The Press.
London, England, 1857-05-09 00:00:00

TILE BEETnovEN EVENINGS.

Miss ARABELLA GODDARD brought the sixth and
last of her soirees to a close on Wednesday night.
These performances have been remarkable in more
than one point of view as regards art, and have as-
suredly been most glotions to the artiste, who has
proved herself to be the greatest pianiste this country
has ever produced. The speciality of these enter-
tainments has been in a complete revival of the in-
tense interest which was created in musical circles
some years since by the formation and progress of
the Beethoven Quartet Society, under the auspices of
the well known amateur, the late Mr. Alsager. After
his death the society, after a vain struggle on the
part of M. ltousselot to prolong its existence, soon
ceased to exist, and then the later works and post-
humous productions of Beethoven were only heard
at rare intervals; but eventually, in more senses than
one, Miss AraLella Goddard had the courage to

attack the grand sonata in B flat, op. 100, with a
tremendous " fuga a tee voci con alcune licenzie,"
to borrow Beethoven's designation. This per-
formance will not easily be forgotten. It was given
without a book by the juvenile player, awl she earned
the highly honourable sobriquet from some entliu
siastic amateur of the Key of the Sonata. It was
pr. bably this triumph which suggested the present
Beethoven soirees, at which Miss A. Goddard has
taken in turn those sonatas numbered as Op. 101,
100, 100, 110, and 111, marvellous elaborations,
exacting executants of totally exceptional gifts and
abilities to render; and it has been by the trium-
phant interpretation of these works that a complete
impetus has been given to the Beethoven contro•
versy. Art gains by such discussion, and it is a
proud distinction for a young English pianiste to
have provoked the agitation of the question how far
the imaginings at the close of the Beethoven works
are to be accepted as the commencement of a new era
in musical writings. It is all very well for tie
inferior order of pianoforte players to pronounce the
last sonatas of Beethoven as impracticable and
abstruse ; but such assertions arise mainly from in-
capacity or from a want of energy to overcome the
mechanical intricacies of the works. The Beethoveh
Qaartet Society proved that clear and intelligible
interpretations of the posthumous compositions coald
be effected ; and Miss A. Goddard has been equally
successful in demonstrating that the sonatas are as
"plain as a pikestaff," and that those who " run may
read," if• they will take the trouble to listen to her
magnificent. development of the composer's inten-
tions. As an intellectual player the Beethoven
soirees have unquestionably placed Miss Goddard
o❑ tile I ighest pinnacle of executive skill ; ant it is
not on the ground, therefore, of her mastery of the
minutest details that we pin our faith on her future,
astounding as was the ease with which every in-
tricacy was vanquished—really the most difficult
feats seemed like child's play to her—but it is on the
sentiment which she evinced in the slow movement.
The composer marks this, " Adagio sostenuto,
appassionata e con moito sentimento." Now, this
was completely realised. The gloom and despon-
dency which the musician so vividly presents in this
adagio were most poetically brought out, displaying
indeed an amount of profound feeling which on no
firmer occasion had we conceived Miss Goddard to
be imbued with. After the ovation so justly be-
stowed on her at the close of the 13 flat sonata, it
would be useless to dwell on her execution of those
curious thirty two variations on the theme in C
minor, which run on in such an extraordinary manner,
nor on her share in Mozart's sonata in A, in which
she nad a clever violin coadjutor in M. Carrodus.
The vocal selections call for an emphatic protest
against such utter apathy as that exhibited by Miss
Lascelles in Gluck's impassioned "Cite faro senza
Eurnlice," and such want of preparation as that dig.
played by Mr. Charles Braham in Mendelssohn's
song, " the Garland," tile setting of the words to
which in Horsley's masterly glee, "In Celia's
' Arbour," we take leave to prefer to the German
version.