New-York tribune., 1920-04-15
Venerable Music
Pie as e 9 at New
Symphony Concert
Its Afternoon Companion,
With Same Selections,
Will Be Given To-day; MIR.
kreisler's Work Praised
By II. E. k1ehb;el

The last OF the evening concerts Of
the New Symphony Orchestra took
place in Carnegie Hall last night. 1t
had been advanced a fortnight to meet
e<:gencies created by Mr.. Moddanzky's
operate duties, and it's afternoon COM
panion, at which the same music will
be performed, will begin tomorrow.
The program was made up of COM
positions which. if time alone supplied
the criterion, would have to be set
down as archaic. There was first q
Concertino in F minor for stringed
instruments by Pergolesi in. the edi-
tion of Mr.. Sam Franko. The editor
avoided the application Of modern
rouge and left the fair face of the
composition overspread with the smile
lmnumerous and beautiful which it
wore at its creation some 1s0 years
ago. Pergolesi died in 1889 After
this Mr.. Fritz Kreisler, who was re-
celved with much gladstone noise,
played the solo part of Bach's Con-
certo in E major for violin and or
chestra, which has reached the ripe old
age Of 200 years. Finally there came
Beethovens Pastoral" Symphony.
which is 112 years old, having been
composed in 1903
Music Only as Old as 1t Sounds
Venerable works all three, but
music is only as old as it sounds to
those who know how to appreciate it.
and the intelligent amateurs in last
nights audience seemed to find no
scars made by the ravaging tooth Of
time in any of the compositions.
though they published the principles
of formal beauty and logical sym
metrical development, had nothing to
say about esoteric or any kind of
philosophy, and only in the symphony
mildly limited at delineation Of the ex-
ternal things Of this world. In 80 far
as 1t became initiative, Beethoven's
work with all its melodious loveliness.
was nearer music's infancy than the
purely musical utterances Of Bach.
Mr. Frankie seems to have set for
himself the task of creating something
like a Pergolesi cult. He brought the
score of Pergolesi's concertino from
Germany. some four or five years ago
and after editing it. filing in what he
considered lacuna in the fabric, gave it
a hearing at concert of the Society of
the Friends Of Music in December, 1915.
Beauty of the Concertino
About the same time he persuadea
the American singers to give some rep
reservations of PersoIesi's LA Serva
Padrona" in English (the title some
what ambiguously phrased as "The
Maid Mlstress') and three weeks ago
ne directed a performance of the once
greatly admired "Stabat Mater" in the
Washington Irving High School. Be-
tween the acts of LA Serva Padrona"
he introduced the slow movement of
the concertino, permitting it to play
part something like the sparkling little
opera did in its earliest days, when it
formed intermezzi in a serious. or what
would nowadays be called grand"
opera.
The whole concertino is music of
the highest class, splendid in texture,
It's melodic material full of strong
grace. The slow movement is pecul-
lariy delicious, many-vo ced, angelic
cantich, with suggestion of that
transparent effect which the royal i'm
beetle George III observed in the pas
toral symphony Of Handel's Messiah"
and which prompted him to say that one
could see the stars shining through
IT." Mr.. Bodanzky succeeded in bring
ing out much if not all of its filmy
delicacy, but we thought that he laid
his hands somewhat too rudely upon
the first and last movements. This
music is Roman, not Gothic.
Mr.. kreisler's Playing Praised
1t must have been without design,
but II was a lovely feature of the even
ing that in all Of the music the genius
of the composers sang nearest to
heavens gate in The slow movements
IN the andante of the Concertino, the
adagio Of the concerto. and the Scene
by the Brook" in the symphony. In
eefably tender was the antiphonal song
between the solo instrument and the
voices of the orchestra echoin9 the
melody which the basses gave out and
enforced by iteration and reiteration
as the theme of the transporting dis
course. Here Mr. Bodanzky kept his
band in nicer unity with Mr.. Kreisler
than in the two allegros, though there
were crudities which we should like to-
believe were due wholly to the imper-
feet material which the conductor has
at his command this season.
But the delight which the devotees
of Mr.. Kreisler found in his playing
and the devotees of Bach found in the
music was so keen that it seems churl-
lsh to even hit at imperfections The
audience was as LARGE as the walls of
the room permitted it TO be.