Schneider at Sanders

THE GENERAL PUBLIC suffered through another concert in Sanders Theatre last Monday night. Why Harvard is the only school of any consequence anywhere in the country without a decent concert hall no one can explain. Most of us are tired of quarters for violin, cello, piano and street noises and tired of wiping out neighbors' sweat off our knees. It is a disgrace to force any musicians of merit to attempt to perform in the decrepit fire trap.

But, to the concert itself, the fairest thing to say would be that, on the whole, it was enjoyable, particularly if one hasn't a very good sense of pitch. The Schumann Piano Trio No. 2 kin F Major, opus 80, opened the program and nearly closed it. Alexander Schneider, Leslie Parnas, and Murray Perahia showed no life, no energy, and no enthusiasm. Each movement was stodgy, and movements two and three positively died at the end. The cellist performed rather well. Unfortunately the violinist was sadly out of tune. The biggest single complaint I would register against the performance was lack of ensemble. Notes must not only be played in sequence linearly but the parts must line up vertically as well. The rhythmic impression stole the vitality from a piece already somewhat lacking in rhythmic interest.

The Mozart String Quintet in G Minor K. 516 followed Schumann and was a big improvement. The addition of Isidore Cohen, who played well all evening, bolstered the violin sound immensely and the two violinists were very competent. Again, however, the piece got off to a slow start. An opening Allegro, thick in texture but still meant to move along easily and swiftly, was too slow. Furthermore the group slowed down perceptibly toward the end of the movement, as much as six to twelve beats a second. Then, as if the Schumann had not sufficiently apprized the audience of a certain weakness in the area of intonation on the part of the first violinist, his opening phrase in the Menuetto was positively horrid. Here I pause to remark that throughout the evening Alexander Schneider played badly out of tune and with a thin, unpleasant sound. I cannot either explain or excuse such playing as no other member of the ensemble was so afflicted. His ear-jarring performance marred much of the concert of the audience.

After this nadir, the concert got under way in earnest. The last two movements of the Mozart went quite well. They chose exciting tempi and played with admirable feeling and expression. The final Allegro was particularly pleasing with a nice rhythmic drive, and exactness of nuance, and an attention to phrasing which deserve praise.

After an interminable intermission came Dvorak's Quintet for Piano and Strings in A Major, opus 81. Czechoslovakia may be under someone's thumb but Czech music is very much alive. This gorgeous piece was very well played. The cellist distinguished himself with a beautiful, full, resonant opening and the ensemble played with much more rhythmic unity and dynamic cohesion. Walter Trampler was superb throughout the Dvorak. There was an evident feeling for the ebb and flow of the beautiful melodies, lines which sing and soar over the often complex texture of this magnificent quintet. The new quality in their playing was the ability to sustain an idea to its conclusion. The "Dumka" section, a long movement, was well controlled, well balanced and one's interest was held to the end. The contrast between the first and second halves was so stunning that the faults of the second are buried.

In all it was a very enjoyable concert, performed in unpleasant surroundings. It is exciting and edifying to hear professional musicians perform at a school which either openly or covertly discourages musical performance. If Harvard could acquire an auditorium for such performances, perhaps it could acquire more such performers to fill it.