works, and the pictures sent by Messrs. Poynter, Hodgson, Marks, Leslie, and Boughton are worthy of them; but what seem to me, for one reason or another, to be the most notable achievements by painters of the Academy are those of the President and Messrs. Hook, Orchardson, Ouless, Brett, and E. J. Gregory. The last-mentioned sends but one work, and it is remarkable not at all on account of its size, nor even of its subject, though that is a pretty one. It is called "The Intruders" (178), and shows us the flurry of some swans who find one of their favourite haunts occupied by a house-boat and peopled by pretty young ladies in coloured muslin. Its design and sentiment are charming, real enough but idyllic, the poetry found not invented, but still there, and its dexterous handling, brilliant sunshine, and gay effective colour make it one of the most notable works of the year. The portraits of Mr. Ouless are remarkable for their colour, as well as for their character and refinement. That which combines these qualities most perfectly is, perhaps, his admirable likeness of his brother Academician, "Mr. J. E. Hodgson" (244), which deserves the epithet "masterly" in the fullest sense. Full of character and life and artistic beauties also are his heads of "Mr. Bancroft " (190) and "Mr. Henry Whiting" (490). Mr. Orchardson's "Mariage de Convenance" (341), a lamplight scene, in a large and luxurious dining-room, tells its story plainly-somewhat over-plainly perhaps. The distance which separates the ill-mated couple is very obviously figured in the long table at the opposite ends of which they are seated. The pomp for which she has sold herself, the majestic beauty which he has purchased (soul included), are set before us in no doubtful manner. But the power of the design is excelled by the brilliance of the painting. Luminous as all Mr. Orchardson's work is, it is doubtful whether he has ever produced anything so luminous as this, or a harmony so rich. It is also doubtful whether so large a room would be so perfectly illuminated by one lamp, and there is a gold reflection in the left-hand corner of it which seems specially miraculous; but we are content to be deceived a little to gain so much pleasure. On the opposite side of the gallery, and as opposite as possible to it in aim, is Sir Frederick Leighton's "Cymon and Iphigenia" (278), the only work of his this year that demands special notice. In this case we have to lament no real or apparent loss of power. Careful study, refined draughtsmanship, and well-considered composition are as apparent in this as in all the President's work. The beauty of Iphigenia is unquestionable, and the arrangement of the drapery is learned and elegant. The principal fault of the latter is perhaps its abundance. Little less praise is to be given to the figures of the sleeping attendants the man with his head between his knees, the woman with the child pillowed on her side, are separately beautiful and fresh studies, charming not less by fineness of form than naturalness of pose. Cymon is less successful. He is too refined for his part-too motionless and emotionless. The contrast between the untutored hind and the sleeping beauty is lost. Nevertheless, analyse the work as you will, you come upon many and distinct beauties of delicate modelling and thorough draughtsmanship; and, if the different parts of the design do not blend into one perfect vision, it is a composition which very few artists now alive could excel. But, having achieved his design, the President has lighted and coloured it in such an unnatural manner that it seems a work of superfine artifice rather than fine art. The strange illumination which turns the beauty and her drapery into amber and ivory is very local in its effect, more like

what would be produced by a lamp than the dawn or the afterglow. Both it and the colouring, sweet and strange, are, no doubt, partly aesthetic, partly symbolical, and have been planned with care equal to that bestowed upon the design; but they are not natural, are not even what, surely, the most "ideal" design should be-suggestive of nature. A pamphlet has been published by the Fine Art Society, intended, apparently, to herald the advent of a photogravure of this picture. If it is not written in the best taste and best English, it is at least illustrated in the best possible way. It contains facsimiles from the beautiful chalk studies, and wood-engravings of the little figures which the artist made for his composition. It raises regret that so much loving care and rare skill should have had such imperfect fruition. The only consolation is that the picture will probably gain more than it loses by translation or retranslation into black and white. Another work showing very considerable imaginative power, though of a different order, is Mr. Waterhouse's "Consulting the Oracle" (559). In a low-lighted Oriental chamber a number of women are seated in a semi-circle waiting, with well-varied expressions of awe and expectation, the message of the diviner, who, with a face charged with a "fine frenzy," is standing with her ear applied to the hideous mummied head or Teraph. The contrast between the two heads is a "thrilling" one, and the gesture of the diviner is as fine as her face. Mr. Waterhouse has always been remarkable for the originality and effectiveness of his design, but this revelation of emotional imagination is surprising. The colour leaves much to be desired; it is rich and varied, but uncontrolled; and there is a want of space and air, due mainly, perhaps, to the heavy colour of the trellised wood-work which closes the farther side of the room. Far better in these respects is Mr. Seymour Lucas'" After Culloden: Rebel-hunting" (881), the only satisfactory purchase for the Chantrey bequest, if indeed it be not, as I think it is, the finest picture of the year. We see the interior of a smithy, with several stalwart smiths round an anvil on which one has just laid a horseshoe hissing hot, the centre of the light and colour of the picture, and in itself an admirable piece of true painting. Behind, some soldiers are entering, not apparently without hesitation as they confront these brawny fellows, one of whom, resting on his hammer, meets them with a fearless and somewhat defiant air; at the side a stair indicates a means of retreat of which the rebel has probably already availed himself. So the story tells itself perfectly. It is a thorough piece of good painter's art from beginning to end, worthy of the best traditions of our school, and owing nothing to foreign influence. Despite the horseshoe, and the ruddy glow of fire in the chimney, and the general prevalence of warm brown, the colour is not "hot ;" and the gradual transition of light from the interior to the open air is managed with great skill. Nor should we omit to praise the painting of the dusky flesh of the men, or the fine drawing of the horse in the foreground, whose cool gray hide and dark markings are of the greatest value to the picture. A recent trip round the northern islands has furnished Mr. Brett with much excellent material, fruitful in many characteristic works; and the subject of one of these is so fine, and its treatment so impressive, that a "first notice" of the Academy would be incomplete without it. This is "Macleod's Maidens, Skye (Natural Sculpture)" (395). These three strange isolated rocks, carved by the winds and the waves into the semblance of seated figures of stupendous size, like the gigantic sculptures of Egypt, have been painted with the usual skill and veracity of the artist. Their strange resemblance to

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human figures, and to the work of human hands, gives just that touch of poetry to Mr. Brett's work for want of which it often fails to reach our sympathy. It is possible that in the first view of the Academy some works equally notable as these may have escaped attention, but the pictures I have mentioned seem to me at present to be those which, for some quality or another, are so distinguished that they will be always memorable. Many pictures of great merit I have undoubtedly passed by for the present, many able works by well-known hands, many promising works of new ones; and the achievements of foreign artists, which form a great attraction, I have intentionally postponed for future notice. Subjecting the sculpture to the same test, I find that among English artists two works stand out prominently as things of beauty." One of these is Mr. Alfred Gilbert's "Icarus" (1855) the other Mr. Hamo Thornycroft's "Mower" (1856). The latter, in purely English work, is the nearest approach to "Millet in marble that I have seen. Millet often reached the statu esque, Mr. Thornycroft here reaches humanity. Starting from different points, they have com near to one another, the one finding in art the means of expressing his profound sentiment for the honour of labour, the other in a labourer the material for the expression of a fresh artistic aim. And this statue is another proof of the rare width of Mr. Thornycroft's artistic sympathy. He has given us a Diana and a Teucer fine in style, but full of life. But that the essentials of art are always the same, no mode could be more different from the mode of these than that of his statuette of Lord Beaconsfield. It is s change from nature to custom, from the em bodiment of beauty and strength to the incar nation of politeness, elderly and astute. And now he gives us a rustic (braceless, but by n means bootless), and makes artistic capital out of a yokel's slouch and uncompromising highlows; but he keeps his style, and uses it to express the labour-moulded grace of an uncouth hind, the monumental dignity of untaught strength. On more worn ground, but with a sure and individual step, treads Mr. Gilbert. It is in no academic attitude that his "Icarus" stands, pausing as he well may be fore he takes his fatal leap. It is well felt and well modelled throughout, a thing beautiful not so much by the supreme beauty of its ty as by its admirable poise and sincere imagin tion. It is vital and impressive work. If ther is any other English sculptor whose work seems to me to demand a notice in this very restricted article it is Mr. Boehm. Among many lifelik busts that of "Lord Wolseley (1722) struck me most, probably because he has been "taken so often, and neither in paint nor clay have I seen so true a likeness. Of both ideal and por traiture there is something memorable in this year's sculpture, and of cats as well as men. Mr. Thornycroft has a cat monumental but essential, and Miss Alice Chaplin has cats quite absurdly real. The one would guard the portal of a palace and you can almost hear the others COSMO MONKHOUSE.

purr.

THE GROSVENOR GALLERY.

I.

THE exhibition at the Grosvenor Gallery is one of average merit, and to a certain extent distinctive, because the pre-Raphaelite school, which in recent years had shown sgas of diminished vigour, has this time endeavoure to re-assert its claims to notice. Unfortunately, there is no falling off in the number of crude amateurish works, admitted according to custom to the gallery, which in too many instances occupy prominent places. These greatly lower the character of the collection, and detract

from the pleasure to be derived from the many works deserving of serious consideration. The exhibition would certainly gain in interest, and still more strongly maintain its right to a separate existence, were an attempt made to introduce to the notice of the public some foreign painters who in their own country occupy debateable ground, and whose aims and method depart in some measure from the ordinary highways. Such, for instance, are Puvis de Chavannes and Gustave Moreau in France, and the Swiss painter Böcklin, whose beautiful but eccentric works have for years been as hotly discussed in Germany as in our own country those of Mr. Burne-Jones and the late D. G. Rossetti.

Mr. Burne-Jones exhibits this year a work, in his very best manner, which in point of technical skill and mastery of execution far transcends anything he has yet accomplished, This is "King Cophetua and the Beggar Maid" (69). The king, clad in a full suit of fantastically designed mail, over which he wears a rich, many-hued garment, kneels reverently before the maid on the steps of a magnificent throne or inner chamber, the walls and steps of which are overlaid with thin plates of beaten gold of strange, almost Assyrian design. He holds in both hands a jewelled crown, which he is about to place on the head of the maid, who sits in silent awe on the upper steps of the throne, wearing scanty, sad-coloured garments. Above, and looking over the back of the throne, are two youthful male figures, wearing the painter's favourite rainbow-coloured robes; and beyond is seen a door of semi-Egyptian pattern. As an imaginative design the picture has many noble and pathetic qualities, and would be completely satisfactory were it not that the countenance of the maid, which is in every respect the central point of the picture, lacks human interest and insufficiently expresses the painter's meaning. Mr. Burne-Jones has unfortunately been unable even here to break away from his favourite type of female beauty, with its expression of hopeless abstracted melancholy; and the picture suffers accordingly. Many portions, such as the armour, the golden walls with their curious reflections, and especially the king's shield, are treated with extraordinary technical skill and yet properly subordinated to the main design. There are also many of those exquisite passages of colour in which the painter delights. Exception may, perhaps, be taken to the garments of the maid, which are so hard in fold as to suggest metal rather than drapery. The whole work, and especially the noble figure of the king, has a strong flavour of Mantegna, without being an imitation of any work of that great painter. Mr. Burne-Jones's second contribution, "A Wood Nymph," is an agreeable, if somewhat monotonously coloured, decorative work in which varying shades of green are harmoniously treated.

Mr. Spencer Stanhope sends "Patience on a Monument smiling at Grief" (211), an eccentric example of the pseudo-quattrocentist school, in which the extraordinary angularity of the forms and draperies is not redeemed by real intensity of feeling or insight. His interpretation of the well-known lines has at any rate the merit of novelty, if it cannot be otherwise commended. The melancholy lady (or Patience?) sits on a mortuary monument in an Italian garden decorated with statues of dubious shape, siniling sadly on an embodied figure of Grief lying prone at her feet. Surely here is a strange confusion of the poet's meaning! Mr. Strudwick sends two designs similar in style to the foregoing, and with even less real intensity of purpose. These are "The Ten Virgins" (45) and "A Story Book" (193). By Mr. Walter Crane is "The Bridge of Life," an elaborate composition, con

taining numerous figures, and evidently carefully thought out. Unfortunately, as a decorative work the picture does not fulfil its object; and it contains, besides, much very defective drawing of the nude, and, what is rarer with this artist, some inharmonious composition. Mr. Rooke cannot be said to have made an advance with his companion pictures, "Daphne flying from the Sun" (229) and 'Clytie turning towards the Sun" (240), though both works contain some good drawing and careful painting. The conception is in neither case adequate, and real pathos is wanting, while the draperies are impossible in fold, and the treatment of the hair is almost precisely similar to that of the garments. Mr. Holman Hunt contributes a portrait of the late D. G. Rossetti (265), which is apparently an early work, and has a certain historical interest as being a portrait of one member of the original preRaphaelite brotherhood by another of the band. M. A. Legros has "Women praying in a Church Porch" (216), a work which recalls an earlier and more complete one from the same hand, and which, notwithstanding its perfect sincerity and many noble qualities, cannot be said to attain the high level of excellence shown in other instances by the artist. "A Rocky Landscape" (209), by the same, is far more successful, and may take place as M. Legros' best landscape. Notwithstanding the extreme simplicity of the composition, its perfect truth and pathetic suggestiveness render it worthy to rank with the productions of the great French school of landscape represented by Millet, Corot, and Théodore Rousseau. A little more firmness in the foreground would perhaps add to the charm of the middle and far distance. M. Legros also exhibits works in bronze and marble, to which we hope to return later.

portrait of the "Marquis of Lorne" (106), in which the costume, including a richly furred pelisse, is treated with great breadth and skill: the head, on the other hand, is somewhat hard, and lacks refinement.

Mr. Watts has sent a group of portraits, two imaginative designs, and a large landscape study, of which the last-mentioned is, perhaps, the most completely successful. None of the portraits are entitled to take the first rank among the painter's long series of similar delineations, though all contain a measure of that large sympathy which in his works is never wanting, and which enables him to grasp and set forth the more noble and subtle characteristics, both mental and physical, of the men and women he represents-to suggest on the canvas the portrait of the mind as well as of the body. In this rarest of all gifts Mr. Watts has no rivals, or indeed emulators, among English painters, and but few among living Continental artists. Among the present series the portrait of "Earl Lytton" (134) is, perhaps, the most successful, though its harmony of tone is marred by the peculiar blue of the eyeball, which, in consequence of the low tone of the picture, acquires a somewhat unpleasant prominence. The landscape study," Rain passing away," is beautiful and pathetic in the grand simplicity of its design, and would be almost completely successful from a technical point of view but for the attempt to represent a rainbow. It is strange that the only two examples of the highest order of landscape in the exhibition-the present picture and that of M. Legros, already referred to-should be the work of figure-painters.

Mr. Alma Tadema's contribution consists of three portraits painted on the larger scale to which he has of late accustomed us. The portrait of the Italian sculptor, "Sig. Amendola" (8), who is represented in studio dress, wearing a Turkish fez, and holding in his hand a statuette of silver and bronze, is a masterpiece of firm and searching modelling and successful characterisation. The painter has exhibited all his marvellous skill in rendering the accessories, and especially the statuette on which the sculptor is at work, while resisting the temptation to give them undue prominence. The painting of the flesh and treatment of the hair are perhaps not absolutely satisfactory on so large a scale, but even hypercriticism could scarcely find any other fault with this picture. Another remarkable portrait by the same artist is that of "Herr Löwenstam" (143), represented in the act of etching from a picture that hangs before him, half obscured by the penetrating rays of the sun, which enter from above. Here Mr. Alma Mel-Tadema has painted with greater breadth and lightness of touch-so much so, indeed, as to suggest at the first glance rather a production of the more modern French school than a work from his well-known hand. CLAUDE PHILLIPS.

Mr. W. B. Richmond contributes a number of portraits of varying merit, some of which attain a high level of excellence, while others are of less interest, though in all there is evident a thoroughness of modelling and care in composition particularly grateful at the present time. He has been very happily inspired in his charming picture "May" (184), the portrait of a young and beautiful woman represented seated, with her hands on a keyed instrument, in the attitude of St. Cecilia. The arrangement of the lines of the picture, if somewhat studied, is yet exceedingly happy. It is, however, not quite clear why it should have been deemed necessary to make the tints of the flesh and hair, the dress, and the background almost identical; the composition certainly loses by this arrangement. The portrait of "Lord Cranborne" (205) is carefully modelled, but somewhat hard; while in the full-length of the "Hon. R. L. ville" (37) the head is nobly drawn and treated, but the costume and accessories have undue prominence, and detract from the effect of the picture as a portrait. Among other portraits by the same artist may be cited that of "Miss Rose Mirless" (81), which has much simplicity and charm.

SALE OF ALBERT LEVY'S PICTURES. It was a somewhat bold venture on the part of Mr. Millais to have placed in juxtaposition his THE collection of that well-known amateur, superb and well-remembered portrait of "Miss the late Albert Levy, was sold at Christie's on Nina Lehmann" (57), painted in 1869, and his Saturday. It contained many excellent picnew portrait of the same lady-now Lady tures and a few good drawings, and of the Campbell-(62). The former is one of his most pictures many had the additional interest of complete and admirable works, and is one to having been formerly in the cabinets of famous which Englishmen are glad to point as an owners. Of the David Cox drawings-most of example of perfect technique from the hand of which were of his later and freer period-we one of their painters. The new portrait, though note "Caernarvon Castle," a brilliant sketch, in it the master-hand is still visible, and there which fetched 75 guineas; and "Stokesay is much to admire-especially the elegant Castle"-seen on a cloudy day in the year poise and treatment of the head-does not 1852-95 guineas. Of the oil pictures by the support comparison with the earlier one either same master, we should chronicle " Going to as regards the painting of the flesh, the com- the Hayfield," 135 guineas (Maclean), and plete and harmonious rendering of the surround-"The Hayfield," from the Field Collection, 150 ings, or general charm and accomplishment. guineas. Both were small works. A fine and Mr. Millais shows besides in this gallery a luminous example of Old Crome, "Hautbois

a little too much. We would therefore counsel to Miss Edmiston, whose performances are never lacking in tastefulness, a greater measure of abandonment. She has worked hard already to acquire art, and with so much success that she may now fairly be invited to work yet harder to acquire more fully the appearance of nature. The air of great surprise was wanting to her, we fancied, when she read what Mdlle. de Belle Isle had never seen before, and must have been marvellously astonished to see-the Duc's mendacious and boastful letter. Volume and passion were sometimes absent from her voice when she would have gained by their employment, but her management of her effects at the end of the third act, when her lover absolutely refuses to believe her protestations any more, was both ingenious and skilled. Here, indeed, and in many other places besides, she fairly carried her audience with her. On the whole, she was well supported. Mr. Macklin, by his excellent presence, the quiet assurance of his carriage, his composure, and his undeniable acquaintance with stage resource, made a sufficient Duc de Richelieu; Mr. Mark Quinton, as the Chevalier Daubigny, the lover, was earnest, if not distinguished; and the lady who played the part of Richelieu's wife-she would appear to have been married to him only in secret in the English version, as she is styled Marquise de Valcour"-made an upward move in her career. The lady is Miss Annie Robe, and she is playing habitually, it seems, a small part in the successful piece at the Adelphi. She has ease, grace, and a measure of genuine feeling, and, like Miss Edmiston herself, should shortly be visible in parts which may only be played by the intelligent, the studious, and the variously gifted. For a matinée, the whole performance was distinctly interesting, and we confess to the weakness of having attended to the acting all the more because of the absence of those luxurious

66

accessories which somehow crush the spirit out of so many a dramatic performance. For a change, at all events, it was welcome-this oldfashioned poverty of scenic display.

MUSIC.

RECENT CONCERTS.

SEÑOR SARASATE gave his first concert last Wednesday week at St. James's Hall. For purity of tone and perfection of technique, this violinist is perhaps without a rival; and his wonderful performances of Fantasias, Dances, Mazurkas, always astonish the public, and astic kind. We have in past seasons spoken of the way in which he plays Mendelssohn's Violin Concerto, and it is still the same; we are

secure for him receptions of the most enthusi

listening to a finished and brilliant performance rather than to a noble interpretation of the work. Señor Sarasate provides for his audience a substantial programme; besides the Concerto, there was the "Jupiter Symphony and the "Egmont Overture, both conducted by Mr. W. G. Cusins. Señor Sarasate will give three more concerts during this month.

Mr. John Farmer gave a "recital" of his Fairy Opera, Cinderella," last Friday week, at St. James's Hall. He describes it as "a Little Opera for Big Children, or a Big Opera for Little Children;" but we fear it is too little for the former, and too big for the latter. There are some cheerful tunes and amusing words, but it is impossible to say exactly what effect it would produce if given on the stage. Therefore we have merely to record a successful performance of “Cinderella " in the concertroom; it was well given and well received. The principal vocalists were Miss Mary Davies, Miss Clara Samuell, and Messrs. Lloyd and Pyatt. The composer conducted his work.

The third Richter concert, last Monday

solo Beethoven's Variations in E flat (op. 35), and obtained loud and enthusiastic applause. We must also notice the excellent conducting of Mr. F. Cowen; he had the orchestra well in hand, and seemed to have rehearsed with the utmost care. Beethoven's "Eroica" and the Meistersinger" Vorspiel were the chief orches tral pieces. Mr. Santley was the vocalist; he sang an air of Handel, and a new scena by Mr. A. G. Thomas-a clever, graceful, if not very original work. J. S. SHEDLOCK.

66

evening, was well attended. The programme is a fine specimen of Raff's workmanship. contained two novelties. The first was a As music, the first two movements please so-called Concerto for Violoncello by M. us best; but it is throughout a remarkable and Jules de Swert-a piece in one movement, a brilliant work. Dr. Bülow also played as rhapsody, an improvisation, but certainly not a Concerto. It served (to quote the stereotyped remark) "to display the artist's executive powers; more than this we cannot say. Herr Richter's novelties have not always proved interesting, but hitherto he has steered clear of mere virtuosity. The composer, a Belgian artist, performed the Concerto with considerable skill. The other novelty was Brahms' "Gesang der Parzen" for chorus and orchestra (op. 89). The words are taken from Goethe's "Iphigenia in Tauris." The picture of the all-ruling gods is stern and cruel, and Brahms has caught at times the true spirit of his theme; there are fine passages, but the music on the whole seems laboured. The work will soon be heard again, and we shall duly record second impressions. Another feature of the concert was the magnificent performance of Mr. A. C. Mackenzie's Ballad for Orchestra, "La belle Dame sans Merci." At the close the composer was twice summoned to the platform. We have already spoken of this tone-poem, which ranks among the best of its author's productions. The concert concluded with Schumann's "Rhenish" Symphony, but the interpretation was not all that could be desired. An interesting feature of next Monday's concert will be the first performance in England of Brahms' new Symphony in F.

Dr. Hans von Bülow gave his second pianoforte recital at St. James's Hall last Tuesday afternoon. It was, we think, a mistake to place Beethoven's Sonatas op. 110 and 111 at the end of the concert. The Suite in D

MUSICAL PUBLICATIONS. Voice, Song, and Speech. By Lennox Browne and Emil Behnke. volume is a practical guide for singers and (Sampson Low.) This speakers from the combined view of vocal surgeon and voice trainer. The two authors are men of experience and authority, and each has already written on the subject of the human voice. Though treating of scientifi matters, the language is clear and simple; and the book will probably become, as intended. a manual for all voice-users. The anatomy and physiology of the vocal organ, and the invention and use of the laryngoscope, occupy many pages, but there are other subjects of a practical nature, such as the hygienic aspect of the vocal apparatus, voice cultivation, and the daily life of the voice-user; also stammering and stuttering. There are numerous excellent illustrations by wood-engraving and photography.

Music and the Piano. By Mame. Viardminor by Raff was played with great energy; Warrington Smyth. (Griffith & Farran.) Mdme. Louis. Translated from the French by Mrs. the opening "fantasia and fugue" is a fine piece of writing, the Gigue with variations Viard-Louis treats, first, of the general history ingenious, but in the two last movements of the art of music; then, of the personal the composer indulges far too much in bravura history of composers for the piano; and, lastly, passages. At the close of the March the gives advice on style and execution. The pianist's memory failed him for a moment. plan of the book is a good one, and it contains Playing without book is a somewhat risky promuch useful and interesting information. Howceeding; however, Dr. Bülow has a prodigious ever, we have come across statements that are memory, and with him a slip does not cause not accurate. It is surely not correct to say disaster, as it might in the hands of less that, after his death, Bach's immortal works experienced players. The finest performance remained unrecognised until 1788; some were of the afternoon was Rheinberger's Toccata never neglected, while others, and the most (op. 12); for an encore Dr. Bülow played one important, remained hidden treasures until a of the composer's clever pieces for the left much later period. In the account of Haydn hand. We would also notice the Brahms mention is made of Friedberg, leader of the Variations on a Hungarian Song, and the orchestra of Prince Esterhazy, but Pohl, in his Capricci and Intermezzi from op. 76. In the two Life of Haydn, tells us there was no such gether at his best; some portions were magnifi-ing his " Beethoven Sonatas the pianist was not alto-person. Again, Mozart is spoken of as finishRequiem" on his death-bed. And cently rendered, but in others his playing was why does the author invent a programme for

somewhat exaggerated, and there were also signs that his powers of endurance had been severely taxed by the long and fatiguing pro

gramme.

Miss Margaret Gyde gave her pianoforte recital at the Steinway Hall last Wednesday afternoon. She showed, perhaps, courage rather than discretion in choosing Beethoven's long and difficult Sonata in B flat (op. 106). The performance was in many respects praiseworthy. The young lady has good command of the key-board, and plays with taste and intelligence; she needs only time, and the experience which it brings. She played also pieces by Bach, Mozart, Schumann, and Chopin, and was heard to advantage in some showy Thalberg music.

The fifth Philharmonic concert took place last Wednesday evening. The performance of Raff's Pianoforte Concerto in C minor by Dr. Hans von Bülow first deserves mention. The great pianist was in his best form, and the work dedicated to him enabled him to show off to the best advantage his marvellous dexterity and great strength of finger. The composition

Weber's Sonata in C, and not say anything self given of his Sonata in E minor and the about the programmes which Weber has himConcertstück? Mdme. Viard-Louis pities Wag

for having striven to pass the limits which nature has assigned to his art." Berlioz. By Joseph Bennett. "Primers of Musical Biography." (Novello.) An interesting account of an interesting man. Bennett does not give us much of his own opinion about the celebrated French composer, but almost leaves Berlioz to speak for himself; there are copious extracts from his letters and from the Mémoires-one of the most sparkling and attractive of books.

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