In lieu of an abstract, here is a brief excerpt of the content:

19 Review of a Concert by M. R. The New Age, August 5, 1926 Kaikhosru Sorabji I know no great pianist of Rosenthal’s rank and importance who is more unsatisfactory , uneven and so curiously de¤cient. In the last Beethoven Sonata and the Chopin B Minor, one was irritated almost beyond endurance at the ®abby shapelessness of his phrases, the ®oppy, sagging rhythm, the general looseness of texture of the playing, and the lack of grip and clear-cut conception of the work as a whole, to say nothing of the false emphasis, magni¤cation and exaggeration of subsidiary and secondary matter, almost complete loss of sight of ground-plan, noisy muddy climaxes, degenerating into mere welter, a dead, hard, dry tone—due in a certain measure to a very indifferent piano and an almost entire lack of living, vital quality in the playing generally. This is, as far as I am concerned, no new experience with Rosenthal’s playing, and every time I hear him I am more con¤rmed in my original opinion of him, formed some fourteen or ¤fteen years ago, as the salon-player in excelsis, but in no sense a great interpretative artist. In light elegancies he is matchless; and the polish, grace and charm of his playing in things like his own delicious and monstrously intricate “Carnaval Viennois,” for instance, in debonair désinvolture are indescribable . His sense and feeling for the lilt of the Strauss waltz-rhythm are incomparable , and scarcely is it possible to sit still under the buoyant intoxication of the thing at his hands. In these things and his own “Papillons”he is enchanting beyond words—his qualities of miraculously clear, rapid and crystalline¤nger work and his urbane aristocratic style are seen at their very best. Singularly enough, his playing of “Triana” of Albéniz was stiff and stilted; for one had imagined that this music would have suited his style to perfection. Kaikhosru Shapurji Sorabji (1892–1988) was a Parsi-English composer, critic, and writer on music famous for allowing performances of his music only upon his consent, which he almost never gave. His collected published writings have been brought out by the Sorabji Archive (Bath, England, 1995). Karol Mikuli. Rafael Joseffy. Liszt and his pupils, on his 73rd birthday, October 22, 1884: Front row: Saul Liebling, Alexander Siloti, Arthur Friedheim, Emil von Sauer, Alfred Reisenauer, Alexander Gottschalg. Back row: Moriz Rosenthal, Viktoria Drewing, Mele Paramanov, Franz Liszt, Friedheim’s mother, Hugo Mansfeldt. Photo by Louis Held, Weimar. Moriz Rosenthal, 1888. Silhouette by Hans Schließman, ca. 1890. Moriz Rosenthal playing chess, 1930s. Photo courtesy of Musical America. Program performed at the Curtis Institute of Music, Philadelphia, on February 8, 1928. Moriz Rosenthal, 1938. Seventy-¤fth birthday concert, December 19, 1937, during a reception after performing with the NBC Symphony: Rosina Lhévinne (wearing brooch), Josef Hofmann, Adele Kanner Rosenthal, Moriz Rosenthal, Ernest Schelling, Josef Lhévinne. ...

Share