The Portland daily press., 1890-02-26
MUSIC AND DRAMA.

THE BOSTON SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA.
Tonight the Boston Symphony Orchestra
will give the entertainment In the Stock
bridge course at City Hall, led by Herr
Nikisch and having Herr Kneisel for soloist.
The two great features of the programme
will be the Beethoven symphony and Greig's
peer Gynt" suite.
The dramatic poem Of peer Gynt" was
written by Ibsen in 1904 midway period
in the career of one who is now occupying
share Of the cultivated worlds attention,
This synopsis Of the poem, or allegory, is
presented "The character of Peer Gypt is
taken from one of the Norwegian folk-le-
gends. He is Norwegian Faust whose SUI
perabundance of Imagination will bring
him to destruction If he is not saved by
woman. Peer Gynt is peasant lad, whose
parents we're once well-to-do people; but the
father is now dead, and the mother and son
are living in great poverty. The lad is full
Of great ideas, and has many wonder
full plans for the future. These he con-
'~naes to his mother. who. Notwithstanding
his wild ways and fantastic ideas, believes
In him. His youthful arrogance knows no
bounds. He goes to wedding and carries
off the bride to the mountains, where he af-
forwards deserts her. During the night he
wanders about, and meets with some frolic-
some dairymaids. He harbors at last In the
hall of the King Of the Dovre Mountains,
where he falls in love with the kings daugh-
ter, but is finally turned out of doors. He
returns home, where he finds his mother
Aase, on her death-bed. After her death,
he sails for foreign chimes and lands, af-
ter the lapse of many years. a rich man, on
the coast of Morocco. In one of the Arab
Ian deserts he meets Anitra, the daughter of
a.Bedouin chief. She only succeeds in cap
tivating him temporarily and leaves him.
Peer Gynt dreams about Solvejg, the love of
his youth, who faithfully has been waiting
for him, and to whose arms he at last re-
turns, old and gray"
The suite played tonight is reduction of
the voluminous music Greig composed for
the drama on the stage. The first move
ment. Daybreak, alieqretto passionate, is
scored for small orchestra. The second,
dnddnte doloroso, consisting Of four meas
ured period for muted strings, Is funeral
march. The third, tempo di nadzurkd, is
written for divided strings and triangle.
The fourth ALA marcia motto marcdto, a
somewhat grotesque march, is scored for
full modern orchestra, and pictures the imps
tormenting Peer Gynt. This suite created
great sensation in Boston and New York.
Berlioz says of Beethoven's fifth SYM
phony:
famous Of the nine, is also, In my opinion.
the first In which Beethoven gave rein to his
stupendous Imagination, and rejected all for
eign aid or support whatever. The first
movement is devoted to the representation
of the disorder. and confusion Of a great
mind in despair,-not that concentrated,
calm, despair which appears outwardly re-
signed, nor the stunned, dumb distress IF
Romeo when he hears of the death Of Juliet,
but rather the tremendous fury Of Othello,
when IaRo communicates to him the veno-
nous calumnies which convince him of Des-
demona's guilt The Gndante has some
characteristics In common with the slow
movements of the seventh and fourth SYM
phonies. 1t shares the melancholy dignity
Of the one and the touching grace Of the 9TH
er. The scherzo is peryaded with a sombre.
mysterious light. The transition from the
scherz0 to the finale Is probably the greatest
effort of which music Is capable, so that 1t
would be impossible to have surpassed it."
The overture to Tannhauser opens with a
ptdnissir1o passage, and the audience this
evening are earnestly requested 70 AVOID
whispering anu .he rusIiing OIL programmes
OUTING .ne opening passage. Inaeed' IL is
put tne par. oi soou preeuing anu Oh natiVe
always to have the sole privilege of making
a nose in the hall.
REFORM CLUB ENTERTAINMENT
Tho adiae,s Relief of tba Tamnaranca Pa-
ing ,-a "a, -. '. ~ ..p.- 40.
form Ciup' VIII give au entertaihinent at
Gospel Mission Hall this evening, and the
following will be the programme;
sddress KNIGHT