The Richmond Virginian. (Richmond, Va.) 1910-1920, 1912-11-28
AUDIENCE HEARS
GREAT ORCHESTRA
u
AUDITORIUM Is ONLY HALF
FILLED. HOWEVER, AT PHIL
HARMONIC CONCERT.
E-MAN WINS TRIBUTE
APPLAUDED FoR TWELVE MIMI
TIES YOUNG RUSSIAN vloLINIsT
sTOUTLY REFUSES ENCORE
ASKED OF HIM.
ELMAN WINS TRIBUTE

Richmond had chance last night
to hear Mischa Elman, the celebrated
Russian violinist and the Philharmonic
society, of New York, as the Metro
pclitan's most famous orchestra Is
called, and Richm ond did not appear
TO be greatly excited over 1t.
The City auditorium. where the con-
cert was given. was scarcely half ILL.,
ed. Possibly the coming football
game and racing meet had overshad-
owed the coming of the symphony or
chestra aud the v.oiinist. but IL In no
wise tnterfered with the artistic sue
cess of the concert.
The prolonged applause that greet
ed the playing of Elman demonstrated
that IL the audience was comparative
ly small ye. the hearts of Eliraa's
hearers were In the right place. No
doubt only the genuine music lovers
turned out. Ii so they were well re-
paid.
For twelve minutes after Elman
had finished the Brahms concerto the
audience stamped feet and clapped
hands until they must have tingled
and at two minute intervals Elman
would walk from a wing of the stage.
bow profoundly, center, right and left,
to the audience and to the musicia ms
and then, with final bow to the au-
dience. would disappear Each time
he neglected to bring his violin with
him. He may have understood that
the audience wanted more. Had he
y known that fsw bars Of "Su@wanee
River or cd Black Joe" would have
satisfied everyone he probably would
have complied Thinking, no doG u,
that they wanted him - play the last
movement of the concerto over he
( wklfy left his sIpttG behind h1ra
DOCS Not Kepis To Encores.
1t is aid to be characteristic OF El-
man never 10 respond 10 an encats- II
30 the trait Is, mast eommendable and
might be practiccd 10 adSantage-a3-
vantage of unfortunate auditors -ssy
less famous and uNpe'. musicisns-
Elman's playing. Of course. MAS
magnificent He couid not reach his
srt sent pos ition IL tpo.ninence IL lie
were not a nasts~.. lie has All the
dramatic qualities ~ the new schini.
which il sometimes snoken St as an
II terse Eussian temper anaent. AS .o-
that, no doubt. Pag,nnins was f3iiv IA
emotional. mum !. ne so. perhaps =
to have the disposition ass!gned to Ole
Bull. nor the style OF Joachim and
i>aye.
There In breadth to Elmsn's tone.
finish to his lingering and his pyro-
technics are about as perfectly rem
dered as this sort of rapid work may
No doubt he can coax the soul OF
a violin 10 appear and sing sweetly
or with loud voice: make II weep
almost silently and wall in discor-
dant tones. but in the Brahms con-
certo he was not called upon to do
aG N athlete
III tried, for the Brahms piece re-
Z ferred to has been called a CON
cerfo against the VIOLIN as the pro-
gram hath It. The second movement
OF the concerto is the one lover
OF melody Will prefer. but the tinah
an allegro giocoso," which may mean
fast ana. joyful. is by far the most
Interesting. II was after the finish
Of this that Eiman was applauded for
twelve minutes In a vain endeavor
70 bring him back to play something
else.
Of Conductor Stransky.
or Conductor Stransky much has
been written. and the Same may be
said of the Philharmonic Orchestra
Nothing in the way Of genuine praise
could be too strong. musical sharp
might say that the woodwind of the
orchestra Is a little weak, but IT
would need an able critic to point
out specifically why this may be So
Conductor Stransky has been
eroten Of sIightingly as of the
ycungef school. Some of his elders
cost. ,,roft hs his style of conduct
ing. He has authority and sweep to
MS beat, and there is a dignity about
him worthy the successor OF Gustav
Mailer.
The program given was Felix Wein-
gartner's "A Merry Overture" some
thing quite new. Brahms concerto for
Violin. . major. opus ~; Lists sym.
phpnic poem. Les Preludcs.' and
Beetho~en's symphony NO :. A major.
opus %.
About the Symphony.
As to the symphony itself, says the
program, IL is almost too familiar to
need comment. WAGNER calls It "the
Apotheosis of the Dance, the Dance in
lie highest conditions: . ths happiest
reaIization Of the indictments OF the
body In an ideal form" But It. is
painting the lily. or a sacrilege,
depending on ones point Of view to
&C ually dance to II as is done at pres
ent.
Beethoven had the fear later that his
"Ailegretto" might be taken too fast
- he suggested that the tempo mark
- CAdn&Iu W HAAN~~AN"~ $780,
grctto.
The. Scherzo is In the composers
happiest vein. The chief characters
tic OF the trio" Is a sustained high A
In the victims. with q changing note
(eighth-note) g sharp during the
pauses. Later this 10 given to the
Eumpets with the q sharp changed
10 A--whether this was owing to the
imperfect natural trumpets Of that
time or not, II Ia impossible to dis
cover. Anton Seidl thought 40. and
used TO play the g sharp. The mel
ody Of the trio. on the authority Of
the Able Etadler, Is a pilgrims hymn
IN use In lower Austria.
K d the finale that the boisterous-
neas mentioned II most In evidence.
Here" says wagner, "the purely
fhythmical movement. 20 70 speak.
esIebratessits orgies" ana again. But
compare the roughness OF the opening
and concluding movements Of this
work with the grace. ioftiness and even
deep devotional feeling Of its middle
sectjons and We ara presented with
similar pussling contrasts TO those SO
seton found n Beethoven like. whore,