We repeat it, we can say nothing more, but that we wish to hear him as much as possible.
And here his biographer, after thus expressing, in terms the most affectionate and flattering, his inability to say more that would add to a fame so great, so nobly and so rapidly won throughout Cuba, France, and Spain,—here he closes the record.
With all these brilliant and remarkable achievements, with all these rare honors so enthusiastically awarded him by the most distinguished, the very élite, of the musical profession, both singly and combinedly, and by the sovereigns of France and Italy, White might well have rested, indulging himself in no further acquisitions.
But men of such transcendent powers, men within whose souls the fire of musical genius so brightly burns, cannot stop; for the essence, the very soul, of music, is the predominating, the all-absorbing quality that forms their natures; and therefore it is that their ever new, their ever charmingly beautiful revelations in divine harmony, cease only when the sacred flame is extinguished by death itself. Thus, then, it was with the subject of our sketch, who was to gain new laurels in still another country. To speak of the same briefly is the cause of this continuance of his history.
Although born so near the United States (in Cuba), White had never until the year 1876 visited this country. In that year, however, he came to New York. In keeping with that modesty of demeanor, which, despite the many and rare honors he had won in Europe, had ever characterized him, he came to our shores unpreceded by that blowing of trumpets (usually paid for) which generally heralds the approach of the foreign artist; and quietly, unostentatiously addressing himself to the duties that belonged to his beloved art, little was heard of him by the general public for some time. But such almost marvellous power as this artist, this master, possessed, could not long remain unrevealed. People of musical culture were ere long electrified by the sweet tones of wondrous melody which with perfect ease he drew from his violin. That terrible barrier so often, even at the present time, erected in this country, that shameful obstruction, color prejudice, could not long withstand the attacks of this quiet yet courageous musical genius; and people, at first indifferent because of his complexion, were won anon to his favor, not alone by his exceptional skill as a performer, but also by the polish, the ease and dignity, of his manners, so refreshingly free from ostentatious affectation on the one hand, or hesitating timidity on the other. They found that he was indeed the true, the conscientious artist, who loved music for its own sake, and was imbued with a spirit of truthful enthusiasm, in such pleasing contrast with the characteristics exhibited by many of the foreign artists who had preceded him, as to render the same decidedly charming. The possession of these rare traits of character served, of course, to add to the attractiveness of a form which was one of most pleasing symmetry.
A knowledge of his great abilities as a soloist spreading among musicians in New York, he was induced to appear in public. It is needless to say that his success was unequivocal. Of the impression he made in New York, a city that has so often been the scene of the success or failure of the foreign artist, I shall call another person—a purely disinterested and competent art critic—to testify in the following, written from New York to "The Musician and Artist" of Boston of March, 1876:—
"Joseph White is in some respects the best violinist who has visited this country within my remembrance, not excepting Wieniawski. He and his companion Ignasio Cervantes, pianist, made their appearance in this city some few months since, very modestly advertised, and unheralded by any sensational newspaper paragraphs, and at their very first concert insured themselves undoubted future success. This success has been due entirely to White; for, although Cervantes is quite a nice pianist, he is nothing wonderful. But White was a revelation. His first New-York introduction to a large general audience was at a philharmonic concert (the date of which I cannot now recall), when he played the Mendelssohn concerto and the Bach chaconne. The Mendelssohn concerto was excellently played, especially the last movement; but it was in the Bach chaconne that he proved how really good he was. I have heard this composition by every violinist of eminence (except Vieuxtemps) who has visited our city; but I never heard so satisfactory a playing of it. The three voices flowed on so smoothly and evenly, never seeming to be in each other's way: there always seemed to be plenty of bow, and just in the right place for each individual voice to receive exactly its due prominence. The vociferous recall that followed this worthy performance was well earned. White is a Cuban mulatto, fine-looking, and extremely gentlemanly in appearance and conversation. A Brooklyn writer speaks of him as follows: 'His style is perfection itself; his bowing is superb, and his tone exquisite. His execution is better than Ole Bull's; he possesses more feeling than Wieniawski; the volume of his tone is greater than that of Vieuxtemps.' All of which I indorse."
On March 12, 1876, he appeared in New York as soloist at a grand concert given by that justly celebrated and almost perfect body of musicians, the Theodore Thomas orchestra. His performances on this and several previous occasions elicited the most enthusiastic and unbounded praise from the critical "Arcadian" and the other New-York papers, nearly all of whom placed him beside the three or four great violin-artists of the world.
On the 26th of March, 1876, White appeared at a grand concert given in the Boston Theatre, in company with Levy the renowned cornetist. I shall long and delightfully remember the emotions of thrilling pleasure produced in my own breast by this virtuoso's magnetic execution, and the feelings of joyful pride that I experienced when witnessing, on this occasion, his great triumph. After he had played the first few bars of the "Ballade et Polonaise" by Vieuxtemps, the audience felt that he was a master; and his reception readily became a grand ovation. He received a double encore after the performance of each regular number on the programme. But of his grand success on this occasion I shall let the journals of Boston of March 27, 1876, speak.