Tt was an experiment holding the 24th Subscription Concert of the Shanghai Philharmonic Society on Wednesday (29th) in Chang Ssu-ho's Hall, a good two miles from. the Bund, but it was an experiment that was crowned with success. The Hall is a very handsome one, it is very well lighted, and its acoustic properties leave nothing to be desired. It was well filled, with a fringe of spectators in the galleries, and those who did not find it too far away were repaid by hearing one of the best concerts that the Society has given. The orchestra was un a dais at the southern end of the Hall, and the Committee might try, if they use this Hall again, the effect of putting the orchestra in the centre.
The programme was not too ambitious on Wednesday, and the orchestra itself, from various causes, was not so large as it has sometimes been. The opening number was Mozart's overture to Titus, a very melodious and therefore favourite composition, not extravagantly well played, but decidedly interesting. Mr. Clapp then sang Stephen Adams's Fiona—She stood in the mist, by the door of her shelling a pathetic ballad with a pleasant swing to it, but Mr. Clapp's fine tenor voice was not at its best. This was followed by a selection played by the orchestra from Wagner's Meistersinger, a very characteristic selection, to which the orchestra must have given a great deal of careful study, for it was excellently played, and could not but he enjoyed even by those who prefer Mozart
appearance in the fourth number, and sang to Wagner. Mrs. 3. Brown made her first Clay'svery popularballad, "She wandered down the mountain side." Mrs. Brown has an excellent soprano voice, nearly mezzo, very well trained, and she sings with much feeling and a' most commendable enunciation. She was most heartily applauded, and kindly. consented to give an encore, for whicl the audience was clamorous, choosing Goring Thomas's "Love's Echoes," a very pretty little composition. The first part ended with the splendid playing by Mrs. Korff on the piano, with orchestral accompaniment, Of Weber's Concert Stiick, op. 79, a favourite piece with pianists of the first rank. Mrs. Korff is an admirable ex ponent of the German school of piano playing; she has a good touch, brilliant execution, a thorough comprehension of the composer's meaning, and she plays with absolute correctness, so that this number was most_ thoroughly enjoyed: Mars, Korff was, of course, encored, and she kindly played a well-known Romance in F sharp major by Schumann.
Well as the orchestra played the accom: paniment to Mrs. Korif, they were still better, in fact at their best, in Mozart's Symphony No. 12, which' opened the second part of the concert. It is a most taking composition, short, pretty, and full of melody, with not a suspicion of heaviness in it, and the orchestra played as if they enjoyed it as much as their hearers, It was the best piece of the evening. Miss Sinclair had very kindly undertaken to sing at very short notice, and the audience were delighted with her rendering of M. Piccolomini's Whisper and I shall hear," though there is not much distinction in it as composition, The pleasure it gave was enhanced by the charming violin obligato contributed by Miss Macleod, whose artistic sense and mastery of her instrument make it always delightful to hear her. In response to the request for an encore Mies Sinclir repeated the second verse—"If when you're weary, darling." The eighth number, the order on the programme having been changed, was Mr, Wedemeyer's singing of Mr. Crompton's ''March nor heed those arms that hold thee," scoomapanded by the composer. We have often dwelt on the splendid quality of Mr. Wedemeyer's voice, but we have heard: it better than on Wednesday, which is not, however, sayin: that it was not very good. He was obliged to repeat the Inst verse before the well pleased audience would allow him to return tuhisseat. The closing number was Ganne's Menuet Rose, a very pretty piece of music, admirably played by the orchestra, Th would be dificult for the orchestra to play better than they did in this and in the Symphony, and much of the credit is due to their conductor, Commander Vela, and nich to their own devotion to music.
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.