Philharmonic Society of New York Public Concert: 3rd

“The Philharmonic concert given at the Academy of Music last evening was quite interesting. Nothing really new or even unfamiliar was offered, but the selections appeared to us very judicious, and the performance was unusually finished. Raff’s Sixth Symphony, which we have heard twice at Mr. Thomas’ entertainments, gains greatly on acquaintance. It will not become as popular as ‘Lenore’ or ‘Im Walde,’ nor is it so original in thought as these compositions, but its first movement is decidedly melodious; and, except the second, which impresses us as rather trivial, the remaining divisions are full of happy instrumental combinations, if they do not abound in remarkably novel ideas. Mr. Bergmann’s orchestra, the tone of which is always rich and powerful, recited the symphony with rare precision; a more effective rendering, indeed, could scarcely be wished. Bach’s ‘Ciaconna’ was not interpreted with quite so much finish, and in respect of the introduction to ‘Tristan und Isolde,’ comparison with the exquisitely shaded playing of Mr. Thomas’ forces was not favorable to Mr. Bergmann’s; the opening number of the concert, however—Haydn’s Ninth Symphony—one of those thoroughly appreciable compositions which need no study to be at once admired for clearness, vivacity, and character, was capitally executed. The soloist of the evening was Mrs. Henry Butman, who sang ‘Non mi dir,’ from ‘Don Giovanni,’ and Rossini’s ‘Bel raggio.’ With the exception of Mrs. Moulton, we remember no amateur prima donna whose command of the vocal art seems so great as this lady’s, and Philharmonic audiences, it should be added, have not, for a long while, enjoyed as clever professional work. Mrs. Butman’s ‘Bel raggio’ was really a performance of uncommon merit and charm.”

“The Philharmonic concert of last evening, given as usual at the Academy of Music, offered a programme of more than ordinary interest. It opened with Haydn’s charming and melodious symphony in C minor and closed with Raff’s symphony in D minor, recently given at Theodore Thomas’ matinée. Bach’s ‘Ciaconna,’ arranged for orchestra by Raff and dedicated by him to the Philharmonic Society of New York, together with the introduction to ‘Tristan and Isolde,’ by Wagner, completed the orchestral numbers on the programme. The vocal department of the evening’s entertainment was intrusted to Mrs. Henry Butman, of Brooklyn, a singer of a certain proficiency. Haydn's symphony, to return to the commencement of the concert, familiar as it is to all musicians, can never become hackneyed. The quaint, crisp melodies with which it abounds, though oft recurring, as is not infrequently the case with the works of the old masters, are saved from the wearisomeness of constant repetition by the original brevity of the theme and the changes in treatment, from minor to major keys and back again to minor, abruptly and without modulation. A charming bit for the violoncellos occurs in the Minuetto, the third movement of the symphony, which was played with requisite precision, although as a general thing the delicacy of finish and refinement of execution demanded in Haydn’s as well as in Mozart’s works are less prominent in the Philharmonic orchestra than its breadth and strength of treatment in dealing with all composers. Mr. Thomas has already familiarized the public to a certain extent with Bach’s Ciaconna by giving it at his recent matinée, but its hold on popular favor is such that it was played by particular request at the concert of last evening. Written originally for the violin it has been arranged for orchestra by Raff, who, as honorary member of the Philharmonic Society, has dedicated to it this admirable work. The opening and closing harmony of the Ciaconna in minor chords are full of rare and wild beauty, but the perpetual repetition of some of the intervening portions becomes at times wearisome. The introduction to Wagner’s ‘Tristan and Isolde,’ which followed Bach’s Ciaconna, seems on a second hearing dull and monotonous, an objection which cannot certainly be made to the concluding orchestral piece of the evening, Raff’s symphony. The favorable impression produced by this work when first played by Thomas’ orchestra at one of his late concerts has been steadily increasing, and now it bids fair to surpass the Leonora Symphony, by the same composer, in its conquest of public sympathy. The melodies are nowhere so pronounced nor so taking as the march in the last named work, but the subtle and pathetic grace of the melodious theme in the first movement, the piquant variety of the succeeding voice and the sonorous beauty of the ‘Funeral March’ entitle it, in our estimation, to a more enduring interest than the popular Leonora Symphony. The final movement, an allegro which terminates the symphony in D minor, though bold and spirited, is less refined in conception and less interesting in detail than the three preceding movements. The soloists with whom we have been favored this season by the Philharmonic Society have not appealed strongly to popular admiration, and the enthusiasm excited by the vocalist of last evening, Mrs. Harry Butman, was of the same equivocal and mild nature which has characterized preceding occasions. Mrs. Butman sang in the first part of the programme the letter aria of Donna Anna, in ‘Don Giovanni.’ In the second part she sang ‘Bel Raggio,’ from ‘Semiramide,’ and with very fair success. Her voice is of good compass, clear and well poised, and her execution of the elaborate and superfluous ornaments of the well known cavatina was not wanting in boldness and skill. Her power of declamation, however, seemed insufficient in the former piece, as well as her artistic training. The audience which graced last evening’s entertainment was more numerous than at the preceding concerts and their satisfaction more apparent.”

“The third concert of the New-York Philharmonic Society was given on Saturday evening before a good audience, the orchestra under Mr. Bergmann’s direction numbering 88 performers. The following was the programme [see above].

The neglect into which Haydn has fallen in New-York is not very creditable to our musicians, and is certainly not easy to account for. The good old master left about 140 symphonies, great and small, and the New-York Philharmonic Society during its 33 years of honorable labor has performed only six of them, or possibly seven, for the numbering of these works is inexact, and it is not always easy to identify them by the programme. Yet whenever Haydn’s name appears upon the bill a smile of pleasure seems to run around the auditorium. No one could be insensible to the beauty of the fresh, cheerful, charming work which Mr. Bergmann dragged out on Saturday from the dust of the library shelves, and presented with loving appreciation and infectious spirit. It was as pure, bright and invigorating as a Spring morning, and it was capitally played, the difficult violoncello solo in the Minuet being especially well executed by Mr. Bergner, while the strings generally were much better handled than usual. The first part of the programme was notably well made up. The Letter Aria from ‘Don Giovanni’ was in perfect accord with the Haydn Symphony, and the Bach Chaconne, arranged for the orchestra by Raff, came as an appropriate afterpiece. Bach, of course, is logically the predecessor of Haydn and Mozart; but in this version of his violin Chaconne, enriched with improvements which Haydn and later masters made in the development of the grand orchestra, we lose sight of the comparative poverty of the materials with which Bach really worked, and remember only the grandeur of his conceptions and his amazing command of the science of harmony. The Chaconne was played at the second concert of the Philharmonic Society, and repeated last Saturday by request. At every hearing the greatness of the work impresses us more and more, and we become still better satisfied with the taste and scholarship displayed by Raff in his adaptation. Mr. Bergmann took the piece at a very slow tempo, and the result was extremely happy. Whatever the old dance measure may have lost thereby in brightness, it gained in majesty, and the violins were enabled to play their part with a unity both of touch and expression which we have rarely known them to attain at a Philharmonic concert.

The second part of the programme was not so fine as the first. The Wagner selection lacked some of the splendor to which we are accustomed; and besides the Introduction to ‘Tristan,’ without the Finale which Thomas attaches to it, seems to want its proper climax. The Raff Symphony was well executed; but we find no reason to change the unfavorable opinion we have alrady written of it.

Mrs. Butman, the vocalist, has a pure soprano voice of very good quality, and in the upper tones she produces some excellent effects. Her lower notes however are weak, and she shows an imperfect training in the transitions from one register to the other, as well as in an occasional false intonation. She sang the Mozart aria with good taste, and exhibited sufficient facility in the Rossinian show-piece.” 

“At the Academy of Music on Saturday evening the third concert of the present season was given by the New York Philharmonic Society. The performances appeared to give general satisfaction. Haydn’s C minor Symphony was delivered even better than at the last rehearsal. The melodies came forth with an unaffected grace and simplicity thoroughly in keeping with the character of the work. In Haydn’s music we generally perceive a certain spontaneity and facility in the complete setting forth of the musical ideas. In this symphony it seems only necessary to draw attention to the short themes of two or four bars which form the subjects of each movement. They appear to flow forth with ease and complacency like the natural expression of a joyful, careless, happy nature who in the experience of present pleasure seeks nothing more. In this respect the work differs from most of those by Beethoven, Schumann and others in which, not withstanding the emotional [illegible], the reflective faculty is perceived giving strength and energy to all its manifestations. An easnestness, depth and force, peculiar to their own individualities, as well as a constant seeking for some high poetic temper—some sublime height of contemplation—frequently imparts to their works great vastness and range. Bach’s ‘Ciaconna,’ to which we have frequently referred, before and since it was played at the last concert, does not call for special comment as far as the performance is concerned, little or no change being perceptible in the style of rendering Raff’s adaptation of this truly noble work. The introduction to ‘Tristan und Isolde’ was given with much greater delicacy than at the preceding rehearsals. This composition has naturally required more study than the other pieces, and, as a matter of course, has gained greatly from the care and attention which have been bestowed on its production. With the exception of a want of finish in two or three parts where the scoring is comparatively thin, the performance was exceptionally good. Raff’s symphony in D minor offers no such difficulties to the executants either in a technical or higher sense, unless the anti-rhythmic passages in the Scherzo form exceptions. Great credit is due to Mr. Carl Bergman for the successful manner in which this work was presented. The Allegro—with its gracefully flowing melodic themes, which are intertwined with such great skill, and its strongly-marked, vigorous phrases for the brass instruments, alternated with descending passages for violas, was fully enjoyed. The violas especially, being in full force, did much to amplify and heighten the effect of the harmony, and, entering in a body with the principal motives occasionally, found opportunities of making their characteristic tones a marked feature. The Scherzo was played most vivaciously, and as before at full speed, but it did not seem to find so much favor with the audience as the succeeding larghetto (quasi Marcia Funebre). We have already given the probable reason for this preference, and therefore need only refer to the fact.

The final Allego Con Spirito was delivered in a most brilliant and animated style, and thus gained additional admiration. Its joyous and inspiriting themes, which are repeated antiphonally in many varied ways by all the separate sections of the orchestra in turn each response being quickly and promptly made, result in the formation of a movement which forms a fitting conclusion to this extended work.

The Coda was chiefly remarkable for the grandeur of the harmonies as given forth by the trombones, and the onward rush of all the melodic parts to the terminal point.

Mrs. Henry Butman sang Mozart’s ‘Non mi dir’ and Rossini’s ‘Bel raggio’ in a manner most acceptable to the audience. The cavatina from ‘Semiramide,’ in which certain florid passages were articulated with great clearness and smoothness was especially admired. One descending scale of rapidly reiterated notes was remarkable alike for the agreeable effect it produced and the difficulties to be surmounted in its execution. At the close a highly successful shake on high G sharp was made which did not fail to meet its reward in an outburst of applause.

If Mrs. Butman would study deeply the works of the greatest modern composers, in which the orchestra is occupied with duties worthy of its powers, and thus make her musical culture equal in all respects to her voice and vocalization, she would command success and make a great reputation.

The attendance at this concert was larger than usual, and the audience was enthusiastic and appreciative.”