The San Francisco Call. Newspaper, November 16, 1902, Page 22

=" PHILHARTONIC SOCIETY’S FIRST CONCERT PLEASURABLE "IN ITS EVERY FEATURE. BY BLANCHE PARTINGTON. ~Macx SCHRLUTER 7 Two DISTINGUISHED VIOLINIETS | WEEK N THIS CITY. CONCHRT pleasurable in 1its| every feature was the first con- cert of the Philharmonic Soci- ety this season, given at the Al- hambra Theater on Wednesday evening last. I must confess to & sligh!! émusement—not unshared by others—on first seeing the programme announced by | the society—Bizet's “Patrie,” the G mi- nor Bruch concerto for violin; the “Ro- samunde” overture of Schubert; Bolzon!'s “Menuet” for strings, and the Strauss waltz, “Du und Du.” But the amuse- ment was distinctly sugerfluous in face of the truly astonishing performance given by these young people of the so- ciety. Mr, Minetti, who is the good gen- fus incumbent of the orchestra, proved amply that he had not overestimated its powers, the difficult programme of last Wednesday being rendered with an elan, precision, ease that reflects the utmost credit both on leader and players. There is temperament behind Mr. Min- etti’s baten, and 2 thorough knowledge of the conductor’s techmique. There s | & noble capacity for hard work and, fur- ther, the essential gift of inspiring his followers to enthusiastic effort. He has, moreover, through a process of careful selection, gathered together a band of young amateurs of whom the city may well be proud, whose work promises most hopefylly for the future of music in San Francisco, Sixty-five of them there are, @né with a sprinkling of professionals that brought their numbers to seventy- five they were enabled to do full justice | 1o the foregoing exacting programme. | Perhaps the pliancy and delicacy of their work—qualities espectally noticeable in | their playing of the orchestral setting of | the Bruch Concerto—are its most sur- prising and unusual features. Then they | play comfortably in tune—that asses’ bridge of nine-tenths of the amateur so- | cleties—and nelither power, mor a good, | yound, pure tone are lacking. They are lavish of their attention to the baton— | that first orchestral virtue, with the re- | sult of a clean, pliant rhythm, a quick delicacy of shading, that is not by any means invariably found ai g their pro- fessional brethren. Their fevel of tech- nical accomplishment is necessarily high, and with the sincerity and seriousness of purpose that pervades thelr efforts, the | present Philharmonic Society must be said to be in most hopeful shape. Bravo! Mr. Minetti! Bravo! children! B e The professional orchestral concert of the week was less pleasing, and imposes &new the question of what may reason- ably be demanded of a symphony orches- tra at the outset of its career. It was my misfortune to miss the opening con- cert of the Zech symphony geries, at which, by the way, the conductor-com- poser’s symphonic poem *“Lamia” of which I hear exceilent report, was given. But the concert of Wednesday was of equal—possibly larger —value as a means of determining the caliber of Mr. Zech's conducting. Reduced to simplest terms, the demands that one legitimately make upon a cenductor with new material to his hand are about as follows: That his tempos shall be correct; that his rhythms shall be clearly distinguishable; that his attack shall be reasonably precise; that his or- chestra shall be correctly balanced and its tonal quality passably harmonious, and, lastly, that without any impossible subtlety of nuance there shall be a de- cent approximation to the composer's scheme of values, tonal, rhythmic and Tt cannot truthfuly be s=atd . Zech’s conducting meets even these basic requirements. To begin with —for it is useless to go farther if one can- not get past the stage of digging out the beat with handy heel, like the Pedicula- rius of old—the eonductor, though doubt- less personally possessed - of a -live- W rhythmic falls con- sense, yet HEARD IN A SERIES OF CONCERTS DURING THE .PRESENT | Overt: ture to ‘W1 FROM ABROAD WHO WILL BE E 1 — epicuously to impress it upon his orchestra. His slack baton makes it possible, for example, for the horns, with the best intentions in the world, politely to arrive on the beat an eighth of a sec- ond later than the violins in the slower movements. It is a beat without author- ity, without conviction. Again, either the conductor’s conception of his com- poser is much at fault or his method of ccnveying such to the orchestra largely futile. Mr. Zech's readings ‘do not pos- sess even the literal value. Leading themes are drowned, lesser themes ex- alted and accompaniments ride rampage- ously above both with irritating fre- quency, to the more or less distortion of the whole architectural economy. And one listens in vain for the alluring rallen- tando, the inspirating accelerando, the restful planissimo—for any testimony, in short, of the elastic baton. - Further, the tone of the orchestra is edged, crude— quite possibly a result of an incorrect re- lation with the size of the smart little theater, and neither are Mr. Zech's tempi of the accepted standard. The conductor shows courage, good taste and patriotism in his choice of programmes, conscien- | tious effort in his rehearsais, vivacity and spirit, and a graceful, unobtrusive man- ner at the desk. But that is all. Primarily, of course, the lack is tem- | peramental — the couductor’s tempera- ment, not the musical—for I believe Zech, | the composer, to be all and much more than he is not as conductor. All the re- | spect that one is forced to refuse to his conducting goes out to the man as com- poser. He has something to say, and a very cleverness, sweetness and elegance in saying it. He has never bent the knee to false gods, but kept untarnished his murical ideals. It is upon him and his kind that these devolves the duty of keep- ing clear the flame of high musical pur- pose, so scantily tended to-day, and his work will some day be of those things upon which California will build much pride. Such laborers are few, and why, oh why, Mr. Zech, waste of their best upon worse than indifferent conducting. o e e It is hardly necessary to do more than give the unique programmes of the Wilc- zek-Schluter violin concerts of this week to insure the interest of every lover of the art. Both men are known as repre- sentative artists of the classic school of Joachim, and thelr joint appearance in concert is an event of most delightful sig- nificance. The concerts are booked for next Tues- day evening and Thursday and Saturday afternoons at the Alhambra Theater. o Lo It is unlikely that any one who-has been to the Tivoli this scason—and everybody “‘as 1s” anybody has—will forget that to- morrow evening is the annual testimonial performance to Mr. Steindorff. This will serve to remind in case there are such un- grateful ones. All the Tivoli lights are to appear and the following attractive pro- gramme will be given: ure and third act from ‘‘Martha’; over- llliam Te ‘Dance, of the Hours," prelude and first act of the Jordan scene from *Na- buceo,” and the third act of *‘Andre Chenler." @ iiviviiiirie e @ Prunes stuffed with apricots. Townsend’s.* —————— Townsend’s California glace fruit and candies, 50c & pound, in artistic fire-etched boxes. A nice present for Eastern friends. Market st., Palace Hotel building. * et e s Special information supplied daily to business houses and public men by the Press Clipping Bureau (Allen’s), * fornia street. Telephone Main 1042, Tel . The Chinese are commonly supposed Ye peace-loving and harmlezu. “p’l&a Zeltt‘: schrift fur Missionskunde, however, clares that China is the at vsxud:; pation in Asia, and tblti;e e it is wores than tha W’IM THE SAN FRANCISCO CALL, £UNDAY, NOVEMBER 16, 1902, THE SAN FRANCISCO CALL. JOHN D, SPRECKELS, Proprietor. Address Communications to W, S. LEAKE, Manage SUNDAY ... D P P PP PP PR RS PP Publication Of0e....eucursvsussesemsereionsnesss QEUEEIR ... ovosssesssns.o . Market and Third Strocts, 8. 7. OUR CHINESE TRADE. f AST year China took her place among the gold-producing nations, showing an output of nearly $10,000,000. It is a symptom of what is to follow. For centuries China has dis- couraged the development of her mineral resources. Her chief dependence has been upon agriculture and manufactures. In the production of silk and tea she controls the world’s supply and those two articles form the basis of her commercial exchanges. If she enter now upon the development of her deposits of the precious metal and of iron and coal she will complete the circle of her possibilities and advance her rank among the commercial nations. The effect will be to at once increase the consuming power of her people. Her popula- tion, according to Li Hung Chang, has already reached the limit of her food supply and must henceforth look to the Western world and, of course, almost entirely to the United States, for food. Our interest in her coming development is greater than that of any other nation, for we command the production of the greatest and the cheapest surplus of all things which supply human need. Much is said about the danger to the Occident of an industrial awakening of China. As well might we assume that the industrial activity of Europe is a menace to the world. No nation produces, or can produce, all the necessaries that its people need. Therefore it must secure them by exchange. China will hold exactly the same relation to the world’s trade that any other indus- trial nation holds. As the wants of her people are stimulated they will produce more and need more in commercial exchange. Mr. John Barrett, who is in Asia as the representative of the St. Louis Exposition, says that our commercial relations are needing critical attention. American mer- chants in China are opposed to the principles of the English treaty, and want our trade interests secured by an entirely new treaty. This country has an-opportunity now to secure its future trade, and no opportunity should be neglected by our people to get into such relations with China as our interests and hers require. 3 Mr. Wu Ting Fang, the retiring Minister to this country, returns to China to assume the headship of the commercial organization of the future China. At this moment he is the best in- formed Chinese in Western civics and commerce. A man of great natural ‘ability, perhaps not second in that respect to Li Hung Chang himself, he has the advantage of a complete English education, perfect command of our language and all the knowledge of the Occident added to his Oriental shrewdness and training. It is safe to say that he, more than any other of his country- men, will form the commercial future of his country. His career in this codntry as a diplomat has fully instructed him in our power of production and exchange. He has been the guest of Eastern commercial organizations in every commercial center from Boston to Kansas City. His searching inquiries have covered every item in our pro- duction and commercial practice. He has commented upon them all with freedom and frequency. He carries back to China a wider acquaintance among Americans than any other foreign diplomat has ever attained, and a greater store of knowledge than any other has taken occasiontoacquire, He has warm personal friends among our leading merchants, manufacturers and public men. His re- call has caused more regrét than could have been roused by the concurrent recall of all the rest of the Diplomatic Corps at Washington. It is our plain duty to recognize all this and to see in it the great advantage to our commerce that may follow his entry upon his new duties in China, which will make him practically the dictator of commercial treaties with the outside world. He will probably embark for home from San Francisco. Before he leaves us every opportunity should be taken to acquaint him with the commercial purposes and resources of this coast. San Francisco is the principal American center of Chinese trade. The Chinese have here their banks and commercial institutions. ~They are great importers and pay one-third, or more, of the customs revenues collected at the San Francisco Custom-house. Qur Chinese merchants and bankers are at one with us in the desire to increase trade with their own country. Among them are men very intelligent and shrewd in business and finance. Before Mr. Wu ‘leaves he and his leading countrymen, domiciled here in business, should be brought into frank consulta- tion with gentlemen who represent our Oriental commerce and whose interest in a trade treaty is vital. In doing this we will be doing just what would be done, and is done, in the trade cen- ters of our commercial rivals, and as we have this opportunity and they do’'not, we should make the most of it. 5 \ A FAMOUS FARM BOY. MERICANS who have met Lorenz, the Austrian surgeon, who has made the most im- portant advance in orthopedic surgery in centuries, have probably thought but little of the steps by which he attained eminence. He is a man of almost gigantic strength, and all the power of his muscle is required in the performance of his operations. Some who come in contact assume that he had, from youth up, superior advantages and that his fame has followed as a natural consequence of early leisure given to study and investigation. But it is true in his case, as in that of most of the men of genius in all vocations, that he was not born with a silver’spoon in his mouth, and his path upward was far from easy. He was reared on a small farm in Northern Austria. His parents were agricultural peas- ants. His early life was occupied in the hard and ill-requited toil of a peasant boy. In this respect he much resembled the great German pathologist who recently passed away. . When Lorenz en- tered school he was a working student and had to make his own way. But labor gave him a matchless physique, health and strength and that support which an active and ingenious brain must have from a body physically well equipped. Genius springs from the people and is seldom found except when produced under the pressure of physical necessity. This Austrian peasant boy has risen to foremost rank in his profession and his discoveries and their daring application are conferring more happiness upon the world than all the conquer- ors combined could give. It may be truly said that he found a percentage of human beings con- demned to pass life on clubbed feet, and with dislocated hips, to limp, crippled and misshapen, through the world, and that he lifted from them the sentence to deformity and made them perfect. Among the working and necessitous boys of to-day the genius of the future is being trained, and from their’ ranks the poets and artists, the physicians and preachers of the future are to come. THE SOUTHERN REVOLT. HE longest leased wire in the world does not seem to reach down South. Over the cele- brated strand of copper Mr. Hearst, from his seat in the tenderloin, recently issued orders for the Democracy to join the Federation of Trades and thereby implied that no one should 'be permitted to vote the ticket unless he presented the union card. Thereupon Major Watterson said in the Louisville Courier Journal, “The country has a surfeit of mountebank politics, of quack nostrums for curing all our social and fiscal ailments,” masquerading as Demo- crats.” : Then the Southern Democracy held a conference and pointedly refused to join the federa- tion and march under Hearst and Gompers. The question of the future is, which faction will be the. side show. Will Mr. Hearst be the “blower” for the small tent or take tickets under the main canvas? The band is beginning to play and the show waits for the ringmaster-and clown. AR \ It will be remembered, that when the first faint blasts of volcanic eruption occurred in Guatemala, it was reported that the coffee planters looked upon them as a blessing, because the volcanic ashes killed off the noxious insects in the coffee plantations and promised to be valuable as fertilizers, but now the ashes have killed the coffee trees as well as the pests, and the coffee planters are flying in search of blessings in lands where they,don’t overdo the thing. Having settled its first case satisfactorily the high court of nations is about to sit in judg- ment upon another, and this time it will have a fine array of powers before it, as the question in= volves the rights of British, French and German residents in Japan. It will be seen that while the tribunal had to wait a long time in idleness, it has got started at last and business is rushing. A man who was acquainted with Ralph Waldo Emerson says the philosopher never had his shoes blacked, believing that good leather needs no shine; but the real reason may have been that in his transcendental<nind he concluded it is better to have a nickel in the pocket than a shine on the boot. : Secretary Moody is reported to have said that the supremacy of the spellbinder in Ameri- can politics is about over; but then the Secretary is not a spellbinder and may be prejudiced against the craft, : % N (& = N = 5 e > + “MARY OF MAGDALA,” YEAR’S DRATIATIC SENSATION, CONTAINS NOTHING TO OFFEND. BY GUISARD. 1 FAMOUS AMERICAN ACTRESS WHOSE PRESENTATION HEYSE'S DRAMA, “MARY OF MAGDALA,® HAS BEEN VORABLY COMMENTED UPON BY THE PRESS. OF PAUL VERY FA- | X3 HE relgning dramatic sensation of | and in such fashion as to arouse only feel- the year so far is Paul Heyse's | “Mary of Magdala,” presented by | Mrs. Fiske for the first time fn | America at the Pabst Theater in| It and has the Milwaukee three weeks ago. since journeyed to Chicago, recorded criticlsm of both cities stamps | It as of the most impressive dramat| . "u "4 tistic probabilities in his addi- fc: art being made to-day, with a performance by Mrs. Fiske and her associates that in no wise falls short of the drama. Paul Heyse, the author of the play, is the dean of the German dramatists. The repertoire of the Fath- erland stage includes no fewer than sixty of the Heyse dramas. ‘Mary of Mag- dala” Is of the playwright's latest work, the fruit of long experience, the crown of his ripe maturity. It was published first in 1899, but has only recently been produced, its first performance being given at Bremen. The arrangement for the American stage has been made by a’ distinguished man of letters, whose name is mysteriously withheld, but who is re- sponsible for the classic English that is sald to be one of the drama’s many dis- tinctions. Inevitably the first question that occurs in connection with a scriptural play—and “Mary of Magdala,” as its title implies, is built around the character of the beau- tiful penitent of the Testament—is wheth- er it is likely to offend refigious sensitive- ness. Practically, opinion seems to be at one on this side of the subject. Here is The Living Church with quaint comment on the play: Mrs. Fiske's presentation of the play ‘“‘Mary of Masdala,” Wwhich was commended to the public at the recent. Church Congress, is one Which, having witnessed, we have pieasure in warmly commending. The playwright draws a fictitious romance between Mary and Judas prior to the conversion of the former,. but otherwise there is no tampering with the scriptural story in so far as scriptural charac- ters are used. Neither our Lord nor any of the apostles (except Judas) Is introduced upon | the stage, yet the words and the work of the | Master are the constant theme of the dia- logues. It is wholly impossible that the ef- fect of the play should be otherwise than to instll reverence and to impress the awfulness of the crucifixion. Indeed, the high plane upon which the work moves must raise the queésticn whether it ts within the power of the ordinary play-goer to appreciate. And the need of discovering some method of bringing the Bible narrative to our heathen public {s most pressing. After the close of Mrs. Fiske's engagement, the Milwaukee Sen- | tinel collected the following comments from apparently intelligent people In the audieno: in regard to such characters and parts of the play as were taken from the Bible: “One of them sat through two acts admir- ing the work of ‘Aaron’ until he léarned from the programme that one Haran, of Sidon, was the man impersonated on the stage. Another observed through the play that the Mary of whom he had vague impressiops gained from paintings of tbe Magdalen by Titian and Cor- Teggio was mot the Virgin Mary, mother of Likewise it seems. incredible that one well-informed man asked ' his comsanion it Simon was mentionel In the Bible. Judas ‘was better known to many, who candidly ad- mitted, however, that they did not know before where ‘the character of Judas Iscariot origin- ated. At the risk of sacrilege other more hu- morous_ instances of misinformation or Ignor- ance might be cited. Those mentioned are au- thentic.” play is one which we warmly commend to_the Christian public. It is jist such a pow- erful presentation of a scriptural story as was formerly made by the church in the miracle plays, but devoid of the features which would probably make the revival of those plays un- desirable, and with all the added power which modern dramatic art lends to the Our own fears as to this work are wholly allayed, though we admit that we should net ke to have it made the precedent for plac- ing other scrivtural plays upon the stage. In a mass of comment upon the play and its performance the following #m- pressions seem to be most general and profound. Almost without exception the critics confess to having come under the fllusion of the actual: presence of Christ on the stage, though there is absolutely no attempt at personifying him, or indi- cating even by a thrown light his cal presence among his followers., Yet his atmosphere the whole drama ings of utmost reverence. Such of the critics as for a moment were enabled to escape from the moving atmosphere of the story profess to see a great play as well as story in Heyse's drama, somber indeed, but admirably planned. The dram- atist has told deftly and reverently the scriptural history, changing but slightly the actual account and keeping well with- tions. Judas Iscariot is made the lover of the Magdalene prior to her conversion. Through him and Aulus Flavius, a young patrician, who also admires Mary, the Christ is made known to her. She wishes fo meet “him who has such power to Tender happy and miserable,” and who has never known the love of woman, and goes to Flavius’' house to hear him preach in an adjoining garden. Calaphas, the high priest, is there, trying to persuade Aulus Flavius to aid in punishing the di- vine rebel to his authority. Seeing the Magdalene enter, bejeweled and brilliant- ly bedecked, he conceives the plan of ask- ing her to tempt the Master to his over- throw. At first Mary refuses, then half consents, but is interrupted by Flavius, who tells her that Jesus may now be seen in the neighboring garden. Then occurs the incident of the stoning, the Magda- lene being here identified with the woman taken in adultery, described in St. John. Then follows Mary's conversion and the subsequent jealousy of Judas, and the be- trayald Aulus Flavius is made to promise the deliverance of Christ as the price of the Magdalene’s favors, and the repent- ant sinner almost consents thus to save from death her beloved master. But the lessons she has learned teach her the truer way, and after an intense inner struggle she refuses. The fifth act is at the foot of Golgotha and ineludes the death of Judas and the final triumph of Mary over her baser nature. Mrs. Fiske’s. Mary has received tle most varied and lavish praise, and the Judas of Tyrone Power comes only sec- ond. The staging is also spoken of in highest terms, and “Mary of Magdal@ is undoubtedly so far the play of the y{fr. L] o Mrs. Howard Kingscote, the English novelist, says that American audiences are anxious to hear facts, while English audiences demand to be amused. Makes Skins Lighter, Clearer, Purer ANTIDOTES BLEMISHES clear, firm complexion of youth ‘coaxed back’ nita Cr Applied at nizht ?MA remov:t‘nt: e N ol druggists or of us, prepaid. ANITA CREAM & TOILET COMPANY > Los Angeles; Cak