Daily press. [volume] (Newport News, Va.) 1896-current, 1908-02-15
New York Tribune Musical
Critic Has Nothing Bnt
Words of Praise for
Composition.

10 the new suit rs performed by
Mr.. Damrosch ala the New York
Symphony Orchestra, with the COM
poser as pianist. tho lncy tune was
found to respond SO readily to SYM
phonic treatment as TO cause wonder
that the experiment had not been
more frequently tried before Mr..
Schelling set his hand to the task
1t could not have been only tho plea
aure Of recognition (strongly ms the
mind responds to an unexpected sem
station of this ldnd) that SGT yester-
days auditors TO IL sudden exchange
ing OF looks aud smiles aud mods,
no that for an instant IL seemed
likely that the music would DO in
terrupted by Il spontaneous wave OF
applause. This was no doubt tho
+, ruling element IN the momenary feel
( Ing that passed through the hall but
/ there must also have been some
measure OF thought for the Inherent
~ human and expressive quality of
the melody composed almost ffty
years ago by Daniel Decntur Emmett
s-"Old' Dan Emmett" as he was
affect'onately ca" d In his later days
The story OF "DixIes" composition
on rainy September Sunday In
1853. for performance tho next night
T. by Bryan's Minstrels, In this city, Is
too familiar to need repettion now.
but 1t is simply one of many sigma
OF the tunes continuing vitality that
Mr.. Schelling ehould have sized upon
1t, along with fragment OF Stephen
Fosters odd Folks at Home" "Su-
vance Rivera and OF Yankee Doc
de for the flnnl movement of his
ambitious and ingen' Gus score. This
movement is called by the composer
| q Virginia Reel, and IL Is In >2-4
time. motto yivace. and In the key of
| g fiat major The Dixie theme il
! first given out by the pianofore and
1T afterward appears In varied and e(-
fectlve orchestral guise. especially
when combined contrapuntally with
"Suwanee River the latter being
carried by the strings against tile
Ihvelier air on rhe pianaforte A
third theme enters this movement of
ithe suite. but Dixie" dominates II.
But It would be unfair further to
Withhold reference to Mr. Scheil,ng's
original work In the frat three
movements OF the suite. His music
Is built throughout ON n foundation
OF clearly defined dIatonic themes,
and II In his first movement the
tonal structure deiies the canons OF
musical architecture by failing 10
observe close relationship between
Its themati ground plan and its de-
veloped facade there are many other
4 hnildinuQ tnMcfno1 a.,
which have won admiration despite
a similar fault OF design. The sec
ond movement. schcrzando motto
legg'ero. With Its joyous suggestions
of Dvorak in New World sym
phonlc mood (the debt Is slight but
yet noticeable), made very happy
impression. particularly In lis open
Ing and closing ortions, though the
contrasting trio Is also we'll con-
lceived and carried out, with n char
acterist!c episode for pIanaforte and
English horn.
! In the third movement, an inter
mezzo adagio, the English horn
again sings xpressively--the COM
poser has used the wind choirs with
markea skill throughout his score,
tno"6h ohc may ldirly question his
taste In muting the horns and trum-
pets in the final movement at "D'x-
les" entrance. as conveying q notion
lof undesired srotesquere. On the
whole. then. this new Fantastic
Suite" of Mr.. Seedlings made
most agreeable impression. and il
Twill doubtless be heard again, espec-
Tally If the composer be at HAND to
play the p'anafo;te part with the
beauty of touch and clarity of inten.
ton in evidence yesterday.
Mr.. Damrosch gave of their best In
performing the suite, as they had al
ready done in the 3 fiat major sym
phony OF Schumann. There was al
|ready work on the list for solo in
tstrument and orchestra. Tschaik-
kowskys theme and variations, In
Iwhch Mr.. Henry Bramsen. the SYM
phony society's first violoncellist.
gave fine exhibition of his big and
We'll controlled tone and his sound
musio'anshlp. Tho concert program
ended with one of Goldmark's sump-
tious overtures, all OF them good to
hear and only one. perhaps, enjoy
ing greater popularity than that Sc
lected for this occasion, which was
the soaring and exuberent Spring"
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