New-York tribune., 1919-11-14
New Symphony by
D'lndy Played by
Walter Dan1roscll
Only One Piece of Familiar
Music Offered at Con
cert at Carnegie Hall
Disagreement of Critics
BY H. f. Krehbiel

ence which heard the concert of the
Syn mphony Society in Carnc~;e Hall
yesterday afternoon only one piece of
familiar music. That was Schumann's
traAsportingly beautiful pianoforte
concerto, which was beautifully played
by Ossip Gabrilowitsch and the or
chestra-lct us add also by Mr. Dam
iosch, for it was his hand that bound
the performers in an admirable uni ion
OF undors' anding and an equally ad-
mirab G publication Of the work.
The prime pal one Of the new compo-
sltlons, and tie only one Of real sig
nlticance, was new symphony by Vim
cent d'Indv. which the composer him
self designated as ode Bello Calico
Since IT was composed, or at least be-
gun, three years ago. and bears a dedi-
cation TO an officer in the French army
of to-day. it is obvious that it is the
Gal ic war of VII lam II and not that
descr be. hymn or celebrate. The an
realtors disagree as to the labels
which ought to be attached to some Of
its themes. Mr.. Damrosch, who heard
the work at its first performance in
Par.s and talked it over with the COM
POSER finds Frenchmen and Germans
in the contrasted thematic material Of
the first movement, and picture Of
conflict in their development. SO did g
French critic, quoted by MIR. Philip
Hale, when the symphony had its first
performance in America by the Boston
Orchestra on the Gath day of last
month.
We confess our inability to recog-
nizc either French or German charac-
teri tics In the themes. We are speak
ing hurriedly, Of course, and after an
acquaintance with the work,
but to US it seemed that either the
poilus or the Boches we don't know
which. had passed through both Ire
land and Africa and cultivated taste
for rattlety-bane percussion instru-
ments and appropriations quite as vio-
lent as that Of Percy Granger. In the
SOW movement, the third there is q
section which Mr.. Damrosch describes
as brutally u~.y and which he said NJ
d Indy admit ed, when he suggested it,
CT aracterized the ruthless invaders.
The French critic Fernand LIE Borne.
says that the theme is "closc kin to
the motive OF the Jew in d'Indys 'St.
We never heard nor saw
this sanity music, and therefore do
not know what the French writer
meant. We are eolally in the dark as
to why any kind of jew should be
war between modern Teuton and mod
err Gaul.
NJ. LIE Borne also calls the melody
which scars triumchantly over the tu-
mult in TIE final NOV ement the victori-
ous themn of St M.chac This theme
is permitted to laccrate sensitive ears
Wien sung by "little trumpet in D"
at the end. We had no idea that St.
Michael blew horn (euphemism for
trumpet) so brutal,y. lie was COM
in-chief of the army which
drove the rebellious angels out of
heaven; but Lon-fellow tells US that
and prudence implies moderation.
But we fear we are inquiring too
curiously when we inquire so. The
obvious things about the symphony
are that it is short (the composers
title describes it as "Sinforna
hrevis'); that it is full of excellent
craft manship, which would, perhaps,
be considered de9lorably conservative
# it came from a professor Of the
CoHservatoire, but is quite the proper
thing from the head of the Schola
fantorum. We are also inclined to
think that when he was younger Nj.
dIndy made better musical pictures
of German sldery in his Wallen-
stein s.mph onic roem than he did Of
French so d cry in this symphony But
the new music is intere ting Ca
dreadfrl'y hackneyed rhrase), and one
oug' to hear it several times before
pres ming to pass any kind Of judg
mont uron it.
The other rev pieces were De5ussy's
"Berccuse heroique," which MIR. Cope
Land played here on the pianoforte two
or three years AGO; puoarc's aux
Etoi'es.' and a Procession del Rocio"
by Turira who, we are to d. is Span
ish musician educated in Paris. De-
bussy's piece. written to do homage
t. The King of Belgium, is a trAe,
which, despite the charm of its chae
acser stically tilmsy orchstraton. may
still be described as the fickering Of
q dving genius. Duoarc's music had
theatric substance as well as beauty,
and the S9aniard's delineation Of a
summer festival (of the dew disclosed
+het Good, honest bot les may still be
filed with honest musical wine.