New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1913-12-13
The Symphony Society of
New York Plays Sir Ed
wards New Work.
MISS TEYTE HEARD IN
FRENCH PROGRAMME
plea for the Comm:ter Who HAS
to Depart Before the Con-
cert Is Finished.
Nv ~, v. kREub'Ei.


work by Sir Edward Elgar. The circum-
stances attending that performance con
stitute one of the items which might he
made the subject of unpleasant comment
II is becoming a subject Of wonderment
among those who are habitual or COM
pulsory. observers Of musical dOlngs that
as the time cf beginning grows later ana
later SO does the time when the item OF
principal interest at a concert is brought
forward. Every concertGoer I'm the me-
tropOlis ought Ia have LEARNED years ago
that a large traction Of the audience, aud
that the fraction Ia which most consid-
Grafton is due is compelled to leave the
cou"crt-room at fixed time in order that
domestic duties may he attended To- IN
suburban homes 1t H.. therefore little less
Than an outrage 10 compel that fraction
To fOrcgO the ouly feature of a concert
which Offers the attraction of novelty
The Philharmonic Society has long been
an offender I'm this respect, but yesterday
Mr. Walter DamroscE sent a score OF the
patrons of his orchestra home with only
his analysis OF Cigars "FalstaT" I'm their
minds instead II the work itself Mean
while the cNpcCtant ones had 10 hear
three orchestral trincs by Liadow. which
arc not only familiar. bur belong i'm popu-
lar OF symphony. concerts, and two ap-
pearanccS of Miss Maggie Tcyte when one
would have answered all the requirements
Of the occasion Mr.. Damrosch Is quite an
mitator rs an analyst at the pianofortc
and his of hand talk about Sir Edwards
symphonic poem was thoroughly delight
I'll. but the more ilumnativc his talking
aud playing. the greater the interest and
curiosity In the work to which 1t Is de-
voted. and. of course, tho greater the dis
appointment OF those who are prevented
by the clock from hearing the music
Yesterday concert opened with
Dyordk's symphony. From the New
World" which has become so familiar Ia
New lork's audiences that 10 mention the
fact Of its performance ought 10 convey a
clear idea OF how II was played-taking
the merit OF the Interpreting medium for
granted hut singular fatality hangs
over the work. That foreign conductors
should make a strange mess of.much Of
II is not o. be- wondered at. but that Thco-
dorc Thomas should never have quite
grasped Us spirit and that Mr. Damrosch
should occasionally show himself uncon-
scious Of its proper phrasiacal punctuation
az We may use such a phrascJ is unac-
countablc. Critics who are unwilling TO
hear the voice Of Amcricanism In it. and
rather than do so accept the testimony
OF foreigners and babes over those OF the
composer and his American conhdants
paper typc and ink are at their com
mand. but musicians ought by this time
"a be- able 10 distinguish the accents which
fell into the ears OF the COMPOSER and
we're plainly published by him. and there
ought never To he a failure 10 publish the
American musical idiom m its first and
last movements at least for they are very
obvious. and their utterancc calls for only
ordinary attention 20 musical rhetoric
II Miss Teytc though not much. did
more than was required by the occasion
she at least did it very woll-so much
better than anything that she did AT her
recital that II * a pleasure to compli-
mcnt her singing of the Bruch song with
its refrain of ave Maria" and the
French songs by Duparc, Grctry and
Dalayrac.
When Mr. Damrosch jon beginning his
exposition Of Sir Edward Cigars "Fal-
STAFF" (which the composer calls sym
phonic study" instead u symphonic
poem confessed that though he knew
more about music than mis- audience. and
vet recognized the need Of program
matte Interpretation OF the work. ne
citation of it's purely musical qualities
than il he had let the music speak for
itself And Yet he had the composers
sanction for all that he said Except the
Introductory tcmarR. for Sir Edward
published his explanation of the work
under his own signature In The Musical
Times" OF Loudon, Just before II was
first produced At the Leeds Festival last
October. The most poetical the most
suggestive and therefore the best com
poser Of programme music mat ever llNed
WAS SChumann and IL was MS dic'uHl'
We believe. that while good music coald
not be hurt oy an explanatory title or
titles. bad music could not be helped by
even the most ingenious programme oT
Edwards work has much that IS beauu-
,,l in u much that would haze made Il
convincing appeal If he had gwen IL on'y
IFS general title: but II is married by the
effort To tell all the principal incidehts
iu its hero's history as we nave theih
Get forth i'm the Shakcspearlan stories
Of the Henrys with whom Falstai
,y,s associated As for the TAT
lnight az the comedy Elgar refuses TO
oesociste his music with MIN why
q = question between him and his literary
conscience. Had he however been VIII
ing IN make a musical picture OF the
brapgart friend of Prince Hal, beginning
u,itb hin, as he was when he was the
hoon companion of the dissolute prince
and ending with his death, while pluck
ING at the counterpart of his bed ana
..habbling OF green fields he would still
have had enough material for graphic
musical portrait. He needed not to nave
r,issed the fine opportunity from musl-
col noint of view OF showing us the
u,,gbt who had sense OF music but
had marred his voice by singing of
psaIms when he was youth; but Sir
Fdward is the English Strauss, and must
toll us all or nothing. So, according TO
his own confession, we have delineation
,and a most effective one ii is) OF Fall
s,a0 I'm his green old age. mellow, frank,
90" easy corplIlent. loose. unprincipled
SSnd Injurious" In the chief theme which
rms through his piece and which we
easily recognize on its first appearance;
Cell F,s sr.atl