St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1892-01-26
THE THOMAS CONCERT.

"When Music heavenly maid was Y Dung
and sang amid the hills and dales of ancient
Greece, as the poem tells, the MUSES. were
her sole hearers; but when divine Music,
under the especial guidance of Theodore
Thomas, sings in st. Paul, everybody goes to
hear her. The Metropolitan was crowded
last evening from gallery to orchestra, and
from box to foyer. Society was there In its
best bib and tucker. the music lovers and the
musicians of the town filed the theater, and
made the walls ring with their hearty APP
plause. The audience came early. At S:15
O'clock the entrance and foyer were crowded
ushers fairly flew. On the stage, the seven
ty-fve members of the orchestra were taking
their seats.i The foyer is not half-cleared
when sudden burst of applause tells that
| the famous director has made his appear
ance.
| 8Theodore Thomas is striking looking
| man. His strongly marked face is framed by
| closely cropped gray hair. His long mus
tache Is gray also, and his deep set eyes look
| out from under heavy brows. He bows his
acknowledgment steps upon the directors
rustrum, turns his back to the audience and
not another man or woman may enter the
fheater till he faces it again He will not be
interrupted by late Corners. He raises his
| baton. The bows of the first violins at his
left are poised i'll air. Down comes the
magic wand, and as one man, with Max Ben
dix, handsome concert meister, the bows
touch the strings and the orchestra bursts
Into Tschaikowskys marche, "SolennelIe,"
played with such spirit and precision that it
II over before one realizes that it has begun
+t+
There Is applause, and after moment or
two the VOL ms slide into the overture Leo
nora, NO. 8, by Beethoven. 1t is played with
uellcacy the faintest discord would mar.
Inc pianisslmo passages are exquisitely sus.
tanned. the crescendo swells into a magnifi-
cent volume of harmony, and as firmly fades
away into an almost silence, broken by sud-
den strong fortissimo harmonies The
beauty and the exquisite melody are.wonder-
FULLY brought out Theodore Thomas is not
nervous leader. He is invariably calm and
commanding. He directs with his arms and
slight movements of his head He does not
writhe and gesticulate, but from the pages of
music on the stand before him he directs his
musicians quietly, and witt consummate
ability
~
Next, the 'cellos slowly sound the opening
notes of the familiar "Invitation to the
Dance. by ber-Berlioz. There is the sug-
gestion of the fete day. the gaiety, the happi-
ness of young dancers; and then. as the Or
chestra softly and with an irresistible rhythm
swings into the bewitchingIwaltz tempo, there
is not foot in the audience but beats time
The waltz dies away, and as if by an after
thought the opening strains are repeated.
The applause would have induced a lesser
leader to repeat the composition, but Thomas
does not favor encores
a.
Ttx1ta
waits for the orchestra to begin the accom-
paniment of SaintSaens aria, Samson and
Delila. is very good to look at, with her
black gauze petticoat edged with blue, her
blue and gold bodice the blue snood Ill her
hair and the red rose in her bosom. She sings
i'll an even. full, rich voice and with ease.
The applause she receives is so hearty and so
long-continued that she is forced TO repeat
her aria. The symphonic poem by Liszt
Les Preludes." which is indeed poem of
harmony, closes the first part of the pro-
granlme.
The programme last evening might thave
been too long had not intermssions been
as short as they we'll could be. and much short
erithan most directors make them. Mendels-
sohn's overturn" Melusine, played by all the
Chicago orchestra, was the first number of the
second half of the programme. 1t was uni
fofmiy so admirable that it has few points 10
emphasize with praise. The eXQusilely
beautiful and tender theme and variations
from minor,b Schubert, played as quar-
tette by the string orchestra followed Its
pllrasing and firmuess of bowling were nd
mirable, and as the sweet soft melody
swelled 10 a louder strain in the finale, it
seemed as if the applause would never cease
Fl
The harp is. unfortunately, seldom heard
in ST. Paul. and OH that account Ed Schueck-
ers rendering of his own composition, ''Di
Brayura, was the more welcome. 1t is a
beautiful fantasia, and was played with del
ieacy, and yet with certain boldnesS and
wealth of expression. Three times the player
bowed his refusal OF recall, but at last he
returned. and played one of the simple ro-
mances so well suited to the harp, which
gives their sweetness a mellow tone every
other instrument utterly lacks. Mrs. Wy
man sang one of Ethelbert Nevin's
Enthusiastically pathetic songs, SAT Twi-
light and followed it with the gay spark
ling music of MA Voisiene." by Goring
Thomas. The latter song was admirably
calculated to display the fiexibility of her
voice, and she seng it SO well that the aIl-
dience positively refused to let her go. Re-
turning, she saug a taking little song in
IuIcC anu FOuT, VIII delight
fully distinct enunciation.
1T
After Wagner all other music seems tame
and dead, and it was the part of wisdom to
play the vospiel "Mestersinger" last Its
harmony is almost painfully intense but it
was played with the breadth and depth the
composer meant it to have. After that
Theodore Thomas bowed to the audience,
and one of the NJ ost delightful concerts ever
given in ST. Paul was ended.
IL
The two lower tiers of boxes on both sides
of the house were filed last night and in the
theater parties that filled them were Mr.. and
Mrs a. P. Waiiieh. Mr. and Mrs. James E.
Moore, Mr.. and Mrs. j. :. Halteman Mr. and
Mrs c. Doremus, Judge and Mrs. G. E. Elan
drau. Miss Stickney and party, Mr. and Mrs.
Selmes, Mr. and Mrs. William Wnslow Mr.
and Mrs. c. Ii. Bonn, the Misses Murphy and
Miss Bessie Smith. of Woodstock; Mr. Castle,
Cyrus Jefferson, Mr.. and Mrs. Saunders, Mr..
and Mrs. Morris, Mr.. Dietz, Mr.. Doran.
Among the representative people in the
house were Mr.. and Miss Wheelock, Miss
Newport. Miss Wemott. Mrs. Colville, Miss
Farwell, Mr.. and Mrs. C. B. Gilbert Miss
Hammond, Cyrus Jefferson. Miss Murphy
Miss Bessie Smith, MIR. and Mrs II 1g. Mr.
ard Mrs. Hermuan Scheffer, Miss Lenore
Austin Bert Austin, Luther Newport, Miss
Rice, Mr.. and Mrs. Cass Gilbert, A. H.
Llndeke, Miss Lindeke, Oscar Lin
deke, Charles Gordon. Miss Kibbee,
Miss Nelson, of Saltwater: David Henderson,
Lieut. and Mrs. Glenn, Mr.. and Mrs 5. A.
Baldwin, Miss Robinson, Mrs j. @. Adams,
Miss Robbins. Mr.. Van YORK, Mr.. and Mrs.
Goodkind, Mr.. and Mrs Albert Scheffer Miss
Finch Fred Ford, Mrs, C. A. Severance, Mrs.
Col, w
H. Hyndman. Robert Rantoul Miss
Stephenson. Mrs. Wis, Mr.. and Mrs.
Won Goetzen. Miss Baker. Will Baker, DR..
Williams 4, Rrnnka Knox