I f - Washington University in St. Louis

Choral .Symphony .Society.The eleventh Concerto was devoted to orchestralmusic exclusively; Goldmark' s Overtureto Sakuntala and Beethoven's to Coriolanus.were excellently played and well received.A oloists we had Mr. George C. Vieh andMr. Walter t;chulze; the former as one of St.Louis rising pianists played D minor Concertoby Brahms, in a highly commendable manner,with refinement and poetical feeling; his technicwas faultless although his execution lackedat times breadth. The choice of the compositionwas the best evidence that Mr. Vieh doesnot belong to the sensational class of pianists,who seek to astonish and make an impressionwith bavura pa ages at finger breaking speed.That Brahm's Concerto is replete with difficultiesof a high order is unquestionable, butto anyone not thoroughly acquainted with thecomposition this is not apparent; in the firstinstance Brahm's seemed from the very beginningto give the orchestra the greatest importance,allowing the 'pianist to be heard but infragmentary strains, whereby the Concerto,lacking somewhat in continuity, appears morelike a Fantasia. That the audience thoroughlyappreciated, and was in hearty sympathy withMr. Vieh's artistic taste and playing wasevinced by the hearty applause and frequentrecalls which were responded to by two daintyValses, full of tender expression by a lessknown composer. That the orchestral accompanimentwas in many places too forcible forthe piano was self evident. The other soloist,Mr. Walter Schulze distinguished himself byplaying Spohr's second Concerto in a masterlymanner; his technique, bowing and intelligentinterpretation of the difficult composition deservegreat praise, although it lacked at timesin volume of tone; as an encore he played aScherzo-Tarantella by Wieniawski very. acceptably.The finale ''Scheherazade'' by Rimsky­Korsakoff was a novelty by a composer whois designated as a representative of the' 'YoungRussian'' school; the characteristic effects ofrhythm, harmony and powerful orchestrationwere evidence thereof but the effect was malTedby the noisy departure of many who have littlesympathy for other people. It seems to bethe idea of many unmusical people that thelast piece of a program is intended as an exitmarch. Mr. Ernst, as musical director, neverpresented a more graceful attitude in conducting,owing to the fact that his left hand wassupported in a sling and all means of communicatingwith the orchestra was the baton in hisright hand.Mendelssohn's "Elijah" which was givenApril 21, was a brilliant success, and a fitconclusion of the season; showing the artisticaim· of the Choral Symphony Society to thebest advantage; it was to be expected that sofine an array of artists, to whom the soloswere confided, would prove a great attractionand in this respect there was no disappointment.The Exposition Hall was filled with anaudience whose frequent, hearty and spontaneousapplause showed their thorough appreciation.The Soloists were: Mme. EmmaJuch, Soprano; Mrs. Oscar Bollman, Alto;Mr. Mackenzie Gordon, Tenor; Mr. D.Ffrangcon-Davies, Bass; Mrs. Paul Davis,The Youth. •Mr. D. Ffrartgcon-Davies is unquestionablyan ideal Elijah, no greater and better interpretercould have been selected to do justice tothe part and honor to the Society in engaginghim. It may seem strange to speak of stageexperience in an Oratorio performance; butwho could fail to be impressed£avorably, whenseeing the composed and signified appearanceof the artist, singing the whole of the difficultpart by heart without the least prompting ofthe musical director~ From the prophetic Recitativethat "there shall not be dew nor rainthese years," so majestically and significantlyintroduced by the brass instruments, to thefinal resignation ''I will suffer for thy sake''with the subsequent solo ''For the Mountainsshall depart,'' every shade of expression distinguish€dMr. Davi as a vocal artist of asuperior quality. That the audience fully appreciatedhis work was . manifested by theheartiest applause from all parts of the house.As a lyric tenor of excellent quality and wellschooledvoice Mr. Mackenzie Gordon gave adelightful reading of the part; the very firstsolo "If with all your hearts" was receivedwith an ovation which placed the audience atonce in sympathy with the singer, whic4 wasfurther incr ased by his subsequent work.Madame Emma Juch was the bright particularstar ~o whom the soprano parts were entrusted,all of which were sang artistically; most expressivewas the Aria "H~ar ye Israel! " inwhich the higher range of voice was in demandfor it cannot be denied that some of the lowertones have lost their brilliancy. The AltoRecitatives and Solos were ably sustained byMrs. Oscar Bollman; her singing "0 rest in .the Lord'' was a delightful interpretation ofthis favorite Aria. The pure ringing voice ofMrs. Paul Davis was well suited to sus.tain thepart of the youth, it blended most charminglywith the voices of Mrs. Juch and Mrs. Bollmanin the trio "Lift thine eyes" which was vociferouslyapplauded. The Choruses went excellently,except a little unc rtainty and falseintonation of the soprano in one of the numbers,however, this was trifling in comparisonwith the general good precision and excellentquality of the ladies voices while the malevoices, although not as numerous as might bedesirable, showed great improvement. Theorchestra was well under the control of Mr.Ernst who has every reason to feel s·atisfiedwith the success of the performance.Haendel and Haydn Society.Professor A. C. Eimer made his first publicappearance since his return from California,Sunday Night, April 24, at the ExpositionHall by giving a Sacred Concert for the benefitof St. Mary's infirmary on which he wasassisted by the Haendel and Haydn ·society, 'ofwhich we believe he was in former years theMusic director. The first part of the programwas devoted to Rossini's Stab at matPr with thefollowing ladies and gentlemen as Soloists·:_Miss Minnie Fox, Soprano; Miss Arma Burghoff,Contralto; Mr. W. W. Guest, Tenor·;Mr. Jas. P. Murphy, Baritone; Prof. GariFroelich, Basso. The composition is too weltknownto require any comments; although itsdelicious melodies smack too much of th·eoperatic stage yet it will ever remain a favorit~with the masses. That Prof. Eimer had takettconsiderable pains with the Chorus was evidentespecially in the unaccompanied '' Eia Mater'' ;although the Tenor was rather weak, theymanaged bravely through the number. Asregards the Soloists much allowance must bemade. Rossini not only required phenominalbut also well schooled voices to do justice tohis inspirations; voices which had not only anextra-ordinary range but also the highestartistic training, hence it would not be rightto criticize amateurs by the standard of artistswho can command not only hundreds but evena thousand dollars a night. Suffice it to saythat Mr. Carl Froehlich was the only professionallytrained singer; his magnificent bassvoice resounded with all the vigor and musicalquality throughout the trying parts he had tosustain and that the other ladies and g ntlemenacquitted themselves to the best of theirabilities and received the warmest approbationof the audience. The second part of theprogram was devoted exclusively to ProfessorEimers own compositions of which the programis herewith appended:1. Overture-"Leo XIII," . . ......... Orchestra.2. "Magdalen"..•.........•.•... Soprano Solo.3. "Ave Virgo" ...... Solo Quartette and Chorus.4. "Bethlehem," Canonic Variations-Orchestra.5. ' 'Des Sangers letzter Wunsch," ''Bard's LastDesire" ...._........ ; .......... Bass Solo.6. "First Night at Sea" .................. . ...•7. "Hallelujah,"Chorus from A. C. Eimer's "Resurrection."While it is impossible to enter into detailsof such a long and varied a prqgram, yet itcan be tated without ·fear of contradictionthat Prof. Eimer presented in the variousselections the best evidence of hi studiouslife. To do full justice to his orchestralworks the string instruments ought at lea t tohave been trebled, but the cause of Charity nodoubt prevented such a heavy outlay. TheCanonic val:·iations was a clever piece oforchestral writing on the old and familiar"Adeste fidelis," No. 5, was a fit tribute tohis father's memory whose energies weredevoted to the interests of St. Peter and-' St.Paul in this city. It was preceded by a wellspokenprologue by Miss Josephine Deffry.Number six, consjsting of four selectionsof Professor Eimer's Cantate "Columbia"was well received as was also the finale Chorus."Hallelajah" from his Oratorio "Resurrection."May the artistic success be as greatas the financial one and as Mr. Eimer's artistir.instincts and perseverance deserve.