PHILHARMONIC CONCERTS.

Tim concert of Monday night was the best of the season, and such another- can scarcely he- expected. The Directors have now played their trumps, and we-know pretty well what cards will follow.

FOURTH CONCERT—MONDAY, MAY 8.

ACT I.

Sinfonia Pastorale BEETHOVEN. SEMI, Non raventar." Miss flAssAxo (Ines de Castro) C. M. vox WEBER. Fantasia Pianoforte, M. DREVscRoca (I: Absence et le Caprice) DREYSCHOCH. Air, " Dee Wanderer." Herr STAUDICIL SCHUBERT. Overture, The Naiades W. S. Bercserr:

ACT II.

Overture to Oberon C. M. VON WEBER.

Air, •• Der Kriegeslust," Herr SrstieroL'Vessooda) STONE.

Dramatic Concerto. Violio, Mr. BLAOROVE &elm.' Nun Toth di Boni," Madame A LBERTA RAI, Curoo di Bautetto Obligato, Mr. WILLIAMS (La Clerneoza di

Tito)

MOZART.

Overture, Faniska

CR ERUBINI. Leader, Mr. Lonna-Conductor. Mr. Lucas. The-Pastoral Sinfonia, ttnngh annually heard, is • alwas heard

unabated interest and fresh delight. Here is•no doubt or bewilderment as to its author's meaning : it is a scene, or rather succession of scenes, in the description of which the accuracy is apparent to the most un- learned, while the consummate genius and skill by which such various effects are wrought out are the wonder and despair of the most accom-

plished musician! This was the solitary Sinfonia of the evening ; and the audience, in order to obtain their customary allowance of orchestral music, encored the Overture to Oberon.

The performance of M. Dimmest:lea- excited a good deal of curiosity, in consequence of the enthusiastic reception which it is said to have re- ceived at Paris. It must be regarded simply as the exhibition of.& performer—a display of playing—and not the performance of a compo-•

shims of any pretension or note. The aim is not that of a great artist, and the gratification of the hearer is therefore of an inferior order. Ex- hibitions of this sort have a natural and necessary tendency to degene- rate into mere tricks to lower the standard of true excellence and to degrade the character of the art. The appeal is to the ear alone, not to the mind or the feelings. There is no doubt that M. DREYSCHOCE ac- complished his object, and satisfied his hearers that he had acquired ab- solute control over his instrument. His touch is more varied than that

of any performer we remember: it has the force and decision of MOS.

CHELES, and the smoothness of CRAMER. His arpeggios sometimes have the twang of the harp, and his cantabile the sustained sound of the vio-

loncello. The only effect to us absolutely new was the occasional pro- longation of the notes of his subject accompanied by chords heard but for an instant : it seemed as if two separate instruments were playing at once.

The Concerto in the second act exhibited'a striking contrast to this performance. SPOHR'S idea of a violin concerto is on record, and his

practice is strictly conformed to his precept. His aim is to invest such a composition with its proper dignity—to render it complete and perfect in every part—to afford the principal performer the opportunity of dis-

playing his powers of expression and execution, but to render even these subsidiary to the general character of the composition. Hence his. Concerto on Monday night exhibited the grand outlines of a Sinfonia;

and the tutti passages, instead of being mere occasional interludes in

order to give relief to the hearer and the player, were at least as interest- ing as those in which the principal performer was engaged. This concerto was a favourite with MORI; but BLA.GROVE'S performance of

it was, as might be expected, the more perfect one. He has enjoyed the advantage of studying it under its author, and has abundantly pro- fited by it. The next Violin Concerto of SPORE at these concerts will be played by himself. He has accepted the offered.engagement of the Directors to conduct the last concert ; when, we have authority for saying, he will thus gratify the wishes of the profession and the musical public. His stipulated leave of absence commences about the 20th of. June ; so that he may be expected here in the last week of that month..

During the time of his stay in town, his Oratorio. The Fall of Babylon will be performed ; the members of the Philharmonic Band having signed an address to him expressive of their pleasure in the anticipated" prospect of once more seeing and hearing him in their orchestra, and offering their services for the purpose above stated.

To return from a digression into which we have been involuntarily. led. Miss Sassari° fell into an error similar to one which she before- committed at these concerts—that of attempting a song beyond her present capabilities. " Too many of our young singers," remarks am experienced performer and critic, " begin at the top of the ladder ; thua• precluding the possibility of ascent, and endangering a fall." Miss- Bessmeo has a voice of great compass and power, but she is not yet— she cannot be a great singer. More knowledge, and especially more. of that sort of knowledge which experience alone can give, are necessary. before she can attain this position. She is at present instructed only to a certain point, and her instructors act unwisely by urging her to make public exhibitions which issue in failure. ALBERTAZZI sang the beau- tiful Scene from La Clemenza di Tito with correctness, but withal coldly. It is soon apparent whether the performance of one of Mozaier's songs is " a labour of love" or a mere piece of professional duty: it seemed in the present case to be the latter. SraurnaL's two songs were. the very perfection of German singing. The first is well known, the. second less so. " Der Kniegeslust" is one of the countless beauties, which enrich the opera of Jessonda, and falls scarcely below any of them- We scarcely know which most to admire, the grace and power of the melody, or its exquisite instrumentation. Both produced their full effect upon the audience, and the song was encored.

We may here acknowledge the receipt of a letter from an Oxford corre- spondent on the subject of BEETHOVEN'S Choral Sinfonia, which we are obliged to omit on account of its length and technical minuteness. To any periodical exclusively devoted to music, it would, doubtless, have been acceptable. The chief purport of the letter was to suggest a slower time in that portion of the Sinfonia which is sung by the principal voices. The experiment may be worth trying, but our opinion is that no change of time will avail to render this,pant effective. Our correspondent admits it to be "a queer specimen of vocal wgit- ing "; and such it undoubtedly is. We have heard it sung by STOCKHAUSEN/ CARADORI, Mrs. BISHOP, Miss HAWES, BEGREE, BENNETT, E. TAYLOR, PHILLIPS, Boons, and other well-practised singers; and the result has always been the same. We believe, too, that the time at which the movementia taken is the author's time. idoscnrcEs and HERTZ are good authorities ow this point ; and a former conductor of the Sinfonia went through it with BEETHOVEN in order to qualify himself for the task.