Pittsburg dispatch. [volume] (Pittsburg [Pa.]) 1880-1923, 1891-03-15
TIE DEATH OF ANNA STEINIGER.
Marie Van Zandt After the Reporter Who
Said She Took Too Much Champagne
at st. Petersburg.
FIRST VISIT OF FRANZ RUMMEL.
Bright Budget of News for Lovers Of the Art Divine in
This NsghbOrhOOd.

quite hall NIL Old City Hall. Ihls was INT
programme, as corrected and played:
CLASSIC.
!. Gluck-Saint Saens, Caprice.
...... with Fugue) on airs from "Aleeste'
2 Domenlco Scarlatti, Sonata IN E...-....
---.-........-.....-.......t " astoraIe, AHeSrC
ROMANTIC.
s. ta) Chopin. .Scherzo in B minor. op. q
Nb) Jensen N Octurnt
Cc) Chopin. Etude IN F major
td) Schumann n................ .Fraumeswirrer
lCoTENPoRARY.
4. Ia Rheinberger (Mun!ch) ..............
......................Fu Fugue in minor, op.
(b) NiCode (Dresden) D.. Fantasy, Op. 6, No.
(To the memory of Schumann.)
~ Leefson tPhila. -. .MInuet, Il antique
tdl Hunt tETel el.......-...--..:.-. Bourree
te} Boothe (Phila.l Concert Etude
~ Blumenschein Uayton).
.........................H .Harlequinade, op. Sc
dedicated to Constanun Sternberg.)
(g) Sternberg (Phila.) la.)...----.---......
.....--... Chanson d'amour op 50, No 2
...................... " . .Taranteiia op. 49, No. 2
POPULAR.
g. List. Hungarian Rhapsody No. Il
Dedicated 10 Bulow.)
9. Steruberg..-....-...... Humorous sketches
1t is an original and happy idea thus to
classify the composers chosen, and Mr..
Sternberg deserves further credit for CLEAN
ing a group of compositions SO unnackneyed
20 varied and so representative in character.
Except the Schumann and List pieces. none
O. the above compositions have been heard at
all often in our concert rooms; most OF them
were entire novelties and very welcome ones
too.
Saint-Saens has taken the fragments of
Gluck's long-buried opera, and instead of re-
storing torso and limbs to the original form
90 follow the suggestive simile with which Mr.
SternberC introduced his verbal comments on
the pieCe), has with them constructed an en-
urely different form, but one that is complete
and beautiful, and in which, moreover. the
modern materials and workmanship
faithfully preserve the classical spirit.
hr- Sternbergs Interpretation of the work
was both broad and brilliant. Scarlatti's
lovely pelucid measures did not fare so we'll;
refinement and simplicity, though especially
called for, were lacking. Sternberg's Chopin
playing Is the antithesis of Pachman's. That
intensely dramatic Scherzo, revealing the COM
poser most vlTlle mood was III SteTnberg'S
hands full of fire and passion and dramatic
force such as the Polish specialist does rot
seem TO possess; while the brilliant and rapid
playing OF the Etude was destitute of the rare
grace and phenomenal polish with which Pacl-
man invested il. In the beautiful Jensen
Nocturne, also, the poetic and reposeful spirit
eluded the players grasp Indeed, only in Mr..
Sternbergs own "Chanson d Amour a lovely
piece. full Of the dreamy, languishing beauty
of Venetian moonlight, under the spell of
which, as the composer confessed, II was writ
ten-did he manifest any depth of poetic, idyllic
feeling.
1t Is the masculine side of piano playing that
shows Mir. Sternberg at his best; and on this
side, really the nOblest, he is eXceptio ,ally
qualified in mind, heart and hand-barring an
occasional tendency toward bravura playing.
where the pianist runs away with the musician
ana even at times sacrifices accuracy to
briliance. In general, his playing of the
naming selections, which were mainly along
the line indicated, was admirable and torceful
10 a degree not often met with in one so
active in other branches of musical work.
Rheinberger's rich and scholarly Fugue,
Nic0de's Fantasy, with its remarkable imita-
lion Of Schumann'S manner, Blumenscheiu's
fine, fanciful 'HarequinaGe," Sternherg's own
fresh and brilliant Iarantella, as well as the
big clustering List RhapsOdie-each was
given with great effectiveness. So, too, with
the three lesser American compositions, each
clever and characteristic IN its own fashion;
all received ample justice at the hands of Mr..
Sternherg, who deserves all credit for such
faithful, practical espousal of the good cause.
The bright and helpful comments that the
genial player made from time TO time did much
10 heighten the enjoyment of the audience who
were thereby aided into a receptive and ap-
precatlve frame of mind. 1t would be well if
every pianist were able TO do likewise. The
humorous sketches at the close, however,
form a questionable precedent; indeed, Mr..
Stemberg felt called upon to shift the respon-
sibllIty for them upon the broad shoulders of
his enterprSing manager, Mr.. Joseph Ii. Git
tings. AT the same time, although it would
scarcely DO TO throw every programme open
for that sort of thing. no one would
have the heart to object seriously to
even this part of Mr.. Sternbergs performance
his anecdotes were told in such quiet droll
fashion, his pianistic illustrations were so clever
and so lrresistably cOmlcal and the whole thing
was so carefully kept within the bounds of
what might be called legitimate musical
comedy Particularly noteworthy was the
skill with which he took a simple little tune
AMI metamOrphosed 1t into the characteristic
forms II might have assumed in the hands of
Bach, Haydn, Mozart, Beethoven, Chopin
Sch SrTanSS
opera writer
Whether strictly legitimate or not, these
humorous sketches of M. Stelnbergs evil
GenceG his real musicianshIp and his fertility
of invention. and nightly tickled his auditors
none Of whom are likely soon TO forget either
the serious or the comlcal part OF this unique
musical evening.
Appearance of Franz RummeI
Franz Rummers first appearance in Pitts
burg, alter an absence of ten or dozen
years. Is an event OF more than pass
ing interest. Since thee tour alluded to
Mr.. RummI has resided most of the
time at Berlin, teaching at leading institutions
and running OF for occasional concert tours
one of these being in America, with Lilli Leh-
mann, about five wears ago, when Pitts
burg WAS not visited Since his return
to America this season, MIR. Rummel
has been received with much acclamation by
the most conservative critics. as one of the
really first pianlsts of the day, one whose head
and heart have not been neglected for the
fingers. a manly, broad. satisfying artist.
Nj. Rulnmel Will play at Old City Hall to-
morrow (MoGday) evening and on Wednesday
afternoon al 5 O'Clock. His programmes are
simply phenomenal, that IOr Tomorrow even
ing being as follows:
Chromatic Fantasia and FUgue-
Johann Sebastian Bach.
Sonata Quasi Una FantasIa-Op. q,
No flSti) J.. V. Beethoven.
I. sda-Io sogtenuto. II. Allegretto. Ill Presto
agitato.
I taEtaSI-tlD. ............... ROBERT Schumann
l. DurUhails phantastisch und leidenschaftIich
yorzutragen. In LcgeHdea-I0a. Erstes
Tempo.
81. Mas-iI. Durchaus energlsch.
Ill. la usam gctraSeR. DUrchweg leise Iu
Enuuu tapricciOsO-OD. lI......................
...... .... ...... EeiiN Aiendelssohn- Bartholdy
Andante. Presto leggiero.
home 20 variatioHs-Op. 49,. Peter Tschaikowsky
lnietmczz0 ScherZOso-(La canZOnatura,)
-, 'l. u. No Hans Won Bulow
ssssl.5. S4s5@51S 5S,? .; @ s q NO. SF. Chopin
ia, No 3d.. rfanz Dlszt
Llude' 'La tampaneIlaH ....Paganini-LisZ
-
From Across the Pond.
These scraps Of musical gossip came to THE |
DISPATCH 10y cable from London last night:
Nile. Marie Van ZAndt Is seemingly deter |
mined to get all the advertisement she can ont /