PADEREWSKI

Evening Star, Issue 12307, 23 September 1904, Page 4

PADEREWSKI

HIS FIRST CONCERT IN DUNEDIN. THE // PEOPLE" STIRRED. In the early days of Otago cur settlers did not hear much pianoforte playing in public, and even up tn the seventies but few thoroughly capable solo players appeared. During the last thirty years, hqwever, pianists of more or less diatinctiou have frequently made a trip to New Zealand part of their colonial tour. All told, there mist have been a hundred of them since the time of Alfred Anderson, rtu> soloist with Carrie Emanuel in 1873—a hundred apart, from the exposed cheats who like one of .unenviable notoriety—let his name he forgotten—could nlav four pieces brilliantly and found himself bowled out by an ordinarily-difficult accompaniment. Our catalogue of real players would no doubt include men and women of diverse gifts and varying accomplishments, some with a tendency to what may be termed the mathematical as opposed to Die artistic method, others uho possessed inspirational genius but were too lazy to acquire the technical power which is indispensable to greatness; still, taken as a body, the visiting pianists have deserved patronage and thanks and eecured an abiding place in our affections, since they have widened local knowledge as to music generally, brought us into touch with the best composers of the day, and at the same time imparted pleasure for which wc ought to ba ever grateful. Closer to tbo point just now, the more accomplished of the musicians whose names are on the colonial roll of fame have, in conjunction with conscientious teachers, prepared this rmail community for Paderewski. Descending anywhere, Paderewski would speedily mamfest himself, apart from advertisements. but the receptive audience is a necessity if a highly-seusitive artist is to do hie best work and immediately feet at home, and in our gratitude to and admiration for the great master who now tops tho list of illustrious musicians, let us not forget , ?T S °,f those lesser lights who introuuced Chopin, familiarised Liszt. ;md led us to a truer understanding „f Bach and Boctinnen. In referring to theeo important considerations, however, it must not be supposed that we suggest any comparison as between Paderewski and Ids prcdeccssoia. He is tho accepted king, of the pianoforte, reigning in unchallengablc right over possessions of which tho British Empire m but a corner, lu a sense he is the greatest o: living instrumentalists, since his fame is gamed not with the subtle violin nor any other stringed conduit to the affections, bet with aii instrument that hue been merciIcrsU abused, and needs a master hand to save it from thty reproach of beiim unresponsive and cold. Paderewski lias done much m the interests of music; incidenta.ly, no doubt, he has accomplished something for himself; in addition lie has in. r leased the world's respect for the pianolento by exploring and demonstrating its possibilities as a moans of appealing to tho public. Considered from any point of view, b* )s a wonderful record, and now that ho lias come to tho ends of the earth Dunedin cheerfully pays her modest but we hope not despised homage, being speck ally thankful that Paderewski has arrived m the zenith of his power, prepared to (five us of his best. ° It was a very large audience that assembled ah His Majesty's Theatre last night on the occasion of the first of the two i adevowski concerts. The spacious theatre could have- hold a few more. The biting equinoctial wind kept some away; the prices no doubt hindered others; and :t may be supposed that here and there a suspicion that even Paderewski oould be only •i little superior to tbe best of hie predccoiners bad influence in wavering minds. Still it was a very fine “home,” made up of music lovers of all ranks and conditions, including many who but rarelv venture out of an evening, and not a few who bad travelled from distant interior settlements in the hope of an uncommon treat and the revival of cherished recollections. Lut the unusual thing about the audience was neither its bulk nor its dressiness, nor even its demonstrations of appreciation ns the concert went on. In these respects His Hajifcty.s has been the scene of similar experiences previously. 'Che distinguishing characteristic of lab night's concert, so far as the people were concerned, was their unanimity in delight at the end of the concert. Piling out slowly through the pasrage ways, everybody wanted io sav some, thug to everybody the about- the great biv that was witliin them. “It's a night that I shall remember all mv life," remarked one veteran player. “I wanted to yell,” said one lady to her teacher as she met him on the stairs.” “I inn,” was his reply. Never be foie, in our experience, did such a fully, satisfied crowd emerge from a theatre in Dunedin, and we feel sure that «m:c who beforehand hiuf grudjred the [guinea would have gladly -one back at 10115 and paid two guineas ior the pleasure of hearing the same performance over again. Ac a tele our people begin to fidget about gcttiim away ae ten o’clock approaches. Rig this was an exceptional occasion. Nobody thought of the time, nor would they bail the concert extended over another‘hour Once, towards the conclusion, when Parle’ rewski began to play the Liszt rhapsodic, lie for the first time during the eveuni" gave a glance towards the audience, as if apprehensive of interruption by a move for tho doors, but bo saw at mice that he had everyone firmly fixed, and then proceeded with proved to 1-c in h'ome respects the revelation of the evening. With that solitary except ion, Paderewski ueier looked at tbo people whilst playing nor did he in any other wav angle for or give the cue to applause. He looked straight in front of him, absolutely engrossed in hiy noth. He is, in fact, a, man of very si mole manners on (be stage, given to no "peculiar ways. He is perfectly still mi the stool, keeps his elbows m one place, and mates lus strokes entirely from the wrist and fingers, thus delighting the old-fashioned folk who are worried by the swaying of the body, the waving of the arms, and other showings-off so common with distinguished pianists, and often excused as (he accompaniments of genius. Paderewski the man appears to be amiable, polite, rather sciiousimnaed, and in no way eccentric. Paderewski the artist is not. only singular but incomparable, and one of his attributes as an artist is that the music is ever put iu front of the man.

Ihe conceit liegau about ten minute' 3 after the appointed time. The great master was proha hi v waiting for the" kite-comers to settle down. Avoiding fussiness himself, it can well he understood that he dislikes restlessness in others. Tie. received a very greeting, not fubome but distinctly friendly, and then sat down to bis work. The audience first noted tho scantiness of hie scale preliminaries: then, as he started tii play Bach's A minor fugue arranged bv l.nat, attentive cars were surprised "it tip beautiful rich tone given forth by the Erard piano. “What a wonderful instrument! “ was die first thought that occurred to the listeners. As the playing went cm, however', it was discovered tluit the intrin-dc merits of the French piano were only answerablc in part for the rare tone. It mostly came from the playing. With ell the force that Paderewski employed in the loud passages J;o never once thumped a note to the point of exhaustion, and in tbs softer parts of the composition we, were treated to the mo<?t delightful gradations of light and shade. Other features of the playing were perfect evenness as to weight, infallible accent, clearness of note definition' and a marvellous balance, the left-hand work, though wonderfully solid, never preponderating. Above all, the music was given with absolute simplicity, dramatic embellishments being sternly excluded. Paderewski’s playing, indeed,' seemed to make the famous organ piece thoroughly understood bv all present. "What it is supposed to describe cannot perhaps be exactly stated, but it filled the ear with restful sounds and made everybody feel good Next came the Bortliovon sonata, op.’ 55, often called tho Waldstein sonata. ‘ Paderewski went right on with it, as soon as the applause caused by the fugue had subsided, and many present probably thought, until the Beethoven style became recognised, that the master was giving an encore piece. But there was no time for the working up of a grievance, nor, indeed, anv occasion therefor, all in attendance finding their attention at once absorbed in the great sonata and its marvellous exposition. Qf the several movements it is hard to say which proved the most; enjoyable. First we thought the allegro, with its absolute aumramv, aad bright tklicma, must Taeie .

sent Paderewski’s highest style; hut then the adagio came as a revelation in regard to smoothness and grandeur, marked V.y matchless accompanying work low down under the left hand; and the daintiness of the allegretto full of sparkle and freshness, giving tfyj player an opportunity to bring forth rare string-band effects, ‘this being followed by the short prestissimo ip which top-speed fingering made every note clear ond sing yet soft, brought the listeners to the conclusion that any attempt to discriminate or pit one section of tlio masterpiece against another wus not to be thought of. Going straight on, without leaving the stage, Paderewski next played Schubert’s ‘ Impromptu in B flat, 1 op. 142 —a composition that took on quite a new meaning when it was shown that its great charm is simplicity. The tender theme (from the opera of ‘ Rcsaraunde') was sung on the instrument as a child mig hf sing it, and the beauty of the variations, both staccato and legato, was in their plainness, the expression employed being a mere, shading. How a commonplace player would snccceed if lie relied on such severe methods we do not know and do not -wish to learn; but Paderewski’s art. enables him to dare the veriest nakedness without suggesting exposure Two of Schubert’s son.es an transcribed by Liszt came next. In ‘Hark, hark, the lark’ the joyous vivacity of the subject was expressed with the utmost sympathy and sweetness, yet with a fine ‘full tone, and the audience noted the consistency in weight of the trilling as contrasted with the delicatc_ coloring of the song itself. The Erl King,’ on the other hand, formed a most impressive tone picture. If that oft-used phrase was ever justifiable, this is the occasion. It also served to display Paderewski's profound skill in fingering. Up to this point the player bad remained on the stage, but he here bowed himself off for a rest. Thc_ audience, however, took it as the opportunity for an encore, and applause, mingled with shouts of “Bravo,” brought Paderewski hack to phy—what do you think?—not some great masterpiece, but a favorite learner’s study, Mendelssohn's much-loved and much-worried No. 3, ilio hunting song in A major. The audience highly • appreciated the. choice and were enraptured with the rendering. Students may he pleased to learn that in this, gs in all the other compositions presented, the master makes no point of a hurried tempo or any other way of obtruding himself. He just plays the music. But it is playing. A short interval then ensued, after which Paderewski presented a series of six Chopin pieces-—the well-known ‘Nocturne in G Major’ played lingeringly and with the most voluptuous softness; the ‘Butterfly’ etude, No. 9, op. 25, x-attlcd off in a free and certain style that quite captivated the audience and made them clamor for a repetition ; the prelude No. 17, which ought to be better known ; the B flat minor mazurka, noticeable for the swift though not violent of piano and forte; the value in A flat, No. 42. this provoking an imperative encore, which was answered by a matchless rendering of the value (No. 64) in C sharp minor; and as a wind-up to the. series tne famous polonaise Op. 65. In this last-mentioned piece Paderewski achieved one of liia most notable successes. To describe the rendering would be an impertinence—it was a procession of glorious effects —but we may mention that through all the intensity of passion the polonaise form and tempo were strictly observed, and that the crowning manifestation of power was the. wonderful crescendo for the left hand. A minuet by Paderewski himself came next-, and in it the audience discovered a tested favorite composition, but played as it was never played before in Dunedin. The final part, by the way, was omitted. In response to a general request, this minuet was repeated. Last of the announced pieces was Liszt’s ‘ Rhapsodic No. 2,’ and of this it must suffice to remark that the exposition given was so thoroughly interesting as to explain to the hearers what some of them had not previously understood—nameiv. wmy the rhapsodic was written. Padere.wl ski was well over (he music all the t'imr—• he had it all unravelled and brought into agreement and subject to interpretation. And he is the iir.st pianist we have had here ol whom that can be said without qualification. The audience once more insisting upon an encore. Paderewski played Liszt's ‘ I-a Cam pan el la ’ in a style all his own. and the concert ended at 10.10 p.m. Just one word, in conclusion. Padere.wrki’s playing is to the paoplc and for the people. Players, of course, hear much mors in it than non-players do. Nevertheless, all can appreciate the great, master. That is the secret of his power—that he can play straight to the heart. Moreover, he docs not work upon one’s emotions. We haVc hoard other pianists who could arouse as much parsing enthusiasm as he does. We have never heard one who so satisfies the, ear with restfulness and loaves such an abiding influence. The second and final concert in Dunedin is announced for this evening.