New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1915-01-09
UNFAMILIAR MUSIC
AT TWO CONCERTS
Beethoven's Triple Con
certo and SibeliuS's
Swan of Tuoncla.'
HOFFMAN, PLAYS
CHOpIN'S CONCERTO
Symphony and Philharmonic
Societies in Rivalry After
Suspension of Activities.
BY II. L. KREHBIEL.


BY II. +. kREHBlEL.
After a brief suspension Of activities
during the holidays, the rivalry be
tween the Symphony and Philharmonic
societies was resumed yesterday after
noon, and viii now be continued with
)ut cessation till the end OF the con-
cert season The advantage in point Of
interest at the concerts given respec-
lively in AeOlian and Carnegie halls
lay Individually with the Symphony So
ciety, which not only had the help Of
Josef Holman, but also offered pro-
gramme of which only a single number
could be called hackneyed, and that the
one over which Mr. Holman spread a
dcwy and sparkling freshness by his
playing. II was Chopiu's concerto in
L minor This was preceded by Tschai-
kowsky'5 fourth symphony, the last
movement Of which, because IT is the
most Enthusiastically national utter
ance OF the composer, takes on dignity
and significance IN proportion as the
so-called pathetic symphony largely
because of too frequent performance
loses them.
After the symphony came Sibelius's
tone-pOem, THE Swan of Tuonela,"
which was not announced as a novelty,
though we cannot, out of hand, recall a
previous performance Of II in New
York. IL was. however, a feature Of
the Norfolk festival last June, when It
was conducted by the composer, and
some reference was made to IT then n
q review Of Sibelius's "Kalevala" music
printed in this journal. If anybody
were TO set IT down as the finest Of the
Finnish composers Inspirations, We
should feel no temptation TO quarrel
with him. Il is programmatic music OF
the highest order, a delineatlon of the
mood evoked by the contemplation
Of Tuoni's Stygian stream on
whose dark surface foated the
Swan which Lemmin Kainen was
commanded TO shoot by the mistress
Of the Darkland. The fateful outcome
of the rash adventure makes one OF
the most picturesque stories IN Fin
lands great epic poem, but with the
adventure itself the music has nothing
TO do 10 is concerned only with the
vision Of the bird and the murky river
which Is its home. A singularly haunt
ing melody played by the English horn,
with q response by the vlOlonceilos,
plays over the harmonic flood quietly
poured forth by the other instruments
and takes hold of ear and Imagination
like a spell cast by maglclan's IN
cantation. Il is quite without par
allel IN music Of its kind; a miniature
masterpiece. more aliurlng, because
more simple and direct in its appeal,
than Debussy's marvellous musical de-
scriptiOn Of the haunting afternoon
dream of faun. Mr. Damrosch gave
it an exquisite reading. and, indeed,
all of the orchestra's work under his
direction was unusually good. After
the enthusiasm which Mr.. HOfmann's
splendidly virile. yet poetically refined,
performance Of Chop,n's concerto
called forth had died away (Which II
was long IN doing the concert was
brought to a close with a performance
of Eavels symphonic fragment, "Daph-
mis- and Chloe" which had won favor
at a concert early in the season. The
concert will be repeated tomorrow
afternoon.
Music by Beethoven and Schumann
made up the programme of the Phil
harmonic concert conducted by Mr.
Stransky. There were four numbers
in the scheme. Between Beethoyen's
overtures "Coriolan' and "Lenore" No.
3 there fell "a work which S heard not
much oftener than once or twice in a
generation the same composers con-
certo for plauOfOrte. violin ana vioiOn-
cello. with orchestral mpanlment,
Or. So, the coucertante parts played by
Germaine Schnitzer Macmillan Pilzer
and Leo Schulz. This triple concerto
has never won popularity. II made a
dire failure when first played in public
at one of SchuppanZgh's summer con
certs in the Augarten, in Vienna, in
1907. and was not played again IN the
composers lifetime. In 1880 the plan
ist Booklet, the yiolInist Mayseder and
the 'ccllist Nerk revived ~ IN the Aus
trian capital and won for 1t a measure
OF success. Popularity IT has never
gained, and probably never will, for the
public taste has drifted far from the
style which 10 represents, and even
musicians are inclined 10 speak patron
lZingly of 10 as Interesting" IL IS that,
at least, if for no other reason than
that il is "a comparatively modern eX-
foliation of the concerto crosse OF the
Bach period. Beethoven began 1t IN
1903 and finished IT some time IN 1906.
II was evidently written for his arch
ducaI pupil, Rudolph, whose skill was
no doubt equal TO the requirements OF
the pianoforte part, which is not as diff
Gcult as the music for the solo violin
and violoncello Its original failure was
attributed 20 the fact that the players
made LIGHT Of their task Yesterdays
PLAYERS were serious enough, but did
not succeed in persuading the audience
that they we're bearers of very
weighty message of beauty. The Schu-
mann number which concluded the
"a Etf IN R-H