The Washington herald., 1907-02-20
OLGA SAMAROFFS SUCCESS.
Brilliant Concert by Boston Sym
phony Orchestra at the National.

Brilliant Concert by Boston Sym
phOny Orchestra at the National.
The fourth matinee of the Boston sym
phony Orchestra was given yesterday af-
ternoon at the New National Theater.
with Nine. Olga Samaroff. the distin-
guished pianist, as soIoist. The attraction
was so great that the house was filed,
and a great number Of people were oblig-
I ed TO stand. Many persons prominent in
society were present, and the Hon. and
/ Mrs. Nicholas Longworth with d party
! of friends, occupied "A box
/ There were only three numbers on the
! programme. The first was "The Sorcerers
Apprentice" by Dukas after ballad by
Goethe. It is an orchestral scherzo. dis
! tinctly modern. for il was played for the
first time at concert of the Societe
I Rationale in Paris in 1897. The ballad on
which this scherzo was founded is a liter
airy gem; it is Goethe's Der Zauberkehr-
! ling" which was translated by Bowring.
| It embodies an old legend of the East.
As set TO music by the composer, 1t is
! scored for one piccolo, two flutes, two
Oboes, two clarinets. one brass clarinet,
/ three bassoons, four horns and the string
/ ed instruments. In harmony the scheTzo
( tells the weird story. There is a long
and mysterious introduction, and in the
/ second theme there is a suggestion Of
the conjuration and the approaching of
the spirits. It is a fine translation into mu-
sic of the story of the apprentices ankle
ty until the return of the sorcerer. and it
was beautifully played by the Boston
symphony Orchestra under the mastery
leadership Of DIR. Karl Muck
! Then came the appearance of Mime. Olga
Samaroff, the pianist, who played
Tschaikowsky's concerto for the piano
forte, No. ], in B fat minor. This is the
concerto about which Tschaikowksy asked
Rubinsten's advice, and which Rubin
stein condemned so utterly at its first
hearing Afterward he was glad to play
it and 10 give it the place Of honor at his
recitals Ii is "A composition which stamps
its composer as a true tone poet. and it
was most skillfully and wonderfully
played by Nine. Samaroff yesterday after
noon. In spite of her name. Nine. Sama-
rolf is not a Russian pianist, as many
have supposed. She was born in Texas, of
German Russian parentage but she
studied her art in Europe She has great
power Of expression; she plays with appar-
ent ease, but with so deep a feeling that it
communicates itself TO her audience, and
her music seems really to talk. 1t is a
composition that makes the most rigorous
demands on the performer, but Nine
Samaroff falteTed not at ALL but went
through the three movements of the
scherzO in brilliant and captivating style
At its conclusion the applause was so
hearty and prolonged that she was forced
to come out and bow her acknowledge
ments eight or nine times. but she de-
clined to respond TO an encore,
The last number on the programme was
BeethOvens Symphony in A minor, one
of the most brilliant of all this COM
posers work. It is of this symphony
that they tell the anecdote that the
Chevalier Ignaz Won Seyfried. hearing 1t.
/ seemed to hear discordant kettledrums
in a passage of the finale, and said: My
dear friend, ii seems to me there is a
mistake. The drums are not in tune"
~ did not intend them to be-" Bee
thoven is said to have replied.
The symphony in it's four movements
| was played with the skill for which the
Boston Symphony Orchestra is noted, and
il deserved the attention with which it
was listened to and the great applause
that greeted its close.