The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1900-01-21
WAGNERFORYOUNG WOMEN
MN. DAMROSCH INTONEs AND En-
POUNDS At sHERRY'S.

An Admiring Audience Led to wagnerisn
Heisbts-Comments by tho Lecturer and
BY the Young Women on WRgDers
Treatment of L0ve-TsA and Ices Later.
On Thursday afternoon al Sherry's waler
Damrosch gave a lecture and musical recital
upon the theme OF wagners Tristan und ISOLDE
incidentally. he gave an exposition OF the genue
art Of fascinating young women. On the whole
Mr.. Damrosch and tho women were more enter
tanning than Wagner and Tristan und Isolde.
Even Hackett and Fayershnm pale before MT
Damrosch's radiance as he appears, surrounded
by the hyper aesthetic glory Of music, The strong
est minded young woman, who would scorn raw
ing over Faversham and a society play. doesn I
hesitate TO avow her allegiance TO Dsmrosch and
Wagner. Occasionally. a Paderewski fits across
the sky, and for the moment the Damrosch star
v,nes; but It shines out respondent again, when
the meteor has passed. The audience at the
Thursday afternoon recital was large and en-
thusi,,tc. II had not turned out 10 hear Nine.
6 adski: and the reception Of her rendering OF The
"liebe,tod" music was only perfunctonly
.minble. There didn't seem to be = wild thirst
for wagnenan analysts. The middle aged club
woman. with an Unsuitable hunger for informa-
ton and culture, was conspicuous by her absence.
NH FItus W III u'Ai'iN w. E"o
uninspinng, but appreciative. There were four
men in the crowd: but they were man testify bored
and escaped as early as possible.
As a prologue to a musical exposition OF 'he
operas structure. MI. Damrosch gave a brief
SYNOPSIS. OF the plot Of the opera, Any one coming
in during he progress Of thi, prologue would, a,
first have been confused by an idea that the
cIencal-looking young gentleman at the piano
- i,,z.l,o . poyiOu ~ tha Episcopal Church
service In the most approved High Church fashion.
There was = soothing cadence about tho rythnio
rise and fall Of his voice and the chromatc har.
monies he evoked. The unlnitated wondered
vaguely why he did II, but the adminns young
women said that the poetic Cleanliness Of hi,
accen, was too perfectly lovely. Perhaps it is
necessary TO hypnotic the matinee girl by a sort
O, rhythmic incarnation before her soul can he
gently led to it, wagneran heights. After his
ouu ne OF the s'ory in words OF one syllable
MI. pamrosch turned 10 the plano. and there WAS
a rustic As the girls composed themselves for a
se,,on Of Wagner. Later, after the concert a
white. hal rod woman remarked TO the two girls
she WAS chaperoning; It's irritating. that sort Of
thing. The lecturer intrudes his personality
between you and the music, in such an eIas-
peratng way" The young women looked a.
lie Nltl dLV
| couldn't understand her point Of view. They had
bitterly resented the way the music intruded
itself between Damrosoh and them.
When the music got under way one understood
how Mr.. Damrosch had acquired the informing
habit. His running explanation of the Wagnerian
motives is In the form Of q chant, harmonized
10 the accompanying rendering Of those motives
on the piano. There ore times when sis effective.
| There arc other times when-well. the less said
about those times the better. Any one who villa
tempt 10 cling to the one word de III In a speak
ing voice, while the harmonious musical chro-
mates chase themselves all over a grand piano.
will have some idea Of the difficulties with which
Mr., Damrosch g%rappled. II would have been so
much easier TO sing it. Az times the lecturer
realized this fact 10 intensely that he relaxed his
own peculiar efforts and burst into song. His
| rendering Of Isoide's impassio ed cries did credit
| to his feeling, but wasn't all It might have been
in poin, OF tone and pitch. "TrIdn, Isolde"
sobbed the music. Ira la. dunn dee" walled
Mr. Damrosch.
III he would only play. and let Wagner do the
rest sighted one Of the men who fed later; but
that wasn't the purpose of the lecture, and the
young women wouldn't have liked the arrange
ment at all. Occasionally. the music ceased.
he lecturer turned around on the piano char
and spoke teryidly Of the beauty OF the pLIio-
sophie symbolism in the opera The matinee
girls looked FESTIVE
pbilosophy and death" remarked one young
thing in a chinohilla turban- Somebody told
me L was the greatest love poem ever written.
and | thought II would be Just sweet 10 hear Sr.
Damrosch tell about II
The second sc, wen, rather better than the first
The Young women seemed more familiar with the
garden love duet than with the shipboard tragedy
Of love and fate They Understood Why Bran
oa,re was watching on the tower, too The
French maid always did that in plays and novels.
Hear the tumult Of vibrations, AS she eA.
unguishes the torch, md awaits him." chantsd
helecturer, playing with exceedingly good effect,
the iumultuous passage
"My goodness, ! know Just how that feels,
every time tine doorbeli rings Friday evening"
saId the girl IN the chinchilla urban. rapturOusIy
Ism /! lovely isn't he dear, how he feels iu'
"u ark the cresceudo, the rising food Of emotion"
int1ned the rapt musician. his voice getting mixed
up with the surging music and being carried of
is feet into weird dissonancas The night
sounds the throbbing heart. the meeting Love
Sweet" Tristan 'Isoldel and all that sort Of
! thing" The climax dissolved into anti-cllmaX,
and The crescendo came down on the run; but a
sigh stirred the egrets IN the audience.
How he feels H." injured the young women
all, except one VINO wore a tailor made gown and
a walking hat, and sat on the platform at the
+ III never hear Tristan and Isolde again
without winding up all the nervous chill passages
with and all that sort Of thing. " she said WEAKLY,
Fifth Musical Reader this primer business is
discoucertng. but its . good thing, a very good
thing, for thoss who would never get music any
other way"
There now. he's talking about death again
objected the chinchiila topped girl. ! don't see
why Wagner had 10 spoil their good time by
sucking that old death music into H. They
might have a little fun in one act I'm sure
they re going TO die after awhile"
The concentrated pathos and, overshadowing
tragedy Of that scene, seem 10 elude most singers"
commented Mr.. Damrosch. The average
soprano and tenor, ordinarily give IL more a.
A wore 4 caae Of AIRY and IA Arrtet ON mark