Los Angeles herald. [microfilm reel] (Los Angeles [Calif.]) 1900-1911, 1909-04-27
Musical

III
XH lin numbers tonight at Simpson
ALA auditorium will be beyond DOUBT
the GROWING event of the music season
in Los Angeles, and the house ought
to be packed to the doors in greetlhs
to this young Russian virtuoso' Eli
mans reputation was not made by III
terested press agents, but by his own
musicianship. He has been acclaimed
a genius in Europe and in all the music
centers on the Atlantic coast, whlle IN
each city along his transcontlnental
route his playing has proved the Key
to all hearts.
Elman comes to us from San Fran
cisco engagement, and 1t VIII pc ol
interest to Los Angeles music-lovers 10
read the following estimate of his work
given by Alfred Metzger in his paper,
the Pacific Music Review Even Mr..
Metzgers unstinted praise does not
carry it's full value unless the reader
is aware how much easier it is for MN
to criticise than to become enthusiastic.
1.-The contention that the violin is an
instrument that approaches the charac-
ter of the human voice more than any
other mechanical contriVance was never
more graphically illustrated than on
last Tuesday evening when Mischa
Elman aroused a thoroughly hypno-
tized audience to the highest pitch OF
enthusiasm. During the last fifteen
years of my journalistic experience L
have listened to many great Vlollnlsts.
I have heard artists for whom teen
meal difficulties did not exist. L have
heard violin virtuosi who drew from
their instruments emotional express
sions of the finest tone coloring. l
have listened to disciples of the violin
to whom artistic exertion seemed to
be very fatiguing, and l have heard
others who went through the program
with almost annoying sang froid. But
I have never listened to an artist who
combined the technical thoroughness
of execution with the revelation of the
musical possibilities of the violin TO
quite such an extent as Mischa Elman
does. There is something about Ell
mans playing that stands absolutely
apart as a unique exhibition of an in
dividual brand of artistic skill.
"And this particular individually
which might be entitled the Gilman
style makes itself manifest in sue
cessful endeavor to actually sing upon
the violin. At no time have l seen an
audience moved to tears or laughter
with quite that spontaneity which
Mischa Elman seems to effect. He
actually seems to talk upon his violin,
and the smooth, mellow tones seem
10 eXIldlS WOIuS VI PoCliS 1ehhNJ' ~
though naturally opposed to artistic
eccentricities l did not in the least
mind Mischa Elman's swaying hither
and thither upon the waves of his ar
tistic expression. This physical man.
Hesitation of his absorption in his art
is so integral part of the perform
ance that without it there could not
be such thing as an 'Elman STYLE
1t completes the tout ensemble.
UIn cuoh an instance where the art
of violin playing has reached as high
as eminence as may be attained
through human agency critical re-
view becomes banal. I can only con-
tinue to invent eulogies expressing
the inexpressible' delight experienced
by listening to an artist of Mischa
Elmans truly phenomenal dimensions.
The Lalo Symphony Espagnol was
given a reading that combined author
ity with striking poetic touches. The
Handel Sonata in E major had never
enjoyed quite so much, and, indeed,
never realized it's simple beauty quite
so impressively as during Mischa Ell
mans Interpretation of the same. The
Beethoven Menuet was a gem of
dainty phrasing. The Gossec Gavotte
was a comic recitation upon the violin.
Dittersdorf's 'Deutscher Tanz' permit
ted you to hear the wooden shoes
upon the tile floor. Schubert-Wil-
helmj's Ave Maria was the essence of
religious adulation. Sarasate's Caprice
Basque was an exhibition of technical
skill humorous in the ease with which
it was demonstrated"
Elnan will play tonight and Satur-
day afternoon in Simpson auditorium.
Tonight's program is the following:
Concerto (Mendelssohn) allegro, motto appas-
sionate, andante. allegretto non troppo.
La Folia," (CorellD, arr. by David
T-fx( 1YsAf oN.1 10
Saens).
"Abend-Lied" (Schumann).
Moment Musical" (Schubert).
'Nocturne," Chopin.
"Jota," (Sarasate).