The daily morning journal and courier., 1897-12-17
THE SYMPHONY CONCEPT.

Large Audience at the Hyperion Yester-
 day-Nost Auspicious Opening of the
 Fourth Season.
 The first concert of the fourth season of the New Haven Symphony orchestra was given at the Hyperion theater yes terday afternoon before a numerous and appreciative audience. The excel lence of the programme presented, the meritorious work of the orchestra and the interest and enthusiasm of the list eners combined to make the affair most gratifying and suspicious opening of what promises to be the most bril- liant and successful season the orches- tra has known. The change from the College street hall to the Hyperion has been a wise one. The orchestra has never been heard to such good advan- tage before and the general appearance presented is much finer. The effect of the players as they are now placed Is more dignified and less amateur. The orchestra has increased in numbers, notably in the strings, since last year. Otherwise the personnel remains the same. The work of the present season has been greatly delayed by the ill., ness of Prof Parker. Their leader showed great confidence in the abilities of his men by giving programme like that of yesterday. with only months time for rehearsal. The performance yesterday justified this confidence and augurs well for the successful carry ing out of Prof Parker's plans for the winters work. The programme opened very appropriately with a Beethoven symphony. This was the great Seventh which has not been heard here in sev | eral years and was new to the orches tra. We think this symphony was last 1 played here by the New York Sympho- I ny orchestra under the direction of MT. | Walter Damrosch. Concert goers will | remember the occasion as a most un- | fortunate one and recall the fact that MT. Damrosch was most severely crit- cized for the performance of this sym phony We little thought at that time 1 that in few years we should have an orchestra of our own which could give an entirely adequate and enjoyable per | formance of this immortal work. The Seventh has frequently been pronounced the greatest of "the immortal nine" | Whatever it's relative value it is cer- | tainly a glorious creation and one which cannot be heard too often. Prof. Parker's reading was most spirited and effective. The last two movements were better played than the first two, but the entire rendition was very cred | itable.
 Miss Gertrude May Stein, the solOist of the occasion, was enthusiastically greeted on her appearance. Miss Stein has won the affection and esteem of the people here by her ever efficient and artistic singing in several of the Gounod concerts. Her popularity stead fly increased and she never disappoint- ed her admirers by failing to equal her previous successes as an artist and un- ceasing zeal as student. Miss Stein sang yesterday Behberg's aria, "The Death of Jeanne d Arc" and two of Wagner songs. Dreams" and Pains" The Bemberg aria pleases by a suave and flowing melody, but it on the whole rather trivial affair Miss Stein made the most of it's possibilities and she imparted to the contilena such wealth of tone color and sang with so much fervor at the climax that she succeeded in arOusing the house to an unusual degree of enthusiasm
 Later Miss Stein, with the orchestra, sang the Wagner songs "Traume" and "Schmerzen." Both were sung with fine intelligence and splendid musical feel ing The orchestra played two excerpts from Berlioz's "Damnation of Faust" namely, "The Dance of the Slyphs" and the familiar and popular "Rakoczy March" Both are extremely difficult, the "Dance of the Slyphs" particularly, and tax the virtuosity of the great ar chestras But Prof. Parker under stands the abilities of his men, as well as their natural limitations and did not err in choosing these numbers. Both are extremely pleasing to an audience and they were well received yesterday.
 The programme closed with a splen- did rendition of Mendelssohn's "Ruy ! BIas' overture.