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AN OVATION FOR BUSONI AS HE MAKES HIS DEBUT IN NEW YORK
Italian Pianist Plays the "Emperor" Concerto with the Philharmonic
Orchestra Under Mahler Direction
Greeted by Audience with Rousing Enthusiasm
The great enthusiasm at Ferruccio Busoni's appearance with the Philharmonic Society at Carnegie Hall, on Thursday evening, January 6, was commensurate with the artistic reputation which the pianist has been gaining even in America during his protracted absence from this country. Busoni is an artistic personality of much interest. He has distinguished himself as a composer and conductor, as well as gaining the reputation which he has as a pianist. He was already a prominent figure of the musical world at the time of his last visit to America, and he has gained steadily in artistic stature ever since. His reappearance in this country was, therefore, an event of importance, and the scen of enthusiasm which greeted his performance of Beethoven's concerto amply bore out the fame which he has gained.
The program of the Philharmonic Society was as follows:
Berlioz, Symphony, "Fantastic": 1. Dreams, Passions. 2. A Ball. 3. Scene in the Fields. 4. March to the Scaffold. 5. A Dream on the Night of the Witches' Sabbath. Beethoven. Concerto for Piano, E flat, "Emperor". Wagner, Prelude. "Die Meistersinger."
In the performance of the Berlioz symphony Mr. Mahler demonstrated the strides which he has been making with his orchestra. The last two movements particularly make almost extravagant demands upon the instruments, which in Thursday evening's performance were met with ease. The precision of the orchestra was excellent and the tone good. The brass, however, was at moments too loud to blend well with the rest of the orchestral tone. Where the brass has leading themes to give out, this is not necessarily without advantage, but where a solid mass of orchestral tone is desired it is disturbing to have the brass choir predominate with such overwhelming force.
The symphony sounded as arid of beauty and as unmusical as ever. It would seem that Berlioz had never a beautiful musical thought in his life. The principal theme which he carries through all the movements is what the Germans call the "Nichtsagend." The entire work seems to exhibit an extraordinary poverty of harmony and melody. Berlioz seems to know only the three fundamental chords, and these he uses in a cheap manner, and also there is too frequently a void where the middle voices in the orchestra should appear. Dreary bars of aimless, wandering strings of notes given to wholly unaccompanied instruments. The "March to the Scaffold," as a feat of orchestral virtuosity, drew cheers from the audience, and Mr. Mahler required the players to rise and make their bow. The last movement is amusing, but Berlioz in this, as in the other movements, seems to have avoided with singular care anything approaching musical feeling.
Is it not time to drop this rapid symphony? It is much more interesting to read about, especially in Berlioz's words, than to hear.
Busoni, who has not been heard in America for a number of years, proved himself a mature artist of distinction and character. He played the "Emperor" concerto instead of the Schubert-Liszt "Wanderer-Fantaisie," as had been first announced. Although an Italian, Mr. Busoni does not excel, as might be expected, in warmth of tone. His appeal is rather through a thorough-going artistic finish which delights at every point of his work, and through the limpid and lucid quality of his touch, which reveals itself with a special charm in running passages. In such passages his hands glide over the keys with a deft gentleness to which the piano responds sympathetically by giving out a fountain play of liquescent tone. Busoni excels in strength as well as in delicacy, and he is a master of rhythmic effect. His playing shows at every moment the conscious shaping power of the artist.
The magnificent "Emperor" Concerto - a work, by the way, too seldom heard - received a splendid interpretation at Busoni's hands, as well as by the orchestra. He was recalled with rousing enthusiasm many times, and finally responded with a performance of the great Chopin Polonaise in A Flat, which was dazzling in its bravura and electric in its energy and spirit.
The orchestra outdid itself in the "Meistersinger" Prelude, in which the tonal capacities of the orchestra were revealed at their best. Mr. Mahler was warmly applauded.
Press comments on Mr. Busoni's first New York appearance:
Like Paderewski, he has been accused of "hypnotizing" his hearers, as that word alone seemed to hint at an explanation of his magnetic power over them. That power he exercised last night. He played Beethoven's famous concerto with a splendid clarity of melodic enunciation, a variety of tone-color, and rhythmic accent, a poetic freedom of movement that were altogether enchanting, causing the audience to recall him five times.
- New York Evening Post.
Since he last visited New York Mr. Busoni has gained much in the department of touch and tone. His tone is far more liquid and his playing as a consequence more and transparent and warm than it used to be. His delivery of the running passages, for example, had a lovely fluency and delicacy which were not found in similar passages in his earlier days. But there was more than this. In his treatment of Beethoven's cantilena he created a greater illusion of real song than he formerly did.
-New York Sun.
He is a pianist of consummate powers, of a very finished style, of the most perfect and polished technique. His performance of Beethoven's concerto had dignity of style and continence of expression. It was a remarkably clear exposition of the contents of the work, as regards phrasing, accentuation, and the adjustment of its proportions.
- New York Times.
