretations are concerned, he confines himself strictly to the letter of the score, but at the same time he molds it with quick imagination and fine sensibility. One feels that he is at all times intent on the music itself and not on any desire to astonish or startle his hearers. His dynamics are well graded and proportioned and never seek exaggerations either in softness or noise. His accents and phrasings are musical and far from revolutionary. Here and there one notices a tendency on the part of Mr. Walter to be deliberate in his tempos rather than impetuous. However, at all times he is impressive and interesting, and never loses the attention of his hearers for a moment. It was the general impression among the experts and mere music lovers at Carnegie Hall that the visitor from Munich had registered an emphatic success.
The second Leonore overture is not as interesting as the first, and one rather resents Mr. Walter’s resurrection of this justly neglected number. Why play the second Leonore overture, a weak composition, when there is the first overture on the same subject, and one of Beethoven’s most exalted creations? The Mozart symphony was a delightful rendering, delicately clear cut, and charming. Every nuance m the score was brought to perfect hearing and rarely has the New York Symphony Orchestra played with more precision or finesse than on this occasion.
Brahms’ first symphony was layed bare with remarkable clarity. All the intricacies of its construction and rhythms, as well as all the beauties of instrumentation, both in coloring and combination, were in grateful evidence. The Walter method of conducting Brahms is to soften some of his rigid outlines and to allow sentiment full sway. Of course the Brahms sentiment seldom takes on any semblance of mere sensuousness or of passion, but it has very deep feeling indeed and in the manner in which Mr. Walter presents
Scores Tremendous Success At Every Appearance
AT PRESENT ON TOUR WITH KEITH CIRCUIT
The Pittsburg Press Comment After His Appearance at
Davis Theatre:
Gifted with a voice of wondrous qualities, Mr. Diskay is one of the season’s vocal sensations in Keith vaudeville. In his debut here this week he was vociferously received by the critical Davis audience.
The Toledo Times, Feb. 13, says:
Joseph Diskay, Hungarian tenor, has a splendid voice, large range, and is heard to advantage. He’s likely to stop the show, an unusual occurrence tor this spot, many times this week.
Mr. Diskay possesses a large repertoire and will give a number of New York recitals next season
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