The Detroit times. [volume] (Detroit, Mich.) 1903-1920, 1911-02-03

His manner of conducting Is incisiye,
almost military In its crispness, pre-
cision and authority. The results ne
attains are magnificent. With such a
body of individual artists as are num-
bered In the ranks of the Boston SYM
phony orchestra anything Is possible
to a good conductor.
To anyone familiar with the great
symphony orchestras OF the country
there can be no question In the mind
and critical Judgment that the Boston
organization Is the peer Of any. Such
beauty, purity and smoothness OF
tone. in the strings. are rarely heard
In any concert hall. The playing Is
that of one man, one instrument. The
tone produced Is so exquisitely limpid
that Ii Is a constant source OF marvel
as we'll as Of enjoyment to the must
cal ear. II Is a matter OF justihable
pride with this orchestra that the In
struments used are the very finest
the world can produce, from the
violins and cellos to the perfectly
tuned triangle.
The real musicianship of the play
ers, the majority Of whom have be-
longed to the organization for many
years, Is quite apparent, and 1t IS
easy to believe that the reputed high
test of ability required OF man be-
fore he can take his place at any
desk in the orchestra has not been
over-accentuated. There were 81 play.
ers on the platform, Thursday eve
ming, the largest body of musicians
ever heard on the local concert stage.
The program was remarkable for
several things. For one, every num-
Der was played, In this city, for the
first time by great orchestra. There
were many old musicians In the
audience who declared that to the
best of their belief Tschaikowsky's
Fifth Symphony had not been played
here before. The Humperdinck over
ture to "Haensel und Gretel' has been
given only once and that when the
Metropolitan grand opera company
presented the fairy operetta In the
Detroit Opera house last spring: 81
berlius' symphonic poem "Finlandia
was heard for the first time, and the
comedy overture Puck" by Gustav
Strube. likewise had its first hearing.
Mr.. Strube Is a member of the orches-
tra-one of the first violin players
and Mr.. Fielder gracefully pointed
him out and made him rise to ac-
knowledge the applause that greeted
this charming composition. The fact
that a man who can compose an over
ture good enough for the greatest Or
chestra in the world to play Is mem
Der of that self-same orchestra Is SUI
ficient standardization of all claims TO
artistic perfection, In its ranks, made
for the Boston organization.
Anton Witek, the concertmeister,
was the soloist Of the evening; and
he played the Mendelssohn Concerto
in Il minor In a manner seldom heard
in this city. Mr.. Wick Is violinist
who shows that he Ia first, last and
always the musician. His tone fs
beautifully clear and broad and he
plays with a technical perfection and
purity of intonation that should have
been an invaluable lesson to every
violin student In the audience. He
was most cordially received and was
recalled repeatedly.
Such splendid program so won
derfully and satisfyingly played needs
no critical commentator. Suffice II
to say that the evening was one OF
ideal communion with the Muse Of
Music.
For the third time within month,
the always delighted and loyal sup
porters of the Detroit Orchestral as
sociation will have the pleasure of
listening to a great orchestra, In the
second visit this winter, of the Theo-
dore Thomas symphony orchestra,
which will play In the armory, Mon
day evening, Feb. 20, giving an all
Wagner program. -