Four Weeks of Musical Life in London: The Impressions of a German Musician Author(s): Theodor Müller-Reuter Source: The Musical Times, Vol. 51, No. 810 (Aug. 1, 1910), pp. 513-514 Published by: Musical Times Publications Ltd. Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/908105 Accessed: 12-12-2015 00:04 UTC

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This content downloaded from 138.253.100.121 on Sat, 12 Dec 2015 00:04:30 UTC All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions THE MUSICAL TIMES.-AUGUST I, 1910. 513

FOUR WEEKS OF MUSICAL LIFE IN LONDON: of stringand windtone alike in pp andffisso perfectthat one could almostsay that the wind tone is embraced the THE A by IMPRESSIONS OF GERMAN MUSICIAN. strings. This perfectblending is not due to the disposition BY PROFESSOR THEODOR MUiLLER-REUTER, OF CREFELD. of the orchestra,which is in the formof a fan and not wedge-shapedas is usual in Germany; for at Covent It was with the object of makinghistorical researches in Gardenand His Majesty'sTheatres, where the orchestras are the musicalarchives of the BritishMuseum, and of learning of course differentlydisposed, the same peculiarityis somethingof the actualitiesof London's musicaland concert noticeable. The mostimportant factor in the productionof lifeduring its season, thatI visitedthe metropolisin May of so beautifula toneseems to be the stringquartet, in which thisyear. In a stayof fourweeks it is manifestlyimpossible, the bowing suggeststhe influenceof the French school. even withthe best will in the worldand the exerciseof the The welcome, too, which London orchestrasgive their greatestenergy, to arrive at a conclusionon London's conductorwhen he comes on to the platformis a pleasing musicalactivities that can in any way be regardedas final feature: there is respect on both sides, an earnest of and all-embracing. Nevertheless,performances in concert harmonious working. The London Symphony (1o3 hall and theatre,and constantintercourse with distinguished members) seems to stand at the head of the three English artists,professors, composers and others of the orchestras. I had the opportunityof studyingtheir quick musical world have contributedto produce a numberof readinessin accompanimentboth at concertsand rehearsals. impressionswhich may not be withouta certainvalue. It (To avoid misunderstanding,I may add that I heard the is thereforewith the greatestpleasure that, in compliance Queen's Hall and Philharmonicorchestras each at one with the courteousrequest of the editorof this journal,I concertonly, and the London Symphonyat several.) Two now set my impressionson paper,at the same timeasking worksfor pianoforte and orchestraby Hintonand Delafosse thatwhat I have writtenmay not be consideredin any sense (performedat differentconcerts) were easilymastered each a treatiseon English,or even London, musicallife. at one rehearsalin spiteof theirmany rhythmical difficulties ; and experiencehas shownthat the capabilityof an orchestra LONDON AS A MUSICAL CENTRE. and the extentof its musicalknowledge are best evidenced For a that marvel of has by its elasticityand power of adaptationin accompaniment. long period London, cities, An standard was been duringthe season the all-compellingmagnet to the equally high attainedin Tchaikovsky's musical artistsof all countries. Here Pianoforteconcerto in B flatminor, played by Katherine leading composers, Goodsonand Of orchestral conductors,virtuosi, and singershave soughtand foundthat Lambrino. pure performances, whichleads to both artisticand financial I would mentionfirst Wagner's 'Siegfried Idyll' as a heartyrecognition of tonal and with it the last move- success. Germany,the land of musicpar excellence,has pattern beauty, contributeda ment of Brahms's fourth Symphony,the Passacaglia, always specially large contingentof musical which under whilethe free of Germanmusic into Nikisch's master-handseemed to lose its visitors, import England austere and was with the utmostverve. has everflourished, carrying with it manyand unquestionable colour, played benefits. In fact,a carefulobserver cannot fail to notice Among other works given by the London Symphony thatfor therehas existedbetween and Orchestra were Tchaikovsky'sfourth and Beethoven's manyyears England seventh Brahms's the Germanya musicalreciprocity which has beenmade possible symphonies, 'Haydn variations,' increasedmusical in A 'Coriolan' and 'Euryanthe' overtures,a new symphony largelythrough activity England. the Russian M. of native, musicianshas by young composer Steinberg,and several generation highlycapable sprung With the of the up, and conspicuousin the forefrontstand artists who compositionsby Wagner. exception Beethoven and competewith the best thatGermany and the Continentcan symphonies by Steinberg,which were conducted Albert Coates-known in produce. ContemporaryBritish composers are making by Germanythrough theirfoothold in ever and in the realmof his workas conductorat Elberfeldand Mannheim-every- Germany surer, was in the hands of Arthur with whose choralmusic Englishmen have achievedlasting success. In thing Nikisch, mention of absolute masteryof the orchestrait was difficultfor the thisconnection special mustbe made Sir Edward artist whose orchestralworks also have a younger to compete. The favourshown to Russian Elgar, prominentplace music cannotfail to strikethe Germanmusician. In five in Germanprogrammes ; indeed, his Symphonyin A flat (Op. 55)-a very important work, the first German concerts Tchaikovsky'sSymphonies Nos. 4 and 6, the performanceof which was conducted ArthurNikisch in Pianoforteconcerto (twice), and symphoniesby Rachmaninoff by and were The ' Berlin-will certainlybe performedseveral times in Germany Steinberg performed. Pathetic'symphony next winter. I must not omit mentionof those other was played by Henry J. Wood with the Queen's Hall Orchestra the eminent musicians, Sir Hubert Parry, Sir Alexander at the impressivememorial service to late Mackenzieand Sir CharlesStanford. King Edward. Threethousand people in deepestmourning, the ladies' a English virtuosiand singersare not verywell known to head-dressespresenting swayingsea of black German but theexcellent feathersand ribbons-the absence of applause-the visible audiences, judgingby performancesemotion of the Madame Ada I have heard, the visits of English artiststo Germany soloist, Crossley--Chopin's will certainlybe more numerousin the near future. The Funeral March receivedstanding at the commencementof the and at the close the '- competitionsof Germanmale-voice choirs have theirEnglish programme, 'IGod Save King in the the betweenthem Mendelssohn'saria from 'Elijah,' 'O rest parallel importantmixed-choir competitions, the influenceof which on music is of much in Lord' and Sullivan's aria 'And God shall wipe English greater all Mozart's Masonic Funeral value thanthat of Germanmale-voice competitions on music away tears,' Music, and of the Fatherland. That the of music in a Tchaikovsky's'Pathetic' symphony-madea movingand quantity given tributeto the of the dead cityof seven millions-the Mecca of artistsof everycivilised fitting memory ruler, 'the visibly nation-is than in the beloved' ofhis sorrowingpeople. The 'Pathetic' symphony greater Berlin,is natural,but to me the qualityalso appearedhigher. hardly seemed appropriateto reverentfeeling and sadness pervading the audience, at least as regards THE QUEEN'S HALL AND LONDON SYMPHONY ORCHESTRAS. the two nmiddlemovements, which are certainlynot in keepingwith the expressionof mourning. The Queen's As a conductor,I found most to interestme in the Hall Orchestra,especially the wind,revelled in it. Every orchestras of London, of which I heard three in conductorknows that uncomfortableplace in the first the following order--Queen's Hall, Philharmonicand movement,where the melody in D major played by the London Symphony. In addition to these, I made the clarinetis taken up in the lower registerby the bassoon. acquaintanceof the opera orchestrasof Covent Garden and It would be impossibleto imaginea nearerapproach to a His Majesty'sTheatre (the Beecham Orchestra),and the perfectblend of tonebetween the two instrumentsthan was orchestrasof the Empire and Palace Theatresof Varieties. obtained on this occasion. The tempoadopted for the Let us consider the concert orchestrasfirst. One's secondmovement, and the strettoat the end of the thirdare first impression is of the wonderfulorchestral tone, open to question,and the climax of the firstmovement did which withoutany doubt exceeds that of our German not attainthe tremendouseffect possible. But these details orchestrasin its round,full quality. This beautyof tonehas in no way detractfrom the veryhigh opinionI formedof somethingbewitchingin it, the purity of intonation isexcellent, the orchestra'swork, which, in the fullestsense of the word, and theorchestral discipline truly remarkable. The blending was excellent.

This content downloaded from 138.253.100.121 on Sat, 12 Dec 2015 00:04:30 UTC All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions 514 THE MUSICAL TIMES.-AuGusT I, 1910.

THE PHILHARMONIC SOCIETY. than in Germany would naturally be wrong; but it that in are Philharmonic It would appear England there not so many The Societyis in an enviableposition. of chamber music, and conse- is in its season, has a fund of opportunities hearing ninety-eighth guarantee quently the appetite is not sated. A glance at the Se2,s66, and over fourhundred subscribers who contributeGerman music calendar will show that in Berlinthere are about fI,300. With such resources,something may be the London thirty-twosocieties which give chambermusic concerts. done by Societyeven in expensive ! The most and Beethoven sonatas work in the seventhconcert of the season was Ysiye Pugno naturally play important differentlyfrom Joachim and d'Albert,but the readingsof Rachmaninoff'svoluminous Symphony in E minor; Liszt's the two artistsof the French school were full of charm. first served ArthurNikisch 'with a little Rhapsody, up by Among the pianistsI heard, firstmention must be made red pepper,'ended the programme. The orchestraof the of Rosenthaland Katherine the latter Philharmonic is connectedwith the London Goodson; indeed, Society closely mustto-day be countedamong the foremostin her branch Orchestra,as be gatheredfrom the lists of Symphony may of the profession. A serious appreciationof Pachmann's theirrespective members. Fifty-sixartists of the London art in of his beautiful rendereddifficult them the best of the wind- is, spite touch, SymphonyOrchestra-among by his gesticulations. Schelling and Delafosse were very belongalso tothe Philharmonic. It is noteasy to perceiveany I have differencein the standardof their and if interestingas composers; already spoken of performances; theirsuites. Mary Dvorak for no reason I am inclinedto give the London Symphonyfirst place, it played apparent must not be as I have Liszt'stranscription of the 'Tannhauser'overture. If itmust forgottenthat, already remarked,be it is betterin the hands of a man. A I heard themfour times and the Philharmoniconly once. played, surely younggeneration of native ladypianists has studiedunder From thisit is evidentthat the London SymphonyOrchestra and been out Mr. Tobias whose more often and thus more achieves brought by Matthay, pupils, plays together, readily Myra Hess, Hilda Saxe, and GertrudePeppercorn gave perfectunanimity and balance. The accompanyingpowers the of the PhilharmonicOrchestra showed themselves in Ernest ample evidenceof greatability of theirteacher. Schelling's'Fantastic Suite' forpianoforte and orchestrato COSMOPOLITAN LONDON. be on the same highlevel as thoseof the London Symphony Orchestra;the work seemed to me, afterone hearing,a Concertlife in London is essentiallyinternational; every noteworthyaddition to music literature,and I mustsay the civilizednation sends its artists. To make the acquaintance same of the works by Hinton and Delafosse in similar of English, French,Belgian, American,Russian, German, form. In Rachmaninoff'sSymphony the windplayers again Bohemian,and Hungariansingers, virtuosi, composers and excelleds;I am sorrythat I have no space in thisarticle to conductors,in the limitedtime at mycommand, was to me mentionthem separately. In Liszt's Rhapsody, Nikisch a matterfor congratulation,not onlyfrom the pleasurethat playedjust as he pleased withthe orchestra. the opportunityafforded, but also from the instruction derivedfrom the experience. When to this I add, and COVENT GARDEN OPERA. withthe fullestconviction, that therewas nothinginferior, I give to my readers a true, if somewhat inadequate Another concert Orchestra, the New Symphony,I picture,of my hastily-gatheredimpressions. The inter- unfortunatelyhad no opportunityof hearing,but I attended nationalcharacter of London's concert life is best made His performancesat CoventGarden and Majesty'sTheatre. clear to those not intimatelyconnected with it either I was extremelysorry that the master,Hans Richter,was by businessor profession,by a numberof names taken at not conductingat Covent Garden. Herr von Schuch was random: Nikisch,Wood, Coates, von Schuch, Beecham, takinghis place, and directed'Tristan and Isolda.' With Rosenthal, Lambrino, Katherine Goodson, Hinton, regardto the ensemble,the performanceat Covent Garden Schelling, Delafosse, Elena Gerhardt,Ida Reman, Ada was not to be comparedwith the performancesat Dresden, PaulineDonalda, Susan de la whereI haveheard the work timesunder von Schuch. Crossley, Strong,Olga Bruyere, several Gerardy,Zimbalist, Burrian, van Rooy, Steinberg,Rach- There his virtuosityas a conductormeets with a very maninoff,&c. Of composers,I have onlymentioned those differentresponse from the orchestra. However, this is no now It is indeeda and there the living. many-sidedpicture, may detrimentto the Covent Garden Orchestra,seeing that be a certaindanger for native art in these widelyvarying Court Orchestrain Dresden has many years' experience influences; at least,much that I heardseemed to this, with suggest of and intimateacquaintance theirconductor's slightest but the experiencesand impressionsof fourweeks are by no movementsand changes of facial expression. The same meanssufficient to affordconvincing proof. To sumup, I left sonorityof the stringswas apparent both here and at London with the knowledgethat English orchestralper- His Majesty's; it is obviouslya speciality of London formancesare on a veryhigh level, thatEnglish composers orchestras,and Germanconductors, as well as orchestralare well able to hold their own, and that the rising players,can learnmuch from it. generationof Englishvirtuosi and singersis morethan very Taken all it must with be THE OPERA. capable. together, pleasure BEECHAM admitted that a German musician can to-day learn a A newundertaking, the Thomas BeechamOpera Comique greatdeal in London,the centre of Englishlife and thought. season, at HIis Majesty's Theatre, Haymarket,opened its Aftera mostenjoyable visit, I leftthe cityof cities, full of doors for the firsttime in May. In England,theatres are gratitudefor the hospitalityshown me by all the artistswith heavilyhandicapped, for there is no State subsidy,whilst whomI had been fortunateenough to come in contact. the municipaltheatre is unknown; but if soloists,chorus and orchestraremain on the same high level as in this, Mr. Beecham's firstseason, it is possible that the under- ROYAL ACADEMY OF MUSIC. survive. Thomas Beecham conducted taking may FOUNDATION STONE LAID. Offenbach's'Tales of Hoffmnann'with considerable energy. He believesin Hans von mot'In the certainly Billow'sbonz On July 14, Lord Strathconaand Mount Royal laid the beginningwas rhythm.' I was very glad to make the foundationstone of the new buildingof the Royal Academy of Stanford'sromantic comic 'Shamus acquaintance opera of Music in MaryleboneRoad. The occasionwas a land- O'Brien,' the performance of which, however, was not so markin the historyof the Academy,and in thisconnection good as that of the 'Tales of Hoffmann.' The opera has some briefhistorical particulars may be of interest. The been given in Breslau, but on account of its political subject inceptionand carryingout of the scheme for a National is hardly likely to find a permanent place in German School of Music werelargely due to the zeal of JohnFane r~pertoires. eleventhEarl of Westmorland. The CONCERTS. (Lord Burghersh), Royal Academyof Music was foundedin 1822 and opened To returnto the concert-hall. Pugno and Ysaiye played in on March24, 1823,under the patronage of King GeorgeIV., Queen's Hall, at three o'clock in the afternoon, three who became a benefactorto the Institutionby an annual Beethoven Pianoforte and Violin sonatas. There was an donation of Ioo guineas. Both this patronageand con- attentive audience of nearly 2,000 people, many of whom tributionwere continuedby King William IV., by whose had brought the music with them. To assume from the commanda Handel Festivalwas held in WestminsterAbbey size of the audience that chamber music is more admired with the help of the students. The proceeds, which

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