New-York tribune., 1922-11-10
Philharmonic
And Symphony
Give Concerts
Wagner Number Wins Warm
Welcome as Interpreted
by Crooks and Stralia
Under Damrosch Baton
Hoflnann Plays Unevenly
Eccensricities of Scherxo by
Weiner Contrast With
Serene Charm of Brahms
BY H. E. krehb;el

Both of our local concert orchestras
gave concerts in Carnegie Hall yester-
day, the Symphony Orchestra in the
afternoon, the Philharmonic at night,
Mf. Damrosch's scheme consisted Of
two numbers only, the Heroic" sym-
rhony Of Beethoven and the concluding
scene from Wagner's "Siegfried,n be-
ginning with the hero's ascent of the
mountain where he finds Brdnnhilde,
awakens her with q kiss and arouses
in her the passion of love. For the
vocal parts he enlisted Miss Elsa
Straiia, whom he introduced to New
1orkers last season, and Mr.. Richard
Crooks.
When good many of those who
heard this music yesterday were young
Mr.. Damrosch made considerable stir
throughout the country by giving per-
formances of Wagner's lyric dramas.
AT first he was financially as we'll as
artistically successful; but in the end
disaster overlook him, as he has told
us In his memoirs now publishing in
THE Ladies Home Journal" Not i'm
mediately, but in the progress Of time,
ne came to the conclusion that Wag-
ner's music sounded best when disso-
ciated from action and scenery; and
aimee then he, like all Of his associates,
.ss tAeSs tAahS aAa*Ss On tne dramas
TOR concert purposes-always to the
delight Of his audiences. Whether or
not they shared his notions about the
self-suff1ciency of the music, they have
always listened to it with delight.
Action Vital to Music
The excerpt heard yesterday is not
unfamiliar to our concert rooms. but
until this incident OF Briinnhilde's
awakening, at least, most of it i'm
peratiYely demands picture and action
except for those whose memory and
imagination can call up the lacking
factors. Seigfried's disjointed COM
nent on the scene on the mountain
top and the sleening figure are not
concert material like the fire music,
Brunnhilde's apostrophe to nature
and the subsequent love music. But
after long deprivation the audience
found all the music, tremendously ex-
citing, One could feel that senses and
emotions were a-quiver everywhere,
and there was great outburst
of applause when the end came.
The singers had much to contend
against with the full unrastrained
power Of the hand pitted against their
voices. Mr.. Crooks occasionally sue
eumbed in the melee, but the ringing
tones of Miss Straia's voice scared to
the top Of every instrumental serge
in triumph. Altogether singers. play-
ers, Mr.. Damrouscn and the audience
enjoyed what Senator Conkling once
described as "halcyen and voicifer-
Gus time"
Brahms Reading pleases
| Serenity, beautiful serenity, pre-
vaiied at the beginning of the Philhar-
monic concert, when Mr.. Stransky
! gave a remarkably fine, poetical and
/ spirited reading of Brahmss second
symphony, and displayed better than
ever before this season the superb
quality OF his band. Subsequent pro-
ceedings were not so ingratiatinp to
either the ear or the emotions. A new
composition by Leo Weiner was described
/ on the program as an Introduction and
seherze from the incidental music to
9 nlay by V0rosmarty entitled "Cson-
gor es Tunde," Authors name, title and
music seemed to US appropriately
anpmatopoetic. If we were asked what
the music sounded like, we should say
iust like yornsmarty esongor es ttinde
No description could -he happier. |,
is music for gnomes so the program
notes told us), and the gnomes, too
are yorosmarty esongor es tinde. We
Imagine that they have big heads thai
wabble and feet which 60 in all direc.
lions except those usually followed b,
faifyfolk. We are glad that we shall
not be obliged to see them on the
STAGE or hear them again.
After the Magyar music it was not
surprising that we felt that the FIRE.
quent lapses from pitch in Mr.. Joseph
Hollman's performance Of Saint-Sasns's
concerto in A miner for violoneelle
were quite the appropriate thing. Un.
| der other circumstances, however, we
should have preferred to hear Mr.
HOLMAN play as he used to when he
was here with tho violinist Johannes
! Wolf some twenty or twenty-five years
ago, Lisat's "Tasso,' warhorse much
1 ridden by Mr. strausky since his first
/ concert as conductor of the Philhar,
monte Society, ended the concert.
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