The New York herald., 1922-03-01
ny w. >. HENDERSON.

At the Metropolitan Opera House last
evening the Philharmonic Society pro-
duced Gustave Mahler's third symphony.
This composition had not been heard
here before. 1t Is in ID minor and is
written for orchestra. contraio solo. a
The forces assembled BY Conductor Will
EN- Mengelberg were Nine. Julia Claus
sen, contralto the ST. Cecilia Club, Vic
tor Harris. conductor. and the boy choir
OF Father Finn's Paulist Chor;sters. The
composition sufficed for an entire con-
cert. There was no other number. and
the necessary interval for rest and re-
f-eshment was made after the first move-
ment.
The third symphony of the tireless
Niennese composer was begun in 1895
and finished the following year. 1t was
first performed in 1902. and AIr. Mengel-
berg. who directed 1t last evening, intro
duced II to Amsterdam in 1913. Mr..
kunewald (subscquently interned) gave
1t hearing at the Cincinnati festival Of
1914. That was its first performance in
this country.
When the work was first revealed
Mailer made some titles for his move
ments intended.~as we are now told, TO
keep the curious quiet. Later he told
Mr.. Mengelberg what it was all about
and that possessor of the secret told
Lawrence Gilman, writer of the Philhar-
monte Society's program notes. In JUS
tice to Mailer this final explanation is
the one we should accept.
Built In Two Parts.
The symphony is built in two parts
and six subdivisions. The first part is
the first movement, as long as SYM
phony in itself. This movement ushcrs
into our presence the principal thematic
foundations of the work. They are sew
eral and are subjected to elaborate de-
velopments. The second part has five
sections. The first two, called tempo di
menuetto and scherzo, are instrumental :
the third Is 1.-THE Wanderers Night
Song" from Nietsches "Also Sprach
Zarathustra," composed for contralto and
orchestra ; the fourth setting of song
("Es sungen drei Engel'') from "Des
Knaben Wunderhorn," for womens and
boys choirs and contralto, and the finale
an instrumental adagio.
We are invited to regard the whole
work as an expression of Mahier's idea
OF universal brotherhood. n the first
movement man, facing the tragedy of
life. gathers his forces and advances
&c the combat The minuet signifies
What the flowers tell me-: the scherZo
What the animals In the forest tell me !:
the contralto solo What man tells me- /:
the choral division what the angels tell
me" and the finale What love tells
me-"
Discloscs Beautiful Spirit.
discloses a beautiful spirit, splendid
aspiration and a profound sympathy
with humanity must be manifest to every
reader. No adequate commentary on Mr..
Mahler's herculean attempt to cnlbody
his conceptions can be made this morn
ing. Examination of the work must be
deferred. But for the moment II can
be said as Il has been said OF other
creations of this master. that between
what he desired to utter and his power
of utterance there yawned an immeasur-
able abyss.
There are moments OF great, CT mov-
ing beauty in this third symphony. but
Il sinks under its own weight and size.
1t tdol two hours, TO perform it, and
some OF its ideas were repeated and re-
peated till the hearer wondered how a
composer could be so dead to all sense
OF continuity Of proportion and of hu-
man endurance OF the part OF listeners.
But of all this, more may be said
later For to-day let 1t suffice to say
that Mr. Mengelbers had prepared the
performance Of the work with the great
est care and that Mr.. Mailer did not in