| Sinfonia, MS., composed expressly for this Society, and first time of performance | F. MENDELSSOHNBARTHOLDY. |
| Duetto, Madame Cinti Damoreau and Signor Rubini, ‘Ricciardo che veggo!’ (Ricciardo e Zoraide) | ROSSINI. |
| Concerto Violin, M. De Beriot | DE BERIOT. |
| Aria, Madame Cinti Damoreau, ‘En vain j’espère’ (Robert le Diable) | MEYERBEER. |
| Jubilee Overture | C. M. VONWEBER. |
Leader, Mr. Weichsel.—Conductor, Mr. Mendelssohn Bartholdy. | |
Whatever defects were apparent in the fifth Concert, were fully atoned for by the sixth, in which the most fastidious critic could find only one piece of a doubtful kind, and but one that was not performed in a perfect manner.
Haydn’s symphony, in D, is too generally known and admired to need any remark. M. Mendelssohn’s, composed in pursuance of a resolution of this Society, by which he was requested to write a symphony, overture, and vocal piece, on liberal terms, is a composition that will endure for ages, if we may presume to judge such a work on a single performance. The first movement, an allegro vivace, in A, without any slow opening, speaks at once the highly excited state of the author’s imagination, and the fine flow of his animal spirits, when he wrote it: so full of brilliant conceptions is this, and so rapid their succession, that it would be a hopeless attempt to analyse it without either having heard it several times, or having the score to refer to. We may say the same of the finale, which has this peculiarity—that it is in the minor of the key in which the symphony commences. The slow movement in D minor is not less distinguished by ingenuity of a very rare description, and beauty of the most discernible kind, than by its undisputed, unquestionable originality: this was loudly encored. The scherzo, in A, and trio, in E, shew genius of a high order in every bar. And, to be brief, the manner in which the whole work was received, by the most critical, the best qualified audience that London (now full of eminent foreign musicians) could assemble, bears us out in what we have said, and would justify us were we to add still more in praise of this masterly production.
The Overture by M. Pixis, now performed for the first time here, begins in a promising manner, with some good harmony, well distributed among the wind instruments; but as it proceeds, it falls off most lamentably, and the greater part of the composition is nothing but noise without design or order, and really seemed to us as if written for that fair which is annually held on the site of Smithfield market.
The performance of Mozart’s Concerto by M. Mendelssohn was perfect. The scrupulous exactness with which he gave the author’s text, without a single addition or new reading of his own, the precision in his time, together with the extraordinary accuracy of his execution, excited the admiration of all present; and this was increased, almost to rapture, by his two extemporaneous cadences, in which he adverted with great address to the subjects of the concerto, and wrought up his audience almost to the same pitch of enthusiasm which he himself had arrived at. The whole of this concerto he played from memory.
A not less admirable performance was M. De Beriot’s on the violin. As a composition, his concerto, in B minor, is entitled to high and unqualified praise; his subjects are new, pleasing, and skilfully treated, and his instrumentation, the orchestral parts of his work, prove him to be a most able musician: but his execution of this indeed ‘beggars description.’ Words cannot convey a just notion of the fulness and beauty of his tone, the certainty of his double, his triple, stops, the truth of his harmonics,—which, useless as they are, he introduced, we conclude, merely to show his power—the brilliancy of his execution, and the delicacy of his taste. We certainly never heard the violin so played, and the only fault we have to find with M. de Beriot is, that he condescended to introduce once, it not twice, certain pizzicato notes, and thus seemed to sanction a piece of quackery which he must despise. The room rung with the plaudits he drew forth, and it is said to be the intention of the directors to engage M. de Beriot for the eighth concert, being the last.
Signor Rubini refrained, as much as with him is possible, from roulades in the aria of Mozart, and his alternations of fortissimo and pianissimo were more moderate; indeed, he pretty nearly equalized his tones; but this is the only commendation we can bestow on his performance of ‘O Cara Immagine.’ In his duet with Mad. Cinti, his passionate style told better; and here again he spared us those bursts by which he caricatures so much of what is assigned to him. Mad. Cinti was delightful in the aria from Figaro. A universal encore of this proved how completely she had charmed her audience. She was not less excellent in the air of Meyerbeer, though this did not tell so well as the other. In fact the concert was long, and many people were moving off to evening parties.
EXTRACTS FROM THE DIARY OF A DILETTANTE.
[Resumed from [page 109].]
April 28th. One of the greatest prôneurs of Signor Paganini has been the editor of La Revue Musicale; but in his last number, speaking of this artist’s recent performance in Paris, he says, Paganini was not on the present occasion equal to what he has been, and it appeared to us that he was not quite satisfied with himself. Is it not more likely that the fit of enthusiasm, excited by novelty, or by a well got up exhibition, is giving way to dispassionate observation and cool criticism?