Scan 82
The violin : solo playing, soloists and solos, 1905
8 lines. Read by computer on 3 September 2026. Printed page 66. See the scan on archive.org.
1and zealous protectors of the classical? Not at all. The grand reason, next to their prejudices, is their inattention to the question, and to the arguments by which the sentiments of violinists are supported. But I entertain so good an opinion of those men as to think that if they really understood the subject, they would no more pour contempt upon it than upon the violin itself.
3Technical perfection! Why should the harmless phrase offend them? It admits of great latitude. I call technical perfection the maturity of gracefulness and execution which partly composes the character of the virtuoso. In other words, virtuosity is a constellation made up of these stars—perfect left-hand, perfect bowing, perfect taste, perfect brilliance, perfect dignity, perfect delicacy, perfect tone, perfect knowledge, and above all, perfect love for the highest in violin playing. And if these men will do the virtuoso justice, they will see that he is not without artistic conceptions.
5A very grave error is that committed by teachers of the violin who refuse to permit the genius of the pupil to take its free course, and will not suffer them to study works which are most in harmony with their inclinations. To compel the attention of young pupils towards classical music for which they possibly have no inclination, is manifestly to prevent them from ever attaining perfection in anything, since we always find that those who do not take pleasure in the compositions they study, rarely make great progress. On the other hand, those who follow the bent of their nature, most commonly became excellent in their vocation and render themselves eminent, whether in classical or bravura playing. This truth is clearly manifest.
7Nevertheless, virtuosity can be carried to excess. Although it is meritorious and good in its way, yet the one who is addicted to it beyond measure, partly wastes his time, exhausts his intellect, and weakens the force of his conceptions, insomuch that he frequently diminishes the fertility and readiness of his resources,
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