Review of Madame Ritter-Bondy’s Recital at the Athenaeum Hall, October 1893

The review notice on page six of The Glasgow Herald, on Wednesday the 4th of October, reads:

 

“MADAME RITTER-BONDY’S RECITAL. – The re-appearance on the concert platform of so genuine an artiste as Madame Ritter-Bondy is ever welcome, and her concert last evening was additionally interesting from the fact that she introduced to the public for the first time her daughter Miss Ida in the capacity of a pianist and her son Mr Camillo, a violinist. The smallness of the audience was a little discouraging to the debutantes; nevertheless they performed their task with enthusiasm, and created a favourable impression. Miss Ida first played along with Madame Ritter-Bondy an improvisation of Reinecke over the gavotte by Gluck for two pianos. One did not expect the young artiste to exhibit the matured breadth of tone of her mother, but the executants were entirely in sympathy with the spirit of the music, and, what is of first importance, Miss Ida’s technique was not at fault. Her next contribution was Chopin’s Ballade in F Minor, the last of the famous four. Sadness is the theme of the musical poem, and the pianist, although not quite realising all that the music expresses, showed herself an apt student of the Polish composer. She worked up a considerable degree of feeling, and finished the coda excellently. Neatness and deftness of fingering, with sweetness of tone, are her chief characteristics. The violinist, who is a pupil of Dr Joachim, has a solid style. His intonation was almost faultless, and he manipulated his bow with confidence. He gave a performance of the well-known Romance in F Major of Beethoven, which he executed with intelligence, promising greater things in the future. Madame Ritter-Bondy’s chief contribution was Beethoven’s Sonata in E Flat Major, Op. 31, in which her high interpretive power and rare executive ability were conspicuous. The programme also included Beethoven’s Sonata for Piano and Violin, Op. 12, No. 1, and several minor pieces from the great masters. The audience was warmly appreciative.”