New-York tribune., 1918-02-24

tone. 1he piano IS dreadfully limited
by its mechanical construction, and
cannot, in fact, produce anything but
makeshift imitation Of the phrasing Of
the human voice.
But the violin, with its delicate bow
and with its strings directly under
the fingers of the performer, should
be able to produce the mos. exquisite
nuances of musical rhetoric How
charmingly the delicate end of phrase
can be waited into the air from the
"toe" of the bow! How human is tirs
contact which the bow makes between
the musicians hand and the responsive
strings of the instrument! If ever
there was an instrument designed for
all the lovely effects of phrasing, one
would think, it is the violin.
On the violin the phrase can be made
to start at nothing, to swell with hu.
man tone as the musical sentence gath.
ers meaning, to rise to its point of en-
phasis on the verb" of the nhrase
| and then o sink down through the
predicate clauses to the final grateful
cadence. Yet the analogy OF human
speech is perhaps not the happiest one.
The violinist's bow is more Ike the
draftsman's pencil, executing its sig
nihcant strokes which give form and
charm to the whole picture. The arts
TIC craftsman Is not content that his
lines shall merely delineate the figure.
Each line is in itself an idea: Il has
torn and design of its own. 1t has a
beginning, middle and an end. It is.
to the born artist, tiny work of art in 4
itself. Could not the violinst draw his {
musical lines in some such spirit, max
ing each at once thing of beauty and
thing of meaning, clear in its design
and lovely in its workmanship?
ne great artists of the violin have
this feeling toward their playing. In
deed, no violinist can be great without
1t. The wonder is that so many who
ere distinguished in other ways seem
to neglect the factor which would give
the inal touch of authority TO their in
terpretation. Mr.. kreisler has always
heen one of the most mcticulous in
this matter of musical rhetoric He
follows with unusual care the analogy
or the human voice and uses to the full
'he delicate contrasts between Sup 4
bow and down bow" The articula- +
ton of his sentences is not only audi
Die; 1t is visible in the graceful -four 4
lsh Of his bow as he finishes phrase
sage, artist every inch, has a fsYcr E
OF his own in his musical rhstene
something softer and more sensu0G
than that Of Mr.. Kreisler Mr. Heietl
VINO seems to have let nothing slip his
attention, is careful Of his phrases, ana
VIII doubtless give more personal dis
tlncton to them as the seasons 80 BY
Perfect intonation and perfect uni s
formlty can always be expected Of IS
Dr. Muck's first violin section, but
their playing is always a fresh SUI
prise. IN that unforgettabe perform &
'nce of the Mozart G minor sympLen5
every bar was treated as a factor 10
the artistic whole. The slxt zen men
drew pianissimo so fine that it couh 4
only just be heard in the largs hail. 50 I
true that there seemed not single
conflicting overtone. With this pianls-
simo as the Indispensable basis Of all
their work they modelled each phrase &
as carefully as skilled actor mo1s'
MS sentences. The me'ody was never
on the dead level, as is so often the
case in routine orchestral playing.
was always evidently going somewhere
or coming from somewhere. The tons
was rising Or falling, deepening
Diancning. The bows OF Mr.. Witess
men were more than draftsmah'
pencil. They were an artists brush
giving color and design at the Sam
time TO their musical lire.
The performance could have taug"
something to any virtuoso of the vioi'p
who happened to hear it. 1t was ohs
OF the miracles of the present coneei'
season.