New-York tribune., 1921-02-04
Music OF Italy
Is illustrated
By Danlroscll
Composer Shows Purpose
i'm Historical Concert to
Revive Orchestral Scores
From the | 9th Century ON
Boston Band Heard Here
+E. Robert Scllnitz, Pianist,
Assists i'm an Excellent
Program at Carnegie Hall
BY RI. E. KrehbieIs

The educational obligations implied
by the announcement Of series Of
concerts planned to exhibit the prog
ress of the orchestra and orchestral
music seem to sit lightly on the con-
science Of Mr.. Walter Damrosch. as
we have had occasion to intimate here
tofore. More desirable, to his mind
is the production Of music which has
q relationship with the art Of various
Peoples and which is primarily in
gratiating to tastes of to-day.
In his historical concert given at
Carnegie Hail yesterday afternoon we
ostensibly published purpose to Illus
trate the orchestral music of italy
from the sixteenth century to to-day,
Earlier Composers Ignored
The obvious appeal at the outset
of such promenade should have been
made to tbs early composers, who led
the world in orchestral music. and fol-
low them up with the men who have
represented symphonic music in Italy
since. But his audience heard moth
ing Of the Gabrielis, nothing of the
representation of the great violin
schools whose concerti grossi fired
the genius of Bach, nothing of the
symphonists who set fashion for
Hayden, (like Sammartini) nor of the
symph honists of generation ago Oike
SgambatDs nothing of Martucc.
AS representatives of the earliest
period we were asked to be content
with transcriptions for orchestra by a
man of to-day of lutte pieces by Moli-
naro (1590) and Galilei, a contem-
poorary, who fifures in the history
OF science as the father Of the astrono-
mer and in the history of music as
one OF the founders of the opera.
very dainty and very graceful were
the two dances by these worthless, but
they told us nothing about the orches-
tral music of the day in which the
composers of their melodies lived and
labored.
The galliarde by Galilei had been
introduced to New York by Signor
Toscanini.
""Juventus," the tone-poem by de
Sabata. which has much admirable ma
terial which the composer robbed
of much interest by unconscionablv
stretching it out, had also had pre-
vlous performances by Mr.. Damrosch's
hand and that of La Scala, but thers
was splendid vitality and eioquence in
the manner in which it was played.
The interest of novelty attached to
only one other Of the numbers which
constituted the program-the barca-
role from Casella's ballet, ale Cou-
vent sur l'eau,'' which had for It's com
panions the previously heard children's
and old ladies' dances from the same
composition.
Boston Orchestra Here
:. In the barcarolle the composer uti-
Lies 8 soprano voice which, sings a.
melody of type which, we fancy,
must sound strangely in a Venetian
car, on the vocable "Ah." Nothing
more. Perhaps the voice should have
sounded like one in the orchestral
company--lifted into the prominence
Of solo song, as it was by Miss Hen
riietta Conrad, it evoked wonder that
it should have been left wordless.
Several composers. as far back as sBer-
lloz in his "Trojans in Carthage" have
used inarticulate song for musical eff
fects, chiefly for color, and something
like this may have been Casella's pur-
pose in this piece. If 80 we thought
that purpose frustrated by the heavy.
footed manner in which it was sung
by Miss Conrad.
The other pieces on the program
were the overture to civilian Tell"
by Rossini' Respighis "Fountains of
Rome" and Sinigaglia's overture to "Le
Baruffe Chiozzotti."
In the evening the walls OF Carnegie
Hall echoed to music made by the Bos-
ton Orchestra and <. Robert Schmitz.
pianist. There was nothing new on
the program but the excellent playing
Of Mr. Monteux's men, who are stead
lily growing toward the perfection for
which the old Boston organization
stood, and Mr.. Schmitz gave great
pleasure and received cordial recog-
milton. The pragram was composed Of
Beethoven's first symphony, Cesar
Francks "Les Djinns" for pianoforte
and orchestrs, Debussy's "Le Mex" and
Liszt's "Tasso."