New-York tribune., 1900-03-23
MUSIC.
A NEW PIANO PLAYER

Dis,rus+f,,l Of the effect OF an old fashioned
Mozart symphony in a room with the acousuc cor"
ditions of Carnegie Hall, Mr. Gerlcke cndhsea INV
programme of the last of this seasons concerts ="
tbe Borough of Manhattan by the Boston SYM
phony Orchestra and produced Schurhaiins sym
phony in minor instead of the promised syilpno.S
by Mozart in c. The change was dtsappolH''ns
local amateurs who, while fully cognizaht OF 'He
shortcomings of Carnegie Hall. were not as appre-
hensive as Mr. Gericke as the effect In II whlch
q Mozart symphony would have MADE paSeo WI"
the purity of tone and beautiful balance CHARACTER
isic af the Boston Orchestra's work In this neld Oh
,,,,,stc Under the circumstances II but natu-
raj If they deplored having been deprived OF the
Measure of listening to classic which IS as soou
as a sealed book TO the present generation OF con
cert goers for the promised symphony In I was
not the familiar one which has been duopeo
..I,ni,ar hut an earlier one which. explained IN
this journal last summer, was prooaDIy coihpoSeu
before 1884. Mr.. Gercke might moreover hdFe
trusted in Richard Strauss what Is H. ehti'ieu
ALSO sprach Zarathrustra" to have eohV'hceu iia
hearers of the tonal pussance OF MS Daho' Du'
since he made the change out OF consideration ior
the public IT would be ungracous either TO repine
or complain. There enough TO rejoice over III
the entertainment which he provided
The most interesting OF his offerings was Dee
thoven's G major pianoforte concerto with the
solo part played by Ernst Won Dohnahyl III "hoh'
since he sprang into public notice TWO years aso
or thereabouts. the musical puphc nave Ie.' Ne.'
proper Interestingly proper because the lncluehts
which created II were not Of the ordinary sensa-
tonal or neretricious kind Mr.. or Herr OF Moh-
sleur or Pan, DohnAnyi won prize IN conipo-
sItion which had drawn the eyes or the musicians
and had astonshed and delighted London put ne
5id NOT because OF that circumstance Immediately
start out with a flourish of trumpets upon a con-
quest of the world. Had Mr.. Gericke, VINO was one
OF the adjudcators in the Bosendorfer compost
ton in which he was victorious. not been so
anxious for his co-opera in series of the Bos-
ton Orchestra concerts as TO prevail upon him TO
come to America for that series alone, we should
not have heard him. He came, therefore. under
unusual conditions. and he has fulfilled lovely
mission. His achievement last night was prlshtV
ilIuminatve not of panoforte virtuosoship as that
term is popularity understood. but of sweet heatay
musicianshp. He played the concerto from pegla-
ming like a musician who knew II because ne ioNeu
and loved 1t because he knew II down TO its inmost
heartbeats He made no display of pianistlc feats'
and since he did not try 10 do anything IN that
direction il to be said what his capacity as a
specialist may be. 1t is doubtful II he could be-
wilder were he TO try. for there are elements In
pianoforte playing which have been exploited here
over and over again this season which are not at
his command, if are to judge BY the evidence
afforded last night So much OF charm as lies In
pure sensuousness of tone is only moderately rep
resented in his playing. There were times wheu
more fluent legato would have been agreeable. and
the instrument which he plays has lovelier tone
than that which he produced, but his reading was
permeated by a spirit of poetry which was all the
more heart warming because II was so utterly free
from the slack of sentimentaty weakness of
any kind. All was sane and sound the utterance of
a man who felt, Beethoven said. that 1t was the
purpose of music to strike fire from the soul of
man not to put 1t in the melting mood. Not the
least interesting OF his demonstrations of noble
birth in music made in the two cadenzas of
his own composition which he introduced in the
concerto. IN the first, especially there was capi
tai illustration the appreciation of the
duty of a virtuoso in writing cadenza-the duty
TO stick In letter and spirit to the text set by the
composer The success of the young artist with the
public was complete and emphatic He was recalled
over and over again to acknowledge the grateful
tributes of the audience.
The work of the orchestra was brilliant all even
ing though greater elasticity and freedom OF move
ment would have benefited the symphony. Cor
geous beyond description the Strauss phantas-
ma goria in tones