New-York tribune., 1913-10-22
A QUEEN OF SONG
Madame Melba Returns in
Concert.

1t is q gracious dispensation OF Prov-
dence that though there IS never period
In art IN which its Gecadence is not &c
plored BY old observers there is also no
time in which indicates of an apostolic
succession may not be seen and enjoyed.
Nine. Melba--this much may be said
without discourtesy or even a want OF
gallantry-does not belong to the singers
who are now IN the heyday OF their
careers, but she most emphaticaiiy be-
longs in the front rank of those who are
keeping alive the beautiful traditions
which were already traditions when she
came to us 10 demonstrate th1t the sue
cession which links the happy present
with the happier past is not yet broken.
She gave concert IN Carnegie Hall yes
terday afternoon. Like wise artist. she
made no attempt to invade the territory
of the cerebral recitalists but chose
instead to recreate the delight which she
used to give I'm the not long ago. when
she was an ornamcnt Of the Metropolitan
Opera House. She sang operate airs, and
to give them a disnihed surrounding she
called in the aid OF an admirable orches-
ira. She did not hesitate to sing "Gooi-
by, Summer" and the "Mattinata' 70
please the thousands who remained for
the kind Of aftermath TO which Nine. Sem
brich and Mr.. Paderewski are accustomed.
but the manner in which she sang them
left unspoiled the impression which her
loftier offerings with orchestra-the Mad
Scene" from Hamlet" the ave Maria"
from Verdrs "Otelo," the "Voi che
sapete" from Mozarts "Nozze di Figaro"
and MINIS farcwell from Puccinfs "La
Boheme" (Which last she sang on recalD
had given. Her incursions into the field
of French melodie were less effective only
because they could not put into so bright
a light as did the operate fragments the
phase Of art In which she is an examplar,
the phase which Is concerned first of all
with singing as singing. But here again,
as in the unfamiliar setting Of John An
derson. My Jo," and the Tosti ballad, she
played the part OF a lovely exemplar by
her demonstration Of how beautifully, how
distinctly and with what charm English
words can be sung.
II Nine Melba Is wise In singing op-
cratic airs. she is none the less wise in
singing them on the concert stage. She
was never convincing as an actress. GER
| tainly not when last she sang at the Met
ropoltan Opera House three years ago
or at the Manhattan Opera House before
that. and least Of all when she permitted
herself to be persuaded to essay the part
of Briinnhilde in "siegfried" and put an
untimely close to her regular activities
! in local opera Her field is the field of
( lyric song, the feld in which beauty or
voice end beautiful vocalization 20 hand
/ I'm hand, the field in which such eXem-
! plars as she and Nine. Sembrich fulfi!
mission lovely in its primary manifesta-
| ton and of inestimable value to aspirants
| I'm all the departments of dramatic song
! They are musical artists, and those VINO
would be great should emulate their mu-
| steamship. no matter into what line their
voices. temperaments and tastes lead
| them. No declamatory agonizing of the
| kind so frequently heard from dramatic
! singers nowadays could be half so NOV
| ing as was the sheer beauty of tone and
p.rfection of melodic line which Nine.
Nelba disclosed in the Ave Maria
Yesterday. II embodied the highest
/ ideal Of classic loyeliness and trans
ported her listeners into regions
| of which opera audiences seldom get
even a glimpse II marked the climax OF
the concerts delights. for in it her voice
and her art were at their best. Thal
! voice never was more exquisite III l'S
| quality OF virginia. purity, that art never
| SO perfect in its poise and in its ADJUST
| ment Of means and end. They were Doth
as the south wind breathing from
! ban, OF yiolets stealing and giving odor'
] After such singing there was nothing 10
do but 70 marvel, admire and love The
thousands who crowded Carnegie han
| felt it's power; they gave her such hoHoI
as is reserved for the elect, and gave II
ont of a deep sense Of gratitude Tor
rare benson of which they knew they
| had been the recipients. ii was d
! gracious audience which also showed itS
| appreciation of the fine performances oil
! Mr. Walter Damrosch and the symphony
! Orchestra They, too. won recall, so
| unusual a circumstance in singers con-
cert that il is well worthy Of mention
out of the plenitude of her artistic
nature Maud Powell has for years EN-
| riched the local admirers of violin music
with knowledge of its newest manifesta-
| tiors From her they first heard the
| Tschaikowsky and Dvorak and Sibelius
| concertos and many other works. Some
! have endured the test of time, some nave
nossed away into the limbo of forgotten
| things but she who played them for us
| sret has not grown arrogant because OF
| her successes nor been dismayed oy
| her failures. Steadily she has kept
on making propaganda for the new
Had not the commercialsm which
has taken hold of modern art
mt a bar TO her zeal we should have
hoard the EIgar concerto from her two
vears ago: but that novelty involved
larger financial sacrifice that she could
mako She embraced the next large OPP
ror,unity which offered, however, and
occurred from the late Coleridge-Taylor
,bo concerto which he composed that she
,,,,,bt present il at the Norfolk tConnD
festival of June. 1912 Last night she
rraved il. though TO a pianoforte accom-
rar,nent AT a concert in Aeolian Hall
Into its performance she threw all her
oroat zeal and all her great skill. IL gave
! Measure; Il did not create proiouhu
,,,nression nor convincingiy demonstrate
,,s right 10 a long existence. 1t Is not
a., IN tbouyht. and 1t conveys no Sig
nihcant mo =. lls lh'i ouuo ''o',' ~
Tho most s;. Iug moment IN IDEA mas
h. -