Great Pianists on Piano Playing. James Francis Cooke
Waste in Technical Study
Brain Technic Versus Finger Technic
Questions in Style, Interpretation, Expression and Technic of Pianoforte Playing
The Technical Demands of the Piece
Questions in Style, Interpretation, Expression and Technic of Pianoforte Playing
The Composer's Limitations in His Means of Expression
The Interpreter Must Coöperate with the Composer
Studying the Historical Background
The Inadequacy of Musical Signs
Mistakes Peculiar to the Pianoforte Player
Questions in Style, Interpretation, Expression and Technic of Pianoforte Playing
I
THE ARTIST'S LIFE
The Virtuoso's Career as It Really Is
The father of a young woman who was preparing to become a virtuoso once applied to a famous musical educator for advice regarding the future career of his daughter. "I want her to become one of the greatest pianists America has ever produced," he said. "She has talent, good health, unlimited ambition, a good general education, and she is industrious." The educator thought for awhile, and then said, "It is very likely that your daughter will be successful in her chosen field, but the amount of grinding study she will be obliged to undergo to meet the towering standards of modern pianism is awful to contemplate. In the end she will have the flattery of the multitude, and, let us hope, some of their dollars as well. In return, she may have to sacrifice many of the comforts and pleasures which women covet. The more successful she is, the more of a nomad she must become. She will know but few days for years when she will not be compelled to practice for hours. She becomes a kind of chattel of the musical public. She will be harassed by ignorant critics and perhaps annoyed by unreliable managers. In return she has money and fame, but, in fact, far less of the great joy and purpose of life than if she followed the customary domestic career with some splendid man as her husband. When I was younger I used to preach quite an opposite sermon, but the more I see of the hardships of the artist's life the less I think of the dollars and the fame it brings. It is hard enough for a man, but it is twice as hard for a woman."
Golden Bait
Some cynic has contended that the much-despised "Almighty Dollar" has been the greatest incentive to the struggling virtuoso in European music centers. Although this may be true in a number of cases, it is certainly unjust in others. Many of the virtuosos find travel in America so distasteful that notwithstanding the huge golden bait,