New-York tribune., 1918-11-10
Music
The Second Concert of the
Boston Orchestra-Assyrii-
ology and Music
By H. E. Krehbiel

Inv oCSoIiu COHCeIC' OIL tne boston
Symphony Orchestra under the direc-
tion Of M. Monteux, which took place
IN Carnegie Hall, was more enjoyable
entertainment than that which had pre-
ceded it on Thursday evening. This was
because of its programme, for it Of
fered no revelation touching the con-
stitution of the band calculated to cause
a change of the opinion expressed in
the first review, though the Concerto
crosse in D by Handel which opened
the programme enabled the hearers to
form better judgment of the quality
of the strings.
That judgment is highly favorable to
the organization, as we'll as to the ex-
cellence of the training which it has
received at the hands of NJ Monteux,
who now surrenders it to M. Rabaud in
order to take up his duties at the opera.
The strings are good in quality, precise,
sonorous and responsive to their leader.
Their work in the last movement of the
concerto was distinctly brilliant, as was
'''oe Va Ani. iduhlI, tHe new concert
master, whose boyhood was spent in
New York, where he received his early
training. Following the concerto came
music of the modern type, Mr.. Loeflers
La Bonne Chanson" and DIndy's
"Istar."
Mr.. Loeffler's piece is a musical
transcription or paraphrase of Yer.
lainc's dainty poem. beginning "Avant
que tu ne ten Allies" which it follows
as closely as highly idealized music
sweet and gentle fancy, with their in
vocation of the fading morning star,
the matin call of birds, the upward
clrcllng lark, the spreading benediction
OF azure light, the glistening dew, the
quickening of a lovers thoughts under
the urge of the rising sun. There is
much that is correspondingly exquisite
IN the irridescent web of tone which
the composer has woven, but fortu-
nately the beauty is not all of orches-
tral vesture and adornment, but also of
musical thought. The composition dif-
fered from NJ DIndy's, in that it
aroused delicate fancies while it
charmed the sense, while "Istar" was
chleHy an lrritant of curiosity.
1t was pleasant to have Verlaine's
gentle images in mind while listening
10 Loefner, but it was not necessary to
enjoyment; understanding of DTndy's
purposes and devices depended upon
knowledge of its literary motive. When
me work was first performed by the
Boston Orchestra in February, 1899,
even the erudite Mr.. Apthorp was at
loss to explain its irregular structure,
which Is that Of theme and variations
played wrong and foremost, the varia-
tlons coming first and the theme last,
a dlsqulsltlon before announcement of
ITS topic, sermon with the text at
the conclusion.
Ihere are no programme books to
be had in Carnegie Hall for the Bos-
ton concerts. and those who failed 20
get one in the streets yesterday were
as muchs puzzled as the ACCOMPLISHED
annotatof of former years, unless thew
chanced to be familiar with Deletzsch's
translation of the old Babylania poem,
whlch the German professor calls "Hol-
lenfahrt der 1star,' or the chapter in
George Smiths "Chaldean Genesis"
which tells how Istar, an Oriental love
goddess of unspeakable divinity de-
scended into the underworld in search
OF ner husband-lover Tammuz
thls subterreanean visit she was
n
poF1als to divost herself of an article
OF anamcnt or dress until she passed
11nrough the last gate entirely nude.
10 illustrate this series of adventures
the composer (who, by the way. con-
cuctcd performance Of the work here
IL 1909 conceived the ingenious
scheme OF writing seven variations on
theme and playing the variations first
and the theme last. Only fragment
OF the theme is heard at the outset.
and this Is tricked out with much scin-
tlllant ornament (the tiara of the god
dess);. AS the music goes on the
melodlc formulation is augmented and
this lnvestiture simplified until at tho
last the theme stalks forth in it's who
stature, nude of even harmony.
The mere title might enable an AS
syrlologist familiar with musical de-
wees d to comprehend M. DTndy's
scheme. 1t is expecting too much of an
ordinary mortal improvided even with
an English translation of the French
lines which are printed in the score.
We might at least have the text in
cuneiform characters thrown on a
screen. Debussy might also have found
for US an Assyrian or Chaldean scale.
The concert ended with Beethoven's
seventh symphony, which was Just mu-
sic and asked no toleration of the |
nearer, though it was the third per-
formance of the work here within nine
lays, and there were things admirable |
AS we'll as things questionable in it's /
reading and performance. To expound +,
them would call for technical ANALYSIS. !
which. of course, is not tolerable.