Bonawitz Concert

“Mr. Johann Bonawitz had a very successful concert last night at Steinway Hall, when he produced a symphony of his own, with other pieces, and exhibited his qualities as a pianist in a fantasia of Mozart’s, a polonaise of Chopin’s [illegible] flat major, and one of Liszt’s Hungarian Rhapsodies—not either of those which Miss Topp and Miss Mehlig have made so well-known here, but another of the series rarely, if ever, heard in our public halls. Mr. Bonawitz is both a deserving musician and a good pianist. His clean touch, intelligent interpretation, and excellent technique were easily recognized and appreciated. The audience was a very large one.”

“Mr. J. H. Bonawitz, a composer, whose works are well known to performers on the piano-forte, and an executant whose co-operation in numerous concerts has long since made him known as an accomplished musician, gave an entertainment at Steinway Hall last night. A very large audience was assembled, and the recital of two of Mr. Bonawitz’s most important compositions, with other pieces, gave much pleasure. The productions to which allusion is made as most notable among the numbers of the programme, were an ‘Introduction and Scherzo,’ for piano and orchestra, and a symphony in A minor, for orchestral rendering. Though we failed to recognize in the scherzo the characteristics of compositions usually designated by that name, it is to be admired, with the introduction, for the elegance of the themes and for their tasteful, substantial and scholarly treatment. The symphony, brief and interesting, consists of three movements—an allegro, a scherzo, and an andante, with a violin solo in the latter movement. Mr. Bonawitz was at the piano while the ‘Introduction and Scherzo’ were played, and he conducted the orchestra throughout the rehearsal of the symphony. Both performances were exceedingly successful.”

“There were two musical events last evening—one at the Academy of Music, the other at Steinway Hall. Both were pretty well attended, showing that the New York public are prepared to patronize all that is promising in the musical line. In neither case were they disappointed, or to modify this statement, there were features in the two concerts sufficiently attractive to satisfy the people present. [Paragraph devoted to Charlotte Winterburn’s concert]

Mr. Bonawitz introduced two of his own orchestral works at Steinway Hall—a symphony in A minor and a scherzo with introduction for piano and orchestra. Both works bear upon them the impress of a thorough musician and a profound thinker. There are reminiscences here and there, but the general construction shows originality and boldness, tempered with clear musical judgment. Mr. Bonawitz also played three solos from the works of Mozart, Liszt and Chopin, which placed him, as an artist, in a very favorable light. Mrs. Izora Elder, a very charming local artist, made an unwise selection of the garden scene from ‘Faust,’ commencing with the ‘King of Thule’ and ending with the jewel song. After Lucca in opera, this selection, with a bungling piano accompaniment, only excited regret in the mind of the musician that an artist like Mrs. Elder should forget the limits of the concert room and vainly essay what was beyond her powers. Mr. Eben’s orchestra was engaged for this occasion.”

“Two concerts were given on the evening of Nov. 7. One at Steinway Hall by our excellent resident pianist, Mr. J. H. Bonawitz, whose pianoforte recitals formed so agreeable a feature in the musical record of last winter. He had the assistance of Mme. Izora Elder and the support of a full orchestra. The programme opened with Mozart’s Zauberflöte overture, hardly to be recognized through the treatment which it received. This was followed by an aria from Faust, sung by Mme. Elder. The main feature of the evening was a symphony by Herr Bonawitz (No. 3, in A minor), of which I cannot speak critically, as I only heard the last movement. It seemed to be well scored, and the finale abounds in fine delicate passages which did not receive justice from the violins in the orchestra. A free use was made of the various ill-mannered brass instruments and members of the cymbal and the triangle tribe, which, in my opinion, ought to be seen and not heard. The fine pianism of Herr Bonawitz was the main attraction of the evening. He played an Introduction and Scherzo of his own, with Orchestra; Mozart’s Fantaisie in D minor; a Rhapsodie Hongroise by Liszt (one which is seldom played here), and Chopin’s Polonaise in A flat. (Does not the last selection come a little too soon after Rubinstein’s performance of it?)

Herr Bonawitz’s playing is characterized by a simplicity of style which is almost severe at times; a firm, clear touch, and great facility of execution, combined with a poetic fire and grace of expression which was shown best in his rendering of Mozart’s Fantaisie. The audience was a large one.”