New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1905-02-19
MUSICAL COMM ENT.
Opera and Concert.

Les Huguenots'' performed at the Opera
in the afternoon Gin Italian) '"Tannhauser'' in the
evening, and at Carnegie Hall the Boston Sym
phony Orchestra, under the direction of Mr.
Gericke gave its fourth afternoon concert for the
season. That is the simple record of the significant
musical doings in the metropolis yesterday. In
each there something to excite interest
irritate attention In the first opera Nine. de
Macchi replaced Nine. Nordica Valentine with
out affecting, apparently, the size of the audience,
which was so numerous that those whose seats
the ground floor had the usual difficulty
in forcing their way through the aisle which
all of them had to traverse. but which Is
not passageway, in the opinion of a COM
placent law court. Meyerbeers opera is still
a prime favorte with the public and it
lists a large number of Mr.. Conrteds singers
of all kinds. from Nine Sembrich down to the
budding debutantes of the opera school, but that
fact need not be cited to explain the crowd. Signor
Caruso sang, and the thousands of women came
Raou is not of his superlatively good parts but
that does signify the great duet which marks
the high water of Meyerbeers genius. was sung
with little spirit and distinction but that does
not matter. CarusO sang. and the audience went
home satisfied Nine. de Macchi, who had been
aroused out of a long period of inactivity to sing
Rossins Bel raggio' at Prince Orlofsky's fate
Thursday evening sang the music of Valentine
only the best of dramatic prima donnas sing it in
Italy, Germany and France: but her performance
not to the ediicaton of her hearers yesterday.
ew-Yorkers are a sadly spoiled lot of children in
music. and it is difficult to their reforma-
ton is to be brought about at this late day.
''Tannhauser'' produced under discOuraging
difficulties Tristan und Isolde had been sched-
ued originally, and Mr.. Burgstaller was to have
made his first appearance in the title part. He.
however. decided that he had given the music
sufficient study, 'TannhAuser' was substituted.
But when evening came Mr. Burgstaller was suffer-
ing from severe cold ana attempted to sing only
to the situation from complete wreck He
able to last through the first act only and that with
difficulty. Meanwhile Mr.. DIPPED had been
moned by telephone, and after wait Of forty-fve
minutes, which the audience bore with patience. the
curtain again with new TannhAuser. Mr..
DIPPED, however also suffering from a cold.
and indulgence was asked for him from the stage
had been done earlier in the evening for Mr.. Burg
staller, by means of printed slips inserted in the
programmes. Under all the circumstances the per-
Torrance was carried through we'll as could be
expected. Miss Fremstad was the Venus. Nine.
Ackte was again Elizabeth and Miss Alien sang
the part Of the shepherd Mr.. GOritz was Wolfram
and Mr.. Blass the Landgraf The others in the cast
were Messrs. Ress, Boyer Muhmann and Greder.
Mr.. Hertz conducted. The audience was large.
the Roston symphony Orchestra never gave. The
tone of the band simply exquisite in its purity
and quality, and the technical performance abso-
luteIy fawless. The programme seemed to have
been selected with a view to ravishing the senses
of the listeners. rather than to appeal to high
imagination or deep emotion. First there came the
overture to THE Barber of Bagdad. by Cornelius.
composition had been absent from local lists for
much too long a period; then Mr. dAlbert played
his pianoforte concerto in Z major. and with IT won
decided popular triumph without deeply stirring the
admiration of the critical The work is modern in
form, inasmuch it employs the device Of COM
munity of themes and there is no pause between
the movernents-a familiar device since the fashion
was set by List The music seemed most effective
or most idiomatic in the Scherzo section. Berliozs
transcription of Weber's Invitation TO the Dance
and Rimslzy- Korsakow's symphonic suite 'Sche-
herazade' brought the concert to a close, and in
the last niece Mr. Hess the leader of the volins.
with his brief solos made fine impression, as deep
a one indeed he did when he presented himself
as a virtuoso at first concert in Joachims Hun
garian concerto.
II was delight again to hear Rimsky- Korsa-
kow's suite. Some explanation ought soon to be
found for the fondness which Russian composers
since Glinka show for Oriental themes. "Schehera-
zade' is in four movements, and there is hint of
a,,nnhonic plan in the contrasted moods OF the
different subdivisions although the set forms are
not adhered 10. The composer gives a hint OF the
poeticaI contents of his work as a whole in the
title and also by providing superscriptions for each
movement Thus the first allegro. which has
Introductory largo. is called THE Sea and Sinbads
Ship" the second. andantino. The Story of the
Calender Prince: the third( also andantino, THE
Young Prince and the Young Princess the fourth
allegro motto, Festival at Bagdad; the Sea; the
shin goes to pieces against rock surmounted by
a bronze warrior: conclusion" This would seem
to be an explicit programme at first blush but IL is
plain that the composer did not wish TO furnish
more than a few hints as to make the minds or
his listeners susceptible to his music. When
Sinbad went to he was wrecked as RUE
vet the first movement contains no storm; IL IL
superb water picture in tones. with the ship
floating proudly and buoyantly on the heaving bill
lows There are three Calender Princes Croyal
mendicants" Lane calls them) in the Arabian
Nights Tales, and all of them tell of their adj
ventures but whether il IL the story of the guilty
lovers who were blasted into charcoal that or the
prince who was transmogrihed into an ape. or that
- che hold aaventureF who destroyed the magnetic