El Paso daily herald. (El Paso, Tex.) 1881-1901, 1897-04-06
LAST NIGHTS CONCERT.
| Fine Exhibition of Piano Playing by Miss
Neatly Stevens of California,


Had Miss Stevens been better known
in FL Paso there would have been full
house to welcome her last night. AS it
was, there was a fair sized audience: but
then the audience was select, the best
musicians in town were there. and they
were certainly appreciatlve enough of
the fair performers efforts.
Miss Stevens played all she was ad-
vertlsed to play and two additional
numbers, viz, the famous organ piece
of John Sebastian Ba h with ornament
al additions by Taussig, and Chamina
de's ''Coquette."
Miss Stevens has long ranked as one
of the best of women performers, and
there is nothing in the line of piano
performance that she is not capable of
successfully handling. She was a fav-
orite pupil of the Able List. and
adopted the style of that musical mar
vel as her own. She is therefore
bravura player par excellence and her
presto efforts are her best This was
manifested last night, especially in the
Toccatta and Fugue and the List Fiji
teen Rhapsody. two numbers that tax
ed the upright piano ally beyond its
responsive powers. The Instrument is
valuable one and the best in town,
but it is not $500, three cOrnered
concert grand, the style of instrument
calibre to do justice to themselves on.
The fair performer expressed herself as
dissatisfied with the piano in conse-
quence. and wished never to see it
again.
TIE Bach number was given with
effects surprisingly suggestive of the
organ, the heavy pedallng part in the
lower registers oeing motto sably etfec-
tive. Bach in his ordinary moods is
difficult enough in all conscience, but
the ornamental additions, the intricate
harmonic frescOes added by that great
artist TausSig, increas wonderfully
the rhythmic and technical difficulties
of that toccata and fugue in d minor.
| Miss Stevens was equal to the task,
| and on concert grand might have
brought her listeners to their feet in
enthusiasm. The artist music anship
| was also made manifest in the Bee
thover sonata opus 81, No. 3; and her
reatment of the Scbumann,
Chopin and other numbers evil
denced her understanding of
the different moods sand shades of
expression IN the various schools of
style, from the light, quaint add stuc-
cato movements of such compositions as
Mac Dowell's " itcheS' dance to the
neavy, crashing chords and prolonged
prestissimo of tue Liszt mum Der. Miss
Stevens technic is certainly graceful
and appears to be perfect, her wrist
-Laccato work being a marvel of SYM
metry and grace. and effective to the
h ighest degree in flush of perform ance.
And in general way it may be said
tnat her dynamics show discrimination
and intelligence in their application.
There was, however, nOticea ble about
the fair performers playing, just lack
If spirit that showed she was not
n her usual exhuberant spirits, which
was explained by her remark SUISSE
quently ma e to personal friend who
called on her immediately after the
concert. The piano did not respond to
the demand made upon it, and this
dampened her ardOr. However, Miss
Stevens may some day be able to give
a concert in Ell Pdso on a Steinway
concert grand, when she will beable to
give better idea OF her powers, and
our citizens will hear her to advantage
in snch numbers as the great minor
sonata of Beethoven, his opus 81, the
List Second Rhapsody, and the greater
cOncertCS.
Miss Stevens has pair of arms that
are ever upmisi akable guarantees of
her capabilities for bravura perform
ance. The writer saw her come on the
concert stage in Salt Lake once, when
the accompanist in the preceding vocal
number had left the cover of the con-
cert grand down. Miss Stevens was
not expecting this, and looked around
for some attendant or the accompanies
himself to put that cover up where it
belonged. No one app cared. So
without further ado, she grasped the
great. heavy sheet of wood with her
left hand. and the way that cover shot
up in the air was caution. With her
right hand she put the support in posi-
ton, and then was ready for business.
She may have been real, real mad, but
did not show it, The fair Californian