New-York tribune., 1920-10-29
Delights
Audience in Solos
On His Bass Viol
Antonio Torello Provides
Novelty at Aeolia" Hall
Concert, With Jose Mar
doncs as Companion Artist
By II. f. Krehbicl

Many Things might be SAID of the
concert given by two Spanish gentle
men and artists in Ae3lian Hall, but
.he most obvious thing is that in one
feature 1t was wholly. completely, en-
tlreiy and unquaNiied.y novel. Senor
Jose Mardones sang some opera airs
and songs, but Senor. Mardones has
fol some years been an admired mem
Ter OF the metropolitan Opera Com
prny perhaps the most admired basso
since Edouard de Reske and Pc. ran
cen left Us.
SO OF him there is no need Of say
ing more than that he did not endure
thS test of the concert room as well
al he, does tAat OF the lyric theater,
that his voice was more stentoriously
NoluminouS than refined In quality
ana that MS vocal capcrings, when he
tried to caper tas In "Se vuol ballare,"
from MozarI 5 Noe di Figaro,
We're not so graceful as those Of his
companion, Antonio Torello, whose in
s;rumont was not the voice, but the
coubic-bass vol
1t was he who provided the novel
clement OF the entertainment. We
question If there were a dozen people
in the room who had ever before list
ened 10 solos on what irroverent boys
have been known to call "bull-hddle."
Fifty years ago Signor Bottt~ni, who
IS set down in the books as one Of the
greatest performers upon the contra
bass chat ever lived (Dragonetti being
the o.herJ, came TO New York, but it
was as fellow conductor with Arditi OF
famous ltaiiau opera company; and If
he gave any performances on MS grave
and unwlcldly Instrument the fact has
escaped our reading Of the records.
From what the books tell us OF his
playing. however, We imagine that IN
more respects than cne Sen0r Ioreilo re-
sembles him more than tne marvellous
Dragonetti who inspired not only the
admiration and friendship of Beetho-
ven, bat also the idea of Introducing
Tie bass rccitatves, which are unique
feature OF thc masters ID minor SYM
phony-tne bridge built to connect the
instrumental and vocal regions Of the
symphonic an
Dragonet.i used the full-sized or
chestrai instrument, with its normal
slrlngs rstt SIM nalIer .1s' ru-
ment, equipped with harp strings.
Senior loic--o. we t'al. hes t.ii0t,et i
him in this particular, for in no other
way can we account for the marvcis
which ne performed last night. His
tone was Ike that of a large violon-
cello, and as Seuor Casals can play
violin concertos on his cello, SO we
.esag4Ae ta-. >an0r 'lartl C mis..5 play
Beethoven's cello sonatas on his double
oaSs.
His cantilena, as well as his rapid
passage work. indeed is all played high
up on the second and third strings. but
,ne latter ssWays clean ana clear, il
not always just Ia intonation. Besides
that he produces harmonies, artificial
as well as natural, with apparent ease,
mixes bowed and Uizzicato tones. and
double stopping and arpcggios seem to
inconvenience him no more than they
90 the ordinary vioioncello player.
The effect is agreeable, though we
could not help feeling that the instru-
ment was less nobly employed by him
than it is in the orchestra where it is
never called upon for such didoes,
bpt gives out tones which form the
foundation ON which the entire orches-
tral structure rests, and where its
deep pizzicat produce the effect, as
ve believe Berlioz SAID, Of Gigantic
heart beats
senor Torello played fantasy Of