13
MUSICAL COURIER
March 29, 1923
Phenomenal Success in Chicago
AUGUSTA COTTLOW
Leader of
WOMAN PIANISTS.”
—Herman Devries.

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66
Second only to PADEREWSKI.”
—Glenn Dillard Gunn.
RANKS WITH BEST.”
—Edward Moore.
AUGUSTA COTTLOW, LEADER OF WOMAN PIANISTS
BY HERMAN DEVRIES The only alloy in a recapitulated enjoyment of Augusta Cottlow’s playing is regret that she is not with us more often.
One wonders if one ever really did APPRECIATE HER BEFORE, THIS REMARKABLE AMERICAN, whose place is UNIQUE AMONG FEMININE PIANISTS. IS THERE ANY ONE JUST LIKE AUGUSTA COTTLOW?
Her program promised much and much was given that was fine and big and brainy.
Brains and sentiment are blended in Cottlow’s art, so that one’s sense of beauty is satisfied while one approves as well with clear reason.
Especially in the Beethoven sonata were her qualities of power and personality best revealed.
SHE HAS THE VIRILITY OF TONE AND TECHNIC OF THE MALE PIANISTS PAR EXCELLENCE, WITHOUT EVER LOSING THE FEMININE GRACES OF POET R^ AND CHARM. If her fingers are of steel, they are also of velvet—and everything she touches has meaning. As I said above, A REMARKABLE AMERICAN, A REMARKABLE WOMAN—A REMARKABLE ARTIST.—Chicago Evening American, February 16, 1923.
BY KARLETON HACKETT
Mme. Cottlow gave a delightful recital. SHE HAS THE INSTINCT FOR THE PIANO AND THINKS MUSIC IN TERMS OF THE PIANO. Her fingers are strong, her technique dependable and SHE PLAYS WITH THE EASE OF ONE INTENDED BY NATURE TO PLAY. The greatest natural aptitude must be subject to the unending routine if its gifts are to be made of full avail, but the fine results are possible only when nature supplied the right sort of material in the first place.
NATURE WAS KIND TO MME. COTTLOW AND SHE HAS DONE THE REST.
For some years now she has made rather a specialty of Mac-Dowell’s music, and she gave an interesting reading of his “Norse” sonata.
Mme. Cottlow succeeded in bringing out the “impetuous vigor” without losing the sense of the underlying strength.
MacDowell demands especial sympathy on the part of the artist who is to interpret him if his meaning is to be made clear. Mme. Cottlow HAD THE COMPREHENSION that had PENETRATED BENEATH THE SURFACE and THE FORCE TO SET FORTH CONVINCINGLY what she found there.
The reading of the second movement was particularly fine. It was poetic, with a restrained expression in keeping with Mac-Dowell’s mode of thought. There was play of light and shade, and always with the sense that the tonal colors came naturally from the spirit of the music.—The Chicago Evening Post, February 16, 1923.
AUGUSTA COTTLOW SECOND ONLY TO PADEREWSKI
Foremost Artist of Her Sex
BY GLENN DILLARD GUNN
Three piano recitals stand out from the hammerous rush of the season: Paderewski’s, which was, of course, historic; that of Cortot, which marked some interesting departures from established pian-istic style; that of Augusta Cottlow, last night in Kimball Hall.
AFTER PADEREWSKI, MISS COTTLOW PLAYED THE MOST IMPORTANT PROGRAM.
AFTER PADEREWSKI, also, always and of course, MISS COTTLOW PLAYED WITH AS MUCH DISTINCTION, INDIVIDUALITY, PERSONALITY AND VIRTUOSITY AS ANY PIANIST THAT THE SEASON HAS BROUGHT TO US. She has the firm intellectual grasp, the buoyant rhythm, the technical infallibility that belong to the finest Bach style, with an added luster of modern pianistic art that banishes all hint of the academic. She has the greatness of spirit, the massive tone, the splendid imagination that belong to Beethoven.
She has that tonal luster, that acoustic magic, that veil of pianistic resonance that can surround the melodies of Chopin with the glamour that belongs to romance. She has the noble poetry of feeling to match the poetic nobility of MacDowell. She has the fervor, the abandon and the superlative virtuosity that alone can reveal the spirit of Liszt.
In short, SHE HAS ALL THE PIANIST VIRTUES and ALL THE MUSICAL REQUISITES and SHE HAS THE PERSONAL FORCE AND MAGNETISM TO MAKE THEM A PART OF HER OWN ARTISTIC MESSAGE. WHEREFORE SHE SHOULD BE THE MOST POPULAR OF AMERICAN PIANISTS, AS SHE UNQUESTIONABLY IS NOW THE FIRST OF HER SEX.—Chicago Herald and Examiner, February 16, 1923.
AUGUSTA COTTLOW, RANKS WITH BEST
BY EDWARD MOORE
PIANO PLAYING TO RANK WITH THE SEASON’S BEST was on exhibition last night, emanating from the fingers and still more from the brain of Augusta Cottlow.
SHE IS AN IMPORTANT FIGURE to those who know their piano. She has the intellect to cope with and make a stunning performance out of Beethoven’s sonata, opus 111, the fancy to persuade her hearers with Chopin’s B major nocturne and his F minor ballade—it is a pity that so many pianists fear the difficulties of this piece—and the smashing drive to make MacDowell’s “Norse” sonata impressive. She arranged a BIG PROGRAM AND SHE PLAYED IT IN A BIG WAY .—Chicago Daily Tribune, February 16,1923.
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