Soirée of Chamber Music: 5th

“The small hall of Messrs. Steinway was well filled last evening, on the occasion of the farewell soiree of chamber music given by Dr. Leopold Damrosch, violinist, and Herr Pruckner, pianist. They were assisted by Miss Sterling, contralto, and Mr. F. Bergner, violoncello. The programme consisted of very choice and rare selections from the works of Beethoven, Bach, Henselt, Liszt, Schubert, Vieuxtemps, Mendelssohn and Damrosch, and the performance was generally very satisfactory. These artists should be heard more frequently and in a larger concert.”

“The fifth and last of the series of soirées given by Messrs. Damrosch & Pruckner, at Steinway Hall, took place on Monday evening. It was an admirable entertainment, and the audience was so large, so appreciative, and so demonstrative that we are tempted to hope a taste for classical concerts of this species has at last been fairly aroused in our ungrateful city. There were two charming trios on Monday night, in which Mr. Bergner planed the violoncello part; namely, Beethoven’s in D major, opus 70, and Mendelssohn’s opus 66, in C minor. Both were so good that we can hardly single out only one movement for special praise; perhaps the beautiful largo of the first, and the andante and scherzo of the second were the most keenly relished. Dr. Damrosch had two solo pieces, giving first a remarkable performance of the remarkable air from J. S. Bach’s trio in D on the G string alone, and afterward a Reverie by Vieuxtemps. We have often expressed our admiration of the playing of this sterling artist, and we have rarely heard him with more satisfaction than on this occasion. Mr. Pruckner, who is an excellent chamber pianist, however deficient he may be in force for a large hall, gave an Etude of Henselt’s and a valse caprice of Liszt’s, arranged from two of Schubert’s waltzes, and gave them so well that the audience called him back with remarkable emphasis. Lastly, there was some vocal music by Miss Sterling. This thoughtful and conscientious artist always chooses good strong pieces, for she loves music better than she loves herself. Her selections were the Cradle Song from Bach’s ‘Christmas Oratorio’ (Mr. Pruckner playing the accompaniment), a song of Dr. Damrosch’s, and Schubert’s ‘Fruhlingslaube.’”