Evening public ledger. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1914-1942, 1920-02-03
KREISLER STARS
AT BOSTON CONCERT
Great Violinist Gives Superb
Reading Of viotti Concerto.
D'Indy Symphony Played
The Program,

The Program
Symphony No; IN dat. q v,ntti inay
Concerto in A minor. ;...''... 'Nio''i
Les PreiudesH ...'is""............ List
Fritz Kreisler dominated the concert
of the Boston Symphony Orchestra at
the Academy Of Music last evening as
he has dominated every concert in Phil
adelphia this season at which he has
been the soloist. Having played here
the greatest of the classic concertos, the
Beethoven and the greatest of the mod
erns, the Brahms. he last evening played
the final one of the series, the greatest
of the ancents, that OF Viotti in A
minor.
It was not the concerto itself, but
what he made Of it, that excited the
wonder and the admiration alike of the
cognescenti and the comparatively un-
trained hearer. In both the Beethoven
| and the Brahms concertos the artist had
vehicle worthy of the genius OF the
greatest player who ever lived, but tins
can hardly be said to be the case with
the yiotti. Fundamentally. it is music
of bygone day, but Kreisler has mod
ernized it with genius equal to the
manner in which he plays it. lie has
| made no radical changes in it and none
whatever in the themes, but with a Few
| departures in the solo part and by some
effective changes in the harmony and
decided ones in the style of the accom-
paniment, together with modern or
chestration. he has made the work one
which now stands high in the repertoire
of the violin soloist.
! Perhaps it was less in what he did to
| the notes than the manner in which he
played them that made the concerto
| sound like a modern work. for Kreisler.
more than any other artist, can convey
whatever impression he pleases with
given set of musical phrases. The play
| ing of the concerto was masterpiece
from start to finish The work presents
no technical difficulty to good violin =
ist, but to play it. or any other con :
certo. with the mastery with which Mr..
Kreisler performed it last evening and
to imbue a work considerably more thar
century old with the modern spirit
which he made it show are given to bu'
few artists.
i Not the least Of The features of tht
concerto was the orchestration which
was Mr., Kreisler's own. Every in
strument of the orchestra is used witt
a full knowledge of its value, both a
a solo. voice and in ensemble, and TIL
orchestrat.on, while full, is never over
powering and sets off the solo part al
through. The changes in harmon.
which Mr.. Kreisler has made also ar
most effective and aided greatly in tn
modern sound of the concerto. Mr.
Kreisler received a great ovatio'
on his appearance and was recalle
many times after the concerto.
The orchestral numbers of the pro
gram began with Vincent d'Indy's Sec
ond Symphony, which received It
American premiere in the Academy Q
Music some fifteen years ago with VI
d'Indy conducting the Boston Orches
1 ira. 1t is one of the most elaborat
and best of D'Indy's works, being ia
3 superior in every respect to the IVA
Symphony" played by Mr.. Damrosc
some weeks ago. The work is scholasti
to certain extent, but there is muc
of musical value in it and It shows tn
= great knowledge of his craft that N
r d'Indy possesses. He knows what ef
Z fects he wants and how to secure thel
4 in the best manner. The symphony wa
= we'll played. the trumpets being espe
+ cially fine. The concert closed wit
Lies Preludes' of Liszt, also well per
r formed