Four Great Musical Artists

              Figure

Four Great Musical Artists



FORREST DABNEY CARR
, 
Basso Cantante


FLORENCE GERTRUDE SMITH
, 
Soprano


EARL J. PFOUTS
, 
Violin


EDWIN M. SHONERT
, 
Piano




A BROCKWAY ATTRACTION





Four Great Musical Artists



W
E take unusual pleasure in presenting a company of four great artists, every member having been a star within the past few seasons, and every member strong enough to give a full evening recital; therefore we have no name for the company.  We are willing that the public shall hear this best company that we have been able to organize and name it for themselves.




Forrest Dabney Carr
 the eminent basso cantante, late of the Maurice Grau Grand Opera Company, is well known throughout the United States as an artist of exceptional ability.  Besides his grand opera experience he has been on tours for the Damrosch and Seidl Orchestra, the Clementine De Vere and other concert companies.  He possesses a voice of remarkable compass, powerful and under admirable control, and a stage presence at once dignified and graceful, and it has placed him in the foremost ranks of grand opera singers.  As a concert singer he is exceptionally fine, and includes in his repertoire the best that can be had in ballads as well as the leading bass solos from the famous operas.



FLORENCE GERTRUDE SMITH, 
Soprano





Florence Gertrude Smith
 has genuine dramatic ability as well as a beautiful colorature soprano voice.  As prima donna in operas she has sung in almost every city of over 10,000 inhabitants in the United States and Canada, having appeared in over 1,000 operatic performances in the last four years; therefore with her experience and that of Mr. Carr, these two artists are able to give duets from scenes in grand and English opera as a prominent feature of programs.




Earl J. Pfouts
 is one of the most talked about and talented violinists in New York City today.  Only four years ago Mr. Pfouts came to New York from Chicago, where he had been studying with Leopold Kramer with splendid success.  Upon his arrival in New York he went to Max Bendrix, and afterwards to Michael Banner, occasionally playing concerts in a modest way, until one day a famous impressario heard him play and immediately engaged him as soloist for the great Duss Festival Concerts, Military Band and Symphony Orchestral Concerts held at Madison Square Garden.  After having played a week, so great was his success that he was at once re-engaged for another week.  Mr. Ovide Musin, the great Belgian violinist, was in the city at the time and was so impressed with Mr. Pfouts' playing that he offered him his magnificent Strad to play on for the farewell concert.




Edwin M. Shonert
 needs no introduction to the American music-loving people.  As a pianist Mr. Shonert has certainly held his own, having played in many transcontinental tours with many of the great artists of the world.  He is one of the few pianists who possess plenty of temperament with a great technic, consequently his success is always instantaneous.




This entire company has been selected from over 1,500 applicants received by the Bureau the past year.  It has been selected not with a view to solo work alone, but for the great possibilities of ensemble work.  Mr. Carr and Miss Smith have selected some beautiful duets with violin and piano, and this will form a pleasing feature of each evening's program.






Four Great Musical Artists



EARL J. PFOUTS, 
Violin





Omaha Mercury
—


Mr. Pfouts played with an abandon and ease of style that was indeed charming.  Such wealth and sensuous beauty of tone, such certainty of technique and mental grasp of the work, and at the same time such all conquering temperament one seldom hears.




Pittsburg Post
—


Florence Gertrude Smith, the Arline of the Love Tale (Bohemian Girl), drew admiration like the Orpheam Pipe, and encore after encore was the rapacious tribute levied on 
I Dreamt I Dwelt in Marble Halls.
  Her voice was in glorious compass, with archness, vivacity and the gypsy abandon of youth.  Miss Smith delighted thoroughly.




Boston Globe
—


To Mr. Forrest D. Carr, the basso, no small share of the success of the remarkable performance was due.  His Mephistopheles was truly magnificent throughout, dramatically and musically.  The enthusiasm created by this artist was richly deserved.




Los Angeles Express
—


Mr. Forrest Dabney Carr's recital last evening was artistic, finished and thoroughly delightful.  His program was one that elicited great versatility, and in no instance was the artist disappointing.  In the serious part of Tonio in 
Il Pagliacci
 and the satirically humorous essay of Mephistopheles in 
Faust
 the singer met the demands in a thoroughly satisfactory manner.  Mr. Carr sang Goethe's 
Wedding Song
 and Von Fielitz's 
Eliland.
  In the latter selection there were sudden changes in motif and manner of treatment which Mr. Carr handled with consummate art.




Seattle Daily Times
—


Florence Gertrude Smith is petty of face and sweet of voice, and her songs made the best of impressions.




Los Angeles Herald
—


Tennyson's 
Maud.
  Mr. Carr aimed to disclose the artistic possibilities that lie in the work, and he restrained himself finely in the quieter lyrics, gradually working up to the powerful climax where the terrible agony of the human voice upon the mad brain is depicted in a broad and vivid way.  His powerful voice and excellent dramatic treatment of the song 
Dead, Long Dead,
 moved the audience strongly.  In the lighter lyrics like 
Birds in the high Hall Garden
 and 
Come into the Garden, Maud,
 he was effective in a different way, while in the declamatory parts he read his lines with sincerity and an honest and sympathetic regard for the subject matter.




Chicago Chronicle
—


The King was that of Mr. Forrest Dabney Carr, who has a fine resonant voice, which he used well.  He looked the part, every inch, and met all the requirements of the role.  Metropolitan Grand Opera Company, in 
Aida.




New York Herald
—


Esmeralda.
  Mr. Carr as the King of the Beggars made a favorable impression on the audience, who wanted more of him.




Detroit Press
—


Mr. Carr has an excellent basso, which is much truer than most voices of so heavy caliber.  His singing of the 
Lost Chord
 was notably good.




Washington (D. C.) Evening Star
—


Mr. Forrest Dabney Carr had his first good opportunity this week in the role of 
Friar Laurence
 and he sang the music with dignity and power.  His voice was well suited to the role and its volume and purity of tone were well evidenced.




Pittsburgh Dispatch
—


Mr. Forrest Dabney Carr received an ovation upon his appearance as Ferrando in 
Il Trovatore.




Jacksonville (Fla.) Times-Union and Citizen
—


Mr. Forrest Dabney Carr, the basso cantante, was recalled twice.  His voice is resonant and smooth.  He won instant recognition and deserved it.




Columbia (S. C.) State
—


Mr. Forrest Dabney Carr is a true basso cantante, with a grand voice as powerful as a pipe organ and as sweet as a flute.




Los Angeles Herald
—


Mr. Carr's work was exceptionally good in the presentation of the dainty 
Wedding Song
 of Carl Loewe, and the song cycle 
Eliland
 in expression, phrasing and comprehension.  Mr. Carr's presentation of these lyrics was of as good rank as anything done by De Lussan.




Province Vancouver, B. C.
—


Mr. Forrest Carr sings in a masterly style and his singing was particularly well rendered and enthusiastically received.




Selma (Ala.) Journal
—


Mr. Carr is indeed one of the best artists ever heard in this city.  His notes are full, round, and he gave great pleasure to his audience.




Southwest American (Ft. Smith)
—


Miss Gertrude Smith's rendering of a number of selections, varied in their range, brought out the full possibilities of her wonderful, soprano voice.  She is an artist whose ability has been recognized within recent years and she is apparently now at the zenith of her career, as her reception by an appreciative audience would indicate.






Bucyrus (Ohio) Daily Forum
—


Many music lovers in the city have been looking forward with more than usually keen pleasure to the date of the appearance of Messrs. Shonert and Pfouts in a musical recital, which they gave Tuesday evening.  A good audience was present when the curtain rose and to the time when it descended the house rang with applause for the talented musicians, the heartiness of the welcome being more emphatic because of the touch of pride all loyal Bucyrians feel when they say these gentlemen were both Bucyrus boys.  As always, Mr. Shonert played brilliantly, and also, as always, his many warm friends and admirers here greeted his work with hearty applause.  Since his last appearance in the city Mr. Shonert seems to have gained in force and power, his technique having been always phenomenal.  He and his fellow artist responded kindly to many encores.  Mr. Pfouts has attained a very remarkable power, his graceful and charming rendering of all selections being such as to deserve the storms of applause which swept the house, at some especially artistic conception.  During his absence from the city Mr. Pfouts has added finish to a skill, which even when he was a lad, was declared to be a mark of genius.  The success of last night's entertainment and the reception accorded, cannot fail to be a source of great pleasure and content, not only to the artists themselves, but to their immediate relatives who live in the community.




Seattle Post
—


Mr. Edwin M. Shonert, the pianist, plays with a dexterity of execution and a refinement of sentiment that entitles him to be called an artist.  His touch is perfect, and his phrasing elegant, and all his performances last night were received with enthusiasm.




Detroit Tribune
—


One of the eminent soloists of the evening was Mr. Earl Pfouts, who played with so much fire, and knew so well how to reach the heart of his audience by methods perfectly legitimate, that he must be ranked among the very best violinists that have been heard here in many years.




Portland Oregonian
—


Mr. Shonert played with an easy command of the instrument, his execution was artistic and his phrasing was fine.  He shows a technique that is evidently the result of careful study.  For an encore he played a 
Tarantelle
 (Wilson G. Smith) in a very pleasing style.  His second number, 
Caprice
 (Raff), was equally well received.




Montreal (Can.) Gazette
—


The concert opened with an arrangement for the piano by Liszt, rendered by Shonert.  His display of execution and technique and elegance of rendering to feeling and a desire to satisfy and please, was especially noticeable.  In the encore piece which followed, delicate fingering was lost in a sense of delight.  Mr. Shonert displayed a facility in rapid, firm execution, a lightness of shading, and a comfortable warmth of style.  Mr. Shonert is essentially an interpreter and he tinges all his work with a strong personality.




Spokane Falls Review
—


Herr Shonert, who had the first number on the program, received a most flattering reception in making his appearance, and well did he deserve it.  The masterly rendering of the Liszt Rhapsodie showed the clean octave playing and floriture work of the great pianist in a most favorable light.  He had to respond to a vociferous encore, which he did by playing Wilson Smith's unique and original tarantelle, in A minor.  He is an artist in every sense of the term.




EDWIN M. SHONERT, 
Piano




Indianapolis Sentinel
—


Mr. Pfouts plays with a pure tone, which seems to be the prime quality of violin playing.




Salt Lake City, Utah
—


Mr. Shonert, well remembered for his great work with Marteau and Ovide Musin, was a delight.




Norfolk Virginian
—


After the Philharmonic Orchestra had given some delightful selections the concert was opened by Edwin M. Shonert.  He gave Liszt's Rhapsodie Hongroise No. 6.  Mr. Shonert almost immediately won the audience by his beautiful and effective work, and the breathless attention of the people seemed to awake him to a thorough appreciation of the writer's meaning.




Brantford (Can.) Ontario News
—


But, however the other parts of the program had affected the audience, all were ready to hear Shonert.  Some like one style of singing and some like another, but all who like music at all come back to hear Shonert play.  Once he is seated at the piano the audience forgets its ethics of criticism and simply leans back and listens.




Branford (Conn.) Evening Register
—


The most emphatic success was scored by Mr. Earl Pfouts, the violinist, who was a favorite from the first note to the end of the concert.  His tone was very broad, firm and sweet, it had a soaring singing quality, and an unusual phase was the carrying of this quality to the highest notes.  His superb technique in handling the bow, and his soul-stirring interpretations enraptured the audience, and he was again and again brought to the platform.  For his final encore he played one of the difficult Caprices of Paganini, and showed evidence of a marvelously sure technique and perfect intonation.





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