New-York tribune., 1919-11-29
{ Minor Symphony
Of Bruckner Given
By Philharmonic
Umnspired Music and a
Woefu1ly Inadequate
Singer Are Heard in
Carnegie Hall Concert
BY H. E. Krehbiel

Alsnough thN is the season of hospi-
tality. Mr.. Stransky furnished forth but
cold cheer at the Philharmonic concert
In Carnegie Hall yesterday afternoon.
His principal offerings were Bruck-
ner's symphony in C minor, No. 8, and
Miss Greta Mason. a soprano singer Of
the fiorid type, who made o deplorable
essay with the air, "Charmant Oiseau."
from F@licien David's "Perle du Bresil,"
and some songs. In the operate air
the lady, following the example of
Donizetti's distraught Lucy. enters into
contest OF volubility with the soft
complaining flute" The contest yester-
day ended in the complete discontinue
of the singer, who fell far short of the
artistic stature proper to the concerts
OF so ambitious, not to say pretentious,
an organization as the Philharmonic
Society.
The symphony also left it's hearers
cold and unmoved. Though it has been
heard here before, it was unfamiliar to
the audience, and therefore challenged
close attention from those open mind
ed listeners who are ever eager for
revelations of beauty, and especially so
when experience and the admonitions
of learned pundits have told them that
composer offers profound sgnif-
canoes rather than superficial charms
To US it seemed again, as has seemed
before, that there is very little reward
in Bruckner's work for any kind of
hearing. There are in it no depths
which conceal aesthetic pearls of great
price. Its beauties lie on it's surface,
and those which are incontestable are
to be found in it's slow movement; in
which respect it is like it's companions
which have the same paternity. 1t is
also like the poor curate's egg eaten at
the table Of his bishop-good in parts.
Every performance of unfamiliar mu-
sic under the baton of Mr.. Stransky
leaves q serious listener in a state of
doubt as to whether or not an adequate
exposition of its contents has been
made. When the work is that of a
composer who has challenged respect
one wishesAthat one might be sure tina
the proclamation has been as complete
as it might have been made. There
seemed to be no occasion for such dis
turbing doubts yesterday. The SYM
phony is lraightforward though YER
boise, its utterances free from intrica-
cies of polyphony and abstruse device
We have the assurance of the Philhar-
monic Society's official analyst and
annotator that Mr.. Stransky, a pupil
OF Bruckner'S, not only heard Its first
performance, but often played the sym
phony for the composer with fellow
devotee in a four-hand pianoforte ar
rangement.
We imagine, nevertheless, that it
might have been made to sound a
little less monotonous, that there
might have been a few more out
tlamings of those powers which have
stirred us occasionally in performances
Of his seventh symphony, but on the
whole the work seemed poor in thema-
tic ideas and uninterestn.; in develop
ment. When it burst into something
like eloquence at the close it sang il
Wagnerian tones the march OF the
gods into Valhatta. Bruckner attached
no programatic title to it, though II
is q Northumberland tradition, we
believe, that when he wrote it he said
that the jocosi movement was delinea-
tive of the German Michel, the COM
monplace type Of Teutonic, stupidity
placidity. servility and rude strength
One would have to be as dngenuous as
was the composer to accept such an in
terpretation of the Scherzo, or hear
anything Promethean in the first move
mcnt, such as inspired interpreters
have professed to hear. If Bruckner'
name is to be kept in our concert lists
the Romantic" symphony, not this
will achieve the task.