Morning journal and courier., 1889-11-25
THE sYmPHoyx CoNCEaTs.

THE SYMPHONY CONCERTS. \ Biographical Sketch of Herr Arthur
 Nickisch-A Famous Young Kappsll-
 melster-The Personnel 0fthe Orches-
 tra.
 There is every indication that the series of to be given this season by the Bos- ton Symphony Orchestra will be largely at- tended. Assurance is given that nothing | will be left undone to make these concerts | notable events of the musical season and | worthy the attention of every lover of clas- | sical music. The new feature of the concerts | will be the appearance of Herr Arthur Nix | isch as conductor of the orchestra. The fol- lowing sketch of this famous young musician is given by MT. Arthur Weld of Boston:
 Herr Nickisch was born on October 12, 1855, in small town called Szent-M Miklos, in the principality of Lichtenstein. His father occupied the position of head steward and auditor to the prince and was himself an en- thusiastic musical amateur. In earliest child hood the boy showed such extraordinary talent that his parents determined to educate him as musician. He began his studies with the violin, and he mastered this instru- ment with such ease and 50 completely that at the age of eight years he appeared in pub llc with most extraordinary success-in tact, the young prodigy received @ genuine ovas tion. His first studies in harmony and organ playing were under the direction of the or- ganist Prochazka, in the neighboring town of Buschtowitz; and in all branches the lad made such remarkable progress as to enable him to enter the Royal Conservatory in Vienna at the unusually early age of eleven.
 At Vienna he worked harder than ever, and especially devoted himself to all the technical branches of composition. So great was his success that two years later, (being then only IS years old) he sent string sexset to an open competition and was awarded the first prize. He remained ct the conservatory eight years, during which time he won many more prizes for his compositions as we'll as the first prize and silver medal for violin playing. One of his compositions, cantata for solo, chorus and orchestra, was so suc- cessful as to be constantly repeated and, as a special honor and tribute to his abilities as conductor-composer, on the occasion of his graduating from the conservatory he publicly conducted symphony. He was immensely popular with his fellow students, among whom were Mottl and Faur, who especially recognized his extraordinary talent for con-
 ductiBg and as parting gift from his class, he was presented with magnificent and
 costly baton.
 Immediately after his graduation he ap-
 piled for desk among the first violinists at
 the Royal Opera, and obtaining this honorable
 position without difficulty, he occupied
 it during four years, receiving in this way
 the best possible practical instruction in con-
 ducting. During this time he played through an enormous repertoire of operatic and con- cert music, and had constantly before him the splendid example of .such conductors as Richter and Jahn. In 1878 he went with the celebrated manager, Angelo Neuman to Leip- zig, and was installed as assistant conductor in the Old Opera House, where at that time Anton Seidl was officiating as chief conduc- tor. He remained in this position year, drilling the chorus and soloists and conduct- ing the smaller operas and operettas; but Neumann's experience had shown him that
 he had found real musical wonder and so
 he transferred Herr Nikisch to the New Opera House as head conductor, where he has
 been ever since. He made his debut in this
 position with one of the most magnificent performances of "Tannhsuser" ever heard in Leipzig, and from that moment he has been
 universally acknowledged as one of the most gifted and important conductors in Europe.
 Herr Nikisch has also during these ten
 years in Leipzig distinguished himself quite as much as a concert conductor as in the
 theater and he is particularly successful as
 programme maker. Under his care and di-
 reetion the Leipzig theater orchestra has
 gained European fame which entities it to
 an equal or even superior place to the Gee
 
 Ninth Symphony, in 1882, is said to have
 been the most magnificent ever given; while the superb manner in which he conducted the concerts of the last ''Tonkuenstler- Yer sammlung," in 1SS3, brought him a profusion of orders and decorations from all over the country. He also conducted on many occa-
 sions in the Gewandhaus, as Reinecke's sub-
 stitute, and has also given many remarkably successful concerts with his own theater or chestra. More especially noteworthy, how- ever, is the manner in which he conducted the recent monster concerts of the Liszt so ciety. With them he achieved success which caused all the noted German critics to acknowledge Arthur Nikisch to be one of the most brilliant and talented living con- ductors, both in the theater and on the con- cert stage.
 He has received countless offers to leave Leipzig. Frankfort. Vienna, Csssel, Carls- ruhe and Mannheim have all vied with one another in unsuccessful attempts to induce him to leave his beloved Leipzig, but it was
 reserved for Boston, which may now be just ly styled the most important art city in the New World, to have finally overcome his
 scruples and induce him to conquer new fields. The musical world of Leipzig is in
 genuine distress because 1t feels only too
 keenly that it will be impossible to replace him. He has earned place in the great quartette of conduotors-Richter, Levy, Mottl and Nikisch-and between these four geniuses and the second flight there is a wide gap It remains only for American audi. ences to show their appreciation of the good fortune which has given them man whose
 artistic footsteps can be followed without | fear. The personnel of the orchestra is substan- | tially the came as that of the last two sea sons. Mir. Franz Kneisel is retained as con- certmsister and Mir. Anton Hekking has been added te the corps of 'cellists. Messrs. Mole
 and Sautst, whose brilliant playing on the | flute and oboe is remembered with pleasure,
 are still members of the orchestra, and 30 Is
 that prince of horn players, Xavier Reiter. To add to the enjoyment of those who att
 tend the concerts, analytical programmes
 will be prepared similar to those which have
 been received with so much favor in Boston.
 A copy of these programmes will be mailed
 before each concert to every subscriber for
 season tickets.