, 1874-05-24
Thomas Life-Work and Ambition Popular
Ad7ance in Musical Ap~
probation.
Prominent Musical Works Produced in
New York During the Past
Winter.


DbHuus oAIf kAa AoSl4pAk 4SoH 4VAho4 NaA NJ
]'preciate the delight that announcement carries
with it into the hearts and homes OF the Man
hattanese. Without Theodore Thomas, tho hot
dreary summer, that drives large part @
womankind out Of town, and leaves the mali
"provider" desolats man in dasertes
! house, would stretch from Juna to Ooto
| bor. an unbrokcn waste OF hot, restless
nights and lonoly meals. With Theodore Thom
as that Same individual knows that, sever
nights ont Of the week. he can stroll up the
Avonuo, and those sombre, magnificent palace,
never SOON 80 stately as when empty,-and find
at tho end OF his ralk, probably the finest
orchestra in tho world, carrying him through
three hours Of the most delightful music. Here
| ha can rest his body and
uATuE HIS SOIL IN HARMONY.
His cigar is not interdicted, and he has at his
command al tho beverages known 10 tho Alneri-
can palate, which their name is legion. Beside
this, he enjoys the presence Of = largo audience
Of well dressed and Intelligent people, among
whom he stands an e1cellont chance OF finding
friends whose conversation whilos away tho
breaks between the parts, and reudora enduraole
a stroll through tho ridiculous apology for a
gxrden which you enter from the hall.
The gist OF the entertainment, the music. Isl
worthy OF the highest admiration, not only bo-
Cause Of its excellence. but because its standard
Erovs year by year, md carries the tastes and
requirements Of it, hearers with it. The OPEN
ing programme was really 3 ouriosity in this TO
spect. 4 few years ago it would have rolled afty
yards over the heads OF one OF our audiences.
Among other things, it comprised Webe1s over
ture, "Jubilee;' Baetloren's finale to the bal
let-mnsto in "Promstheua y tho introduction,
wedding-ma1ch, mud grand chorus from the third
could be better done than the way tho orohest1a
rendered tbs Wedding S-naarch. Whom Its exquis-
ito strains, as much sweeter than the standard
wedding-march We ara used to
we're distilled so deliciously into our ears, many
young heart swsllod with ecstacy. Then we
had Schubert's overture '' Fierabras i" new
meditation By Gounod an allegEetto from
M2n5s ;syphony n E. aat and I'd 4. LaTts
Programme, Auber. Mende1ssohn, and Strauss
we're made to do duty as popular composers! Tho
coucorts following have boea no less classical
We hayo had Trois DanseB Nlsmandcs," by
Earsiel; the quintette from the third act Of
Wasner's " Die Meisterslnger Won Nuremberg; !"
Hofmann's Hungarian Suite " (nsw); Bee
thoyen's Symphony No. In D, op. IS; Mende!s-
sohns Reformation Symphony" Dudley
Bucks overture to the cantata " Don Munio, -
deserved
RECOGNITION OF AN AMERICAN coxrosEn;
Gouuol's overture, LIE Medccin Malgre Lui,"
for tho first time end 30 on.
It has taken hard. steady work, snd indefat-
igable climbing, to bring together. m orchestra
equal to the faultless Interpretation Of these
works, and to carry its listeners up to such
heights. But Theodore Thomas is too ener-
getlc to rest here For him, as for Ill great
workers, Hills peep DER hills, and Alps on
Alps arise" There are yet grander projects to
THE 1uE-DREAN
OF this accomplished conductor Ia, first, to make
his orchestra resident one, 60 as not to be
compelled to 70 knocking about the country in
- l.. I =
together until summer. This he has now nearly
accomplished. During tho whole Of tho last
winter. the main work OF the orchestra has been
in New York and Brooklyn, excepting ths con-
certs given in the principal cities Of New En-
gland. the last OF which Was the grand Handel
aud Haydn festival, which the Bohfonesa mildly
app!auded with their bean-nu1tured hands and |
umbrellas. His second ambition is !
to obtain permanent chorus, so that choral COM
positions may be produced with the sane parfec-
tho third, after having obtained q permanent !
knd well-appointed home for this dual organizA- |
lion,
TO PRODUCE THE 6INpHoE7C DRAMA. |
Justly called the supreme type OF musical a1t."
Surely, il he can accomplish it all, magnificent
life-WprkI
The winter-seaeon has been 30 remarkable In |
indicating the advance of musical appreciation !
IN this community, that lovers, and certainly |
students, OF music will be glad to note some Of |
iuced. The Symphonies havo been the Third, |
Fifth, Sixth, Seventh, and Eighth OF Beethoven;
Tho Second Of schumann; tho g Major OF Schu-
bert: the " I'm Waldo and "1eonore u OF Ran;
Symphony, md the - t'Praludes" Of Liezt The
Classical oyertures hare included tho "corio-
anus" "Leonore": No. g. 'sEgmont,"
snd 'Weiho dos Hnurcs" OF Beethoven; tho
Bride Of Messina" of sehumann; the ~ Eury-
Berloz; the "sigur. sle1nbs" OF srepdssn; and
,he 1teistersngor" and "Lohengria y. Of
Wagner. Among the miscol1anies hare been
RubeDstein's " Ivan ". :" Volkmann's Ssre-
aade.;" Bsahm'a variations on = theme Of
:solde," "Walkueren." 3" "Huldigungs March I'll
Bach's and Handel's concertos for string or
:hestra; selections from Cherubini's "Medea;"
Berliozs scherzo, "Queen Mah.' Beside theso,
Mozart Bach. and Beethoven. To any one who
las tasted. here and there, OF those delicious
hings, the mere menu of such banquet can
lot be unlntercsting reAdins. OF course. our
musical a. we'll as other diet must be uahter in
he summer SEASON, but thelols |
no TRASH MIXED up IN IT.
nd the standard is kept high, and raised higher.
As has been intended, tho sum1nor-concerts
rs not only social institution, they are social
necessity. Tho New York young man, deprived
i mother and sisters and OF lady friends, BY
ho call to arms at the Watering -pInces, and
fith the theatre-doors closed in his face, would
q utterly 1T loss without them for ways in |
7hich to kill the time which be 60 seldom thinks |
4 saving. alive. He is there, therefore, in full
olce and undiminished attractrenoes. There
re some Of Ills pecularities which these gather
lsa bring out into unpleasant prominence. It
Increases to . remarkable degree
is ALREADY REMARKABLE sELf-coNsc1ousSEss
He moves about the edge OF the audience snd
,ronEh the middle, rafting his stick, putting
ID cigar, and adding to the general ei1ect Of tbs
1uaio by bringing down his hsels with
n especial emphasis, and making audible
ema1ks, an with the apparent conviction
hat all the eyes this side Of Delaware
- upon him. But this in not so much i,
is fault Al it is that OF the hall. There never
~ any other place which made man feel 30
uickly that he was the centre Of observation.
his has tho most extraordinary effects have
cen the most modest mon grow conoeited in ,
ve minutes under the stimulus Of the public :
20; men who never smoked in their lives will
, a'c1gar meo who don't know bar OF music
ON burglar Jimmy will dispanse with the pro-
ramrne altogether, hum with the orohestra> and
ok dreaafuly knowing, al unaware that The .
solay is wasted on an unnttending crowd men !
rike attitudes who never struck anythinR or !
'ybody before /; and, indeed, an acute ard oyn- .
Il observer can witness here more displaYs Of =
Imam nature, blooming under the warmth Of !