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 ( rni.o VlOUKIST OF HIS MaJESTT THE EmPEROR 0. )SIA. J 
 
 A' 
 
..CORNELL UNIVERSITY LIBRARY 
 
 J JI924 063 288 967 
 
 HENRI WIEITIAWSKI. 
 
 In our age, during which electricity has placed the daily news of the 
 universe within the grasp of all nations, the continued occurrence of great 
 events, and their immediate impartment to mankind, leave little opportunity 
 for the general public to watch what may be termed the artistic movement 
 of the New and Old Worlds. Hence the necessity, when the time is at hand 
 for the introduction of a great artist, of a special summary of the incidents 
 of his career. Such a review will hardly be required, in this case, to en- 
 lighten the lovers of music in the least familiar with the musical history of 
 the last twenty years ; but it will be welcomed even by them as a means of 
 refreshing their memory. An appreciation of these facts is our excuse for 
 presenting to the public the accompanying biographical sketch of Henri 
 Wieniawski. 
 
 EARLY YEARS. 
 
 Henri Wieniawski was born in the Polish town of Lublin, on June 10th, 
 1835. When scarce able to stand, he betrayed an inclination for violin 
 playing so marked as to leave no doubt as to the profession to be allotted 
 him. At the age of nine years, his performances, though not governed by 
 the rules of art, were so admirable that the celebrated teacher Massart under- 
 took to prepare him for admission into the Paris Conservatory. Massart 
 taught the lad one of Kreutzer's concertos — young Wieniawski learning 
 it by ear. So satisfactory was his delivery of the composition, that the 
 jurors, whose numbers included Auber, Halevy and Habeneck, decided that 
 he should be admitted into the institution under their control in defiance of 
 the regulations exacting that the pupils of the Conservatory be aged at 
 least twelve years. After a short term of study, Henri Wieniawski bore off 
 the first prize in the annual contest. This achievement caused the Emperor, 
 
Nicholas I. of Russia, to order that the boy's musical education should be 
 completed at his personal expense. 
 
 EUROPEAN TRIUMPHS. 
 
 Henri Wieniawski was summoned to Russia in 1848, just before the 
 outbreak of the French Revolution. In company with his brother, Josepl* 
 Wieniawski, already celebrated as a pianist, the youthful violinist was heard 
 at court and greeted with immense enthusiasm. Some idea of the impression 
 wrought by his earliest entertainments will be arrived at when we mention 
 that his sojourn in Russia, which was to have extended over a twelvemonth 
 only, lasted upward of three years, during which one hundred and ninety four 
 concerts occurred. In 1853, Henri Wieniawski and his brother set out on a 
 tour through Germany. They were first applauded in Vienna, whither some 
 months afterward they were about to return when they received flattering 
 offers from Moscow, which induced them to change their plans. They 
 traveled toward Berlin. Here they first played at court and created an 
 immediate and profound sensation. The effect produced upon the distin- 
 guished audience affected, of course, the public. In spite of the presence 
 in Berlin of Jenny Lind and of Vieuxtemps, the wildest excitement prevailed 
 during the sale of seats for their concerts. Fifteen recalls marked the oc- 
 casion of their debut. They were not allowed to leave Berlin until they had 
 given sixteen entertainments. In Posen, where they gave twelve, their 
 " Polish Rondo" was repeated four times. Their second tour through Ger- 
 many compassed one hundred and twenty-two concerts. Afterwards the 
 brothers separated. Further details of the movements of Henri Wieniawski 
 in years bygone would be superfluous. Suflice it to say that he became a 
 favorite artist in Holland, and played there two seasons in one hundred 
 and seventy-four concerts ; that in 1855 his execution was enjoyed in Brus- 
 sels ; that he was afterwards heard in Hanover as a rival of Joachim, and 
 that he was subsequently listened to in England, under the management of 
 M. Jullien. His performances in Hanover elicited the following verdict from 
 the critics : " We must declare no more that Wieniawski is an opponent 
 worthy of Joachim, but must proclaim Joachim the only violinist who can 
 stand beside Wieniawski." In 1860, the subject of this sketch was appointed 
 solo-violinist to the emperor Alexander II. of Russia, and professor in the 
 Conservatory of St. Petersburg. During his twelve years' residence in the 
 Russian capital he was wonderfully popular. His concerts were always 
 crowded, and, in 1863, a public subscription was opened for the purpose of 
 presenting to him a magnificent Stradivarius. 
 
 THE VIOLINIST'S STYLE. 
 
 Those who have been privileged to listen to the performances of Henri 
 Wieniawski will scarcely think it possible to convey, in a few cold words, an 
 
adequate idea of the artist's style. Yet an attempt in that direction, founded 
 upon careful critiques from the newspapers of the Old World, will supply some 
 information. Vieuxtemps has been described as the Thalberg of the violin, 
 Henri Wieniawski as its Liszt His delivery is equally conspicuous for in- 
 dividuality and versatility. The unerring purity and exquisitely sympa- 
 thetic quality of his tone, appear at once ; the least skilled listener can ap- 
 preciate the charm and elegance of the cantabile passages ; his staccati arc 
 unapproachable. And, as a summary of his excellences, we may here insert 
 an article from La France, in relation to Henri Wieniawski's last concert in 
 Paris, given at the Theatre des Italiens. The writer says : " The performer 
 has not usurped his exalted position in art ; the enthusiasm, the madness 
 his achievements excite in St. Petcrsburgh, are readily understood. There 
 lives not at this day a more finished violinist, nor one who unites with classi- 
 cal sentiment a more exquisite fancy. No executant (save perhaps Alard, 
 in the finale) can compete with him in an appreciation of Mendelssohn's con- 
 certo, in its entirety or in its recital. Joachim, who was with us recently, 
 carries precision and clearness to their uttermost limits ; but we miss in him 
 the sympathetic qualities with which his young rival is so richly endowed ; 
 and he lacks, too, that communicative warmth which moves and bears along 
 the audience, makes it the slave of the impressions and the excitements of 
 the virtuoso, and displays to it every shade of the composer's intentions. 
 Mendelssohn's concerto is a delicious work. The motives of the first part 
 are marked by grace, emotion, and distinction ; the adagio has numerous 
 sostenuto phrases which permit the use of the full bow and convey an idea 
 that its length is infinite. In the hands of a skilled person, the little rod is 
 possessed of a power without bounds ; the eye is not deceived, but the ear 
 cannot seize upon any interruption in the long-drawn and seemingly endless 
 sound. At the organ point Wieniawski supplies an astounding exhibition of 
 brio and fancy, and gives a foretaste of the original efiects, brilliant and sig- 
 nificant, which he holds in reserve for the non-classical portion of the bill." , 
 
 PAGANINI'S SUCCESSOR. 
 
 That Henri Wieniawski is the legitimate successor of Paganini has long 
 been admitted. A very elaborate parallel between the violinist of the past 
 and the violinist of the present, casts a powerful light upon their points of 
 resemblance. Fetis informs us that in his twelfth year, Paganini played in 
 a concert at the Gran Teatro of Genoa. He executed, we learn, variations 
 composed by himself, upon the air " La Carmagnole." In his twelfth year, 
 Henri Wieniawski had written and made known to the public a " Caprice 
 Pantastique," dedicated to his teacher, Prof. Massart ; while in his fifteenth 
 year, we are told, Paganini wrote his first essays for the violin. His music 
 was so difScult that he was constrained himself to study it with a constant 
 
6 
 
 effort to solve problems unknown to all. other violinists. When a specimen 
 of his work was published, the obstacles to its interpretation were declared 
 insurmountable by all other artists. Wieniawski, appropriating to himself 
 the extraordinary traits of Paginini's five works, wrote, at the age of seven- 
 teen, his " Modern Violin-School," by which one can judge de visu of the 
 variety with which he has enriched the mechanism of the instrument. 
 Paganini, seeking to increase the number of effects produced, was wont to 
 remove the second and third strings of his violin for the execution of an 
 amorous dialogue in form of a sonata, between the E string and the G string. 
 Wieniawski, too, is the author of scene amorose ; and one can imagine no 
 more curious or gracefully executed effort than the passages in which the 
 E string, in its intercourse with the G, supplies the bass of the harmonics 
 produced by the silver cord. Paganini was often accused of making a broken 
 E string a means of success, by delivering with three strings numbers seem- 
 ingly requiring four. By the facility with which he produces from one 
 string mingling harmonics with natural sounds, runs of interminable length, 
 Henri Wieniawski proves that he has nothing to dread from the treachery of 
 catgut. Often he has had to deal with a fresh string. Any artist but he 
 would have tuned his instrument at every available opportunity. Not so 
 Wieniawski, who calmly suits the position of his hand to the distended condition 
 of the string, and plays on with unswerving accuracy of intonation, until a 
 final note on the '' open " string reveals the situation. " In cantaMle 
 passages," says Petis, " Paganini often had recourse to a vibrato somewhat 
 analogous to that of the human voice ; but, on account of the affected sliding 
 of the hand with which the vibrato was attended, the voice was that of an 
 old woman, and the singing of the bow had the defects and ill taste formerly 
 imputed to certain singers of the French school." In our judgment, there 
 are but two styles of singing on the violin. The first is a frank, severe, and 
 deep style, bearing the impress of continuous emotion, penetrating the soul 
 and filling it with a lasting sadness ; this is in accordance with the classi- 
 cal method, of which Vieuxtemps is the principal exponent. The second is 
 no less truthful, but more seductive, more lightly pathetic, stamped by 
 spontaneous and flitting emotion, which in turn brings tears and consoles, 
 which wounds the heart and heals the wound with a smile ; the violin, 
 under Wieniawski's bow, is a representative of this most welcome style. 
 
 VIOLINIST AND COMPOSER. 
 
 Among the most appreciable specimens of violin-music, are, without 
 doubt, Henri Wieniawski's writings ; and though they are generally im- 
 pressive, they none the less claim the heartiest commendation as faultless 
 works of art. The eminent violinist is recognized as a composer of ex- 
 ceptional ability. His hearers are carried into dreamland by his " Legende," 
 
a sweet and melodious inspiration, which would warrant, as the andante of 
 a symphony, a classification of its author among the foremost of living 
 musicians. The composer's talent is also discernible in his fantaisie on 
 " Faust," cast in a mould unused by any of his predecessors. The selections 
 from Gounod's masterpiece are soldered together with so fine a quality of 
 gold and with such consummate art, that the ensemble is faultlessly sym- 
 metrical. Staccato passages adorn the melodies with beauteous pearls ; 
 the violinist traverses the domain of harmonics with a firm bow and without 
 the slightest variation in the grace of his bearing or the freedom of his 
 style, as though he were not renewing the biblical miracle of treading a 
 liquid plain without disturbing the calmness of the surface. Henri 
 Wieniawski crowns the triumphs of a night by the performance of his 
 ethereal Russian airs ; phrases replete with sentiment alternate with passa- 
 ges crammed with technical difficulties, which the player overcomes, of 
 course, with consummate ease. 
 
 THE AMERICAN TOUR. 
 
 Eesuming the hasty narrative of Henri Wieniawski's art-life commen- 
 ced above, after a reference to his style as an executant and his talent as a 
 composer, we reach the subject of his career in the United States. After a 
 twelve years' stay in Russia, tfte violinist succumbed to the severity of the 
 climate, and accepted an engagement pressed upon him long previous, for a 
 series of concerts in America. On the night of September 23d last, an over- 
 flowing audience welcomed him on the occasion of his first appearance in 
 this country. His success was immediate ; the murmur of delight which 
 accompanied the first utterances of the strings under his bow, was its first 
 token, and a storm of plaudits burst after the first movement of the 
 Mendelssohnian concerto. Of the impression of his debut, however, excerpts 
 from the New York journals of the morrow are best representative. A few 
 of the most important decisions we append : 
 
 NEW YORK PRESS SENTIMENT. 
 
 NEW YORK TRIBUNE. 
 
 The New York Tribune spoke -thus : " This illustrious artist surpasses all our 
 previous experience of violinists; his style is formed more nearly upon the romantic 
 school of Paganini than of any other model ; yet he combines with the peculiar fascina^ 
 tionsofthat school a beautiful classical polish and correctness; he, too, is an artist who 
 reverences art and knows how to forget the display of his own powers." Concerning 
 the second concert, on September 36th, the same writer says: "Both his pieces 
 (Vieuxtemps' 'Air Vari«' and the violinist's 'Faust,') display the perfection of his 
 
8 , 
 
 tone and teclinique, and exhibit some difiBcult niceties of his execution, even better than 
 the Mendelssohn concerto which he played on Monday; still, everything he touches 
 takes on a tender grace which few living players have learned to express, and even the 
 mechanical perfection of his playing is something beautiful and inspiring." 
 
 NEW YOBK HERALD. 
 
 The artist's delivery of Paganini's music is commented upon in the Herald of Septem- 
 ber 28, as below : " Fully equal to the success of Eubinstein was the triumph achieved 
 by the Polish violinist. Paganini's eccentric and fantastic transcription of the " Car- 
 nival of Venice " has been played frequently here before by violinists whose names rank 
 high on the roll of fame, but we will venture to say that ho is the only artist living, 
 save perhaps Joachim, who can thoroughly master and make effective its eccentric 
 treatment. M. Wieniawski played it with such a irio, and clear, curt finish, that even 
 the orchestra rose to a man and applauded. * * * His style is the climax of art, easy, 
 finished and intelligible, and his tones reflect every phase of expression as in a mirror. 
 M. Wieniawski's distinction as a composer was no less plain than his rank as a violin- 
 ist." In the New York Serald of September 36, his composition, based upon motives 
 from Gounod's most popular opera, is referred to as follows : " For M. Wieniawski we 
 have but terms of praise to offer. He played a fantasia of his own founded on themes 
 from ' Faust.' The work is worthy of Spohr or Paganini in its vivid delineation of 
 the three principal personages, Faust, Marffuerite and MepMsto. The longings of the 
 dissatisfied philosopher came from the violin as clear and intelligible as if expressed 
 in words ; there was the true demoniac spirit in the interpretation of the vrild drinking 
 Bong of M&phisto ; a delicious tidbit of sentiment taken from the 'Garden Scene,' and 
 a quaint original treatment of the waltz in the ' Kermesse.' Not a note was there in 
 the rendering indistinct or blurred, but each phase of the work was reflected as in a 
 mirror." 
 
 NEW YOBK TIMES. 
 
 The New York Times on the morrow of the first concert, contained the following: 
 " We remember no kindred influence exercised by a violinist over his hearers. Mr. 
 Wieniawski's tone is of unexceptionable strength, roundness and purity ; his bowing 
 in the cantabile portions of his music is perfect in its gravity and eloquence ; his har- 
 monics are of unfailing purity; his staccati axe simply marvellous. Mendelssohn's 
 concerto in E minor was the vehicle for the exposition of the violinist's school ; his 
 own ' Russian Airs,' in which the gentle pathos of a well remembered Northern tune, 
 first made known to Europe by Thalberg, was never until yesterday so potent, and his 
 'Legende,' one of the most poetical compositions ever written for the violin, supplied tes- 
 timony as to the creativeness and imaginativeness of the musician and executant." Of 
 M. Wieniawski's part in the seventh concert, the New York Times spoke thus : " His 
 pieces were, ' Ernst's air from Bellini's ' II Pirata,' with variations, and his own 
 ' Russian Airs.' We have never heard a more eloquent andante than that with which 
 the violinist prefaced the remembered tune ; for purity and volume of tone, and for 
 breadth of bowing, nothing better could be wished. After-passages, with staccati 
 and a profusion of double notes, showed that M. Wieniawski is facile princeps of 
 executants celebrated for their mastery of the mechanical difficulties of the instru. 
 ment." 
 
9 
 NEW YORK WOBLD. 
 
 The New York World remarks : " In many respects, M. Wieniawski ia the best 
 violinist we have had here since M. Vieustemps, and in quality and delicacy of 
 his tone, probably exceeds him." 
 
 EVENING POST. 
 
 The Evening Post says : " He is an artist of the greatest sensibility and considera- 
 ble intellect, one who invariably delights you by an excess of beauty in every fresh 
 performance, imparting to each eflfect some unexpected degree of noVelty and emo- 
 tion." 
 
 LATEST TRIUMPHS. 
 
 Prom a glance at the above expressed opinions, selected among hundreds of a like 
 import, it will be understood that the violinist's triumph in the United States was im- 
 mediate and complete. In this country, Henri Wieniawski performed, up to May 15th, 
 in more than two hundred concerts. The series closed with his appearance at the final 
 Philharmonic concert of the present season, at the Academy of Music. Prom a score of 
 most elaborate notices of his splendid delivery of Spohr's concerto, we take, as express- 
 ive of the general verdict, the reference of the Evening Post : 'TThat of all living violin- 
 ists now before the public," writes the critic, " Wieniawski is the most accomplished — 
 whether as a mrtuoso possessing all the secrets of modern mechanical diqilay, or as a 
 master in the great and lasting school — ^is indisputable ; and that his reading of Spohr's 
 concerto (' Gesangs scene ') was incomparable, must be admitted by all, without a dis- 
 senting voice. Not only were the passages given with faultless accuracy, but the 
 melodious phrases were delivered with a sentiment that left nothing unexpressed. His 
 playing was, on that occasion, as enthusiastic as it was remarkable for all the rarest 
 qualities of execution. He calculates upon no effects except those which spring from a 
 strictly legitimate fulfilment of the composer's design. In this particular is to be found 
 oneof the violinist's most enviable acquirements; and to this acquirement, amid all his 
 other qualities, he is indebted for the reputation he has won, not only as a virtuoso 
 performer, but as the first classical violinist of the day." On May 30th, Henri Wieni- 
 awski bids farewell to New York audiences in a most attractive entertainment at 
 Steinway Hall. 
 
 TWO MUSICIANS. 
 
 Although we are inclined to share Dogberry's estimate of comparisons, we cannot 
 avoid *eproducing, from the Oourrier des Etats Uhis, of May 3d, the article following. 
 Part oithefeuilleton of the Gourrier of that date runs thus : "The Rubinstein- Wieniawski 
 or Wieniawski-Rubinstein concerts, (one and the same thing) have been the event of the 
 season. But the manager has none the less done wrong to place — using a popular 
 saying — all his eggs into one basket. Rubinstein alone, or Wieniawski alone, would 
 have been sufficient ; and the pecuniary result would have been the same. Why two 
 stars 1 Why so heavy a draught upon the spectators' applause ? Had we to perform 
 tlie delicate task of drawing a parallel between the two artists, we should at the outset 
 
10 
 
 declare that they have one merit in common : they respect art and love the great mas- 
 ters. As for the shades separating them, these are more difflcult of definition. As a 
 pianist-composer (we speak of the compositions written for himself) Euhinstein's works 
 seem usually lengthened and diffuse ; it is felt that his aim is too lofty for the limits im- 
 posed upon him. With all his might, he belongs in a measure to that vague and tov/r- 
 menUe school which fanatical partisans exalt beyond all reason. He has a special 
 character, but one that reveals itself like that of the personage of a fantastical romance, 
 who could not detect the simple and natural side of things, but understood perfectly 
 that which was extravagant, bizarre and tmintelligible. In Wieniawski's compositions 
 dwells the penetrating charm, the felicitious and lucid melody which at once fasten 
 upon the mind. If we continue the parallel, we reach analogous conclusions in relation 
 to the execution of the musicians. Both are giants. Rubinstein, however, is only ac- 
 cessible to the eiiie of specialists ; and though his talent is vast and acknowledged, it 
 ends by trying the nerves of the public. Every listener is silenced by the respect due 
 the man, else he would unfold himself, and observe to his neighbor, ' It is beautiful, it 
 is powerful, but, for all that, it is rather long. What think you? ' Wieniawski, on the 
 contrary, entrances, as did Orpheus, those most rebellious to the fascinations of music. 
 Theophile Gautier, a true poet, wrote : ' Three things please me : gold, marble and pur- 
 ple ; brightness, solidity and color. Of such stuff are my dreams.' Had Gautier 
 hearkened to Wieniawski, his dreams would have been realized. No violinist's deliv- 
 ery is more brilliant and substantial ; no player endows melody with a more admirable 
 color. His vigorous, frank and wholesome talent combines delicacy and force. Greater 
 material perfection, a more marvellously ideal style cannot be hoped for. Rubinstein 
 astounds : Wieniawski seduces." 
 
 
 FUTURE ARRANGEMENTS. 
 
 On June 1st, Henri Wieniavirski quits the Northern States and proceeds 
 to' California With his concerts in the far east, his Anjerican tour wUl ter- 
 minate. From San Francisco, the violinist will go to Brazil, and thence to 
 Europe. Satisfied that the estimate of his talent to be formed from reading 
 the toregoing pages will be proven correct by the impression of his perform- 
 ances, we here conclude this record of his life. 
 
PARIS, 1867. 
 
 Have OMaineil tlie Hipest Honors oyer AMileil to any Piano Mannftctnrers [ 
 
 IN THE WORLD. 
 
 The world's greatest Pianists and Composers, the Academies of Fine Arts of Paris, Berlin, and Stock- 
 holm, as well as the Fiano-purohaslng public of Europe and America, unite in the wnamimovs verdict of the 
 
 Superiority of the Steinway Pianos over all others. ^ 
 
 THEY WERE AWARDED THE « 
 
 FIRST OF THE GRAND GOLD MEDALS OF HONOR 
 
 A.t the World's Fair, In Faria, IseT. j 
 
 OFFICIAL CERTIFIOATB of the President and Members of the International Jury '\. 
 on Musical Instruments (Glass X) : 
 
 I certify that the FIRST GOLD MEiDAL for American Pianos has been urianlmously awarded to 
 Messrs. Stkinwat, by the Jury of the International Bxposltlon. First on the List in Class X. 
 
 eEoaoB Kastnzb, 
 F. A. Gevakkt, 
 Ambroise Thomas, 
 
 BD. HAirsMOK, 
 J. SCHIBDMAITEIl, 
 
 STEINWAY i& SONS' IHAItlinOTH MANUFACTOBY is the most extensive establishment 
 of Its kind In the world. 
 
 lanufacti y "Stbixwat 
 
 MEXjirTET, PnMdent of the InUmaUonal Jitfv. 
 Vetis, OjieialJt^forter " 
 
 ■■i 
 
 Members 
 
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 & BONS," Tls. : 
 
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 exported 1 
 
 Steinway's Pianos are sought to be copied by nearly all American and Buropean Flanomakers, many oi the 
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 Steinway dc Sons desire to call special attention to their 
 
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 Old Pianos taken in exchange. 
 
 HTUlnatrated Catalogues, with Price Uata, mailed free on application. 
 
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