New-York tribune., 1922-02-05
Beethoven Seventh
SymphonyPlayedby
Boston Orchestra
Monteux's Reading Slightly
More Spirited Than That
of Stransky, Less Erratic
Than Rendition by Coates
By n. E. Krehbiel

Something may be found in another
section of The Tribune to-day touching
the occasional muting Of minds of con-
ductors as to the desirabi1ity of COM
nelling, or at least inviting, the con-
cert eocrs to hear the same compost
ton day after day. The case direct
ly in point was Beethoven's symphony
in A, the Seventh OF the supposedly
immortal Nine Between Thursday
night of week before last and yester-
day afternoon the symphony was played
five times in Carnegie Hall. 1t was on
the programs of three organizations.
and therefore those who even heard a
single concert by the Philharmonic,
the Symphony Society and the Boston
Orchestra within the period heard tho
work three times BY the same token,
.hey we're pernitted-if we do not in
innate that they were challengcd-t
form an opinion as to the comparative
value Of the interpretations of Messrs.
Stransky, Coates and Monteux.
In the article printed elsewhere in
The Tribune to-day we have ventured
,pon some reflections concerning the
music Of as Beethoven wrote it and as
re roodestly think nc itnended that it
should he plsved and II was made
% sound. To those observations we
lave little to add otter the perform
ance bv the Boston Orchestra.
The players at the command uof Mr..
Moteux. did not give out body of
tone as incra.iating to the ears as did
those directed by Mr.. Stransky and
Nr. Coates, butthe performance, a
little more spirited than tha' OF 1ne
ps;lharmonic Society, and a great deal
Iess erratic than that OF the Sym
nbonv Society approached the former
r heinc. so far as tempt were con i.
.arned consonant with tho manifest
uurnoses of the composer. There were
f;ystions from the fundamental rates
~ speed indicated by Beethoven's
msrkines. but they were not radically
or virtuntly different.
Mr. Monteux's conception of the Al
Iegretto is not quite that which Bee
thoven conceived to he the movement
of an Allcgretto, but it was not that OF
4 melancholy march spurred INTO
ouckstcp bv the entrance Of the lovely
maior melody Beethoven's notion cor-
cerning its tempo may be gathered
from the corresp sponding movement in
the symphony which he wrote immed
stely after It. The Allegretto Scher-
zano Of the Eighth Symphony is an
allegrctto played jocoscly. We doubt
II Mr.. Coates would associate a heavy
hearted or halfway heavy footed mood
with that exquisite bit OF humor. Yet
1t is an allegretto. Mr.. Monteux per-
mtted the characte ristic dactyl in the
pizicato bass to the second subject to
turn into an anapaist by overlooking
the dynamic stress in the eignth notes
on the higher open strings instead Of
placing the accent or the first beat,
where it belongs, but where the A
has less volume of tone because it is
sounded an octave lover in contra
bases and violin ceilos. And the sec
ond ard last tones of the theme of the
fnae were naudibe. as usual
Uncertainty is beginning to enter
into our concert programs as we'll as
the symphony Of the Manhattan Opera
House. Mr. MonteuX had promised
first New York performance of Ravel's
la Valse,' but replaced it yesterday
with Schonbcrg's "Vcrklartc Nacht."
His other numbers were the wsta1"
variations by dIndy and Svendscn
Carnival CT Paris
The operas at the Metropolitan
Opera House yesterday were "Snegou-
ro,chka" in the afternoon and "Mefs-
tofele' in The evening. In the former
the principal part was sung by Miss
Alice Miriam, who was called in as
substitute for Miss Bori A fresh
voice. a youthful figure and simplicity
Of action which begets sympathy are
the qualities most essential in an in
terpr of the fragile creature conf
pounded Of wintry snow and the balmy
breath of spring. and these attributes
were agrecabiy disclosed by Miss
Miriam. Snegourotchka' is an opera
IN which youthfuness is g character
istlc element. and the Younger mem-
oers OF Mr.. Gatti's company, Nh Lau-
remit, IN particular. give an excellent
account Of themselves i'll its repre-
sentation The performers in 'Meiis-
tofe" were those who took part in
the first Of this seasons performances
Of the opera-Mmc. Aida, Nine. Easton,
Miss Perrin and Messrs. Mardones,
Glglc and Paltrinier