DE BERIOT'S CONCERT.
WE believe DE BERIOT to be the only violinist of the age worthy to be considered as the rival of PAGANINI. It is impossible to make any comparison between things so entirely dissimilar as the styles of these two great musicians ; and a dilettante may give the preference to either of them, according to the temperament of his own mind, and without any impeachment of his own taste and judgment. The lover of the wild, the fantastic, and the impassioned, will dwell with rapture on the strains of PAGANINI; while those who de- light in contemplating forms of grace, purity, and symmetry, will rather enjoy the regular, polished, and exquisitely-finished compositions and performances of DE BERIOT. Not that the Bel- gian artist is incapable of imaginative flights or impassioned expres- sion—far from it ; but these are less characteristic of his style than of that of his Italian rival. As to the wonders of PAGANf NI'S execution, we have never held them in great admiration. They require nothing but flexible joints and a world of practice which might be better be- stowed ; and an Indian juggler, in his own way, can beat them all to nothing. In point of tone, DE BERIOT has unquestionably the advantage; and we cannot conceive any use for a greater command of the
instrument than that which he possesses.
DE BERIOT'S concert, on Thursday, drew together an audience which completely filled the Opera Concert-room, at guinea tickets. He played a new Concerto of his own composition, a Duet for the Violin and Pianoforte with M. THALBERG, and an Obligato Accompaniment to a Ballad sung by his wife. She sang several things, none of them of a high order considered as music, but rendered delightful by the manner in which they were done. This was especially the case with a duet by MARLIANI, sung by her and GRISI ; and, though nothing could be more trivial or commonplace than the composition, it was impossible to avoid being charmed with the manner in which those two pure and beautiful voices were blended together, and the delicacy of their united in- flexions. The concert, as usual, was too long; and contained several performances of a very inferior order, which might well have been spared.
Previous page
