The San Francisco call., 1901-12-22

conductor to essay symphony concerts,
Adolph Bauer, Gustave Hinrichs and Max
Hirschfeld being the preceding ones. Mr..
Steindorns excellent work during the
grand opera season insured a strong in
terest in his symphony effort and the ex-
pectations aroused thereby were much
more than realized The composition of
the orchestra, to begin with, shows the
new leader to be possessed of uncommon
skill in handling men. He has the best
orchestral material in town, lacking only
a few musicians of note, who will doubt
less be gathered in later, and has fitted
each man to his place with an ingenuity
that speaks volumes for his capacity as a
leader.
As a conductor Mr. Steindorff shows an
eminent dignity, grasp and poise, as well
as delicacy and refinement. Inevitably it
was a somewhat more rigid effort than
his operate work, Elasticity being one of
the last qualities obtainable in orchestral
achievement, but its lack of freedom was
fully compensated for by the solidity,
smoothness and correctness of the inter
pretations. The other things will come
later, the finer nuance, ease, abandon,
elasticity, climacteric power with rhyth-
mic witchery that yield themselves only
to long and faithful wooing, but an essen
TALLY right beginning has been made.
There is every reason to be gratifed with
the start in life of the new orchestra and
every reason for confidence in it's leader
The orchestra contains fifty-fve mem
bers, distributed as follows: Ten first vio-
Inns, eight second violins, six violas, five
violoncellos and seven double basses in the
strings. The wood wind has three flutes,
two oboes, two clarionettes and two bas-
soons and the brass four horns, two trum-
pets, three trombones and a bass tuba
The bass snare and kettledrums and Gym
balls complete the list.
Among the players are to be found such
names as Giulio Minett (concertmeIster),
Ferdinand Stark, Hother Wismer, Sam
uel Savannah, c. Heinsen, B. Jaulus, F.
S. Gutterson, P. Freebooter, A Weiss,
Lowell Langstroth, w. Angermuende, L.
Newbauer, A. Pausen, J. L. Mundwyler
z. and c. Schlott, ]. Wrba, E. Keller, c.
Won der Mehden, W. H. Colverd, A. Ron
covieri, c. Goerlich, NJ and s. Davis, E.
Lada, H. Siering, z. Carlmueller and ]. E.
Jcsephs. They compose a band that any
director might be proud Of, a remarkable
band to be found out in these Western
wilds.
The next concert will have a heavier
programme to test their strength, but
they will not be found wanting. Meantime
it behooves all the friends of good music
to be UP and doing.
Josef Hofmann will be here in Febru-
ary. He is the first of the great artists
who will be heard here during the coming
year.
The California Conservatory gave one
of its always interesting recitals on Tues
day evening last at Sherman & Clay Hall
with the piano pupils of Otto Bendix as
executants. The work throughout was
thoroughly intelligent capable and sim
cere, and in some instances more than
that. Miss Josie Coonan shows strong
musical instinct, and her rendering of the
Hummel number was full of color, SYM
pathy and judgment, as we'll as technical
sureness. Miss Lily Hansen in q Chopin
"Ballade" (No. p showed herself pos
sessed Of considerable technical f1uency
and refinement, without much poise Rose
Woolf is well equipped technically and
temperamentally, as her "Rigoletto Fan
TASTE" showed. Lydia Reinstein, whose
quickness in recovering herself after a
lapse Of memory in her Beethoven num-
Der showed an unusual presence Of mind.
has clean, sure touch and good style of
the bravura order. She frequently per-
mits her accompaniment in the bass to
overbalance the upper melodies. Miss
Drynan and Mrs. Aylwin gave a Chopin
rondo for two pianos with taste, and the
Misses Tol5las and Hansen gave with sym
pathy the Reinecke "Impromptu" on
Schumanns Manfred" Miss Edna Dry
nan concluded the programme with a good
reading of the Chopin "Andante Spi-
anato' and 'Polonaise"