There is no difficulty in understanding the claim of her admirers that Miss Kathleen Barlow is the greatest woman violinist in the world. The concert which she gave in the Olympic Theatre on Sunday afternoon was a convincing exposition of her talent and genius, and no artiste can ever have made a more favourable impression upon Shanghai. It was an audience of the keenest music lovers before whom Miss Barlow played, their attention was concentrated solely upon the music, and as a consequence the artiste could be heard to the utmost advantage, Miss Barlow started her programme with Paganini's Concerto in D major, a piece in which the composer seems to have given full scope to his caprices. This was followed by Vitali's Chacone, a number in which serious, even stately passages constantly find themselves running away into somewhat wild, almost whimsical phrases. Miss Barlow gave an encore, and followed by rendering Achron's "Hebrew Prayer,'' Mo-zarf's Rondo, Kreisler's "'La Gitana" and the More Perpetuo" by Bridge. The concluding phase of the concert consisted of a Chopin Nocturne and_ ''Airs Russes" by Wiemansky. The programme Was certainly a sufficiently varied one, well calculated to show Miss Parlow's versatility. The audience showed a decided preference for the Mozart and Kreisler numbers.
Miss Parlow's execution is bold and free. In the more sonorous phases she draws a rare power from the strings, majestic at times. As the programme went on Sunday, however, one might be excused for imagining that her fingers itched for the more delicate, capricious work of which there was so much, It had a wonderful charm about it. Then again in another mood, such as the Chopin Nocturne, she was distinctly the true Chopiniste. It was in every respect a great concert, one to be long remembered, and it is a great regret that Miss Barlow is nob again to be heard in Shanghai.
At the piano was Mr. Theodore Flint whose work was in all cases admirable, and compliment is due to him as well as to Miss Barlow.
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.