New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1921-01-17
Concertgoers
Display Liking
For Modernism
Two Compositions Revived
by Bodanzky for Friends
of Music Lend Fantastic
Touch to Varied Program
'Crotesco' Is Reproduced
Brahms's Mamie Serves to
Purge Minds of Listen
ers of the 'Perilous Stuff
By II. E. krehbiel

At its third subscription concert.
given in Aeolian Hall yesterday after
noon, the Society of the Friends Of
Music returned to the mission. which
it steadily processes but frequently
forgets, and gave hearing to music of
= kind to which ordinary concert organ
izations. from indisposition or inabili-
ity. give no heed. Under Mr.. Bodanzky's
direction it brought forward two new
compositions. revived an overture
which long ago fell into undeserved
desuetude and, with the help of choir
which had been trained for the purpose
by Mr.. Stephen Townsend, of Boston,
performed Brahms's "Nanie"--a noble
and exquisitely beautiful setting of
Schiller's meditation on the brevity of
life ana the inevitableness of death.
This composition, following upon the
heels of an orchestral fantastic by
Maliepiero, entitled "Grotesco," pro-
vided some needed lustral water which
purged and purified the minds of the
listeners Of the perilous stuff poured
into It by the Italian revolutionary.
Repetition Seems Unmerited
Properly approached, the "Grotesco"
is innocuous enough; but. taking his
cue from the appearance of score or
two Of persons plainly bent on making
a demonstration in favor of modern
ism, futurism, impressionism, cubism
Tor whatever one chooses to call IT.,
Mr. Bodanzky announced that "in JUS
tice to the composer" he would play it
again, and did so.
Why a second hearing should have
been thought necessary was not obvl-
Gus to the discriminating hearers. nor
did the composition benefit by the repe-
tition. On the contrary, the applause
after the second performance was
neither as loud nor as long as after
the frst. The composition is q per-
fectly frank experiment in musical car
feature, which ais~s by a series OF varl-
atoms ca a theme (Which in our mind
called up IN amusing memory or .lne
Arkansas Traveller" to be playfully
grotesque.
The devices employed by the COM
poser are many-augumenta and
diminution of the theme. singular
flights of modality. weird harmoniza-
ton and Instrumentation, eccentric
rhythms, unexpectedly startling dyna-
mic changes and many more. lnstru-
mental voices are forced into unac-
customcd registers, the pianoforte rum
bles in its depths after tumbllng
glissando, the xylophcne injccts its
macabre sounds, the deep'toned gong
SUISaQS u 8OIuOIc 4oIsVAbA6 ANASAS VA
pail over the conclusion Of the piece
which had begun with dwarfish glee
to the cachinnative effect of fiddle
bow sticks beaten against the strings,
the muted trumpet ever and anon in
jects an uncanny phrase into the mass
Of sound and so on, and so on until
the composers bag of tonal tricks is
exhausted.
Music for Grotesque Dance
1t is all extremely ingenious and
clever and the music would make a
capital accompaniment to a grotesque
dance Of witches, warlocks, ghouls and
COLLINS, but aged without such
spectacle after the diversion of ear and
fancy is ever one is inclined to ask:
Cut bono?
Az for originality there was less Of
it in the piece than in the concertino
for clarinet and orchestra (thc other
novelty by Busoni. which was poorly
played, indeed, by Mr.. Chiafarelli and
the band, but which would probably
have made no deeper impression had
1t been better done. AS it was, it was
partly sacrificed. we fear. for the sake
Of the bit Of grotesquerie. As for the
overture, Spohr's "Jessonda." it was
mercilessly murdered.
1t was Schiller's love for classic lit
cretrre and desire to bind the Ger
man language in tribute to the con-
tours Of Greek hexameter verse which