Morning journal and courier., 1888-12-11
THE sYmPHoNv CONCEPT.

The First Appearance of the Boston
 Symphony Orchestra This SeaHOn-A Fine Programme Well Rendered.
 The first of the series of concerts by the Boston Symphony orchestra attracted quite a large audience at the Hyperion Theater last evening. The concert may be considered as the opening of our musical season, whose at fractions bid fair to outrival those of last season. One thing is certain and that is that the Boston orchestra has now won for itself the right to be regarded as a New Haven fa- vorite. The audience was not so large as it ought to have been, but it was somewhat larger than those that have formerly greeted Mr. Gericke, and as the series advances more seats will undoubtedly be sold. The person. nel of the orchestra was essentially the same as last season. It is without doubt the best band of musicians that has ever visited us The faces of several of the performers have
 become familiar and they seem like old &C., quaintances. There were Mr. Frank Kneisel, the concert master, and beside him his gray haired comrade, who plays with as great aecu- racy and grace ss ever. Among the celli Mir
 Fritz Giese was in his accustomed place, and directly in front of the conductor sat Messrs
 Mole and Sautet, the flute and oboe players secured last year from the Opera ComiQue, EaTlBs 10 Vl6 I18QL OE tue 1e1Q6E hLU U0bW6S0 the violos and the bassos sat the quartette of horn players, among whom one recognized the picturesque figure of Herr Reiter.
 The concert opened with Schuberts over- ture in D minor, a beautiful composition very delicately rendered. With this introduction r.Carl Bsermann performed Brahms' second concerto. The performance of this work oc- cupied forty minutes. It is probably the longest concerto ever written and has been aptly described as a symphony for the or cheatra with pianoforte obligato. It is in form as clear and logical as a work of Bee- thoven, but 1t is so elaborate that one needs to hear it several times to fully understand it. It is unusually difficult, but MT. Baer- mann seemed to have overcome its obstacles and played it as one who has learned to ap- preciate it. He is not great virtuoso, but has made his mark as one of the very best instructors. His performance last evening was not brilliant one, but it was musicianly and worthy of thorough artist. He was very favorsbly received and accorded his share of the applause. Mir. Baermann is musician born and bred and belongs to 8 family quite renowned in musical his tory. Heinrich Joseph Baermann, his grands father, was one of the finest clarinet players of his generation-sfa truly great artist and glorious man" as Weber called him. Weber
 wrote several pieces for Herr Baermann,
 which still remain acknowledged master pieces for the clarinet. Both Meyerbeer and Mendelssohn were his intimate friends and the latter composer wrote for him the two duets for the clarinet and hasset~horn now known as opes 113. But still greater mu- sician was Herr Karl Baermann, the father of the pianist, who was also clarinet virtuoso of the highest order of merit. For years he retained the position of first clarinet player in the royal band st Munich, and it was while there that he published his "Clarinet School now standard authority. It was at Munich that MT. Carl Baermann was born, and where he, like his father and grand father before him, became famous as a musician. For years he was instructor at the Munich School of Music and "a few years since he was induced to come to this country and establish himself in Boston
 The serenade of the string orchestra by Volkmann, which followed the concerto, was the most enjoyable selection of the evening, because it was familiar. It was in this charming composition that the excellence of the orchestra was most apparent. The con- cert concluded with Mendelsshons ssScotchn symphony, which was played here two or three seasons ago. 1t was admirably per- formed, but Beethoven symphony would have been mora acceptable to an audience that, at the best, has but few opportunities of hearing classical music. One of the features of the concert was the programme prepared with historical and analytical notes, by Mr. G. H. Wilson. The next con- cert will be given on January IA, 1889, and Miss Emma Jueh has been secured as the aoloist.