Wolfsohn Beethoven Concert Matinee: 3rd

“The audience at Mr. Wolfsohn’s third matinée at Steinway Hall yesterday afternoon was very large and of the same character as the two preceding recitals. [Lists program.] He was most successful in the second movement of the C minor sonata. Such an adagio has been rarely conceived by any composer. It is a gem of tenderness and delicate beauty and Mr. Wolfsohn did it justice. In some of the fast movements he lacked distinctness, and a clumsy, heavy touch, in some parts, marred the excellence of the others. Sonata playing, we opine, should give even the prestissimo passages with the sharpness and distinctness of diamond points, and should above all, give the rhythm with as much care as a good reader in reciting poetry. The bravura style is well enough in bravura pieces, but a pianist may be an excellent bravura player and still be no classical artist. Mr. Wolfsohn is a conscientious, painstaking artist in his general interpretation of Beethoven. Still, he should guard against these puerilities and weaknesses that occasionally blur his rendering of the sonatas. Beethoven’s piano works must be played with the utmost exactness and attention to the most minute points of the score to be even tolerable. Beyond that warmth and sympathy in touch and execution are necessary. Mr. Wolfsohn exhibits inequalities of style, and sometimes completely lacks the above qualities. In the first movement of the C minor sonata he played the Allegro without a particle of the brio. Mr. J. W. Pollock sang two little songs by Schubert and Schumann. His lugubrious manner of using his really good baritone voice irresistibly brings to the mind the schoolboys [sic] plaint, ‘I want to go home.’”

“The third of Mr. Wolfsohn’s 10 Beethoven Matinées was given at Steinway’s small hall yesterday afternoon. The audience was much larger than at either of the previous matinees, which is a satisfactory evidence of an increasing musical interest in the praiseworthy efforts of Mr. Wolfsohn. [Lists program.] The selections for the third matinee were highly interesting, the sonatas being not only fine but singularly attractive, being certainly less recondite than most of the previous selections. In Mr. Wolfsohn’s performance yesterday, there was manifest and great improvement. The sonatas had evidently been better studied, both mentally and technically, the reading being broader and the execution being clearer, more decided and most excellent in color.

Of the three sonatas, that in C major was most admirably rendered. We can speak of it in terms of warm eulogy and without reservation. The allegro was played with great spirit, clear accent, and excellent phrasing. The adagio displayed an unusual depth of sentiment, breadth of passion, and was executed with a delicacy and tenderness of touch, greater than Mr. Wolfsohn has yet exhibited. The scherzo, which is not equal to the rest of the composition, was taken a little too slow, but the finale was really beautifully played, prompt and decided in tempo, clear, and accurate in execution and just and effective in color. It was altogether a performance of high merit, and deservedly met with warm applause.

Increased excellence in most of the essential points over previous renderings marked Mr. Wolfsohn’s yesterday afternoon’s performance, and if the improvement is a guarantee for the future of his Matinees, he may feel assured that they will prove not only an artistic but a pecuniary success.

The Lieder sang by Mr. Pollock are gems as compositions, and were only not effective because he rendered them without a shade of coloring. They might as well have been chanted in a monotone. Mr. Pollock has an excellent voice, but his artistic perception is very obtuse.”

[musical analysis and interpretation of the performed works] Due to a death in the family of friends, we could not attend the performance. We were told by a competent attendant that Wolfsohn had “remarkable moments” and especially did justice to the two adagios.

Wolfsohn’s performance delighted as usual. Unusual was the absence of the nervousness that he usually displays at the beginning of the concert. It seems as if he has found trust in his skill and the consistent warm reception of his audience at last. His brilliant piano playing was only interrupted by the pleasant voice of Pollock.