Philharmonic Society of New York Concert

“Grand orchestra of 100 performers.”

“There was a very large audience at the Academy of Music last night at the second concert of the thirty-second season of the Philharmonic Society. The orchestral part of the programme was interesting, consisting of the ‘Italian’ symphony in A major, opus 90, by Mendelssohn, written during his visit to Rome, and only equalled by his ‘Scotch’ symphony; the delightful overture to ‘Leonora,’ No. 2, in C major, by Beethoven, the best of the four overtures written for ‘Fidelio;’ and Rubinstein’s first symphony in F major. Mrs. Gulager, a soprano, sung [sic] the prayer from ‘Der Freischutz’ and a cavatina from ‘Beatrice di Tenda.’ The orchestra, under the able direction of Herr Bergmann, gave point and effect to the glorious works of Mendelssohn and Beethoven, with the exception of some blunders on the part of the wind instruments in the overture. The work of Rubinstein is patchy and unsatisfactory. Independent of many striking points of resemblance to the works of other composers which are so abundantly scattered through the symphony, the work lacks inspiration and unity of idea. There is nothing in it to conflict with the strictest opinions of a musician, as far as instrumentation is concerned. On the contrary, many remarkable effects may be found in it. But it leaves the impression only of clever music making without the divinus afflatus. The movements are painfully spun out and are very tiresome. The composer takes hold of a subject and worries it until there is nothing left of it, and everyone is glad when its successor is brought forward.

The society, as usual, showed a want of judgment in the selection of a soloist. Mrs. Gulager may be a good parlor singer, but she is not at all up to what one would call the true Philharmonic standard. The magnificent music of Weber fell without effect, and the florid measures of Bellini, entirely unworthy of a concert of such pretensions, were mechanically delivered. The radical defect of the Philharmonic Society in their concerts is Rip Van Winkeism. Their orchestral selections are generally far behind those of Mr. Theodore Thomas, and their soloists rank very low in the domain of art. An entire page of printed programme is taken up with a lot of unpronounceable names, a list of the orchestra, as if the New York public cared a straw to know who played the clarionet, tompani [sic] or trombone. The blood is sluggish in the veins of the directors, else we would have more vigorous management in a society of such pretensions. One concert by Thomas’ orchestra is worth their entire season.”

“The audience at the Philharmonic Concert on Saturday night—the second of the thirty-second season—was about as large and brilliant as usual. [Lists program.]

This was a charming selection of pieces for the orchestra, for it was interesting, well balanced, and of a uniformly high character; and although it is not usual to put two symphonies on a programme, such liberality in this case was certainly not misplaced. Neither Mendelssohn’s bright and cheerful work, nor the composition of Rubinstein’s—an entire novelty in New York—fatigues the mind or overstrains the faculty of enjoyment. The concert ended at 10 o’clock and the listeners came away as fresh after the second symphony as if they had been regaled with overtures and marches. The first movement of the Mendelssohn symphony (allegro vivace) was not very well played. The sentiment was correctly and even poetically expressed, but the execution was not neat. Ragged ends were left hanging form the work; the brasses were a little uncertain, and the strings lacked unity. In the beautiful andante con moto, however, and in the favorite scherzo these defects almost wholly disappeared, while the finale (saltarello presto) was given with fine spirit and precision. The ‘Leonora’ overture, barring one or two slight defects, was also well done, and with the performance of the Rubinstein Symphony it would be difficult to find any serious fault. The work itself will never be so well liked by the multitude as the Ocean Symphony, though some passages of it are extraordinarily beautiful. That it was not dwarfed by the overture, that in such high company it showed not a common place phrase nor a weak idea, is proof enough of its noble character as a composition. The first part, an allegro, is distinguished by a richness of coloring and a certain masculine vigor of movement, that suggest somehow a sort of barbaric splendor and freedom. Then comes a scherzo, with two themes, the second remarkable for its quiet and graceful melody. The third movement is an exquisite andante con moto; and the finale an effective allegro vivace. The symphony is a model of compact writing, and of course it is superbly scored.

Mrs. Gulager has a beautiful voice, and her intonation is invariably true. In the familiar scena and prayer from ‘Der Freischütz’ she displayed considerable dramatic ability—so far at least as what we may call the art of musical elocution was concerned—and in the showy cavatina of Bellini’s (which was out of place in such a programme) she exhibited some excellent vocalization. We are far from saying that she is such a singer as one ought to hear at the Philharmonic Concerts; we believe the Society ought to engage either artists of the very first rank, or none at all, and that there are not more than four or five singers now in the country who deserve the compliment of an invitation to appear before the Philharmonic society. Still Mrs. Gulager did much better than on her appearance at one of these concerts two years ago, and after the second piece she was recalled.”

“The second Philharmonic Concert of the present season took place at the Academy of Music Saturday night. An excellent orchestral performance was offered, but the audience was not favored with an introduction to any of the new works which a society of the standing of the Philharmonic ought to make known nor was any composition of great impressiveness recited. The melodious A major symphony of Mendelssohn—yelept [sic] the Italian—was first played, the third movement (scherzo, con moto moderato) being especially well done, while the saltarello presto (the fourth movement) was delivered with less crispness than might have been attained to. The subsequent instrumental performance was the overture No. 2, to ‘Leonore,’ the vigorous ideas and muscular writing of which were dealt with in the right spirit. As a third and final selection, the band interpreted Rubinstein’s first symphony in F major. Much of Herr Rubinstein’s music is richer in reminiscences than in original thoughts, and the F major symphony recalls, without actually reproducing, a good deal which amateurs have heard before. But Herr Rubinstein is a master of the orchestra, and simply as a combination of orchestral effects the F symphony is an admirable achievement. It was neatly executed last night, though we should have preferred to see the baton in the hands of the composer, thorough a musician as Herr Bergmann is conceded to be. The soloist of the concert was Mme. Gulager, whose fine voice was heard to especial advantage in the grand scene from ‘Der Freischütz.’ Mme. Gulager sang this trying composition with intelligence and taste; but, for some reason unknown, the air and rondo from ‘Beatrice di Tenda’ were preferred by the audience, and the lady had to repeat the second movement.”

Brief. “The Philharmonic Society’s last concert does not seem to have attracted as much attention as these fine entertainments usually do.”

“New York, Dec. 22.—The second Philharmonic concert was given on Saturday evening, Dec. 13. The programme contained two Symphonies: Mendelssohn’s in A, commonly called the Italian Symphony, and Rubinstein’s First Symphony in F. The former work is too well known to need description; the latter is written in the romantic style which characterizes all of Rubinstein’s orchestral compositions. It contains some very fine passages, and is scored throughout by a masterly hand, and yet there is little in it that stays with the hearer when the music is finished.

The other orchestral selection was Beethoven’s second Leonore overture. The playing, particularly in portions of the Italian Symphony, was careless and unsatisfactory. Mrs. Gulager sang a scena from Der Freischütz, and an aria from ‘Beatrice.’ It would be like breaking a butterfly to criticize her singing; so I will merely state that it was not such as one would expect to hear at a Philharmonic concert.”