The Symphony Concert.

The third concert of the series filled Sanders Theatre with a good sized audience last night notwithstanding the extremely cold weather-which made itself manifest in the temperature of the hall; and the impending mid-years did not prevent a fair sprinkling of undergraduates from being present. The programme which was rather light in its character, was as follows:

Overture (Oberon), Weber

Concerto for Piano in F minor, Henselt Hungarian Dances (1,2 and 6), Brahms Symphony in A minor, (No.3), Mendelssohn

The well known Oberon overture of Weber's was delightfully played, and the orchestra showed in this, perhaps as much as in anything that has been here given, the high degree of finish and unity which it has acquired under Mr. Gericke. The soloist of the evening was Miss Fannie Bloomfield, whose appearance was surprisingly youthful for a public performer. Of the playing of the difficult Henselt concert, there is little to be said. The work itself is rather calculated to display technique, in which Miss Bloomfield is not at all lacking, than to present any important musical ideas. What few of the latter it does possess were certainly not brought out in any satisfactory manner; the performance was as hard and dry as it well could be, and entirely lacking in any musical warmth of feeling whatever. The notes were all executed in a very business-like manner: but beyond that there were none of the characteristic of good piano playing. The taking Hungarian dances by Brahm proved to be the most popular number on the programme, in response to the enthusiastic applause, the second was repeated,-a thing, by the way, which we do not remember to have happened in Cambridge since the Symphony Orchestra was established. The Mendelssohn Symphony,-the "Scotch" was on the whole very well played; but in the third movement, the Scherzo, there was noticeable a tendency to hurry, and to get a way from the conductor's beat, which marred the light and airy brauty of the thing, by causing a slight lack of clearness now and then.

It is somewhat noticeable that in the three concerts already given in this course there has not been a single Beethoven symphony played. It is to be hoped that in the three concerts that demain to be given, Mr. Gericke will find it practicable to play one or two of that master's. Since the number of concerts in Cambridge is only six, it is almost too bad that they should be entirely taken up with novelties; the Mendelssohn symphony of last night was the first standard work of the kind that has been heard here this year. The new things are interesting for a change but it seems desirable that the older and better known works should form the basis of our Sanders Theatre programmes.