The Sun.
London, England, 1838-03-03 00:00:00

MOSCHELES' SOIREES.

Mr. Moscheles' Third Soiree of Classical Piano-forte mu-
sic, was held last night at the Hanover-square Rooms. The
large concert room was reduced in its dimensions for the occa-
sion,pbleanceehde
benches
n thewer
were
centre,
b y
noon
meansan elevated vated platform.
inconveniently
by a temporary partition, and the.instrument atwhich Mr.
auditory
crowded, a very considerable . assembled, considering
A.l° scl
Althoughlel
the high rate of the subscription, and that the conceit, at
particularly good of it, with on
least what was
_. e exception, the
was limited to Piano -forte playing. A very large
Septett," •
a large
proportion audience consisted of ladies. The perfor-
mancesproportion of
d with a Prelude and Filmic of Sebastian
commence
le st
the
,
i E major; and an Allegro, Adagio, and Fugue in F
Bach, in C major; a Prelude and Fugue of? the same Com-
poser in
mentioned. were played
'great talents, we did not like version of
major, of Handel. Perhaps, we are too fastidious, but with
all Mr. Moscheles
~ his
t'afsltiea t
and the pieces
of this eminent professor conveyed to our ears
with extraordinary singular_ skill is not to be denied,
characteristic idea of Bach and Handel. He was, so to
no
voluble, and played too much ad libi a T o
t in. h speak, two "of Ilaydn, •
was given by Miss Wood-
spirit's Song, deal of
the old masters.
good
ham, with a
..
good effects in those portions of the composition which
but the playing
gave her an opportunity to display the fine quality
of tone of the lover
part of her voice;
but her up-
per notes are neither very agreeable nor well in tune, and
she has some defect in her delivery, approximating to a lisp.
We should state that Miss Woodham's song and the other
vocal music was delightfully accompanied by Sir George
Smart. Beethoven's concertante variations to " See the
Conquering Hero conies," were played by Mr. Moscheles and
Mr. Lindley. The piece is merely pretty, and will not rank
of the higher efforts of the great master whose name is at-
tached to it. It is neither not calculated to show off the
violoncello, or we have heard Lindley play much better, for
his instrument sounded to our ears thin and scratchy
in the rapid variations. " L'Addio" was sung with a
good deal of taste by Miss Dolby, and she made
more of the air than we should have supposed the
thin quality of her voice would have permitted. The
first part of the concert concluded with \Voelfl's " Sonata
impassionata," which was splendidly played by Mr. Moscheles,
particularly the extremely whimsical last movement. The
second part, according to the programme, was to have com-
menced with Hummel's " Septetto," but in consequence of the
non-arrival of some of the performers, it was deferred to the
conclusion of the concert. Mr. Moscheles, therefore, com-
menced with Weber's " Moment° capriccioso," which he
played in a most superb style, and which, short as it was,
proved in our opinion the gem of the concert, as far
as mere piano-forte playing was concerned. Purcell's
~ Thy genius, lo !" by Mr. Bradbury, was a flat
affair, and the credit of both singer and composer would have I
been best consulted by its omission. Walinisly's glee, " I
wish to tune," was sung in a style so utterly vulgar and in-
efficient, that in pure mercy we shall refrain from mentioning
the names of the gentlemen who took part in it. The next
Niece was " Characteristic studies, ' Wrath,' Reconciliation,'
and ' Contradiction,'" Mr Moschele's own composition. Of
these " Contradiction" was the only movement in which the
composer had succeeded in conveying a notion of his meaning,
and even that, without the aid of the interpreter, might not
have been taken in the sense intended. The playing, how-
ever, was beautiful, combining rare taste with facile and
brilliant execution. By far the best thing of the evening was
Hummel's Septetto, with which the concert concluded, piano-
forte, flute, oboe, horn, tenor, and double-bass, by Messrs.
Moscheles, Sedlatzek, Barret, Puzzi, Lyon, Lindley, and
Anfossi The playing of Signor Puzzi, and of M. Barret,
was the most beautiful that could be imagined, and high as
those two eminent performers stood in our estimation, we en-
tertain a still higher opinion of their respective abilities after
this superb exhibition. The other performers all played
exquisitely well, and as a whole the performance was one of
the ,most gratifying we heard. The second movement was
repeated at the unanimously expressed wish of the audience.
We have already mentioned that the soirée was fashionably
attended, to which we may add that the Duke of Cambridge
1 honoured it with his presence, and several times in the course
the evening expressed his gratification.

PRIVATE BUSINESS OF PARLIA-

MENT.-(YESTERDAY.)

(Cont'nued from our First E Ihion.)
NOTTING-HILL FOOTWAY.
Mr. Brathwaite's evidence continued.—He certainly pre-
fers a path across fields to the turnpike road. If this foot-
path were stopped up, the public must choose between the
turnpike road and a path by the Potteries, making at least a
mile difference in distance. The Hippodrome road is alto-
gether preferable. People who want recreation, too,
would prefer the footpath over Notting-Hill. The in-
habitants of Chelsea, Hammersmith, Kensington, &c., in
going to the Railway, would not be accommodated by such
footpath; but on the contrary, it would be about two miles
out of their way. The footpath by Wood's-lane is generally
inconvenient from its swampy nature. The footpath over
Notting- Hill is at least twenty feet higher, yet witness
was nearly up to his knees, figuratively speaking—( Loud
laughter)—whilst crossing the footpath four years ago.
The footpath by Portobello-lane is better, as witness in cross-
ing it a short time ago did not get mud quite over his shoes.
But the witness admitted afterwards that the path over the hill
of the Hippodrome was comparatively passable.

SUB-COMMITTEE ON PETITIONS, No, 2.
Mr. BARING in the Chair.
Blackburn Gas.—Petition for Bill read. Notices proved.
Unopposed. Standing Orders complied with.
Ramsgate Improvement ( No. 2. )—Petition for Bill read.
Notices proved. Unopposed. Standing Orders complied with.
Fleetwood Tontine.—Petition for Bill read. Notices proved.
Unopposed. Standing Orders complied with.
Balmore Road.—Petition for Bill read. Notices proved.
Unopposed ; but it not appearing to the Committee that the
declaration lodged by the Commissioners of the road, in
lieu of a subscription contract, according to the Standing Ord( r,
No. 8, page 18, was sufficiently explicit, some discussion
arose • but subsequently the Committee decided that the
Standing Orders had been complied with.
Rochester Bridge.—Petition for Bill read, Notices proved,
unopposed. Standing Orders complied with.
Anderton Carrying Company—Petition for Bill read. The
Committee decided that the Standing Orders did not apply to
this Bill.

Islington (Angel-place) Buildings—Petition for Bill read—
the Committee decided that, in this case also, the Stand-
ing Orders did not apply.
Moy Navigation.—Petition for Bill read. Notices proved;
but it not appearing to the Committee that the proper sub-
scription interest, or a declaration in lieu thereof, had been
made, as to funds, accordinc, to the Standing Order No. 8,
page 18, they decided that the Standing Orders had not been
complied with.
Nottingham Fields Inclosure.—Petition for Bill read. No-
tices proved. Unopposed. Standing Orders complied with.
Edinburgh Courts of Justice.—This was a petition
for leave to extend the time for giving notices, in a Bill to
stop a right of way through a public street, called the Royal
Lane or Bank Close, in the City of Edinburgh, in order to
facilitate certain contemplated improvements in and about the
buildings of Parliament-square, and the Courts of Justice.
Considerable discussion arose in the Committee as to
whether this was a public or private Bill. The Speaker
had sent the petition before the Committee, appearing to
have considered the Bill as a private Bill, quoad hoc the notices.
A petition was then read from Patrick Niell and William
Fraser, proprietors of houses, and in trade, in the street sought
to be stopped up, against the Bill, as injurious to their pro-
perty and interests.
After a lengthened discussion as to whether the Bill were
to be considered a private or a public one, the Committee
decided that as the Bill was originally considered a public
Bill, but as the Speaker considered it (quoad hoc the
notices) a private Bill, the Standing Orders had not been com-
plied with.