New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1880-05-22
THE CINCINNATI FESTIVAL
THE CLOSING PERFORMANCES.

yens Fifth Symphony ana 1olO"eu ny -
"Zadok. the Priest" the greatest III 'no
short list of American Musical Festivals came "
close In every particular the celebration has peeh
far better than its predecessors; better in design,
and also more successful. No such lmposlnE anu
symmetrical programmes have been attempted any
where else and nowhere else has grca'
work been so perfectly accomplsnou'
The Beethoven Mass marks not only INC
HIGHEST pOint reached by musical lestiVal !" '''
country. but also probably the highest polhC a''''
able in the present condition OF ART Even 10
spectable performance of it Is rare event III any
CITY IN the world A performance so none 10
that of Cincinnati must be long re,'on
bered TO the honor of all concerned IN
- can add little to the verdict
which Ihcar over and over again from the aD'tS'
rrofossionol musicians whom l meet-that TINS IN
terprptation of BeethOven's work comes as n'"i
ncrfection as human iniirmity permits. Il 90 hoV
beIievp sad competent authority In my nearing,
"thot the Mass has been better given, or over WIN
be.v And the general opinion of those wDo N"o"
cnouph TO have any opinion on the subject runs "
the same effect, , :; .
The chief merit. rs always must DO the case III Il
good execution Of such difficult, obscure anu eAacC
ing works is in the clear perception, maghe''c ioi'1
and power, both to inspire and CONTROL poSS'SS'"
by the conductor The next is, in the tremendous
the
and the technical proficiency of the chorus. Inc
phenomenal orchestra is Of hardly inferior in'poI-
tance The quality of the solo voices counts LOT less
than other things in the ensemble, because the Mass
boe no solo airs in the ordinary sense OF the "oiu
Rnt il is essential that the quartet sn'h
bo strong. firm and intelligent, able 10
sing almost anything, and Wiling "
sacrifice themselves at the. feet of the composer
The quartet assembled here, or rather tho Two
onortets which divide the labor, deserve tue
warmest praise for q dcyOut, sympathetic an"
generally correct execution OF ther ii'Si'
They were almost invariably SATISFACTORY
and often they were admirable IL S''"'
to me the depth Of absurdity to expend upon per
Torrance presenting 20 many elements oi tho co'oS-
sal. the moleeyed criticism which might he applo-
priate for miscellaneous display concert. Inc
common tendency of critics to focus their intelcc-
final apparatus npon trivialtcs reminds me oi the
Tourist i'm the presence of Michael Angeles MOSES
looking 80 sharply for specks in the marble that Tic
never saw the statue itself.
Tho svmpbony tonight was superb, The mass
was even more completely Overwhelming IMAM u"
Wednesday. The effect Of such Work OF course
increases with repeated hearing. but II seemeu l"
ma tI,at the execution also was grandcr and the
chorus more perfectly at ease. When 1t was over
demonstration was made by the chorus IN
honor Of Thomas. A handsome carved music
stord was brought upon the stage and placed before
him. while ladies' shOwbred bouquets upon hlm' ana
tbc orchestra pavcd in n fanfare. In the speech OF
! nresentatiOn there were some pointed ILLUSIONS l"
| tbc recent troubles IN tho college, compliments 10
| tbe frankness OF ThOmass personal character, auu
wishes for his speedy return to Cincinnati when INC
| audience received with storm of applause couIi
hear very little Of Thomass reply, but understand
! that he announced the selection OF MT. Mlchaoi
Brand as his assistant in the preparation OF the
ucvt festival chorus. Mr. Otto Singer retiring from
the position he has hitherto held.
Some of the orchestral pieces deserve moro par
ticuIor notice than have had time to give them in
my previous dispatches. All the work of the band
| was spiritcd. richly colorcd aud beautifully
nolisbed. Lists "Tasso." the RakOczy' March,
| Scbumann's symphony In ID, and the selection
! from Goldmark's Country Wedding" made
strong impression; but, aside from the
| SYMPHONY tonight. perhaps the finest
instrumental work Of the whole Festival was done
in the King Lear" overture Of Berlloz' winch Is
enormously difficult aud in ThomaTs arrange
mcnt of tho beautiful air from Bach
snfe in d. About ninety Strings were
cmploycd in the melody here, and their perfect
unanimty and rare singing tone produced such an
eject that wished they would keep on all the
afternoon Performances like tins have raised the
| matinee concerts to an Importance that does not
often belong TO such entertainments.
Tho singers have had their opportunity for dis
play in these afternoon affairs and all have been
succcssful Canpanini has been heard Mt his very
best the elegance and polish Of his style
beng quito as notable as tho purity OF
his voice. HIS singing of the aria from
&" La Fora del Dcstiuo" to-day made n genuine
furorc. He las made himself moro popular than
ever. Miss Cary aud Mr. Whitney always IA
| Miau w IL a
natl girl has n charming light soprano voice, which
she uses with taste. MISS Shcrwin has
made many friends. and has dono honest,
hard work in the Mass. winch ought to bo rcc0g-
nized. Mr.. Harvey made n very acceptable second
Tenor aud the merits OF Miss Cranch and Mr.. Ru'
dolphscn have been duly honored.
In point Of attendance, the success Of the Festival
has probably surpassed expectations. The hal
seats about 1900 persons, and even N
the rain of this afternoon, when the Mt
tendance was the smallest OF the week
there were 200 or 800 persons standing
On the first night of the Beethoven Mass. after al
the seats had been taken. 5000 admission tickets
were sold. On the night of the prizo work and The
G0ttcrdimmcrung the crowd was still greater
and tonight it was the greatest o
all. In spite of the severity O
! the programmes tho popular cnthus
iasm has been much warmer than ever bcfor
and no one can help noticing that the audience
Z arc incomparably more nppreciativo than those O
= 1873. The strongest work has always aroused TN
strongest interest
d A rumor has been current that Mr.. Carl Zeuahn
who is u visitor at the Festival has been appointed
!, successor to Theodore Thomas in the direction o
the College Of Music There is no foundation 70
= the story. have the best authority for saying tina
: Mr. Zcrrahn would not think of leaving the worl
2 with which he has been so long idcntIcd il
d Boston. l am assured, moreover, by leadnl
member Of the Board that the college does no
= mean to engage anybody as musical director
y at least until the experiment of doing without on