ANOTHER GREAT SUCCESS

Evening Post, Volume CXII, Issue 60, 8 September 1926, Page 6

ANOTHER GREAT SUCCESS

FAREWELL RECITAL BY BACKHAUS,

William. Baekhaus, the eminent pianist, repeated the triumphs of his previous appearances at his farewell at the Grand Opera House last night. The house was packed for the notable occasion, and rapturous and sustained applause greeted almost every number. Once again he displayed extensive technique, physical power, and the musician's grip of his subject-mat-ter, jte was again the personality of distinctiAt and the' bold'master of his instrument, performed in Beethoven,, comprehensive in Liszt, and poetic in Chopin. Backhaus will long remain a fragrant memory. There was a fine regard for style in Saint-Saens's piano transcription of "Overture from 29th Cantata" (Bach) and a splendid conception of structure with beautiful phrasing in "Sonata" opus 111 in C minor (Beethoven). Here he revealed all the emotional elements of this stirring composition. Beautiful tone colour markeS the rendition of "Novelette" in E major (Schumann). The Chopin oracket' was deservedly popular, and, after a brilliant exposition of "Etude" No. 9 in G. flat major ("Butterfly") by Chopin there was a double round of applause. Noteworthy in' this group was "Scherzo".in B flat minor, in which Backhaus gave one of the finest examples of his melodic facility. Other numbers that were most popular were "Ballad" in G minor (Chopin), Nocturne" in C minor (Chopin), "Waltz" opus 42 in A flat major (Chopin), the stately "Homage a Eameau" (Debussy), "Jardin* sous la Pluie" (Debussy), "Caprice espagnol" (Moskowski), "Concert Study" in D flat major (Liszt) and "Marche Militaire." Two encores were demanded, and these were "Study" in-E flat (Siding) and the beloved "Liebestraum" (Liszt).