The Dallas daily herald. [volume] (Dallas, Tex.) 1873-1887, 1874-04-19

CTS, int NHlllHk ~ HnNli ''N'"'Ni
the galleries upheld by handsome col
umns and cary0lides, and the whole
hail is rpsplendent In gay colors ana
gliding, Upon the occasion there
was an added amount OF ornR-
mentatlons. Around the CALLER
les were feslOons OF evergreen
topped up with crimson Ribbons, The
massive glittcrlng pipes Of The olgnn
were decorated With II gigantic laurel
wreath, and within the dark green cir
clel cleaned the Initials "f. L,,n
formed OF rost-oolored, bution,lIke
blossoms. The grand piano was en-
clrcled with wrcNths OF rose buds IN
terwoyen with myrtle and ivy, aud
lnurol-wrealhs were suspended on all
sides of IT, The music desk doomed
In beauty aud the chair upon which
the musical Abb0 was 10 ~ WINS en-
twined with iVy. The ochcslra was IN
place; the cll0rlls Of men Tiled the
front part Of the large platlormi the
lUdies and gentlemen of the "Sing
Ncrcin" clustered In the back groundi
the seats of the audience room were
filled, and looking around the familiar
faces Of many professional people
could he seen-nOted actors and ac-
tresses, musicians, singers and critics.
The arstocrNcy was well represented.
Besides the numbers Of less important
representatives, there were present two
ArchdukCs, brothers Of the emperor
and their wives. In the box ben cath
them sat the old blind king Of Han
over and his family. The directors,
1--WE in number, are the whole force
and strength of Vienna in their pro.
Observation-Disclosures, Kremser, DessOti,
Weinwurm and brahms, the latter OF
whom il well known MS II pianist and
composer, and has lately, in company
with Wagner been created knight
Of the "MaXmiliun orderN by thekng
of Bavaria.
The concert opened at twelve O'Clock
lEecisely, with an overture from
! Webprs "Apan liassann by the orches-
ira, directed by Dessoif. This orchestra
Is that Of the opera house aud thcir
playing is wonderItl--precise, delicate,
and powerful. Under the direction OF
Dessoti they play as one man and no
where have we heard an orchestra
tllrt surpasses this one but on Thu
day, although quietly listened TO and
applauded, their performance was re.
cpiVed much as If ii were the SOUP
which precedca the dinner, and Is only
intended TO Whct the appetite and not
to satisfy. 1t IL to be tasted and then
pushed aside TO make room for some
thing better. Schumuun's Ritorucll,
for five parts, "lhe Rose stood in the
Dew, was e%qnisitely rendered by the
"Maennerchoiro hut thcNpplause that
followed IL was not long continued.
S5chubert's "'Nie Alsnachtp followed.
1t was sung by the "Macnnerchoir, "
accompanied by the orchestra and
organ, as arranged by List himself. All
strove to do honor to themselves and
Justice to the great musician, whom all
knew to be within hearing, although
out of sight, Whether he fully appre,
ciated the effort made to honor him OF
not Is questionable, for the great Nan
who has set the world aglow with the
fire Of his genius, who had conquered
and Captivated the whole musical
world, who had made tours of triumph
from city to city, astonishing and en-
chanting everywhere, had now in hi
siXty-third year been seized with {
"stage frightn He asserted openly
that during the whole of the previoll,
day he had increasingly played eXer
cises and scales, and he seemed to b,
as nervous and excited as any youns
dc6m0Ht.
AT last the longing eyes of the au
dience We're gratiiied. A tall, gray
haired man, clad in the long black
Abbe's robe, entered and, escorted by
the directors, made his way to the
| piano. a storm ofapplause burst forth;
the grey head bowed in acknowledge.
mcnt and the pale, sallow face lit NJ
with pleased smile. 1t was strik.
Ing scene--the slender, back-clad fig
ure the long grey looks reaching down
upon the shoulders and swept bacl
from the high forehead; theplain, even
1. homely face, contrasting SO strangely
in its palcness with the glowing, horiI
faces around him; the gaiy-dresse,
anu aristocratic audience, enthusiastic
and excited; the flower-Wrented an,
decorated piano and The laurel wreath
ready to crown the living brow of on,
who has received the worlds aclnowl
edgmcnt of his greatness during hi
life time.
! OF all his numerous orders and dee
orations the Able wore but one, ,
small rcd silk button fastened on hi.
lett breast. He seated himself, Tho
orchestra lifted their Instruments, the
director raised his baton, and turned
to await the nod of List before begin
ming. The director, Hcrheck, stood SO
rs TO face both iIisZt and the orchestra,
and it was soon quite evident that he
directed only through List, who was
the center, the soul and the inspira.
ton of all No trace of nervousness
was visible in his manner The piec,
to be played was "rhe Wandercr Fan.
tasie,N for piano, By Schubert, ar.
ranged by List for orchestra. The
silence which preceded the opening
chords was almost painful. The audi
ence seemed to hold their breath in OK.
pectation; every eye was riveted on
the black-robed figure ut the piano;
every ear was strained to catch the
opening notes. List raised his hand,
gave nod to the director and the
music began. Those who We're so for
tunatc rs TO be able to see his
face, surely saw nothing else. Calm
and colorless, like on appartion from
some unknown world, he seemed to
think of nothing but the music. In
some delicate passage where the or
chestra was silent, he would appear to
be IN al, ecstacy of delight. A sweet
smile played about the mouth and the
eyes, raised aloft, seemed to be looking
into another world. List is sixty
three years old and styles himself an
invalid, saying that he cannot play
any more, but there was no evidence
of lack of force or fire or passion in his
touch. The long slender fingers have
a marvellous rapidity of execution and
the wrists II wondrous power. The
pianos used Were from the Rosendorfer
mandatory and werei fine instruments,
but to me il seemed that they failed tn