New-York tribune., 1912-01-13
MUSIC,
Mr.. BaChauS's Recital.

Tho concert. or recital, Of solo compost
,ions for pianoforte which Mr.. Wilhelm
pacbaus gave I'm Carnegie Hall yesterday
.ftornoon did more than confirm the fine
i-,,ression which he made when he PLAYED
,ne beethoven Emperor concerto at two
~ the symphony Society's concerts some
dave ago The admirable qualities which
r.ora IN Evidence then were exhibited again,
hu, In greater variety and from many
dtror.n+ points of view. His programme
mas NJ the typical. even conventional. kind,
tro,,, yrbioh. no doubt, the majority Of all
Lovers Of pianoforte music Except possibly
those who cultivate it PROFESSIONALLY
could he glad 10 be emancipated for time
though Il furnishes the simplest and
oaeiost standard Of measurement. Here Is
.bo formula: First tribute to Bach; then,
os paderewskl would say, the ''roast"-a
rIaroforte sonato by Beethoven, after
u.bicb the usual Chopin group, and finally
the Idsztian fireworks. though Mr.. Bachaus
ter,nered the last feature with the senti-
roort Of the third "Liebestraum.' Such
scheme is always instructive to the stu
dent who has numerous representations
before the large public has been persuaded
N attend newcomers reoitals, and, as has
been said provides the most obvious stand
o-ds of Judgment How does the artist
enunciate the poyphony of Bach? Is the
music merely a mathematical and techni-
cal nroposition to him. or is he also con-
ecious of the poetry inherent In II? Is he
, dry-as-dust pedant. or something more?
can he reveal the soul Of Beethoven even
in the few sonatas which are always played
as II they were alone representative OF
bir,o How does he read Chopin? Does
- fool the .'rnorhidezza" Of the music and
bri,o, g 10 the consciousness Of his hear
,, orso Does he sacrifice the 'morbidezza
., favor Of "virility" and pound Chopin's
snirit ont Of his music Is he adequately
brilliant IN the iszt numbers? Nhen one
,reuars these questions in a review OF the
conventional pianoforte recital he mas gem
orally done all that Is expected OF MIN.
Nv Pachaus invites attention 10 some
,birc e,,nsrior 10 all these questonings. He
invited It Yesterday by the quality which,
for want of a better word, may be called
b,e nure musicanship. He displayed most
extraordinary virtuosity tanother dreadl VI
vord). but without challenging notice OF Il
for its own sake. He demonstrated
Rach's chromatic fugue 50 clearly ana CON
vincingIv that no element In II couin DC
missed by his listeners, and he put the TO
mantle feeling into the preceding prelude
so that II was felt as we'll as heard. ne IN
terrreted the "Waldstein Sonata without
making a show piece out Of IT. and be-
tween II and his group OF Chopin pieces
he gave a performance OF the variations oy
Rrabns on a theme by Paganini which nah
so much musical merit that one had scarce
" time 10 think Of his achievement IN 80
easily overcoming their appalling technl'aI
difficulties His Chopin numbers were al
familiar as household words-the waltz"s
IN A fat and c sharp minor the cradle
Song the minor nocturne. thre" pT'ina'S
and the 4 fat ballade. Musical sanity was
tho KEYNOTE IN all OF the pieces. an eNhl-
bltion Of the golden mean between inc
r,usby sentimentality beloved ot school
GIRLS and the rudeness which som" artists
,ntrrde upon the music In the mistaken
notion that thus Chopin can h" mace
strong and manly But always there was
tho most admirable recognition OF what Is
osec,tiaI in musical intcrpretation-of
beauty Of tone. of symmetry Of phrase OF
dvramlc values. OF gracefulness yet dignity
q, melody. OF cloarncss in harmonic anaIy-
Il l. X.