The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1904-10-30

A MUSICAL PRELUDE TO A VIM
TER or MUSIC.
Forecast Of the Feast OF Good Things
Neiodious About 20 He served-About
ZOO Orchestral Concerts I'm Manhattan
[. Ai0ne--Many Eminent Nlrtuom 10
z he Heard-And Opera In Plenty.

ZOO Orchestral Concerts I'm Manhattan
4 Ai0ne--Many Eminent VirtuOh to
BE Heard-And Opera In Plenty.
There Is a singular charm about the open
ing Of a new musical season. People VINO
have been hiding all the summer in the
secret places OF the earth come once more
to the distracted surface Of Broadway,
The doors of Mendelssohn and gle
halls, which through all the hot days
frowned Iepulsion at the casual passer by'
spread themselves in a sort OF welcomin
smile The massive portals of the opera
house are thrown wide and In the dimly
lighted lobby within Ia beheld the cheering
spectacle Of the amiable Mr.. Bull seated at
the receipt OF custom.
Every one supposes that every one else
was In Europe. No one asks another now
he passed the summer. Each one asks his
friend how he enjoyed the Bayreuth per-
formances or whether he stayed through
the whole OF the Mozart festival at Salz-
burg The names Of Nikisch Mailer, Muck,
and Richter are tipped about In the most
familiar style, and new symphonies are
talked OF with the freedom OF personal in
timacy. Even the production OF Puccinis
MADAM Butterfly at Milan Is discussed.
Tor there are some music lovers who do
not begin and end their experiences in Ger
many.
II is all charming and all trihe aston
fishing, this ceaseless absorption In music
1t reminds one OF the exclamation OF an
American, who was not music lover, but
who visited Bayreuth just to see what it
WAS As he gazed over the excited throng
= . hot, no Nrat nd
bets, he said ...
isn't it wonderful? Every one OF them
perfectly insane!" The poor music critic
who has to keep up with the procession
or lose his occupation. usually remains
In America in the summer and permits
Europe to take care of itself. Thus he
enables himself to come to the duties OF
the new season with a refreshed spirit
1t is to him, then, that the allurement OF
The hour is strongest. He feels like one
who has been suddenly pulled from vortex
and as suddenly thrust back into 10, only
to find that 1t has been whirling as fieroely
in his absence as it does now in his pres
ence.
The musical season in this town may be
said TO have begun its melodious career
last Monday night, when Nina David's
roncert was indefinitely postponed. II
Nina David had sung, much might have
been said about sopranos with abnormaly
high voices This the readers OF the daily
papers were spared. The concert did not
take place. species Of singing which could
make no serious claim to artistic considera-
ton faded out of sight at the very threshold
of the winters doings. Let us hope that
nothing more of that sort will come to
trouble u.s.
Possibly Victor Herbert will hold different
views. He will naturally incline to the
opinion that the musical season began
with the first OF his Sunday night concerts
at the Ma jestio Theatre. But the Sunday
night concer5 still fails to be taken seriously
1t continues to refuse to take itself seriously.
Up TO the present time the finest product
of Mr.. Herbert's concerts has been rag
time march of genuine whirlwind fury
and abandon.
It is a good march, and it il a species OF
music good in its kind. 1t is the nearest
thing we have ever had TO an expression Of
the nervous, spasmodic spirit OF the common
people of this blessed land. IL Is the can
can of the Bowery, the Ca Ira OF Eighth
hvenue. 1t is well worth hearing.
Mr.. Herbert has not put it on his pro-
grammes. He has played it as an encore
number He is the Sousa OF the orchestra.
A ma ghetto, captivating personality is
that of this descendant Of Cha rles Lever.
His chief failing is fatal facility. Herbert
can do anything in music and do it cleverly.
He could write good opera, If he tried.
Ole has written nearly everything else,
and he Is getting rich on coon music. This
will be esteemed as to his everla sting credit.
The case hardened world OF Gotham would
call him fool IL he wrote operas and did not
get rich. Well, let him get money. He
comooses too easily and with too much
versatility ever to be Brahms, or even
Saint-Saens.
Yesterday afternoon that neurotic little
woman who has worried the epithet invent
ors into calling her the Sarah Bernhardt
OF the piano. the Cleopatra of the piano
and similar titles, though her real name
Ia Fanny Bloomfield Zeisler, opened the
piano recital season. OF her doings some
account Is to be found elsewhere in this
paper. She is the avant courier Of pha-
lanx OF magicians of the keyboard. 1t will
be a great winter for lovers Of digital
seats and acrobatics Of the flying third.
Among others who will be heard are the
eccentric Pachmann, the studious D'Albert,
the scintillating Hoffman, and the only
Paderewski. 1t would be hard indeed
to picture a musical season more richly
equipped with piano talent. D'Albert has
been long absent from these shores, and it
IL said that his style has greatly changed
in the meanwhile. 1t will. of course, inter-
est all music lovers to note in what manner
1t has altered. D'Albert used to he the
most intellectual player OF them all. His
Beethoven readings were second only to
Buelow's in authority, while they excelled
the famous DOCTORS in sensuous beauty
and technical polish.
DAlbert formerly played all sorts Of
music with brilliancy Of style. His treat
ment of such dazzling things as the Sohu-
bert Tausig 4Marche Miltaire' and the
Strauss-Tausig Man lebt nur einmal"
was unsurpassed His return will indeed
be welcome.
Paderewski's visit was not counted
originally among the delights Of the COM
ing season. 1t Is said that his reason for
coming here is that his tour In Australia
had to be cut short on account Of the disas-
tro,,. Rpano;al condition fhara Au.