Books › The violinist, 1903 › scan 65
Scan 65
The violinist, 1903
22 lines. Read by computer on 3 September 2026. No printed page number was found. See the scan on archive.org.
1Untiring Devotion of Artists
3SOMEONE has estimated the number of music characters engraved or recorded in the brain of an opera conductor and has reached the appalling conclusion that one small brain may hold, in perfect order and harmony, 17,000,000 notes and characters! Wonderful, and incomprehensible, as is this statement, it only brings to light one fact in connection with the exhausting demands made upon the energy and very life of a musician who plays great works frequently in concerts.
5The persistent striving to acquire a more finished technic, elegance of style and intelligent interpretation, requires more thought and greater energy than to acquire a mighty fortune. One may "come into" the latter sometimes without effort, without even thinking of it, but every advance in musicianship is a result of untiring thought, energy and devotion to art. After gaining a fortune one may rest and recreate, but in the true artist's life there is no stopping, for no man has reached the fountain head, and to stop is to drift down stream. The law of gravity so ordains, and it is so.
7But, because all labor performed devotedly is in itself a sort of recreation, the life of a musician is one of great pleasure. It is only because people generally forget that the pleasure is not unmixed, that there is always some alloy, that they need to be reminded of the fact that only love of art make the tremendous feats of memory and training of mind and body possible.
9Value of Ear-Training
11EXAMINERS at schools of music sometimes ask the students to write down a short, easy melody, played by an assistant on the piano, or to name a few notes, from a given "tonic," but such ear-training examinations are superficial; they are not more than an acknowledgment of the possible value of ear-training, and that is all. Ear-training should be an important part of the study at every conservatory. A few institutions are making more of this important branch of late and in the largest cities specialists have begun to announce classes in ear-training. Progressive teachers will welcome these ear-trainers and advise, beg and pray that all their pupils take a term or more of instruction.
13Advantages of One Term in Chicago or Boston
15A VIOLIN student in Nebraska writes to inquire if I think he would be much benefited by a stay of only ten weeks in Chicago or Boston, with a term of lessons from one of the leading teachers. He goes on to say that he has studied twelve of the Rode Caprices, three octave scales and thirds from Ferd. David's School, and two Viotti Concertos.
17Emphatically, yes; the advantages are many and important, so important that they will impress themselves for life upon the student. Of course, he may select a poor teacher, waste his time, lack ambition to succeed; in that case he will return to his home very little benefited, with disparaging conclusions on the subject of musical study in a great city. But if he is alert to the multitude of advantages awaiting him, there is untold educational wealth to be gathered, even in so short a time as ten weeks.
19Few students go to a great musical center prepared to spend any money for concert tickets and in this they make a serious mistake. Attendance at ten weekly concerts of either the Chicago Orchestra or the Boston Symphony, two or three quartet concerts, at least one grand opera, a score of recitals and an occasional light opera, Sunday afternoon song recital or a good play at one of the theaters, these give strength and inspiration to the plodding, and often weary, student. Any one of these attractions would have brought the young Nebraskan across the western prairie to Omaha, at a considerable expense, yet, unless he thoroughly appreciates his opportunities in Chicago or Boston, these music feasts will slip by.
21Of course, the student must be wide awake, to keep track of the concerts, for some of our very best artists are the very worst advertisers and
The computer misreads some letters and numbers. Where a name matters to you, read the scan.