New-York tribune., 1878-03-04
MUSIC AND THE DRAMA.
FIFTH SYMPHONY CONCERT.

The programme of ThOmas's Fifth Symphony
Concert given on Saturday evening, before crowded
and demODsrative audience, was OF a somor nat "ad-
vanceG character all the selections except tie beauti-
ful Beethoven overture, being contemporary compost
tions. and three of them belonging to the extreme mod
school:
Overture King stephen n"...............Bcei Be- ihovcn
Dramatic Sy Sy1nphOny ISu lls'tIn
'-'-'''' w anu '''9' ''' Wagner
Mr. F. Remmertz
Episode from Lenaus Faust (Mephisto Waz)- ilszt
All these pieces exceptionally well performed; IL
geyident indeed after the noble Interpretation Of
the overture, that the orchestra was In It's most perfect
trim, and III OF its most sympathetic moods 9he
rendering of the symphony 80 mucG inner tAah We
have heard before that this great work seemed
almost to takcia new meaning. But the Dramac'sym
phOny. than almost other large composition
which We can now call to mind always gains force ana
cearness by repeated hearings. Even the most cuti
yaed listeners do not grasp it at the first acquaintance
The deyeopmcn OF the first movement III particular is
somewhat difficult TO follow; the motives are
many; the rhythms strange and at times
perploxing The form, however is strictly clas
sicaI, although being original in plan aud
broad in dimensions, the regularity Of the
work is not Immediately perceived The other move
mcnts easy enough 10 understand Tho presto is laid
out on a rather large scale, but 1t agrees substantially
with the conventional patterns the adaglo Is charm
ing mclOdic movement OF the familiar kind and the
finale, with its imposing introduction, its fiery allegro,
its Ingenious return themes OF the earlier parts
ainly offers snguarfy to bewilder rs. The work
long, the performance taking hour and five minutes
about the as Beethoyens "El oica"-but it is
copious rather than prefix, and when 1t is
SO beautifully played as it was on Saturday
II cannot DO tedious We have often expressed
our high opinion o; this symphony its lofty spirit It's
consistency of ideas, and its novel and fascinating
effects. thar need not enlarge upon the subject
hon frlt pa ay-aIh f1rpaV nroi was
not generally appreciated The applause on Saturday
showed that the public beginning to value II rs
IL should he valued 1t is OF the most trying to the
orchestra of all symphonies in tue modern rcperory,
difficult to execute, still diff ult TO inter
pret and Mr. Thomas deserves the waTme praise for the
brilliant result which he has accomplished
We gave account of WagneT's "Scgfried
Idyl" TIE other day. This too. is a difficult work.
Il Was chaTmingly performed, though il had been
very briefly rchearSed II received from Eu-
rope only during the week, and lurriedly put upon
the programme, as supplementary number, because
this was the only concert o; the season at which place
could be made for IT, The scoring snbducd tie brass
being very sparngly uscd--we believe there only
two horns and trumpet and they rarely heard
ana the reeds have not the prominence which
Wagner usually gives them in his gcntlcr music. true
pastoral poen u Of the uttcr Of leaves. The OF
BIRDS Slow rhythmic pash OF peaceful waters, and
an nlcGuabe suggestion If tender and happy emotions
IL l. one Oi tHe H">t tcSahl anu h'H"lc iuNi''' ~" ~
with which we are acquainted. There is probably
nothing waguers which much resembles it except the
forest In the second act of scgried Very DIFF
ercu were the two vocal selections both belonging 10
The role OF Hans Sachs IN the "Mostcrsinger." wa,ch
immediately followed. Mr.. RcmWortz delivered them
admirably, and they produced marked Impression.
Nj Thomas seemed to have chosen for this concert the
mos, q hiculi pieces in his library. The McPhslO WALTZ
C Dance III the Village Inn = H. perhaps, harder TO play
than any OF the other selections, and Ms magnificent rem
dtriug brought the evening 0 4 triumphant close.