Scan 333
The American history and encyclopedia of music .., 1908
10 lines. Read by computer on 8 September 2026. Printed page 289. See the scan on archive.org.
1piano better than those of any other composer, but they dazzle while they do not warm you. A skilful technician can produce marvelous effects with the material in a Liszt "Rhapsody," but it takes a soulful player to interpret a Schumann melody, be it ever so simple. It seems to be the custom with many who plan popular concerts to close with a Liszt number; the effect is taking, for even though Liszt was willing to sacrifice some of the soul of art for the sake of display he succeeded always in creating an effect. And the concert-goer who leaves the hall with the last notes of a Liszt production ringing in his ears, soon forgets their fleeting impression; he has had, as it were, a salon acquaintance with the man but has caught no glimpse of soul beneath the outward formality of a society acquaintance.
3It is impossible in so short a chapter as this is to try to give any adequate idea of the ground we have tried to cover. But it is hoped that these few suggestions will help you to a little better understanding of a concert program or a single piano selection.
5THE VIOLIN.
7Next to the piano no instrument is more popular nor more generally abused than is the soulful violin. It is the most beautiful of all musical instruments, its tones most nearly resemble the human voice, and in the hands of a master it speaks with an honest human tongue. And yet it is rarely well played, and small wonder, when one understands that in violin music more than in that of any other instrument the whole character of the production depends wholly upon the performer. His lightest touch, the slightest shifting of the fingers of his left hand, or the most delicate pressure of the bow are recorded and affect the quality of the tones he produces.
9Let us look at the piano and then at the violin and see how the tones of each are produced. The keyboard of a piano consists of white and black keys; each key, as you
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