Besprechung des gestrigen Konzerts in The Manchester Guardian Nr. 20691 auf S. 10, signiert "S. L.":

"                    THE HALLÉ CONCERTS.

Symphony No. 9, in D minor . . . . .  Bruckner

Te Deum . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  Bruckner

A German Requiem . . . . . . . . . . . . .  Brahms

     Mr. Michael Balling will speak in the Town Hall at three o'clock to-day on music in its relation to the life of the city. [...] last night's concert. No concert for many years has exercised a finer influence on the musical development of Manchester. Yet the concert was poorly attended, and in both the popular and the financial view it might be called a failure. But while we praise it we may say definitely that it was not nearly so good as it might and should have been; not nearly so good as the heroic efforts of the performers merited. For a concert of such hazardous undertaking, and of such critical importance to the public musical taste, a complete rehearsal and a further familiarity with the symphony on the part of the band were necessities, in order that the genius of Bruckner might at last have been placed fairly before the public. Technically, perhaps, Bruckner's Ninth Symphony may not be nearly so difficult as many of the virtuosity pieces given regularly. But the expanse of the work is extraordinary, and if it is to be welded together with the necessary strength every note should be played not only correctly, but with the conviction that only familiarity with the work can bring. The playing was clearly too much in the nature of reading to have great value as interpretaion. The public ear might be captivated by many parts of the work; it could hardly, from the performance, justly appreciate the whole. It was just neither to the composer, the conductor, the players, not to the public that such an enormous work of such a strange type should have been given with such little rehearsal. It  may perhaps be asked, "Is it worth while then to give the work at all, or is it financially worth while?" But in the high arts these are precisely the questions that we may not ask. Art is a striving after the beautiful, and it will not be stayed by any considerations. If the desired thing is exspensive, no matter; it will be accomplished by someone just the same. But we must never be satisfied with the incomplete and imperfect–with the unideal. Beethoven did not stop writing his Choral Symphony, nor Wagner his "Ring" series, nor Bruckner and Mahler their symphonies in extended style because the performance of these works would entail unprecedented effort and expense. Nor does the expense prevent their ultimate performance. The strength of our musical life is measured by our attitude to such works. As the musical life of our city develops, the task of a representative society like the Hallé Concerts Society must of necessity become harder and harder. The box office view must become less and less applicable to its work.

    One could not but feel that the effective placing of the chorus and orchestra for the Ninth Symphony of Bruckner, with the "Te Deum" to follow, was a great difficulty in the Free Trade Hall. The whole continuity of the work depends very much on the subtle passing of melodic figures from one instrument to another, and when the instruments have to be so placed that the just relation of tone cannot be felt at all the listener is naturally at a loss. For such a work one could not but envy the possessors of, say, the Philharmonic Hall at Liverpool, where every voice and instrument can be set out to equal advantage. The lighter threads of Bruckner's music are the more essential because his stronger themes are not pulsating on the strings, but are often in their mass given to wind instruments of powerful timbre. While we admire the noble limbs of the music, we feel that it is not rich in nerves, and when the instruments cannot be heard equally this scarcity of nervous feeling becomes a partial deadness. The scherzo, the weakest of the three movements, was, because of its clarity of effect, by far the most successful last night. It shows Bruckner, in this field of expression, much allied to Schubert, with whom also the scherzo was never the greatest strength. The composer's way of working by means of an accretion of figuration, is shown in every climax throughout the Symphony, and constitutes even a sense of continuity from movement to movement.

     The "Te Deum," which was used as the closing movement in accordance with the use of the composer, was given far more satisfactorily than on its first performance here some years ago. The chorus singing throughout the concert showed a remarkable advance, and for the first time in our experience the singing might justly be called expressive in style. The chorus has always been powerful, and capable of sublime effects. But last night there was a new tenderness and pliability  and in expressive passages a greater smoothness. Even in the "Te Deum," which was little known, there was a definite attempt at suitable style in every phrase, and in the expressive phrases there were many exquisite effects. This added refinement was so marked in the "Requiem" of Brahms [...]. We can look forward with certainty now to the rapid development of the chorus singing under Mr. Balling.

     When the "Te Deum" was given first a very fine quartet of singers utterly failed to do justice to the solo parts. Last night a quartet of Manchester vocalists gave the opportunity for a more prepared ensemble, and the effect was far finer. Mr. Collett, of the Cathedral, gave the difficult tenor solo with certainty and firm expression, and the chiefly cadential harmonies for the solo quartet were safely and harmonically sung. [... Hamilton Harris, Louie Fidler ...]. Miss Annie Hargreaves, the contralto, had less work than her colleagues, but did that little well.

     Next week [... Beethoven (mit Frederick Lamond) und Korngold ...].    S. L."