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618 TB E L E A D E ffv [^tJBj>AY,
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A BATCH OF CONCERTS. A bain of concert t...
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A LESSON OF HUMANITY. Mr. T. J. Baeker's...
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Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software. The text has not been manually corrected and should not be relied on to be an accurate representation of the item.
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Faust. Of This, Incomparably The Greates...
matters of opinion , they are facts . Even his admirers admit them , but seek refuge in " Ah ! well , forall that he is a fine actor . " . In Faust he had a part requiring both thoughtMness and passion . In the earlier scenes , instead of the thought-wearied student—" air-galloping : and questiqning the sun , " as Aristophanes says of Socrates—instead of the despairing , baffled Faust , we had an ordinary necromancer stalking about the stage , declaiming divine verses with no sense of their divinity . In the subsequent scenes , when the dust of folios is shaken off , and with it all the weariness of life—when he has entered upon passionate life—we had a handsome man , beautifully dressed , gesticulating like a tenor singer , and feeling not at all . I ask any one who has seen him playFgmont and Faust , if they could discover any distinct individuality in these parts ? Was not Famont very like Faust ? the same tones , the same gestures , the
same look P I ask any one who may have watched him during those exquisite love scenes with GretcJieri , whether there was a pulse of passion , a look or gesture of tenderness , a glimpse of the lover , beyond what tenors are accustomed to exhibit over the footlights ? I ask any one who watched the last scene , whether tone , look , or gesture betrayed the slightest agony deeper than the most conventional of stage agonies ? It is necessary to specify these things , for I find myself in a minority as regards the press and the public ; yet when I put direct questions to his admirers I can only get evasive answers , or admission of the very charges I allege . Herr Kiihn played MepMstopheles , but his conception of the part was vulgar , commonplace , and directly opposed to the distinct indications given by Goethe . He made it a bit of German diablerie—a sarcastic Zamiel . Now , Goethe laughs at the idea of the modern devil not'being a
perfect gentleman : — Audi die Cultur , die alle Welt beleckt Hat auf den Teufel sicb erstreckt Das nordische Phantom ist nun nicht mehr zu schauen . Culture has robbed the devil of hoofs and horns , and made him a Sen Baron ! Ich bin ein Cavalier , wie andre Cavaliere ! The devilish nature is exhibited in moral not in p hysical signs ; in unbelief , in want of sympathy , in mocking sarcasm , in icy coldness . The proper MepMstopheles \ b that Satan in patent leather boots , of which we had so marvellous a picture in Charles Mathews ' s well dressed scoundrel in Tlie Day of Reckoning . #
Not only does Herr Kiihn ' s conception depart from the plain meaning of Goethe as regards Mephistopheles , but it robs the poem of that profound and exquisite touch Of Gretchen ' s distrust of her lover ' s friends No one but this innocent girlperceives anything in Mephistopheles . to shudder at . But she reads on his forehead that he has no sympathy with anything . Innocence instinctively knows and recoils from the Spirit who Denies . As Herr Kiihn dresses and plays the part , the remark is an absurdity ; no human being could for a moment believe him to be an ordinary mortal . Fiend is written in every line ; and not only GretcJien , but Martha and the jovial citizens in AuerbacJis Keller , ought to turn from him in horror . .
Waiving this fundamental objection , however , let me say that , as a realization of his conception , Herr Kuan's performance was admirable . His " make up" is always that of an artist , and many parts of his acting were deservedly applauded ; notably that glorious scene with the student . Herr Riihn , in my opinion , is by far the best actor of the troop . Praulein Schaefer was not the GretcJien we all love , but many parts of her performance were good , and on the whole it was a great improvement upon her Ophelia . - The house was crammed to suffocation ; the boxes and stalls adorned
by an unusual display of aristocracy , natal and intellectual . On the stairs , in coming out , my ears were startled by the sound— " Mrs . Vivian ' s carriage . " Mrs . Vivian P " Am I married ^ P" the thought passed shudderingly across my mind ; but a deep and soothing sense of satisfaction suffused itself through me as I recovered my self-consciousness and found it was not so ! And if there wore no other cause of satisfaction at finding myself (" much virtue in an -if I" ) a bachelor , I should have felt it when the most exquisite of violet eyes in the world looked down upon me , and a voice said— "Remember ! the day Vivian marries I give up the Leader / " Ah ! soyez tranquille ! Vivian .
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A Batch Of Concerts. A Bain Of Concert T...
A BATCH OF CONCERTS . A bain of concert tickets has descended upon my table this last fortnight . [ Frankly , I do not assist at them all , but content myself with being ably represented when absent . Mademoiselle Clauss's Matine ' o on Saturday last drew a full and loving audience , who welcomed with effusion the young angel of the chords ; for , to say the truth , this young incarnation of the Sensitive Plant is one of the idolatries of our present season : she is one of those happy stars which , onco aeon , become a sentiment and a passion . Our most eminent musical critic has taken her severely , but , as I believe , with the best and rarest kindness , to task , for somo rather ostontatious failures in her more ambitious attempts . She is young enough in wiauum
years , and , 1 trust , in spirit , to profit by counsels as full ot genorous as they arc eminently deserving of respect . As for mo , who merely represent the popular " breath , I blow her a kiss , ( she was nearly devoured last Saturday by tho old ladios near the platform , ) and whisper into her ear ; to cultivate by solf-donying and severe study a claim to that higher kind of applause which subsides into a more tranquil admiration . On © rare pleasure attaches to her playing : it seems not somuoh an exhibition as a ministration , and this lovo winged by a gonius so airy and so delicate will surely carry hor far . At the fifth performance of tho over welcome
QtJAKTUTT ASSOCIATION , the original piece wan a quartott by J . F . EUorfcon , an amateur of somo pretension ; but I did not find his ollbrt peculiarly interesting . The J ) uo Concertante , for two violins , played by Cooper and Sainton , was a true enjoyment . The two great players vied with each other for tho mastery with a noblo emulation , and at this moment I know not whether most to admire tho fulness and delicacy of Sainton in the piano passaged ,
pi the intense feeling and expression of Cooper , wherever expression and feeling were desired ^ This duo was almost re-demanded , and by none more warmly applauded than by the many eminent virtuosi present . Emile Prudent delighted us with his elegant and fanciful Vilanetta and MSveil des Fies , touched with his bright , glanemg clearness and felicit y . I must not forget to say , that at the sixth and last concert of this Association , on Wednesday next , -Madame Pleyel Will " preside at the piano" ( classical style ) , for the last time—^( may I say-, this season P ) in England . A warning to those who desire to be in hearing distance to be early ; for On Thursday , \ # MADAME PtETELf SECOND MiTINEE OTSICALE was crowded to the staircase . Arriving late , I could only just obtain standing room . But what have I to say of Madame Pleyel save that she " patuit Dea -. "—she played in every style , and proved herself supreme in all . On-Wednesday evening ,
MISS AEABEIiTjA GODDAEO gave what I have heard described , as one of the pleasantest concerts of the season . I regret to have to confess to a most involuntary absence ; but I shall tell you what the Times says about this young lady , as I am very anxious to impress upon that numerous class of my countrymen ( and women ) who only believe in exotics , that even in England we can " raise , " as our American cousins say , a young wonder or two . " One of the features of the Grand National Concerts given at Her Majesty ' s Theatre in the winter of 1850 , was the playing of Miss Arabella Goddard , the
youngest , and decidedly the most promising of our native pianists . Since that periodj when her chief attention seemed to be devoted to the modern fan Miss Goddardhas made a striking progress . Originally a pupil of Kalkbrennerj she obtained from that master , unrivalled in his way , the rules of perfect mechanism , and the best method of applying them . More recently , under Thalberg , she studied the bravura style with great success . The programme of her second public concert , wnich took place last night , in the Hanover-square Rooms , show that the young pianist has begun to take an interest in a higher branch of the art . Among the pieces she performed were Mendelssohn ^ quartett in B minor ( No . 3 , Op . 3 ) , and Beethoven ' s sonata with violin , in G ( Op . 30 ) , The former is one of the most arduous and difficult pieces ever composed for the piano . The first , third , and last movements , demand a rapidity of finger , a strength , and a staminawhich few players , young or old , possess . Miss Goddard , however ,
, although only 16 , proved herself mistress of all these requisites , and others besides —neatness , precision , variety of expression , and a touch at once firm and elastic . She was admirably supported by M . Sainton ( violin ) , Mr . Hill ( tenor ) , and Signor Piatti ( violoncello ) , and the performance was first-rate from beginning to end . The sonata of Beethoven , the violin part of which was sustained by M . Sainton , was equally beyond criticism . The minuetto , played by both artists with-the finest taste , was warmly applauded ; and the finale , taken at prodigious speed , left nothing to be desired . In addition to these , Miss Goddard played Sebastian Bach s prelude and fugue in D , the prestissimo in A ( tfo . 4 of Mendelssohn ' ^^ Cliaracteristic Pieces ) , and Dower ' s fantasia on themes from Quillaume TeUrtims displaying her proficiency in a great variety of styles . The prelude and fugue of the airman patriarch ^ could not possibly have been better played ; the execuhon was faultlessand the expression appropriately simple and unaffected , . Ihe fugue
, was encored , hut Miss Goddard declined to repeat it . The fantasia of Pohler was a brilliant exhibition of manual dexterity , and at the conclusion Miss Goddard was loudly recalled by the audience . " Next week I shall tell you about Joachim ' s concert . He , too , is young , but not in strings . ^ cu ^ -hvast .
A Lesson Of Humanity. Mr. T. J. Baeker's...
A LESSON OF HUMANITY . Mr . T . J . Baeker ' s picture—exhibited by Alderman - Moon before engraving—is a good specimen of an historical subject treated in tne Vr ™ lJ \ b English manner . The story is well suited to the spirit of the day , andil s well told . The scene is an open space near the town of Bassano , wmcii u in the distance ; the background formed of mountains . In thGf 0 ™ V the picture lies the dead body of a charger ; and , partly entangled in J » legs , the body of an Austrian soldier ; a faithful dog crouching on iue m « r >'« W > n « t . nnrl Innrllxr pxnrfissinff his frrief . On the dexter eido or mo
picture , a little behind , ' a cou ple of veteran French soldiers , to wijom vivandiere is giving some cordial . On the sinister side of the piotm , balancing the group just mentioned , is Napoleon on horseback , witna ' of Mb officers around him : he is pointing to tho dog as an example affectionate solicitude , which givos a lesson to tho hecdkssness a human survivors . The picture , in its subject and treatment , may dc » w i posed to catch the " two great parties in tho State "—tho glory pany
the peace party . 1 P i . flOllin Tho treatment is one of careful , and , upon the whole , able lini 3 U > tiu portions are worked up so highly that they may vio with worics o life . This is more especially the case with tho inanimate objects . * j pass from thorn to objects which are either endowed with mot > ™ ion iect to movement , tho handling becomes less felicitous . In wo m from the heavy iron of tho gun to tho dead body of the clmrffer tw > ¦ tumo of tho officers , and tho face of Napoleon , tho presence ot Jiio ™ cct mastory of the painter arc in an invorso ratio . Bio mctai l Jmt The charger is cxcollent . Tho military coats begin to exhibit sen ^ ^ of a mannerism ; and tho countenance of Napoleon is that ** " ' ^ ordinary country gentleman , under tho influence of a ™ eianciiu v . ^ moral fooling , than tho mask-lilco countenance of ™? ° bB ¦ , ! . £ : ' i 0 th is flexible NapoleonS 6 me of tho hysical traits which appoitarn _
. p comparative weakness supply a tangiblo tost of tho aberration : , toO for cxamplo , aro too close together ; and the play of the no ? " ninmt 0 oblargc a scope in proportion to tho size of tho face , iiyon m ";" ,, . to ] , jects tho samo tost applies . Tho broken ground , whicli JJJJ ' . ^ ii ] a . grariulatod and indotorminato in substance , has a texture an ^^ Foathor . Mr . Barker , however , has bestowed immense pains on < ^ pilation of his subject , and on its elaboration according ^ vA ^ mrravor in orthodox English painting . Whether or not ho has had . ^ ° ° "* ittted his oyo wo do not know , but undoubtedly the picture is ono to do _ i qu , l ] y into black and white with very great effect . Conceived in aw ^ English fooling , it will be thoroughly approoiatcd by an Jinguw * v
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Citation
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Leader (1850-1860), June 26, 1852, page 22, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse.ac.uk/periodicals/l/issues/cld_26061852/page/22/
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