New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1906-02-05
MUSIC.
Or. Weingartner and the S,,,,
Orchestra


the concert OF the New-York s., enssrtn.-
which he conducted yesterday as,a-.y Orchss,,
nesie Hall was that there Il no oOn n Ca.
erratc In the matter OF tempt ana - % b.t,
oroer 20 make symphony % Beeshor.-
ana mold the attention. fascinate ana IN eap,a,
nation Subiectivity has long bssr ns iras
,no SoHuNc'orS FOR whom the sinpls ~ +
DeethoVeh mas not seemed TO convey an Dsss
inss subjecttvtty is. OF course an - US r.s,
in music. quite as essential indoa4 9saeh'al tn,
ton as In creation for thu r,r,,a@, 'n'erp's.
ers art. like the actor's 4, IN perios>
creative Unperformed music IA nothi- - ees,z
are mere symbols which indicats hon -. ' no's d
whlch hved once In the mind OF m. 80 - Fas Il
iecreaiso and thus called back inn h.. NJ
IN the recreation process the psr,o-,. A1'
give something Of himself but only a -. ne
necessary 70 say again what the eornno.-- ~
NeA0ie NM sometimes the symbols are "a, ~ <
.r 'ney are inadequate; and th.n :
comes the duty OF the performer To ,nts-,~-.N =
20 body forth what he concsivsa 70 - y tas-
composers meaning. But this INNS, -. ''a 4 h
IN the spirit OF studious devotion Arh,+-,. ''s
inss are as intoierahls as arbitrary So ~
the text Nothing seems 10 IA a. ss
Beethoven's tempt. and Il II Is "acadsr,,oss.
mere 10 them. then the spirit OF the acad.-.s-~
Is 20 be lauded not faulted. But tbt. -
mean that Beethoven's tempt. as indlca,ss !. =
20 nom the beginning OF a movsnn.n, - ,-s
Those in0Ications go only 70 the r,nas,,.~..1 ~
not 70 the movement as whole II -
fsntile and elementary to say this but =, -
be said and reiterated angrily, Il necsssary -
time performer. 20 exploit his 'lnterDr..,.,~i !.
pulls and hauls a masterpiece about ana - (
az It's phrases An academic conducfo- 4.
necessarily an unfeeling. unimaginativs Tim. -.
and driii master He may be as subjective a.
chooses so long as It IS the voice OF the cor,-.
which receives Utterance through hin, ,,.,-
his own unresulated fmaginings
Mr.. Weingartner directed a performance. ..
C minor symphony yesterday which vulsa,.a - &
life Even the variations OF the slow now f
were 50 vital that they cast a spell ov.- =
hearers Yet Mr. Weingartner took no llbsr-,., -
BeethOven's text, and his tempt were the zv,.,-
sane and sound ones which belong 10 tia cbnss
memories OF all veteran knowers and lovers ~ -
work He even went 50 far as TO cast asia. -
broad beginning or the first proclamation :, -
theme OF the first movement. which is bscoms ., Ii
ditional. but has also become SO exaggerated \, -
conceit OF some conductors. who wish to out.T,, E
ner Wagner IN every one OF his suggestion, ~,
a return 10 first principles seemed to be urzs-.
Mr.. Weingartner plunged az once into the ina &
mental tempo of the movement. He held the a.
mata with grim fOrcefulness even II he ala not IN,
Wagner's direction 70 squeeze the last posslbl. d
OF blood out OF II Unfortunately the orchssfs r
failed in its response at the reprlse as well as N
beginning. and IN consequence the symphony opens
impotently. In the coda he gave II III. br.ss,
which Is customary. This appeared to be his o-r
exercise OF arbitrariness. a broad reading ., 4, &
opening measures tustihes the broad reading IN Il,
conclusion. As for the rest Il through the A.
homogeneous tone OF the baHd-the kind OF ho-s E
geneity, though with less euDhony that Mr. G,
icke secures from the Boston symphony Orchestra E
the elastic graduation OF dynamics from piaass. f
mo TO fortissimo. the sustained so1gfuness o {.
combined voices. the steady building up Of ~
cIimaxes. spiritual a. well as materal-eRna1a s
are not all made Up o. tonal volums-that Il e
achieved a reading which went Ike pIumrs
straight 20 the bottom Of his hearers hearts an
stirred up an enthusiasm such has not grss.i
a Beethoven symphony for many years N ysT B
York except ~ the Philharmonic socisty's -
Torrance OF the Ninth. which he also condu-tsi q
This. too. IN spite OF the fact that the audsa
had been asked 70 listen almost continuously to
strumentaI music for two hours. The en-
cert began with Nendeissohn's "Eebrfdss' ovs
ture, which was followed by LISTS pisnof0rts cs
certo. Then. before the symphony came
Faust" overture and "Siegfried Idyr' Or Va
ner. The concerto was played by Rudolph Ca K
OF Chicago II Mr.. Wengartner did not have
hand IN determining the unconventional chsrscs
of the reading which the work received h ~
tainly Impressed his personality on the orchestral s
part. which was distinctly virtuoso perform
ance in the best serss as Mr. CAMS psgiis q
the solo. More perfect agreement between The 10
factors could scarcely be conceived II vas "a
fined performance: sCintilant IN the closing pN'
ton crisp and CorusCatingly brilliant and IN ~
slow section. tender. reflective. postical delisai1
in its sound Not once We're the thoughts OF ~
listeners directed the old conception OF the ha'A
neyed concerto a. primarily hravura piece Il
The loud demonstrations OF enthusiasm Vas
marked the rest OF the afternoon began with ~
performance and 20 the surprise Of everybody 'a-
also the perpIexity OF many who cannot a2p'0'
OF the disruption OF such entity as this s'
Certo) the concluding section was repeated
GAM had deserved his triumph. but the cesoF
ton was of dubious prOpriety. splendiay af
matte reading was given 10 the overtlFe -
Weingartner tried 10 rescue the idyl from m'-l'
ony by great elasticity of tempo ana 0uicA'A'
the pace OF the remplissage in the middle ., =
piece but with only partial success 1hs w. II
too persistently mOnOchrOmatic. Would II % 81 Is
Iege TO abbreviate It? Wagner's pretty uiO1'
his baby son Is not a composition OF solemn inPS-
Mr. Weingartner certainly does not concsi''
such. He PLAYED il lightly and cheerfniy' anl
at all as If he were obsessed BY pious msI h
of the drama which contributed its meioa' n
teriaL So noticeable as 70 deserve speeiz. = II
OF praise were the Improvement OF tEs Of
+,,, e. .t+.,,-5r.. Hex