The New York herald., 1922-01-29

getting as much enjoyment from the
barbarous bawling OF some stento-
rian vocalist to whom the art of fine
singing is entirely unknown as from
the more finished utterances Of q
Bori or Gigli.
At recent performance OF Faust"
three singers delivered the music OF
Counod in q praiseworthy manner.
Their efforts were rewarded with cor
dial, but not great applause. A young
woman who could not produce a mel
Iow or steady tone and whose knowl-
edge of style could be represented only
BY q minus sign also received cordial
applause for her singing of the flower
song of Siebel. The great demonstra-
tive outbreak of enthusiasm that eve
ming was reserved for the tenor's de-
livery OF "Salut Demeure." which was
given with a vigor approaching vio-
ierce and with a complete effacement
Of the. sugary sentiment and elegant
melody OF Gounod.
Beauty and sensationalism.
The battle between beauty and SEN
sationalism in opera singing will con-
tinue as long as the lyric drama ex-
lists The appetite for excitement in
orera is what initiates against the
endurance of such works as Gluck's
''Crfeo ed Euridice' and sustains the
vitality of the Wagnerian drama. If a
Wagnerian impersonator gratifles the
hunger for excitement by an extraor-
binary exhibition of tonal power or
strenuous action he may shatter the
noble phrases Of the composers melo-
dics to fragments. No one-except a
few old fogies-will care.
The aforesaid old fogies get their
simple pleasures from going to hear
concerts. They have to choose their
concerts, to be sure. for sensational
ism. noise and cunningly planned clap
trap find their way into the concert
world just as surely as they do into
the windows of the ticket spectators
who have bought up all the choice
seats for every appearance Of Nine.
Jeritza. But it Is not easy to manu-
facture n sensation out of symphony
concert at which Maier and Pattison
play a concerto for two pianos by the
ancient and venerable Bach. The mu-
sic OF the minor concerto, which
these two young men performed last
Sunday. sounded just as fresh and
vital as IL II had been written yester-
day or at any rate the day before.
Performance of the Concerto.
The performance of the concerto
served to suggest some interesting
thoughts. For instance, there was Sir
Edward Cigars Enigma" variations
a composition in which the personal
note Is sounded with most insistent
pggressiveness. First you are invited
10 consider Sir Edward Elgar in the
net of discoursing about the peculiari-
Ties Of fourteen friends Tten you are
asked TO contemplate each of those
fourteen friends, to try TO identify
him, or IL you cannot quite do that TO
make n mental note of his outstanding
characteristics as dellnnated by Sir
Edward Elgan
There was also Borodin's second
symphony, in which echoes OF all the
\ songs Of Russia resounded and you
liAkht ldb'9 itg iilE ONtT lnt
stcppes with Turgeniev or grovelling
in the mire WITH Tolstoi. Old Bach
offered no personal character sketches.
lie suggested no vast landscapes. no
frozen rivers OF the north. no arid
plains of the south. He just made
some music, simple, old time piano
music and 10, II wcs the youngest,
freshest. most modern thing on the
rrogramme. But there was nothing
IN II out of which sensation could
by any possibility fave been fash
ioned. You might as we'll try to
create sensation about the Acropo-
lis OF Athens or the Bay Of Baiae.
With orchestra concerts. however.
something can be done II one does
not bestow too much attention to the
music. For there Is always the con-