Evening public ledger. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1914-1942, 1914-12-01
Bauer Plays With Symphony

The program OF tho Boston Symphony
at the Academy last night was all of n
piece. A fine air Of high and serious in
tention marked the work OF conductor,
orchestra and solbtst. Doctor Muck con-
Quoted first the second symphony OF
Brahms. Then harold Bauer played, with
the orchestra, tho third concerto OF Beet
hoven, and the program ended with the
Beethoven overture to Goethe's Egg
mont All of It was done with irre-
proachabie excellence.
MIR. Bauer has trod the way OF all great
planists and OF the few great ones now
living. Year by year he has diminished
in virtuosity and grown greater in poetic
elOquencc. In true feeling, in making his
technique an instrument and not an end.
He was never an advertised prodigy; his
reputation grew steadily as an artist and
as an artist alone. That is perhaps the
reason why the topmost gallery was not
crowded last night. There is nothing
superficial, nothing meretricious about
Mr. Bauer's playing, nothing to attract
any but the truest lovers OF music.
Last night he played a difficult con-
certo, and one particularly ungrateful
to the prodigy type of pianist. In the
greater part of the first movement the
plano is executing delicate embrolderies
about the smooth and shining cloth of
the orchestra's weaving. In the COM
hined andante and rondo the plano
comes into its own. but even there Mr..
Bauer kept 1t In the swing OF the orches-
ira. making his instrument necessary
complement of the whole.
1t Is not that Mr.. Bauer ever lacked
technique. The perfection of each sep
arate note, the sureness of phrasins, the
finely intelligent reading OF the score
which he made last night. are all proof
that In 4 question of technique Mr. Bauer
is with the masters. But he knows that
the great thing is to make each separate
item of feeling felt. just as 1t Is necessary
to give each note its place. His accents
in the cantabile passages were made with
artistic Righteousness, and his fire in the
Tondo was gloriously stirring.
Doctor Mucl's part In the conceE+o was
not less fine, The modulatlon of or
chcstral tones which he accomplished.
always thinking of the music and not of
orchestra or soloist was perfect. And
when on two occasions, he swung the
orchestra into the stride OF the piano,
after a long cadenza, the effect was OF
such SURPRISING beauty that 1t was al
most too much to bear
The concerto came in the middle of the
program. but It sent the Brahms SYM
phony into far oblivion, and made 1t
very hard 10 listen even to Beethoven's
own "Egmont" 1t is now exactly four
''ErOica" symphony here, but the
memory of It's splendOr has not died out
That memory made the intellectual
of Brahms seem almost patheti-
caily unreal Melodies there were, but
they, were not rich. not informed with
gracious spirit, except foE the allegretto.
And admitting that in It's graciousness
there is a touch of life, there remains
the distinction that Brahms dance is a
ballet. an intellectual diversion, pretty
10 look at but Il does not draw the feet
of the hearer into its swing. And to
dance one should listen with the feet,
not with the ear. When Beethoven wrote
dances. they were human, like the fox
trot. Brahms dance is ballet.
It was this mental quality OF the
symphony which tinged the whole evening
and removed It by an appreciable step
from the former triumphs OF the Boston
or Doctor Muck's graceful,
leading there is no need to say
again what is so we'll known-that II is
one OF the highest pleasures vouchsafed
US It has been said that the Boston
Symphony is the finest single instrument
given man 10 play upon-and Doctor
Muck is the happy man who deserves that
honor. But the orchestra was not at its
noblest last night, except In the concerto.
Even the stressful "Egmont" did not lift
il to abnormal heights. And one has
learned 10 expect the very highest from
these players. That explains why their
sustained and even glory was not so ef-
fectiye last night. They could do the
mosaic OF raindrops In the symphony. and
the powerful emotion of the "EEmont'
but they had no music which called for
perfection OF feeling as well as for perfee-
tion OF art.