Phillipsburg herald. [volume] (Phillipsburg, Kan.) 1882-1905, 1885-07-04
a NoTABLE oRCHEsTRA
The Remarkable Organization Which Hans
ven Bulow Effected at HeIningen.

L16 Remarkable Organization Which HAGg
ven Bul0W Effected at Heiningen-
Hans Won BulOw is reported to have
resigned his appointment at kappel-
melsteF to that eminent patron OF the
arts, the duke of SAKE Meiningen, in
order to resume his piano concerts.
He does not leave Meiningen, however,
without having accomplished an eZ-
traOrdinary work Says EdOuard
Hanslick, the famous Vienna critic;
Through BulOw the Meiningen or
chestra has become a prominent fact,
analogous to the Meiningen theater,
which, without any great stars, has
created such an extraordinary sensa-
ton everywhere by its wonderful en-
semble- In its precision down to the
smallest detail, the Meiningen Orches-
ira IS unsurpassed, we might say une-
qualed, by any orchestra in the world.
The MeiningeTs viii not find many
imitatOrs of the way in which they
play tho accomplishments to Brahms
d minor cOncertO-mOre like a great
symphony than an accompaniment
without a conductor, while BuiOW
plays the piano part. A still more as
founding performance is that of the
terrible fugue from BeethOven's guar
tet. OPP. 133, faultlessly played by all
the striBgs-a wilderness OF sound,
which puts the best quartet players on
their mettle. This is d VirtuOsO piece,
no doubt, and very enjoyable one,
too, but band that can play it fault
lessly may challenge the most power
ful opponents.
Where the Meiningers are not able
to compete with our Philharmonic
band is in beauty and fullness of tone,
l. l.
ment of execution. and in the brilliant
effect which numbers give. But we
must not forget that BulOw's Orches-
ira counts only forty-eight members
whilst our Philharmonic has from
eighty to ninety. Then again
the quality of the instruments may
account for the fact that the Meiningers
are wanting in that intense brilliancy
and warm cOlOring which distinguish
our Philharmonic orchestra. BulOW's
fiddlers are hrst-rate musicians, but
they have got the tremendous go of
the Viennese; the double BASES and
trOmbOnes are capital, the obOes often
harsh and shrill, the clariOnets and
horns good, though not equal to the
Viennese masters of these instruments.
A good judge viii appreciate all the
more the effects which BulOW manages
to make (by reserve and cOncentra-
tion) with his comparatively small
orchestra in passages such as the
finale Of the @ minor symphony and
the ''FreisChUetz' overture.
Bulow, with his spirit of discovery
and experiment, has also introduced
effective innovations into his Orches-
ira never thought of by other cOnduc-
tors. For instance, the fVe-stringed
dOubIe-basses which give the low @.
while the usual fOur-stringed ones
only 20 down to z; then the so-caued
''Ritter tenor viOlas, " which, being Of
the stronger build than the usual ViO-
las, surpass these in fullness of tone
and so lessen the too great contrast
between this class of fiddles and VIC
loncellos; finally, the chrOmatic drums,
which can be tuned by pedal while
playing. Another much-discussed in
nOVatiOn of BulOW's, which seems to
US of doubtful good, is that his band
plays standing. This is in fact going
back to an older custom, which may
be ascribed to the small space at
former amateur concerts, or to the ell
quette of courts. The sitting posture
of the players at orchestral concerts
was probably first introduced in Wen
ma; at least. in 1884, DittersdOrf
(bandmaster to the bishop Of Gross
wardien) in his autobiography writes:
al had long benches and desks made
and introduced the Viennese method
Of playing sitting, and arranged the
orchestra in such a manner that every
player faced the audience. PbibGdeL-
f2kiG Times.