Evening public ledger. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1914-1942, 1919-11-15
THE CRITIC TALKS
TO MUSIC LOVERS
Weekly Comment on Things
Musical in Discriminating
Philadelphia

THE most important musical event of
L. the week. and for that matter the
most far reaching musical event in
years in Philadelphia. was the com
pletion of the endowment fund of the
philadelphia Orchestra. which was an
nounccd at the dinner at the Ritz
Carlton on Monday evening. Its I'M
portaucc lies in the fact that the exist
ence OF the Orchestra on its present high
plane. with all its powers for good.
both artistic and material. is now as
sured
With the burden Of financial deficits
permanently removed. the future of the
Orchestra is imncasurably Frightened
aud with it as II matter Of course 90 the
entire musical interests Of the city,
for they all depend to Il certain extent
upon the we'll being of the leading
musical organization, Therefore the
success of the endowment fund is Il
matter of congratu!ation not only to the
officers and directors of the Orchestra
itself. but to every ono who is inter
cstcd IN Philadelphia musical affairs
directly or indirectly
To those who attend the orchestra
concerts. the completion of the funds
means much. for they will b. able to
continue to hear the same high stand.
ard of concerts at Il price which il
would have been impossible to maintain
without the fund. Each ticket sold for
the orchestra, as Mr.. BOX announced
at one Of the Saturday evening con
CcrtS. pays only about Que half of what
II costs the Orchestra Association the
rest will now come out of the cudow-
mcnt fund whore heretofore it has been
made up from individual contributions
rTHE assurance of the pcrmancnry Of
l. tho Orchestra will be good news to
all Philadelphia. for it is civic aud
fnancia as we'll uS an artistic asset
and this fact is beginning to be apprc.
ciatcd by the business men of the city
II was particularly happy thought
on the part of some one at the Monday
evening dinner to make part of the
fund there raised. memorial to Alex
andcr Van Rensselaer,. As Mr.. Box
said in announcing this memorial. Mr.
Van Rensselaer, has for years given his
time. his thought and is substance to
the Orchestra and many times his per.
SevCrHuc" and COu"ng" have tidcd the
organization over dangerous shoals. In
way he needs no special memorial
for the Orchestra itself and IFS con
tinucd existence until the dav when
the endowment fund guaranteed its
permaneuCy is his real memorial. but il
must have been source of gratiiica
tion to him that his long and unscltish
services for Philadelphia music was
thus formally and deServedly recognized.
And next 10 Mr.. Van Rensselaer, the
credit for the happy position in which
the Philadelphia Orchestra finds itself
today must go to Mr.. Box who gave 80
generously Of his time and means aS
chairman Of the endowment fund com
mittce. and to his energetic associates
on that committee
A FTER many orchestra concerts thus
"A far this season. the opening concert
of the Chamber Music Association at the
Bellevue Stratfcrd last Sunday after
noon came as delightful contrast The
orchestra is the music of grandeur. but
the string quartet is the ne plus ultra of
refinement in music. CyclOpean food is
good and necessary TO our existence.
but one does not want it exclusively.
either in musical or physical diet.
The I.etz Quartet, which gave the
first concert. is an excellent OrEaniHa
tion. but Mr.. Lett has departed from
the Kneise school of quartet work. not
only in style of playing, bur also in the
manner of seating the quartet. as he
has adopted the plan of sitting made
popular by che FlonZaley Quartet. Mr.
Kneisel tried out this way of sitting
some years ago. but went back to the
classic way. as did David and Joachim
many years before him. Mr.. Lett. how
ever. if the writer memory serves him
correctly. was not II member of the
Kneisel Quartet at the time OF tins
experiment
The Letz Quartet is strongly to be
commended for the program which it
presented. The Mozart Quartet in +
is one of the six dedicated to the then
king of Prussia and is one of the great
quartet compositions of all time. The
ruler. it appears was a great adluirer
of the cello and something of player
himself (as kings go. so it is to be pre-
sumed). and the quartet in + has the
weakness. if it can be called such, of
all six of the compositions. in having
an unduly prominent cello part \ev-
ertheless. it is a wonderful composition
and one too rarely heard,
T9HE second work which Mr. Lett and
L his associates presented was the
quartet in + minor of Beethoven. the
second of the three dedicated to Count
Rasoumofsky. These three quartets are
equal in musical content workmanship
and. for that matter. every other mu
sical quality to any of the Beethoven
symphonies. The one chosen by the Lett
Quartet is probably the most difficult of
the three in its ensemble. though all
are of enormous technical difficulty.
Como T4,ornYf1n,