The morning call. [volume] (San Francisco [Calif.]) 1878-1895, 1894-09-22

what trying to the optics of the audience.
Last night the pretty. light appearance of
the hall was enhanced by graceful hanging
baskets of ferns and garlands of smilax.
Herr Scheel is a punctual man. and by
q quarter-past o'clock he was on the
Stage surrounded by his musicians. 1t
was Immediately evident that the per-
sonnet of his orchestra has greatly changed
since asst season. A few faces familiar to
the Vienna Prater were there. but they
were in the minority. Concert-mastsr
Marquardt led the first violinS. Niue.
Breitschuck, the haTpist, Herr Ritter, the
French horn player, and some others
assisted in last lights programme. but the
pain body of the orchestra was composed
of local musicians.
No soOner did the body of men begin to
play, however. than 1t became evident that
the same eXcellences that had character
lied the Scheel orchestra last season were
present in full force. The shading was
as beautifully artistic as ever, the pre-
cision left nothing to be desired, and the
rhythm and phrasing were as perfect as
Herr Scheel so well knows how to make
them.
This discovery was a decided triumph
for those people who had commended that
something good could come out Of San
Francisco, in the rehearsal line, if it only
had man to lead it. When derogatory
com PARSONS we're made between the Tiy-
oil symphony concerts, which left some-
thing to he desired, and those of Scheel.
which left very little, people who took the
trouble to think knew perfectly well that
In Of
ganization was fully equal. if not superior.
to that of the Vienna Prater Orchestra.
The superiority of the Prater orchestra
lay in It's gifted conductor, and last night
a convincing proof of this was offered by
the fact that with local musicians Herr
Scheel produced his usual delightfully."- ar
tlstic result, if indeed he may not be said
to have surpassed his former successes
here.
The first number, Beethoven's overture
'LeOnOre," No. 8. was brilliantly played. In
the middle of 1t the electric lights sud-
denly went out. The musicians valiantly
struggled on for few bars, while some one
lit the gas jets. but Herr Scheel sharply
commanded them to desist, and the tickle
electric glow, having condescended to re-
appear as suddenly as it had vanished, the
music was resumed amidst much applause,
The audience were gamers by the little
episode, for they secured repetition of
the passage where The distant horn is
heard. and a very well accomplished one it
was too in last nights performances.
The MendelssohD Scotch symphony in
E minor was played in manner that left
nothing TO wish for. The adagio move
ment in particular showed the wonderful
unanimity of the first violins. Evidently
Herr Scheel prefers quality to quantity, for
he only had ak, Including MarQuardt,
Mollenhauer and Landsberger. Those six.
however. ably aided by the second violins.
did valiant work, and generally managed
to hold their own. In some passages of
the overture to "Tannhauser," however
the brass proved too much for them. They
bowed with almost superhuman energy,
but they were outnumbeTed, the trombones
got the best of il, and the voices of the
fiddles became. for the moment, almost in
audible. In some OF the chromatic pas
sages of the same overture. however all
the strings did brilliant and effective work
and the finale Of the "Tannhauser" over
ture aroused a storm of applause.
Herr Scbeel had wisely resolved not to
give peOple LOO luuCn Oh g0OQ tniDE by
yielding to demands for encores. He
firmly refused one to Bizets charming
'ScherZo," from the suite Roma" which
was Interpreted with delicious delieacy.
In response to the admiration expressed
for the expressive rendering of tns Schu-
mann Evening Song" be only bowed re-
peatedly, but Herr Scheel, in addition to
his classical talent, can conduct waltzes
with as much verve and originality as
Eduard or Johann Strauss can, and when
he came to waltz by that most modern of
French composers. Benjamin GODDARD,
there was no resisting the clamor TO hear
the charming moroccan again, so he yielded
by repeating portion of it.
The concert ended with brilliant rem
dering of LISTS First Hungarian Rhapso-
ole.
A large number of society people and