MUSIC & MUSIC STUDENTS IN LEIPZIG.

Otago Witness, Issue 2813, 12 February 1908, Page 88

MUSIC & MUSIC STUDENTS IN LEIPZIG.

By a Waxdi.iu.k fp.om Nkv\ Zeaiand. xo. i. Dear, ugly, noisy, old Leipzig, that ait so prosaic and uninteresting to a casual visitor, and so full of chaxp to one who comes to study, how shaif I ever leave thee! How tear myself away from thy free, untrammelled student life, fiom thy music, from thy culture, from thy beautiful parks and woods — yea, even from thy noise, jogs, and impure atmosphere ! When one has recovered from the first shock at thy homeliness how one grows to love thee in thy many moods! In spring, when thou deckest thy windows with narcissi, violets, and acacia, and thy trees begin to be covered with a light veil of green ; in summer, when the sun shines hotly and thy squares are full of working mothers, who have left their hot flats and brought their children to play under the shade of the trees, and when thy balconies are gay with pink-and-red geraniums, and bright with nasturtiums ; in autumn, when thy villas hang out their banners of scarlet Virginian creeper, and in the golden woods the oaks and beeches bend over, like Narcissus, to behold their own beautiful reflections in the rivers slipping quietly by ; and in winter, when thou art decked in a mantle of snow, and lakes and rivers are frozen, and from the bare trees, white with hoar frost, the large crows and ravens drop like black cloths, and fly cawing off into the distance.

I love thee, too, at Yuletide, when thy streets aie full of Christmas trees, and through the lighted windows are seen the " Christbaume," with their many lights and spangles, when the pastrycooks' windows are full of " hollen,""* and thy people are busy buying presents ; at Easter, when all the world is holiday-making, and the confectioners' shops contain Easter eggs of every size, material, and colour ; and on All Souls' Day, when the townspeople go forth with garlands and crosses and bouquets of flowers, and the graves of the " blessed dead" are trimmed and decked and made beautiful.

Who would not grow to love thee ? But it is not of these things that I would speak, but of the soul-inspiring art which has reached such perfection within thy walls — I mean the art of music.

In the streets of Leipzig one seldom hears a band, and it is forbidden by law to play any musical instrument. Thus a stranger would hardly guess at the feast of music which is pixnided during the season. So much, indeed, is there that it is impossible to go to everything, and the difficulty is to know what to leave out.

Every week there are the orchestral concerts in the Gewaud Haus, under the famous conductor Nikisch, which are on no account to be missed. On Thursday evening is the concert proper, to which the fashionable world goes in evening dress to criticise, through their opera-glasses, each other and each other's costumes ; and on Wednesday morning the " Haupt Probe," or last rehearsal, which is attended by music-lovers and students. A rehearsal it really ;s; s not, and the only difference between it and the concert is that it takes place in the morning and the seats are cheaper.

Under the guidance of Nikisch the orchestra plays magnificently, and performs all the greatest works of the great masters of all countries. Thus one becomes well acquainted with the finest symphonies, tho&e of Beethoven, Mo/art, Schumann, Liszt, Tchaikowski, Brahms, Schubert, and Haydn, and hears the works of such modei'n composers as Strauss, Reger, and Bruckher. The soloists are often celebrities, and one hears such artists as Lili Lehmann, D'Albert, Frau Correno, and Mischa Elman, etc. The following is a specimen programme of one of these concerts: — Overture, "Dame Kobold " (opus 51), C. Reinecke ; two sonjjs (with orchestral accompaniment), Frau MertenCulp-, from Berlin ; variations and fugue on a theme by HilJer (new), Max Reger ; songs (with pianoforte accompaniment; by Brahms), Frau Merten-Culp ; symphony No. 2 (C Major, opus 61), R. Schumann.

It is- an interesting and amusing sight to see the people filing into a "probe." One goes early to get a front seat in the gallery, from which one can see everything. At first the hall is> nearly empty, but presently the people begin to come in in twos and threes, and stand chatting together. As the hall fills, the conservatorium students appear, and there is much greeting of friends and acquaintances. The conservatorium students have always the same places : the first five rows in front of the platform and those under the gallery behind. Wherever the students are there is a feeling of animation and enthusiasm which is really pleasant, and they show their enjoyment in unstinted applause.

Now come the university students, whose seats, which they get at a reduced price, are just in front of the gallery at the back of the hall ; and a few conservatorium professors, who are allotted the best places right in the middle of the floor.

At 25 minutes past 10 the electric bell rings in the passages to hurry in the late arrivals or those who have remained outside to talk ; and then, as the orchestra tunes up, there is a bustle of finding places (all the seats are numbered) and a rustle, which gradually quietens down as Nikisch appears.

Nikisch is a little man, under middle height, with a blase expression, and whose dark beard and hair are flecked with grey. As a conductor, he is very quiet, and has no violent movements — on the contrary, he uses his hands and wrists so gracefully that it is a pleasure

* Xhe German Christmas caka.

to watch him, and under his baton a cor* position has a fineness and finish which" few others seem able t<p give it. The last item on the . programme is generally one of the solos. When the soloist has been good the students and enthusiasts leave their places and gather in front of the platform, cheering and clapping, and the artist who gives encores gives them to the most appreciative andi sympathetic part of the audience. W h<it a riot of music there is between October and April ! The W T inderstein Orchestra plays once a fortnight, the Bach Society pei forms Bach's works, and in the Thomas Church, where Bach was once organist, the Riedcl Verein produces such works as Berlio/'s, Mozart's, and Bi\ihm's requiems, "The Elijah," "The Messiah,' and Bach's "Passion" music, etc. Then there are chamber concerts in the Gewuud Haus, and motetts in the Thomas Church by the boys' choir for half an hour every vSaturday, not to mention the opera, the endless instrumental and vocal recitals, which go on all the season, and the four or five string quartet parties, which give concerts regularly. Of violinists, there visit Leipzig Fritz Kreisler, Mischa Elman, Yeayc, Kubelik, and Thibeau, besides other fine artists who have not such a woi-ld-wide reputation; and of pianists, D' Albert, Saver, Busoni, Frau Carreno, Rosenthal, Reisenauer+ and Godowski, all wellknown names in Germany, although probably most are unknown to New Zealand readers.

Saver and Reisenauer were pupils of Liszt, and have wonderful technique. Saver is a tall, thin man, clean shaved, and with straight hair hanging well over his collar, as his master had. He has enormous power, and when he plays it sounds like two men rather than one. When listening to him, however, one thinks more of his wonderful facility on the instru-: ment than of the composition which he is interpreting. With Godowski, on the contrary, one forgets the performer, and loses oneself in the music, although he lacks the both musically and personally, of his brother musician. Busoni has a most beautiful touch, and his scale passages are superb ; and D' Albert is a great musician, although his playing is said to have suffered owing to his devoting so much of his time nowadays to composition. Of Madame Carreno it is unnecessary to speak, as New Zealanders have so lately heard her. Suffice it to say that she is greatly admired in her adopted land, and is quite a queen amongst pianists. Just a few weeks ago the season began in Leipzig with a performance of Beethoven's "Solemn Mass" and his 9th Symphony. This was produced on Sunday morning, the people's holiday, in one of "the largest halls in the city. It was a splendid performance of two beautiful works. That it was thoroughly appreciated was proved by the fact that although it lasted three and a-half hours, from 11 a.m. until 2.30 p.m., nobody thought of leaving before the end. After the "Mass" there was half an hour's pause, and the audience streamed out into the corridors, to walk up and down discussing the performance, or to drink beer and eat rolls and fruit at the buffets. Lovers of fresh air went out into the sunlight in the adjoining courtyard, and there enjoyed their " second breakfast." Then the electric bell rang, and back everybody poured into the big round hall, rested in body and mind, to enjoy the wonderful 9th. with its glorious final" chorus set to Schiller's " Ode to joy.'* Thus are things done in Germany.