These performances were interesting; a personality like his
is so curious that it is quite amusing to find it coming out in the
works he conducts. But how Mozart's features took on an offhand and
impatient air; and how the rhythms were accentuated at the expense of
the melodic grace. In this case, however, Strauss was dealing with a
concerto, where a certain liberty of interpretation is allowed. But
Mahler, who was less discreet, ventured upon conducting the whole of the
Beethoven concert. And what can be said of that evening? I will not
speak of the _Concerto for pianoforte, in G major_, which Busoni played
with a brilliant and superficial execution that took away all breadth
from the work; it is enough to note that his interpretation was
enthusiastically received by the public. German artists were not
responsible for that performance; but they were responsible for that
fine cycle of _Lieder, An die entfernte Geliebte_, which was bellowed by
a Berlin tenor at the top of his voice, and for the _Choral Symphony_,
which was, for me, an unspeakable performance. I could never have
believed that a German orchestra conducted by the chief _Kapellmeister_
of Austria could have committed such misdeeds.
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