Omaha daily bee. (Omaha [Neb.]) 187?-1922, 1919-02-22
MI III S | @

I'M tuesday, MUSICAL CLUB
brought another musical treat
"A to Omaha last evening, when
it presented Nine. Olga Samaroff,
pianist, in recital at the Brandeis
theater. Nine. Samaroff is one OF
the leading women pianists before
the public, and she brought her
many admirable qualities of inter-
probation and technic into full play
in an unhackneyed program, She
has brilliancy most welcome
clarity, and velvety tone, which
is never harsh nor empty. She
has a broad mental and emotional
grasp, and plays with a poise and
decision which assures dynamic
balance, and lends delightful in-
dividuality to her work,
She has power and delicacy, and a
technic equal to any and all de-
mands she chooses to make upon
it. In spite of being i'll yesterday
no trace of it was evidenced in her
playing until the last number,
when she left the stage for a few
moments, later coming back and
giving a brilliant performance OF
this number.
Her program opened with a NOV
elette in D major" by Schumann,
in which Nine. Samaroff found
romanticism and dramatic charm,
and an opportunity for some beat
tiful tone work. Five preludes from
Chopin were we'll chosen and on
sufficiently nearly related keys, so
that it was possible to play them
with but the briefest pause be-
tween, permitting no applause until
all had been played. In this group
Nine. Samarof showed herself
keenly sensitive to the poetry of
this famous composer and she por-
trayed the mood of each prelude
most artistically.
A beautifully melodious and re-
poseful "intermezzo," by Brahms
was followed by the Beethoven-Ru-
bernstein march from the ruins OF
Athens" which was played ener-
getically, brilliantly but never pom
derously. 1t was most enthusiast
tically received and Moskowski's
"Enticeles," was happily chosen
encore.
The piece dc resistance of the
evening was a Sonata" by List.
Nine. Samaroff prefaced her playing
of it by a few remarks in answer
to several letters she had received
protesting it, and asking for a bet
ter known sonata. She said that
owing to the fact that artists have
one type of program for New York
and Boston, and another on tour,
the people had altogether too few
opportunities for widening their
acquaintance with the masterpieces
and she tried to program the piece
for her audience by quoting a Lon
don critic who aptly said that 1t
started in mystery, run the gamut
OF all human emotions, and ended
in the clouds" This sonata proved
a gigantic work, of truly colossal
proportions. Essentially Lisztian,
from its rather barabaric strains at
the beginning, through its great
brilliancy of dazzling chords and
dashing runs in its occasional return
to the note of mystery, and in the
religious Renaissance at the close,
it more than justified its choice and
place upon her program. Nine.
Samaroff here brought into play all
the mental emotional, and technical
resources she had at her command,
and the result was an Interpretation
which did not tire, but which leads
one rather to look forward to an
ether hearing of it,
The closing group brought inter
esting interpretations of five widely
different compositions. All were
worthy of mention, especially the
Grieg "Notturno," which was pre-
scented with rare art. An Inter
mezzo" by Busoni was novelty as
was also. the Caprice Burlesque" by
Gabrilowitsch at the close,
The audience was not as large. as
has attended many of the previous
concerts by the Tuesday musical
this season, fact to be regretted
as those not attending missed much
of interest. The new curtain at the
Brandeis theater has assumed both
symmetry and grace, and the stage
setting presented an effective and
H. M. R,