The concert given on Monday evening at the Hanover Square
Rooms by Messrs. Ernst and Halle, may be regarded as the last benefit concert of the season, worth notice. Oar musical readers are acquainted with the merits of both these artists. Ernst is in various respects the first violinist of the day. He has acquired a marvellous command of his instrument; and in fire and passionate expression he is, as far as we know, without a rival. It must be admitted, that, like many great performers, be sometimes uses the means for the end, and makes his playing a mere exhibition of mechanical dexterity. In this respect he imitates Paganini; but, unlike Paganini, for whom difficulty seemed to have no existence, Ernst some- times fails in his attempts, or at least achieves them at the expense both of tone and tune. On Monday, however, there was nothing of this. His chief performance, Mendelssohn's only violin concerto, was as grand and beautiful in style and expression as perfect in execution. The little pieces, " Pensees fugitives," which he played with Halle's accompaniment, might be called " songs without words": they were thoroughly vocal, and deli- ciously expressive and graceful.
M. Halle is a pianist of the highest class. His powers of execution equal those of any performer of the day, while his severe and classical taste prevents him from ever turning those powers into the means of per- sonal display. He rarely plays his own compositions, but devotes himself to the interpretation of the conceptions of the great masters of his instru- ment, whose works he has most profoundly studied. His performance of Beethoven's inimitable Concerto in G showed how fully he was imbued with the spirit of the composer; and when he played Mendelssohn's " Rondo brilliant " in E flat, we could have imagined ourselves listening to Mendelssohn himself.
This concert attracted a large audience, and a great number of musical notabilites both of the dilettante and professional classes were present: a proper compliment to the merit of the two eminent artists.
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