New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1915-10-29
Auspicious Opening of the
Society's Seventy-fOurth
Season.
ARTHURIAN MUSIC
BY MACDOWELL
A Dry.as-Dust Composition by
a German Contra
puntist.
b. II. F.. kREHBlEL.

The programme Of the first concert
OF the seventy-fourth season OF the
philharmonic Society. which vas given
in Carnegie Hall last night, looked at
tractive. It began with two novelties
70 the patrons of the society, which,
though not so announced. were entirely
new to the New York public. The trst
was MacDoweps symphonic poem
"Lancelot and Elaine" the second Max
Rogers latest published composition, a
set Of variations on the theme OF the
first movement Of Mozart's Sonata IN
4 maior-s gracious memory of the
childhood days OF pretty nearly every
body who has played the piano
forte since the year one OF the
nineteenth century. This the an
notator OF the programme knew 70
be a piece OF music hitherto unheard
in New York, but concerning the COM
position by MacDowell he seemed to be
in doubt, for he was only willing 20 an
nounce that il had never before been
played by the Philharmonic Society
But there Is no record Of previous
performance by any organization IN
this city. In this respect 1t is unique
amongst its composers works for even
one Of his orchestral works, which he
had wisely condemned to oblivion was
dragged into notice Immediately after
his death. This work bore the name
OF LAURA" and had it been left 10
slumber among the "unheard melodies
which Keats would have US believe
ARE sweetest" the reputation OF us
creator would have been better for the
fact. But the assiduous propagators OF
the Macdonald cult would not have II
so; wherefore his judicious admirers
were compelled 70 grieve.
How many works for orchestra Mt.
Mcdowell wrote we do not know. His
wife, writing to The Tribune's musical
reviewer in May, 1906, declared that
while he was in Germany, where he
wrote all of his orchestral pieces except
the Indian" suite, he made II point 70
have all his works OF the kind tried
over in private. being enabled TO do this
By the courtesy OF German orchestras,
"and the painful lesson was learned in
more than one case that the fire was
the only destiny" for some of them.
zone symphony and one symphonic
poem went that way, and two works
are still in manuscript, because he
never heard them and would not risk .
public hearing without the necessary
Probe" "Lancelot and Elaine" evidently
stood the test, for it was published IN
Germany, and soon after its composer
return TO his native land IL was per-
formed in Boston and Chicago. Il had
already been played in Darmstadt and
Wiesbaden, so il is TO be assumed that
Mr. MacDowell's mature judgment ap-
proved it. Why il waited until las.
night for a performance in New York
when all of the other works for or
chestra By the same hand been per-
formed, the best of them frequently, We
do not know, and it might be inquirng
too curiously 70 inquire into the cir
cumstances. Perhaps il was because
1t made no appeal to the New York
conductors or its own merits; that at
least would be q reasonable deduction
from the impression made by the work
last night. No judicious admirer Of
MacDowel's works would think OF COM
pairing 1t with either OF his suites
which are the only orchestral compost
tons of his that have really obtained a
hold on the repertoires of our perma-
nent symphonic institutions though it
is quite as good (and also quite as in
consequently as "Ophelia," Hamlet"
"The Saracens" and Lovely Aida"
fragments OF symphony planned on
"The Song of Roland") and immeasure-
ably superior to LAURA"
When "Lancelot and Elaine" was per-