The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1903-12-20

played at a KneiseI Quartet concert. April
2. 1890. when his piano quintet was produced:
played his own concerto I'm T. minor COP. %
at symphony concert. Nov. g.
Nine. MeIba was the soloist and her rich
voice. which she unfortunately does not d.
rect with an art equal to that of Nine
Sembrich, was heard in the naive, triliing
scena, Sweet Bird that Shunst the Noise
Of Folly a part OF Handefs cantata,
'.L Allegro, ii Penseroso, ed II Moderate,
regarding which the following bit of curl
Gus information was in Mr.. Hale's notes:
Handel wrote his cantata in 1740. He be-
gan 1t Jan. 10 and finished 1t Feb. 9. The
winter was one of the coolest known In
England. The Thames was frozen and
fair was held for three weeks on the ice
and an OK was roasted whole. Musical and
dramatic performances were suspended
during January. The first perfoI nance or
the cantata was on Feb. q. 174O. at the Lin
coin Inn Fields Theater, in London. The
cantata was repeated four times that sea-
son. The London Daily Post of Feb. "a
I74O announced: Never performed before
at the Royal Theater, Lincolns Inn Fields,
this day will be performed IL Allegro
etc, with two new concertos for several IN
struments and a new concerto on the or
gan. Boxes, half a guinea; pit. shilnngs;
first gallery 3 shillings: upper gallery,
shillings. Pit and gallery opened at and
boxes at 8.
The programme closed with Brahms's
Academic overture, and of IL Mr.. Hale
had written: BRAHMS wrote two over
lures in 1SS0-the Academic and the
Tragic They come between the symphony
in d major and that in F major in the list
of his orchestral works. The Tragic over
ture bears the later opus number, but it
was written before the Academic as Rel
mann says. The satyr play followed the
tragedy The Academic was first played
at Breslau, Jan. 4. 1881. The university of
that town had given Brahms the degree of
Doctor of Philosophy (March IL. 1879, and
this overture was the expression of his
thanks. The rector and senate and men,
bers of the philosophical faculty sat in the
front seats at the performance and the
composer conducted his work, which may
be described as a skillfully made pot
Dourri or fantasia on students songs.
Brahms was not a university man, but he
had known with Joachim the joyous life of
students at Gottingen-at the university
made famous by Canning's poem:
'Whene'er with haggard eyes / view
This dungeon that I'm rotting in,
i think of those companions true
Who studied with me at the u
University of Gottingen-
University of Gottingen;'
so bitterly satirized by Heine."
xxx
Celebrations of the centenary of the birth
Of Hector Berlioz are now in order, and the
Boston orchestra played, as the principal
feature of the second programme, the "Har-
old in Italy symphony. which has four
movements with a viola solo through all.
The symphony was composed in 1884. Mr..
Hale's programme book related that before
the symphony was written Paganini asked
Berlioz to write for him a concerto for
viola. Berlioz answered that the only man
that could write concerto for Paganin!
was Paganini, but the great violinist in
sisted. So, Berlioz did write a composition
for viola and orchestra, but when Paganini
looked at it he exclaimed, There are too
the timel'' and nothing more came of II.
Since then saw that my plan of COM
position would not suit him"-this is from
the memoirs Of Berlioz-'I set myself 10
anxiety concerning the means to make the
viola conspicuous. My idea was 10 write
for the orchestra a series of scenes in
which the solo viola should figure a more
or less active parsonage OF constantly pre-
served individuality; L wished to put the
viola in the midst Of poetic recollections left
me by my wanderings in the Abruzzi and
make IL a sort OF melancholy dreamer, after
the manner OF Byrons childe Harold.
Hence the title, Harold en- Italie.' AS in
the Symphonic Fantastique.' chief theme
(the first song of the viola reappears
throughout the work; but there Is this diff
fernce; the theme of the Symphonic Fam
persistenty as an episode and passionate
thought in the midst OF scenes which are
foreign to 1t and mobiles them. while the
song of Harold is added to other songs of
the orchestra with which IL Is contraSted
both in movement and character. and with
out any interruption Of the development"
Rudolf Krasselt who succeeded Alvin
Schroeder OF the Kneisel quartet as first
'ceuist of the orchestra, appeared at this
concert as soloist, playing Saint-Saens's
concerto. Beethoven's ~Fidelio" overture
and Smetanas symphonic poem, 'Vyseh-
rad" also were on the programme.
HORACE LANCASTER.