New-York tribune., 1908-01-19
THE SYMPHONY SOCIETY.

Mr. Walter I1amrosch celebrated the return Of
the Symphony Society from trip in the Western
country with a concert in Carnegie Han last night
the fifth OF the Saturday evening subscription
.erfes-and produced some music which delighted
.he souls of those Of his oldfashioned hearers who
still believe with old Galuppi that beauty, clear
rzss and good modulation' are essential In music
and some which amazed and distressed them beyond
measure Fortunately, the music Of the latter class
was oyerbalanced by that Of the former There
Was more ant!dote than bane quantitatiVely and
crrslitativeIv though il was hard TO believe SO
while the virus was being administered The mu-
SIC consisted OF A1endelssohn's overture tlngaf S
Cave" Schunann's pianoforte concerto CWlth the
solo mart played by Harold Bauer) and the over
ture TO ''Oberon' by Weber. The other thing was
called a symphony. with subtitle, a summer
Day on the Mountain" compounded out OF tones
which scenes TO have repugnance against arnianie
association with each other by N Vincent d'Indy
IL WAS the first performance Of the work in New
York We wish Il might be the last unless a class
can be organized Of Mr Damroschs patrons
rledged under heavy penalties, to shut their teeti
hard clear their minds Of all old-fogy notions OF
TFsthetic propriety and grinly TO sit and hear mt!
rbe nevv eyaugei Of cerebral music shall have
exalted them TO the heights on which beauty IS
conternned. Then they might have little schola
cantorum' Of their own and the fragment wouiI
hs left 10 its ingenious pursuit OF sweetness and
light
This new symphony has three formal divisions
With sub-titles--Dawn,' Day; Afternoon Under
The Pines" and Evening An ingenious an
s,st like the late lanented John Phoenix, for IN
stance could have told US from the music, without
doubt, what time of day II was under me pines
and also the Latitude and longitude Of the noun
tain depicted by the composer. We cannot Al
the outset the pine-clad elevation seemed 70 ne IN
the reighborhood Of Monmartre, for, as the music
starting with single high tone, accumulated d
few octaves picking them up here and there
among the instruments, there entered snalse
cries and calls, which eliminated Qike the pdralie
scene in CharDentiers ''LouIseD IN sort OF
.sNTarcbsnd d'ha bits, aVez-yous des habits d
,-erdr'y" from the trombone. This, we fancy, was
the Dawn motif After the evening had gone
into night and night had worn away some OF the
first music came back. and then. we believe the
Dawn motif appeared in inversion from WHICH
the night on the mountain and a new DAY hsu
l,ea7n This kind Of interesting cerebral music
was practised some two centuries ago by pre-
s7ecessor Of Bach's, who gave muslcai ueiilie'l. "
10 The miracle which put heart or courage li'o
old Gideon by writing theme 10 represent ~
vet fleece and the dry grass. when was to 20
sign OF divine favor and then playing II O
ward 10 represent the dry fleece ana the W.
,rSe 12,f - is not pleasant TO write IN tiS Neii
about music which the wise men OF the last zen
Us Is great and good. Let us all De paueiiI GIN"
try IiDen to it. :, ,s
Tho ru1,sc OF the concert was eXqulslteIy piaSe
an OF II Strong sweet and SOUND, proao an"
sfsr-fp. :, the cantilena sparkling and peariy III
Sc rassaPes WIS Mr.. Bauer's reading OF the cor.
oeyto and the oyertures played with beautl"i
tore and poetical spirit ~ "