320 THE MUSICIAN ABOUT TOWN. 



self, or John Cramer, would, as it were, have yearned over that 

 sweet slow movement, and how Moscheles or Thalberg would have 

 fired the train of the finale. Mad. Dulcken knocked out those ite- 

 rated notes in the subject as if she had a spite against them. Add 

 to these objections the lady is accustomed to hurry her time. Mad. 

 Dulcken has her merits, and considerable ones they are ; but when 

 injudicious people pronounce her to be " the finest player in Eu- 

 rope," it becomes requisite to refer to the jinest school in the art, 

 and institute comparisons. Mr. Thomas, in the quartett, drew our 

 attention almost exclusively to himself. His style and execution are 

 both excellent, and his tone sweet, but so gentle in character as to 

 be scarcely sufficient for a large concert-room. We can believe him 

 to be a delightful chamber violinist. The composition was a perfect 

 specimen of the learned mannerism of Spohr, and tedious to the very 

 verge of endurance. Mrs. Shaw's singing of Beethoven's grand 

 aria, " Ah perfido," was perhaps the best vocal performance of the 

 season at these concerts ; which, at the same time, we acknow- 

 ledge to be no compliment to the lady, for it has been much below 

 par. 



Beethoven's " Pastorale," and the divine E flat of Mozart, were 

 the symphonies selected for the sixth concert, and they were per- 

 formed in the most perfect style imaginable. The principal feature 

 of this evening was the first appearance of Doehler, the new pianist. 

 He performed a fantasia of his own upon subjects from the " Guil- 

 leaume Tell." From the specimens we have hitherto heard, we 

 entertain not the most favourable impression of this really eminent 

 artist's talents as a composer ; and indeed all the time he was exhi- 

 biting his amazing mechanical accomplishment, we could not but 

 regret that so much exertion should be thrown away upon music 

 certainly unworthy of it ; and indeed people begin already to weary 

 of these eternal variations upon commonplace motivi. As a per- 

 former, however, Doehler is indeed a surprising artist. Brilliant, 

 graceful, delicate in style and manner, with uncommon power and 

 dignity. His manner of conducting his subjects in chords with the 

 left hand in accelerated time, while a torrent of notes in accompa- 

 niment are proceeding with the right, forms one of the prominent 

 features of his performance ; and another is, the manner in which 

 he contrives to maintain the subject floating above the torrent, 

 without unnecessarily thrusting it into notice, is another character- 

 istic of that wonderful command of finger and self-possession which 

 distinguishes Thalberg's school of piano-forte playing ; whom, we 

 think, Doehler equals in all repects, excepting that perhaps the 



