AMUSEMENTS.

Taranaki Daily News, Volume LII, Issue 14, 10 February 1909, Page 3

AMUSEMENTS.

THE CIIERNIAYSKI RECITAL. A WONDERFUL TRIO OF MUSICIANS Rarely, if ever, lias New' Plymouth had presented to it such ,» remarkable concert as that of the Cherniavski familyLeo, Jan and Mischcl—last night. The Theatre Royal was filled on the floor and well patronised above, and the walls resounded with enthusiastic plaudits every time the boys played. Encore after encore was demanded, until each was given perforce. Certainly it was

a niagniliccnt conceit on,its own merits, and the circumstances that the players were so young and their playing so astoundingly good, raised the enthusiasm. of the audience to fever pitch. Even the least musical woke to an appreciation of the compositions of the high priests of music in most exceptional and most encouraging manner.

The concert begun with a, Haydn tri (the famous No. 3, including the grea "Rondo"), and a murmur of astonish went van through the audience as th throe youthful figures emerged from tli 1 twi-ags—Jjbo, adolescent and high-col hired, with a violin; Jan, boyish anli low-collared, appropriating the piano Mischel, broad-collared and big-bowed • almost infantile in size, with dark hai: falling in a wave to one side of his bab; fare, and with hini ** cello as long a: himself. A disconcerting tuning of in| struments (rather an unhappy begin ning), and then they played—played ai never before surely hoys have played iThe three movements were punctuated with applause that would' not be re strained, and after the linal movement the house rang again with the approva of the audience. Too little was heart of the trio in concert, for they appeared together but once more, at the end ol the programme, in the bracketted numbers Widor's Serenade and a German dance by Schubert. By this time the enthusiasm of the auuience had reached i.in intensity rarely excited by even the most famous adult artistes, and the dance had to be repeated. Chamber music of -this sort is not often so popular with a mixed audience, and the immediate cause was the nuisicianly rendering. The only word of criticism one cares to offer is that .lan's vehement piano-phiying drowned ilischel's softer notes on the 'cello. Worthily placed first as soloist was little muschel, who came forth to play Saint tans' "The. Swan" and a Scherzo by Van G.oens. Tin' lad plays with wonderful ease this most difficult of. all the stringed nisl'ruinents. producing the sweetest tone, playing with absolute, precision the most diilicult of music, aim interpreting with a wealth of artistic skill and finish astonishing ill one so young. The warmest and best-won encore of the evening was given him. lie has, by the way, an odd trick of striking the wood with ""is bow in the pizzicato passages. Jan, as already indicated, is a pianist of the vehement type—reminiscent of Paderewski in his loving manner of hanging over the keys, of Tlambourg in tne fiery onslaught and rugged treatment of the piano, and something of Carreno in the ringing fluency of his fingering. He is a soloist, pure and simple, with little of the self-suppression of the ideal accompanist, yet in no way can one affirm that iie is an indelicate colleague. As a soloist he is remarkable, and one deeply regrets that he could not be heard on a proper concert grand instead of the simple upright he him placed before him. It ts a thousand pities that amongst the piano companies there cannot be providI'd for such excellent musicians as these an appropriate pinno. They are coining so frequently that it surely must he worth while, and as it is, we never hear in a public concert a pianist at' his best. KachniaiiKiofT's grand " IV.'ludc," with its magnificent chords and bass notes, could never sound tame as played by Jan, but its swelling breadth was marred by the sniallness of the otherwise excellent pinno. Tie also play.'(l Maughan Harnett's exuberant "Valse Urillante," which is characteristic of Us 'omposer, and has evidently been studied ind'er him. New Zealand is fortunate n possess so fine a composer as "Mr. laniett, and lie is lucky to have such an nterpreler as Jan Cherniavski. Jan is ilready a remarkable pianist, and he liouhl have a great career before him. The last of the trio, and the oldest, | s Loo, the violinist. lie shows his ;reater age by the superb facility of his ilaving, and especially in his bowing. A mpil of the maestro Ysaye, he has the ugged style to which Kubelik has, as I weTe, broken us in, and while that tyle lacks the charm of the old repose, t gains in character more than it loses the.rwise. The whole soul of the plaver ;ocs into his playing, and'the abandon if mobile countenance and swnyinghody -lust unshackle the emotion of which it 5 the physical expression. There is a lild freedom in tire playing of Leo that s sometimes gained at the expense of cenvacy and completeness so dear to the rained ear, l|iit the technique shown in lis bowing anil fingering and the indubious tone produced from the instruneilt alwavs, is undoubtedly great. His nterprctnt'ion of Ernst's "(Hello l'anasie" was magnificently inspired, and 'rent was his reward of applause. Take lis brothers, he appeared as soloist ,„t once. and. in spite of the encore, be audience felt that it was not e-iougli. 'ossibly to demand a. gerater number ,f individual appearances would be im■easonahle, but without doubt the audi■nce would prefer to hear more of the "Madame Marie Hoolon is a singer well ~„! favourably known to musical people ,erc.' She has a charming voice, more , f ||„. nvezzo than contralto quality am I,e is a thorough artiste. She. sang ( arl Finn's beautiful "Still wic die Nacht n the German excellently. The German vords suit the music better, perhaps, ~,(- the Knglish are so good that tin ,mago person would prefer them. Ger- ,,„„ , r s "caviare, to the general at the 1( .,t of times. Her encore was the rettv "In mv Garde,.." Madame Hootiw,s even'better in the quaint oh radish son" "The Bailiffs Daughter of slnVton." "and the quainter dialect ;ong n she gave as encore „„„.,,,. One hardly knows what to s,u "t Ml. Vrcivil Driver's singing, because his , m ,"S were not suited to his voice He , a good resonant baritone but his ,oiec did not seen, very tlexib e, ami he ~1,,1-i to sin" much too fast and mlistinctlv. Among his 'numbers were •The Yeomen of England" (German) ,„rt "The Old Grey Vox-(M.V. White), ,oth encored. Incidentally, he is an ev •ellent accompanist. Mr E. JSranscoinhe, who has the good ortune to be the direetcur of the CherliavsFis, announced during the evening bat they would probably return at the K'dnnin''' of March. He would do his mlrons a service if when he returns he ;ees that there are no noises or tnter•uptious (luring the rendering of the tenia. At present the theatre ,1s hitoleribly noisy during concerts.