The San Francisco call. [volume] (San Francisco [Calif.]) 1895-1913, 1897-12-03
THE SYMPHONY SEASON OPENS
Fritz soheel and the Orchestra in
Good Form-severer Works in
the Future.

With an audience that outnum bered the
seats IN the Tiyoli Opera-ho a first
rate band. Fritz Scheel at the conductors
desk and 5000 on the subscrip tion books,
the San Francisco Symphony Society
commenced new season or symphony
concerts yesterday afternoon in the most
encouraging circumstances that have
ever SuTroun ded a similar ENTERPRISE
IN San Francisco. / hope that no sensi-
tive reader OF THE GALL will be offended
at my mention OF The $1,000. The amount
WAS not. printed on the programme, the
members OF the society who had gathered
II SAID nothing about.it, and l ad nit thlt
1t Is pretty hing to hold art to be some
thi"g apart from its low pecuniary details
4et, the only question I put to
Manager MARKS yesterday afternoon was
now are. the books? And when he told me
they We're enjoying $4,000 worth OF rude
health Twas predlgiously pleased. There
was once time when coul have scOrned
the vulgar item CT $1,000 with the best of
persons, but the many musical ventures
symphonlSal and orherw Sc, that have
come to- grief for lack o. this baser con-
slderatlon have hardened my sensibilitie>
until now the first thing ask of a new
mus. cal. scheme is the state of its bank
account: Money and music are closer
KIN than ALTERATION; especially in a
country where the Government takes no
I[Q RlIc has to educate its ears at its own
.ind lvidual. expense.
=: So + was glad to hear from Mr. Marks
that there IS no danger Qf..th first OF the
new. series Of symphony concerts being
the lRst*and / taxi this occasion to con.
+ graduate the ladies and gentlemen of the
society for getting together such a good
Eanq, and leader, such a fine au-
'djence and so much money. |
also: thank them on behalf of the many
good souls who, if they could not find it
in their heads and pockets 10 sympath. re
:tWith. the visions OF Mr.. Lisser Mr.. Carr-
= hi Mr.. .Greenbaum and other gentle en-
Z 3He directory can now at least share in
We 'reailzat!ons OF these dreams by pur-
Missing seats at the regular prices. As a
*#oQder1ul Irish y ay-writer SO patty
put It.. nothing succeeds ike sue
cess. And the mention of those
5000. and Of the modisb, dis
&. lingdished audience that represented
theIn IS as valuable an advertisement for
. l1le .lCture: concerts of the society as would
be any panegyric | could build in COM
Inenforation OF the merely musical end of
the enterprise:
- AS for the programme of this opening,
Mi. Scheel seemed to have selected il
with the view of demonstrating to the
attending openers that a symphony con-
cert Is by no means the gloomy, pom pous
affair the soiled, Ion e haired deVotees of
music would make ii out TO be. There
vas not novelty within hearing and |
there was not mum Der that did not i'm |
mediately fraternize with the most Iaic /
ears: The programme was popular and |
Tafnless:
AS soon as 1 knew the pieces were to be /
Raff's third symphony and Saint Saens |
'Phaeton," with the "Sakuntala" over !
lure. and the midsummer Nights /
Dream" scherzo between, l knew that the /
music critics were cut off from all chance |
AZ II q in laa -
newspapers. There is nothing to say |
except: that the band was IN yerv F.
fine TRIM and that if there /
was any lingering doubt as 10 the descrip- /
tive power oil the. last movement (nighO /
of the symphony school dispelled that /
doubt with beautiful and legitimate /
calculation: He played it with splendid /
turmoil! ana dramatic: force, and he got |
from he closing measures. which are sup
posed to picture~1he break OF day, all the |
majestic Tranquility that is in them. /
r here. may De more majestic tran !
"a lity, out that IS not Scheel's fault In |
me tTeverie!' of the second movement he |
guarded we'll against over-sentimentality |
and II one did think of Tosti ballads the !
while the :'reveTie" was playing. it was |
not Gnhattering to either. Tostt or Raft.
What l. enjoyed most OF everything was /
the -Mendeissohn scherzo | am still /
young enough not to have found out that
Mende lssohn was a .second-rate composer
particularly in anything in the way OF
schefzo-and this one. with its i'm
mortal blend Of fairy and mortal
bland ishments, was played with almost
miraculous delicacy l say almost" be-
cause the. audience CAME out from ITS
Yukon. fepose at this iuncture and APP
plauded* until the *scherzo was gwen
again. the second: time as happily as the
iiTse-and miracles, l. believe, are not in
The. ha bit Of repeating themselv The
"Sak:un tala| overture was tinted rather
than -colored. Scheel 'over-e therealized it.
But the Saint: Saens poem was electrically
p alve.::
Now that the season has been opened
and the: $900J safely booked, we may
anticipate + lew programmas that will
put the audience and the land ON their
metfie. AsHTnN; STEVENS.