New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1914-12-04
schiehpflug's Overture to
comedy of Shakespeare
Saves Programme.
OTHER NUMBERS
TECHNICALLY FINE
s,h.,ius's Fourth Symphony and
Remieek's Biography"
Brilliantly Played.

-, Orchestra from Boston came TO
=. .rsin last night. and Carnegie Hall
ia an audience such as gathers there
~ ~ when Major Higginson's mu-
s;.;sns honor us with their presence.
!; s <ss an audience which contained
~ ,bst Is most brilliant in New York's
an ~ publie: it came hoping and ex-
a..,;rc 10 be conquered-and despite
- programme il was conquered,
.L,,y by the magnificent playing Of
y" b.nd under DR.. Muck's baton.
:, must be said at the outset that
A.. rrogramme was one of the dullest
sx.r given by DR.. Muck at Boston
s-rnSory concert. 1t contained only
go numbers, of which only the last,
s.I~;rnAug's Overture to a Comedy of
SSstsspeare," brought happiness. This
s-s-.uTe was 8 bright and very char
.stsristic composition into which is
sorked q charming English melody OF
-. sixtsenth century. IL sent the su-
Gs,ca swav happy, and almost willing
=. soro;ve the boredom which had gone
S.sors The two preceding numbers
vsre sibelius's Fourth Symphony and
Ps,nicek's "Schlemihl,' a symphonic
biography for full orchestra, tenor solo
We have made larger acquaintance
with Sibelius's music since ne hrst
,hsymed US with his "Finlandia" and
N. earlv symphonies. His music,
A.,sS on incidents in the Finnish
sn;r 1Kalewala," has aroused a sim
csrs admiration for his genius as an
;S,s-nretsr Of the national spirit in
rusje But his fourth symphony is
,.;1 repellent. or we are still rebel
isnt II still seems 20 US that II II
ia NOT II ought 70 be irritating TO all
Who have not made il point TO see
hsautv and significance in every KIND
AZ EXPRESSION in the art, provided u
dsnarts sufficiently far from the &C
cspted csnons of taste. This Is one
of the Alterations which will no DOUBT
h rooted out Of music as one OF the
results of the cataclysm thwugn
which civilization is passing now. AZ
.sr il will come a greater tranquility
Of thought, a sincerer Devotion 10
asthetic principles, less arrogant as
sertjon of the privilege of doing what
one plesses, based on the notion that
the isyman is an ignoramus and the
critic a pedant. and that an artist
needs only say that he feels it TO be
right 70 do as he is doing, and that,
h an observer disputes his right TO
psint a red house with blue pigments
ne observer simply does not see with
artists eyes.
The latest OF Sibelius's symphonies
4, crude and rude in its thematlc ma
,srisl and IN its fermentation seems
purposely designed to pain the ears OF
lis hearers. As was said here year
and q half ago, it is an individual eX-
pression beyond question, but II VIII
h hard for anyone to believe that the
corposer wrote il because il was the
voice OF any esthetical or emotional
utterance crying within him for utter
snce. Some things in it might be eN-
planned on the ground that II was
designed 10 be delineative OF outward
incident. like some of the "kaiewala
music, but unless this explanation be
adopted and the programme confessed
Il must leave the mind OF the norman
listener in 2 maze.
Needless to say, the great band gave
Il q splendid performance, perform
snee which brought out most effectively
the technical excellencies of the work
and the composers mastery or orches-
trsl effect. The audience gave the sym
phony only a polite reception. -.
The Reznicek Symphonic Biography
was very much in the school Of Richard
Strauss. II portrayed the life and
fate Ct modern man pursued by ms
fortune, who goes 70 destruction IN the
conflict between his ideal and his ma
terizl existence" and portrayed 1t IN
the usual mood of fambuoyant pessl-
mism 80 prevalent in musical Germany
Of to-day. Il was in spirit a sort OF
compound Of Strauss Death and
TRANSPORTATION" Don Juan" and
Symphonic Domestica." 1t possessed
some melodic inspiration, which was
overwhelmed By a mass Of Strausslan
dissonanees, and IL was in addition en-
tirely too long. In fact, there seemed
altogether too much ado about a very
uninteresting character, the chief merit
OF the composition being its sense OF
orchestral technical mastery.
The tenor solo in the composition
was sung by Mr.. Paul Draper. Why
Nr. Draper should have been selected
70 sing II must havg reused much won
Der. ". z. X.