The San Francisco call., 1906-06-29
BATON OF WOLFE
HOLDS ITS MAGIC
First Of Summer Series Of Symphony Concerts Gives Joy
Undersized Audience at Greek Theater in Berkeley
Though Crowd Is Smaller Than Those in Attendance at First
Affairs Of Similar Nature Spell Woven Is as Strong.

BERKELEY, June 2S.-When a shah
billy dressed blind man in the audi
ence at the symphony concert In the
Greek Theater today leaned toward a
pretty girl gowned In a brilliant wine
colored creation of diaphanous stuff,
and without Introduction of any sort,
asked her to kindly read for him the
numbers. on the concert programme and
incidentally answer for him dozen
more or less important questions about
the music that was being played and
the composers who wrote it. the
girl smiled and took FIVE minutes to
help make the blind man happy.
Ordinarily the maiden, patrician
sort of girl, would have been inclined
to resent the blind strangers tax upon
her time and patience. She did not
show the slightest symptom Of vexa-
tion today. She and the blind stranger
at her side and 1000 other music-loVing
persons in the theater had been swept
by the magic of the music that Wolle's
men played into a freemasonry OF
feeling. where some, at least, of the
polite conventions could be forgotten
and a relationship was established OF
uncommon sort
There was no vast crowd in the
Greek Theater today when the first
of the summer series of symphony
concerts was given. In point of num-
bers the concert; could not compare
with those great events OF the last
college year, when throngs of five and
six thousand came to hear the Uni
versity Orchestra in symphony music.
Not more than 1000 of the faithful
were in the ampitheater today. There
was no difference in the spell woven
by the fine organization over which
Professor Wolfe rules with kindly
though masterful hand. That band OF
players gave it's best this afternoon
and the result was paradise for the
thousand in front.
For an hour part of a people who
stand in the shadow OF disaster, an
extraordinary disaster, were enabled
TO completely forget all their troubles;
all that is of the earth, earthly; all
that is not allied to the very soul of
music They foated all, in spirit, on
the soft, languorous tide into the land
of Mozart, of Schubert, of Beethoven;
of Brahms and Saint-Saens' sweetest
dreams.
If ever music chastened, softened,
glorified and lifted up the hearts of a
people, then the splendid music of the
masters as Wolfe and his players
played it this afternoon, accomplished
that result
There will be other music, other
concerts this summer, one, indeed, each
thursday AFTERNOON Tor the next SIX
weeks, and whose will may come and
partake of the feast that the univer
sity people have arranged to spread.
The fire in San Francisco has deprived
city of most of its sources of dra-
matte entertainment and operate joy.
The Greek Theater and the symphony
-eencects and Professor Wolfe and
Gfulio Minetti remain. The wise will
make note of this thing and recall that
the chance yet remains for them to
be among those present at some of
these symphony concerts to come.
The programme this afternoon in
cluded the following numbers:
Overture, Don juan" Mozart; THE
Unfinished Symphony" allegro moder-
ato, andante con moto, Schubert; over
ture, "Fidelio," Beethoven; "Danse
Macabre" Saint -Saens; violin solo, Giu-
lilo Minetti; Academic Festival overture,
Brahms.