Pittsburg dispatch. [volume] (Pittsburg [Pa.]) 1880-1923, 1890-03-09
THE MUSIC WORLD.
Otto Hegner Not a HOthOuse Product,
but a Live, Healthy Boy.
A BRIGHT FUTURE BEFORE HIM.
Some Gems of Song Recently Put Out by
Composers of Pittsburg.
CHARMS FOR MUSICIAN AND LAIMEN

OUMpVoOlo VA
CHARMS FOR MUSICIAN AND LAIMEN
That winning and graceful boy, Otto
He-ner, has quite captivated musical circles
in Pittsburg. His playing in itself, with
its rare combination of feeling, finish and
skill, was enough to charm most of those
who heard it. And those who have got be,
hind the scenes and seen more of the LITTLE
fellow himself have been yet more com
pletely conquered by his charming person.
alIty.
All the incense of a1ulation burning
about him has not been able to cloud his
bright, naive, unaffected boyishness. Con,
sidering the maturity of his style and his
grasp OF musical ideas it is really remark
able that Otto Hegner, in other respects, is
and bears himself as simple boy, like any
other OF his age. He is no forced, insipid
hot-hoQse product, but hearty, wholesome,
play:ul boy.
1t is that which shows his musical abili-
ties to be genuine natural gifts, not mere
artificial requirements. II is that unspoiled,
normal boyishness of the present which gives
grounds for hope that, in the normal growth
of the whole man, the musical nature Will eX-
pand in like proportion, and give the name of
Otto Hegner permanent place upon the roll
of musical eminence. The reason why most
prodigies pass quickly into oblivion is thatthey
are unnatural unhealthy, artificial products
for whom premature blight and decay is the
law of nature.
At the matinee yesterday afternoon, which
the writer was unable TO attend and review, the
following programme was given:
J. Senate, op. 80. Beethoven
2 Persian serenade Colyn
g. "a Nalse, op. 81 No. Chopin
Se CO.. TSs!&rhe fSee4fa H. MoP ~ No. 4eSPPeP 44eGPeP
Onto Hegner.
Mr. Ii. Is. Brockett.
a. RhanF6s; RbanF6ay Iiszf
6. improvisation on theme given by anyone pres
ent. Otto Hegner.
s~x
From among considerable accumulation of
musical publications more or less recently re-
ceved for review may be culled quite num-
Der likely to he of special interest to the read
ers of this column:
Mr. Ad. NJ Foerster's Opus % comes to hand
in the shape of 4 collection of songs published
by H. kleber & Bro. under the title. Among
Flowers" Eleven specimens of Mr.. Foersters
hOrescent muse are included, and very pretty
nusegay they make. Two of the littleSt, "ln Bios
som Time and 'On the Wild Rose Tree" are
also among the prettiest: both are fresh and
spontaneous. The Water Sprite," which is
in the Rubinstein idiom, and Among the
Roses" following Greig are very cleverly
written. "Sunfowers" is modern and dramatic.
'.Forget-Me-Not" is bright and eheery-rather
too much so for the persve poem. The tradI-
tional ballad style is well caught in THE
Young Rose" as also in the beginning of the
"OId Proverb" i" which winds up quite dranat-
Ically. The Cradle Song on the theme from
the 'Siegfried ldyl." makes an interesting
study A graceful fluent lyric is formed OUT
of the "NiOlets." Better yet, along the same
line-perhaps the choicest posy of the bunch
is Love in Rosebush," beautiful and ef-
fective song, dedicated to Mrs. Jean Wallace
Webster.
Altogether, to spend a pleasant half hour
with Mr.. Forester Among Flowers" is sure to
increase ones appreciation for the talent
which has won for the genial Pittsburger an
honorable position among the recognized COM
posers OF the country.
-
Among other publications from local pens
may be named Mr. Gilden R. Broadberry's
song Remembrance" from the John Church
Company, Cincinnati. Though the accompani-
ment is too heavily laden with octaves through.
out it is a melodious and pleasing ballad of the
popular order.
''In the Heavens Earth Reposes" {" while NUM-
bered as Mr.. Leo Oehmler's sixth opus is be-
lieved to be the first publication of this modest
young Pittshurger. 1t is simple. unassuming
song, and shows gift from which more may
be expected some day. Especially creditable
in this song is the manner In which the flowing
melody is varied from verse to verse without
changing its essential character.
An eminently usable series of organ pieces
can be found in the "Organists' Journal" pub
lished in Is numbers by William E Ashmall &
Co., of New York. Seven OF them are now
out, each containing several compositions
French, English and German composers are
drawn on for the selections. which cover
quite variety of styles, but are
all come within the range of but moderate diff
Guilty. They seem to be carefully edited and
clearly prinUed-Mr. Ashmall himself being an
organ player and composer of some attain
mentS. The present growing interest in the
king of lnstruments'' in this community
makes such a publication timely and welcome.
Mr.. Ethe1bert Nevin could scarce ask for
better subjecE along the graceful, fanciful line
in which he so excels than Eugene Fields cute
ana quaint Dutch Lullaby" telling how
"Wynken, Blynken and Nod one night
Sailed off IN a wooden shoe,
Sailed on a river of misty light
Into a sea of dew"
Neither could he desire a more becoming
typographical dress than that in which the Bos-
ton Music Company has put this same dutch
Lullaby" as composed by Mr.. Nevin This opus
81 for soprano solo and chorns, with four-hand
piano accompaniment, Mr.. Field and the pub
lie have also every reason to be satisfied with
the added charm given the verses in their ex-
quisite setting by the gifted young composer
whom Pittsburg still claims as her own. Mr..
NeVln mas caught ine spirit OF the words TO a
nicely; the sound does most faithfully echo the
sense in all It's varied phases. There is musi-
cianly four-paTt writing throughout; the
soprano oblIgato is grateful, lying well for the
voice, and the four-hand accompaniment is ex-
ceedingly effective in both rhythms and figures
The Lullaby" lies completely outside the
beaten track and there is small wonder that
Mr.. b. ]. Long, the able and alert conductor of
the Boston Cecilia Society, ordered copies for
their March concert before it had been pub
i,hed we k. Choruses in New York and San
Francisco have also underlined it already. Our
Mozart Club yesterday ordered copies fer use
at their ballad concert to be gwen in a few
weeks. For just such a programme it would
be hard to find composition more appropriate
and effective than the Dutch Lullaby"
-.
Mr.. Nevin's five songs, Op 5, should have had
notice some time ago. Better late than never
especially in the case of works with which
many will be glad to become acquainted. An
exquisitely dainty little lyric, one OF the kind
that charmS musician and layman alike is LA
Chanson des Iavandieres" from Hugo's .Ruy
Bias. "Herbstgefuehl," also a one-stanza
song is of just the opposite stripe; its intensity
would probably find appreciation among a dis
tnctly musical coter1e and even there might he
some to cavil at the reiteration of the initial
phrase as a rather strained effect The lyric
element is again to the fore in the breezy
sparkling setting of the Raft Song" taken |
from Margaret Deland's ''Sunset on the Alie.
gheny:" Its rippling accompaniment is es- |
pecially felicitous,
The most elaborate of the set is Before the
Daybreak. Its somewhat turgld introduction
leads through melting modulation (effective
modulations form a notable feature of This |
song) into sweet theme that runs throuphont
the accompaniment in various forms ouite in
dependent OF the voice The third stanza is
wrought up to broad and powerful climax
which subsidies again most gracinusly into the |
original tranquil theme. Twas AnriII;; |
is the title of what is, probably, the |