The Pacific commercial advertiser. [volume] (Honolulu, Hawaiian Islands) 1885-1921, 1908-12-09
MISS GOODSON'
PIANO RECITAL
Was a Most Delightful Musical
Treat Too ScantiIy
Attended.

Those who failed to attend Kath-
arine Goodson s pianOforte recital at
the Opera House yesterday afternoon
missed one of the greatest musical
treats that Honolulu has been favored
with for many years. From the very
start the artistic established those re-
lations with her audience which are
essential to the real success of such a
performance. 1t is greatly to be re-
paratively small The inconvenience
of the hour and the fact that the next
day was alameda" day may be rea-
sons, but can not be considered ex-
euses. Honolulu is wont to pride her
self, entirely without cause, on being
the most musical city west of the Mis-
souri,, but whenever an occasion comes
to test the claim, she lamentably fails
to make good. What doth it profit
man to have got his mail off by the
Alameda and to have starved, if not
lost, his own soul for music?
Nevertheless, there were present some
score of fair ladies and few brave
men.
If there were any who had mentally
styled Beethoven's Moonlight Sonata
as CHESTNUT" they must surely
have regretted the thought as soon as
Katharine Goodson began to play
Such smoothness and beauty of touch
and style one is not often permitted
to hear, and it is little wonder that
her audience were soon fired with gem
uine enthusiasm The lovely Adagio
Sostenuto, the dainty Allegretto and
the fiery finale were all played, not
only with consummate skill and ease,
but with such feeling and expression
as to make it appear almost an i'm
pertinence to offer any criticism at all, |
even though it be panegyric.
The two works of Brahms, so ad- |
contrasted, were perhaps the
gems of the performance, the mar /
intricate harmonies and reso- |
buttons of the Intermezzo being play I
ed with touch like silk. Nor was it |
only in such compositions as these and |
Chopin s etudes and valses that Miss
GOOdsOn eXcelled. Her rendering of |
the rhapsodies of List and Brahms,
and Rachmaninoff S Prelude in F, were
given with a force and vigor usually |
to the sterner sex alone.
The Grieg Sonata in E minor was
curious and unexpected, like most of
that composer works; in fact, it was I
more in the nature of series of short
n or longer rhapsodies labeled with
names which suggest the movements of
/ sonata, but of the form of a sonata
here is none. This work is none the
ess interesting, but seemed to appeal
east to the audience, possibly for the
easons above stated. Nevertheless, to
ome this selection was the finest num-
Der on the program.
If it is not presumptuous to find
ault with so finished and magnificent
performance, there was some lack of
learness in some of the more rapid
'Ortissimo passages in one or two
,laces, almost approaching lack of pre-
ision, but this is the only fault that
he most pernickety could find.
Mr.. Adams is to be congratulated OF
Iaving been the means of enabling US
o hear So gifted performer, and it
S to be hoped sincerely that the mod
rate attendance will not discourage
i'm in his efforts to provide Honolulu
With the best music that can be heard.
Finally, it might be mentioned that
he absence of leis and floral tributes
vas blessed and happy relief, an ex-
client precedent which it is to be
oped will be followed hereafter.