HERR WILHELMJ’S CONCERTS.

Lyttelton Times, Volume LVI, Issue 6493, 19 December 1881, Page 6

HERR WILHELMJ’S CONCERTS.

to the snrroß. Sib,— l went to Herr Wiihelmj’a concert last night, hoping to hear at list some fine compositions by great master# adequately rendered by a violinist of world-wide reputation and hit chosen companion. At any third rate English town I should have certainly heard nothing but first-rate classical music from such a trio. A song like "The Better Land,"and an arrangement sucha* that from the “ Sonnambuia," would happily have been thing* impossile. It would have been equally impossible to find a programme in which the names of Beethoven, Mozart, Mendelssohn, Schubert, Schumann, Bach, not to mention many others which readily occur to a musical’ public, were all conspicuous by their absence. A horrible rumour has reached us. When several of us complained last night, we were told "that good music hod failed to fill the bouse at Melbourne, and that Herr Wilheimj bad been forced to promise, before ho came to Christchurch, that ho would play down to the level—or rather, to what he w&s told was the level—of the Christchurch audience," ’ Hence the unsatisfactory character of the music last night Wo might have bad our ears fra-tod by a sonata of Beethoven’s for violin and piano, at least, and we were forced to be content with some pretty soctu t c s and “ The Last Rose of Summer, beautifully played, of course, by a great artiat. Also, our young pianist, a musician of taste and feeling, evidently and quietly despised an audience such as we bad been described to be. He came in obviously doiiryus to get through ids uncongenial task as quickly as possible. Because the Victorians would sot hear mutic, ore we to be deprived of an opportunity of doing so, which we have to long derived ? It is the part of some democracies to be into'erant of any superiority, whether pollcai, social, or muaicaL We ali know, that there is a form of independence which expretse# itself by saying: “lam as good as you,” but which really means; ” You shall bo ‘as b.d as I." But even supposing that this were the ease with Melbourne, surely there are to many points of difference between it and Christchurch, that tho musical taste of the latter can scarcely with safety be inferred from that of the former. And one thing more I wish to say. A mob is not necessarily unmusical. For many years put Charles Halle has regularly given twenty strictly classical concerts every year, and every night has not failed to draw the working man in such great numbers that there was not standing room in the large boll. The mare wo hear of what is good and great, the more we love it. Let us hope that the promotor# of Herr Wilhelroj's concerts will be able to contradict the rumour we mentioned, and, os a proof of its falsehood, give os—as the Nottinghamshire stocking-weaver said about Beethoven—“ Summat liftin’," and something more worthy of such performers. —1 am, &e., F. W, HASLAM. Deo. 17.