Books › The violinist, 1900 › scan 120
Scan 120
The violinist, 1900
30 lines. Read by computer on 3 September 2026. No printed page number was found. See the scan on archive.org.
1instrument. He gives his hearers every particle of musical feeling, thrilling them. But this young man, who is not unlike Ysaye in his methods, twists his body a great deal while playing. He has authority of manner though not a full measure of repose.
3Differentiating the various qualities that characterize these four supreme artists is an extremely difficult task. There being no scientific instrument available for the exact measuring of tone and the kindred essentials of violin art one is compelled to trust to individual opinion which is valuable in proportion to the keenness and the training of the listener's ear.
5The person whose musical ear is sensitively attuned to the highest degree of accurate recordings of tonal gradations, will perceive differences in the fundamental tone qualities which Elman, Ysaye, Kreisler and Zimbalist draw from their instruments. Although these differences may be apparent to the less highly cultivated ear they are likely to be subconscious rather than definite impressions.
7Only the great violin artist can reach the heart, for none can be so designated whose complement does not include that deep appealing quality of tone, that conveys a message of perfect understanding. And that is why the four distinguished masters now under consideration surpass their lesser endowed colleagues—violinists with talent, with developed abilities, with admirable factors, yet to whom has been denied colossal gifts for touching human heart strings through the medium of tonal beauties of almost indefinable hue.
9"For the moment it would seem that their rating should be Kreisler, Zimbalist, Ysaye and Elman. But tomorrow may bring changes, for the race is to the swiftest, the most enduring, and the most dependable.
11Eugen Ysaye is dignified in his daily bearing, courteous, quiet mannered, temperate in speech. When on tour he lives at hotels and yearns for his Brussels home, near which he has a chateau and where he loves the companionship of his wife, his son and close friends. If it were not for the monetary recompense and the honor attached to an American tour the Belgian would never come to these shores, it is said.
13In his own country Ysaye is a musical idol. But he has other interests than those strictly musical. He is fond of literature, he manifests the keenest delight in the outdoor life, and the daily happenings in the progress of the European world furnish subjects for his mental activities.
15Possessed of abundant means, Ysaye is able to gratify himself in those forms of relaxation that appeal to the artistic temperament. And to the already comfortable fortune which is now his will be added, at the completion of this season, one hundred thousand dollars.
17Successful though he has been in his profession, Fritz Kreisler has not accumulated so generous a share of worldly goods as his Belgian colleague. The Viennese—whose home is now in Berlin—lives with his American wife in ample comfort, and he is socially popular because of his splendid education, a charm of manner invariably winning and an ever present willingness to perform favors for his friends.
19Kreisler's fondness for business has frequently prompted remarks to the effect that if he had been a master violinist he would have become a figure in commerce, and an incident illustrative of this occurred at a recent New York appearance at a Bagby Morning Musicale, when his absence at the time he should have appeared proved to have been caused by his reading of the tape on a stock ticker in a nearby broker's office.
21Physically Kreisler is the finest appearing of any violinist now before the public. He is tall, broad of shoulder and presents the true military bearing. He is pre-eminently manly, authoritative in bearing and free from affectation.
23Efrem Zimbalist and Mischa Elman were both born in Russia, where they knew comparative poverty prior to the time their instrumental proficiency gained financial ease of mind and physical comforts.
25Pupils of the same master—Leopold Auer of the St. Petersburg Conservatory—these violinists have acquired their skill in much the same method, even though one is essentially emotional while the other's tendency is toward classicalism. Already possessed of a fortune running into five figures, Elman is heading steadily toward much greater riches and he is saving a fair share of his earnings, which approximate $60,000 annually.
27He usually spends his summers at his country place, where his parents and sister are always near him. Thus far Elman has not married, which likewise holds true of Zimbalist. This youth has not yet developed his
29(Continued on Page 24)
The computer misreads some letters and numbers. Where a name matters to you, read the scan.