The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1902-11-09
The SOL0ISTS OF A WEEK.
SINGERS VINO DO NOT Htsr.l
THEIR ART.
where Teachers Disagree VINO shall
Decide 49, Vocal systems DiHer.
ing In Almost Every Particular.

| DeVlue. Nocu Systeths uuItT.
ing In Almost Every Particular.
| Exiled from Berlin by a Cabal of hard
| throated German disclaimers, panoplied
| in the ample glory Of her blooming physical
| charms. Alma Webster Powell, accom-
| panied on the piano, on the orchestra and
| in the field of musical creation by Eugenio
Ill Pirani, lit upon these shores short
time ago and made ready 10 sing. Deli
cate, dainty, twittering little Helen Hens
chel, with the thin pipe Of a linnet in her
throat. with a buzzing of half-developed
violin and piano technic in her shapely
head, came over the bounding pillows
from the tight little island at about the
same period of the year
Rudolph Bullerjahn generous Of girth,
ornamented a. TO his coat lapels with scarlet
orders, grizzled Of mustache. and rubicund
| of countenance. came also, with a baton
in his hand and a head crowded with read
ings new and old of masters great and
small Then there was Ninifred Smith,
| with afternoon gowns made in the hnest
style Of Regent Street. which Is Ike unto
that OF Cinnamon Bottom, Miss. and her
little fiddle. which often she had tucked
under her oval chin in the salons of London
and stroked with her bow till 1t mewed
like a troubled kitten.
Also came Ossip Gahrilowitsch. the
young Russian pianist. with the statutory
long hair Of his kind. with polished poise of
| manner, with composed countenance. with
studious aspect, with deliberate walk. with
long searching fingers, and dress SUIT
which no other pianist has surpassed
pupil OF Rubinstein II this young man,
and he looks as II he had occupied many
Of the young years OF his life In striving
TO eliminate from his ways all likeness 10
those Of the leonine master, whom lie
could never hope to rival.
Before them all came Pugno, the dis
tinguished French pianist, who looks like
German barytone in the latter half OF
his career when no chorus men would
contract to remove him from the stage
as the dead Telranund and the lieder plat
form was yawning for him. Pugno came
with his emphatic insi-tence on all that
is loud and all that h soft. and his gentle
manlike oblivion of all that lies between
the two, n pianist In whom extremes meet,
for he believes In reading tho old nam"
of his instrument, piano forte, literally,
and while he is himself ponderous and prone
TO moisture Of the countenance, he plays
with elegance and distinction.
Since last vain words appeared In this
place all these solo performers have APP
reared and there we're still others. For
was there not Frederic Lamond, whose
name recalls SO wildly Loeb Lomond
the bewitchad water Of his native land?
A Scotch pianist. who boldly proclaims
himself the exponent of Beet hoyen, is
perhaps not so great a wonder a. might
10, ,ctal nj tho first for England
il overcrowded with people who think
they have solved the riddles Of Beethoven's
works, Just because Sir George Grove
wrote a good workmanike set Of pro-
gramme notes on the nine symphonies.
Two others there were simple unasSum-
ing home products. A year ago last spring
those who attended the wonderful Bach
festival at Bethlehem saw that Joseph
Baenstein, the orotund basso, and sara
Anderson. the soprano, looked faNorablY
upon ona anot her There was no profound
amaz"ment when In the summer they
were married. On Tuesday night. Will"
misguided crowds in the streets were cheer
ing for the Bird who sang too often for
his own good these two peacefully warhl"d
in Mendelssohn Hall to the accompaui-
ment Of a pianist who ought 20 play con-
certOs with a brass band
They gave "A song recital, and II really
was "A recital because they had committed
all their songs 10 memory and sang them
without looking nj the music. III" hus-
band sang With an amiable and comfort
ing expression on his face, a. II ne hked
to hear himself. The wife sang with spas
medically Clasped hands, with an anxious
and strained face, with far-gazng ewes
~ If singing were sever" ard somewhat
painful task TO her To those who know
The art Of song IL il hardly necessary TO
say more than this TO indicate that the
husband sang much better than the wife;
and this must be said even at the risk #
causing domestic discord II was week
Of -oloists II was a glorious time for all
those who worship personality and who
look upon m,i-ic as something made only
! for the glorifCation Of its performers.
But 1t l. natural that the lover Of music
should shower adulation upon tn" per
former What " the printed page which
va call music? That l. not music al all
II is simply act Of arbitrary signs. the
purpose Of which Is TO direct performed
what To do in order to reproduo" thoughts
conceived by composer To tn" tn-
skilled in music these signs mean nothing
To the most skilled who attempt to read
them without chewing their directions
they only suggest a difficult mental process,
that Of reconcciving the composition
Therefore when the performer strikes
| the keyboard or draws the bow or scts in
vibration the wondrous little cords IN his
throat, he breaks the seals and looSes the
! confined beauty to the world. He makes
the world his debtor hv all that sens" Of
beauty to which he ministers, 10y all that
| trcmor Of emotion which h" produces.
So. too it Is no more than right that the
| listening world should demand that no
| faults Of execution mar the beauty of the
| message written hy the composer. PLAY
| ing the violin out Of tune Is not PLAYING II
| at all Beating the piano with violent hands
| brings forth not music, but walls of anguish
| from the maltreated instrument. Singing
| with Informed tone, or with incorrect
| information, T. unmusCal and not beautiful
| Yet all these things are applaud"d and
| apulauded vigorously, for to hear music
| at all, even imperfectly, Is a JOY to so many,
| urhernore, 40 many have never learned
| to hear il correctly. So many ears have
| become dullod To niccties Of information
| by the constant hearing Of untuned pianos
| M home or by listening too frequently
| to- lad performance. Yet NOR" persons
| than one would suspect dinly know that
something L. wrong when they hear lad
singing Their complaint usually formu-
ates itself In the words, Il don't like her
voice a bit. Nine times out Of ten the
voice is good il the singer but knew how
| to Use It.
Little Miss Henschel has not very fine
voice. but she unconsciolsv BETRAYED
in her song recital the fact that there was
something better in her throat than she
gave us most Of the time When she had
tone to sing loudly in the upper part #
her middle register, she sang Il naturally
with full impoc, ~ tho Lron,h t,,,n H..