Besprechung der gestrigen Aufführung der 5. Symphonie in The Sun Nr. 134 (New York) auf S. 7:

"      BRUCKNER'S MUSIC PLAYED AT CONCERT

     At the Philharmonic Society's concert yesterday afternoon Conductor Joseph Stransky repeated Anton Bruckner's fifth symphony, which he introduced to New York on December 14, 1911. That production was the eighth performance of Bruckner's symphonic music in this city and the fifth since his death in 1885 [sic]. Since Mr. Stransky's previous presentation of the fifth symphony the Boston Orchestra has played the seventh, so that yesterday's was the tenth revelation of Bruckner's orchestral work in New York.

     What was said in this place after the performance of 1911 can be said again without modification. A unique and pathetic figure in the history of music was Bruckner, a dreamer of vast dreams, which his unflagging industry could never translate into musical reality. He was a master of counterpoint and his compositions are rich in inexorably logical developments. More than that, he sometimes rises to splendid heights of poetic beauty, as in the great, slow movement of his eighth, but he almost  invariably remains too long in his empyrean and less inspired mortals become chilled.

     The fifth symphony is rectangular in the allegros and grandiose in the adagios. It is ponderous in the scherzo and pompous in the finale. Even a brass band is invoked to add to the plangency of the last movement and to stun the hearer into the belief that he has received a stupendous message. The composition seems to be congenial to Mr. Stransky (who studied with the composer) and he gave it an excellent reading, which his orchestra presented with fine skill.

     The other orchestral numbers on the programme [...]." [keine Signatur] (*).

 

Die New York Tribune Nr. 25990 lässt es auf S. 9 mit einer bloßen Erwähnung gut sein:

"                  Music

     Sascha Jacobsen, a young violinist [...]. The audience was large.

     The somewhat faded impressionism of Frederick Delius was on view yesterday afternoon at the Philharmonic Concert in Carnegie Hall. [...].

     Alfred Megerlein, concertmaster of the orchestra, played the Saint-Saëns B minor Concerto (recently performed by Mr. Heifetz) quite admirably, and Mr. Stransky kept his orchestra to a most discreet accompaniment. The gigantic Bruckner Symphony No. 5 ("The Tragic") opened the programme.

     Berlioz's "Rakoczy March," which closed the afternoon, was played quite as badly as is humanly possible. Can it be that such minor pieces are performed quite without rehearsal? Is the schedule of the Philharmonic musicians too severe to permit of careful preparation?" [keine Signatur] (**).

 

Ähnlich knapp schreibt The Evening World (New York) auf S. 5:

"  "St. Elizabeth" At the Opera; the Philharmonic

LISZT'S "Saint Elizabeth" got a second hearing at the Metropolitan Opera House last night. [...]. Mr. Bodanzky's conducting was as reverent as it was masterful.

                     ———

     Bruckner's fifth symphony was the principal offering at the Philharmonic Society's concert in Carnegie Hall yesterday afternoon. It has a super-abundance of length and much of it is interesting. The Hungarian march from Berlioz's "The Damnation of Faust," Delius's "In a Summer Garden" and Saint-Saens's third violin concerto were the other numbers. [... kurz über den Solisten Alfred Megerlin ...]. Mr. Stransky led and his musicians played to the enjoyment of a large audience." (***).