CHERNIAVSKY BROTHERS

Evening Star, Issue 15817, 31 May 1915, Page 2

CHERNIAVSKY BROTHERS

, . Froin the North caiVie a rumor to the eiTect that tlie three young Russia'n musicians were . on thftir present tour, of New Zealand plavnig any boid of stuff to draw the crowd. Disregarding that repdit, and having si foil? faith in /the? conscientiousness of the brothers who a.s rmin«seers labored 1 so hard to climb the ladder of .fame, our Duncdiu citizens went in numbers to the Burns Hall on Saturday,night—the house in which Leo, Jan, and Mischel Che.iniavsky first appeared ia thi3 town, at Christmas of 1908—and had the satisfaction of having placed in their hands a programme which dispelled all doubt, it being made up of music from standard composers. It was a. large audience, consisting mostly of singers and players, past or present : persons who can appreciate music. If the.-weather had been i-easoii'abl'v ""*»£ the hall would have been crowded. As it was. quite a number who had Bought tickets would not venture out in the ram arid others postponed their visit, but when they hear the judgment of those who did attend thev arc sure to arrange about going en Wednesday evening, even if assailed by a storm. For the concert was a great success. The preliminaries, it must ba admitted, were not such as to put the patroris in a sood temper. Many expressed the opinion that it was unfair to keep the people waiting for a quarter of an hour oh. a cold night without any mention in the advertisements that the mu's-.c was to begin at 8.15. One could also hear a little, murmuring as to a charge being made, for the programme. It is the custom tii some countries to regard the programme as an extra, and ones or twice the practice has been introduced into New Zealand, but it is not the rule, and our people think the fact should have been announced, so that they might have had the threepences ready. It | is; a small matter, nevertheless worth mentioning. Of more consequence, the programme, after being charged for. was not adhered fo. A whole movement was omitted from the violoncello concerto, and in two instances later on alterations were made, without any explanation. This sort of thing leads to confusion , and the ransacking of memory, and such a state of affairs is dead against the interests of the performers, since tiieir doings can be best appreciated when the audience are in a restful and receptive mood. The omitting of the concerto movement is not in itself a matter-for complaint, for the programme was a long one. The mistake was to have it on the' programme if it was to be cut out. This comes of having iho programmes printed in a far-awav place beforehand. But the masterful playing of the brothers Cc.ermaysky obliterated thesj passing grievances, livery bar of evorv composition" presented was full of interest, and there was not a tedious moment, the whole evening. That is a great thing to be able to state as a literal fact and without reservation. Critics who went to hear, as a matter of dui-v. intending to go back to the fireside after the first part, remained to the finish of the concert, being loth to miss a note. As the performers walked on to tiieir places it was noted that they have become quite grown up. They arc no longer boys'. Mischel towers over the "cello that lie used in hide behind. As soon as they began fo plav—it was the first of the two trios by Mendelssohn—the audience became aware that -thev have miproved professionally as well as physically. Leo gets more tone than before from his violin, or perhaps it would be preferable fo. ray'that his firm tone is more constant, for he always had good tone in patches. Also, his playing is niore canonical. As a- b'ov he 'ore off brilliant fragments, and, as it wore, tossed them to his hearers, whereas he now has the patience to hold back and make the better effect . with embellishing intricacies. He is a. sounder and therefore a better player. The correspondence of hi; hands is well-nigh faultless, resulting in an entire absence of smean'uess. and his ear is true and keen, very little interval-mending beins necessary Jan's work at the piano fa good Broadwoodi also surprised the hearers. He has acquired wondrous finger dexterity and a great variety of touch, and he steers clear of_ the temptation to show off these accomplishments, in proof of which statement we ask the audience to recall his modest entrances upon ponderous left-hand passages j that lead up to something. Misehel, mi the 'cello, mjv not be quite so learned as his brothers—he is still the junior, and one noticed that in this trio he watched Leo instead of keeping his eyes on the music: but he has appreciably gained in tone, whilst his bowing certainly-suggested the Geiardv sl,yle. Marvellously gifted young men. the three of them, and in absolute accord, ibis enabling them i,o .work out with peculiar success many small details of the trio that are often allowed to go. Never for an instant did cue riot over the others. The ensemble was perfect. It was a correct- and gladdening interpretation, of the trio, the scherzo a masterpiece. Mischel was listened fo with much satisfaction as he played the second a'nd first movements of G'otte-rmanu's violoncello concerto ;op. 44i. and Jan's clever j presentation on the piano of the "all kinds j of musick " was of very great- assistance to I

a musicianly interpretation. Miscbel is less fiery than most, players of his age. Ho seems to meditate and enjoy as ho goes on. He delights iu delicate shades of expression, and lias flip gift of imagination. In reserve he has a fine sonorous tone of very rich quality. If thetc was any weakness, it was in a passage for thirds, and then only for a moment. He is a player that the world respects and will some day reward. In answer to a great encore Mischel gave S?chubori.'s ' Wiegenlicd' on muted strings. The interpretation was perhaps a little on the fanciful side, and in thai respect new to us, but. it was better so than to be, as some interpretations of this slumber song are, merely soft and dull. Mischel treated the hearers" to a beautiful display of rich and varied tone. .Jans solos for the piano were Chopin's ' Nocturne in D Flat.' _and the same composer's 'Study, op. 25. No. 3,' and then, by request. List's ' Hungarian Rhapsodie No. 6.' instead of Chopin's 'Scherzo in IJ Flab Minor.' After these performaucas .Tan tried to dodge the encore, but the people would have him play again, and he gave a valse by Chopin.' A student might write a lot a'bout these performances. They were exceptionally clever iu respect to technique, and singularly honest, in the sense of exploring the subject in hand, and the interpretations were governed by ripened thought and a degree of culture but rarely at the command of a young man. Jan's execution is simply marvellous. He must practice very hard. Leo's solo task was in the violin concerto by Yieuxtcnips iop. 31), No. 4, in T) minor. The main theme and also the tributaries of this work arc singularly simple and attractive, and it, was" a pleasure to hear the soloist making the most of these by downright good plavini. ins! cod of foilowing the bad custom of" some voting players who in such compositions bestow most of their thought on the passages in which technical difficulties affright them. Leo nicely distinguished between the main subject, a nd.. Iho subordinate, and exercised all his options after the manner of a man fhrice his age. His fast work was noticeably clean and even, and he might have been excused if be had therein done a lit tie. showing off. but his knowledge and taste, kept him on the Tight path. Leo's encore contributions were a berceuse by Townsend and a valso by Kreislcr. By way of wind-up wo had three trios arranged as such by the players themselves—a serenade bv Vvidor. then Mendelssohn's ' Spring Song' (not on the programme), and ihen. a. 'Hungarian Dance' by Brahms, Schubert's • Moment Musical' being kept' back for the encore, [jast of all. answering the second encore, the Cherniavslcys played the. Russian, French, and British National Anthems. li. was a. memorable concert. The next concert is fixed for Wednesday.