New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1913-01-22


theatre is chamber music and have en-
tended the deSntion so as TO exclude
| orchestral music. yesterday was day de-
voted 10 nguSicd di camera There were
two meetings OF significance, and both
were held in Aeolian Hall-a pianoforte
recital by Mr.. Max Pauer in the after
| noon and n concert OF vocal music by a
new organization. which with question
| able taste. il is TO be feared) calls itself
| the Hess SoloiTs Ensemble Of America"
in the evening. Mr. Payer, though pos
sessed Of
Thews OF Anakim
! And sinews Of a Titan's heart.
= chose Mendelssohn's gentle and old
( fashioned concerto i'm G minor for his
| introduction Ia America. The choice
| caused no small amount of comment, but
not so much. perhaps. as his election OF
| Schumann's "Kinderscenen" as the mid
| die number of his recital programme
! II seemed n little hit incongruous to
/ thinl; of so many feet of sturdy man en-
! gagged i'm the performance Of set or
! pianororte compositions which In the
popular mind are associated with child
/ hood
As matter OF fact, the "Kinderscenen"
are not music for the nursery but gems
/ OF musical poetry OF such ray serene
I that only a music lover who has become
/ fearfuliy blase can he deaf TO their
beauty. Schumann himself. defending
| the charming little pieces against the at
| tack OF a critic who thought them child
! sh. said IN effect that they were the
retrospectons Of "a grown-up looking
/ back on his days OF lnnocency. while his
I Christmas Album for the Young" was
made up Of the maeinings and emotional
! apprchensi0ns of the young. They are
naive in content. however, and also easy
Of technca, performance. and 1; is doubt
! ful if their composer ever dreamed that
4, they might be used Ivy virtuoso a. a
| vehicle FOR exhibiting mis- accomplish
ments. They were played at a recital
/ by pianist whose powers could not
measure themselves for moment win
| Mr. Pauer's in local concert room
some three years ago. but long memory
/ fails to recall any other instance of their
| public use. and Yet while listening TO the
! exquisite manner in which Mr.. Pducr
/ played them yesterday. no real lover Of
the beautiful could quarrel with him.
! They carried lesson and seemed to NJ
I admirably into a programme which be-
! gan with Bach's "Chromatic Fantasia and
I FUgue" and ended with a set Of vari-
| atoms on a theme by Bach written by
composer who was supposed to be revo-
lutionary until Sch0nberg came 10 bring
hat, nd i,,tn 40 q.
I of music-namely. Max Roger. Sharing
the middle ground with them was Brahms's
sonata in + minor which, like the stupen-
! dous fantasia and fugue Of the myriad
minded cantor Of Leipsc. had been played
| IN the same room only a day before. In
| this sonata Mr.. Pauer gave fine proof or
his genuine musiclanship. lie is not an
| emotionalist. but neither was Brahms
with him that feversh thing popularity
looked upon as feeling waited on healthy
! sentiment and love OF beauty. and these
I he proclaimed most convncingly. His
performance of the Bach piece was an
other instance Of lucid exposition kept
free from affectation OF any sort. II was
| the kind Of playing which warns the i'm
aginaton, delights the sense OF artistic
righteousness and leaves the nerves un-
rasped.
The Roger variations. with their really
| beautiful and pregnant theme. began as
| If they were going TO be plea IN behalf
Of a composer who has not yet won a
! large measure OF favor in our concert
rooms. but soon ran out into what seemed
| TO be merely a product Of reflective in
| eenuity. Its technical intricacies and
difficulties grew mountain high. but they
were met and overcome with amazing
ease. Roger takes liberal view of what
Is meant BY the word variations" but ia
this he follows the example OF Beethoven
| lin his treatment Of the Diabelli waltz
and Brahms. and many Of his transfoima-
! tions OF the fundamental melody are
very beautiful Beginning with what
| might be set down az the organ STYLE, he
| eventually reaches the extreme Of what
! the pianoforte Is capable of in the hands
| OF the tcchnician Of to-day.
| The singers who gave a concert in the
evening have been organized by Mr.. Lnd-
wig Hess for the purpose OF cultivating
! STYLE OF music which receives but little at
,ention from other organizations. Its Dor
| ders have been touched by the Musical Art
| Society. but little is popularity known of
a large portion Of its territory. In bret
| If is the department of concerted music
which does not come within the province
| Of a choral society either small or large
-duos trios quartets. etc. with or WITH
ont instrumental accompaniment. Last
! nights programme contained part-songs
! by Brahms. Elgar and Mr.. Hess and "a
number OF Scotch and Irish songs which
| HAYDN and Beethoven arranged Tor
voices with panoforte. violin and violon-
cello obbH0dto for the enthusiastic musical
| folk -lor!st. Thompson, Of Edinburgh
| There was much that was entertaining
| in the performance of Mr.. Hess's singers,
| but the absence Of homogeneity in the
voices was too obvious TO justify the APP
! nIication Of the word ensemble. The de-
| feet was particularly obvious in the voices
and style of the sopranos and tenors
which failed to blend with each other as
we'll as with the stcader and more eu-
phonious contraltos and BASES.
~. T.. X.