New-York tribune., 1910-11-21
MUSIC,
Some Notes on Sunday Concerts.

All of Mr.. Walter Damrosch's offerings
at the fourth Sunday afternoon concert
of the symphony Society in The New The
atre yesterday were In a high degree in
teresting even IL they were not all equally
profitable to the audience. 1t was an
aesthetic refreShmeut TO hear again Schu-
mann's first symphony, though Mr. Dam
rosch weighted It's scherzo with distress
fully heavy clogs, and pleasant to become
acquainted with the ballet music from
Tschaikowsky's opera, Jeanne dare,
though the rather commonplace music dis
turbed ones sense of the congruities- In
the concert room there was nothing to
play the mediator between the sentimental
fancies aroused by the title of the opera.
together with the vocal excerpts from
it which were performed and the rough
and-tumbIe dance music which followed
Here the concert descended from an Ideal
plane to a popular one. AID the descent
was somewhat too abrupt. There was no
such incongruity between the numbers
chosen from Wagner's Flying Dutch
man." and no doubt this circumstance had
something to do with the keener enjoyment
which the music of the German called
forth.
In the Tschaikowsky and Wagner num-
bers Mr. Damrosch and his orchestra had
the cooperation of Nine Sara Anderson
and a choir Of women from the Institute
of Musical Art She who was known as
Miss Anderson when she left New York
some seven years ago has lived since then
in a pleasant memory which her mother
helped to create She returns after varied
experiences in some of the theatres of Ger
many. If all the facts were known OF
those experinces they might convey valu-
able lesson to ambitious young singers be-
fore whom the eilurement of an operadc
career is always lowering. For singers
whom nature has destined for the stage
there is much value in the routine which
rovices are privileged to acquire in the big
and little theatres of Germany, and which
is withheld from them here but for singers
whose natural endowments point to the
concert platform there is seldom profit in
a sotourn abroad. Miss Anderson's voice
was one of fine fibre. and her musical in
st1rcts were of order that justified great
expectations when she left US. She comes
back with evidences of experience in her
singing but with some of the fresh
charm gone from her tones and with
out dramatic expressiveness to make
good the loss. She was at her best in the
ballad from THE Flying Dutchman," in
~N~---~
to the fore, especially her native musical
| instincts
! Mr.. Damrosch brought the concert to
an end with a performance of Debussy's
composition, 'Rondes de Printemps."
which has figured recently in two con-
certs of the Philharmonic Society. Under
| a less strained reading than that given
| to it by rfr. MahIer the work benefited in
| respect of conference, congruity and
feuphony. without putting aside the foccu-
| lent, nebulous. fragmentary invertebrate
character in which, no dSubt. the COM
poser wishes it 10 present itself. A May
| time roundelay with all the sweet and
! healthy suggestions which the term calls
| up il can never be, yet no doubt there
are raised imaginations which may find
| pleasant food in its intimation Of vernal
voices. though they express themselves
sometimes in grunts, sometimes in croaks.
sometimes in squeaks, which, as French
| critic said half a century or so ago,
! apropros of the scherzo in Berlioz' s
! Romeo and Juliet sound like the noise
made by an ill-greased syringe
| There was Il 1oveIier voice of spring
! heard in some old airs and songs sung in
the chamber music room of Carnegie Hal
| last night by Miss A1abelle MacConnelI, a
young singer who is still seeking the wider
| hearing which she will soon deserve If she
/ has not earned II already Miss Macon
| nell has achieved much in the art Of vo-
| calization. she disclosed in an air CDa
tempeste") from Handel's "Giulio Cesare, y
| and other songs though she also showed
| that she was still in her musical novittate
| by a want of repose and an apparent lack
! ~
the eighteenth century has dramatic sig
njfcance. More satisfactory and highly
pIeasurable, indeed. was her singing of
Grieg's Elm Traum' and other songs
hose musical essence was within her
grasp even if all Of their poetic charm was
| not grasped.
The singing of mature artist, fully alive
to both the music and the poetry Of his
songs was heard in the recital Of George
Hamlin at Carnegie Hall in the afternoon
Mr. HamIin's fine qualities have often been
exploited before New York audiences and
as often extoIIed- There is never anything
stereotyped in his programmes, but sig
niffcant feature in yesterdays list consist
ed in the considerable share which folk
songs had in it. An old German song Of
rare charm was followed by a Swedish enc.
and after modern German. French and
English composers had had their turn there
came old Scotch and Irish songs. In every
thing Mr. HamIin's intelligence and taste
We're conspicuous.
The first Of the popular Sunday night
concerts which are accompaniments of the
opera season took place in the Metropo1i-
tan Opera House last night. The singers
were Mines. Lucy Weidt and Marie Rap
pold Messrs. Ricardo Martin. Walter
Sooner and Adamo Didur: the conductors.
Mr. Hertz and a newcomer, Josef Faster
mack. Songs. operatiC arias and orchestral
pieces came in agreeable alienation. and
an audience which was not large but keen
" appreciative had many opportunities TO
publish its delight with the generous offer
ings. H. Z. k.
LARGE AUDIENCE AT RECITAL
Nine Stoffregen Gives Pleasing Per
formance at Mendelssohn Hall.