Catholicity, which has always been Mr. Monteux's most characteristic virtue, was his again in yesterday's concert of the Boston Symphony Orchestra in Symphony Hall. Both extremes and the mean in racial heritage were represented on the program: Sibelius for the gray northerners, Respighi for the warm exuberant Latins, Bridge, for neutrality incarnate. On it was nothing from his own native France; yet he fared more than well with the two which fell to his lot, Mr. Bridge conducting his own suite.

This latter piece, "The Sea" might well bear for sub-title: "Much Ado about Nothing." Its composer, Mr. Frank Bridge, is supposedly representative of the Englishmen of the middle ground, Williams, Holst, and the rest. He has all the faults of a neutral, chief among them dullness. Brevity is not one of his virtues. As a conductor he is energetic; one would like to see (not hear) him conduct such a piece as "Ein Heldenleben".

Of all contemporary composers none is more uniformly applauded, or more deservedly so, than the Finn, Sibelius. His first symphony ripens with age and familiarity; it receives full and adequate expression at the hands of Mr. Monteux. It gives the lie to those who assert that Beethoven or Brahms said all that could be said within the limits of sonata form.

Some ancient dances of Respighi proved graceful and charming. The whole concert was well received, Sibelius receiving almost his due, and Mr. Bridge considerably more than that.