New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1899-12-13
MUSIC.
MR. PApEREwsKrs RETURN.

MR.. PADEREwsKTs RETURN
After an absence OF three years and half MI
| paderewski returns to America. II was MADE EVIL
dent at his first recital. given yesterday atterhoo"
at Carnegie Hall. that he steps at once INTO .i'e
place In the pubics admiration ana esteem lNat
| he left at his departure. That piace nus ai""s'
| been n curious one; the various forces that nave
| co-operated TO make 1t for him are fraught Win
much that Is good for the art OF music ana cnee'
| ing TO those who have IT, and have It's best inter-
ests nj heart: while at the same time there IL III
| them an element that makes for the INJURY Oh 'ie
| ART one that represents some OF the worst ten
| denotes Of the modern attitude toward music ana
| the interpreters OF IT, The minimizing eAa,'"''o
| OF the artists personality and the iameh.aoio anu
| absurd alterations which 1t has been MT Paoere~-
skis lot 10 arouse-unwillngly. on the part oi 30
| oroot an artist we are fam 10 believe-have not
injured his art; but what effect they nave had
| outside OF his artistic conscience might Us
question for serious discussion. These Things were
| painfully in evidence yesterday afternoon Is
| more agreeable to note at the same time tnat 'he
great pianist had lost none or the mastery '"e'
| gave him at his earlier triumphs; that his sway
over the discerning and the sympathetic was rs
potent as It was. that the magic OF MS genius
has all the searching power ana the rfesis''oie
charm that have put him In place by hinsep
among the worlds great interpreters OF great
music. -, a..
Mr. paderewskfT art Is the same in all us
salient and characteristic features as when ne
last revealed It to this public. 1t may nave oroad
ened and deepened somewhat; 1t may nave au
vanced IN some Of its significant elements
there will be opportunity later to confirm that
pont-but his ideals and aims In the reproduc-
ZION Of the music he before himself. his point
of view are clearly the same All ne does Is
guided by his intense and penetrating romantic
feeling: the atmosphere of lyric poetry envelopes
his work He moves always exalted plane
iUaV eilbOrdiuated
aggression of this ideal is his SURPRISING teen
n;aue-and 1t never more brilliant, more Sc
cure. more adequate at every point more per-
fccty moulded to his uses than 1t was yesterday
The panlsts whose speciality II Is to play louder, or
softer or faster than most others are all put
down into their proper places by the musicianshp
of this man. who after all is said and done. holds
his listeners captive by the sheer beauty ana
poetry of his performances, and makes all else
subsidiary matter
Mr. Paderewski is still pre-eminently a worker
In tona color; never has the pianoforte been made
10 yield more variety, more different kinds OF
sensuous loneliness more poignant expressions in
the singing voice of the instrument, than under
his fingers Witness the cantabile OF the nocturne
by Chopin; Of the A fiat major baade. Of the
thirteenth etude in the set op. 10, that he played
yesterday. In their sort It would be impossible to
imagine anything of more consummate perfection.
This always foremost element in his playing
perhaps he has made It to-day than
beforehand II Is the one on which he seems
to dwell most lovingly and most anxously. There
WERE indeed times when the quality Of his tone
gave his admirers uneasiness-it in the
passages of strenuous fortssimo when the In
strument seemed forced sometimes beyond its
power to respond. The reason for II was difficult
to understand. for such things not included in
the scope of Mr. Paderewskis scheme OF tone pro-
duction.
The finish and maturity Of Mr. Paderewski's play
20, MIR odi of mic
the attainment Of cmaxes, balance and logical de-
velopment of idea stand as 1t seems. raised to a
higher power than ever before The student can
perceive the calculated nicely Of his phrasng, the
perfect symmetry of his nuances the absolute pre-
cison with which the intended effect s reached:
but It is that cOnceals art and that gives the
sympathetic listener the supreme satisfaction that
only the highest repose and most perfect poise can
convey With all Of Mr.. Paderewskis readings,
however. 1t Is no more possible to agree now than
in other years. There are regions where his art
gives the Inevitable expression OF the essence OF
the music; there others where it does not carry
conviction. He has put great interpretations OF
Beethovens sonaas TO his credit notably OF some OF
the later ones that have become enduring monu-
ments to those who heard them; but his perform
ance OF the Sonata Appasslonata Will not rank
among these. 1t Is not cast in a large enough
mould and II lacks the accents Of tragic power.
So, too, in the Fantasia OF schumann he did not
quite reach the heroic stature OF the work, but
read into IL a sentiment that is not there But the
reservations with which his performance yester- |
day afternoon must be taken are exhausted with |
this enumeration. and the rest was an unalloyed
10y OF the glamour of his Chopin playing we have
already spoken His playing OF that masters |
poonalse Op SO, In some ways marked the summit |
of his achievement; he sounded the depths of It's
gloom and passion and his expression OF It's sweep
and power was of irresistible eloquence. His |
strauss-Tausig waltz sparkled and shmmered. and
in the List rhapsody-the inevitable was No this
time-he delighted In presenting some OF his most |
striking and original effects in Juggling with timbre
and color and pianlstic effects that none have |
mastered as he has. His Bach prelude and fugue |
were charged with modern spirit Of romance that |
we'll became the earliest romantic composer. and |
the fugue was beautiful piece OF contrapuntai ex-
position
When he had finished his programme he was |
called on for more amid scenes OF enthusiasm |
reminiscent OF previous years of conquest over the
unreasonable feminine He played first Chopins
A fat waltz then pianoforte setting OF the march
from Beethoven's Ruins OF Athens and there |
were many who waited in the throng about the
platform to insist on his adding third number,
and were successful
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