Philharmonic Society of New York Concert: 4th

Bristow’s new symphony.

“Two features of unusual interest distinguished the programme of the fourth Philharmonic concert of the present season: M. Wieniawski’s violin performances and the recital of Mr. Bristow’s new symphony. The society rarely engages soloists ranking with the distinguished artist whose penultimate appearance in the United States was made yesterday, and its committee does not frequently accord American composers a hearing. Last evening, M. Wieniawski played deliciously. He was in his best form, and he had chosen, as his pièce de résistance, the composition of which he is, without doubt, the most adequate living interpreter. How faultless a rendering is that of Mendelssohn’s concerto in E by M. Wieniawski need hardly be told for the edification of the reader who has attended the principal concerts of the year. But it seems to take on fresh graces with every rehearsal, and last night’s delivery of the work—when a much larger volume of tone was required than usual—left the listener under the influence of only one regret, that its repetition would not soon, if ever, be enjoyed in this country. The concerto, which is one of the few classical numbers of the violinist’s répertoire, is of the widest scope. The impassioned allegro, the exquisite singing passages of the andante, and the thoroughly Mendelssohnian and scherzo-like nature of the final allegro molto vivace are trying in turn to the follower of Spohr and to the most skilled master of the French school. Nothing could be more expressive than M. Wieniawski’s delivery of the andante, and in the fanciful third movement, the texture of which is lace in music, he fairly surpassed himself in delicacy and brilliancy of handling. An enthusiastic recall compelled the performer to reappear, and to play his own ‘Légende;’ at a later stage of the entertainment, M. Wieniawski recited, with admirable vigor and clearness, Bach’s ‘Adagio and Fugue,’ and, in acknowledgment of another encore, a prelude of exceptional technical difficulty, to a violoncello sonata by the same master. Mr. Bristow’s symphony (‘Arcadian,’) gave real pleasure. It is not a pretentious effort, though one of considerable magnitude, and by confining himself to a description of incidents which can be illustrated, not infelicitously, by the means at the disposal of a composer, Mr. Bristow has produced a tone-picture of decided merit. The subjoined extract from the programme will enlighten the reader as to the plan…[one-paragraph quote from program notes].

To our thinking, Mr. Bristow, whose whole achievement, we are bound to say, is plainly that of a musician of taste, and undoubted orchestral experience, is most happily inspired in the fourth movement, while in the second the richness of his writing reveals best his command of orchestration. We were less favorably impressed by the Indian war-dance than we might have been; it was, so to speak, of a rather conventional quaintness, both in idea and treatment. The symphony was capitally executed, and at its close Mr. Bristow was summoned to the front of the house and complimented by well-deserved plaudits. ‘A Faust Overture,’ by Wagner, and an overture by Gade (‘Michael Angelo’) filled out the bill.”

“The programme for the fourth concert of the New-York Philharmonic Society, (Thirty-second season) on Saturday night was the following [see above].

This selection was certainly not strong in the class of orchestral music which the society especially cultivates, but the performance as a whole was classical in spirit and distinguished by an even excellence of execution, which left no excuse for unfavorable criticism. Gade’s ‘Michael Angelo’ overture is not a new work, though it has never been played before at these concerts. It may be called a satisfying composition, carefully constructed, strongly if not richly scored, pleasing in sentiment, falling only a little short of impressiveness, the work, in short, of a thorough musician, whose fancy is refined and whose methods are all artistic, who never falls below a certain respectable eminence, but on the other hand will never rise above it. We have had a great deal of Gade’s music this season, and, though none of it has aroused much enthusiasm, all of it has pleased. Wagner’s ‘Faust’ overture, which is tolerably familiar to New-York concert rooms, is one of the earliest compositions of the great musical reformer, having been written during the years of struggle and experiment, when he was doing hack work for the Paris publishers, and feeling his way towards those remarkable principles of art which he has since so richly illustrated. Thus it antedates even the completion of ‘Rienzi’ and the beginning of ‘Der Fliegende Holländer,’ those operas of his apprentice period which he has now in a measure repudiated. The ‘Faust’ overture, however, was revised in 1855, fifteen years after its first setting to paper, and we need not be surprised, therefore, to find in it a tolerably full development of the composer’s maturer theories, together with a striking illustration of his mastery of orchestral resources. Mr. Bergmann’s band played it with remarkable spirit, and rich tone-coloring, and we need hardly say that it is a good test of the training and individual accomplishments of the performers, as well as the ability of the conductor.

Mr. Bristow’s ‘Arcadian’ Symphony is a new work, having been played for the first time at one of the Brooklyn Philharmonic Concerts last year. Its subject is the journey of a company of American emigrants across the Plains to an Arcadia in the far West, and the different movements are intended to describe the weary route across the unbroken waste, the encampment and evening prayer, a brush with the Indians, and the arrival in the land of happiness and plenty. All this, with more or less minuteness of detail, is indicated in the programme, and thereby great injustice, we believe, is done to the beautiful and scholarly music. If the symphony really attempted to depict all the particulars which the composer tells us he had in mind when he wrote it, we could look upon it as nothing better than vulgar programme music. But it is something very different from that—conceived in a higher spirit, and executed with a true musician’s appreciation of the beautiful and poetic. Mr. Bristow has not attempted to be picturesque, but has produced a work which is eminently sentimental—using that word in its best and most honorable sense. This is only to say that he has confined his art to its proper functions, and has not tried to do with it what it was not created to accomplish. The entire symphony shows a fertile fancy, a refined taste, skill in the treatment of the various instruments, and ingenuity in construction. It might be objected that the third movement, introducing hints of an Indian war dance, is not entirely in harmony with the gentle and graceful character of the rest of the work, however à propos it may be to the subject; but the composer has curbed the obvious temptation to reach after bizarre effects, and has passed over this most dangerous passage not only in safety but we might even say in triumph. He was called out at the end of the performance and cordially applauded.

Mr. Wieniawski’s solos were inexpressibly beautiful. We have several times spoken of his delightful rendering of the Mendelssohn concerto, in which the purity of his tone, the brilliancy of his technique, and his exquisite touch in the cantabile passages, are all so remarkable, and it is enough to say now that on Saturday he seemed to be in one of his most sympathetic moods. In everything that he did we felt the presence of a great artist. Being recalled after the concerto, he gave his own ‘Légende,’ and, after a superb performance of the Andante and Fugue of Bach’s he played a charming piece which we did not know—but surely this was Bach’s also.”