One quite miraculous thing these wind
players certainly did, in common, however, with the whole orchestra. And
that was to give an effect of distance, as if the sound came actually
from beyond the walls. I noticed it first in the overture to "Leonore,"
the first piece which they played; an unparalleled effect and one of
surprising beauty.
Another matter for which the Meiningen orchestra is famous is its
interpretation of the works of Brahms. At each concert some fine music
of Brahms was given finely, but it was not until the fourth concert that
I realised, on hearing the third Symphony, everything of which Brahms
was capable. It may be that a more profound acquaintance with his music
would lead me to add other things to this thing as the finest music
which he ever wrote; but the third Symphony certainly revealed to me,
not altogether a new, but a complete Brahms. It had all his intellect
and something more; thought had taken fire, and become a kind of
passion.
MOZART IN THE MIRABELL-GARTEN
They are giving a cycle of Mozart operas at Munich, at the Hof-Theater,
to follow the Wagner operas at the Prinz-Regenten-Theatre; and I stayed,
on my way to Salzburg, to hear "Die Zauberfloete.
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