Evening public ledger. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1914-1942, 1918-11-16

concert singers of the world as well as
one Of the best operate stars. Her
artistry, as revealed at these concerts.
was not so much In vocal display as in
her fine Interpretation and her utter
adaptability to the varying moods of her
selections and the styles Of totally diff
ferent composers.
She has been selected by Mr.. Sto-
kowski to sing with the orchestra al
the first New York concert and she will
sing the same numbers that she gave
here, the exquisite "Poeme" of Chaus-
son and the three beautiful songs of
Tschalkowsky, 'orchestrated by Mr. Sto-
kowski.
HOWEVER, it is not the purpose
i i here to write a panegyric on the
art Of Nine. Matzenauer, superlative as
that art may be, but rather to point out,
for the benefit alike of other singers as
well as concertgoers, the excellent judg.
ment she used in the choice of her mum.
bers. An opera singer of the first rank.
II would naturally have been expected
that she would choose some operate Sc
lection with every detail of which she
was familiar and which she was sure of
interpreting in the best possible way.
But TO the delight of those who be-
lieve that symphony concert Is the
place for what in the vocabulary of the
vocalist. corresponds to absolute music
she chose the numbers referred to above
and with the most happy results Both
fitted into the program exactly. and the.
Tschaikowsky songs, with their unmis-
takably Slavic atmosphere, led grcefully
into the Rimsky-Korsakow "Cappriccio
Espagnole' which took the place Of the
customary symphony.
TT IS to be regretted that more, singers
l. do not use songs of this kind for
symphony concerts. OF course. there
are not many of the quality and gen.
eral type of the Chausson, "Poeme," but
There Is no doubt that to the hearers
1t least it was a. welcome change from
khe usual operate aria.
In fact, the use of opera music at
Utmost any symphony concert is a
matter open to question. The opera is
9he antithesis of the symphony. and to
Bet tho full effect intended by the COM
poser of an elaborate operate aria some
knowledge of the dramatic situation at
that particular point is needed, as we'll
es the scenery, costume and many other
Things extraneous to the music itself,
which go to make up the full effective
hess of such compositions. Therefore,
from the standpoint of the singer alone,
the orchestrated song is to be preferred.
IN THE other hand, the symphony is
" absolute music in one of it's purest
forms; probably next to the string
quartet the purest. The effect of
highly emotional symphonic work such
as Tschaikowskys "Pathetlque," to
quote well-known example, may be
utterly lost by a brilliant operate aria
following 1t, even If the two are not in
juxtaposition. You may note that in
next weeks concert Mr.. Stokowski has
placed the "Pathetique" last on the pro.
Eram) Yet 1t is safe to say that not
even this highly, or rather darkly col
ored symphony would have suffered in
its effect on the audience by preceding
either of the selections of Nine. Matzen-
auer at last week 81 concert.
In the days when the purpose of
choosing "a vocal number was the dis.
play!of the purely, vocal art of a singer,
the tepsratie aria; was undoubtedly the
best choice, but those days now seem
to be happily past. Art is infinitely
better served by the choice of compost
tionss Such, as those which Nine Matzen-
auer gave SO: effectively
DOTH by. the spoken and the written
d word some Of the leading viola play
ers of the city both professional and
amateur, have protested against certain
structures in this column last Saturday
to the effect that the viola tone is too
somber and monotonous to make an
effective solo instrument, although the
paragraph in question cheerfully ad-
mltted its extreme beauty in orchestral
and especially in quartet work. How
ever, the writer remains still uncon-
vinced
The razor-tongued Berlioz on being
asked once, What is worse than a
concerto for a fiute?" responded In char
acteristic manner, "A concerto for two
flutes" But that is not the proper at
titude toward the viola. which is indeed
lovely instrument. If asked, What
is worse than a sonata for viola and
piaho?" the correct answer is not "A
sonata for two violas and two pianos
nor yet Two sonatas for viola and
plano" The right thing to do is to say
nothing. And let no trucplent musician
put quotation marks around the last
word.
CSPEAKING of viola music seriously,
- however it is said that there is a
chance that Mr.. Stokowski will put the
"Harold in Italy" symphony Of Berlioz
on one of his programs this year, with
Mr. Ferir, the new first viola of the
orchestra, playing the very important
solo viola part. This is the fourth of
Berliozs symphonies and it was COM
posed at the request of Paganini, who
wanted a composition which would ade-
quately show the qualities of fine
Stradivarius viola which he had just
secured at the time. That it does not
do this is we'll known, but it is probably
the most elaborate piece of music ever
written for this instrument. 1t shows
off the powers Of the viola far better
than does Richard Strauss in Don
Quixote," where to the solo viola the
part of Sancho Panza is assigned, the
title role being taken by the solo vlolon-
cello, with occasional assistance from
the solo violin, notably In instances
where the Don gets mad and his rage
exceeds the tonal range of the cello.
C~.,:,, MusicoI ErpnfS