Alfred H. Pease Orchestral Concert: 1st

     “He will then produce some of his own orchestral compositions.”

     “[A] studious, meritorious and constantly improving young artist gives an extremely interesting concert at Irving Hall, at which several of his own orchestral pieces will be performed.  Mr. Pease’s minor compositions display a pleasant fancy and exhibit considerable wholeness of musical purpose.”

     “Pease will produce, on this occasion, several new compositions, some for piano and others for orchestra alone.  Mr. Pease was an earnest student in Germany, and we are curious to hear the result of his studies and his experience.  Report speaks highly of his compositions for orchestra.  He will also play, with Mr. S. B. Mills, his new piano duet on subjects taken from the favorite opera of Crispino e la Comare.  Miss Brainerd will sing a new and brilliant song, written expressly for her by Mr. Pease.”

     “CITY INTELLIGENCE. Mr. Pease’s Concert. The concert of Mr. Pease at Irving Hall last Saturday night was proof of the laudable ambition of a young musician of sterling ability. The hall was not well filled, and we doubt whether the entertainment could have been pecuniarily remunerative, but it is certain that it has greatly enhanced the esteem in which Mr. Pease is held by our musical public.

     He appeared to the audience both as a composer and a performer; in the former capacity contributing a brilliant effective bolero and a fantastic ‘Japanese Galop,’ for orchestra; two piano forte duets on ‘Faust’ and ‘Crispino,’ and a bravura airia [sic] for Italian words, sung by Miss Brainerd. In all of these he proves the possession of the most inestimable gift of melody. There is nothing heavy or dreary in his compositions; nor does he show the vaulting ambition that would overleap itself and weary the audience with an elaborate symphony or a ponderous overture. Light and graceful, Mr. Pease’s orchestral compositions are sure to always please the general listener, and in most instances to satisfy the musician.

     As a performer Mr. Pease shows constant improvement.  His new fantasia on ‘Faust’ – played on two noble Steinway pianos by himself and Mr. Mills--is one of the most beautiful that has been arranged from the opera. From ‘Crispino’ he has borrowed the concerted piece in the second act – Quanti baci – and has worked it up with admirable effect. It will be a popular concert piece.

     Mr. Pease was assisted in the vocal department by Miss Brainerd and Mr. Campbell, both of whom were warmly received and gave much satisfaction. The concert opened with a charming overture by Suppe ‘Dichter und Bauer’—which should be heard oftener.”

     “It is a cheering sign of the times that American composers are occasionally permitted to submit their orchestral compositions to the public—for, without regarding the pleasure which we derive from the performance of new and more or less original works, we are thereby assured of the resolute urpose of a few earnest men to study music, and not merely to learn how to play the piano. The latter accomplishment in its place is good enough, and for its just illustration requires gifts as marked and special as those demanded in any other branch of art. But it is a poor state of things when the musical conscience of a community is lulled into content with the strains of a piano. Especially discourating too, when the young men who espouse music as a profession are incapable of feeling that there is a range of emotion which that instrument cannot interpret. It is a promising characteristic of Mr. Pease that he has experienced the necessity of employing a larger and more ductile language for the expression of his thoughts and fancies than that which he found immediarely beneath his fingers. A young man, and still a student, it is creditable to his industry and talent that he has this early in his career ventured, and successfully, to employ an orchestra. The ‘Bolero de Concert’ and the ‘Japanese Galop,’ played at his concert on Saturday night, are spirited productions, effectively scored and meritorious and popular in their character. Mr. Pease’s vocal pieces have already attracted attention. They are thoughtful and[ illeg.] playing a more solid purpose than the [illeg.] orchestration of a certain number of bars. The [illeg.] sung by Miss Brainerd, is a creditable addition to those already published. Mr. Pease's piano performances exhibited a very maked improvement on previous efforts, and a duet for two [illeg.] by the composer and Mr. S. B. Mills, ‘Crispino è la Comare,’ created a furore. The concert, indeed, was in every way a success. Mr. S. C. Campbell [illeg.] of pieces to the programme—singing them with [illeg.] wealth of voice, and considerable [illeg.].