The San Francisco call., 1909-04-21
UNSTNTfD PRAISE
FOR MISCHA fLMAN
Violinist Described as Playing
From His Heart and Touch
ing Souls of Hearers
BY Walter Anthony

Mischa Elman, from the steppes OF
Little Russia. where wolves howl and
the czar rules. came last night to Ellis
street and opened the Garrick theater.
He turnad the former home of Orpheum
vaudeville into concert hall, and tuck
ing his violin under his chin dreamed
Elman's playing defies analysis. Last
night he did not give himself over to
technical exercises; he did not show
or There were no roman candles nor
skyrockets of tonal display in his mu-
sic. The recital was feast of tone
This Is year old virtuoso, undismayed
by pitifully small audience, played as
though he were all by himself, and
with his fiddle hugged to his chin,
dreamed.
TONE sENsUOUsLY BEAUTIFUL
OF all the players who have surprised
us, no one, not even Kreisler. has
more golden tone than Elman. 1t is
throbbingly vital, sensuously beautiful
round shot through with color. It is, in
fact. indescribable. When you can tell
me whence comes the charm of Schu-
bert song, the glory of a Wagner Sc
quence, the dignity of a Beethoven
phrase, I'll tell you whence comes the
Elman tone. Not before.
Perhaps it is not right to say that
Elman did not disclose ths limits of his
technical skill. He may have done So
but no one realized it. The wonder and
purity of his intonation were all any-
body thought of. Only in the allegro
movement of the Handel E major sonata
was there anything to criticise. In that
movement refractory string, perhaps
annoyed. Anyway, he was a vibration
or two per minute quicker than the
piano.
Otherwise. from the futy harmonics
OF the Sarasate Caprice Basque" to
the classic measures of the Beethoven
minuet this young Russian played as
one blessed OF God. 1t is seldom, in
deed. that a violinist comes to these
shores who so completely buries his
technic in melody, or~who hides his
skill so well behind the bars of abso-
lutte music. The skeleton OF Elman's
melody is never ratified; only the spirit
is felt, and that spirit is a sereneIy
beautiful presence, when it is not pas
sionate and red with bright cor
puscles.
Schubert's Ave Maria" as tran
scribed by Wilhelmj has never been
presented in more beautiful garb than
Elman dressed 1t; not even Schumann
Heink's glorious voice in this song
will make you forget Elman's inter-
IL
want to, that on. the repetition of the
melody Elman plays it in octaves, and
that in the second period of the song
he plays In thirds.
His octaves are as perfect as a prime,
and his thirds are as true as the piano
before it was tempered. You will not
think about that sort of thing, though.
You will follow the meIodious path
with Elman and dream.
Handel'S formal sonata hecoo,a g.,
stinct with life and beauty under the
pressure of Elmans bow and fingers:
the Gavotte. by Gossec, was a cluster
of pizzicau pearls-if there's any such
thing outside of the realm of tone;
Lalo's Symphony Espagnol was fiery
and wayward; and the Dittersdorf
Deutscher Tanza" was grotesque yet
beautiful. hn3m.
Elman, in brief is a violinist whose
art needs no guide book nor key. He.
plays direct from the heart and he
touches the souls OF those who have
two ears and a sense for the beautiful.
He should have a crowded house to-
morrow night