New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1913-10-27
NATIONAL MUSIC
Scandinavian, Russian and Ru.
manian Composers Heard.
FIRST SYMPHONY CONCERT
Notable Specimens of Morse
Music in Carnegie
Hall.

Hall.
Yesterdays music was strongly tinct-
ured with nationalism. A concert In Car
negie Hall In the afternoon was devoted
wholly to the compositions of Scandinavia
an musicians-Danish, Swedish and Nor
wegian-and in the programme OF the
first concert OF the Symphony Orchestra,
also In the afternoon but in Aeolan Hall.
there was a symphony by a Russian COM
poser to begin with, and an orchestral
rhapsody based on melodies Of his native
land by Rumanian at the close. For
the student of one OF the characteristic
tendencies of modern music the concert
I'm Carnegie Hall was the more Instructive
one of the two. for II disclosed much OF
the fine flower of the oldest. as well as
the richest, of the schools Of composition
based upon popular or racial idioms.
The symphony in + minor by Tschai-
kowsky which Mr.. Walter Damrosch
brought forward can scarcely be called
distinctively Russian-it is only in the last
movement that the Russian bear shows
his claws-and the Rumanian rhapsody
bv Enesco, which had It's first perform
ance in New York on this occasion. was
better calculated to astonish, bewilder ana
amuse than edify. All, or nearly all, the
music played and sung at the Scandlna-
Wan concert. on the other hand, brought
70 the consciousness OF the hearers re-
fined art, inspired with the feeling OF
Morse folksong. In way this was only
natural, for the scandinavian school OF
composition is the oldest and most 40
vanced of the national schools, and "
there is a Rumanian schools II has not
yet made itself manifest.
There was nothing indicative OF the
thought, feeling and social or national
life OF the people from whom Enesco is
sprung In the garish composition 10
which he has given national title lts
tunes suggest neither place nor time, ana
their treatment nothing more than the
reckless ingenuity OF devotee or latter
day technical tendency In orchestraton'
which owes nothing to the elegant french
school In which the composer received MS
training and as little to the best eHem-
plars OF the German and Russian
schools. IL its themes proved anything al
all they proved that Rumanian folksons
is I'm no respect Oriental and does not
partake either in matter or spirit OF
the folksong Of the peoples with whom
the Rumanians are associated In popular
thought. II may be that this is It's PROUD
characteristic; that it, as the people iohu-
~ and proudly imagine themselves TO De-
is OF Roman descent. II so, better speci-
mens than Mr. Enesco has employed IN
his rhapsody and a different treatment
than he has given them will nave 10 De
brought forward. The rhapsody ~
bewildering bit of musical hilarity' al
amazing tour de force in orchestrauoh
and rhythmical combination, garlsh
harmonic phantasmagoria-that Is all. IL
helped to show that Mr.. DamIosch nas
developed his orchestra into oahu oi
yirtuosi who can make light OF the tenn
nical difficulties which the young com
posers OF to-day Ike to pile up Out IL
erased Some OF the beautiful impression
which had been created by the playing
NJ the hand in the symphony, the NlVaiol
corcerto-grosso. and the accompaniment
- Nine GadskTs songs which had pre-
coded. 10
II was the purpose Of the concert III
carropia Hall to disclose the character
,stic beauties OF Scandinavian music. Inc
singers were Scandinavians' the orches'ia
was largely made up OF Scandina'iah''
n Scandinavian directed the music OF inc
affair and the composers whose names
annearod on the house bill were all Scan
dinayians The latter were the Danes
August Carl Nielsen, J. Glaeser' T. r.
I.anre- Miller. Peter Arnold Heise; the
vorwopi,ns Christian Sinding, Sigurd
Lie. Halfdan Kjerulf, Agathe BacKer-
Gr5ndahl, Edyard HaGerup Grieg' ana
the Swedes, Gunnar Wennerberg, Au-
gust Soderman, Emil Sjogren' VII
holm stenhammar, V. o. Peterson-Ber-
GER and Hugo Afren. The solo singers
were Nine. Julia Claussen, Nine. Char-
lotto I.und and Gustaf Holmquist, Pro-
,essor Cornelius Rubner, OF COLUMBIA
University. played Grieg's pianoforte con-
certo and ole Windingstad was the con-
ductor.
Not much of the music was familiar 10
our concert rooms: only the Grieg piano.
forte concerto. the same composer
"I.andkiending" for male voices ana Or
chestra and few of the songs, one OF
which "Sylvelin," by Sinding, had been
sung in the same room twenty-four hours
before by Miss Farrar, with an affected
nathos very foreign to the song as inter-
nreted by Nine. Lund. She also sang
sigurd Lies "Sne" Snow, marvellous
bit Of nocculent and poetical ne-paint-
ing and Kjerulf's setting OF the song
which in Bj0rnson's idyllic romance syn
MIRO solbakken" the heroine murmurs to
herself while preparing to steal away
from, the hut on the Saeter-an inexpres-
sively pathetic utterance, almost too ten
dor for communication to an audience.
Indeed. II cannot be sung as 1t ought to
| no sung In the concert room. Ii Is TOO
! intimate I'm its inarticulate melody. yet
Mime. Iunds singing OF II touches her
hearers deeply. An example OF orchestral
deIineation. Nielsens overture "Helios,
a tonal description of a sunrise. was an
other composition which would have chai-
lenged the admiration of even jaded con-
certgoers had 1t been performed under
more favorable conditions. II Is full OF
,oveliness in thought, feeling and color.
II was altogether a notable concert
II. f. K.
SUNDAY CONCERTS ATTRACT