Thomas Symphony Concert: 4th

Includes program. 

“Mr. Thomas’ fourth symphony concert of the present season occurred last evening. It was of unusual interest. The programme, although it consisted wholly of instrumental music, was full of variety, and the performance, as usual, was of the highest order. We think, perhaps, that a more characteristic and significant selection might have been made than the introduction to the third act of Cherubini’s ‘Medea,’ and we have never been deeply impressed by the two first movements of Schumann’s second symphony, which are particularly diffuse even for Schumann. But the other numbers were thoroughly acceptable. Bach’s concerto for string orchestra, divided into three movements, was a delightful feature of the bill. Nothing could be more representative of the lighter style of the old master than the opening and closing allegros, which in theme and treatment bear a strong resemblance, in spite of the rather pretentious title of concerto bestowed upon their ensemble, to the ‘gigues’ with which the public is tolerably familiar; and nothing could be more dainty than the orchestra’s handling of the composition. The second movement, a large one, was almost a solo for violin, and not quite so effective as the allegros, although Mr. Listemann was the soloist, and fully equal to his task. The interpretation of the symphony delighted us, and the third and fourth movements of the work, whereof the ideas, in point of beauty and definition, are in strong contrast with the preceding passages, were never endowed with greater eloquence and charm. They closed most fitly the first part of the concert. The second began with the ‘bacchanale,’ newly written by Wagner for ‘Tannhäuser,’ and already done by Mr. Thomas, who holds the manuscript score of the piece. The ‘bacchanale’ is not the clearest of Wagner’s achievements, and as the composer is in no instance over-intelligible, we cannot rank it with, for example, ‘Der Ritt der Walkueren,’ one of his most telling tone-poems. It has, however, the requisite rhythm and coloring; and the splendid instrumentation, beside which nearly all modern writing pales its ineffectual fires, would suffice to commend it to notice. A very pretty ‘serenade,’ by Volkmann, followed, graceful in subject and felicitously treated. Mr. Louis Lubeck supplied the ‘cello obligato. The entertainment terminated with the overture to ‘Leonore,’ (No. 3,) as of its magnificent delivery by Mr. Thomas’ orchestra, there is no wearying. Steinway Hall, we must add, was crowded.” 

“Steinway Hall was well crowded last evening with an audience such as any lover of music would desire. Mr. Theodore Thomas has won a lasting reputation and patronage in this city, both on account of the excellence of his orchestra, the high merit of his orchestral selections and the entire confidence which the public repose in him for his efforts in the past. The concert commenced with the prelude to ‘Medea,’ by Cherubini, the grandest effort, probably, of this composer. Contemporary with Haydn, Mozart, Beethoven and Rossini, Cherubini seemed to be a sort of moderator of the varied lights which shone around him. In ‘Medea’ we find the very strongest expression of his powers as a composer. The terrible story of the discarded wife of Jason reaches a climax when the sacrifice of her children takes place, and this is vividly delineated by Cherubini. A Doré-like illustration of this thrilling scene was given by the orchestra. Bach’s concerto for string orchestra followed, and was received, despite its quaintness, with favor. It is a real old-fashioned work, and so devoid of what may be considered as modern attractiveness that in the hands of any orchestra but that of Thomas it would have been a failure of no small magnitude. The strings in this orchestra are so admirable in tone, expression and entire unanimity that any work may be safely committed to them. Schumann’s Second Symphony followed the concerto. It is labored and heavy and possesses little inspiration. There is little to admire among Schumann’s orchestral works, and even with the magnificent interpretation of Thomas’ orchestra, the majority of the audience last night would be inclined to vote the symphony dull and uninteresting.

Wagner’s addition to his ‘Tannhäuser,’ a bacchanale, probably intended as a set off to the scene in the Venusberg, which Mr. Thomas possesses in manuscript form, is a work which does not harmonize with the general treatment of the opera. We have spoken repeatedly of the magnificent interpretation brought to it by this incomparable band of artists, and need not supplement our remarks. Volkmann’s Serenade No. 3, in D minor, opus 60, was a novelty with its ‘cello obligato very beautifully played by the prince of violoncellists in this country, Louis Lübeck. We cannot point to a single performer on this delightful instrument who can compare on either side of the Atlantic with M. Lübeck except the unapproachable Piatti. The third of the immortal quartet of overtures with which Beethoven has prefaced his only opera, ‘Leonora’ or ‘Fidelio’ closed the night’s performance. The inevitable result of long experience, liberal ideas, unflagging perseverance and pristine talent has been a crowded house whenever Thomas’ orchestra is announced. To Mr. Thomas we owe the acquaintance with some of the most interesting orchestral works of modern composers. Even now the Philharmonic Society follow in his footsteps, and a month or two behindhand they will bring out Raff’s ‘Lenore’ symphony. As a musical pioneer Mr. Thomas deserves the appellation of the Daniel Boone of the divine art in America.” 

“It is a remarkable proof of the development and elevation of musical taste in New-York that the programme of Mr. Thomas’s fourth symphony concert, last Saturday evening, was heartily enjoyed and enthusiastically applauded by a large and brilliant audience, though it appealed only to the most intellectual and cultivated of connoisseurs. There were no solos—which are generally supposed to be essential to the success of a popular entertainment—and in the six orchestral selections there was no concession to the imaginary demands of an uneducated miscellaneous public. Indeed, it has been apparent for some time that New-York is prepared to follow Theodore Thomas as far upward as he chooses to go, and the higher he aims the more cordial will be the response of his audiences. The bill on Saturday was as follows [see above].

In the severe and simple grandeur of the selection from Cherubini’s ‘Medea,’ a composition so perfectly in harmony with the noble, dignified, and impressive character of ancient classical art, the orchestra gave us a remarkable illustration of the difference between noise and force. The music passes in a very striking way from the purest pianissimo effects to a grand passage in which the strings are called upon for their fullest tone and most energetic handling. Almost any modern composer would have wrought out this climax with a liberal use of the brass. Cherubini trusts to the violins and basses with a little help from the drums, giving to the movement thereby a most characteristic and appropriate coloring. Here the perfection to which Mr. Thomas has brought his band must have struck even his admirers with surprise. The majesty and vigor of this string crescendo were absolutely magnificent. But in fact the quality of the strings was unusually conspicuous all through the evening. They not only bore the burden of the ‘Medea’ Introduction, but they had the Bach concerto all to themselves and the Volkmann Serenade. The concerto was played by 17 violins and tenors, six ‘celli, and one double bass. It differs but little in form from a Suite, consisting of two lively measures of the dance character, separated by an adagio air which, having a solo violin obbligato (Mr. Listemann), is the only part of the composition corresponding with the modern idea of a concerto. We know of no music more delightfully satisfying than these quaint and beautiful measures of Bach’s in which formal elegance and spontaneous grace are so inimitably combined. They remind one of the stately gayety of a light footed giant. The first allego so captivated the fancy of the assemblage that an encore was demanded, but Mr. Thomas would not interrupt the flow of the performance by granting it.

Schumann’s superb second symphony received still better treatment, we thought, than it did at the last Philharmonic concert in Brooklyn. It is one of the noblest compositions for the orchestra since Beethoven, and we have always found in it a deeper and more solemn significance, an intenser feeling, and richer eloquence of expression than in any other of the series of four to which it belongs. Every movement, from the first allegro, through the charming scherzo, and the moving strains of the adagio, to the glowing finale, is a mine of musical treasures. Of the excellence of its construction and the ingenious variety displayed in the treatment of its themes there can hardly be two opinions among competent students. The ‘Bacchanale,’ which has never been published, is not strictly a novelty here, for it has been played by Mr. Thomas before, its first performance in New-York having been at the festival in Steinway Hall last April. It was composed for the presentation of ‘Tannhäuser’ in Paris in 1861, on which occasion Wagner supplied for his opera a new overture and his Bacchanale, the scene on the Venusberg which introduces the action of the piece. ‘Tannhäuser’ was hissed off the French stage after three nights, and has never been heard in France since, and the new numbers have been given only once we believe in the composer’s native land. Taken by itself, the new Bacchanale seems to be much more striking, more ingenious, and more bizarre in its effects than the original version. Whether it is really an improvement can hardly be determined without the test of a dramatic performance. At all events the curious changes the piece has undergone afford a most interesting example of the development of Wagner’s theory during the sixteen years that elapsed between the first performance of ‘Tannhäuser’ at Dresden and the unfortunate attempt to commend it to the favor of the most exacting and narrow-minded critics in the world—the audiences of the Grand Opera at Paris. The interpretation of it by Mr. Thomas’s orchestra was faithful and sympathetic, and so also was the performance of the ‘Leonora’ overture, which is always one of the finest achievements of this admirable band. The Serenade in D minor by Volkmann has been played once in Brooklyn, but is entirely new to this city, though another Serenade by the same composer has been given here before. This piece will become a favorite, for it is full of graceful and tender fancies and original turns of expression, and gives the violoncellist a splendid opportunity for the display of his simple, unaffected, and polished cantabile style. It seemed to us that the various ideas did not grow naturally out of one another, and that the form of the work was somewhat too abrupt for the gentle character of the music; but in spite of these objections, which we might find occasion to revise after another hearing, the Serenade is unquestionably a beautiful and scholarly work.” 

“The fourth of the Thomas series of symphony concerts was given on Saturday evening at Steinway Hall with the following programme [see above].

The concert was equal in every quality of excellence to the three that had preceded it. The only drawback to the entire enjoyment of the evening was in the lack of ventilation in the hall. It had been used for a concert during the afternoon, the oxygen had all been breathed out of the air, and there remained an unwholesome atmosphere deadening to the sensibilities, detracting seriously from the pleasure of the concert, and compelling many to leave before it was finished or to seek refuge near the doors where an occasional reviving whiff of oxygen could be obtained.

The main stay of the concert was of course the Schumann symphony—all of it beautiful, but especially so the second and third movements. The concerto by Bach was received with every demonstration of delight; indeed the first movement was so greatly enjoyed that if the audience had their way it would have been repeated, but Thomas wisely refused encores in most instances, a prudence in which it would be well if he had more imitators among other concert givers.

Bach is the well-spring from which many a later composer has drawn his inspiration. It ws said of him by one of the foremost of modern composers that if all that had been written from the date of his death to the present time were obliterated, all modern music could be reconstructed from his works. No one, therefore, need be surprised to find in the third (allegro) movement of this concerto the key to much of Mendelssohn’s Midsummer Night’s Dream music, especially the delightful scherzo of that work. The contrapuntal figure is the same in both, and the methods in which it is worked out very similar. Mendelssohn clothed his thought, however, with more imagination and gave it definiteness and purpose.

The serenade by Volkmann was new, and a work of an exceedingly pleasing character. Herr Lubeck played the obligato violoncello part with conspicuous skill. His tone is clear, large, noble, and sustained, and is not marred by the constant use of the tremolo, that gives an effect of sentimentality to which violoncello players are somewhat prone.”

“The fourth symphony concert given by Theodore Thomas at Steinway Hall on Saturday night was, perhaps, the most interesting, from a musician’s point of view, of the entire series. The programme, wholly instrumental, was selected from the highest range of the so-called ‘classical’ compositions, with a sprinkling of novelty in the shape of contributions from Wagner and Volkmann. The attendance was large, and the concert was in many respects a memorable one.” 

“Theo. Thomas gave his fourth Symphony Concert at Steinway Hall on Saturday evening, when the following bill was presented [see above].

The stately and classical introduction to Medea would, perhaps, not be suited for the opening of an ordinary concert, but Mr. Thomas knows that his audience will be seated and attentive at the first note of the first piece on the bill. It is doubtful if, at 8 o’clock, there was a vacant seat in the hall. The string concerto, by Bach, consists of three movements. 1. Allegro; 2. Adagio; 3. Allegro. No better illustration of the genius of the great master of musical form could be found. It is charming from beginning to end, and I need hardly say that it was admirably played. The adagio for violin was faithfully rendered by Mr. Listemann.

Schumann’s greatest work was nobly given, but, each time I hear it, it seems to me more and more absolutely unplayable, as if no human orchestra could quite sieze such unearthly beauty. Still, I do not remember hearing a better performance than this one. The horns in the introduction were faint and clear as the ‘horns of Elf-land,’ while the passages for oboe and clarionet were played with consummate art. In so fine a performance it is difficult to particularize, but I cannot help praising the performance of the two lovely trios in the Scherzo, and passages for ‘cello in the same part.

The Serenade, by Volkmann, seems to be a work of peculiar excellence. Mr. Lubeck played the violoncello obligato.”