The Portland daily press., 1895-04-12
BOSTON SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA.
What Musical Critic Says of Prof. Paine's
Work.

Next Tuesday evening at the grano
concert to be given by the Boston sym
phony Orchestra at City hall, Prof. John
K. Paine's Island Fantasia" will be one
of the mum bers on the programme lt Is
a long time since any of Prof. PaIne's
compositions have been heard in Port
land, his birthplace, and the present
home of mem bers of his family. 1t oui
memory serve us the last OF his compo-
sitions presented here was his oratorlo
"St. Paul.
The musical critic of the Boston Tray
eller lately spoke as follows of Prof.
Paine and his work.
| 1t is not at all creditabie to the repu-
| tation of the conductors who have direct
ed the affairs of our Symphony Orchestra
that their want of discrimination has
been the mean of our hearing too seldom
the works of Prof. John X. Paine. Dur-
ing the five years that Mr.. Gericke was
here be played but one of Prof. Palne's
compositions, if my memory serves me
corr, city, and that was the symphonic
| poem heard Saturday night Nikisch I'M
| dertook a performance of Prof. Paine's
! Spring symphony with results discred-
liable to his ability as an interpreter, it
being the only time in his term of four
years that be attempted anything of Prof.
Paine's. Mr.. Paur has done better than
either. for he gave mafteely rendering
| last season of the Prelule from Prof.
Paine's immortal "Oedlpus" and again
this season we hear another work of this
greatest American composer.
II we regard the art in it's highest
classical form, then Prof. Paine is one
of flp ~ ha
world has produced. AS master in
every form of music he belongs among
the very few great composers now living.
Brahms in Germany and Saint Saens in
France are the only living composers in
the highest realms of musical art who
are the peers of Prof Paine, and were
the latter a native of either of those
countries he would today be world-fam-
Gus as great composer.
Since Schumann died no composer has
approached in symphonic composition
the melodlc form, classical purity, ro-
nance and poetry com Dined, which Ploi.
Paine has shown in his Two symphonies.
These works stand upon the same plane
as do the immortal compositions of
Beethoven, Schumann and Schubert, and
it should be the duty of the conductor OF
the Boston Symphony Orchestra to per-
form each season one or both of these
classical compositions to serve as a
beacon to the aspiring students and am
bilious composers among our country
men in Lighting their path towards that
pinnacle OF true art, which, if gained,
must be reached through other means
than that employed by the majority of
this class of writers whose efforts rarely
stimulate them beyond the struggles OF
unspontaneous and initiative slavery to
what is termed the modern school of
composition
Well, perhaps Prof. Paine's countr y-
men will awaken some day to realiza-
ton of the fact that merica has pro-
duced one composer whose musical stature
reaches into that upper air OF genius,
whose contrapuntal ability stands
shoulder to shoulder with that of the i'm
mortal Bach, whose invention in the
matte treatment has the nobility and
spontaneity of Beethoven, whose science
equals that of Brahms, without the lat
ter's dryness; whose Imagination has thsl
romance of Schumann and whose SKILL
in orchestral devices and instrumentaf
coloring is that Of the most modern
school in it's rational form. Indeed, al
prophet is not without honor except lin
his own country, especially when that
country is the United States of America.
Prof. Paine's. charming symphonic
poem, promoted in the expression of
feelings, by the "remem brance of SUM-
mer days at the seaside, amid the vary
ing moods of ocean life, the soothing |
calm and murmur of the sea, gentle |
breezes and ripping waves, alternating |
with surge and storm" displayed in |
its wealth of melodic beauty. its fascinat-
ing harmonics, it's broad and flowing |
rhythms, its delightful episode with op-
portunities for the English horn, clari-
net, harp and French horn in solo pas
sages, the mastery hand of the musician
and romantic composer"