Books › Voice and violin, 1898 › scan 165
Scan 165
Voice and violin, 1898
6 lines. Read by computer on 3 September 2026. Printed page 145. See the scan on archive.org.
1dancing appeared to me to consist in great leaps or bounds; he did not impress me much as a dancer, but as a violinist, in his own inimitable style, he was unrivalled.
3Curious to relate, I heard him for the first time at the Theatre St. Hubert, at Brussels, on the very stage where, shortly before, I heard Camillo Sivori, as described in my "Famous Violinists," &c., p. 90. I was so delighted with St. Léon's playing that I not only induced my violin master to go with me on the next occasion, but I mentioned the fact to Vieuxtemps. The latter seemed rather displeased at the effect which this music had made upon me, and when I spoke of it rather enthusiastically, the great violinist shrugged his shoulders, and said, "Oui, il joue bien, mais il n'a pas de style!" Nevertheless St. Léon had what Vieuxtemps never possessed—the faculty of touching the hearts of his audience. The great Belgian violinist astonished and pleased, but St. Léon charmed.
5He appeared in Brussels (in the fifties) in two ballets, in which the violin solo took the principal part, and, as far as he was concerned, the dancing only a very secondary part. One of these was called Le Lutin de la Vallée, and the other, Le Violon du Diable, both very much alike. The latter is supposed to be written (or arranged ?) by Pugny; but from the reminiscences of well-known English airs which occur in it (picked up, probably, during
The computer misreads some letters and numbers. Where a name matters to you, read the scan.