New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1900-04-08

it be played then and there, and so it was. Mr..
Kneisel played the first violin part and Arthur
Nikisch the pianofo-te Mr.. Dohnanyi then
just eighteen years old. The favorable Judgment
passed by the distinguished assemblage at Ischl
has since been confirmed in London and other
musical capitals of Europe.
Schumanns quartet is the third Of the set of
three. of which the first was played at an earlier
concert in Mr.. Kneisel's series this season. The
three the product of that chamber music
year" of Schumann's life 1912; then he produced
in rapid succession also the great panoforte quin-
tet, the panoforte quartet and the trio. OPP. So.
The quartets written almost at stroke the
last being finished within five days. Three
years before he had felt himself impelled to work
in the quartet form. and had started on some
(Which have remained unpublished). 81 take great
joy in the quartets,' he wrote to his fancee,
Clara Week. at that time; 1.-THE piano is becoming
too confined for me-" Nevertheless, having writ
ten these three which he himself considered among
his best work he never attempted anything further
in this direction notwithstanding the praise they
won from even the conservative musicians of that
day Whatever may be thought of the technical
style of these quartets. in which many critics have
seen the influence of the pianoforte and the lack of
familiarity with the characteristic expression of
stringed instruments, no one has impugned their
purely musical qualities-the originality, the lux
uriant spontaneity of the ideas they contain their
poetica quality, their luscious color and beauty of
tone.
Brahms's quintet belongs to the masters mellow
est later style; it dates from the year 1888. The
SLOW movement is organcally bound up with the
scherZo movement, being twice INTERRUPTED by
scherZo effects, once as an alIegretto vivace and
again as presto. Thus the work appears to be
in three movements instead of the usual four
The last IS of an deliberately fuga structure built
upon stout and energetic running theme OF this
quintet Dr. Reimann, in his life of Brahms saws:
1t Is work Of rare clarity and depth of feeling:
the form OF the hrst movement, and, indeed,
OF the whole work. shows the direct influence of
Beethovens last quartets.
Mr.. Dohnanyi will give his second pianoforte re-
cital in Mendelssohn Hall tomorrow afternoon
with the following programme:
Prelude and Fugue E minor Op So No. l. Mendelssobn
Rhapsodle op. 119 No Schubert
A An69n F. major Beethoven
ode wuth dber den verOrenen Groschen'' OBJ. 12e,
Capriccio minor. 5 'A'onhahSl
Richard Strauss lately received some attention at
the hands of DR.. Hanslick, whose rebuke of the
self-suficient young composer is worth reading
even In translation 1t formed the conclusion of
review OF a new opera brought forward in Vienna.
Says the witty critic and dialectican:
L not personally acquainted with the COM
cisn: 1t may be that in accordance with the mod
and looks upon ali dispraise as nfustice and
ignorapee-in the manner. say of Richard Strauss.
manifesto to this effect in the "Tagespost" of
praise Which appeared in the OF n9 6 giant
that he would be glad if the Vienna critics wouId
learn from their colleagues in Graz In the car
ital" he continues the everlasting laws of beauty
are still in existence. I should like get look
secrets in the bosoms Of Hansiick and his COM
panons." Now, these enigmatc secrets, as a mat
ter OF fact, are open to all musical persons who
can read, in the scores of Mozart and Beethoven,
Schubert, Mendelssohn and Schumann Brahms and
Dvorak. Each of them was innovator compared
with his predecessors, but all of them made music
in their symphonies. and refuses They were
never pedantic, but always serious. In the case of
Strauss, however, is it not difficult TO avoid the
= anio Nyiu
at the expense of his admirers? How the brilliant
man must smile in secret when he sees the attend
anus on ms concerts nerVously hunting through
their programmes IN order to discover a which
or where, in Zarathustra," the place where the
Dwellers in the Rear World end and the Chapter
Motive bf Contempt" l had been firmly con-
WINGED that the famous author of many sym
phonic picture books has long stood far above
praise and fault finding, and looked down with the
equanimity Of the genuine "Overman' upon the
individual cases of critics who do with
him From the pronouncement issued in his faith
full capital, Graz. this seems however not to be
the case
Mascagni recently delivered lecture in Venice
THE Revolution in Music" He lauded Verdi
10 the Skies and laid stress the assertion that
IT was necessary that music should be popular and
national once in the that il must snring
from the heart of the people. He expressed the
greatest admiration for Wagners genius but found
fault with his successors and imitators and the
critics who had seduced the composers of young
Italy into external imitation of Wagner's forms
He said that he could not conceive of an italian
composer who could write songs and symphonies
10 the neglect OF the opera. Under the skies OF
Italy opera was a necessity England had never
accomplished anything characteristic In music he
from this point Of view. Mascaeni made a study of