New-York tribune., 1913-11-14
STRAUSS|AN SONOR|T|ES.
New Music at a Concert OF the
Philharmonic Society.
FUTILE WAGNER SONGS
A Word About the Invasion Of
Pianists.

There was much tutle music At l'e
concert Of the Philharmonic Society which
took place in Carnegie Hall last night
and was given up TO the exploitation OF
Richard Wagner and Richard Strauss
and incidentally to Mr.. Stransky. Tht
second Richard, though the lesser IN the
book of art, was far and away the noisler
of the two. though all the music tnat
sounded futile was not OF his making
Jacques Urlus, a German tenor, was the
solo performer. and to accommodate MIN
some music from the Nibelung tetralosI
was detached from the theatrical ele-
ments which are essential to It's proper
understanding and presented as concert
music-not pure and simple, for that
II can never be-. but badly naheolg'
unbushingly. Mr.. Urlus sang the
PRAYER from "Rienzi." which Is lyrlcai
effusion o. old-fashioned pattern Inc
charge OF futility does not We AGAINST
IL except as il lacked interest," All
tho pei formance, neither the singer "',
the conductor disclosed appreciation o.
Wsgner's manner In the reading Oh tHe
mordent, which is an important elei''''
i'm its melody. 1t was siurreu W.
AS II II were merely an ornament lnsteau
of a significant part of the meloaN'
Whom curious critics some decades ago
were discussing whether the character
istlc turn ought to begin win the uppe'
note or the lower, DIR. Won buio" 'oiu
story OF how the composer was once 80
disturbed, not to say outraged py wv
manner in which It was played I'm 'ne
overture to the opera IN WHICH, ''0
melody occurs) by band Whlch seie
naded him in Dresden that ne descehoeN
from the balcony of the hotel 10 tlc
street, and after an apology to the ieduer
directed a repetition to show how IL
ought to go. It was perhaps the only
time on record that great composer
conducted serenade brought IN MS own
honor. but the chief value OF the stoiS
lies in the lesson in Interpretation WHICH
II gave. which lesson seems to have peen
wasted on the artists who produced the
music last night.
Futile in the larger sense, however was
the performance of the songs which oles
fried sings while casting, forging anu
tempering the magic sword In the second
of the tragedies which make up the Md
eluing play. Thirty years ago, when thls
music was first heard in the concert room.
II used to be a more or less peasurable
excitement to imagine the picture OF the
heaving bellows, the Pickering fires, the
kissing steam and ringing hammers and
the resounding blow with which at the
last the anvil was cleft in twain all Oh
which was vividly pictured In the music
| but since the scene has become IA
miliar one on the stage it has lost lts
right to presentation In the concert ROOM
But the evening was given over "
sonorlties alternately musical and cacoph-
onous. and the audiences showed a Keen
delight in them, in none more than III
those OF Strauss "Heldenleben,' when
| had what we suppose must be called
brilliant performance inasmuch as equal
Justice was done TO those portions "hicH
assaulted the ears and onended the
aesthetic sensibilties and those "hich
charmed them. F'renetic applause ioi-
! lowed the performance or the "orA'
There would probably have been simi-
lar demonstration after the Straussiah
novelty had not the Festival Preiude
becn turned into postlude by being
plsved at the end of the concert Ihe
prelude Is the latest of Strauss crea-
| tions and had its FIRST performance less
than a month ago at the dedication OF tue
new music room of the historic Geseh-
/ schaft der Musikfreunde IN VIENNA
! Whether or not the new room Is do
large as Carnegie Hall cannot be said
at this writing II not II can pe
said that Herr Strauss has elther
great confidence or little regard tor
the integrity OF the eardrums OF the
Viennese friends of music, for last
nights performance showed considerable
abrideemeut of the original score. AS
the composer laid II out this calls Tor
15O performers, besides a grand organ
The strings ought TO NUMBER ln alone
with divided violas and violoncellos as
well as violins. besides five hutes' four
oboes, one heckelphone. five ciarlhe's'
four bassoons one contra a-bassoon, eight
horns, four trumpets with an extra choir
of from six TO twelve at the cllmaN-lh
the coda). four trombones. bass tuna anu
eight kettledrums with two players)'
MANY Of these instruments were merci-
fully SHARED us last night-whether OF
NOT with essential loss TO the music we
cannot say but probably not. IL ls' on
the whole. conceived on simple lines, SO
far as its ideas go. there being no such
polvphonic compleXity as marks the
"Heldenleben" which produced "A much
greater as we'll as more dssonant din'
ITS march melody, which starts out with
phrase suggestive Of the old hymn
"Adeste Fidelis." is good straightforward
music. and there is an admirable dis
play of the festival spirit in its develop
ment. But II will probably be but
passing phenomenon in our concert rooms
rooms.
The season is. by a liberal allowance,
about four weeks old, get within that
time eleven players upon the pianoforte
have been heard here in public concerts.
uya