Evening public ledger. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1914-1942, 1918-11-28
DAMROSCH ORCHESTRA
GIVES FIRST CONCERT
Interesting Program Well Played
Before a Crowded House.
Heifetz the SOloist

The New York Symphony Society strength
ened as to personnel impressive in numbers
and led by the veteran Walter Damrosch, gave
its first concert Of the season at the Academy
OF Music last evening" The program was
short, varied in style and interesting in fact.
there were no two compositions for the same
combination. 1t began with Beethovens
Symphony No Z. for full orchestra followed
by two movements from the string quartet Of
Debussy for strings alone. except basses, and
closed with the Bruch Concerto in D minor.
with Jascha Heifetz as soloist.
The orchestra is better than when it was
here last, there being more attention to detail
on the part of the players and a more evident
desire to produce the best possible quality
of tone and unanimity OF rhythm. The wood
wind Is especially good and did excellent
work in the Introduction of the symphony
their phrasing and balance of tone being
excellent. although the composition does not
present any great difficulties, judged by mod
ern standards of orchestral writing
Mr.. Damrosch held closely to classical
ideals in the Interpretation of the Symphony
and introduced nothing especially new in his
reading, which, after all, is not a bad way
to play Beethoven. There perhaps here
and there in the allegretto tendency to-
ward the overemphasis of the part carrying
the chief melody, although the reverse was
true of the second appearance of the theme.
where the counterpointed melody of the
vioas and cellos almost drowned the main
tune Perhaps this was the reason for the
accentuation of the theme later in the move
ment. However, the symphony as a whole
was read in all its joyousness and eternal
freshness, and 1t was sympathetically played
Mr. Damrosch is fond OF playing string
quartet numbers for the united orchestral
quartet instruments but it is doubtful eX-
pertinent at best, as the ethereal quality of
the Debussy movement in the original form Is
lost in the mass Of tone produced by all the
quartet instruments of the orchestra How
10 haat mn
sally accepted as such in spite Of the fuss
that quartet players and critics made when
1t first appeared, and last evening was
greatly enjoyed by the audience.
Mr. Heifetz appeared in the Bruch d
minor concerto No. 2 and showed the same
qualities as violinist that made him so
highly acclaimed last year. The left-hand
technique, polished to the highest point of
perfection, the free, true stroke Of the bow.
the smooth tone always under perfect control
and sweet in quality were all there and
technically his performance was perfect. He
interpreted sympathetically, without exag-
geration, oversentimentaliZing or poses, what
there Is in the work to interpret, but 1t can
not be denied that he was unfortunate In
his choice of a concerto Never in his later
works for violin did Bruch reach the heights
he attained In the concerto in G minor and
in the number played by Mr. Hefetz last eve
ming the melodic Inspiration cannot be said
to be more than mediocre. The orchestra
ton is good, but it is to be regretted that
Mr.. Heifetz did not choose work which
would give him more of a chance to display
his abilities as poetic interpreter. One
cannot rise to very great heights a
Pegasus that cannot be made to fly.
After the concerto Mr.. Damrosch played
as a piece not on the program an orches-
tral number built on a Belgian folk song of
the sixteenth century and commemorating
the destruction of the statue of the Duke Of
Alba by the people of Brussels 1t was
played Mr.. Damrosch explained. as a timely
work, as King Albert has just come again
into his own. 1t proved to be rather an ex-
travagant working out of a very simple
theme but was cordially received by the au-
dience, which was OF overflow dimensions