Mme. Lenska and The Culp String Quartet

              Mme Lenska
and
The Culp String Quartet

Figure


REDPATH




Figure

The Culp String Quartet

Figure



Figure





MME. AUGUSTA LENSKA, AND THE CULP STRING QUARTET

Notable Comment on Her Work

New York Times:
Augusta Lenska made her debut last night as Ortrud.  She has a genuine contralto voice, and its dark color in the lower range was particularly effective in suggesting the sinister power of the character she was portraying.  Her high voice was also of fine quality, particularly in the extreme range.


New York Evening Mall:
Another important debut was that of Augusta Lenska as Ortrud.  The new contralto showed a thorough understanding of the part and made a deep impression both vocally and dramatically.  Her voice has the range and power necessary for the proper interpretation of this most difficult of all contralto roles.


The Cape Argus, South Africa:
Mme. Lenska is gifted with a voice of remarkable range and extraordinary purity and she also possesses the artists' soul, a high degree of dramatic power and a piquancy of expression that gives an added charm to her rendering both of emotional songs from Grand Opera and simpler ballads of lighter vein.


Musical America, Chicago:
Augusta Lenska disclosed a voice of beautiful quality, rich in timbre and width of range, together with ease of manner and good diction.


Cape Times, South Africa:
Mme. Lenska proved that she had assimilated all the best traditions of artistic interpretation without losing individuality, and in a group of familiar English ballads she showed what dignity of thought and cleverness can do for music which has no particular claims to intelligent consideration.  All the way through the enthusiasm evinced by the audience was unbounded and she was recalled at the end over and over again.


New York Topics and International Courler:
At times she reminded the hearer of Schuman-Heink, which is highest praise.



MME. AUGUSTA LENSKA, prima donna contralto, who will appear with the well-known Culp String Quartet, is of Russian birth and was reared in Cape Colony, Africa.  Going to London to persue her education, her ability as a singer attracted the notice of prominent musicians.  Later she studied in Brussels and before coming to America had appeared in Grand Opera in many countries of Europe.

In 1914 she came to this country for a five months' operatic engagement and had been booked for a world tour afterwards, a tour which necessarily was postponed because of the world war.

MME. LENSKA made her New York debut in October 1914 and was accorded an enthusiastic reception.  Indeed, the exceptionally warm timbre, the extraordinary range, power and flexibility of her voice, in addition to her truly artistic temperament, refined taste and excellent method of singing, have never failed to secure the appreciation of her audiences.

Mme Lenska is not only vocally and histrionically a highly esteemed Grand Opera prima donna, but also as a concert and oratorio singer she has received highest praise from such distinguished authorities as Henri Cain the collaborateur of Massenet.




Comment on the Culp String Quartet

Cincinnati Enquirer:
The Quartet is one of the few institutions in this part of the country devoting itself to the serious performance of quartets, and under the leadership of Siegmond Culp has developed splendid ensemble through several years of association.  The concert last night was given over to three Quartets arranged in historical sequence and in contrasting style.  The first was the Quartet of Haydn in G No. 14.  It was played with classic simplicity and tonal purity, and was noteworthy for the fine style and the musical feeling which pervaded it.  The beautiful Brahms Quartet in B flat followed; the work was given a splendid performance.  The colorful quartet in G major, by Dvorak, one of his last compositions and full of vigor, concluded the program, played with spirit and energy.  The organization deserves commendation for the sincerity of its work and the steady advance it has made in most difficult and at the same time, the finest form of music.


Musical America, Chicago:
The Culp String Quartet is creating a standard for chamber music not only in Cincinnati, but within a wide radius in the Middle West.


Cincinnati Commercial Tribune:
The concert given last Monday evening by the Culp Quartet in the Auditorium of the Woman's Club, deserves to rank as the finest chamber music concert of several seasons.  The steady efforts of the quartet and the serious purpose the members keep constantly before themselves, is telling from concert to concert.  The playing has now reached that stage of excellence which marks a fine and sympathetic ensemble, as well as an artistically directed interpretation of the programs.  Then followed the first complete performance in Cincinnati of the Ravel Quartet; last Monday's performance revealed the composition in its full bloom—the performance was a notable achievement, and the quartet merited the unstinted applause given it by the enthusiastic audience.  The preparation of the individual players had been thorough and the spirit which surrounded the work was most commendable.  The lovely Schuman Quartet in A, beautifully played, concluded the concert.


Youngstown Telegram:
Under the auspices of the Monday Musical Club, the Culp String Quartet of Cincinnati gave an excellent program last night in the most finished manner.  As each member of the quartet is a master of his instrument, it is no wonder the intonation, phrasing, light and shade, together with the beautiful blending and balance of tone, left nothing to be desired.


Youngstown Vindicator:
The program included the Schuman Quartet, op. 42, No. 1, in A minor; Concert Etude by Sinigaglia, a British folk-theme setting by Percy Grainger, and the Bohemian Quartet in B flat, op. 11, by Joseph Suk.  The third number was followed by a double encore, and after the final movement of the Suk Quartet the applause was so insistent that the quartet again responded with an encore, Haydn's Serenade in C.  The Club which brought this attraction to Youngstown deserves great credit for giving music-lovers the opportunity of enjoyment and education such a concert abounds in.



THE CULP STRING QUARTET including in its personnel Messrs.  Siegmond Culp, first violin; Ernest Pack, second violin; Carl Wunderle, viola, and Walter Heermann, cello, leading musicians of the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra, has established itself as an important factor in the musical life of the Middle West.  Unremitting artistic endeavor and constant co-operation have given this quartet of artists that spontaneity and freedom of interpretation which is the distinguishing feature of chamber music at its best.

THE PROGRAMS of the Culp Quartet show unusual variety in selection, making great demands upon the virtuosity of the performers as well as upon their versatility.  An even balance is always maintained between the classical master-works and the most important novelties.



DESIGNED AND PRINTED BY THE W. M. KING SERVICE, CHICAGO