Hugo Bussmeyer Matinee

“Mr. Hugo Bussmeyer gave a matinee at Steinway Hall on Saturday before an audience, which, considering the character of the concert and the little pains taken to advertise it, was of very respectable size. He played with Mr. Henry Kowalsky Liszt’s Concerto pathetique for two pianos—a composition chiefly remarkable for its utter lack of pathos—and he played alone a romanza of Chopin’s , a capriccio of Mendelssohn’s, Beethoven’s well known sonata in C sharp minor, and several other pieces. Beethoven is a good test of the intelligence of a pianist, and in his appreciation of the sentiment of the great composer, Mr. Bussmeyer fully satisfied us. He pleases also by the delicacy of his touch, and generally by his correctness; but he lacks breadth to interpret the grandeur of Beethoven, lacks the [sic] to express the burning thoughts of Liszt, and still more than either lacks freedom to tender such fancies as are found in Mendelssohn’s E minor capriccio. He was assisted at the matinée by Miss Anna Werner, a young lady endowed with an excellent mezzo soprano voice which deserves further cultivation.”