Famous Violinists of To-day and Yesterday

By Henry Charles Lahee

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by Henry C. Lahee

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Title: Famous Violinists of To-day and Yesterday

Author: Henry C. Lahee

Release Date: February 2, 2005 [EBook #14884]

Language: English


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[Illustration: OLE BULL]




Famous Violinists of To-day and Yesterday

By

Henry C. Lahee

_ILLUSTRATED_

Boston
The Page Company
Publishers

1899
L.C. PAGE AND COMPANY
(INCORPORATED)

Ninth Impression, February, 1912
Tenth Impression, January, 1916

THE COLONIAL PRESS
C.H. SIMONDS CO., BOSTON, U.S.A.




PREFACE.


In "Famous Violinists" the writer has endeavoured to follow the same
general plan as in "Famous Singers," viz., to give a "bird's-eye view"
of the most celebrated violinists from the earliest times to the present
day rather than a detailed account of a very few. Necessarily, those who
have been prominently before the public as performers are selected in
preference to those who have been more celebrated as teachers.

It was at first intended to arrange the chapters according to "schools,"
but it soon became evident that such a plan would lead to inextricable
confusion, and it was found best to follow the chronological order of
birth.

The "Chronological Table" is compiled from the best existing
authorities, and is not an effort to bring together a large number of
names. If such were the desire, there would be no difficulty in filling
up a large volume with names of the violinists of good capabilities, who
are well known in their own cities.

HENRY C. LAHEE.




CONTENTS.


CHAPTER                                  PAGE

         PREFACE                          ix

      I. INTRODUCTORY                     11
     II. 1650 TO 1750                     30
    III. 1750 TO 1800                     60
     IV. PAGANINI                        104
      V. 1800 TO 1830                    135
     VI. OLE BULL                        172
    VII. 1830 TO 1850                    204
   VIII. JOACHIM                         244
     IX. VIOLINISTS OF TO-DAY            261
      X. WOMEN AS VIOLINISTS             300
     XI. FAMOUS QUARTETS                 345




LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS


                                          PAGE
OLE BULL                        _Frontispiece_
ARCANGELO CORELLI                          30
NICOLO PAGANINI                           104
CAMILLO SIVORI                            154
MARTIN PIERRE JOSEPH MARSICK              238
JOSEPH JOACHIM                            244
EMIL SAURET                               264
MAUD POWELL                               340
FRANZ KNEISEL                             362




FAMOUS VIOLINISTS OF TO-DAY AND YESTERDAY.




CHAPTER I.

INTRODUCTORY.


There is no instrument of music made by the hands of man that holds such
a powerful sway over the emotions of every living thing capable of
hearing, as the violin. The singular powers of this beautiful instrument
have been eloquently eulogised by Oliver Wendell Holmes, in the
following words:

"Violins, too. The sweet old Amati! the divine Stradivari! played on by
ancient maestros until the bow hand lost its power, and the flying
fingers stiffened. Bequeathed to the passionate young enthusiast, who
made it whisper his hidden love, and cry his inarticulate longings, and
scream his untold agonies, and wail his monotonous despair. Passed from
his dying hand to the cold virtuoso, who let it slumber in its case for
a generation, till, when his hoard was broken up, it came forth once
more, and rode the stormy symphonies of royal orchestras, beneath the
rushing bow of their lord and leader. Into lonely prisons with
improvident artists; into convents from which arose, day and night, the
holy hymns with which its tones were blended; and back again to orgies,
in which it learned to howl and laugh as if a legion of devils were shut
up in it; then, again, to the gentle _dilettante_, who calmed it down
with easy melodies until it answered him softly as in the days of the
old maestros; and so given into our hands, its pores all full of music,
stained like the meerschaum through and through with the concentrated
hue and sweetness of all the harmonies which have kindled and faded on
its strings."

Such, indeed, has been the history of many a noble instrument fashioned
years and years ago, in the days when violin playing did not hold the
same respect and admiration that it commands at the present time.

The evolution of the violin is a matter which can be traced back to the
dark ages, but the fifteenth century may be considered as the period
when the art of making instruments of the viol class took root in Italy.
It cannot be said, however, that the violin, with the modelled back
which gives its distinctive tone, made its appearance until the middle
of the sixteenth century. In France, England, and Germany, there was
very little violin making until the beginning of the following century.
Andrea Amati was born in 1520, and he was the founder of the great
Cremona school of violin makers, of which Nicolo Amati, the grandson of
Andrea, was the most eminent. The art of violin making reached its
zenith in Italy at the time of Antonio Stradivari, who lived at Cremona.
He was born in 1644, and lived until 1737, continuing his labours almost
to the day of his death, for an instrument is in existence made by him
in the year in which he died. It is an interesting fact that the art of
violin making in Italy developed at the time when the painters of Italy
displayed their greatest genius, and when the fine arts were encouraged
by the most distinguished patronage.

As the art of violin making developed, so did that of violin playing,
but, whereas the former reached its climax with Stradivari, the latter
is still being developed, as new writers and players find new
difficulties and new effects. While there are many proofs that
orchestras existed, and that violins of all sizes were used in
ecclesiastical music, there is still some doubt as to who was the first
solo violinist of eminence. The earliest of whom we have any account
worthy of mention, was Baltazarini, a native of Piedmont, who went to
France in 1577 to superintend the music of Catharine de Medici. In 1581
he composed the music for the nuptials of the Duke de Joyeuse with Mlle.
de Vaudemont, sister of the queen, and this is said to have been the
origin of the heroic and historical ballet in France.

The progress of violin playing can also be judged somewhat by the
compositions written for the instrument. Of these the earliest known is
a "Romanesca per violone Solo e Basso se piaci," and some dances, by
Biagio Marini, published in 1620. This contains the "shake." Then there
is a "Toccata" for violin solo, by Paolo Quagliati, published in 1623,
and a collection of violin pieces by Carlo Farina, published in 1627 at
Dresden, in which the variety of bowing, double stopping, and chords
shows a great advance in the demands upon the execution.

Farina held the position of solo violinist at the Court of Saxony, and
has been called the founder of the race of violin virtuosi. One of his
compositions, named "Cappriccio Stravagante," requires the instrument to
imitate the braying of an ass, and other sounds belonging to the animal
kingdom, as well as the twanging of guitars and the fife and drum of the
soldier.

Eighteen sonatas composed by Giovanni Battista Fontana, and published at
Venice in 1641, show a distinct advance in style, and Tomasso Antonio
Vitali, himself a famous violinist, wrote a "Chaconne" of such merit
that it was played by no less a virtuoso than Joachim, at the Monday
popular concerts in London, in 1870, nearly two hundred years after its
composition.

Italy was the home of the violin, of composition for the violin, and of
violin playing, for the first school was the old Italian school, and
from Italy, by means of her celebrated violinists, who travelled and
spread throughout Europe, the other schools were established.

Violin playing grew in favour in Italy, France, Germany, and England at
about the same time, but in England it was many years before the
violinist held a position of any dignity. The fiddle, as it was called,
was regarded by the gentry with profound contempt. Butler, in
"Hudibras," refers to one Jackson, who lost a leg in the service of the
Roundheads, and became a professional "fiddler:"

  "A squeaking engine he apply'd
  Unto his neck, on northeast side,
  Just where the hangman does dispose,
  To special friends, the knot or noose;
  For 'tis great grace, when statesmen straight
  Dispatch a friend, let others wait.

  His grisly beard was long and thick,
  With which he strung his fiddle-stick;
  For he to horse-tail scorned to owe,
  For what on his own chin did grow."

Many years later Purcell, the composer, wrote a catch in which the
merits of a violin maker named Young, and his son, a violin player, are
recorded. The words are as follows:

  "You scrapers that want a good fiddle, well strung,
  You must go to the man that is old while he's Young;
  But if this same Fiddle, you fain would play bold,
  You must go to his son, who'll be Young when he's old.
  There's old Young and young Young, both men of renown,
  Old sells and young plays the best Fiddle in town,
  Young and old live together, and may they live long,
  Young to play an old Fiddle; old to sell a new song."

In the course of time the English learned to esteem all arts more
highly, and in no country was a great musician more sure of a warm
welcome.

Two celebrated violinists were born in the year 1630, Thomas Baltzar,
and John Banister, the former in Germany, at Lubec, and the latter in
London.

Baltzar was esteemed the finest performer of his time, and is said to
have been the first to have introduced the practice of "shifting." In
1656 Baltzar went to England, where he quite eclipsed Davis Mell, a
clockmaker, who was considered a fine player, and did much to give the
violin an impetus toward popularity. The wonder caused by his
performances in England, shortly after his arrival, is best described in
the quaint language of Anthony Wood, who "did, to his very great
astonishment, hear him play on the violin. He then saw him run up his
Fingers to the end of the Fingerboard of the Violin, and run them back
insensibly, and all with alacrity, and in very good tune, which he nor
any in England saw the like before."

At the Restoration Baltzar was appointed leader of the king's celebrated
band of twenty-four violins, but, sad to relate, "Being much admired by
all lovers of musick, his company was therefore desired; and company,
especially musical company, delighting in drinking, made him drink more
than ordinary, which brought him to his grave." And he was buried in the
cloister of Westminster Abbey.

John Banister was taught music by his father, one of the _waits_ of the
parish of St. Giles, and acquiring great proficiency on the violin was
noticed by King Charles II., who sent him to France for improvement. On
his return he was appointed chief of the king's violins. King Charles
was an admirer of everything French, and he appears, according to Pepys,
to have aroused the wrath of Banister by giving prominence to a French
fiddler named Grabu, who is said to have been an "impudent pretender."
Banister lost his place for saying, either to or in the hearing of the
king, that English performers on the violin were superior to those of
France.

John Banister lived in times when fiddle playing was not highly
esteemed, if we may judge by the following ordinance, made in 1658: "And
be it further enacted by the authority aforesaid, that if any person or
persons, commonly called Fiddlers, or minstrels, shall at any time after
the said first day of July be taken playing, Fiddling, or making music
in any inn, alehouse, or tavern or shall be proffering themselves, or
desiring, or entreating any person or persons to hear them play ...
shall be adjudged ... rogues, vagabonds, and sturdy beggars."

John Banister seems to have been a somewhat "sturdy beggar," though not
exactly in the sense meant by the ordinance, for he established regular
concerts at his house, "now called the Musick-school, over against the
George Tavern in Whitefriars." These concerts began in 1672, and
continued till near his death, which occurred in 1679. He too, was
buried in the cloister of Westminster Abbey. His son, also, was an
excellent performer on the violin, and played first violin in the
Italian opera when it was first introduced into England. He was one of
the musicians of Charles II., James II., William and Mary, and of Queen
Anne.

Henry Eccles, who lived about the end of the seventeenth century, went
to France, where he became a member of the king's band, and William
Corbett, who went to Italy to study the violin in 1710, was a player of
much ability; but one of the most eminent of English violinists was
Matthew Dubourg, born 1703, who played at a concert when he was so small
that he was placed on a stool in order that he might be seen. At eleven
years of age he was placed under Geminiani, who had recently established
himself in London. Dubourg was appointed, in 1728, Master and Composer
of State-Music in Ireland, and on the death of Festing, in 1752, he
became leader of the king's band in London, and held both posts until
his death in 1767.

An amusing incident is related of Dubourg and Handel. The latter visited
Dublin and presided at a performance of the "Messiah." A few evenings
later, Dubourg, who was leader of the band at the Theatre, had to
improvise a "close," and wandered about in a fit of abstract modulation
for so long that he forgot the original key. At last, however, after a
protracted shake, he landed safely on the key-note, when Handel called
out in a voice loud enough to be heard in the remotest parts of the
theatre, "Welcome home, welcome home, Mr. Dubourg."

Dubourg's name is the first on record in connection with the
performance of a concerto in an English theatre.

John Clegg, a pupil of Dubourg, was a violinist of great ability, whom
Handel placed at the head of the opera band, but his faculties became
deranged by intense study and practice, and he died at a comparatively
early age, in 1742, an inmate of Bedlam.

Another very promising young English violinist was Thomas Linley, who
exhibited great musical powers, and performed a concerto in public when
eight years old. He was sent to Italy to study under Nardini, and
through the mediation of that artist he became acquainted with Mozart,
who was about the same age. Linley's career was prematurely closed, for
at the age of twenty-two he was drowned through the capsizing of a
pleasure-boat.

This completes the list of English violinists of note who were born
previous to the nineteenth century. The later ones we shall find in
their place in succeeding chapters, but there have been very few
violinists of English birth who have followed the career of the
"virtuoso." Even Antonio James Oury, who made a series of concert tours
lasting nine years, during which he occasionally appeared in conjunction
with De Bériot and Malibran, is hardly known as a "virtuoso," and was
not all English. But there are pathetic circumstances in regard to the
career of Oury. He was the son of an Italian of noble descent, who had
served as an officer in the army of Napoleon, and had been taken
prisoner by the English. Making the best of his misfortunes the elder
Oury settled in England, married a Miss Hughes, and became a professor
of dancing and music.

The son, Antonio, began to learn the violin at the age of three, in
which he was a year or two ahead of the average virtuoso, and he made
great progress. By and by he heard Spohr, and after that his diligence
increased, for he practised, during seven months, not less than fourteen
hours a day. Even Paganini used to sink exhausted after ten hours'
practice. In 1820, we are told, he went to Paris and studied under
Baillot, Kreutzer, and Lafont, receiving from each two lessons a week
for several successive winters. With such an imposing array of talent at
his service much might be expected of Mr. Oury, and he actually made his
début at the Philharmonic concerts in London.

There was another unfortunate officer of Napoleon who became tutor to
the Princesses of Bavaria. His name was Belleville. Mr. Oury met his
daughter, and, there being naturally a bond of sympathy between them,
they married. She was an amiable and accomplished pianist, and together
they made the nine years' concert tour.

During the period in which the art of violin playing was being perfected
on the Continent, the English were too fully occupied with commercial
pursuits to foster and develop the art. Up to the present day the most
eminent virtuoso is commonly spoken of as a "fiddler." Even Joachim,
when he went to a barber's shop in High Street, Kensington, and declined
to accept the advice of the tonsorial artist, and have his hair cropped
short, was warned that "he'd look like one o' them there fiddler chaps."
The barber apparently had no greater estimation of the violinist's art
than the latter had of the tonsorial profession, and the situation was
sufficiently ludicrous to form the subject of a picture in _Punch_, and
thus the matter assumed a serious aspect.

England has not been the home of any particular school of violin
playing, but has received her stimulus from Continental schools, to
which her sons have gone to study, and from which many eminent
violinists have been imported.

The word "school," so frequently used in connection with the art of
violin playing, seems to lead to confusion. The Italian school,
established by Corelli, appears to have been the only original school.
Its pupils scattered to various parts of Europe, and there established
other schools. To illustrate this statement, we will follow in a direct
line from Corelli, according to the table given in Grove's Dictionary.

The pupils of Corelli were Somis, Locatelli, Geminiani (Italians), and
Anêt (a Frenchman), whose pupil Senaillé was also French. The greatest
pupil of Somis was Pugnani, an Italian, and his greatest pupil was
Viotti, a Piedmontese, who founded the French school, and from him came
Roberrechts, his pupil De Bériot and his pupil Vieuxtemps, the two
latter Belgians, also Baillot, etc., down to Marsick and Sarasate, a
Spaniard, while through Rode, a Frenchman, we have Böhm (school of
Vienna) and his pupil Joachim, a Hungarian (school of Berlin).

Several violinists are found under two schools, as for instance,
Pugnani, who was first a pupil of Tartini and later of Somis, and Teresa
Milanollo, pupil of Lafont and of De Bériot, who appear under different
schools.

The only conclusion to be drawn is that the greatest violinists were
really independent of any school, and, by their own genius, broke loose
from tradition and established schools of their own. Some of them, on
the other hand, had but few pupils, as for instance, Paganini, who had
but two, and Sarasate. Many also were teachers rather than performers.
We have to deal chiefly with the virtuosi.




CHAPTER II.

1650 TO 1750.


Arcangelo Corelli, whose name is recognised as one of the greatest in
the history of violin playing and composition, and who laid the
foundation for all future development of technique, was born in 1653, at
Fusignano, near Imola, in the territory of Bologna.

He showed an early propensity for the violin, and studied under Bassani,
a man of extensive knowledge and capabilities, while Mattei Simonelli
was his instructor in counterpoint.

Corelli at one time sought fame away from home, and he is said to have
visited Paris, where Lulli, the chief violinist of that city,
exhibited such jealousy and violence that the mild-tempered Corelli
withdrew. In 1680 he went to Germany, where he was well received, and
entered the service of the Elector of Bavaria, but he soon returned to
Rome. His proficiency had now become so great that his fame extended
throughout Europe, and pupils flocked to him. His playing was
characterised by refined taste and elegance, and by a firm and even
tone.

[Illustration: ARCHANGE CORELLI]

When the opera was well established in Rome, about 1690, Corelli led the
band. His chief patron in Rome was Cardinal Ottoboni, and it was at his
house that an incident occurred which places Corelli at the head of
those musicians who have from time to time boldly maintained the rights
of music against conversation. He was playing a solo when he noticed the
cardinal engaged in conversation with another person. He immediately
laid down his violin, and, on being asked the reason, answered that "he
feared the music might interrupt the conversation."

Corelli was a man of gentle disposition and simple habits. His plainness
of dress and freedom from ostentation gave the impression that he was
parsimonious, and Handel says of him that "he liked nothing better than
seeing pictures without paying for it, and saving money," He was also
noted for his objection to riding in carriages.

He lived on terms of intimacy with the leading artists of his time, and
had a great fondness for pictures, of which he had a valuable
collection. These he left at his death to Cardinal Ottoboni.

It was at Cardinal Ottoboni's that Corelli became acquainted with
Handel, and at one of the musical evenings there a "Serenata," written
by the latter, was performed. Corelli does not seem to have played it
according to the ideas of the composer, for Handel, giving way to his
impetuous temper, snatched the fiddle out of Correlli's hand. Corelli
mildly remarked, "My dear Saxon, this music is in the French style, with
which I am not acquainted."

For many years Corelli remained at Rome, but at last he yielded to
temptation and went to Naples, where Scarlatti induced him to play some
of his concertos before the king. This he did in great fear, for he had
not his own orchestra with him. He found Scarlatti's musicians able to
play at first sight as well as his own did after rehearsals, and, the
performance going off well, he was again admitted to play, this time one
of his sonatas, in the royal presence. The king found the adagio so long
and dry that he quitted the room, much to Corelli's mortification. But
greater trouble was in store for the virtuoso. Scarlatti had written a
masque, which was to be played before the king, but owing to the
composer's limited knowledge of the violin, Corelli's part was very
awkward and difficult, and he failed to execute it, while the Neapolitan
violinists played it with ease. To make matters worse, Corelli made an
unfortunate mistake in the next piece, which was written in the key of C
minor, and led off in C major. The mistake was repeated, and Scarlatti
had to call out to him to set him right. His mortification was so great
that he quietly left Naples and returned to Rome. He found here a new
violinist, Valentini, who had won the admiration of the people, and he
took it so much to heart that his health failed, and he died in January,
1713.

Corelli was buried in princely style in the Pantheon, not far from
Raphael's tomb, and Cardinal Ottoboni erected a monument over his grave.
During many years after his death a solemn service, consisting of
selections from his own works, was performed in the Pantheon on the
anniversary of his funeral. On this occasion, the works were performed
in a slow, firm, and distinct manner, just as they were written, without
changing the passages in the way of embellishment, and this is probably
the way in which he himself played them.

Corelli's compositions are remarkable for delicate taste and pleasing
melodies and harmonies. He must be considered as the author of the
greatest improvement which violin music underwent at the beginning of
the eighteenth century. These compositions are regarded as invaluable
for the instruction of young players, and some of them may be frequently
heard in the concert-room at the present day, two hundred years since
they were written. Corelli's most celebrated pupils, Somis, Locatelli,
Geminiani, and Anêt, settled respectively in Italy, Holland, England,
and Poland.

Giovanni Battista Somis was born in Piedmont, and, after studying under
Corelli, he went to Venice and studied under Vivaldi. He was appointed
solo violinist to the king at Turin and leader of the royal band, and
seems scarcely ever to have left Turin after these appointments. Little
is known of his playing or his compositions, but, by the work of his
pupils, it is evident that he possessed originality. He formed a style
more brilliant and more emotional, and caused a decided step forward in
the art of violin playing. He was the teacher of Leclair, Giardini, and
Chiabran, as well as Pugnani, and he forms a connecting link between the
classical schools of Italy and France.

Pietro Locatelli was born at Bergamo, and became a pupil of Corelli at a
very early age. He travelled considerably, and was undoubtedly a great
and original virtuoso. He has been accused of charlatanism, inasmuch as
he overstepped all reasonable limits in his endeavours to enlarge the
powers of execution of the violin, and has, on that account, been
called the grandfather of our modern "finger-heroes."

Locatelli settled in Amsterdam, where he died in 1764. There he
established regular public concerts, and he left a number of
compositions, some of which are used at the present day.

Jean Baptiste Lulli, one of the earliest violinists in France, is
perhaps associated with the violin in a manner disproportionate to the
part he actually played in its progress. He was a musician of great
ability, and his compositions are occasionally heard even to this day.
Lulli was born near Florence about 1633. When quite young he was taken
to France by the Chevalier de Guise, and entered the service of Mlle. de
Montpensier. He was employed in the kitchen, where he seems to have
lightened his burdens by playing tricks on the cook and tunes on the
stewpans. He also beguiled his leisure hours by playing the violin, in
which art he made such progress that the princess engaged a regular
instructor for him. Fortunately, as it turned out, his wit led him into
composing a satirical song on his employer, and he was sent off, but
shortly afterwards secured a post as one of the king's violinists in the
celebrated band of the twenty-four violins. Soon after this a special
band called _Les Petits Violons_ was formed with Lulli at their head,
and under his direction it surpassed the band of twenty-four.

Lulli found great favour at court, and, indeed, astonished the world
with his exquisite taste and skill. That he was firmly established in
the favour of the king is shown by the story that, when Corelli came to
France and played one of his sonatas, King Louis listened without
showing any sign of pleasure, and, sending for one of his own
violinists, requested him to play an aria from Lulli's opera of "Cadmus
et Hermione," which, he declared, suited his taste.

There is little doubt that the principles of the great Italian school
of violin playing were, some years later, brought into France by Anêt,
who was born in 1680, and returned from Italy about 1700, but owing to
the jealousies of his colleagues, he found it advisable to leave France
in a short time, and he is said to have spent the rest of his life as
conductor of the private band of a nobleman in Poland.

Lulli is said to have been very avaricious, and his wealth included four
houses, all in the best quarters of Paris, together with securities and
appointments worth about $70,000. His death, in 1687, was caused by a
peculiar accident. While conducting a performance of his orchestra he
struck his foot with the cane which he used for marking the time. The
bruise gradually assumed such a serious condition that it ended his
life.

Jean Baptiste Senaillé, who was a pupil of Anêt, was born in 1687, and
turned to the Italian school. In 1719 he entered the service of the Duke
of Orleans.

Francesco Geminiani was considered the ablest of the pupils of Corelli,
and was born about 1680. When about twenty-four years of age he went to
England, where his talent secured a great reputation for him, some
people even declaring him to be superior, as a player, to Corelli. He
lived to an advanced age, and was in Dublin visiting his pupil Dubourg
at the time of his death. He was a man of unsettled habits, and was
frequently in dire necessity, caused chiefly by his love of pictures,
which led him into unwise purchases, and thus frequently into debt.

About the year 1650 three violinists were born in Italy, who all left
their mark upon the history of violin playing.

Tommaso Vitali was born at Bologna, and was leader of the orchestra in
that city, and later in Modena.

Giuseppe Torelli was leader of a church orchestra in Bologna, and
afterwards accepted the post of leader of the band of the Markgraf of
Brandenburg-Anspach, at Anspach, in Germany. To him is generally
ascribed the invention of the "Concerto."

Antonio Vivaldi was the son of a violinist, and sought his fortune in
Germany, but returned to his native city in 1713. He wrote extensively
for the violin, and is said to have added something to the development
of its technique. An anecdote is told of him to the effect that one day
during mass a theme for a fugue struck him. He immediately quitted the
altar at which he was officiating, for he united clerical with musical
duties, and, hastening to the sacristy to write down the theme,
afterwards returned and finished the mass. For this he was brought
before the Inquisition, but being considered only as a "musician," a
term synonymous with "madman," the sentence was mild,--he was forbidden
to say mass in the future.

The most illustrious pupil of Vivaldi was Francesco Maria Veracini, who
was born about 1685. He is said to have been a teacher of Tartini, who,
if he did not actually receive instruction from him, at least profited
by his example.

Veracini's travels were extensive, for he visited London in 1714 and
remained there two years, during which time he was very successful. He
then went to Dresden, where he was made composer and chamber virtuoso to
the King of Poland.

While in Dresden he threw himself out of a window and broke his leg, an
injury from which he never entirely recovered. This act is said to have
been caused by his mortification at a trick which was played upon him
for his humiliation by Pisendel, an eminent violinist, but this story is
discredited by some of the best authorities.

He left Dresden and went to Prague, where he entered the service of
Count Kinsky. In 1736 he again visited London, but met with little
success, owing to the fact that Geminiani had ingratiated himself with
the public. In 1847 Veracini returned to Pisa.

Veracini has been sometimes ranked with Tartini as a performer. He was
also a composer of ability. In making a comparison of him with Geminiani
it has been said that Geminiani was the spirit of Corelli much diluted,
while Veracini was the essence of the great master fortified with _l'eau
de vie_.

Veracini was conceited and vainglorious, and these traits of his
character have given rise to a number of rather inconsequential stories.
He was a most excellent conductor of orchestra, and Doctor Burney
mentions having heard him lead a band in such a bold and masterly manner
as he had never before witnessed. Soon after leaving London Veracini was
shipwrecked, and lost his two Stainer violins, which he stated were the
best in the world. These instruments he named St. Peter and St. Paul.

The name of Giuseppe Tartini will ever live as that of one of the
greatest performers on, and composers for, the violin. Born at Pirano,
in 1692, his career may be said to have commenced with the eighteenth
century. He was not only one of the greatest violinists of all time, and
an eminent composer, but he was a scientific writer on musical physics,
and was the first to discover the fact that, in playing double stops,
their accuracy can be determined by the production of a third sound. He
also wrote a little work on the execution and employment of the various
kinds of shakes, mordents, cadenzas, etc., according to the usage of the
classical Italian school.

Tartini's father, who was an elected Nobile of Parenzo, being a pious
Church benefactor, intended his son for the Church, and sent him to an
ecclesiastical school at Capo d'Istria, where he received his first
instruction in music. Finding himself very much averse to an
ecclesiastical career, Tartini entered the University of Padua to study
law, but this also proved distasteful to him. He was a youth of highly
impulsive temperament, and became so much enamoured of the art of
fencing that he, at one time, seriously contemplated adopting it as a
profession. This very impulsive nature caused him to fall in love with a
niece of the Archbishop of Padua, to whom he was secretly married before
he was twenty years of age.

The news of this marriage caused Tartini's parents to withdraw their
support from him, and it so enraged the archbishop that the bridegroom
was obliged to fly from Padua. After some wanderings he was received
into a monastery at Assisi, of which a relative was an inmate. Here he
resumed his musical studies, but though he learned composition of Padre
Boemo, the organist of the monastery, he was his own teacher on the
violin. The influence of the quiet monastic life caused a complete
change in his character, and he acquired the modesty of manner and
serenity of mind for which he was noted later in life.

One day, during the service, a gust of wind blew aside the curtain
behind which Tartini was playing, and a Paduan, who remembered the
archbishop's wrath and recognised the object of it, carried the news of
his discovery to the worthy prelate. Time had, however, mollified him,
and instead of still further persecuting the refugee, he gave his
consent to the union of the young couple, and Tartini and his wife went
to Venice, where he intended to follow the profession of a violinist.

Here he met and heard Francesco Maria Veracini, who was some seven years
his senior, and whose style of playing made such a deep impression on
him that he at once withdrew to Ancona, to correct the errors of his own
technique, which, as he was self-taught, were not a few.

After some years of study and retirement, he reappeared at Padua, where
he was appointed solo violinist in the chapel of San Antonio, the choir
and orchestra of which already enjoyed a high reputation. It is said
that the performance of Veracini had an effect upon Tartini beyond that
of causing him to quit Venice. It made him dream, and the dream as told
by Tartini himself to M. de Lalande is as follows:

"He dreamed one night (in 1713) that he had made a compact with the
devil, who promised to be at his service on all occasions; and, during
this vision, everything succeeded according to his mind; his wishes were
anticipated, and his desires always surpassed, by the assistance of his
new servant. In short, he imagined that he presented the devil with his
violin, in order to discover what kind of a musician he was, when, to
his great astonishment, he heard him play a solo so singularly
beautiful, which he executed with such superior taste and precision,
that it surpassed all the music he had ever heard or conceived in his
life. So great was his surprise, and so exquisite his delight upon this
occasion, that it deprived him of the power of breathing. He awoke with
the violence of his sensations, and instantly seized his fiddle in hopes
of expressing what he had just heard; but in vain. He, however, directly
composed a piece, which is perhaps the best of all his works, and called
it the 'Devil's Sonata;' he knew it, however, to be so inferior to what
his sleep had produced, that he stated he would have broken his
instrument, and abandoned music for ever, if he could have subsisted by
other means."

This composition is said to have secured for him the position in the
chapel of San Antonio, where he remained until 1723, in which year he
was invited to play at the coronation festivities of Charles VI. at
Prague. On this occasion he met Count Kinsky, a rich and enthusiastic
amateur, who kept an excellent private orchestra. Tartini was engaged as
conductor and remained in that position three years, then returning to
his old post at Padua, from which nothing induced him to part, except
for brief intervals. At Padua Tartini carried on the chief work of his
life and established the Paduan school of violin playing. His ability as
a teacher is proved by the large number of excellent pupils he formed.
Nardini, Bini, Manfredi, Ferrari, Graun, and Lahoussaye are among the
most eminent, and were attached to him by bonds of most intimate
friendship to his life's end.

Tartini's contemporaries all agree in crediting him with those
qualities which make a great player. He had a fine tone, unlimited
command of finger-board and bow, enabling him to overcome the greatest
difficulties with remarkable ease, perfect intonation in double stops,
and a most brilliant shake and double-shake, which he executed equally
well with all fingers. The spirit of rivalry had no place in his amiable
and gentle disposition. Both as a player and composer Tartini was the
true successor of Corelli, representing in both respects the next step
in the development of the art.

Tartini lived until the year 1770. He had, as Doctor Burney says, "no
other children than his scholars, of whom his care was constantly
paternal," Nardini, his first and favourite pupil, came from Leghorn to
see him in his sickness and attend him in his last moments with true
filial affection and tenderness. He was buried in the Church of St.
Catharine, a solemn requiem being held in the chapel of San Antonio,
and at a later period his memory was honoured by a statue which was
erected in the Prato della Valle, a public walk at Padua, where it may
be seen among the statues of the most eminent men connected with that
famous university.

Jean Marie Leclair, a pupil of Somis, was a Frenchman, born at Lyons,
and he began life as a dancer at the Rouen Theatre. He went to Turin as
ballet master and met Somis, who induced him to take up the violin and
apply himself to serious study. On returning to Paris, he was appointed
ripieno-violinist at the Opéra, and in 1731 became a member of the royal
band, but he, although undoubtedly superior to any violinist in Paris at
that time, never seems to have made much of a success, for he resigned
his positions and occupied himself exclusively with teaching and
composition, and it is on the merits of his works that he occupies a
high place among the great classical masters of the violin. Leclair was
murdered late one night close to the door of his own house, shortly
after his return from Amsterdam, to which place he had gone solely for
the purpose of hearing Locatelli. No motive for the crime was ever
discovered, nor was the murderer found.

Gaetano Pugnani was a native of Turin, and to him more than to any other
master is due the preservation of the pure, grand style of Corelli,
Tartini, and Vivaldi, for he combined the prominent qualities of style
and technique of all three. He became first violin to the Sardinian
court in 1752, but travelled extensively. He made long stays in Paris
and London, where he was for a time leader of the opera band, and
produced an opera of his own, also publishing a number of his
compositions. In 1770 he was at Turin, where he remained to the end of
his life as teacher, conductor, and composer.

Felice Giardini, another pupil of Somis, was born at Turin and became
one of the foremost violinists in Europe. In 1750 he went to England
where he made his first appearance at a benefit concert for Cuzzoni, the
celebrated opera singer, then in the sere and yellow leaf of her career.
His performance was so brilliant that he became established as the best
violinist who had yet appeared in England, and in 1754 he was placed at
the head of the opera orchestra, succeeding Festing. Soon afterwards he
joined with the singer Mingotti in the management of opera, but the
attempt was not a financial success. Notwithstanding his excellence as a
performer and composer and the fine appointment which he held, Giardini
died in abject poverty at Moscow, to which place he had gone after
finding himself superseded in England by newcomers.

Among the pupils of Tartini the most eminent was Pietro Nardini, who was
born at Fibiano, a village of Tuscany, in 1722. He became solo violinist
at the court of Stuttgart and remained there fifteen years. In 1767 he
went to Leghorn for a short time, and then returned to Padua, where he
remained with his old master Tartini until the latter's death, when he
was appointed director of music to the court of the Duke of Tuscany, in
whose service he remained many years.

Of his playing, Leopold Mozart, himself an eminent violinist, writes:
"The beauty, purity and equality of his tone, and the tastefulness of
his cantabile playing, cannot be surpassed; but he does not execute
great difficulties." His compositions are marked by vivacity, grace, and
sweet sentimentality, but he has neither the depth of feeling, the grand
pathos, nor the concentrated energy of his master Tartini.

Antonio Lolli, who was born at Bergamo about 1730, appears to have been
somewhat of a charlatan. He was self-taught, and, though a performer of
a good deal of brilliancy, was but a poor musician. He was restless,
vain, and conceited, and addicted to gambling. He is said to have played
the most difficult double-stops, octaves, tenths, double-shakes in
thirds and sixths, harmonics, etc., with the greatest ease and
certainty. At one time he appeared as a rival of Nardini, with whom he
is said to have had a contest, and whom he is supposed to have defeated.
According to some accounts, he managed to excite such universal
admiration in advance of the contest that Nardini withdrew.

Lolli was so eccentric that he was considered by many people to be
insane, and Doctor Burney, in writing of him, says, "I am convinced that
in his lucid intervals, he was in a serious style a very great,
expressive, and admirable performer;" but Doctor Burney does not mention
any lucid interval.

Early in the eighteenth century Franz Benda was born in Bohemia at the
village of Altbenatky, and Benda became the founder of a German school
of violin playing. In his youth he was a chorister at Prague and
afterward in the Chapel Royal at Dresden. At the same time he began to
study the violin, and soon joined a company of strolling musicians who
attended fêtes, fairs, etc. At eighteen years of age Benda abandoned
this wandering life and returned to Prague, going thence to Vienna,
where he pursued his study of the violin under Graun, a pupil of
Tartini. After two years he was appointed chapel master at Warsaw, and
eventually he became a member of the Prince Royal of Prussia's band, and
then concert master to the king.

Benda was a master of all the difficulties of violin playing, and the
rapidity of his execution and the mellow sweetness of his highest notes
were unequalled. He had many pupils and wrote a number of works, chiefly
exercises and studies for the violin.

A violinist whose career had a great influence on musical life in
England was Johann Peter Salomon, a pupil of Benda, and it is necessary
to speak of him because his name is so frequently mentioned in
connection with other artists during the latter half of the eighteenth
century.

Salomon was born at Bonn in the same house in which Beethoven was born,
and of Salomon, after his death, Beethoven wrote: "Salomon's death
grieves me much, for he was a noble man, and I remember him ever since I
was a child."

Salomon became an expert violinist at an early age, and travelled a good
deal in Europe before he settled in England, which was in 1781, when he
made his appearance at Covent Garden Theatre. He was criticised thus:
"He does not play in the most graceful style, it must be confessed, but
his tone and execution are such as cannot fail to secure him a number of
admirers in the musical world."

He established a series of subscription concerts at the Hanover Square
rooms, and produced symphonies of Mozart and Haydn. In fact, he was
connected with almost every celebrity who appeared in England for many
years. He was instrumental in bringing Haydn to England, and toward the
end of his career he was actively interested in the foundation of the
Philharmonic Society. He was noted more as a quartet player than as a
soloist, and Haydn's last quartets were composed especially to suit his
style of playing. He was a man of much cultivation and moved in
distinguished society. His death was caused by a fall from his horse. He
was the possessor of a Stradivarius violin which was said to have
belonged to Corelli and to have had his name upon it. This he bequeathed
to Sir Patrick Blake of Bury St. Edmunds.




CHAPTER III.

1750 TO 1800.


Giovanni Baptiste Viotti has been called the last great representative
of the classical Italian school, and it is also stated that with Viotti
began the modern school of the violin. In whatever light he may be
regarded, he was undoubtedly one of the greatest violinists of all. He
retained in his style of playing and composing the dignified simplicity
and noble pathos of the great masters of the Italian school, treating
his instrument above all as a singing voice, and keeping strictly within
its natural resources. According to Baillot, one of his most
distinguished pupils, his style was "perfection," a word which covers a
host of virtues.

Viotti was born in 1753 at Fontanetto, a village in Piedmont. His first
musical instruction was received from his father, who is severally
mentioned as a blacksmith and as a horn player. His musical talent being
early noticeable, he was sent to Turin and placed by Prince Pozzo de la
Cisterna under the tutelage of Pugnani, and was soon received into the
royal band. In 1780 he travelled extensively, visiting Germany, Poland,
and Russia, and meeting with great success. The Empress Catharine
endeavoured to induce him to remain at St. Petersburg, but without
success, and he proceeded to London, where he soon eclipsed all other
violinists. In 1782 he went to Paris and made his début at the
celebrated Concert Spirituels. He was at once acknowledged as the
greatest living violinist, but soon after this he ceased altogether to
play in public. This decision seems to have been caused by the fact that
an inferior player once achieved a greater success than he. He was
evidently of a sensitive nature, and there is an anecdote told of him
which is amusing even if its authenticity is open to question. Viotti
was commanded to play a concerto at the Court of Louis XVI., at
Versailles, and had proceeded through about half of his performance,
when the attention of the audience was diverted by the arrival of a
distinguished guest. Noise and confusion reigned where silence should
have been observed, and Viotti, in a fit of indignation, removed the
music from the desk and left the platform.

In 1783 Viotti returned to Italy for a short time, but the following
year he was back in Paris teaching, composing, and benefiting the art of
music in every way except by public performance. He became the artistic
manager of the Italian Opera, and brought together a brilliant number of
singers. In this business he came in contact with Cherubini, the
composer, with whom he was on great terms of friendship. This
enterprise was suddenly stopped by the revolution, and Viotti was
obliged to leave France, having lost almost everything that he
possessed.

He went to London and renewed his former successes, playing again in
public at Salomon's concerts, and in the drawing-rooms of the
aristocracy. But here his ill-luck followed him, for London being full
of French refugees, and the officials being suspicious of them all, he
was warned to leave England, as it was feared that he was connected with
some political conspiracy.

This misfortune occurred in 1798, and Viotti retired to a small village
called Schoenfeld, not far from Hamburg, where he lived in strict
seclusion. During this time he was by no means idle, for he composed
some of his finest works, notably the six duets for violins, which he
prefaced by these words: "This book is the fruit of leisure afforded me
by misfortune. Some of the pieces were dictated by trouble, others by
hope." It was also during this period of retirement that he perfected
his pupil Pixis, who, with his father, lived at Schoenfeld a whole
summer for the express purpose of receiving Viotti's instruction.

In 1801 Viotti found himself at liberty to visit England once more, but
when he returned he astonished the world by going into the wine
business, in which he succeeded in getting rid of the remainder of his
fortune. As a man of business the strictest integrity and honour
regulated his transactions, and his feelings were kind and benevolent,
whilst as a musician, he is said never to have been surpassed in any of
the highest qualities of violin playing.

At the close of his career as a wine merchant, he returned to Paris to
resume his regular profession, and was appointed director of the Grand
Opéra, but he failed to rescue the opera from its state of decadence,
and, finding the duties too arduous for one of his age and state of
health, he retired on a small pension. In 1822 he returned once more to
England, where he passed the remainder of his life in quietude.

While travelling in Switzerland, and enjoying the beauties of the
scenery, Viotti heard for the first time the plaintive notes of the Ranz
des Vaches given forth by a mountain horn, and this melody so impressed
him that he learned it and frequently played it on his violin. The
subject was referred to by him with great enthusiasm in his letters to
his friends.

There are numerous anecdotes about Viotti in reference to his ready
repartee and to his generous nature. One of the most interesting is that
concerning a tin violin. He had been strolling one evening on the Champs
Elysées, in Paris, with a friend (Langlé), when his attention was
arrested by some harsh, discordant sounds, which, on investigation,
proved to be the tones of a tin fiddle, played by a blind and aged
street musician. Viotti offered the man twenty francs for the curious
instrument, which had been made by the old man's nephew, who was a
tinker. Viotti took the instrument and played upon it, producing some
most remarkable effects. The performance drew a small crowd, and Langlé,
with true instinct, took the old man's hat and, passing it round,
collected a respectable sum, which was handed to the aged beggar.

When Viotti got out his purse to give the twenty francs the old man
thought better of his bargain, for, said he, "I did not know the violin
was so good. I ought to have at least double the amount for it."

Viotti, pleased with the implied compliment, did not hesitate to give
the forty francs, and then walked off with his newly acquired curiosity.
The nephew, however, who now arrived to take the old man home, on
hearing the story ran after Viotti, and offered to supply him with as
many as he would like for six francs apiece.

Violin literature owes much to Viotti, for his compositions are numerous
and contain beauties that have never been surpassed. His advice was
sought by many young musicians, and among these was Rossini, who was
destined to become great. De Bériot also sought out Viotti and played
before him, but the old violinist told him that he had already acquired
an original style which only required cultivating to lead to success,
and that he could do nothing for him.

Viotti was one of the first to use the Tourte bow, and he studied its
effects closely, so that the sweep of his bow became his great
characteristic, and was alike the admiration of his friends and the
despair of his rivals. He died in 1824, after about two years of
retirement.

Among Viotti's most prominent pupils were Roberrechts, Pixis, Alday le
jeune, Cartier, Rode, Mori, Durand, and Baillot, also Mlle. Gerbini and
Madame Paravicini. Roberrechts became the teacher of De Bériot, who in
turn taught Vieuxtemps, Teresa Milanollo, and Lauterbach. Baillot taught
Habeneck, who taught Alard, Léonard, Prume, Cuvillon, and Mazas. From
Alard we have Sarasate, and from Léonard, Marsick and Dengremont, while
through Rode we have Böhm, and from him a large number of eminent
violinists, including G. Hellmesberger, Ernst, Dont, Singer, L. Strauss,
Joachim, Rappoldi. Some of them we shall refer to at length as great
performers, others were celebrated more as teachers.

Rodolphe Kreutzer, who was born at Versailles in 1766, is the third in
order of development of the four great representative masters of the
classical violin school of Paris; the others being Viotti, first, Rode,
second, and Baillot, fourth. With Baillot he compiled the famous
"Methode de Violon" for the use of the students at the Conservatoire.
Kreutzer's first teacher was his father, who was a musician in the
king's chapel, but he was soon placed under Anton Stamitz, and at the
age of thirteen he played a concerto in public, with great success. This
is said by some writers to have been his own composition, though by
others it was attributed to his teacher.

Kreutzer made a tour through the north of Italy, Germany, and Holland,
during which he acquired the reputation of being one of the first
violinists in Europe. On his return to Paris, he turned his attention to
dramatic music, and composed two grand operas, which were performed
before the court, and secured for him the patronage of Marie Antoinette.
He also became first violin at the Opéra Comique, and professor at the
Conservatoire, where he formed some excellent pupils, among them being
D'Artot, Rovelli, the teacher of Molique, Massart, the teacher of
Wieniawski and Teresina Tua, and Lafont, who also became a pupil of De
Bériot. On Rode's departure for Russia, Kreutzer succeeded him as solo
violin at the Opéra, later becoming Chef d'Orchestre, and after fourteen
years' service in this capacity he was decorated with the insignia of
the Legion of Honour, and became General Director of the Music at the
Opéra. In 1826 he resigned his post and retired to Geneva, where he died
in 1831. Kreutzer was a prolific composer, and his compositions include
forty dramatic works and a great number of pieces for the violin.

In 1798, when Kreutzer was at Vienna in the service of the French
ambassador, Bernadotte, he made the acquaintance of Beethoven, and was
afterwards honoured by that great composer with the dedication to him of
the famous Sonata, Op. 47, which was first played by Beethoven and the
violinist Bridgetower, at the Augarten, in May, 1803, either the 17th
or the 24th. This is the sonata the name of which Count Leo Tolstoi took
for his famous book, though to the vast majority of hearers it will
always remain a mystery how the classical harmonies of the sonata could
have aroused the passions which form the _raison d'être_ of the book.

Kreutzer was noted for his style of bowing, his splendid tone, and the
clearness of his execution.

With three such masters as Baillot, Rode, and Kreutzer, besides Viotti,
who was frequently in Paris, the French school of violin playing had now
superseded the Italian.

Pierre Marie François de Sales Baillot, who was associated with Rode and
Kreutzer in the compilation of the celebrated "Methode du Violon," was
born at Passy, near Paris, in 1771, and became one of the most excellent
violinists that France ever produced. His eminence in his profession
was not obtained without a long struggle against great difficulties, for
at the age of twelve he lost his father, who had kept a school, and
became dependent upon friends for his education. His musical talent was
remarkable at an early age, and he received his first instruction from
an Italian named Polidori. At the age of nine he was placed under a
French teacher named Sainte-Marie, whose training gave him the severe
state and methodical qualities by which his playing was always
distinguished.

His love for his instrument was greatly augmented when, at the age of
ten, he heard Viotti play one of his concertos, and from that day the
great violinist became his model.

When his father died a year or two later, a government official, M. de
Boucheporn, sent him, with his own children, to Rome, where he was
placed with Pollani, a pupil of Nardini, under whom he made rapid
progress, and soon began to play in public. He was, however, unable to
follow directly in the path of his profession, and for five years he
travelled with his benefactor, acting as private secretary, and securing
but little time for his violin playing.

In 1791 he returned to Paris, and Viotti secured a place for him in the
opera orchestra, but on being offered a position in the Ministère des
Finances, he gave up his operatic work, and for some years devoted only
his leisure to the study of the violin. He now had to serve with the
army for twenty months, at the end of which time he once more determined
to take up music as a profession, and soon appeared in public with a
concerto of Viotti. This performance established his reputation, and he
was offered a professorship of violin playing at the Conservatoire, then
recently opened.

His next appointment was to the private band of Napoleon, after which
he travelled for three years in Russia with the violoncello player
Lemare, earning great fame.

Returning to Paris, he established concerts for chamber music, which
proved successful, and built up for him a reputation as an unrivalled
quartet player. He travelled again, visiting Holland, Belgium, and
England, and then he became leader of the opera band in Paris and of the
royal band. He made a final tour in Switzerland in 1833, and died in
1842.

Baillot is considered to have been the last distinguished representative
of the great classical school of violin playing in Paris. In his "L'Art
du Violon" he points out the chief distinction between the old and the
modern style of violin playing to be the absence of the dramatic element
in the former, and its predominance in the latter, thus enabling the
executive art to follow the progress marked out by the composer, and to
bring out the powerful contrasts and enlarged ideas of the modern
musical compositions. After the time of Baillot and his contemporaries
the style of Paganini became predominant in Paris, but the influence of
the Paris school extended to Germany, where Spohr must be considered the
direct descendant artistically of Viotti and Rode.

Perhaps the most illustrious pupil of Viotti was Pierre Rode, who was
born at Bordeaux in 1774, and exhibited such exceptional talent that at
the age of sixteen he was one of the violins at the Théâtre Feydeau in
Paris. He had made his début in Paris at the Théâtre de Monsieur, when
he played Viotti's thirteenth concerto with complete success. In 1794 he
began to travel, and made a tour through Holland and North Germany,
visiting England, driven there by stress of weather, on his way home. He
appeared once in London, and then left for Holland and Germany again. On
his return to France he was appointed professor of the violin at the
Conservatoire, then newly established. In 1799 ne made a trip to Spain,
where he met Boccherini. The following year he returned to Paris, where
he was made solo violinist to the First Consul, and it was at this
period that he gained his greatest success, when he played with Kreutzer
a duo concertante of the latter's composition. After this he went to
Russia, where he was enthusiastically received, and was appointed one of
the emperor's musicians. The life in Russia, however, overtaxing his
strength, from that time his powers began to fail, and he met with many
disappointments. In 1814 he married, and, although he made an
unsuccessful attempt to renew his public career, he may be said to have
retired. He died at Bordeaux in 1830.

Of Rode's playing in his best days we are told that he displayed all the
best qualities of a grand, noble, pure, and thoroughly musical style.
His intonation was perfect, his tone large and pure, and boldness,
vigour, deep and tender feeling characterised his performances. In fact
he was no mere virtuoso but a true artist. His musical nature shows
itself in his compositions, which are thoroughly suited to the nature of
the violin, and have a noble, dignified character and considerable charm
of melody, though they show only moderate creative power. He had few
pupils, but his influence through his example during his travels, and
through his compositions, was very great indeed.

Beethoven wrote for Rode, after hearing him play in Vienna, the famous
violin Romance in F, Op. 50, one of the highest possible testimonials to
Rode's ability as a violinist. It is known, however, that he was obliged
to seek assistance in scoring his own compositions, and therefore lacked
an important part of a musical education.

The most celebrated pupil of Baillot was François Antoine Habeneck, the
son of a musician in a French regimental band. During his early youth
Habeneck was taught by his father, and at the age of ten played
concertos in public. He visited many places with his father's regiment,
which was finally stationed at Brest. At the age of twenty he went to
Paris and entered the Conservatoire, where in 1804 he was awarded first
prize for violin playing, and became a sub-professor.

The Empress Josephine, on hearing him play, was so pleased that she
granted him a pension of twelve hundred francs. He became one of the
first violins at the Opéra, but his special forte was as leader of
orchestras, and he held that post at the Conservatoire, on account of
his efficiency, until 1815, when the advent of the allied armies caused
it to be closed.

Habeneck was instrumental in bringing forward the great orchestral works
of Beethoven. He became director of the Grand Opéra, and
inspector-general of the Conservatoire.

Habeneck is said to have been greatly addicted to taking snuff, and this
habit led to an amusing episode with Berlioz, which the latter regarded
in a very unfriendly light. At a public performance of the Requiem of
Berlioz, the composer had arranged with Habeneck to conduct the music,
Berlioz taking his seat close behind the conductor. The work was
commenced, and had been proceeded with some little time, when Habeneck
(presumably taking advantage of what seemed to him a favourable moment)
placed his baton on the desk, took out his snuff-box, and proceeded to
take a pinch. Berlioz, aware of the breakers ahead, rushed to the helm
and saved the wreck of his composition by beating time with his arm.
Habeneck, when the danger was passed, said, "What a cold perspiration I
was in! Without you we should assuredly have been lost." "Yes," said
the composer, "I know it well," accompanying his words with an
expression of countenance betokening suspicion of Habeneck's honesty of
purpose. The violinist little dreamed that this gratification of his
weakness for snuff-taking would be regarded in the pages of Berlioz's
Memoirs as having been indulged in from base motives.

Habeneck died in 1849. He published only a few of his compositions.

One of the most eminent violinists of the French school, who flourished
during the early part of the nineteenth century, was Charles Philippe
Lafont. Besides brilliant technical capabilities he had a sympathetic
tone and a most elegant style, and these qualities gave him a very high
position in the ranks of performers.

Lafont was born at Paris, December 7, 1781, and received his first
lessons from his mother, who afterward placed him under her brother,
Berthaume. Under his care he made a successful concert tour through
Germany and other countries as early as 1792, after which he returned to
Paris and settled down to study under Rudolf Kreutzer.

For a time his studies were interrupted by an attempt to become a
singer, and he appeared at the Théâtre Feydeau, which had then been
opened by Viotti. This diversion being soon at an end, he returned to
the violin, but on the outbreak of the revolution in France he left the
country and travelled throughout Europe, being absent from Paris, with
the exception of a short visit in 1805, until 1815.

During his travels he was made chamber virtuoso to the Czar Alexander,
and on his return to France he became first violinist of the royal
chamber musicians of Louis XVIII., and musical accompanist to the
Duchesse de Berry.

Lafont's career came to a sudden end by the overturning of a carriage
while on a concert tour in the south of France in 1839.

He was one of the numerous violinists who challenged Paganini to an
artistic duel, in which he got the worst of it, though his admirers
accounted for his defeat by the fact that the contest took place at La
Scala, in Milan, where the sympathy of the audience was in favour of the
Italian virtuoso.

Lafont was a prolific composer, but few of his works have survived. He
was also the owner of a magnificent Guarnerius violin, which is now said
to be the property of Adolf Brodsky.

As a composer Spohr probably influenced the modern style of violin
playing even more than as a player, for he lifted the concerto to the
dignity of a work of art, whereas it had formerly been simply a show
piece, though not always without merit. He set a great example of
purity of style and legitimate treatment of the instrument, and is
considered to have had a more beneficial effect on violin playing than
Paganini, who was born in the same year, 1784.

Louis Spohr was the son of a physician, who, two years after Louis was
born at Brunswick, took up his residence at Seesen, where the childhood
of the future virtuoso was passed. Both father and mother were musical,
the former playing the flute, while the latter was a pianist and singer.
It is said that young Spohr showed his talents remarkably early, and was
able to sing duets with his mother when only four years of age. At five
he began to learn the violin and at six he could take part in
Kalkbrenner's trios. He also began to compose music, and under his
father's methodical guidance acquired the habit of finishing everything
that he began to write, without erasure or alteration. His instruction
in the art of composition was confined to the mere rudiments, and he
acquired the art chiefly by studying the scores of the great composers.

Spohr's first public appearance was at a school concert, and such was
his success that he was asked to repeat the performance at a concert
given by the duke's band. More study ensued, and then, at the age of
fourteen, he undertook to make his first artistic tour, and set out for
Hamburg, carrying with him some letters of introduction.

It seems that the people of Hamburg did not show much enthusiasm over
the young artist, for he was unable to arrange a hearing, and, having
exhausted his funds, he returned to Brunswick in the time-honoured
manner of unsuccessful artists,--on foot. Spohr's experience seems to
have produced upon him the same effect that many aspiring young players
have since felt, viz., that he had better go on with his studies. He
accordingly presented a petition to the Duke of Brunswick asking for
means to carry out his desires. The duke was pleased with him, and not
only gave him a place in his band, but also agreed to pay his expenses
while he studied with one of the most eminent teachers of the day.

Neither Viotti nor Ferdinand Eck could receive him as a pupil, but by
the advice of the latter, young Spohr was placed under his brother,
Franz Eck, who was then travelling in Germany. With Franz Eck an
agreement was made by the duke, under which Spohr should travel with
him, and study _en route_. During the continuance of this agreement
Spohr practised sometimes ten hours a day, and being so constantly with
his teacher he made great progress. On his return to Brunswick he was
appointed first violinist in the duke's band, and the following year he
once more undertook a concert tour on his own account, travelling
through Saxony and Prussia, and meeting with great enthusiasm.

While in Russia he met Clementi and Field, and he was presented with a
most valuable Guarnerius violin by an enthusiast. This instrument he
lost while on the way to France, where he intended to make a concert
tour. Just before entering Göttingen the portmanteau which contained the
violin was taken from the coach, and owing to the delays of officialism
it was never recovered. The thieves had been seen with the booty in
their possession, but in order to arrest them it was necessary to travel
some nine miles for the necessary warrant and officer. In the meantime
they had disappeared, as thieves occasionally do.

In 1805 Spohr was appointed concert-master in the band of the Duke of
Gotha, and while holding this position he met, wooed, and wedded the
Fraülein Dorothea Scheidler, an excellent harp player, who for many
years afterwards appeared with him in all his concerts, and for whom he
wrote many solo pieces as well as some sonatas for violin and harp. In
view of this important step the following description of Spohr's
personal appearance may be interesting: "The front of Jove himself is
expressed in the expansive forehead, massive, high, and broad; the
speaking eyes that glance steadfastly and clearly under the finely
pencilled arches of the eyebrows, which add a new grace to their
lustrous fire; the long, straight nose with sharply curved nostrils,
imperial with the pride of sensibility and spiritual power; the firm,
handsome mouth, and the powerful chin, with its strong outlines melted
into the utter grace of oval curves. In its calmness and repose, in its
subdued strength and pervading serenity, it is the picture of the man's
life in little." Spohr seems to have been somewhat attractive.

Another authority tells us, in less flowery language, that he was of
herculean frame and very strong constitution.

In 1807 he made a tour, with his wife, through Germany, and while at
Munich the king showed his gallantry to Madame Spohr in a most gracious
manner. The usher had neglected to place a chair on the platform for
her, and the king handed up his own gilded throne chair, in spite of her
protestations. The anecdote would be more satisfactory if it stated what
the king sat upon during the concert, but that is left to the
imagination. The king had some bad habits, and, we are told, was very
fond of playing cards during the concerts. Spohr was not accustomed to
having his audiences indulge in cards, and so informed the chamberlain,
absolutely declining to play unless the cards were put aside for the
time being. It was a delicate task that fell to the lot of the
chamberlain, but he carried it through with the greatest diplomacy, each
side making a slight concession: the king on his part promising to
abstain from card playing during Spohr's performance on condition that
the violinist's two pieces should immediately follow each other on the
program, and Spohr withdrawing his embargo from the whole concert on
condition that the king would abstain from his favourite amusement
during his particular performance. The king, however, seems to have put
in the last blow, for on the conclusion of the violin solos he gave no
signal for applause, and as it would be a breach of court manners for
any one to applaud without his Majesty's consent, the artist was obliged
to make his bow and retire amidst deathly silence.

In 1808 Spohr wrote his first opera, but although it was accepted for
representation, it was never performed in public.

During this year Napoleon held his celebrated congress of princes at
Erfurt. Spohr was consumed by a burning desire to behold Napoleon and
the surrounding princes, and went to Erfurt. Here he found that a
French theatrical troupe was performing every evening before the august
assembly, but only the privileged few could by any possibility gain
admittance to the theatre. Spohr's ingenuity was equal to the emergency,
and making friends with the second horn player, he induced that artist
to allow him to substitute for him one night. Spohr had never in his
life attempted to play the horn, but it was now necessary for him to
acquire the art before night, and he set to work with such vim that by
the time of the performance his lips were swollen and black, but he was
able to produce the requisite tones. The orchestra having received
strict injunctions to sit with their backs to the brilliant assembly,
probably to protect their eyesight from its dazzling effects, Spohr
fitted himself out with a small mirror, and placing this upon his
music-rack, he was able to enjoy for a couple of hours the vision of the
great Napoleon, who, with his most distinguished guests, occupied the
front row of the stalls.

Spohr remained at Gotha until 1813, when he was offered and accepted the
post of the leadership at the Theatre an der Wien at Vienna, and while
here he composed his opera of "Faust," which, however, was not produced
at that time. He also wrote a cantata in celebration of the battle of
Leipzig, which he did not succeed in producing, and not feeling
satisfied with his position, and having various disagreements with the
management, the engagement was cancelled by mutual consent. During his
stay in Vienna Spohr was frequently in contact with Beethoven, and
though he admired that great master he criticised some of his
compositions very severely, and is said to have remarked that "Beethoven
was wanting in aesthetic culture and sense of beauty," a remark
difficult to understand in these later days. It is the more
incomprehensible from the fact that Spohr in after years was the very
first musician of eminence to interest himself in Wagner's talent, for
he brought out at Cassel "Der Fliegende Holländer," and continued with
"Tannhäuser," notwithstanding the opposition of the court. He considered
Wagner to be by far the greatest of all dramatic composers living at
that time. In 1815 he made a concert tour in France and Italy, during
which he met Rossini and Paganini, playing at Venice a sinfonia
concertante of his own composition, with the latter.

On his return to Germany in 1817 Spohr was appointed conductor of the
Opera at Frankfort-on-the-Main, where his opera "Faust" was now
produced, also "Zemire and Azor." Owing to difficulties with managers
again he left Frankfort after a stay of only two years, and his next
venture was a visit to England, where he appeared at the concerts of the
Philharmonic Society in London. His success was brilliant, for his
clear style and high artistic capacity, added to his reputation as a
composer, carried him into popularity, and the artistic world vied with
the public in doing honour to him. At his farewell concert, his wife
made her last appearance as a harp player, for on account of ill-health
she was obliged to give it up, and thereafter she played only the
pianoforte.

On his way home from England Spohr visited Paris for the first time, and
made the personal acquaintance of Kreutzer, Viotti, Habeneck, Cherubini,
and other eminent musicians, who received him with the greatest
cordiality. But the public did not seem to appreciate his merits, for
his quiet, unpretentious style was not quite in keeping with the taste
of the French.

On his return to Germany Spohr settled in Dresden, and remained there
until 1822, when he became Hofkapellmeister to the Elector of
Hesse-Cassel, and he remained in Cassel for the rest of his life. This
position he obtained on the advice of Weber.

In 1831 he completed his great "Violin School," which has ever since its
publication been considered a standard work. The following year the
political disturbances interfered with the opera performances at Cassel,
and caused him much annoyance. In 1834 he lost his wife, but his work of
composition proceeded with vigour.

In 1839 he again visited England, where his music had become very
popular, and during the remainder of his career he repeated his visit
several times, many of his works being produced by the various
societies.

His life at Cassel was not free from cares and friction, and he was
subjected to many indignities and annoyances by the elector. Perhaps his
sympathy with the revolutionists of 1848 was the chief cause of these
petty persecutions. When Spohr married his second wife, Marianne
Pfeiffer, the elector objected, and only gave his reluctant consent when
Spohr agreed to waive the right of his wife to a pension. All his
proposals were met with opposition. "Tannhäuser" was produced and well
received, but a repetition of the performance was not allowed, and
"Lohengrin" was ordered to be withdrawn from rehearsal, for Wagner was
one of the revolutionists and was obliged to live in seclusion.

America is indebted to this revolution of 1848 for some excellent
musicians, for the Germania Orchestra, an organisation of young
revolutionists, sought these shores, and after a prosperous career,
begun under great trials and discouragements, the various members
settled in different cities and became identified with the musical life
of the nation.

In 1851 the elector refused to sign the permit for Spohr's two months'
leave of absence, to which he was entitled under his contract, and when
the musician departed without the permit, a portion of his salary was
deducted. In 1857 he was pensioned off, much against his own wish, and
in the winter of the same year he had the misfortune to break his arm,
an accident which put an end to his violin playing. Nevertheless he
conducted his opera "Jessonda" at the fiftieth anniversary of the Prague
Conservatorium in the following year, with all his old-time energy. In
1859 he died at Cassel.

Through all his long career Spohr had lived up to the ideal he had
conceived in his youth. He was a man of strong individuality, and
invariably maintained the dignity of his art with unflinching
independence. Even the mistakes that he made, as for instance his
criticism of Beethoven, bore the strongest testimony to his manly
straightforwardness and sincerity in word and deed. He was a most
prolific composer, leaving over two hundred works in all. His violin
concertos stand foremost among his works, and are distinguished as much
by noble and elevated ideas as by masterly thematic treatment, yet there
is a certain monotony of treatment in all, and his style and manner are
entirely his own.

As an executant Spohr stands among the greatest of all time. In slow
movements he played with a breadth and beauty of tone, and a delicacy
and refinement of expression almost unequalled. His hands were of
exceptional size and strength, and enabled him to execute the most
difficult double stops and stretches with the greatest facility. Even in
quick passages he preserved a broad, full tone, and his staccato was
brilliant and effective. He disliked the use of the "springing bow,"
which came with the modern style of playing.

Spohr had a great many pupils, of whom the best known were Ries, Ferd.
David, Blagrove, Bargheer, Kömpel, and Henry Holmes. He was also
considered one of the best conductors of his time, and introduced into
England the custom of conducting with a baton.

Amongst the amusing episodes in the life of Spohr was one which took
place in London, when a servant brought him a letter desiring M. Spohr
to "be present at four o'clock to-morrow evening at the closet of the
undersigned," Spohr had not the faintest idea as to the identity of "the
undersigned," nor the least inkling of that gentleman's design. He
therefore replied that he had an engagement at that time. To this note
he received another polite epistle asking him to be good enough to
honour the "undersigned" with an interview, and to choose his own time.
He therefore made an appointment, which he kept punctually, and on
arriving at the house to which he was directed, he found an old
gentleman, who was very genial, but who could speak neither French nor
German. As Spohr spoke no English the communication between them was of
necessity carried on by pantomime. The old gentleman led the way into a
room, the walls of which were literally covered with violins, from which
Spohr gathered the idea that he was to pick out that which he considered
the best. After trying them all he had to decide between the merits of
half a dozen, and, when he finally gave his opinion, the gentleman
seemed delighted, and offered him a five pound note to compensate him
for his trouble. This the violinist declined to accept, for he had found
as much enjoyment as his host, and considered it a privilege to be able
to examine such a fine collection of beautiful instruments. The
gentleman found a way of satisfying his ideas of compensation by buying
tickets to the value of ten pounds, for one of Spohr's concerts.

Among the most talented violinists of the early part of the nineteenth
century was Karl Joseph Lipinski, the son of a Polish violin player
whose gifts were uncultivated. He was born in Poland, in 1790, at a
small town named Radzyn. After learning, with the aid of his father, to
play the violin, he took up the 'cello, and taught himself to play that
instrument, and in later days he attributed his full tone on the violin
to the power which his 'cello practice gave to his bow arm.

Lipinski seems to have been an energetic and original man. He was in the
habit of appearing at concerts both as violinist and 'cellist. He was
unable to play the piano, so when he was conductor of the opera at
Lemberg he directed with the violin, and frequently had to play two
parts, which gave him great command over his double stops. When the fame
of Paganini reached him he set forth to Italy, that he might profit by
hearing the great virtuoso, and when the opportunity came at Piacenza,
he distinguished himself by being the only person in the audience to
applaud the first adagio. After the concert he was introduced to
Paganini, and he did not fail to improve the acquaintance, frequently
visiting Paganini and playing with him, sometimes even in his concerts.

Lipinski declined the honour of going on a concert tour with Paganini,
as he wished to return to his home. On stopping at Trieste he heard of
an old man, over ninety years of age, who had once been a pupil of
Tartini, and sought him out in order to "get some points" on Tartini's
style. The old man, Doctor Mazzurana, declared himself too old to play
the violin, but suggested that if Lipinski would play a Tartini sonata
he would tell him if his style reminded him of the great master. It did
not, but Doctor Mazzurana brought out of a cupboard a volume of
Tartini's sonatas having letter-press under the music, and this Lipinski
was ordered to read in a loud tone and with all possible expression.
Then he had to play the sonata, and after numerous attempts and
corrections, the old man began to applaud his efforts. Lipinski ever
afterwards profited by these lessons.

Later on he met Paganini again at Warsaw, where they were rivals, for
the time being, and different factions waxed warm over their respective
merits. Paganini himself, who is said to have been asked whom he
considered to be the greatest violinist, replied, with conscious
modesty, "The _second_ greatest is certainly Lipinski."

Lipinski travelled throughout Europe, meeting with great success, until
in 1839 he was appointed concert-meister at the Royal Opera in Dresden,
where he remained for many years. He also organised a string quartet,
and was considered a most excellent performer of chamber-music. He wrote
a large quantity of music for the violin, but little of it was of a
lasting quality. In 1861 he was pensioned, and retired to Urlow, near
Lemberg, where he had some property, and there he died in December of
the same year.




CHAPTER IV.

PAGANINI.


The name Paganini stands for the quintessence of eccentric genius,--one
of the most remarkable types of mankind on record. Paganini was able to
excite wonder and admiration by his marvellous technical skill, or to
sway the emotions of his hearers by his musical genius, while his
peculiar habits, eccentric doings, and weird aspect caused the
superstitious to attribute his talent to the power of his Satanic
Majesty. Yet Paganini was not only mortal, but in many respects a weak
mortal, although the most extraordinary and the most renowned violinist
of the nineteenth century.

[Illustration: NICCOLO PAGANINI]

Nicolo Paganini was the son of a commercial broker, Antonio Paganini,
and was born at Genoa, February 18, 1784. He was a child of nervous and
delicate constitution, and the harsh treatment accorded to him by his
father tended to accentuate and develop the peculiarities of his
character. He was a good violinist at the age of six, and before he was
eight years of age he had outgrown, not only his father's instruction,
but also that of one Servetto, a musician at the theatre, and that of
Costa, the director of music and principal violinist to the churches of
Genoa. He had also written a sonata for violin, which was afterwards
lost. At the age of nine he appeared in his first concert, given by
Marchesi and Albertinatti in a large theatre at Genoa. At the age of
twelve he was taken to Rolla, the celebrated violinist and composer at
Parma, upon whom he made a great impression. When Paganini arrived with
his father at Rolla's house they found him ill in bed, and not at all
disposed to receive them. Whilst awaiting him, young Paganini found on
the table a copy of Rolla's last concerto, and a violin. Taking up the
violin, he played the piece off at first sight. This brought Rolla out
of bed, for he would not believe, without seeing, that such a feat could
be accomplished by so young a boy. Rolla said that he could teach him
nothing, and advised him to go to Paer, but Paer was then in Germany,
and the boy went to Ghiretti.

Although Paganini denied ever having taken lessons with Rolla, he
nevertheless had frequent discussions with him concerning the new
effects which he was continually attempting, and which did not always
meet with the unqualified approval of the older musician.

The music which he wrote for his instrument contained so many
difficulties that he had to practise unremittingly to overcome them,
often working ten or twelve hours a day and being overwhelmed with
exhaustion.

In 1797 Paganini made his first tour, with his father, through the chief
towns of Lombardy, and now he determined to release himself, on the
first opportunity, from the bondage in which he was held by his father.
This opportunity presented itself when the fête of St. Martin was
celebrated at Lucca, and after much opposition he at last obtained the
consent of his father to attend the celebration. Meeting with much
success, he went on to Pisa, and then to other places, in all of which
he was well received. Being now free from the restraint of his home he
fell into bad company, and took to gambling and other vices, the most
natural result of his father's harsh training showing itself in lack of
moral stamina.

For a time his careless life had its allurements, but the young virtuoso
was frequently reduced to great straits, and on one occasion, if not
more, pawned his violin. This happened at Leghorn, where he was to play
at a concert, and it was only through the kindness of a French merchant,
M. Livron, who lent him a beautiful Guarnieri, that he was able to
appear. When the concert was over, and Paganini brought back the
instrument, its owner was so delighted with what he had heard that he
refused to receive it. "Never will I profane strings which your fingers
have touched," he said, "the instrument is now yours." And Paganini used
that violin afterwards in all his concerts.

This violin was, some time later, the means by which he was cured of
gambling, for having been reduced to extreme poverty, he was tempted to
sell it. The price offered was a large one. At this juncture he won one
hundred and sixty francs, which saved the violin, but the mental agony
he endured through the affair convinced him that a gamester is an
object of contempt to all well regulated minds.

Paganini won another violin by his ability to read music at sight.
Pasini, an eminent painter and an amateur violinist, refused to believe
the wonderful faculty for playing at sight, which had been imputed to
Paganini, and in order to test it brought him a manuscript concerto
containing some difficulties considered as insurmountable. "This
instrument shall be yours," said Pasini, placing in his hands an
excellent Stradivari, "if you can play, in a masterly manner, this
concerto, at first sight." Paganini accepted the challenge, threw Pasini
into ecstasies, and became the owner of the instrument.

The severe course of dissipation in which Paganini indulged during these
days of his youth ruined his health, and caused him frequently to
disappear from the public gaze for long periods, throughout his career.
With the fair sex he had more than one romantic episode. At one time a
lady of high rank fell in love with him and led him captive to her
castle in Tuscany. Here the lovers solaced themselves with duets on the
guitar, and the violinist attained a proficiency, on that instrument,
equal to the expression of the tenderest passion. This adventure brought
retribution in after days, and in a most unexpected manner, for as his
genius began to excite the wonder of the world, sundry malicious stories
concerning him were invented and circulated. One of these stories was to
the effect that he had been imprisoned for stabbing one of his friends,
another rumour said that he strangled his wife, and that during his
imprisonment he had been allowed only the solace of playing his violin
with but one string. This story was told in order to account for his
wonderful one-stringed performances, and it was absolutely untrue, but
the time allotted by rumour to his supposed imprisonment coincided with
the period which was really occupied with this romance.

At the end of three years he resumed his travels and his violin playing,
returning to Genoa in 1804, where he set to work on some compositions.
At this time he became interested in a little girl, Catarina Calcagno,
to whom he gave lessons on the violin. She was then about seven years of
age, and a few years later she became well known as a concert violinist.

Paganini did not remain long in Genoa, for the following year found him
wandering again, and another love affair in Lucca led to the composition
of a piece to be played on two strings, the first and the fourth: the
first to express the sentiments of a young girl, and the fourth the
passionate language of her lover. The performance of this extremely
expressive composition was rewarded by the most languishing glances from
his lady-love in the audience, but the most important result was that
the Princess Elise Bacchiochi, sister of Napoleon, declared to him that
he had performed impossibilities. "Would not a single string suffice for
your talent?" she asked. Paganini was delighted, and shortly afterward
composed his military sonata entitled "Napoleon," which is performed on
the G string only.

At Ferrara he once nearly lost his life through unwittingly trampling
upon the susceptibilities of the people, in the following manner. It
appears that the peasantry in the suburbs of Ferrara bore ill-will
toward the citizens of that town and called them "asses." This little
pleasantry was manifested by the suburbanites in "hee-hawing" at the
citizens when fitting opportunity presented itself. Now it happened that
Paganini played at a concert, and some of the audience expressed
dissatisfaction with the singer, Madame Pallerini, and hissed her.
Paganini decided to have revenge, and when about to commence his last
solo, he amused the public by giving an imitation of the notes and cries
of various animals. The chirping of various birds, the crowing of the
chanticleer, the mewing of cats, the barking of dogs were all imitated
and the audience was delighted. Now was the time to punish the
reprobates who hissed. Paganini advanced to the footlights exclaiming,
"This for the men who hissed," and gave a vivid imitation of the braying
of an ass. Instead of exciting laughter and thus causing the confusion
of the enemy as he expected, the whole audience rose as one man, scaled
the orchestra and footlights, and swore they would have his blood.
Paganini sought safety in flight. He was eventually enlightened as to
the mistake he had made.

Once, when he was at Naples, Paganini was taken ill, and in his desire
to secure lodgings where the conditions would be favourable for his
recovery, he made a mistake and soon became worse. It was said that he
was consumptive, and consumption being considered a contagious disease,
his landlord put him out in the street, with all his possessions. Here
he was found by Ciandelli, the violoncellist, who, after giving the
landlord a practical and emphatic expression of his opinion by means of
a stick, conveyed his friend Paganini to a comfortable lodging, where he
was carefully attended until restored to health.

In 1817 Paganini was urged by Count Metternich and by Count de Kannitz,
the Austrian ambassador to Italy, to visit Vienna, but several times he
was prevented from carrying out his plans by illness, and it was not
until 1828 that he reached Vienna and gave his first concert. His
success was prodigious. "He stood before us like a miraculous apparition
in the domain of art," wrote one of the critics. The public seemed to be
intoxicated. Hats, dresses, shoes, everything bore his name. His
portrait was to be found everywhere, he was decorated and presented with
medals and honours.

He continued his tour through Germany, being received everywhere with
the utmost enthusiasm, and he visited England, after a sojourn in Paris,
in 1831.

When he reached home after an absence of six years, he was the possessor
of a considerable fortune, part of which he lost by injudicious
investments. Some friends induced him to join them in the establishment
of a casino in a fashionable locality in Paris. It was called the Casino
Paganini, and was intended to be a gambling-house. The authorities,
however, refused to grant a license, and it was found impossible to
support it by concerts only. After some vicissitudes a law-suit was
established against Paganini, who was condemned to pay fifty thousand
francs, and to be imprisoned until the amount was paid, but this
decision was not reached until Paganini was in a dying condition, and
he went, by the advice of his physicians, to Marseilles, where he
remained but a short time. Finding that his health did not improve, he
decided to pass the winter at Nice, but the progress of his ailment was
not checked, and on May 27, 1840, he expired.

By his will, made three years previously, he left an immense fortune and
the title of baron, which had been conferred on him in Germany, to his
son Achille,--the fruit of a liaison with the singer Antonia Bianchi of
Como,--whose birth had been legitimised by deeds of law. His fortune
amounted to about four hundred thousand dollars, besides which he had a
valuable collection of musical instruments. His large Guarnieri violin
he bequeathed to the town of Genoa, that no artist might possess it
after him.

During his last illness Paganini, not realising that death was so near,
devoted himself to music and to arranging for another concert tour.
During his lifetime he had never paid much attention to religion and
there were some doubts as to his belief. Although he expressed his
adherence to the Roman Church, yet he dallied with its formalities, and
when the priest visited him three days before his death to administer
the final consolations of religion, the dying man put him off on the
ground that he was not yet ready, and would send for him when the time
came. Death prevented this, and burial in consecrated ground was
therefore denied him. An appeal was made to the spiritual tribunal and
in the meantime the body was embalmed and kept in a hall in the palace
of the Conte di Cessole, whose guest he was during his last illness.

People now began to come from all parts of Italy to pay honour to the
dead artist, and this so angered the bishop and priests that an order
was obtained for the removal of the body. Under military escort the
remains of the great violinist were taken to Villafranca and placed in
a small room, which was then sealed up. And now Paganini became a terror
to the ignorant peasants and fishermen, who crossed themselves as they
hurried past the spot where the excommunicated remains lay. It was said
that in the dead of night the spectre of Paganini appeared and played
the violin outside his resting-place.

In the meantime every effort was being made to secure Christian burial.
The spiritual tribunal decided that Paganini had died a good Catholic.
The bishop refused to accept the decision, and an appeal to the
archbishop was unavailing. Eventually the case was brought before the
Pope himself by the friends of the dead man, and the Pope overruled the
decision of the archbishop and ordained that Christian burial should be
accorded to the artist. On the 21st of August, 1843, the Conte di
Cessole took away the coffin from Villafranca, and interred it in the
churchyard near Paganini's old residence at Villa Gavonà, near Parma.
Thus even after death he was the victim of superstition, as he had been
during his lifetime.

Paganini resolved not to publish his compositions until after he had
ceased to travel, for he was aware that his performances would lose much
of their interest if his works were available to everybody. He seldom
carried with him the solo parts, but only the orchestral scores of the
pieces that he played. His studies were pronounced impossible by some of
the best violinists of the day, so great were the difficulties which
they contained, and in his mastery of these difficulties, which he
himself created, may be found the true secret of his success. People
accounted for it in many ways, one man declaring that he saw the devil
standing at his elbow, and others stating that he was a child of the
devil, and that he was bewitched.

His compositions are remarkable for novelty in ideas, elegance of form,
richness of harmony, and variety in the effects of instrumentation. Few
compositions ever attained such fame as the "Streghe," of which the
theme was taken from the music of Süssmayer to the ballet of "Il Noce di
Benevento."

While it may be readily admitted that many of the effects with which
Paganini dazzled the multitude were tainted with charlatanism, yet the
fact remains that no one ever equalled him in surmounting difficulties,
and it is doubtful if, among all the excellent violinists of the present
day, any of them compares with that remarkable man.

Some of his studies have been adapted to the pianoforte by Schumann and
by Liszt, and of the collection arranged by Liszt, consisting of five
numbers from the Caprices, Schumann says: "It must be highly interesting
to find the compositions of the greatest violin virtuoso of this
century in regard to bold bravura--Paganini--illustrated by the boldest
of modern pianoforte virtuosi--Liszt." This collection is probably the
most difficult ever written for the pianoforte, as its original is the
most difficult work that exists for the violin. Paganini knew this well,
and expressed it in his short dedication, "Agli Artisti," that is to
say, "I am only accessible to artists."

It is doubtful whether any violinist ever lived concerning whom more
fantastic stories were told. His gruesome aspect, his frequent
disappearances from public life, his peculiar habits, all tended to make
him an object of interest,--and interest is sometimes shown in eagerness
to hear anything at all about the subject.

He enjoyed conversation when he was in the company of a small circle of
friends. He was cheerful at evening parties,--if music was not
mentioned. He had an excellent memory for features and names of persons
whom he had met, but it is said that he never remembered the names of
towns at which he had given concerts. He was very severe with
orchestras, and any mistakes made by them would bring forth a tempest of
rage, though satisfactory work would be rewarded with expressions of
approval. When he came to a pause for the introduction of a cadenza, at
rehearsal, the musicians would frequently rise, eager to watch his
performance, but Paganini would merely play a few notes, and then
stopping suddenly would smile and say, "Et cetera, messieurs!" and
reserve his strength for the public performance.

His peculiarities were shown strongly in his arrangements for personal
comfort while travelling, for his constant suffering precluded the
enjoyment of the beauties of nature. He was always cold, and even in
summer kept a large cloak wrapped around him, and the windows of the
carriage carefully closed. Before starting he took merely a basin of
soup or a cup of chocolate, and though he frequently remained nearly the
whole day without further refreshment, he slept a great deal and thus
escaped some of the pain which the jolting of the carriage caused him.
His luggage consisted of a small dilapidated trunk, which contained his
violin, his jewels, his money, and a few fine linen articles. Besides
this he had only a hat-case and a carpet-bag, and frequently a napkin
would contain his entire wardrobe. In a small red pocketbook he kept his
accounts and his papers, which represented an immense value, and nobody
but himself could decipher the hieroglyphics which indicated his
expenses and receipts. He cared not whether his apartment, at the inns
on the road, was elegantly furnished or a mere garret, but he always
kept the windows open in order to get an "air-bath," contrary to his
custom while in a carriage.

While the secret of Paganini's marvellous technique was incessant hard
work, to which he was urged not less by his own ambition than by his
father's cruelty, yet in later years he seldom practised, and his
playing was chiefly confined to his concerts and rehearsals. There are
several good stories dealing with this peculiarity. One man is said to
have followed him around for months, taking the adjoining room at
hotels, in order to find the secret of his success by hearing him
practise. Once, when looking through the keyhole, he saw the virtuoso go
to the violin case, take out the instrument, and after seeing that it
was in tune,--put it back again.

Sir Charles Hallé tells about seeing Paganini in Paris, where he used to
spend an hour every day sitting in a publisher's shop, "a striking,
awe-inspiring, ghostlike figure." Hallé was introduced to him, but
conversation was difficult, for Paganini sat there taciturn, rigid,
hardly ever moving a muscle of his face. He made the young pianist play
for him frequently, indicating his desire by pointing at the piano with
his long, bony hand, without speaking. Hallé was dying to hear the great
violinist play, and one day, after they had enjoyed a long silence,
Paganini rose and went to his violin case. He took the violin out, and
began to tune it carefully with his fingers, without using the bow.
Hallé's agitation was becoming intolerable, for he thought that the
moment had arrived at which his desire was to be gratified. But when
Paganini had satisfied himself that his violin was all right, he
carefully put it back in the case and shut it up.

Paganini was notoriously parsimonious, and it was related that one
evening in Florence he left his hotel rather late, jumped into a coach
and ordered the man to drive him to the theatre. The distance was short,
but he felt that it would not do to keep the public waiting. He was to
play the prayer from "Moses" on one string. On arrival at the theatre he
asked the driver, "How much?" "For you," replied the Jehu, "ten francs."
"What? Ten francs? You joke," replied the virtuoso. "It is only the
price of a ticket to your concert," was the excuse. Paganini hesitated a
moment, and then handed to the man what he considered to be a fair
remuneration, saying, "I will pay you ten francs when you drive me on
one wheel."

At one time Paganini astonished the world by making to Hector Berlioz
the magnificent present of twenty thousand francs. Berlioz was at that
time almost in a state of despair. His compositions were not
appreciated, and he was at a loss to know which way to turn. He made a
final effort and gave a last concert, at which Paganini was present and
congratulated him.

Jules Janin, the celebrated critic and writer, went into ecstasies over
the affair. Paganini, he said, who had been attacked for
hard-heartedness and avarice, was present at the concert, and at the end
prostrated himself before Berlioz, and shed tears. Hope returned and
Berlioz went home in triumph, for he had satisfied one great musical
critic. The next day he received a note from Paganini enclosing twenty
thousand francs, to be devoted to three years of repose, study, liberty,
and happiness.

In Sir Charles Hallé's biography, however, this story receives important
modifications. It appears that Armand Bertin, the wealthy proprietor of
the _Journal des Debates_, had a high regard for Berlioz, who was on his
staff, and knew of his struggles, which he was anxious to lighten. He
resolved, therefore, to make him a present of twenty thousand francs,
and to enhance the moral effect of this gift he persuaded Paganini to
appear as the donor of the money. What would have appeared as a simple
gratuity from a rich and powerful editor toward one of his staff, became
a significant tribute from one genius to another. The secret was well
kept and was never divulged to Berlioz. It was known only to two of
Bertin's friends, and Hallé learned it about seven years later, when he
had become an intimate friend of Madame Bertin, and she had been for
years one of his best pupils.

Paganini created the difficulties which he performed. He had a style of
his own, and was most successful in playing his own compositions. In
Paris, when, out of respect to the Parisians, he played a concerto by
Rode, and one by Kreutzer, he scarcely rose above mediocrity, and he was
well aware of his failure. He adopted the ideas of his predecessors,
resuscitated forgotten effects and added to them, and the chief features
of his performance were, the diversity of tones produced, the different
methods of tuning his instrument, the frequent employment of double and
single harmonics, the simultaneous use of pizzicato and bow passages,
the use of double and triple notes, the various staccati, and a
wonderful facility for executing wide intervals with unerring accuracy,
together with a great variety of styles of bowing. The quality of tone
which he produced was clear and pure, but not excessively full, and,
according to Fétis, he was a master of technique and phrasing rather
than a pathetic player,--there was no tenderness in his accents.

It is said that Baillot used to hide his face when Paganini played a
pizzicato with the left hand, harmonics, or a passage in staccato.
Dancla, in his recollections, says: "I had noticed in Paganini his
large, dry hand, of an astonishing elasticity; his fingers long and
pointed, which enabled him to make enormous stretches, and double and
triple extensions, with the utmost facility. The double and triple
harmonics, the successions of harmonics in thirds and sixths, so
difficult for small hands, owing to the stretch they require, were to
him as child's play. When playing an accentuated pizzicato with the left
hand, while the melody was played by the hand of the bow, the fourth
finger pinched the string with prodigious power even when the other
three fingers were placed."

There are anecdotes told of Paganini's artistic contests with rival
violinists, chief among whom were Lafont and Lipinski, both of whom he
eclipsed, and of his playing a concerto in manuscript at sight, with the
music upside down on the rack.

Of his appearance we are told, in an account of a concert in London: "A
tall, haggard figure, with long, black hair, strangely falling down to
his shoulders, slid forward like a spectral apparition. There was
something awful, unearthly in that countenance; but his play! our pen
seems involuntarily to evade the difficult task of giving utterance to
sensations which are beyond the reach of language." After detailing the
performance, the account continues: "These excellencies consist in the
combination of absolute mechanical perfection of every imaginable kind,
perfection hitherto unknown and unthought of, with the higher attributes
of the human mind, inseparable from eminence in the fine arts,
intellectual superiority, sensibility, deep feeling, poesy, genius."

In regard to this accomplishment of playing on one string, a critic
said: "To effect so much on a single string is truly wonderful;
nevertheless any good player can extract more from two than from one. If
Paganini really produces so much effect on a single string, he would
certainly obtain more from two. Then why not employ them? We answer,
because he is waxing exceedingly wealthy by playing on one." Paganini
seems to have reasoned from the opposite point, viz., that if the
retention of two strings be regarded with such wonder, how much greater
the marvel will be if only one is used.

To offset these suggestions of charlatanism, or perhaps rather to show
that, with all his charlatanism, Paganini was a marvel, we may see what
effect his playing had upon some men who were not likely to be caught by
mere trickery. Rossini, upon being asked how he liked Paganini, replied:
"I have wept but three times in my life; the first, on the failure of my
earliest opera; the second time, when, in a boat with some friends, a
turkey stuffed with truffles fell overboard; and thirdly, when I heard
Paganini play for the first time."

Spohr, after hearing him play, in 1830, said: "Paganini came to Cassel
and gave two concerts, which I heard with great interest. His left hand
and his constantly pure intonation were, to me, astonishing; but in his
compositions and his execution I found a strange mixture of the highly
genial and the childishly tasteless, by which one felt alternately
charmed and disappointed."

George Hogarth, the musical critic, writes about Paganini's "running up
and down a single string, from the nut to the bridge, for ten minutes
together, or playing with the bow and the fingers of his right hand,
mingling pizzicato and arcato notes with the dexterity of an Indian
juggler." It was not, however, by such tricks as these, but in spite of
them, that he gained the suffrages of those who were charmed by his
truly great qualities,--his soul of fire, his boundless fancy, his
energy, tenderness, and passion; these are the qualities which give him
a claim to a place among the greatest masters of the art.

Perhaps the finest description of Paganini is the one written by Leigh
Hunt:

  "So play'd of late to every passing thought
  With finest change (might I but half as well
  So write) the pale magician of the bow,
  Who brought from Italy the tales, made true,
  Of Grecian lyres; and on his sphery hand,
  Loading the air with dumb expectancy,
  Suspended, ere it fell, a nation's breath;

  "Of witches' dance, ghastly with whinings thin,
  And palsied nods--mirth, wicked, sad, and weak;
  And then with show of skill mechanical,
  Marvellous as witchcraft he would overthrow
  That vision with a show'r of notes like hail;
  Flashing the sharp tones now,
  In downward leaps like swords; now rising fine
  Into some utmost tip of minute sound,
  From whence he stepp'd into a higher and higher
  On viewless points, till laugh took leave of him.

  "Then from one chord of his amazing shell
  Would he fetch out the voice of quires, and weight
  Of the built organ; or some twofold strain
  Moving before him like some sweet-going yoke,
  Ride like an Eastern conqueror, round whose state
  Some light Morisco leaps with his guitar;
  And ever and anon o'er these he'd throw
  Jets of small notes like pearl."




CHAPTER V.

1800 TO 1830.


Paganini was an epoch-making artist. He revolutionised the art of violin
playing, and to his influence, or through his example, were developed
the modern French and Belgian schools. While Paganini was a genius, a
great musician, and a wonderful violinist, he combined with these
qualities that of a trickster, and the exponents of the modern French
school adopted some of the less commendable features of Paganini's
playing, while the Belgian school followed the more serious lines, and
became a much sounder school.

Alard, Dancla, and Maurin were exponents of the French school, while in
that of Belgium we have De Bériot, Massart, Vieuxtemps, Léonard,
Wieniawski.

Lambert Joseph Massart was born at Liège in 1811, and was first taught
by an amateur named Delavau, who, delighted with the remarkable talent
displayed by his young pupil, succeeded in securing for him, from the
municipal authorities of Liège, a scholarship which enabled him to go to
Paris.

On his arrival at the Conservatoire, Cherubini, who was splenetive and
rash, refused him admission without assigning any reason for his
decision, but Rudolph Kreutzer took upon his shoulders the task of
forming the future artist.

Notwithstanding Massart's great talent and excellent capabilities as an
artist, he never became a success as a concert player, because of his
inordinate shyness, but as a teacher few have equalled him.

Sir Charles Hallé, in his autobiography, tells a good anecdote
concerning Massart's shyness and modesty. Massart was to play, with
Franz Liszt, a program which included the Kreutzer sonata. Just as the
sonata was begun a voice from the audience called out "Robert le
Diable," referring to Liszt's brilliant fantasia on themes from that
opera, which he had recently composed, and had played several times with
immense success. The call was taken up by other voices, and the sonata
was drowned. Liszt rose and bowed, and presently, in response to the
continued applause, he said: "I am always the humble servant of the
public. But do you wish to hear the fantasia before or after the
sonata?"

Renewed cries of "Robert" were the only reply, upon which Liszt turned
half around to Massart and dismissed him with a wave of the hand, but
without a word of excuse or apology. Liszt's performance roused the
audience to a perfect frenzy, but Massart nevertheless most dutifully
returned and played the Kreutzer sonata, which fell entirely flat after
the dazzling display of the great pianist.

Few teachers have formed as many distinguished pupils as Massart, for in
1843 he was appointed professor of violin at the Paris Conservatoire,
where his energy, care, exactness, and thoroughness brought him an
immense reputation. Lotto, Wieniawski, Teresina Tua, and a host of other
distinguished violinists studied under him: among them also was Charles
M. Loeffler, of the Boston Symphony Orchestra.

Massart was also an excellent quartet player and gave many delightful
chamber concerts, with his wife, who was a pianist. He died in Paris,
February 13, 1892.

Charles Auguste de Bériot, who holds a position of great importance in
the history of violin playing and composition, was born in 1802 at
Louvain. He had the misfortune to be left an orphan at the age of nine.
His parents were of noble extraction, but at their death he was left
entirely without fortune, and was taken in charge by M. Tiby, a
professor of music, who had noticed the little boy's love of the musical
art, and had already taught him to such good purpose that he was able
even at that time to play one of Viotti's concertos in public so
skilfully that he received the hearty applause of the audience. He also
took lessons of Roberrechts, one of Viotti's most noted pupils.

De Bériot was a youth of contemplative mind and of high moral character.
He formed the acquaintance of the scholar and philosopher Jacotot, who
imbued him with principles of self-reliance, and exerted an influence
over him which lasted throughout his life.

De Bériot learned from his guide, philosopher, and friend that
"perseverance triumphs over all obstacles," and that "we are not willing
to do all that we are able to do."

At the age of nineteen De Bériot went to Paris, taking with him a letter
of introduction to Viotti, who was then the director of music at the
Opéra, and he succeeded in gratifying his greatest ambition, which was
to be heard by that illustrious violinist.

Viotti gave him the following advice: "You have a fine style. Give
yourself up to the business of perfecting it. Hear all men of talent,
profit by everything, but imitate nothing."

De Bériot applied himself assiduously to his studies, entering the Paris
Conservatoire and taking lessons of Baillot. In a few months, however,
he withdrew from the Conservatoire and relied upon his own resources. He
soon began to appear in concerts, generally playing compositions of his
own, which won him universal applause by their freshness and originality
as much as by his finished execution and large style of cantabile.

In 1826 he went to London from Paris, his first appearance taking place
on May 1st, before the Philharmonic Society. Wherever he appeared,
either in London or the provinces, he was greeted with enthusiasm, and
he established a lasting reputation.

His appearance in England antedated that of Paganini by about five
years, and it has been questioned whether the impression which he made
would have been less if he had appeared after instead of before the
great Italian. It seems, however that De Bériot continued to meet with
success even after the advent of Paganini. His playing was distinguished
by unfailing accuracy of intonation, great neatness and facility of
bowing, grace, elegance, and piquancy.

After travelling for some years he returned to Belgium, where he was
appointed solo violin to the King of the Netherlands. He had held the
position but a short time when the revolution of 1830 broke out and
deprived him of it.

He returned to Paris, and now began the most romantic portion of his
life. Madame Malibran, whose brilliant career was then at its height,
was singing in opera, and De Bériot became acquainted with her. The
acquaintance ripened into the most intimate friendship, and in 1832 a
concert company was formed, consisting of Malibran, De Bériot, and Luigi
Lablache, the celebrated and gigantic basso. They made a tour of Italy,
meeting with the most extraordinary success.

De Bériot and the beautiful Madame Malibran were now inseparable.
Malibran had for some years been living apart from her husband, an
American merchant, who, with the view of supporting himself by her
talents, had married her when on the brink of financial collapse. In
1835 she succeeded in securing a divorce from him, and then she married
De Bériot.

A few months after their marriage Malibran was thrown from her horse
and sustained internal injuries of such severity that she died after an
illness of nine days, and De Bériot became frantic with grief.

More than a year elapsed before he could at all recover from the effects
of his irreparable loss, and his first appearance in concert, after this
tragic event, was when Pauline Garcia, the sister of Madame Malibran,
made her first début in a concert at Brussels given for the benefit of
the poor.

In 1841 De Bériot married Mlle. Huber, daughter of a magistrate of
Vienna. He returned to Brussels, and became director of the violin
classes at the Conservatoire, after which he ceased giving concerts. He
remained in this position until 1852, when failing eyesight caused him
to retire, and he died at Louvain in 1870.

Before his acquaintance with Madame Malibran, De Bériot was a suitor for
the hand of Mlle. Sontag, and her rejection of him threw him into a
state of despondency, from which it required the brilliancy and wit of
Malibran to rouse him.

De Bériot left a number of compositions which abound in pleasing
melodies, have a certain easy, natural flow, and bring out the
characteristic effects of the instrument in the most brilliant manner.
There are seven concertos, eleven "airs variées," several books of
studies, four trios and a number of duets for piano and violin. His
"Violin School" has been published in many languages and used a great
deal by students.

Delphin Jean Alard was at one time a favourite violinist in France. In
1842 he succeeded Baillot as professor of violin at the Conservatoire in
Paris. He was first soloist in the royal band, to which post he was
appointed in 1858, and he was presented with the Cross of the Legion of
Honour.

Alard was born at Bayonne in March, 1815, and was well taught from his
earliest youth. He appeared in concerts at the age of ten, and at
twelve entered the Paris Conservatoire, where he became a pupil of
Habeneck, while Fétis taught him composition. He was the winner of
numerous prizes, and he also wrote a great deal of music for the violin.
His greatest pupil was Sarasate.

Alard married the daughter of Vuillaume, one of the best violin makers
of France, and through him became the owner of one of the most beautiful
Stradivarius violins. Alard died in Paris, February 22, 1881.

Hubert Léonard was born at Bellaire, near Liège, in 1819, but unlike the
majority of violinists he did not appear in concerts at an early age,
nor did he enter the Paris Conservatoire until he was seventeen. At this
time the wife of a wealthy merchant in Brussels took interest in him and
provided the means necessary for him to go to Paris. In 1844 he appeared
at Leipzig, and created a deep impression by the beauty of his tone and
his elegant performance. He travelled through Europe and played chiefly
his own compositions, of which there are a great many, but his greatest
fame was earned after he was appointed professor at the Brussels
Conservatoire, where he had many pupils, of whom the most celebrated is,
perhaps, Martin Marsick.

Concerning the merits of Heinrich Wilhelm Ernst there seems to be a wide
difference of opinion between various commentators. He was a man of
warm, impulsive nature, whose playing was distinguished by great
boldness in the execution of technical difficulties of the most
hazardous nature. His tone had a peculiar charm, and at the same time
his fiery, impetuous nature and uneven disposition led to certain
occasional errors in technique and faulty intonation. Nevertheless, he
was one of the most welcome performers in the concert halls of Europe
for a number of years. He was a thorough musician and a good composer,
though his works are so full of technical difficulties as to be almost
impossible of performance. Indeed it is said that some of them contained
difficulties which even he could not always overcome.

Born in Moravia at the town of Brünn in 1814, he entered the Vienna
conservatory, and in 1830 made his first concert tour through Munich and
Paris. Paganini was at that time travelling in Europe, and Ernst, in the
desire to learn something from this great artist, followed him from town
to town, and endeavoured to model his own playing upon the style of the
Italian virtuoso, an effort which seems to have brought down upon him
the censure of some critics, but which others have considered highly
praiseworthy.

In 1832 he settled in Paris, where he studied hard under De Bériot, and
played in concerts frequently. After 1844 he lived chiefly in England,
where he was highly appreciated, until the approach of his fatal
disease made it necessary for him to give up, first, public
performances, and then violin playing of any kind. He died at Nice after
eight years of intense suffering, in 1865.

When Ernst died the critic of the _Atheneum_ compared him with other
players of his day in the following words: "Less perfection in his
polish, less unimpeachable in the diamond lustre and clearness of his
tone, than De Bériot, Ernst had as much elegance as that exquisite
violinist, with greater depth of feeling. Less audaciously inventive and
extravagant than Paganini, he was sounder in taste, and, in his music,
with no lack of fantasy, more scientific in construction.... The secret,
however, of Ernst's success, whether as a composer or a virtuoso, lay in
his expressive power and accent. There has been nothing to exceed these
as exhibited by him in his best days. The passion was carried to its
utmost point, but never torn to tatters, the freest use of _tempo
rubato_ permitted, but always within the limits of the most just
regulation."

Among the violinists of this period (those who were born between 1800
and 1830) will be found those who first visited the United States. In
1843 Ole Bull found his way to these shores, and in the following year
both Vieuxtemps and Artot were giving concerts in New York. A kind of
triangular duel took place, for the admirers of Artot and Vieuxtemps,
who were chiefly the French residents of the city, endeavoured to
belittle the capabilities of Ole Bull, who nevertheless appears to have
been very successful, and if anything, to have benefited by the
competition. Musical culture was, at that time, in a very low state in
America, and one may judge somewhat of its progress by the press
criticisms of the artists who visited the country from time to time. It
will be seen that those who, like Ole Bull, Sivori, and Remenyi,
applied their talents to the elaboration of popular airs and operatic
themes were able to elicit the warmest praise. Vieuxtemps appears to
have appealed to the cultured minority and was understood and
appreciated by very few.

Flowery language was used without stint, and was frequently misapplied
in the most ludicrous manner, as will be seen by the following extract:

     "Since the death of his great master, the weird Paganini, Ole Bull
     had been left without a rival in Europe. Herwig, Nagel, Wallace,
     Artot, and De Bériot can only 'play second fiddle' to this king of
     the violin. His entrance upon the stage is remarkably modest, and
     after the Parisian graces of Artot seems a little awkward; a tip of
     his bow brings a crash from the orchestra. He then lays his cheek
     caressingly on the instrument, which gradually awakes, and wails,
     and moans, like an infant broken of its slumber. Every tone seems
     fraught with human passion. At one time he introduces a dialogue,
     in which a sweet voice complains so sadly that it makes the heart
     ache with pity, which is answered from another string with
     imprecations so violent and threatening that one almost trembles
     with fear. We fancied that a young girl was pleading for the life
     of her lover, and receiving only curses in reply. At the close of
     the first piece, the 'Adagio Maestoso,' there was one universal
     shout of applause, which afforded an infinite relief to a most
     enthusiastic house that had held its breath for fifteen minutes.
     Ole Bull came before the curtain and bowed, with his hand upon his
     heart. There is something different in his performance from that of
     any other artist, and yet it is difficult to describe the
     peculiarity of his style, except that he touches all the strings at
     once, and plays a distinct accompaniment with the fingers of his
     right hand. But the charm is in the genius of the man and the
     grandeur of his compositions. He knows how to play upon the silver
     cord of the heart which binds us to a world of beauty, and vibrates
     only when touched by a master hand."

The sentiments and emotions aroused in the breast of this critic appear
to have been those with which Paganini inspired his audience, when he
played a duet on two strings, as related in an earlier chapter. Ole Bull
was a child of nature, he gave his audience a description of the
beauties of nature, and behold! it is interpreted as a story of human
passions,--a high tribute to descriptive music.

The following criticism seems more in keeping with the ideas known to
have been held by the violinist, and almost leads one to imagine that
the critic was fortunate enough to obtain an interview with the virtuoso
before writing his account:

     "FEBRUARY, 1844.

     "To what shall we compare Ole Bull's playing? Was it like some
     well-informed individual who has seen the world and who spices his
     tales of men and things with song and story--now describing the
     beauties of Swiss scenery, now repeating the air which he caught up
     one moonlight night on the Bosphorus, and anon relating a stirring
     joke which he gleaned on the Boulevard. Such a man would create an
     impression on any small tea-party, but that violin did more--the
     comparison fails. There might be to him who chose to give rein to
     his fancy a vision at one moment of the old ivy-covered church and
     the quiet graveyard, the evening sun streaming through the rich
     stained glass, the organ faintly heard through the long aisles and
     the deep chancel, and around and about the singing of some bird of
     late hours, and the hum of the bee as he flew by, well laden, to
     his storehouse of sweets.

     "Then the clouds flew fearfully, and the wind moaned through the
     boughs of the old oak-tree in its winter dishabille, and so down to
     the seashore, when it rushed over cliffs and crags and knocked off
     the caps of the mad waves and sped on like a tyrant, crashing
     everything in its way and rejoicing in its might. And so we glided
     oddly but easily enough into the ballroom, where mirth and
     laughter, bright eyes, fairy feet, and all that was good and
     pleasant to behold flitted by. It was not all music that Ole Bull's
     violin gave out. There were old memories and pleasant ones, ideas
     which shaped themselves into all manners of queer visions; and the
     main difference between Ole Bull and those I have heard before him
     seemed to me to consist in this--that whereas many others may
     excite and hold by the button, as it were, the organ of hearing and
     the mind therewith immediately connected, Ole Bull awakens the
     other senses along with it and occupies them in the field of
     imagination."

In 1846 came Sivori, and in 1848 Remenyi, both artists whose desire to
please their audiences took them far from the path of the highest
musical standard. It may be said with truth that the country was hardly
ready for musicianship of the highest quality, and even in 1872, when
Wieniawski came with the great pianist and composer, Rubinstein, the two
were accepted on their reputation rather than on their merits, which
were understood by a comparatively small proportion of their audiences.

Although several violinists endeavoured to copy Paganini's style, or at
least to learn as much as possible from hearing and seeing him play,
there was only one, excepting Catarina Calcagno, who received direct
instruction from him, and on whom his mantle was said, by his admirers,
to have fallen. That one was Camillo Sivori, born at Genoa, June 6,
1817.

[Illustration: CAMILLO SIVORI]

The connecting link between Sivori and Paganini began very early in the
career of the former. Indeed it is said that the excitement of his
mother, on hearing Paganini play at a concert, caused the premature
birth of the future disciple of the great artist. Marvellous stories
are told of Sivori's infancy. At the age of eighteen months, before he
had ever seen or heard a violin player, he continually amused himself by
using two pieces of stick after the manner of the violin and bow, and
singing to himself. It is fair to say that similar precocity in other
children has not always resulted in virtuosity. A case might be cited of
a very young person who amused himself by inverting a small chair, and
imagining that he was a street organist, but he grew to maturity without
adopting that profession.

At two years of age, the account continues, he cried out lustily for a
violin, and when his father, reduced to submission by the boy's
importunity, bought him a child's violin, he at once began to apply
himself, morning, noon, and night, to practising on this instrument, and
without any aid he was able in a short time to play many airs he had
heard his sisters play or sing. His renown spread through Genoa, and he
was invited everywhere. At concerts and parties he was placed upon a
table to play, and he was frequently called upon to perform before the
king and the queen-dowager. He must have been a most wilful and
embarrassing child, for the account goes on to say that he would not
enter a church unless he heard music; but on the other hand, if he did
hear music he insisted on going in, or else he would scream and make a
terrible scene.

These anecdotes, told by an effusive admirer, seem rather ridiculous,
but when Paganini visited Genoa, and Sivori was six years old, the
virtuoso took a great deal of interest in the little fellow and gave him
lessons. He also wrote a concerto for him, and six short sonatas with
accompaniment for guitar, tenor, and 'cello, and these the young artist
soon played in public. In six months Paganini left Genoa and desired to
take his young pupil with him, but this was not allowed by the parents,
and Sivori was placed under the tuition of Costa. Three years later
Paganini returned to Genoa, and by his advice his protégé was placed
under M. Dellepaine, who taught him taste and expression, his lessons
with Costa in technique continuing. In 1827 Sivori made a concert tour
with M. Dellepaine, and visited Paris, where his playing at the
Conservatoire won him great applause. He also appeared in England, after
which he entered upon another serious course of study for several years,
and perfected the tone which enraptured the world for so long, and at
the same time he studied composition under Serra.

In 1839 his concert tours began again, and he visited Germany, Russia,
Belgium, and Paris, where he played at the Conservatoire concerts and
received the medal of honour.

Sivori now set out on extensive travels, and, after visiting England,
proceeded, in 1846, to America, travelling through the United States,
Mexico, and various parts of South America, spending eight years in
these peregrinations, and amassing a considerable fortune. During this
great tour he met with many adventures, frequently travelling on
horseback, and at one time being at death's door with yellow fever. On
his return to Europe he shared the fate of many musicians who have
achieved financial success, and lost his money by unfortunate
investment, which made it necessary for him to resume his travels. He
therefore visited Great Britain, Switzerland, Germany, Spain, Portugal,
etc.

He was, of course, compared to many of the great violinists of his time,
who all had their special merits. One criticism, in which Sivori is
compared with Spohr, may be interesting: "Spohr is of colossal stature,
and looks more like an ancient Roman than a Brunswicker; Sivori is the
antithesis of Spohr in stature. Spohr has the severe phlegmatic
Teutonic aspect; Sivori has the flashing Italian eye and variability of
feature. Spohr stands firm and still; Sivori's body is all on the swing,
he tears the notes, as it were, from his instrument. Spohr's refinement
and polish have been the characteristics of his playing; in Sivori it is
wild energy--the soul in arms--the determination to be up and doing--the
daring impulse of youthful genius. Spohr's playing is remarkable for its
repose and finish; Sivori electrifies by the most powerful appeals to
the affections."

Sivori was a man of generous impulses, and was seldom appealed to in
vain to assist in a good cause. When his teacher, M. Dellepaine, was
taken ill and was unable temporarily to fill his post of first violin at
the theatre, and of director of the conservatoire at Genoa, Sivori
replaced him in both and gave him the entire benefit of his services.
After two years the teacher died, and Sivori still held the two places
an entire year for the benefit of the widow, until a situation was
procured for her which enabled her to live without further assistance.

At one time Sivori felt that the instrument which he played was not so
perfect as to satisfy him. He asked Paganini to sell him one, and the
reply was, "I will not sell you the violin, but I will present it to you
in compliment to your high talents." Sivori travelled to Nice to receive
the instrument from his master's own hands. Paganini was then--it was in
1840--in a deplorable condition, and could hardly speak. He signified a
desire to hear his pupil play once more, and Sivori, withdrawing to a
room a little way off, so that the sound of the instrument would not be
too loud, played whatever Paganini called for. About two weeks later
Paganini died.

In 1851 Hallé wrote of him as follows:

"Sivori was here lately, but caused little furore; such rubbish as the
man plays now I had never heard, and really, as an artist, felt ashamed
of him."

Sivori continued to play in public until 1864, when he visited London
and played at the Musical Union and elsewhere, but his triumph in Paris
in 1862 must not be forgotten. On that occasion he executed Paganini's B
minor concerto, and aroused immense enthusiasm, although he played
immediately after Alard, who was at that time a prime favourite. During
his later years Sivori lived in retirement, and he died February 18,
1894.

He was the first person allowed to play on the celebrated violin which
Paganini bequeathed to the city of Genoa. He was also the first to play,
with orchestra, Mendelssohn's Violin Concerto in England. This
performance was at the Philharmonic Society concert, June 29, 1846.

Henry Vieuxtemps was one of the greatest violinists of his time. He was
born at Verviers, in Belgium, in 1820, and was brought up in a musical
atmosphere. So early did his talent develop, that he played a concerto
of Rode in public at the age of six, and the following year made a tour
with his father and his teacher, Lecloux, during which he had the good
fortune to meet De Bériot, before whom he played. During four years he
remained a pupil of De Bériot, and when that artist left Paris, in 1831,
Vieuxtemps went to Brussels, where he practised hard, but without a
teacher, until 1833, when he again set out on a prolonged concert tour.

From this time on he seems to have spent the greater part of his time in
travelling, for which he had a passion. He visited all parts of Europe
and met most of the celebrated musicians of the day. Spohr, Molique,
Schumann, Paganini, Henselt, and Richard Wagner were among the
celebrities whom he met, and in his tours he was associated with
Servais, Thalberg, and other well-known artists.

Not content with Europe as a field for conquest, he visited America in
1844, and again in 1857 and in 1870.

He was offered many excellent positions, some of which he held for a
time and others he declined. In 1845 he married Josephine Eder, an
eminent pianist of Vienna, and shortly after was appointed solo
violinist to the Emperor of Russia, relinquishing that post six years
later in order to travel again. He was professor at the Brussels
conservatoire from 1871 to 1873, and in 1872 he was elected a member of
the Academic Royale of Belgium, on which occasion he read a memoir of
Étienne Jean Soubre.

In 1868 he suffered a double bereavement through the deaths, first of
his father, and a short time later of his wife, and, to divert his mind
from these troubles, he undertook a tour which lasted three years.
During 1873 his active career was cut short by a stroke of paralysis
which disabled his left side. He now travelled for health's sake, and
went to Algiers, where he lived quietly for several years. His life was
brought to an end by a drunken Arab, who threw a large stone at him
while he was riding in his carriage one day, striking him on the head.

As a violinist Vieuxtemps possessed a wonderful staccato, both on the up
and down bow. His intonation was perfect. He was fond of strong dramatic
accents and contrasts. As a composer for the violin he had wider success
than any one since Spohr, but while some of his works contain really
fine ideas worked out with much skill, others are merely show pieces of
no particular value.

As a man Vieuxtemps had a gay and restless disposition. He was not
easily depressed by trifles, and he enjoyed the freedom of a life of
constant change and travel, and it was during his travels that most of
his best compositions were written.

During the last few years of his active life, after his paralytic stroke
had prevented his playing, he suffered much from his inability to
demonstrate to his pupils the way in which certain passages should be
played. Frequent outbursts of rage ensued, of which his pupils were
obliged to bear the brunt, even to being prodded with his iron-shod
stick. Sometimes scenes more amusing would occur, as when some grandees
would visit the class, and Vieuxtemps would change his manner from
smiles and affability while addressing them, to scowls and grimaces
while talking to his pupils, the latter, of course, being invisible to
the visitors.

When Vieuxtemps visited America in 1857, he was associated with
Thalberg, the pianist, and together they visited many towns and cities.
Amongst the gems of American newspaper criticism they no doubt took with
them several copies of the following, which appeared in the local paper
of a town in Tennessee, and was headed "Thalberg and Vieuxtemps:"

     "These distinguished individuals are now at Nashville, giving high
     pressure concerts, and selling tickets at two dollars apiece, when
     convenient. A stage-load and a half or two stage-loads of ladies
     and gentlemen went down from this place to hear them. Thalberg is
     said to be death, in its most horried shape, on the piano, and it
     is probably true; while Vieuxtemps is represented as a fiddler of
     considerable skill, considering his opportunities, which he no
     doubt is. We haven't heard either of them since they were quite
     small, and unless they come out here and reduce the price of their
     tickets to their value,--say about sixty-two and a half cents a
     dozen,--it is possible that we sha'n't hear them any more. When we
     ride forty miles, at an expense of at least ten dollars, extras not
     included, to hear a couple of itinerant Dutchmen torture a brace of
     unoffending instruments into fits, until the very spirit of music
     howls in sympathy, if some one will cave in our head with a
     brickbat, we will feel greatly obliged.

     "But seriously, Thalberg and Vieuxtemps have never done us any
     harm that we know of, and we don't suppose they intend to. We
     wouldn't much mind hearing their music, for no doubt it is nearly,
     if not quite, as good as that of the average common run of
     Dutchmen, which, as the latter will tell you, is saying a good
     deal."

And yet musical culture was said to be in its infancy in America at that
time!

In Boston, Vieuxtemps, after an absence of fourteen years, was
criticised thus: "We cannot see in M. Vieuxtemps the spark of genius,
but he is a complete musician, and the master of his instrument. Tone so
rich, so pure, so admirably prolonged and nourished, so literally drawn
from the instrument, we have scarcely heard before; nor such vigour,
certainty, and precision, such nobility and truth in every motion and
effect. We recognise the weakness for sterile difficulties of extreme
harmonics."

Vieuxtemps was also subject to comparison with Sivori, rather to the
former's disparagement. "The one plays the violin like a great
musician, the other like a spoiled child of nature, who has endowed him
with the most precious gifts. Intrepid wrestlers, both, and masters of
their instrument, they each employ a different manner. M. Vieuxtemps
never lets you forget that he plays the violin, that the wonders of
mechanism which he accomplishes under your eye are of the greatest
difficulty and have cost him immense pains, whereas M. Sivori has the
air of being ignorant that he holds in his hands one of the most
complicated instruments that exists, and he sings to you like Malibran.
He sings, he weeps, he laughs on the violin like a very demon."

The following paragraph is a good sample of New York musical journalism
in the year 1844:

     "Vieuxtemps's first concert on Monday night was a very stylish jam.
     He is a small, puny-built man, with gold rings in his ears, and a
     face of genteel ugliness, but touchingly lugubrious in its
     expression. With his violin at his shoulder, he has the air of a
     husband undergoing the nocturnal penance of walking the room with
     'the child'--and performing it, too, with unaffected pity. He plays
     with the purest and coldest perfection of art, and is doubtless
     more learned on the violin than either of the rival performers [Ole
     Bull and Artot], but there is a vitreous clearness and precision in
     his notes that would make them more germane to the humour of before
     breakfast than to the warm abandon of vespertide. His sister
     travels with him (a pretty blonde, very unlike him), and
     accompanies him on the piano."

Vieuxtemps also visited America in 1870, with the celebrated singer
Christine Nilsson.

Among the celebrated violinists of this period must be mentioned
Bernhard Molique, of whom Sir Charles Hallé says that he was a good
executant, knowing no difficulties, but his style was polished and cold,
and he never carried his public with him. "Ernst," he continues, "was
all passion and fire, regulated by reverence for and clear understanding
of the masterpieces he had to interpret. Sainton was extremely elegant
and finished in his phrasing, but vastly inferior to the others.
Vieuxtemps was an admirable violinist and a great musician, whose
compositions deserve a much higher rank than it is the fashion to accord
them."

Molique was the son of a town musician of Nuremberg, and became a
composer whose works have stood the test of time. He was a pupil of
Kreutzer and of Spohr, and held the position of director and first
violinist of the royal band at Stuttgart. He had a number of excellent
pupils, of whom John T. Carrodus was the best known. He died at
Stuttgart in 1869.

Henry Gamble Blagrove was a musical prodigy, who began the study of the
violin at the age of four, and appeared in public a year later. He was
born at Nottingham in 1811, and at six years of age played at Drury
Lane. He studied abroad with Spohr, and appeared in Vienna in 1836, but
the greater part of his life was spent in England, where he was soloist
in several of the best orchestras. He was a man of refreshing modesty,
and was held in high esteem. He died in London in 1872.

Jacob Dont, of Vienna, and Jean Dancla, a French violinist, both belong
to this period, and were teachers of reputation.




CHAPTER VI.

OLE BULL.


"A typical Norseman, erect of bearing, with a commanding presence and
mobile, kindly face, from which the eyes shone clear and fearless as the
spirits of old Norway hovering over his native mountains. He was a man
to evoke respect and love under all conditions, and, when he stepped
before an audience, roused an instantaneous throb of sympathy, of
interest, before the sweep of his magical bow enthralled their souls
with its melodious measures." Such is an excellent pen picture of Ole
Bull, who during the middle of the nineteenth century was known far and
wide as a great violinist.

Among the celebrated musicians of all nations, Ole Bull will always
remain a striking figure. As a musician, none so eminent has been so
essentially a self-made man, none has grown up with so little influence
from outside, none with a technique so essentially self-discovered. As a
son of his country, none has retained so sturdy a sense of patriotism;
none has, amid the more brilliant surroundings of a life spent in the
gayest cities of the world, refused to be weaned from the poor northern,
half-dependent state from which he issued a penniless lad.

Olaus Borneman Bull was born at Bergen, in Norway, February 5, 1810, and
was the eldest of ten children. His father was a physician and
apothecary. He was musical, as were several other members of his family,
and little Ole's love for music was fostered to a great degree at home
by the Tuesday quartet meetings, at which his Uncle Jens played the
'cello.

In the early part of the century, the proverb, "Spare the rod and spoil
the child," was regarded as the foundation of education in most
countries, and few children were allowed to spoil. All childish desires
which conflicted with parental ideas were promptly suppressed by "the
rod," until by sheer strength they proved to be unsuppressible. Then
they became great virtues. It was thus with Ole Bull. His first desire
to hear the quartet music, which he gratified by hiding under sofas or
behind curtains, was rewarded with the rod,--for he should have been in
bed. After a time a concession was made through the intervention of
Uncle Jens, and Ole was allowed to become familiar with the best music
of the day.

Uncle Jens used to amuse himself with the small boy's susceptibility to
music, and would sometimes shut him up in the 'cello case, promising him
some candy if he would stay there while he (Uncle Jens) played. But Ole
could never endure the ordeal for long. He had to come out where he
could see and hear.

His first violin was given him by Uncle Jens when he was five years old,
and he soon learned to play it well without any instructor. He was not
allowed to practise music until his study hours were over, and
occasional breaches of this rule kept "the rod" active.

Ole Bull's first instructor was a violinist named Paulsen, a man of
convivial temperament, who used to come and enjoy the hospitality of
Ole's father and play "as long as there was a drop in the decanter,"
with a view to educating the young artist, as he said. But Ole's parents
were thinking of prohibiting the violin altogether on the plea that it
interfered too much with his studies, when the tide of affairs was
changed by the following incident.

One Tuesday evening, Paulsen, who played first violin in the quartet,
had been so convivial that he was unable to continue. In this
unfortunate dilemma Uncle Jens called upon Ole, saying, "Come, my boy,
do your best, and you shall have a stick of candy." Ole quickly accepted
the challenge, and as the quartet was one which he had several times
heard, he played each movement correctly, much to the astonishment of
all present.

This happened on his eighth birthday, and the event marked an epoch in
his life, for he was elected an active member of the Tuesday club, and
began to take lessons regularly of the convivial Paulsen.

There is a pathetic story of how Ole induced his father to buy a new
violin for him, and, unable to restrain his desire to play it, he got up
in the night, opened the case, and touched the strings. This furtive
touch merely served to whet his appetite, and he tried the bow. Then he
began to play very softly; then, carried away with enthusiasm, he
played louder and louder, until suddenly he felt the sharp sting of his
father's whip across his shoulders, and the little violin fell to the
floor and was broken.

From 1819 to 1822 Ole Bull received no violin instruction, for Paulsen
had left Bergen without explanation, though it has been hinted that Ole
Bull had outgrown him, and on that account he thought it wise to depart.

In 1822 a Swedish violinist came to Bergen, and Ole took lessons of him.
His name was Lundholm, and he was a pupil of Baillot. Lundholm was very
strict and would admit of no departure from established rules. He quite
failed to make the boy hold his instrument according to the accepted
method, but his custom of making his pupil stand upright, with his head
and back against the wall while playing, no doubt gave to him that
repose and grace of bearing which was so noticeable in later years.
Lundholm was, however, quite unable to control his precocious pupil and
a coolness soon sprung up between them, which appears to have culminated
in the following incident.

On a Tuesday evening, at one of the regular meetings, Lundholm played
Baillot's "Caprizzi," but Ole Bull was much disappointed at the
pedantic, phlegmatic manner in which he rendered the passionate phrases.
When the company went to supper Ole found on the leader's music-rack a
concerto of Spohr's, and began to try it over. Carried away with the
music, he forgot himself, and was discovered by Lundholm on his return,
and scolded for his presumption.

"What impudence!" said the violinist. "Perhaps you think you could play
this at sight, boy?" "Yes," was the reply, "I think I could." His remark
was heard by the rest of the company, who were now returning, and they
all insisted that he should try it. He played the allegro, and all
applauded except Lundholm, who looked angry. "You think you can play
anything," he said, and, taking a caprice of Paganini's from the stand,
he added, "Try this." It happened that this caprice was a favourite of
the young violinist, who had learned it by heart. He therefore played it
in fine style, and received the hearty applause of the little audience.
Lundholm, however, instead of raving, was more polite and kind than he
had ever been before, and told Ole that with practice he might hope to
equal him (Lundholm) some day.

Years afterwards, when Ole Bull was making a concert tour through
Norway, and was travelling in a sleigh over the snow-covered ground, he
met another sleigh coming from the opposite direction, of which the
occupant recognised him, and made signs to him to stop. It was Lundholm.
"Well," shouted he, "now that you are a famous violinist, remember that
when I heard you play Paganini I predicted that your career would be a
remarkable one."

"Oh," exclaimed Ole Bull, "you were mistaken, for I did not read that
piece, I knew it before." "It makes no difference," was the reply, as
the sleighs parted.

As young Ole approached manhood, and developed in strength and stature,
we find him asserting his independence. His father, who intended him to
be a clergyman, engaged a private tutor named Musaeus, who, when he
found that Ole's musical tastes conflicted with his studies, forbade him
to play the violin, so that the boy could only indulge at night in an
inclination which, under restraint, became a passion. Ole and his
brothers had long and patiently borne both with cross words and blows
from this worthy pedagogue, and at length decided to rebel. Accordingly
when one morning at half-past four the tutor appeared and dragged out
the youngest from his warm bed, Ole sprang upon him and a violent
struggle ensued. The household was aroused, and in a few moments the
parents appeared on the spot in time to see Musaeus prostrate upon the
floor and suing for peace. Contrary to his expectations, Ole found
himself taken more into his father's confidence, and as a result he
became more desirous than ever of carrying out his father's wishes.

In 1828 he went to the university in Christiania, where, in spite of the
best intentions, he soon found himself musical director of the
Philharmonic and Dramatic Societies, a position which gave him
independence, and somewhat consoled him for his failure to pass his
entrance examinations for the university. His father reluctantly forgave
him, and he was now, in spite of everything, fairly launched upon a
musical career.

He was not long contented to remain in Christiania. His mind was in a
state of restless agitation, and he determined to go to Cassel, and
seek out Spohr, whose opinion he desired to secure. He accordingly left
Christiania on May 18, 1829. His departure was so hurried that he left
his violin behind, and it had to be forwarded to him by his friends.
This suddenness was probably caused by the fact that he had taken part
in the observance of Independence Day on May 17th, a celebration which
had been interdicted by the government.

On reaching Cassel he went to Spohr, who accorded him a cold reception.
"I have come more than five hundred miles to hear you," said Ole Bull,
wishing to be polite. "Very well," was the reply, "you can now go to
Nordhausen; I am to attend a musical festival there," Bull therefore
went to Nordhausen, where he heard a quartet by Maurer, of which Spohr
played the first violin part. He was so overwhelmed with disappointment
at the manner in which the quartet was played by the four masters that
he came to the conclusion that he was deceived in his aspirations, and
had no true calling for music.

Spohr was a most methodical man, and had no appreciation for wild
genius. He saw only the many faults of the self-taught youth, and coldly
advised him to give up his idea of a musical career, declining to accept
him as a pupil. Some five years later, Bull having in the meantime
refused to accept this advice, which did not coincide with his own
inclinations, Spohr heard him play, and wrote thus of him: "His
wonderful playing and sureness of his left hand are worthy of the
highest admiration, but, unfortunately, like Paganini, he sacrifices
what is artistic to something that is not quite suitable to the noble
instrument. His tone, too, is bad, and since he prefers a bridge that is
quite plain, he can use A and D strings only in the lower positions, and
even then pianissimo. This renders his playing (when he does not let
himself loose with some of his own pieces) monotonous in the extreme. We
noticed this particularly in two Mozart quartets he played at my house.
Otherwise he plays with a good deal of feeling, but without refined
taste."

After his discouraging interview with Spohr, Ole Bull returned to
Norway, making, on the way, a short visit to Göttingen, where he became
involved in a duel.

Feeling that his own capabilities were worth nothing, after what he had
seen and heard in Germany, Ole Bull returned home in a despondent state
of mind, but, on passing through a town where he had once led the
theatre orchestra, he was recognised, welcomed, and compelled to direct
a performance, and thus he once more fell under the influence of music,
and began to apply himself vigorously to improvement.

In 1831 he went to Paris in order to hear Paganini, and if possible to
find some opportunity to improve himself. He failed to enter the
Conservatoire, but he succeeded in hearing Paganini, and this, according
to his own account, was the turning-point of his life. Paganini's
playing made an immense impression on him, and he threw himself with the
greatest ardour into his technical studies, in order that he might
emulate the feats performed by the great Italian.

His stay in Paris was full of adventure. He was hampered by poverty, and
frequently in the depths of despair. At one time he is said to have
attempted suicide by drowning in the Seine. There is also a story told
to the effect that the notorious detective, Vidocq, who lived in the
same house with him, and knew something of his circumstances, prevailed
upon him to risk five francs in a gambling saloon. Vidocq stood by and
watched the game, and Ole Bull came away the winner of eight hundred
francs, presumably because the detective was known, and the proprietors
of the saloon considered discretion to be the better part of valour. It
was a delicate method of making the young man a present in a time of
difficulty, but one of which the moral effect could hardly fail to be
injurious.

At one time, when he was ill and homeless, he entered a house in the Rue
des Martyrs in which there were rooms to let. He was received and
treated kindly, and was nursed through a long illness by the landlady
and her granddaughter.

He tried to secure a place in the orchestra of the Opéra Comique, but
his arrogance lost him the position, for when he was requested to play a
piece at sight, it seemed to him so simple that he asked at which end he
should begin. This offence caused him to be rejected without a hearing.

Fortune, however, began at last to smile upon him when he made the
acquaintance of M. Lacour, a violin maker, who conceived the idea of
engaging him to show off his violins. Ole Bull accordingly played on one
of them at a soirée given by the Duke of Riario, Italian chargé
d'affaires in Paris. He was almost overcome by the smell of assafoetida
which emanated from the varnish, and which was caused by the heat.
Nevertheless, he played finely, and as a result was invited to breakfast
the next morning by the Duke of Montebello, Marshal Ney's son. This
brought him into contact with Chopin, and shortly afterwards he gave his
first concert under the duke's patronage, and with the assistance of
Ernst, Chopin, and other celebrated artists.

He now made a concert tour through Switzerland to Italy, and on reaching
Milan he played at La Scala, where he made an immense popular success,
but drew from one of the journals a scathing criticism, which, however
humiliating it may have been, struck him by its truth.

     "M. Bull played compositions by Spohr, Mayseder, and Paganini
     without understanding the true character of the music, which he
     marred by adding something of his own. It is quite obvious that
     what he adds comes from genuine and original talent, from his own
     musical individuality; but he is not master of himself; he has no
     style; he is an untrained musician. If he be a diamond, he is
     certainly in the rough and unpolished."

Ole Bull sought out the writer of this criticism, who gave him valuable
advice, and for six months he devoted himself to ardent study under the
guidance of able masters. In this way he learned to know himself, the
nature and limitations of his own talent.

We now arrive at the point in Ole Bull's career at which he became
celebrated, and this was due to accident. He was at Bologna, where De
Bériot and Malibran were to appear at one of the Philharmonic concerts.
By chance Malibran heard that De Bériot was to receive a smaller sum
than that which had been agreed upon for her services, and in a moment
of pique she sent word that she was unable to appear on account of
indisposition. De Bériot also declared himself to be suffering from a
sprained thumb.

It happened that Madame Colbran (Rossini's first wife) had one day heard
Ole Bull practising as she passed his window, and now she remembered the
fact, and advised the Marquis Zampieri, who was the director of the
concerts, to hunt up the young violinist. Accordingly, Ole Bull, who had
gone to bed very early, was roused by a tap on the door, and invited to
improvise on the spot for Zampieri. Bull was then hurried off, without
even time to dress himself suitably for the occasion, and placed before
a most distinguished audience, which contained the Duke of Tuscany and
other celebrities, besides De Bériot, with his arm in a sling.

His playing charmed and captivated the audience, although he was almost
overcome with exhaustion. After taking some food and wine he appeared
again, and this time he asked for a theme on which to improvise. He was
given three, and, instead of making a selection, he took all three and
interwove them in so brilliant a manner that he carried the audience by
storm. He was at once engaged for the next concert, and made such
success that he was accompanied to his hotel by a torchlight procession,
and his carriage drawn home by the excited people.

Ole Bull continued his triumphant course through Italy. At Lucca he
played at the duke's residence, where the queen-dowager met with a
surprise, as Ole refused to begin playing until she stopped talking. At
Naples he experienced the misfortune of having his violin stolen, and he
was obliged to buy a Nicholas Amati, for which he paid a very high
price. After playing and making a great success in Rome, he returned to
Paris, where he now found the doors of the Grand Opéra open to him, and
he gave several concerts there.

In 1836 he married Félicie Villernot, the granddaughter of the lady in
whose house he had met with so much kindness during his first stay in
Paris.

Following the advice of Rossini, he went to London, where he made his
usual success, notwithstanding the intrigues of certain musicians, who
endeavoured to discredit him. Such was his popularity in England that he
received for one concert, at Liverpool, the sum of £800, and in sixteen
months' time he gave two hundred and seventy-four concerts in the United
Kingdom.

He now decided to visit Germany, and on his way through Paris he made
the acquaintance of Paganini, who greeted him with the utmost
cordiality. He went through Germany giving many concerts, and visited
Cassel, where he was now received by Spohr with every mark of
distinction. He played in Berlin, where his success was great,
notwithstanding some adverse criticism. He also played in Vienna and
Buda-Pesth, and so on through Russia. At St. Petersburg he gave several
concerts before audiences of five thousand people. He now went through
Finland and so on to Sweden and Norway, where he was fêted.

Although closely followed by Vieuxtemps and Artot, Ole Bull was the
first celebrated violinist to visit America, and in 1843 he made his
first trip, landing in Boston in November of that year and proceeding
directly to New York, playing for the first time on Evacuation Day.
"John Bull went out on this day," he said, "and Ole Bull comes in." He
remained two years in the United States, during which time he played in
two hundred concerts and met with many remarkable adventures. During his
sojourn he wrote a piece called "Niagara," which he played for the first
time in New York, and which became very popular. He also wrote "The
Solitude of the Prairies," which won more immediate success.

He travelled during these two years more than one hundred thousand
miles, and played in every city of importance. He is estimated to have
netted by his trip over $80,000, besides which he contributed more than
$20,000, by concerts, to charitable institutions. No artist ever visited
the United States and received so many honours.

In 1852 he returned to America, and this time he was destined to meet
with tribulation. It was his desire to aid the poor of his country by
founding a colony. He therefore bought a tract of land of 125,000 acres
in Potter County, Pennsylvania, on the inauguration of which he stated
his purpose: "We are to found a New Norway, consecrated to liberty,
baptised with independence, and protected by the Union's mighty flag."
Some three hundred houses were built, with a store and a church, and a
castle on a mountain, which was designed for his permanent home.
Hundreds flocked to the new colony, and the scheme took nearly the
whole of his fortune.

Ole Bull now started on a concert tour together with little Adelina
Patti, her sister Amalia Patti Strakosch, and Mr. Maurice Strakosch.
Patti was then only eight years old, and was already exciting the wonder
of all who heard her.

When crossing the Isthmus of Panama his violin was stolen by a native
porter, and Ole Bull was obliged to remain behind to find his
instrument, while the company went on to California. He was now taken
down with yellow fever, and owing to a riot in the town he was entirely
neglected, and was obliged to creep off his bed on to the floor in order
to escape the bullets which were flying about. On his recovery he set
out for San Francisco, but the season was too late for successful
concerts. He was miserably weak, and when he played his skin would break
and bleed as he pressed the strings.

He now heard that there was some trouble in regard to his title to the
land in Pennsylvania, and, hastening to Philadelphia, he was legally
notified that he was trespassing.

It transpired that the man who had sold the land to Ole Bull had no
claim to it whatever, and had perpetrated a barefaced swindle, and now,
having the money, he dared his victim to do his worst. The actual owner
of the land, who had come forward to assert his rights, became
interested in the scheme, and was willing to sell the land at a low
price, but Ole now had no money. He instituted legal proceedings against
the swindler, who, in return, harassed the violinist as much as
possible, trying to prevent his concerts by arrests, and bringing suits
against him for services supposed to have been rendered. It is even
stated that an attempt was made to poison him, which only failed because
the state of excitement in which he was at the time prevented his desire
for food.

Ole Bull now set to work to retrieve his fortunes, but ill luck still
followed him, and he fell a victim to chills and fever, was abandoned by
his manager, and taken to a farm-house on a prairie in Illinois, where
he endured a long illness. For five years he continued his struggle
against misfortune, and during that period he made hosts of friends who
did much to help him in one way and another. Nevertheless, when he gave
his last concerts in New York, in 1857, he was still so ill that he had
to be helped on and off the stage.

He now returned to Bergen, where the air of his native land soon
restored him to health. On his arrival, however, he found that the
report had been circulated that he had been speculating at the expense
of his countrymen, and that they were the only sufferers by his
misfortunes.

For a short time he assumed control of the National Theatre, but before
long he was again on the road, giving concerts in various parts of
Europe. While he was in Paris, in 1862, his wife died.

The year 1867 found him again in the United States, and during this tour
he met at Madison, Wis., Miss Sara C. Thorpe, the lady who was to become
his second wife. He also took part in the Peace Jubilee in Boston, in
1869.

When he sailed for Norway, in April, 1870 (he was to be married on his
arrival), the New York Philharmonic Society presented him with a
beautiful silken flag. This flag--the Norwegian colours with the
star-spangled banner inserted in the upper staff section--was always
carried in the seventeenth of May processions in Bergen, and floated on
the fourth of July.

The remaining years of Ole Bull's life were spent in comparative freedom
from strife and struggle. He spent much of his time in Norway, but also
found time for many concert tours. His sixty-sixth birthday was spent
in Egypt, and he solemnised the occasion by ascending the Pyramid of
Cheops and playing, on its pinnacle, his "Saeter-besög." This
performance took place at the suggestion of the King of Sweden, to whom
the account was duly telegraphed the next morning from Cairo.

In Boston Ole Bull was always a great favourite and had many friends. He
felt much interest in the Norsemen's discovery of America, and took
steps to bring the subject before the people of Boston. The result of
his efforts is to be seen in the statue of Lief Ericsson, commemorative
of the event, which adorns the Public Gardens.

In March and April, 1880, Ole Bull appeared at a few concerts in the
Eastern cities, with Miss Thursby, and in June he sailed, for the last
time, from America. He was in poor health, but, contrary to all hopes,
the sea voyage did not improve his condition, and much anxiety was felt
until his home was reached. A few weeks later he died, and, at the
funeral, honours more than royal were shown. In the city of Bergen all
business was suspended, and the whole population of the city stood
waiting to pay their last respects to the celebrated musician and
patriot.

Ole Bull was a man of remarkable character and an artist of undoubted
genius. All who heard him, or came in contact with him, agree that he
was far from being an ordinary man. Tall, of athletic build, with large
blue eyes and rich flaxen hair, he was the very type of the Norseman,
and there was something in his personal appearance and conversation
which acted with almost magnetic power on those who approached him. He
was a prince of story-tellers, and his fascination in this respect was
irresistible to young and old alike, and its effect not unlike his
violin playing.

In regard to his playing, his technical proficiency was such as very few
violinists have ever attained to. His double stopping was perfect, his
staccato, both upward and downward, of the utmost brilliancy, and though
he cannot be considered a serious musician in the highest sense of the
word, he played with warm and poetical, if somewhat sentimental,
feeling. He has often been described as the "flaxen-haired Paganini,"
and his style was to a great extent influenced by Paganini, but only so
far as technicalities are concerned. In every other respect there was a
wide difference, for while Paganini's manner was such as to induce his
hearers to believe that they were under the spell of a demon, Ole Bull
took his hearers to the dreamy moonlit regions of the North. It is this
power of conveying a highly poetic charm which enabled him to fascinate
his audiences, and it is a power far beyond any mere trickster or
charlatan. He was frequently condemned by the critics for playing
popular airs, which indeed formed his greatest attraction for the masses
of the people. He seldom played the most serious music, in fact, he
confined himself almost entirely to his own compositions, most of which
were of a nature to meet the demand of his American audiences.

When Ole Bull played in Boston in 1852, after having been absent for
several years, during which time other violinists had been heard, John
S. Dwight wrote of his performance thus: "We are wearied and confused by
any music, however strongly tinged with any national or individual
spirit, however expressive in detail, skilful in execution, and original
or bold, or intense in feeling, if it does not at the same time impress
us by its unity as a whole, by its development from first to last of one
or more pregnant themes. As compositions, therefore, we do not feel
reconciled to what Ole Bull seems fond of playing.... He cannot be
judged by the usual standards, his genius is exceptional, intensely
individual in all its forms and methods, belongs to the very extreme of
the romantic as distinguished from the classical in art. He makes use of
the violin and of the orchestra, in short of music, simply and mainly to
impress his own personal moods, his own personal experience, upon the
audiences. You go to hear Ole Bull, rather than to hear and feel his
music. It is eminently a personal matter.... Considered simply as an
executive power, he seems, after hearing so many good violinists for
years past, to exceed them all--always excepting Henri Vieuxtemps."

It may be said with truth that Ole Bull achieved his reputation at a
time when it was comparatively easy to do so. There was very little
musical cultivation in this country when he first appeared here, as may
be easily imagined by a glance at the extracts from criticisms, given
here and there. By his strong personality, apparent mastery of his
instrument, and by being practically the sole occupant of the field, he
became famous and popular. He prided himself on the fact that his
playing was addressed rather to the hearts than to the sensitive ears of
his audiences, and during his later years he adopted certain mannerisms
by way of distracting attention from his somewhat imperfect
performances. He never made any pretension to being a musician of the
modern school, nor of any regularly recognised school of music, but his
concert pieces were his own compositions, of no great merit, and he
still more delighted his audiences by playing national airs as no one
had ever played them before. He was a minstrel rather than a musician in
the broad sense of the word, but he held the hearts of the people as
few, if any, minstrels had previously done.




CHAPTER VII.

1830 TO 1850.


One of the most noticeable features of the biography of the violin
virtuoso is that he invariably displays great talent at an early age and
plays in public at any time from eight to twelve years old. There are
doubtless more who do this than are ever heard of at a later day, for
the idea of the infant phenomenon is alluring. The way of the violinist
is hard. He has many years of study and self-denial before him, if he is
to excel as a musician. Therefore the infant who can be exploited in
such a manner as to make money provides for his future education, unless
hard work or flattery kill him physically or intellectually before he is
ripe. Many prodigies sink into oblivion,--some few rise to celebrity.
It will be noticed that the violinists who played in public while very
young have invariably settled down afterward to serious study, and at a
more mature age have thus been able to take their place in the musical
world.

Year by year, too, the demands upon the violinist have been greater. A
virtuoso is judged rather by the standard of Beethoven's concerto than
by his ability to perform musical gymnastics with operatic selections.
Nevertheless, it is a fact that many of the best known violinists were
those who catered to the taste of the multitude, while many better
musicians have been comparatively unknown.

Among celebrated violinists few have led more romantic or adventurous
lives than Edouard Remenyi, whose name is not yet forgotten in this
country. Born at Hewes, in Hungary, in 1830, he possessed the restless
spirit of his race, fought in the insurrection of 1848, escaped to the
United States when the insurrection was crushed, but was received into
favour again a few years later, on his return to his native land.

From his twelfth to his fifteenth year he studied the violin at the
Vienna Conservatoire under Böhm, who was also the teacher of Joachim. In
1848 he became adjutant to the distinguished General Görgey, and fought
under Kossuth and Klapka in the war with Austria. Then came the flight
to America, where he made a tour as a virtuoso, but in 1853 he visited
Weimar, and sought out Franz Liszt, who at once recognised his genius
and became his friend and guide.

In 1854 he went to London and was appointed solo violinist in the
queen's band, but when in 1860 he obtained his amnesty and returned to
Hungary he was created solo violinist in the band of the Emperor of
Austria.

His restless disposition would not allow him to remain long in one
place, and in 1865 he once more began to travel. He visited Paris,
where he created a perfect furore, and then continued his triumphant
course through Germany, Holland, and Belgium. After settling in Paris
for about two years, he returned in 1877 to London, where he repeated
his Parisian successes, appearing, as in Paris, chiefly in the salons of
wealthy patrons. During this visit to London he appeared in public only
once, at Mapleson's benefit at the Crystal Palace, when he played a
fantasia on themes from the "Huguenots." The following year he went once
more to the United States, and on his way played at the promenade
concerts in London. In America he remained for some years, and then
proceeded in 1887 to the Cape of Good Hope and Madagascar. While on this
voyage it was reported that his ship was wrecked and that he was
drowned, and numerous obituary notices of him appeared in the newspapers
throughout the world.

In 1891 he was once more in London, and played at the house of the late
Colonel North, "the Nitrate King." He now returned to the United States,
where he passed the remainder of his days. His powers were, however,
failing, and other violinists had brought new and perhaps higher
interest to American audiences.

When Remenyi visited the United States in 1878, he arrived a few weeks
after Wilhelmj, and notwithstanding the fact that the two violinists
were widely different in temperament, ideas, musicianship, in fact in
every particular, they were frequently made the subjects of comparison.
At this time Remenyi played an "Otello Fantaisie," "Suwanee River,"
"Grandfather's Clock," etc. He was well sketched in a journal of the
time, which said:

     "Remenyi is gifted with a vivacious, generous, rather mocking
     disposition which rebels against monotony, and whose originality
     shines through everything, and in spite of everything. He is
     fluent in five or six languages, and entertains with droll
     conceits, or with reminiscences of famous artists and composers....
     In the wild rhythms of the gypsy dance, in the fierce splendour of
     the patriotic hymn, the player and audience alike are fired with
     excitement. The passion rises, the tumult waxes furious; a
     tremendous sweep of the bow brings the music to an end; and then we
     can say that we have heard Remenyi."

The gypsy dance and the patriotic hymn! And yet he was weighed in the
balance with Wilhelmj, who played the grandest and best music in the
most refined, musicianly manner, and whose tour in America marked an
epoch in the musical life of the country.

In his prime Remenyi was the master of an enormous technique, and the
possessor of a strongly pronounced poetic individuality. His whole soul
was in his playing, and his impulse carried him away with it as he
warmed to his task, and it carried the audience too. His greatest
success was in the playing of Hungarian music, some of which he adapted
for his instrument, but the stormier pieces of Chopin which he arranged
for the violin were given by him with tremendous effect. In the more
tender pieces, such as the nocturnes of Field and of Chopin, he played
with the utmost dreaminess.

His individuality showed in his playing. He was impulsive and
uncertain,--a wandering musician, who, when the whim took him, would
disappear from public view altogether. When he made a success in any
place his restless nature would not allow him to follow it up, so that
when his prime was past, instead of having formed connections which
should have lasted him for the rest of his life, he was still the
wandering musician, but without the marvellous powers which he had
wielded only a few years before.

During his long career he toured Australia and almost all the islands of
the Pacific, also Java, China, and Japan; in fact, he went where few,
if any, violinists of his ability had been before.

Once upon a time the representative of a London newspaper went to
interview Remenyi, and was surprised to find that the violinist was not
only willing to tell him much, but even proposed questions which he
should answer. He said that he had played in the 60's before the natives
of South Africa, and had been shipwrecked, after which he had the
pleasure of reading some very fine obituary notices. In New Zealand he
found the Maoris perfectly reckless in their demand for encores, and
instead of playing six pieces, as announced on his programmes, he
frequently had to play sixteen.

In South Africa he discovered thirty out of his collection of
forty-seven old and valuable violins. Most of them were probably the
property of the Huguenots, who after the edict of Nantes went to Holland
and thence to South Africa, to which place they were banished by the
Dutch government.

It was related by Remenyi that when he was a young man in Hamburg, in
1853, he was to appear at a fashionable soirée one night, but at the
last moment his accompanist was too ill to play. Remenyi went to a music
store and asked for an accompanist. The proprietor sent Johannes Brahms,
then a lad of sixteen, who was struggling for existence and teaching for
a very small sum. Remenyi and Brahms became so interested in each other
that they forgot all about the soirée, and sat up till four the next
morning chatting and playing together. Remenyi's negligence of his
engagement resulted in the loss of any further business in Hamburg, and
together with Brahms he set out for Hanover, giving concerts as they
went, and thus earning sufficient funds to carry them on their way.

At Hanover they called upon Joachim, who arranged for them to play
before the court. After this they proceeded to the Altenberg to see
Liszt, who received them warmly, and offered them a home. During all
this time Brahms received little or no recognition, in spite of
Remenyi's enthusiasm in his cause, neither did he find very much favour
with Liszt, although the latter recognised his talent. He therefore
returned to Hanover, where Joachim gave him a letter to Schumann, and it
was Schumann's enthusiastic welcome and declaration that a new genius
had arisen that established Brahms's reputation in musical circles.

Remenyi said that Brahms, shortly after his arrival at the Altenberg,
offended Liszt and his pupils by comfortably sleeping during one of the
famous lessons, which were in the nature of a general class. This breach
of manners Brahms justified on the score of being exhausted by his
previous journey.

The death of Remenyi, which occurred on May 15, 1898, created a
sensation throughout the country. He had, after many misgivings,
consented to appear in "vaudeville." The financial inducement was large,
and he soothed his artistic conscience with the argument that his music
would tend to elevate the vaudeville rather than that the vaudeville
would tend to degrade him. It was at the Orpheus Theatre in San
Francisco, and it was his first appearance. He played one or two
selections, and being tremendously applauded, and correspondingly
gratified, he returned and answered the encore with the well-known "Old
Glory." He was in his best vein, and played as one inspired. The
audience literally rose with him, leaving their seats in their
excitement, and the applause lasted several minutes. He came forward,
and in response to another burst of applause commenced to play Delibes's
"Fizzicati." He had played but a few measures when he leaned over as if
to speak to one of the musicians in the orchestra. He paused a moment,
and then fell slowly forward on his face. One of the musicians caught
him before he touched the stage, and thus prevented his rolling off. All
was over.

Remenyi left a widow, a son, and a daughter, who lived in New York. His
health had been failing for some time, for in 1896, for the first time
in thirty years, he had, while in Davenport, Iowa, been compelled to
cancel all his engagements and rest. It is said that Remenyi's real name
was Hoffmann.

The name of Miska Hauser is seldom mentioned in these days, and yet it
was once known all over the world. No virtuoso of his time travelled
more extensively, and few created more enthusiasm than did Hauser. He
was born in Pressburg, Hungary, in 1822, and became a pupil of Böhm and
of Mayseder at Vienna, also of Kreutzer and Sechter. He is said to have
acquired more of Mayseder's elegant style and incisive tone than of the
characteristics of his other teachers, but his talent was devoted to the
acquisition of virtuoso effects, which appeal to the majority rather
than to the most cultivated.

As a boy of twelve Hauser made an extensive and successful concert tour.
In 1840 he toured Europe, and ten years later went to London, and thence
to the West Indies and the United States, where he made quite a
sensation, and was a member of Jenny Lind's company. He afterwards
visited San Francisco, where he got himself into difficulties on account
of Lola Montes. Then he went to South America, visiting Lima, where
passionate creoles languished for him, Santiago, where a set of fanatics
excited the mob against him, declaring that he was charmed by the devil,
and Valparaiso, where he suffered shipwreck.

He then proceeded to the Sandwich Islands, where he played before the
royal family and all the dusky nobles. They listened solemnly, but made
no sign of approbation, and Hauser felt that he was sinking into a mere
nothing in their esteem. In desperation he tore the strings from his
violin and played, with all his power, several sentimental songs on the
G string only. Then he gave them Paganini's witches' dance. This
succeeded, and they gave a yell of joy and wanted more. They
particularly delighted in harmonic effects, and before long were willing
to do anything for the foreigner who could pipe on the wood as well as
any bird. He became a hero at Otaheite, but was obliged to continue on
his journey. He next visited Australia, and while in Sydney he made such
a success that he was presented with the freedom of the city and thanked
by the government for his playing.

In 1860 he reached Turkey, where he played before the Sultan, who beat
time to his music and seemed highly delighted. Hauser had many amusing
stories to tell of his travels, and especially of his experiences in the
Sandwich Islands and Turkey, Cairo and Alexandria. His adventures, which
were numerous and thrilling, were published in two volumes, in Vienna.

Hauser was not the possessor of a great technique, but there was
something characteristic and charming in his tone and mannerisms, which
were especially pleasing to the fair sex. He was a man of restless, and,
in some respects, dissatisfied nature. Some of his compositions are
still to be found on concert programmes, and these he used to play
exquisitely. Hauser lived in retirement in Vienna after concluding his
travels, and in 1887 he died practically forgotten.

Few violinists succeeded more completely in captivating their audiences
than Henri Wieniawski, whose impetuous Slavonic temperament, with its
warm and tender feeling, gave a colour to his playing, which placed his
hearers entirely under his control, went straight to their hearts, and
enlisted their sympathy from the very first note. Both fingering and
bowing were examples of the highest degree of excellence in violin
technique, and difficulties did not exist for him. At times his fiery
temperament may have led him to exaggeration, and to a step beyond the
bounds of good taste, but this was lost sight of in the peculiar charm
of his playing, its gracefulness and piquancy.

Wieniawski's tour in America, which took place in 1872, when he
accompanied Rubinstein, may be said to mark an era in the musical life
of this nation. These two great artists revealed the possibilities of
the musical art to a people who, while loving music, were still in their
infancy as far as musical development is concerned.

Wieniawski, like nearly all the great performers, showed his talent
while very young. He was born in 1835 at Lublin, in Poland, where his
father was a medical man. He was taken to Paris by his mother when he
was only eight years old, and he entered the Conservatoire, where he
soon joined Massart's class, and when only eleven gained the first prize
for violin playing.

After this he made a concert tour in Poland and Russia, but soon
returned to Paris to renew his studies, especially composition. In 1850
he went again on the road, and with his brother Joseph, a pianist, he
gave concerts in most of the principal towns in the Netherlands, France,
England, and Germany. In 1860 he was appointed solo violinist to the
Emperor of Russia, and held that position for twelve years, residing
chiefly at St. Petersburg.

It was at the conclusion of this engagement that he made his tour in the
United States with Rubinstein, who was his intimate friend, and when the
great pianist returned to Europe Wieniawski remained in America and
succeeded in making a large fortune, travelling all over the country and
creating a furore by his performances. This tour was cut short toward
the end of 1874 by a telegram from Brussels offering him the position of
professor of violin at the Conservatoire, during the illness of
Vieuxtemps.

He remained in Brussels until 1877, when, Vieuxtemps becoming
convalescent, Wieniawski set forth once more on his travels.

At this time his health was failing, and an incident took place at
Berlin which is well worth recording. During a concert he was seized
with a sudden spasm, and was compelled to stop in the middle of a
concerto. Joachim was amongst the audience, and came to the rescue,
taking up Wieniawski's violin and finishing the programme, thus showing
his friendship for the sufferer and earning the enthusiastic applause of
an appreciative audience.

Notwithstanding his sufferings, Wieniawski continued his tour, but at
Odessa he broke down altogether.

It has been stated that he died unknown and friendless in the hospital
at Moscow, and was buried by public charity; but his son, Jules
Wieniawski, has contradicted this, and states that he died in the house
of the Countess of Meek, and was buried by the Czar Alexander III., of
whom he was the friend as well as the favourite violinist.

Wieniawski was a man of somewhat enthusiastic nature, and his actions
were not always tempered by the most perfect wisdom. It was said that
just before his marriage to Miss Hampton he took a run up the Rhine,
not, like a wise man, waiting until he had some one to take proper care
of him. The consequence was that he must just take an hour's look into
Wiesbaden to see several old friends, and this led naturally to passing
an idle moment looking at the green table doings. Here the excitement
became too great for one of his temperament, and he felt compelled to
stake a small sum. A small sum led to a larger amount, and when he left
the place he was poorer to the tune of forty thousand francs, and he
came away to his bride a sadder and wiser man.

Although a great gambler, Wieniawski owed the loss of a large part of
his fortune to the failure of a New York banking firm in 1873, rather
than to his favourite propensity.

The friendship between him and Vieuxtemps was very strong, in fact it
was described as being ideal. Once, while Wieniawski was playing at a
concert, Vieuxtemps was among the audience, and, at the conclusion of
one of the violinist's solos, Vieuxtemps called, at the top of his
voice, "Bravo, Wieniawski!" This drew attention to Vieuxtemps, who was
immediately recognised by the audience and enthusiastically welcomed.

Wieniawski's compositions number two and twenty. As a proof of the old
adage that "doctors do not always agree," we are told by one excellent
authority that his D minor concerto, the two polonaises, and his
"Legende" will probably never vanish from the violinist's repertoire,
and by another that Wieniawski's compositions are not of much
importance. Both statements are no doubt true, for there are many
fascinating concert pieces which, from the strictly classical point of
view, are not important additions to musical literature.

An American critic wrote of him, after his first appearance: "In
Wieniawski we have the greatest violinist who has yet been heard in
America.... Of all now living Joachim alone can claim superiority over
him."

This sweeping enthusiasm was not universal, for a critic more difficult
to please wrote as follows: "Wieniawski's playing is as perfect as a
faultless technique, artistic culture, great aesthetic sensibility, and
perfect mastery over himself and his instrument can make it But with
all its perfection we cannot but feel that the great original,
heaven-and-earth-moving master-soul is wanting."

He was also severely scathed by a critic in New York in 1872, who wrote:
"Some people like pure, clear tone,--others don't. Those who admire
scratching and false stopping, together with sundry other things of the
same nature, would have experienced wild joy upon hearing Beethoven's
"Violin Concerto" as it was played by Wieniawski; but for those who
regard a correct intonation as a thing of primal importance, it could
not have been pleasing. Wieniawski belongs to that school of which Ole
Bull is a prominent member, whose first article of belief is that
genuine passion and fervour is signified by rasping the strings."

Other criticisms of the same concert, however, were of a very different
tenor, and when, a week or two later, Wieniawski played the same
concerto in Boston, John S. Dwight praised the performance highly, and
took occasion to specially record his disagreement with the eminent
critic in New York.

While not technically the equal of one or two of his contemporaries,
Wieniawski played with so much fire, and knew so well how to reach the
heart of his audience by methods perfectly legitimate, that he must be
ranked among the greatest violinists.

Don Pablo Martin Meliton de Sarasate is a name known throughout Europe
and America, if not throughout the civilised world. Sarasate was born in
Spain, in Pampeluna, the chief city of Navarre. He was a youthful
prodigy, and played before the court of Madrid at the age of ten, when
Queen Isabella was so delighted with him that she presented him with a
fine Stradivarius violin.

A couple of years later he was sent to Paris, where he entered the
Conservatoire, and was admitted into Alard's class, while M.
Lassabathie, who was then administrator of the institution, took him
into his house and boarded him. This arrangement continued until the
death, about ten years later, of M. Lassabathie.

In the course of a year after entering the Conservatoire, Sarasate won
the first prize for violin playing. From the first he manifested
remarkable facility in mechanical execution, and his playing was
distinguished for elegance and delicacy, though nothing indicated that
his talent would become extraordinary.

For ten years after gaining the prize Sarasate remained a salon
violinist, of amiable disposition, a ladies' virtuoso, with a somewhat
mincing style, who played only variations on opera motives, and who was
an entire stranger to classical music.

Then came a complete change; the character of his playing becoming
serious, a large and noble style replaced the mincing manner which he
had previously affected, and, instead of the showy trifles which had
filled his repertoire, he took to the works of the great masters. By
hard work he developed his technical ability, so that he reached the
limit beyond which few, if any, violinists succeed in passing. And all
this he accomplished without losing anything of the elegance of his
phrasing or of the infinite charm of his tone.

Although Sarasate made Paris his home, he began to travel as early as
1859, and in 1872, when he played in Paris, he was welcomed as a new
star. When his prestige was well established in Paris his friends
advised him to go to Germany, but he feared that so soon after the
Franco-German war he, who by long residence was practically a Frenchman,
would not be welcome. At last, however, the entreaties of his friends
prevailed, and when Sarasate appeared at Leipzig he produced an immense
sensation. Then followed a series of tours in Germany, Russia, Austria,
England, and Belgium, which lasted three years, and brought him much
glory and pecuniary gain.

In Vienna the celebrated critic, Hanslick, wrote of him as follows:
"There are few violinists whose playing gives such unalloyed enjoyment
as the performance of this Spaniard. His tone is incomparable,--not
powerfully or deeply affecting, but of enchanting sweetness. The
infallible correctness of the player contributes greatly to the
enjoyment. The moment the bow touches the Stradivarius a stream of
beautiful sound flows toward the hearer. A pure tone seems to me the
prime quality of violin playing--unfortunately, also, it is a rare
quality. Sarasate's virtuosity shines and pleases and surprises the
audience continually. He is distinguished, not because he plays great
difficulties, but because he plays with them."

Both in France and Germany Sarasate has always been a great favourite,
and is always sure of a large and enthusiastic audience, even though he
has passed the zenith of his powers. He has never taken pupils, but has
confined himself to concert playing only, and he has been called the
highest-priced player in Germany, where it was said that he received
three thousand marks for a concert, while even Joachim received only one
thousand. He has received many valuable gifts during his career, and
these he has presented to his native city, Pampeluna, where they have
been placed in a museum by the municipal council. The collection
includes articles of great worth from the Emperor William I. of Germany,
Napoleon III., the Emperor of Brazil, and the Queen of Spain, and its
value is estimated at one hundred thousand francs.

Sarasate has visited the United States twice, and won great favour, for
his playing is of the kind which appeals to the fancy, graceful,
vivacious, and pure toned, and he plays Spanish dances in a manner
never to be surpassed.

He has been compared with some of the most eminent violinists
thus:--Vieuxtemps was an artist with an ardent mind, and a magnificent
interpreter of Beethoven; Joachim towers aloft in the heights of serene
poetry, upon the Olympic summits inaccessible to the tumults of passion;
Sivori was a dazzling virtuoso; Sarasate is an incomparable charmer.

There are doubtless many who remember the tour of August Wilhelmj, the
celebrated violinist, who visited the United States about twenty years
ago. He was considered second to no artist then living in his general
command over the resources of his instrument, and he excelled in the
purity and volume of his tone, no less than in the brilliancy of his
execution. He did not possess the warmth and impulsiveness which
constituted the charm of Wieniawski, but his performances appealed to
his audiences in a different and more legitimate manner. He was even a
greater traveller than Remenyi, and visited almost, if not quite, every
civilised country. His travels took him throughout Europe, America,
Australia, and Asia. He was, in 1885, invited by the Sultan of Turkey to
perform in his seraglio, the only violinist to whom such a compliment
had ever been paid. The Sultan on this occasion decorated him with the
Order of the Medjidie, second class, and presented him with some
beautiful diamonds.

August Wilhelmj was born in 1845 at Usingen, in the Duchy of Nassau,
and, showing his aptitude, was placed under Konrad Fischer, a violinist
of Wiesbaden, at the age of six. His progress was so rapid that when
nine years old he played in a concert in Limburg and received great
applause. Wilhelmj's father was a lawyer of distinction and a wealthy
vine-grower, and, in spite of the boy's progress, he did not favour the
idea of allowing him to take to the violin as a profession, for he felt
that the majority of infant prodigies fail as they reach manhood. But
the boy had received much encouragement, and persisted in his desire.
Henrietta Sontag, the celebrated singer, heard him play Spohr's ninth
concerto and "The Carnival of Venice," and was so charmed that she said
he would become the German Paganini.

In the course of time Wilhelmj succeeded in obtaining a concession from
his father:--he was to get the judgment of a musical authority on his
capabilities, and, if favourable, no objection should be made to his
becoming a virtuoso. On the recommendation of Prince Emil of
Wittgenstein, the young violinist went in 1861 to Liszt at Weimar, and
after playing to him Spohr's "Scena Cantante" and the Hungarian fantasia
by Ernst, he was asked to play several pieces at sight. At the end of
this trial Liszt sprang from his seat, calling out in a loud voice,
"Ay! indeed you are predestinated to become a violinist--so much so that
for you the violin must have been invented if it had not already
existed." This judgment satisfied the father, and a few days later Liszt
himself took the boy to Leipzig and introduced him to Ferdinand David,
saying, "Let me present to you a future Paganini. Look well to him!" For
three years Wilhelm; was a pupil of David, and at the same time studied
the theory of music with Richter and Hausmann. In due course he passed
his examinations at the Leipzig Conservatory, playing Joachim's
Hungarian concerto.

In 1865 he began his concert tours, travelling through Switzerland and
Holland to England, and from this time he seems to have been almost
continually travelling. During 1869, 1870, and 1871 he made a long tour
in England with Charles Santley, the great singer. In 1876 he led the
violins at the Nibelungen performance at Bayreuth, and the Wagner
concerts in London, at the Albert Hall, in 1877, were due to his
representations. In 1882, after travelling all over the globe, he spent
some time in Russia, but presently returned to Germany and established a
violin school at Biberich, which, however, he abandoned after a time.

From time to time he continued to play in public, but gradually withdrew
and lived in retirement at Blasewitz, near Dresden. Eventually he went
to London, where he was appointed professor at the Guildhall School of
Music. Unfortunately, his powers have been on the wane for some years
past, but though the days of his public performances are past, he is
known as a most patient and painstaking teacher. The high esteem in
which he has been held was quaintly expressed by an eminent musician,
who referred to his decadence in these words: "Ah, if Wilhelmj had not
been what he _is_, Joachim would never have been what _he_ is." By which
one may infer that Wilhelmj was, in some respects, a greater man than
Joachim.

In 1894 Wilhelmj married Marcella Mausch-Jerret, of Dresden, a
distinguished pianist.

Wilhelmj's first appearance in America took place on September 26, 1878,
in New York, and his playing caused an unusual demonstration. He was
described in the following words: "His figure is stately, his face and
attitude suggest reserve force and that majestic calm which seems to
befit great power.... A famous philosopher once said that beauty
consists of an exact balance between the intellect and the imagination.
The violin performance of Wilhelmj exhibits this just proportion more
perfectly than the work of any other artist of whom we have personal
knowledge. Wilhelmj himself has said, 'After all, what the people want
is intellectual playing,' that is, playing with a clear under
standing."

Neither his character nor his playing was of such a nature as to appeal
to the great mass of people in the way in which Remenyi and Ole Bull won
their hearts. Wilhelmj was massive in person and in tone. He stood for
dignity in his actions, appearance, and playing, and was honoured by the
more cultivated and educated portion of the people.

He is regarded by musicians as one of the greatest violinists who ever
visited America, and at the present day visiting artists are spoken of
as "one of the best since Wilhelmj," or, "not to be compared with
Wilhelmj," and by many Ysaye is regarded as "the best--since Wilhelmj."

Martin Pierre Joseph Marsick, who was born at Jupille, near Liège, on
March 9, 1848, is one of the foremost solo and quartet violinists of the
day, with a remarkable technique and admirable intelligence, power, and
fire.

When eight years of age he was placed at the music school at Liège,
where in two years he gained the first prize in the preparatory classes.
In 1864 he secured the gold medal, which is awarded only to pupils of
extraordinary talent.

[Illustration: MARTIN PIERRE JOSEPH MARSICK]

He now entered the Brussels Conservatoire, where his expenses were met
by a lady who was a musical enthusiast, and he studied for two years
under Léonard, working at the same time in composition under Kufferath.
In 1868 he went to Paris, where he studied for a season under Massart.

In 1870 Marsick proceeded to Berlin, where, through the instrumentality
of a government subvention, he was enabled to study under Joachim. After
that he began to travel, and soon acquired a great reputation. He was
said to equal, if not exceed, Sarasate in the wonderful celerity of his
scales, and in lightness and certainty. His tone is not very full, but
is sweet and clear. His playing is also marked by exceptional
smoothness, scholarly phrasing, and graceful accentuation, but, in
comparison with some of the other great players, he lacks breadth and
passion. He appeals rather to the educated musician than to the general
public, and for that reason many people were somewhat disappointed when
he played in the United States in 1896. He was compared with Ysaye, a
player of an entirely different stamp, and he suffered in popular
estimation by the comparison.

To this period also belong a number of excellent violinists whose names
are seldom heard in America. Edmund Singer, a Hungarian, born in 1831,
by dint of hard work and talent reached a high position. He became
celebrated as a teacher, and was for years professor of violin at the
conservatory in Stuttgart. He was also largely instrumental in the
establishment of the Musical Artists' Society of that place.

Ferdinand Laub was a virtuoso of high rank who was born in Prague in
1832. He succeeded Joachim at Weimar, but two years later became violin
teacher at the Stern-Marx conservatory in Berlin, also concert-master of
the royal orchestra and chamber virtuoso.

Heinrich Karl de Ahna was an excellent artist, and was for some years
second violin in the famous Joachim quartet. At the age of fourteen he
had already made a successful concert tour, and become chamber virtuoso
to the Duke of Coburg-Gotha. He then abandoned the musical profession
and entered the army, fighting in the Italian campaign as lieutenant.
After the war he returned to his profession, and became leader of the
royal band in Berlin and professor at the Hochschule. He died in 1892.

Russia also produced an excellent violinist, Wasil Wasilewic
Besekirskij, who was born at Moscow, and after a career as virtuoso in
the west of Europe returned to his native city. He is the composer of
some good violin music and has formed some excellent pupils, of whom
Gregorowitsch is perhaps best known.

In England, John Tiplady Carrodus and the Holmes brothers attained high
rank. Carrodus was a native of Keighley, Yorkshire. His father was a
barber, and it was only by the most constant self-denial and incessant
hard work that the boy succeeded in securing his education. He walked
with his father twelve miles in order to hear Vieuxtemps play, and to
take his lessons he walked each week ten miles to Bradford, usually
getting a ride back in the carrier's cart. He became a pupil of Molique,
and eventually one of the best known violinists of England, where his
character as a man was always highly respected.

Alfred Holmes was born in 1837 and his brother Henry in 1839. They
appeared together at the Haymarket Theatre in 1847, but immediately
withdrew from public life and continued their studies for six more
years. In 1853 they again appeared in London, and then made a long
concert tour through the north of Europe. Finally they settled in Paris,
where, nine years later, Alfred died. Henry Holmes became the chief
professor of violin at the Royal College of Music in London, and has
been also active as a composer and editor of violin works.

Jacob Grün, too, who was born in 1837 at Buda-Pesth, and who, after a
career as concert soloist in Europe, became a teacher in the Vienna
conservatory, should not be forgotten. Several of his pupils are now
holding valuable positions in the United States, and he is an excellent
teacher, besides being popular and kind-hearted.

Eduard Rappoldi, the leader of the Royal Court Orchestra at Dresden, has
a high reputation as a sound and earnest player and excellent teacher.
He was born in Vienna in 1839, and was at one time a teacher in the
Hochschule at Berlin, but went to Dresden in 1877.




CHAPTER VIII.

JOACHIM.


Joseph Joachim is one of the musical giants of the nineteenth century.
He will be remembered as one whose life has been interwoven with the
lives of the greatest musicians of his day, as one of the greatest
educators in his line who ever lived, and as the embodiment of the
purest and highest ideas in public performance.

[Illustration: JOSEPH JOACHIM]

Joachim is called the greatest violinist of modern times, and no better
words can be found to describe his characteristics than those of
Wasielewski, who says: "Joachim's incomparable violin playing is the
true _chef-d'oeuvre_, the ideal of a perfect violinist (so far as we
present-day critics can judge). Less cannot, dare not, be said, but,
at the same time, more cannot be said of him or of any one, and it is
enough. But that which raises him above all other contemporary
violinists and musicians generally is the line he takes in his
professional life. He is no virtuoso in the ordinary sense, for he is
far more,--before all he will be a musician. And that he unquestionably
is,--a magnificent example to young people, who are to some extent
possessed of the demon of vanity, of what they should do and what they
should leave undone. Joachim makes music, and his preëminent
capabilities are directed toward the serving one true, genuine art, and
he is right."

Joachim was born on June 28, 1831, in the village of Kittsee, in
Hungary, within the small radius which has produced three other great
musicians,--Haydn, Hummel, and Liszt. He began to study the violin when
he was five years old, and was placed under Servaczinski, leader of the
opera orchestra at Pesth. In two years he made his first public
appearance at a concert at Pesth, when he played a duet concerto for two
violins and orchestra with his master, and a solo on a theme by
Schubert, with variations. He was now (1841) sent to Vienna, where he
entered the conservatoire and studied under Böhm for two years. At the
end of this time he went to Leipzig, where he met with Mendelssohn and
played in a concert of Madame Viardot's. A few months later he appeared
as a finished artist in a Gewandhaus concert, and played Ernst's "Otello
Fantasie." Leipzig was then, under Mendelssohn's guidance, in the zenith
of its fame, and for a boy of twelve to appear in a Gewandhaus concert
and earn, not only the applause of the audience, but also the praise of
the critics, was something very unusual. But a still greater honour was
in store for him,--the following year he took part, in a Gewandhaus
concert, in a concertante for four violins by Maurer, the other
performers being Ernst, Bazzini, and David, all violinists of renown and
very much his seniors.

Joachim remained in Leipzig until 1850, studying with Ferdinand David,
while Hauptmann gave him instruction in composition, though during this
time he occasionally travelled in Germany and elsewhere to play in
concerts. Thus in 1844 Mendelssohn brought him to England, where he
played in public for the first time at a benefit concert of Mr. Bunn's
at Drury Lane, in March, 1844, and in May of the same year he appeared
at the fifth Philharmonic concert and played Beethoven's concerto with
very great success. In this year two other violinists of note made their
first appearance at the Philharmonic concerts,--Ernst and Sainton, also
Piatti, the great violoncellist. Joachim visited England again in 1847,
and since that time so frequently that he became one of the regular
features of musical life in that country, where he has been so highly
honoured.

Joachim's first appearance in Paris was made in 1849, when he spent two
months in that city, and began his successes by playing in an orchestral
concert given by Hector Berlioz. About this time Franz Liszt, who had
heard of Joachim's rapidly increasing reputation, invited him to go to
Weimar and lead the orchestra which he conducted. Joachim accepted the
invitation and remained in Weimar two years. He could never be brought
to see the beauty of the new school of music, and while he recognised
the extraordinary gifts, and admired the personality and brilliant
qualities of Liszt, he could not be prevailed upon to remain in Weimar
longer than two years.

In 1854 he accepted the post of conductor and solo violinist to the King
of Hanover, a position which he retained for twelve years, during which
time he enhanced his reputation as a musician, and married Amalia
Weiss, a celebrated contralto singer. In 1866 the troubles which
enveloped Germany brought Joachim's engagement in Hanover to an end, but
two years later he entered upon what has proved to be the most important
part of his career, when he was appointed professor of violin at the
Hochschule for music in Berlin. This school was a new branch of the
already existing Academy of Arts, and was to be a high school for
musical execution, as apart from composition.

Joachim threw his whole heart into the new work before him, and the
branch of the school under his direction soon rivalled any similar
school. Various branches were added to the school,--in 1871 a class for
organ, in 1872 classes for brass instruments, double-bass, and solo
vocalists, in 1873 a chorus class. In 1875 the Royal Academy of Arts was
reorganised and became the Royal High School for Music, with Joachim as
director. That Joachim had earned a very high position as early as 1859
is shown by an extract from the _Musical World_ of London, in that year.

"So long as virtuosi walked (or galloped) in their proper sphere, they
amused by their mechanical _tours de force_, charmed by their _finesse_
and did no great harm to musical taste. They were accepted _cum grano
salis_, applauded for their dexterity, and admired for the elegance with
which they were able to elaborate thoughts in themselves of every slight
artistic worth. But recently our 'virtuosi' have been oppressed with a
notion that, to succeed in this country, they must invade and carry by
storm the 'classics' of the art, instead of adhering exclusively as of
old to their own fantasies and _jeux de marteaux_. One composition after
another by the great masters is seized upon and worried. If they were
things of flesh and blood, and could feel the gripe, be conscious of the
teeth, and appreciate the fangs of these rapid-devouring 'virtuosi,'
concertos, sonatas, trios, etc., would indeed be in a pitiable
condition. Happily, being of the spirit, they bleed not, but are
immortal.

"One great result attending Herr Joachim's professional visit to London
is, that it enables both professors and amateurs opportunity after
opportunity of studying _his_ manner of playing the works of the giants
of music. _How_ Herr Joachim executes these compositions--how
differently from the self-styled 'virtuosi,' how purely, how modestly,
how wholly forgetful of himself in the text he considers it an honour
being allowed to interpret to the crowd--we need scarcely remind our
readers. Not a single eccentricity of carriage or demeanour, not a
moment of egotistical display, to remind his hearers that, although
Beethoven is being played, it is Joachim who is playing, ever escapes
this truly admirable and (if words might be allowed to bear their
legitimate signification) most accomplished of 'virtuosi.'"

As an example of Joachim's conscientiousness, the following little
anecdote will serve to give an idea. Joachim once introduced into the
_point d'orgue_ of Beethoven's concerto a cadence terminated by a _trait
en octave_, which caused an extraordinary effect. People spoke only of
this cadence; it was the event of the evening wherever he played. This
success wounded his feelings of artistic probity; he considered it
unbecoming that people should be more taken up with the skill of the
executant than with the beauties of the music, and the cadence was
suppressed.

During the many years of his connection with the Hochschule, Joachim's
personal influence has been exerted upon a large number of pupils, in
fact almost every well-known violin player has been to Berlin to seek
his advice and instruction, and the players he has perfected are almost
without number. Many anecdotes are told concerning his kindness to his
pupils, but so greatly is he sought after that comparatively few of the
hundreds who flock to Berlin are able to reach him.

Joachim's early training and education developed his character both as a
musician and as a man. The influence of Mendelssohn, whose friendship
ended only with his death, of David, Schumann, Liszt, Berlioz, and
Brahms, who was largely indebted to Joachim for the introduction of many
of his works to the public, brought out the thorough uprightness,
firmness of character and earnestness of purpose, and that intense
dislike of all that is artificial or untrue in art, which have made him
a great moral power in the musical world.

He combines in a unique degree the highest executive powers with the
most excellent musicianship. Unsurpassed as a master of the instrument,
he uses his powers of execution in the services of art, and represents
the perfection of a pure style and legitimate school, with breadth and
fidelity of interpretation. His performances undoubtedly derive their
charm and merit from the strength of his talent and of his artistic
character, and are stamped with a striking originality of conception; at
the same time fidelity to the text, and careful endeavour to enter into
the spirit and feeling of the composer, are the principles of executive
art which Joachim has invariably practised.

In the rendering of Bach's solos, Beethoven's concertos and quartets, he
has no rival, and for the revival of many great works the musical world
is indebted to him. Of these, one instance may be cited, viz., the
violin concerto (Op. 61) of Beethoven, which was first played by
Clement, December 23, 1806. This concerto bears evidence of having been
written in a hurry. Clement played it at sight without rehearsal, and,
as a consequence of its being brought forward in such a slipshod manner,
it was very seldom heard until its revival by Joachim. The MS. shows
that the solo part was the object of much thought and alteration by the
composer, but evidently after the first performance.

As a composer, Joachim has contributed work of value to the literature
of the violin. His "Hungarian Concerto" is a creation of real grandeur,
built up in noble symphonic proportions. Most of his works are of a
grave, somewhat melancholy character, and all of them are marked by
earnestness of purpose and a high ideal.

The jubilee of Joachim's life as a violin player was celebrated in
Berlin with great ceremony and with unusual honour, and in England a
demonstration was made in his honour by the public, who subscribed a
sum of about $6,000, with which was purchased an instrument of
wonderful beauty, a celebrated "Red Strad," which was presented to him
at a public meeting held at the conclusion of the Monday Popular
Concerts, in 1888.

This celebration was, however, quite eclipsed by that of the sixtieth
anniversary of his first public appearance, which was held at Berlin on
April 22, 1899. A grand concert was given at the Philharmonie, with an
orchestra consisting of two hundred performers. There were ninety
violins, thirty violas, twenty-one 'celli, and twenty double-basses, and
of these all except the double-basses had been pupils of Joachim, the
violas and 'celli having been his pupils in chamber music. They had come
from all over Europe to take part in the festival. Nearly half of the
violins were concert-masters, and many of them famous soloists, as Carl
Halir, Henri Petri, Jeno Hubay, Willy Hess, Gustav Hollaender,
Gabrielle Wietrowitz, Marie Soldat, and others.

Joachim entered the hall at half-past six, and was greeted with a
deafening fanfare played by the combined trumpeters of the military
bands stationed in Berlin. The audience rose in a body and added its
cheers to the noise of the trumpets. A large armchair, beautifully
decorated with flowers and wreaths, was reserved as a seat of honour for
the great musician.

The seventh number on the programme was left vacant, but when it was
reached the orchestra began the introduction to Beethoven's concerto. No
soloist was in sight, but Gabrielle Wietrowitz and Marie Soldat, his
most celebrated women pupils, came slowly down toward Joachim's chair,
one carrying a violin and the other a bow, which they placed in his
hands. Joachim, however, did not wish to play, and did not yield except
under the force of persuasion, and then he said: "I have not had a
violin in my hands for three days; I am in no mood to play; moreover,
there are many in the orchestra who can play it better than I, but I
don't want to refuse." So Joachim played the great concerto, and
received an ovation such as had probably never been accorded to him
before. Then he conducted Bach's concerto in G major for strings, which
was played by sixty-six violins, fifty-seven violas, twenty-four 'celli,
and twenty double-basses, and this brought the concert to a close.

The concert was followed by a banquet at which there were eight hundred
guests, and the festivities lasted until four o'clock the next morning.
No violinist was ever more respected or beloved by his pupils, nor did
one ever wield a more powerful influence in the musical world. To be put
forward by Joachim gives one a high standing in the musical world to
begin with, but few indeed are those who receive this privilege in
comparison with those who desire it.

Joachim is not a builder of technique or a teacher of beginners. Pupils
who are accepted by him must be already proficient technicians, and it
may be stated that the teacher who can prepare pupils for Joachim stands
high in the profession. Joachim is a great adviser, a former of style,
and a master of interpretation, to whom pupils flock two or three years
too early, and feel aggrieved if they are not at once accepted.

"What else can you do?" he once asked of a young man who desired to
become a great violinist, and had sought Joachim's advice.

"I think I would like to study for the ministry," was the reply.

"It is much better to be a good minister than a poor violinist," said
Joachim, looking him full in the face.

His liberality is proverbial, and after a long and successful life,
during which he has received high salaries, he is not rich. He seldom
refuses to play gratis for any really worthy object, and the anecdotes
of his kindness toward his pupils are without number.

Few men have shone with such an even, steady lustre, through a long
life. Others have come up, flourished, and sunk into oblivion, but the
light of Joachim has shone steadily for more than sixty years, and as an
interpreter of the classics he has never been excelled, and perhaps
never will be.




CHAPTER IX.

VIOLINISTS OF TO-DAY.


In these latter days the number of good violinists seems to have
increased greatly. A season seldom passes without witnessing the début
of some half-dozen aspirants for public approbation, but the great
majority of them settle down into some special field of labour, and do
not acquire world-wide fame as virtuosi.

Virtuosity to-day depends very largely on the art of advertising. In the
old days of Viotti and Spohr, the violinist would remain in a city for
months, make acquaintances, and gradually acquire a reputation which
would justify his giving some concerts. A tour lasting from three to
six years would cover a comparatively small amount of territory.

To-day the concert agent searches among the new lights for one or two
who seem, in his judgment, likely to please the audiences to whom he
caters, and who will justify the curiosity roused by the wholesale
advertising done in their behalf.

The violinist is rushed from one place to another with mechanical
precision, and flits from Maine to California and from Canada to the
Gulf in a few short weeks. There are more soloists, more concerts, more
musical organisations than ever before.

It does not follow by any means that the travelling virtuoso is one of
the _greatest_ violinists of his time. There are, in every city of
Europe and in many cities of America, violinists who equal or even excel
many of those who are exploited as virtuosi. The _great_ violinists are
not to be found every day. In the past twenty years, perhaps, not more
than two can be recalled who have visited the United States as mature,
great artists,--Wilhelmj and Ysaye. Many violinists of excellent ability
have been heard, and to some of them some day the adjective _great_ may
be applied. The fact that they have devoted their energies to concert
work, and have been favourably received by the most important musical
organisations, makes them celebrated, but the word _great_ can apply but
to few.

Adolf Brodsky, who came to America in 1892, and who is a violinist of
much ability, with a beautiful tone, facile and brilliant technique, but
somewhat lacking in elegance and polish, did not come to tour the
country as a virtuoso. He was engaged by Mr. Walter Damrosch as
concert-master for the New York orchestra, but during his stay in this
country he appeared in many of the most important concerts, and was
considered one of the best violinists who had ever come to live in
America.

Brodsky was born in 1851 at Taganrog, in Southern Russia, and was one of
those who found his profession at the age of four, when he bought a
violin at a fair, and began to pick out Russian folk-tunes.

For four years he was taught music at home, and made good progress. Then
a wealthy gentleman was attracted by his talent, hearing him play at a
concert at Odessa, and provided the funds necessary for him to go to
Vienna and study under Hellmesberger. He became second violin in the
celebrated Hellmesberger Quartet, and thus gained a great reputation as
a quartet player.


After travelling all over Europe for four years, he was appointed second
professor of the violin at the Conservatory of Moscow, where he remained
another four years. Then followed more study and more travel until,
when Schradieck accepted the position of violin teacher at the
Cincinnati conservatory, Brodsky was appointed to fill his place at
Leipzig. In 1892 he was called to New York, but, owing to troubles which
arose in the musical profession, he returned to Europe the following
year, and, after a short sojourn in Berlin, received the appointment of
director of the Royal College of Music at Manchester, England, where he
succeeded Sir Charles Hallé.

Emil Sauret is well known in America, for he visited the United States
in 1872-73, and made a tour which was so successful, that it was
repeated in 1874, when he travelled with Ilma di Murska, the great
singer, and his wife, Teresa Careño, the pianist.

[Illustration: EMIL SAURET]

Sauret began his public career at the age of eight. He was born at
Dun-le-Roi, in the department of Cher, in France, in 1852, and at the
age of six entered the conservatory at Strasburg, after some
preliminary instruction at home. In two years he began his travels, and
for several years he divided his time between study and travel.

As a boy he was taken up by De Bériot, who was much interested in his
welfare. He studied under Vieuxtemps in Paris, and in 1872 was one of
the artists engaged for the tour organised by the President of the
French Republic for the relief of the sufferers by the Franco-German
war.

In 1879 ne was appointed teacher at the Stern Conservatory in Berlin, a
post which he relinquished on being offered the position made vacant in
the Royal Academy of Music, London, by the death of Sainton.

M. Sauret is pronounced conservative and conscientious to the last
degree in handling the classics, and, although he has great
individuality, passion, and fire, he would consider it a sacrilege to
obtrude his own personality upon the listener. He is distinguished for
elegance rather than perfection of technique. He may be considered a
representative of the extreme French school.

In temperament he is quick and somewhat impatient. He expects much of
his pupils, and is the very opposite of the painstaking, phlegmatic
Wilhelmj.

In 1896 M. Sauret again visited the United States, when it was admitted
by those who had heard him twenty years before that he had grown to a
consummate and astounding virtuoso. His tone was firm, pure, and
beautiful, though not large. Marsick and Ondricek had preceded him by a
few weeks, but Sauret did not suffer by comparison.

One of the most remarkable violinists of the present day is César
Thomson, who was born at Liège in 1857. He entered the conservatory of
his native place, after receiving some instruction from his father, and
had completed the regular course by the time he was twelve years of
age, after which he became a pupil of Leonard.

At the age of eighteen he made a concert tour through Italy, and while
there became a member of the private orchestra of the Baron de Derwies.
In 1879 he became a member of the Bilse Orchestra, and in 1882, having
won distinction at the musical festival at Brussels, he was appointed
professor of the violin in the Liège conservatory.

Most of his travelling has been done since that time, and he has
acquired an immense reputation in Europe. In Leipzig, at a Gewandhaus
concert in 1891, he made a phenomenal success, and in 1898 at Brussels
he received five enthusiastic recalls from a cold and critical audience,
for his magnificent performance of the Brahms concerto.

M. Thomson's command of all the technical resources of the violin is so
great that he can play the most terrific passages without sacrificing
his tone or clearness of phrasing, and his octave playing almost equals
that of Paganini himself. Yet he is lacking in personal magnetism, and
is a player for the musically cultivated rather than for the multitude,
though his technique fills the listener with wonder. He visited the
United States in 1896, and was, like Marsick, compared with Ysaye, who
at that time swept everything before him and carried the country by
storm.

In 1897 César Thomson left Liège, owing, it is said, to disagreements at
the Conservatoire, and made his home at Brussels.

The greatest of Belgian violinists of to-day is Eugene Ysaye, who
possesses that magnetism which charms alike the musician and the
amateur, because of his perfect musical expression. He possesses the
inexplicable and inexpressible something which takes cold judgment off
its feet and leads criticism captive.

Ysaye was born at Liège in 1858, and, after studying at the
conservatories of his native town under his father and at Brussels,
entered that of Paris, where he completed the course in 1881, and
immediately afterward started on a series of concert tours. Ysaye's
eminence as a violinist has been gained by hard work. He did not burst
meteor-like upon the world, but he earned his position in the violin
firmament by ten years of concert touring, during which time he passed
successively through the stages of extreme sentimentality until he
reached the "sea" of real sentiment.

It was in 1873 that Ysaye, after preparation given chiefly by his
father, made his way to Brussels and sought out Wieniawski, then
professor at the Conservatoire. Wieniawski was teaching, when a note was
brought to him marked "private and important." The servant was told to
show the bearer in, and Ysaye, then about fifteen years of age, timidly
entered the room carrying his violin. After a little preliminary
conversation which allowed the youth to tell his history, Wieniawski
asked him what he would play, and in reply he placed on the piano desk a
concerto of Vieuxtemps. The result of his performance was that he at
once became a pupil of Wieniawski, with whom he remained some three
years, during the period in which Vieuxtemps was recovering from his
paralytic shock. In 1876 Vieuxtemps heard him at Antwerp, and through
his influence the Belgian government was induced to grant Ysaye a
stipend in order to allow him to pursue his studies at Paris. There he
was the pupil of Massart, who had also been the teacher of Wieniawski,
Ysaye's master at Brussels. Vieuxtemps is said to have expressed the
desire, while in Algiers during his latter years, to have Ysaye stay
with him to play his compositions, but Ysaye was at that time in St.
Petersburg. When Vieuxtemps died and his remains were brought to
Verviers, his birthplace, Ysaye carried in the procession the violin and
bow of the virtuoso on a black velvet cushion fringed with silver.

When Ysaye first appeared in America he was a mature artist, the
recognised leader of the Belgian school of violinists, the first
professor of violin at the Brussels Conservatoire, and the possessor of
many decorations and honours bestowed upon him by various royalties.

Before he had been in America a month he was acknowledged to be the
greatest violinist who had visited this country for many years.

A man of large and powerful physique, he plays with a bold and manly
vigour, and yet with exquisite delicacy. He is a master of phrasing and
of all beauties of detail, has a wonderfully perfect technique, but that
quality which places him at the head of all rivals is his musical
feeling, his temperament. He has been compared to Rubinstein and to
Paderewski. He inspires his hearers, or, as it was once expressed, very
neatly, "he creeps up under your vest." He disarms criticism, and he
seems to be more completely part of his violin and his violin of him
than has been the case with any other player who has visited these
shores for some years. He has given the greatest performance of the
celebrated Bach chaconne ever heard in America. He has been declared to
be not inferior to Joachim in his performance of this work, though he
has not so broad a tone as the latter, nor as Wieniawski. He combines
Sarasate's tenderness of tone and showy technique with more manliness
and sincerity than Sarasate gives.

The student, perhaps, can learn more from César Thomson than from Ysaye,
but he will receive from the latter the greater inspiration.

Ysaye is noted, too, for sincerity of purpose and seriousness such as
few of the virtuosi have possessed. He is free from all traits of
charlatanism and trickery. Once, when in California, he was asked for an
autograph copy of a few measures of his original cadenza to the
Beethoven concerto (an embellishment which all violinists seem obliged
to compose), but he declared that he did not like the idea of an
original cadenza to Beethoven's work, that it was much better to omit
it, as it formed no part of the concerto. "In original cadenzas by
virtuosi," he said, "we find too much violin and too little music," for
which confession from such an artist the world may be truly grateful.

When Ysaye came to America in 1894 he was prepared with a repertoire
consisting of ninety-one pieces. Of these, fourteen were concertos,
seventeen sonatas, and eleven were compositions of his own.

He made a second tour in America in 1898, when he confirmed the
opinions already formed as to his wonderful qualities.

In March, 1899, he went to Berlin, which city he had not visited for
several years, and appeared as soloist of the tenth Nikisch Philharmonic
concert, when he played the E major concerto by Bach, and scored an
overwhelming success. At the end of the concert he was recalled some
fifteen times, and had completely exploded the idea so firmly held in
Berlin, that the Belgians cannot play the classics.

Of late years M. Ysaye has made his mark as a conductor, and has given a
series of orchestral concerts in Brussels. He organised and managed this
enterprise entirely by himself, without any guarantee fund, and the
concerts were so successful, financially as well as artistically, that
at the end of the season it was found that they had paid all expenses,
and this, as all who know anything about the financial side of
orchestral concerts, is a most remarkable showing.

Few, if any, artists have been made the recipients of more ridiculous
adulation from women Paderewski perhaps being the only exception, and at
the conclusion of his concerts scenes have been witnessed which are
simply nauseating. This fashion is not confined, by any means, to the
United States, for there are anecdotes from all countries illustrative
of the manner in which members of the fair sex vie with each other in
the effort to do the silliest things.

Ysaye has a home near the Palais de Justice in Brussels. He is married
to the daughter of a Belgian army officer, and has several children. He
is a man of much modesty, and is devoted to his family. As a violinist
he may be considered to rank next to Joachim.

Carl Halir, who visited America in 1896, was born in 1859 at Hohenelbe
in Bohemia, and was first taught by his father. He entered the
conservatory at Prague at the age of eight, and remained there until he
was fourteen, studying under Bennewitz, after which he went to Berlin
and became a pupil of Joachim.

For some time he was a member of the Bilse orchestra, and then went to
Königsberg as concert-master, after which he held a similar position for
three years at Mannheim, and then at Weimar, where he married the
well-known singer, Theresa Zerbst.

On his first appearance, at the Bach festival at Eisenath, he played
with Joachim the Bach double concerto, and was very successful. He has
made concert tours throughout the greater part of Europe, and while in
America he was recognised as a broad artist. He is no virtuoso in the
ordinary sense of the word, but a classical, non-sensational,
well-educated musician, whose playing was not dazzling or magnetic, but
delighted by its intellectuality. He has an even and sympathetic tone,
and inspires the greatest respect as an artist and as a man, and, while
other players may make greater popular successes, Halir stands on a high
artistic plane which few can reach.

Franz Ondricek, who visited the United States also in 1896, was born at
Prague in 1859, the same year as Halir, but is an artist of an entirely
different stamp. In his early youth he was a member of a dance music
band, and his father taught him to play the violin. It was not until he
was fourteen years of age that he was able to enter the conservatory of
his native town. Three years later he was sent, through the generosity
of a wealthy merchant, to Paris, where he became a pupil of Massart. He
shared with Achille Rivarde the honour of the first prize at the
Conservatoire, since which time he has been a wandering star, and has
never sought any permanent engagement. His playing is marked by
individuality and dash, but he does not show to the best advantage in
the interpretation of the classics.

Charles Martin Loeffler, who shares the first desk of the first violins
in the Boston Symphony Orchestra with Mr. Kneisel, is a musician of the
highest ability.

He was born in Muhlhausen, Alsace, in 1861. He enjoyed the advantages of
instruction under Joachim, in Berlin, after which he continued his
studies in Paris, with Massart and Leonard, studying composition with
Guiraud. While in Paris he was a member of Pasdeloup's celebrated
orchestra, and was afterward appointed first violin and soloist in the
private orchestra of Baron Derwies, at Nice, of which orchestra César
Thomson was also a member.

In 1880 Mr. Loeffler crossed the Atlantic, and took up his residence in
New York, but the following year he was engaged as second concert-master
and soloist in the Boston Symphony Orchestra, a position which he has
held ever since, and in which he has had opportunity to display his
exceptional talents.

As a violinist he plays with largeness of style, boldness of contrast,
and exquisite grace. He has a technique equalled by few, and his
performances have been confined to music of the highest class. Mr.
Loeffler has never made a tour of the country as a virtuoso, but as
soloist of the orchestra he has been heard under the best conditions in
most of the large cities of the United States, and has shown himself to
be a virtuoso in the best sense of the word.

As a composer Mr. Loeffler is distinctly original and imaginative. His
works are both poetical and musical, and they display high thought and
exceptional knowledge. His compositions include a sextet, a quintet, and
an octet, also a suite for violin and orchestra, "Les Veillées de
l'Ukraine;" a concerto for violoncello, which has been played by Mr.
Alwyn Schroeder; a divertimento for violin and orchestra, and a
symphonic poem, "La Mort de Tintagiles." Besides these large works he
has written a number of songs, of which five are with viola obligato.
These works have been performed by the Kneisel Quartet and the Symphony
Orchestra, the solo parts of the suite and divertimento by the composer
himself, and they have gained for him a reputation as a gifted and
scholarly tone artist.

One of the most promising young violinists of the century was a native
of Brazil, Maurice Dengremont, who was born in Rio Janeiro, in 1867. He
was the son of a French musician who had settled in Brazil, and who gave
him his first lessons to such good effect that, when only eight years of
age, he gave a concert, and the Brazilian orchestra was so delighted
with his playing that its members presented him with a medal, to which
the emperor added an imperial crown, as a recognition of his talent.

He now became a pupil of Leonard, and after three years' study he
appeared in many concerts, travelling throughout Europe and England, and
being received with enthusiasm. About 1880 he visited America, but his
career ended shortly after, as he fell a victim to dissipation.

Dengremont was compared with Sarasate and Wilhelmj, but all that could
be said about him was that he might have developed into a player of
their rank. As it was, he disappointed his admirers, and died while
still quite young.

Of the many violinists who have made their home in the United States
there are few whose accomplishments better entitle them to a position
among celebrated violinists than Mr. Franz Kneisel.

Mr. Kneisel was called to Boston to fill the position of concert-master
of the Boston Symphony Orchestra in 1885, and has held that place for
fourteen years, during which time he has done much toward the
cultivation of musical taste in America.

He was born in Roumania, of German parents, in 1865, and gained his
musical education at Bucharest and at Vienna, where he studied under
Grün and Hellmesberger. He then received the appointment of
concert-master of the Hofburg Theatre Orchestra, after which he went to
Berlin to fill the same position in Bilse's orchestra, following Halir,
Ysaye, and César Thomson.

When he was called to Boston, at the instance of Mr. Gericke, who was
then the conductor of the Symphony Orchestra, he was only twenty years
of age. He played, on his first appearance as soloist, the Beethoven
concerto, and was at once recognised as a violinist of remarkable
ability.

Mr. Kneisel has never toured the country as a virtuoso, but has been
heard in many of the great cities of America, as solo violinist with
the Symphony Orchestra, and as first violin of the Kneisel Quartet.

He is a master of technique, and surmounts all difficulties with ease;
his tone is pure, and, though not large, is satisfying, and in his
interpretation of the great works he never attempts to enforce his
personality upon the hearer,--in short, he is a true artist. As a
conductor he has marked ability, and as a quartet player he has made a
reputation which will live in the history of music in America, if not in
the whole world.

Charles Gregorowitsch, who visited America in 1898, has risen in a very
short time to a place among the leading violinists of the world.

He was born in 1867 at St. Petersburg, and, his talent making itself
manifest in the usual manner, he was taught by his father until he was
of an age to be sent to Moscow, where he studied until his fifteenth
year, under Besekirskij and Wieniawski. From Moscow he was sent to
Vienna, where he became a pupil of Dont, and finally he studied under
Joachim in Berlin, where he gained the Mendelssohn prize.

Gregorowitsch was the last pupil of Wieniawski, and that master was so
impressed with the great promise of the boy that on first hearing him he
offered to take him as a pupil gratis. Few violinists have had the
advantage which has fallen to the lot of Gregorowitsch, of receiving
instruction from so many great teachers.

Gregorowitsch has travelled extensively throughout Europe, has been
highly honoured in Russia, where the Czar granted him exemption from
military service, and decorated by the King of Portugal. In London he
made his first appearance in 1897, at the Queen's Hall Symphony
concerts.

M. Gregorowitsch is remarkable for a large tone, and in the smoothness
and finish of his playing he has been compared with Sauret and with
Sarasate.

A far greater sensation was caused in America by Willie Burmester than
by Gregorowitsch.

Burmester was born in Hamburg in 1869, and received his first
instruction from his father. He owned his first violin when he was four
years of age, and it came to him from a Christmas tree. This served to
show the talent which he possessed, and the next year he received a
better violin, and began to study in earnest.

When he was eight years old his father took him to Berlin to consult
Joachim, who was, and is, regarded as the oracle for violinists. Joachim
gave some encouragement to the parent, although he does not seem to have
given much to the boy, who in consequence felt somewhat bitter. Four
years later he was again taken to the Berlin Hochschule, to pass his
entrance examination. On this occasion he received the recognition of
the jury, and was admitted to the school, where he began a rigorous
course of technical study. At the end of four years' study under Joachim
he was refused a certificate, for some reason not stated, and he went to
Helsingfors in Finland, where he worked according to his own ideas,
which were to unlearn all he had studied, and begin afresh. During this
period he worked with the greatest perseverance, practising nine or ten
hours a day, and thus developed the wonderful technique which has
astonished the world. For three years he continued this work, supporting
himself meanwhile with a modest appointment which he had obtained.

Before he left Berlin he had worn down the end of his first finger to
the nerve. This troubled him to such a degree that he had several
operations for the purpose of removing it, but the result was not wholly
satisfactory.

Emerging from his retirement in 1894, he went to Berlin again, and gave
a recital in which he met with the most remarkable success. It was
written at the time: "Mr. Burmester comes from an obscure town,
unheralded, and, in the face of indifference, prejudice, and jealousy,
conquered the metropolis off-hand. For nearly half an hour recall
followed recall."

The following season he created an equal impression in London, and
shortly afterward in America.

His technique has been described as "marvellous, almost diabolical."
Difficult pizzicato passages and runs in thirds and tenths at top speed
are but as child's play to him. His left hand pizzicato is marvellous,
and he makes runs in single and artificial harmonics as quickly as most
violinists can play an ordinary scale. He plays harmonics with a vibrato
(Paganini played a double shake in harmonics), and his staccato volante
is developed to an astounding degree of perfection.

When Burmester played in London his success was at once attributed to
Joachim, and he resented it, in view of the fact that he had been denied
his certificate and had narrowly escaped musical suffocation at the
hands of that great master. He had already made the same statement in
Berlin, referring to the fact of his retirement to Helsingfors, and the
development which he had acquired there in solitude.

This announcement brought forth a deluge of letters from "pupils of
Joachim," and in a couple of weeks Burmester wrote another letter
stating that he did not know the Hochschule had as many pupils as those
who had claimed Joachim as their teacher, and who were all unknown. "If
one known pupil of Joachim," he wrote, "will appoint a meeting to
interview me on the subject, I shall be glad to continue it." But the
one known pupil did not come.

The complaint of Mr. Burmester, that the one idea at the Hochschule is
technique, is not new by any means. In every school there are students
with great talent, who find it difficult to subject themselves to the
rigid discipline required by the teacher. It is the stumbling-block on
which many fall. It is, nevertheless, a fact that without a solid
technique the highest perfection in playing cannot be reached, and it is
usually regarded as a hopeless case when the pupil antagonises the
teacher. Many pupils are apt to try and run ahead of their technical
ability, and do not find out their mistake until it is too late. The
argument that Paganini was self-taught leads many a young violinist into
error.

If Burmester is to be judged by his playing of the Beethoven concerto in
Boston, good musicians will declare that Joachim was right in refusing
the certificate, for while his technique was brilliant it appeared to
lack foundation. Time may justify the stand which the young virtuoso has
taken in opposition to his teacher, for he is still young and has time
in which to develop. He has undoubted musical talent and great ability,
but while he may be a celebrated violinist he can hardly yet be
considered a great one, notwithstanding the furore which he caused in
Berlin.

Burmester plays with unassuming simplicity and without cheap display. He
is sincere, but without authority or distinction of style. His tone is
warm and pleasing, but not large, his intonation is not always sure.

One of Burmester's earliest musical friends was Hans Von Bülow, and the
friendship extended over a period of three and a half years, until Von
Bülow went to Cairo shortly before his death.

Von Bülow had inaugurated a series of orchestral concerts in Berlin, and
as they interfered with the Philharmonic series every effort was made to
put a stop to them. Musicians were forbidden to play for Von Büllow,
and many obstacles were placed in his way. Von Büllow's temperament was
such as to intensify the hostility rather than succumb to it. Burmester
was then only sixteen years old, but his sympathy was with Von Büllow,
and he wrote a letter to him offering his services, and expressing his
contempt for the injustice to which he was being subjected. Von Büllow
invited him to attend the rehearsals, and printed the letter which he
had received. Burmester accepted the invitation, and, going to the
rehearsal, found vacant a seat amongst the first violins, which he took.

The rehearsal was about to commence when Von Büllow paused and asked,
"Which of you gentlemen is Burmester?"

The young fellow approached Von Büllow, who had motioned him to come.

"Mr. Burmester," he said, "I have no desk in the first row to offer you
or it would be yours. Gentlemen," he added, turning to the musicians,
"I wish to introduce to you the guest of honour of my orchestra, Mr.
Burmester."

This was the beginning of a friendship, through which the young
violinist showed unswerving loyalty, and it is now one of his greatest
desires to reach a point of independence which will enable him to build
a monument to Von Bülow's memory.

In 1893 a sensation was created in America by the visit of Henri
Marteau, a young French violinist whose excellent playing and charming
personality delighted all who heard him. Marteau was called "the
Paderewski of the Catgut," and he met with a most cordial reception
among musicians.

Marteau was born at Reims in 1874. His father was an amateur violinist
and president of the Philharmonic Society of Reims. His mother was an
accomplished pianist, a pupil of Madame Schumann. He therefore had
every advantage in his early youth for the development of musical taste.
When he was about five years of age Sivori paid a visit to the family,
and was so charmed with the little fellow that he gave him a violin, and
persuaded his parents to let him become a professional violinist.
Marteau now began to take lessons of Bunzl, a pupil of Molique, but
three years later he went to Paris, and was placed under Leonard. In
1884, when ten years of age, he played in public before an audience of
2,500 people, and in the following year he was selected by Gounod to
play the obligato of a piece composed for the Joan of Arc Centenary
celebration at Reims, which piece was dedicated to him.

In 1892 Marteau carried off the first prize for violin playing at the
Paris Conservatoire, and Massenet, the celebrated French composer, wrote
a concerto for him.

When Marteau played in Boston at the Symphony concerts he received
twelve recalls, and immediately became the idol of the hour. The
concerto selected was that in G minor by Bruch, and it was played
without a rehearsal, a fact which reflects great credit on the
orchestra, which was at that time conducted by Mr. Arthur Nikisch.

In the following year Marteau again visited America and brought with him
a concerto composed for him by Dubois. This was played for the first
time by the Colonne orchestra, with Marteau as soloist, at Paris, on
November 28, 1894, and again on the following Sunday. It was next given
at Marseilles on December 12th, and the next performances were at
Pittsburg, Louisville, and Nashville during the second American tour.

Marteau's tone is large, brilliant, and penetrating. His technique is
sure, and he plays with contagious warmth of sentiment and great
artistic charm.

The violin which he used during his American tours was a Maggini, which
once belonged to Maria Theresa of Austria. She gave it to a Belgian
musician who had played chamber music with her in Vienna. He took it to
Belgium, where at his death it became the property of Leonard, who, at
his death, gave it to Marteau.

Alexander Petschnikoff, the son of a Russian soldier, is the latest
violinist who has created a furore in Europe. When he was quite young
his parents moved to Moscow, near which city he was born, and one day a
musician of the Royal Opera House happened to hear the boy, who had
already endeavoured to master the difficulties of the instrument, and he
used his influence to get the lad into the conservatory. Petschnikoff
now became a pupil of Hrimaly, and devoted himself to hard work, earning
some money by teaching even at the age of ten.

In due course he won the first prize and the gold medal at the
conservatory, and was then offered an opportunity to study in Paris,
which he declined. For a time he earned his living by playing in a
theatre orchestra, but fortune smiled upon him, and he became an object
of interest to the Princess Ourosoff, who heard him play at a concert.
Her influence was exerted in his behalf, and he was soon noticed and
courted by the nobility. The princess also made him a present of a
magnificent violin, which formerly belonged to Ferdinand Laub, and is
said to be the most costly instrument in existence.

When he made his début in Berlin, in 1895, his success was
unprecedented, inasmuch as it covered four points,--the artistic,
popular, social, and financial. He has created a furore wherever he has
appeared, and has been recalled as many as sixteen times. So great has
been his success that he is said to have received the highest honorarium
for a single concert ever obtained by a violinist in Europe.

He is described as a man of commonplace appearance, with dull,
expressionless eyes, sluggish movements, and slow, affected manner of
speech. His technique is not astonishing, but he has a full,
penetrating, sympathetic tone. There is no charlatanism or trickery in
his playing, nor any virtuoso effects, but the charm of it rests in his
glowing temperament, ideal conception, and wonderful power of
expression. He has been regarded as phenomenal, because he can move the
hearts of his hearers as few other violinists are able to do.

Petschnikoff has been given an introduction to America, through Mr. Emil
Paur, by Theodor Leschetizky, couched in the most glowing terms, and is
called by him "an artist of the very first rank and of inconceivable
versatility."

One might prolong the list of violinists to a tremendous extent, and yet
fail to mention all those of great merit. In England, John Dunn appears
to be acquiring a great reputation. On the Continent, such names as
Hubay, Petri, Rosé are well known. In America, we have Leopold
Lichtenberg, a good musician of admirable qualifications. Bernhard
Listemann, now of Chicago, has done much toward forming musical taste in
America, and was concert-master of the Boston Symphony Orchestra during
the first few years of its existence. But space does not permit of a
mention of more than has been attempted, and a few pages must be given
to lady violinists and to a few words about celebrated quartets.




CHAPTER X.

WOMEN AS VIOLINISTS.


During the past forty or fifty years the violin has become a fashionable
instrument for ladies, and has become correspondingly popular as a
profession for those who are obliged to earn a living.

Formerly, for many years, it seems to have been considered improper, or
ungraceful, or unladylike,--the reasons are nowhere satisfactorily
given, but the fact remains that until recently few women played the
violin.

From the year 1610 until 1810 the list of those who played in public is
extremely short, numbering only about twenty, and of these several were
gambists.

That women did, once upon a time, play on the violin, or the
corresponding string and bow instruments which were its ancestors, there
is evidence.

On the painted roof of Peterborough Cathedral, in England, which is said
to have been built in the year 1194 A.D., there is a picture of a woman
seated, and holding in her lap a sort of viol, with four strings and
four sound-holes. This seems to indicate that in very early days ladies
sometimes played on stringed instruments, if only for their own
amusement.

Among the accounts of King Henry VII., dated November 2, 1495, is the
following item, "For a womane that singeth with a fiddle, 2 shillings."

Anne of Cleves after her divorce comforted herself by playing on a viol
with six strings. Queen Elizabeth, also, amused herself not only with
the lute, the virginals, and her voice, but also with the violin.

These, however, were amateurs, and the earliest professional violinist
known was Mrs. Sarah Ottey, who was born about 1695, and who about
1721-22 performed frequently at concerts, giving solos on the
harpsichord, violin, and bass viol. Previous to her there was one
Signora Leonora Baroni, born at Mantua about 1610, but she played the
theorbo and the viol di gamba.

The next is "La Diamantina," born about 1715, who is referred to by the
poet Gray in 1740, when he was at Rome, as "a famous virtuosa, played on
the violin divinely, and sung angelically."

Anne Nicholl, born in England about 1728, played the violin before the
Duke of Cumberland at Huntley in 1746, and her granddaughter, Mary Anne
Paton, also, who was better known as a singer and who became Lady Lenox,
and afterwards Mrs. Wood, was a violinist.

The celebrated Madame Gertrude Elizabeth Mara, one of the greatest
singers of her time, was a violinist when young. Her father took her to
England, hoping by means of her playing to get sufficient money to give
her a thorough musical education. She was then a mere child, and as she
grew to womanhood her voice developed and she became one of the
celebrities in the history of song. There is no doubt that the training
in intervals which her practice on the violin gave her proved invaluable
as an aid to her in singing. In later days several of the most
celebrated singers have been also good violinists, as, for instance,
Christine Nilsson and Marcella Sembrich.

Maddalena Lombardi Sirmen, born about 1735, had an almost European
reputation toward the end of the eighteenth century. She visited France
and England about 1760-61, and was so good a player that she was looked
upon almost as a rival of Nardini. She will always be celebrated in
history because of the letter which was written to her by Tartini, and
which is not only one of the rarities of musical literature, but
constitutes also a valuable treatise on the use of the violin.

This letter, which has been printed in almost every book on the violin,
would take up rather more space than can be afforded in this sketch. It
is admirably clear and is divided into three parts, the first giving
advice on bowing, "pressing the bow lightly but steadily, upon the
strings in such a manner as that it shall seem to _breathe_ the first
tone it gives, which must proceed from the friction of the string, and
not from percussion, as by a blow given with a hammer upon it,--if the
tone is _begun_ with delicacy, there is little danger of rendering it
afterwards either coarse or harsh." The second section of the letter is
devoted to the finger-board, or the "carriage of the left hand," and the
last part to the "shake."

Maddalena Sirmen received her instruction first at the conservatory of
Mendicanti at Venice, after which she took lessons from Tartini. She
also composed a considerable quantity of violin music, much of which was
published at Amsterdam. About 1782 she, emulating the example of Madame
Mara, appeared as a singer at Dresden, but with comparatively small
success.

Regina Sacchi, who married a noted German violoncellist named Schlick,
was celebrated for her performances on the violin. She was born at
Mantua in 1764, and educated at the Conservatorio della Pietà at Venice.
This lady was highly esteemed by Mozart, who said of her, "No human
being can play with more feeling."

When Mozart was in Vienna, about 1786, Madame Schlick was also there,
and solicited him to write something for the piano and violin, which
they should play together at a concert. Mozart willingly promised to do
so, and accordingly composed and arranged, _in his mind_, his beautiful
sonata in B-flat minor, for piano and violin. The time for the concert
drew near, but not a note was put upon paper, and Madame Schlick's
anxiety became painful. Eventually, after much entreaty, she received
the manuscript of the violin part the evening before the concert, and
set herself to work to study it, taking scarcely any rest that night.

The sonata was played before an audience consisting of the rank and
fashion of Vienna. The execution of the two artists was perfect and the
applause was enthusiastic. It happened, however, that the Emperor Joseph
II., who was seated in a box just above the performers, in using his
opera-glass to look at Mozart, noticed that there was nothing on his
desk but a sheet of blank paper, and, afterward calling the composer to
him, said: "So, Mozart, you have once again trusted to chance," to which
Mozart, of course, graciously acquiesced, though the emperor did not
state whether he considered Mozart's knowledge of his new composition,
or Madame Schlick's ability to play with him unrehearsed, constituted
the "chance."

The next virtuosa was a Frenchwoman, Louise Gautherot, who was born
about 1760, and who played in London and made a great impression about
1780 to 1790, and about the same time Signora Vittoria dall' Occa played
at the theatre in Milan. Signora Paravicini, born about 1769, and Luigia
Gerbini, about 1770, were pupils of Viotti, and earned fame. The former
made a sensation in 1799 by her performance of some violin concertos at
the Italian Theatre at Lisbon, where she played between the acts.

Signora Paravicini attracted the attention of the Empress Josephine, who
became her patroness and engaged her to teach her son, Eugene
Beauharnais, and took her to Paris. After a time, however, the Empress
neglected her, and she suffered from poverty. Driven to the last
resource, and having even pawned her clothes, she applied for aid to the
Italians resident in Paris, and they enabled her to return to Milan,
where her ability soon gained her both competence and credit. She also
played at Vienna in 1827, and at Bologna in 1832, where she was much
admired.

Catarina Calcagno, who has already been mentioned as a pupil of
Paganini, was a native of Genoa, born about 1797, and had a short but
brilliant career. She disappeared from before the public in 1816.

Madame Krahmer and Mlles. Eleanora Neumann, and M. Schulz all delighted
the public in Vienna and Prague. Miss Neumann came from Moscow, and
astonished the public when she had scarcely reached her tenth year.
Other names are Madame Filipowicz, Madame Pollini, Mlle. Zerchoff, Eliza
Wallace, and Rosina Collins, who all played publicly and were well
known.

In 1827 Teresa Milanollo was born, and in 1832 her sister Marie, and
these two young ladies played so well, and were in such striking
contrast to one another, that they proved very successful as concert
players. They were natives of Savigliano, in Piedmont, where their
father was a manufacturer of silk-spinning machinery. Teresa, the elder,
was taught by Ferrero, Caldera, and Morra, but in 1836 she went to Paris
and studied under Lafont, and afterwards under Habeneck, going still
later to Brussels, where she took lessons of De Bériot, and received the
finishing touch to her artistic education,--faultless intonation. Her
career as a concert player began when she was about nine years of age.
When Marie was old enough to handle a violin Teresa began to teach her,
and in fact was the only teacher Marie ever had.

The two sisters, who were called, on account of their most striking
characteristics, Mlle. Staccato and Mlle. Adagio, travelled together
through France, Holland, Belgium, Germany, and England, and were
everywhere received with the greatest interest. They played before Louis
Philippe at Neuilly, and appeared with Liszt before the King of Prussia.
They also created a furore at Vienna and Berlin.

Marie, the younger, who was of a happy and cheerful disposition, was not
strong, and in 1848 she died in Paris. Teresa, the elder, after a long
retirement, resumed her travels, and, having matured and improved, she
played better and excited more interest than before. In 1857 she married
a French officer, Captain Théodore Parmentier, who had seen service in
the Crimean War, and she abandoned the concert stage.

From 1857 until 1878 she followed the fortunes of her husband, who
became a general and a "Grand Officier de la Legion d'Honneur," and her
public appearances were limited to such places as the vicissitudes of a
military life took her to. Since 1878 Madame Parmentier has lived
quietly in Paris, where she is still to be met by a few fortunate
persons in select musical and social circles.

During the lifetime of Marie, the sisters had already put themselves
into direct personal relations with the poor of Lyons, but after Teresa
had roused herself from her mourning for her sister she established a
system of "Concerts aux Pauvres," which she carried out in nearly all
the chief cities of France, and part of the receipts of these concerts
was used for the benefit of the poor. Her plan was to follow up the
first concert with a second, at which the audience consisted of poor
school-children and their parents, to whom she played in her most
fascinating manner, and, at the conclusion of her performance, money,
food, and clothing, purchased with the receipts of the previous
concerts, were distributed.

From 1830 there has been a constantly increasing number of ladies who
have appeared as concert violinists, but few have continued long before
the public, or have reached such a point of excellence as to be numbered
amongst the great performers.

Mlle. Emilia Arditi, Fraülein Hortensia Zirges, Miss Hildegard Werner,
Miss Bertha Brousil, and Madame Rosetta Piercy-Feeny were all born
during the decade 1830 to 1840, and were well known, but in 1840 and
1842 two violinists were born who were destined to hold the stage for
many years and to exert a great influence in their profession. Wilma
Neruda, now known as Lady Hallé and Camilla Urso are the two ladies in
question, the former exerting her influence chiefly in England and on
the Continent, and the latter in America.

Miss Werner has played an important part in advancing the art amongst
women, having for many years conducted a school of music at
Newcastle-on-Tyne, in England. She was also the first woman ever to
address the Literary and Philosophical Society, when in 1880 she
delivered an address on the history of the violin. There is little
doubt, however, that the success of Teresa Milanollo gave the first
great impulse toward the study of the violin by women.

Lady Hallé was born at Brünn, March 21, 1840. Her father was Josef
Neruda, a musician of good ability, and he gave her the first
instruction on the violin, and then placed her under Leopold Jansa, in
Vienna. Wilhelmina Maria Franziska Neruda made her first appearance in
public in 1846, at which time she was not quite seven years old. On this
occasion her sister Amalie, who was a pianist, accompanied her, and
shortly afterwards her father took her, with her sister Amalie and one
of her brothers, on an extended tour. The family consisted of two
sons--a pianist and a 'cellist--and two daughters--a violinist and a
pianist.

In 1849 they reached London, where the young violinist played a concerto
by De Bériot, at the seventh Philharmonic concert of that season. By the
critics at that time she was said to be wonderful in bravura music, in
musical intelligence, and in her remarkable accuracy.

As time went on, and her playing matured, she became known throughout
Europe. In 1864 she married Ludwig Norman, conductor of the opera at
Stockholm, and for a time she remained in that city and became a teacher
at the Royal Music School.

Before long she was again busy with concert playing, and in 1869 she
again appeared in England, where she became a great favourite, and has
appeared there regularly almost, if not quite, every season since. Hans
von Bülow spoke of her as Joachim's rival, and called her "the violin
fairy."

Joachim has always been a great favourite in England, but Madame
Norman-Neruda, or Lady Hallé, as she became later, has fully shared his
popularity. What Joachim is to the sterner sex, just the same is Lady
Hallé to the gentler.

Joachim was indeed one of the first to recognise the fact that he had in
Mlle. Neruda a rival, for in the days when she was earning her
reputation he heard her at some place on the Continent, and remarked to
Charles Hallé, who afterwards became her husband, "I recommend this
artist to your careful consideration. Mark this, when people have given
her a fair hearing, they will think more of her and less of me."

Ludwig Norman died in 1885, and three years later Madame Norman-Neruda
married the pianist, Charles Hallé, who had long been identified with
all that was best musically in England, and who was knighted in
recognition of his services to the cause of art.

Sir Charles Hallé established a series of orchestral concerts at
Manchester in 1857, and by means of these concerts brought before the
English public the works of many composers who would have remained
unknown perhaps for years but for his efforts. In this work he was ably
supported by this talented violinist, afterwards his wife, and with her
he made many tours all over the British Isles.

In 1890 Sir Charles and Lady Hallé made a tour in Australia, which was
highly successful. Five years later they went to South Africa, where
they met with a flattering reception. In his memoirs, Sir Charles Hallé
tells of a curious compliment which they received at Pietermaritzburg.
The mayor invited them to play at a municipal concert to be given one
Sunday afternoon. The concert began, and after an organ solo and a song
had been given by other musicians, they played the Kreutzer sonata. At
the conclusion of the sonata, a member of the corporation came forward,
and said that after the impression just received he thought it would be
best to omit the remainder of the programme, upon which the audience
cheered and dispersed.

In 1895, shortly after their return from the South African tour, Sir
Charles Hallé died, and Lady Hallé went into retirement. At this time
her numerous admirers in England presented her with a valuable
testimonial of their appreciation.

Throughout her career she has fulfilled the prophecies made of her in
her youth, for her talent and musicianship developed as she grew up, and
her genius did not burn itself out as that of many infant prodigies has
done. She has never endeavoured to secure public applause at the expense
of her real artistic nature. Her performances are and always have been
synonymous with all that is good in musical art, and nothing but that
which is of the best has ever been allowed to appear upon her
programmes.

She is celebrated no less as a quartet player than as a soloist, and was
for many years first violin of the Philharmonic Quartet in London.

In 1898, Lady Hallé had the misfortune to lose her son, Mr. Norman
Neruda, who, while scaling a difficult place in the Alps, slipped and
was killed.

In the following year she emerged from her retirement and visited the
United States, where her playing was highly appreciated by unbiassed
critics. There was a feeling, however, that she might have made the
journey many years before, and allowed the American public to hear her
in her prime, when she would have received not only a very warm welcome,
but would have been judged rather by her merits than by her history, and
she would not have challenged comparison with the violinists of the
rising generation.

Camilla Urso has been for many years one of the best known violinists in
the United States. She was born at Nantes, in France, in 1842, of
Italian parents. Her father was Salvator Urso, a good musician, and son
of a good musician, so that the young violinist inherited some of her
talent. In 1852 the family crossed the Atlantic and settled in the
United States, and almost immediately the little girl began to appear at
concerts. Camilla Urso began to study the violin at the age of six
years, and her choice of that instrument was determined by her hearing
the violin and being fascinated by it during a celebration of the Mass
of St. Cecilia. She was taken to Paris for instruction, for which
purpose her father abandoned his position at Nantes. She entered the
Conservatoire and became a pupil of Massart.

She made a tour through Germany, during which she met with immense
success, and then returned to Paris to continue her studies.

She was fresh from Massart's instruction when, in October, 1852, she
made her first appearance in Boston, where her playing and her style
called forth eulogies from the critics of those days. John S. Dwight
wrote to the effect that it was one of the most touching experiences of
his life to see and hear the charming little maiden, so natural and
childlike, so full of sentiment and thought, so self-possessed and
graceful. Her tone was pure, and her intonation faultless, and she
played with a "fine and caressing delicacy," and gave out strong
passages in chords with thrilling grandeur.

For three years she continued to travel and delight American audiences,
and then for a period of about five years she retired into private life,
and did not resume her professional career until 1862, from which time
she frequently made concert tours in America until she returned to
Paris. It was about the period of these tours that her influence upon
young women began to be felt, for she was at an age when womanly grace
becomes evident, and her manners and character were as fascinating as
her playing.

In Paris she so pleased M. Pasdeloup that he begged her not to allow
herself to be heard in public until she had played at his concerts. "You
may count upon a splendid triumph," he said. "It is _I_ who tell you so.
Your star is in the ascendant, and soon it will shine at the zenith of
the artistic firmament."

The result justified the prophecy, and Camilla Urso was the recipient of
great honours in Paris. She was presented by the public with a pair of
valuable diamond earrings, and was treated almost like a prima donna.

In March, 1867, Mlle. Urso received a testimonial from the musical
profession in Boston, where a few years later she had a curious
experience. She was playing a Mozart concerto, at a concert, when an
alarm of fire was given, and caused a good deal of excitement. Many of
the audience left their seats and made for the door, but the violinist
stood unmoved until the alarm was subdued and the audience returned to
their seats, when she played the interrupted movement through from the
beginning.

In 1879 she made a tour to Australia, and again in 1894.

In 1895 she was in South Africa, and achieved great triumphs in Cape
Town, besides giving concerts at such out-of-the-way places as
Bloemfontein. She has probably travelled farther than any other violin
virtuosa.

For the past few years she has lived in New York, and has practically
retired from the concert stage.

Teresina Tua, who was well known in the United States about 1887, was
born at Turin in 1867. As in the case of Wilhelmina Neruda and of
Camilla Urso, her father was a musician, and she received her early
musical instruction from him. Her first appearance in public was made at
the age of seven, and up to that time she had received no instruction,
except that given her by her father. During her first tour she played at
Nice, where a wealthy Russian lady, Madame Rosen, became interested in
her, and provided the means to go to Paris, where she was placed under
Massart.

In 1880 Signorina Tua won the first prize for violin playing at the
Paris Conservatoire, and the following year made a concert tour which
extended through France and Spain to Italy. In 1882 she appeared in
Vienna, and in 1883 in London, where she played at the Crystal Palace.
Wherever she went people of wealth and distinction showed the greatest
interest in her, and when she came to America in 1887 she appeared laden
with jewelry given her by royalty. Her list of jewels was given in the
journals of that day,--"a miniature violin and bow ablaze with diamonds,
given by the Prince and Princess of Wales; a double star with a
solitaire pearl in the centre, and each point tipped with pearls, from
Queen Margherita of Italy." Besides these, there were diamonds from the
Queen of Spain and from the Empress of Russia and sundry grand
duchesses. No lady violinist ever appeared before an American audience
more gorgeously arrayed. "Fastened all over the bodice of her soft white
woollen gown she wore these sparkling jewels, and in her hair were two
or three diamond stars," said the account in Dwight's _Journal of
Music_. Yet with all this the criticisms of her playing were somewhat
lukewarm. The expectation of the people had been wrought up to an
unreasonable pitch, and Signorina Tua, while she was acknowledged to be
an excellent and charming violinist, was not considered _great._ After a
time, however, as she became better known, she grew in popular
estimation, and before she left America she had hosts of admirers.

On returning to Europe she made another tour, but shortly afterwards she
married Count Franchi Verney della Valetta, a distinguished Italian
critic, and retired into private life, though from time to time she was
heard in concerts in Italy.

In 1897 she was again on the concert stage, and played at St. James's
Hall, London, after an absence of eight years, and it was considered
that her playing had gained in breadth, while her technique was as
perfect as ever.

Of the three hundred or more pupils of Joachim, there have been several
ladies who have attained celebrity, of whom Miss Emily Shinner (now
Mrs. A. F. Liddell) has been for some years the most prominent in
England, while the names of Gabrielle Wietrowitz and Marie Soldat are
known throughout Europe, and Maude Powell and Leonora Jackson are among
the brightest lights from the United States.

Miss Emily Shinner has been in many respects a pioneer amongst lady
violinists, for in 1874, when quite young, she went to Berlin to study
the violin. In those days pupils of the fair sex were not admitted to
the Hochschule, and Miss Shinner began to study under Herr Jacobsen. It
happened, however, that a lady from Silesia arrived at Berlin, intending
to take lessons of Joachim, but unaware of the rules against the
admission of women to the Hochschule. Joachim interested himself in her,
and she was examined for admission. Miss Shinner at once presented
herself as a second candidate, and the result was that both ladies were
accepted as probationers. In six months Miss Shinner was allowed to
become a pupil of Joachim, and thus gained the distinction of being the
first girl violinist to study under the great professor.

Again in 1884 Miss Shinner, having acquired a great reputation in
musical circles in England, was called upon at very short notice to take
Madame Neruda's place as leader to the "Pop" Quartet, on which occasion
she acquitted herself so well that an encore of the second movement of
the quartet was demanded. Since that time she has been always before the
public, and has taken special interest in chamber music and quartet
playing, the Shinner Quartet of ladies having acquired a national
reputation.

Her marriage to Capt. A. F. Liddell took place in 1889.

Marie Soldat was born at Gratz in 1863 or 1864, and was the daughter of
a musician, who was pianist, organist, and choirmaster, and who gave
her instruction from her fifth year on the piano. Two years later she
began to learn the organ, and was soon able to act as substitute for her
father when occasion required her services. Until her twelfth year she
studied music vigorously, taking violin lessons with Pleiner at the
Steier Musical Union at Gratz, and composition with Thierot, the
Kapellmeister, at the same time keeping on with the pianoforte.

She played the phantasie-caprice by Vieuxtemps in a concert at the
Musical Union when she was ten years of age, and at thirteen she went on
a tour and played Bruch's G minor concerto.

Soon after this she had the misfortune to lose her father, and a little
later her violin teacher, Pleiner, also died, so that her progress
received a check. Joachim, however, visited Gratz to play at a concert,
and the young girl went to him and consulted him as to her future
course. As a result of the interview she began to take lessons of August
Pott, a good violinist at Gratz, and the following year (1879) she again
went on a concert tour, visiting several cities in Austria.

During this tour, she made the acquaintance of Johannes Brahms, who took
a great deal of interest in her, advised her to devote all her energies
to the violin, and succeeded in arranging for another interview with
Joachim, the result of which was that she was enabled to enter the
Berlin High School for Music. Here she pursued her studies until 1882,
after which she still continued her studies and took private lessons of
Joachim.

At the high school she gained the Mendelssohn prize, and from that time
commenced her career as a virtuosa, touring extensively throughout
Europe. One of her greatest triumphs was when, in 1885, at Vienna, she
played Brahm's violin concerto with Richter's orchestra.

Her career has been marked by hard work and continual practice, which
have enabled her to overcome many obstacles, and have placed her on a
level with the very best violinists of her sex.

The Ladies' String Quartet, which she formed in Berlin, consisting of
herself as first violin, with Agnes Tschetchulin, Gabrielle Roy, and
Lucie Campbell, had a creditable career, and appeared in several German
cities.

In 1889 Marie Soldat married a lawyer named Röger, but did not retire
from her profession. She is now known as Madame Soldat-Röger.

Gabrielle Wietrowitz was born a few years later, in 1866, at Laibach,
and was also a pupil at the Musical Institute at Gratz. Her father was a
military bandsman who had some knowledge of the violin, which enabled
him to give his daughter elementary instruction on that instrument.

After a few years he left Laibach to settle in Gratz, and Gabrielle took
violin lessons from A. Geyer (some accounts say Caspar). On entering the
Musical Union she made a sensation by playing brilliantly at a concert
before a large audience. She was then eleven years of age, and from that
time she made the most rapid progress, taking first prize at the annual
trial concert. In consequence of her great promise Count Aichelburg, who
was a member of the Directorate of the Musical Union, presented her with
a valuable violin, and the Directorate assigned her a yearly salary
which enabled her to go to Berlin and enter the high school, where she
became a pupil of Joachim in 1882.

At the high school her career was as brilliant as it had been in Gratz,
for at the end of her first year she succeeded in capturing the
Mendelssohn prize, which brought her 1,500 marks, and at the end of her
third year she took it for a second time.

She remained at the high school three years, after which she began a
splendid career by playing the concerto by Brahms at the St. Cecilia
Festival at Münster. Then followed a series of concert tours, which
resulted in securing her a reputation as one of the most brilliant stars
amongst women.

Miss Wietrowitz plays with the most consummate ease the greatest works
of the modern school. She has a powerful and brilliant tone, with sweet
tenderness and sympathy, which appeal to the soul of the listener, and
she confines her repertoire to the highest class of musical
compositions. She has recently succeeded Miss Emily Shinner as first
violin in the quartet which that talented lady established in England.

The most recent star of Europe is Madame Saenger-Sethe, whose
appearances are invariably followed by eulogies from the critics. In
Berlin, when she appeared at the Singakademie, in November, 1898, where
she was assisted by the Philharmonic Orchestra, one critic declared that
no violin playing had been heard to compare with it during that season,
with the exception of Burmester's performance of the Beethoven concerto.
"Such wealth and sensuous beauty of tone, such certainty of technique,
such mental grasp of the work, and at the same time such all-conquering
temperament have not been heard in Berlin at the hands of a female
violinist during several years." After many recalls, she gave, as an
encore, a rousing performance of a Bach sarabande.

Mlle. Irma Sethe was born on April 28, 1876, at Brussels, and such was
her early aptitude for music that at the age of five she was placed
under a violinist of repute, named Jokisch, who in three months from the
start taught her to play a Mozart sonata. Five years of hard study
enabled her to appear at a concert at Marchiennes, when she played a
concerto by De Bériot and the rondo capriccioso by Saint-Saëns. The
following year she played at Aix-la-Chapelle, and made such an
impression that several offers of concert engagements were made, but
were declined by her mother on the score of the child's health, and for
three years after this she never appeared at a concert.

One summer, during the holidays, she met August Wilhelmj, who was
charmed with her talent, and devoted his mornings for two months to
giving her lessons daily. At the end of that time he emphasised his
appreciation by making her a present of a valuable violin. She still
continued her regular studies with Jokisch, until, acting on the advice
of her friends, she obtained a hearing from Ysaye, and played for him
Bach's prelude and fugue in G minor.

Ysaye at once recognised her immense ability, and advised her to enter
the conservatoire at Brussels, which she did, with the result that in
eight months she carried off the first prize, being then only fifteen
years of age. She continued her studies for three more years, and was
frequently employed as a substitute for Ysaye, as professor, to teach
his classes while he was absent on concert tours.

In 1894 she appeared with him at a number of important concerts, and
shortly afterwards made her first concert tour, visiting many of the
principal towns of Germany. In November, 1895, she made her first
appearance in London, where she was pronounced to be, with the exception
of Lady Hallé, the most remarkable lady violinist who had ever appeared
before the public in England, and where her excellent technique, perfect
intonation, warmth of feeling, and musical insight were highly, almost
extravagantly, praised.

In August, 1898, Mlle. Sethe married Doctor Saenger, a _littérateur_,
and professor of philosophy at Berlin, but she continues her career as a
violinist, and has made several tours of Europe. She has been compared
to Rubinstein, inasmuch as her remarkable musical temperament and
irresistible impulsiveness carry her at times almost beyond the limits
of her instrument, but these are the very qualities by which she
captivates and carries away her hearers.

Among other European ladies who have made their mark as violinists, and
whose stars are in the ascendant, may be mentioned Sophie Jaffé, who has
been called the greatest of all women violinists, and Frida Scotta.

Although many years behind the continent of Europe in musical life, and
with a musical atmosphere not nearly as dense as that found in almost
any village of Italy, France, or Germany, America has contributed to
the musical world many shining lights during the past few years. Mlle.
Urso has been claimed as an American violinist, though she was born in
Europe and was a good violinist before she reached these shores, but in
1864, in New York, Anna Senkrah was born, who for a few years rivalled
Teresina Tua.

The real name of Arma Senkrah was Harkness, which for professional
purposes she "turned end for end," as the sailors would say, and dropped
an "s." After Miss Harkness had been taught the elements of music by her
mother, she went to Brussels to study under Wieniawski, and then to
Paris, where she became a pupil of Massart She is said also to have
taken lessons of Vieuxtemps and of Arno Hilf.

In 1881 she won the first prize at the Paris Conservatoire, a feat which
always stamps the winner "artist." From 1877 to 1880 Arma Senkrah
travelled a great deal throughout Europe, and in 1882 she played, under
her proper name, at the Crystal Palace, London. She was created, at
Weimar, a chamber virtuoso, by the grand duke. Here she met and shortly
afterwards married a lawyer named Hoffman, and disappeared from the
concert platform.

New York has contributed other stars to the violin firmament, for Nettie
Carpenter and Geraldine Morgan are names which have become well known.

Miss Carpenter went abroad at an early age, though not until she had
appeared in concerts in her native city, and created considerable
interest.

On going to Paris, she was successful in passing the entrance
examinations for the Conservatoire, and in 1884 won the first prize for
violin playing. In 1882 she appeared in London at the promenade
concerts, and again in 1884, when she confirmed the reputation which she
had made two years previously, at the same concerts. From that time on
she went through the usual routine of the concert violinist, with
considerable success.

In 1894 she married Leo Stern, the violoncello player, but the union did
not continue for long, Mr. Stern becoming about four years later the
husband of Miss Suzanne Adams, the opera singer.

Miss Geraldine Morgan is the daughter of John P. Morgan, who was for
some years organist of Old Trinity Church, New York. She studied in her
native city under Leopold Damrosch, besides which she received much
instruction from her father. Then she went to Leipzig, where she studied
with Schradieck, after which she was the pupil in Berlin of Joachim,
under whose guidance she remained eight years. She was the first
American who ever gained the Mendelssohn prize.

Miss Morgan has made tours through the Continent and Great Britain, and
had the honour of playing the Bach double concerto with Joachim at the
Crystal Palace. In 1891 she appeared in New York under the auspices of
Walter Damrosch.

A lady who holds a high position among the violinists of the world is
Miss Maud Powell, who was born in Aurora, Ill., in 1868. Her father is
American and her mother German. She began her musical education at the
age of four, by taking piano lessons. At eight she took up the violin,
and made such excellent progress that, when she was thirteen years old,
she was taken to Leipzig, where she studied under Schradieck, and
received her diploma in a year, playing also at one of the Gewandhaus
concerts.

[Illustration: MAUD POWELL]

She next went to Paris, where she was the first selected out of eighty
applicants for admission to the Conservatoire. In the following year she
accepted an engagement for a tour in England, and had the honour of
playing before the royal family. While in London Joachim heard her, and
expressed his approval of her capabilities by inviting her to go to
Berlin and become one of his pupils, which she accordingly did, and
remained with him for two years.

In 1885 she made her début in Berlin at the Philharmonic concerts, when
she played the Bruch concerto, which she also played in Philadelphia
later in the same year. Her performance in America brought her much
praise, and she was declared to be a marvellously gifted woman, one who
in every feature of her playing disclosed the instincts and gifts of a
born artist, though she had not yet reached the heights of her ability.
Since that time she has gained in breadth, and has become a mature
artist.

Miss Powell has appeared in the best concerts throughout America, and
has gained a reputation second to no American violinist. By many she is
declared to be the equal of Soldat and Wietrowitz in tone, technique,
and interpretative power. She has an immense repertoire, and is also a
student of literature. She also is said to have been the first to
establish a female quartet in America.

The latest American lady violinist to gain honours abroad is Miss
Leonora Jackson, who won the Mendelssohn state prize at Berlin, in 1898,
and who has gained a great reputation by her performances before the
most important musical organisations in Europe.

Miss Jackson was fortunate enough to attract the attention of Mrs.
Grover Cleveland, who admired her talent, and, with Mr. George
Vanderbilt, sent her abroad. For two years she studied in Paris, and
then went to Berlin, where she became a pupil of Joachim. In Berlin she
made her début in 1896, with the Philharmonic Orchestra, which was
conducted by Joachim on that occasion. Shortly afterwards she was
commanded by the Empress of Germany to play at the Royal Opera House, in
Berlin, and she soon earned for herself a position amongst the best of
the rising violinists of the day.

When she appeared in London, in 1898, she surprised and delighted the
audience, displaying a fine tone, natural musical feeling, and complete
technique. Few violinists can play with such quiet, intense sentiment.
Miss Jackson, though but twenty years of age, is already a veteran
concert player, for she has appeared in many cities of Europe, and was
already known in America before she went to Berlin. She played in July,
1899, before the Queen of England at Windsor Castle, and again in August
at Osborne House, in the Isle of Wight.

The time has long since gone by when mere showy technique would earn a
reputation for any violinist, male or female, and she who expects to be
numbered with the great violinists must be first of all a musician,
capable of interpreting the greatest works. If in addition to this she
has "the divine spark," she will be truly great.




CHAPTER XI.

FAMOUS QUARTETS.


Quartet playing is at once the delight and the despair of the amateur,
who finds no greater pleasure than an evening spent in endeavouring to
unravel the intricacies of chamber music, nor any keener disappointment
than the realisation that it is capable of far better interpretation.

For the professional there are many influences which cause him to
hesitate before he launches forth upon the quicksands of public
performance. The first necessity in professional quartet playing is the
devotion of a large amount of time to the acquisition of a perfect
ensemble. A quartet may be likened unto a family, in which the members
learn to know one another by being brought up together, and few are the
professionals who can sacrifice the time necessary for the acquisition
of this perfect ensemble.

Apparently very little was done previous to the nineteenth century in
the way of quartet concerts, but Baillot founded a series of quartet
concerts in Paris, which were highly spoken of, and about the same time
Schuppanzigh, an excellent violinist and teacher in Vienna, established
a quartet which became famous. In this quartet Mayseder played, in his
younger days, second violin. Mayseder was considered the foremost
violinist in Vienna, but he never travelled as a virtuoso.

When Spohr went first to Leipzig and was unknown, he had to find a way
by which he could attract attention to himself,--in those days the
advertising agent was not much in evidence,--so that he might give a
concert with a reasonable prospect of success. The rich merchants, to
whom he had brought letters of introduction, knew nothing of him and
received him coldly. "I was very anxious to be invited to play at one of
their music parties in order to draw attention to myself," Spohr says in
his autobiography, "and my wish was fulfilled, for I was invited to a
grand party and asked to play something. I chose one of the loveliest of
the six new quartets of Beethoven, with which I had often charmed my
hearers in Brunswick. But after a few bars I already noticed that my
accompanists knew not the music and were quite incapable of playing it.
This disturbed me, and my dismay increased when I observed that the
assembled company paid little attention to my playing. Conversation
became general, and ultimately so loud as almost to drown the music. I
rose in the midst of the music, hurried to my violin case without saying
a word, and was on the point of putting my instrument away. This made
quite a sensation in the company, and the host approached me
questioningly. I met him with the remark,--which could be heard
everywhere,--'I have always been accustomed to be listened to with
attention. As it has been otherwise here, I thought the company would
prefer that I should stop.' The host did not know at first how to reply,
and retired somewhat discomfited. As I made preparations for leaving,
after having excused myself to the other musicians, the host came up and
said, quite amicably: 'If you could but play something else, something
more suitable to the taste and capacity of the company, you would find
them an attentive and grateful audience.' It was clear to me before that
I had chosen the wrong music in the first instance for such a company,
and I was glad enough now to have an opportunity to change it. So I took
up my violin again and played Rode's E flat quartet, which the musicians
already knew and accompanied well enough. This time there was perfect
silence, and the enthusiasm for my playing increased with each movement.
At the end of the quartet so much flattery was heaped upon me that I
trotted out my hobby-horse,--the G variations of Rode. With this piece I
made quite a sensation, and for the remainder of the evening I was the
object of the most flattering attention."

This little episode shows that Beethoven was not fully appreciated, and
it also shows that quartet playing was regarded at that time in an
entirely different light from that in which we are accustomed to think
of it to-day. We do not consider the first violinist a soloist and the
rest merely his accompaniment, but each member of the quartet is
practically of equal importance.

Lambert Joseph Massart, the eminent teacher of Paris, is said to have
been an excellent quartet player, and often, with his wife, an
admirable pianist, he gave delightful chamber concerts.

Few violinists have been more closely associated with quartet playing
than Ferdinand David, in his way one of the most celebrated violinists.
Little is known of his early youth except that he was born at Hamburg in
1810, and was there at the time of the French occupation. It has been
said that he played in a concert at ten years of age and at thirteen
became a pupil of Spohr at Cassel. He made a concert tour with his
sister, Madame Dulcken, and in 1827 entered the orchestra of the
Königstadt Theatre at Berlin. Here he became acquainted with
Mendelssohn, with whom he was from that time on terms of the greatest
intimacy. While in Berlin he was heard by a wealthy musical amateur
named Liphart, who lived at Dorpat, and who maintained a private
quartet. He engaged David, who eventually married his daughter, to lead
this quartet, and for several years the young violinist remained in
Dorpat, though he found opportunity to make some concert tours through
the north of Europe.

When Mendelssohn was appointed conductor of the Gewandhaus concerts at
Leipzig, he sent for David and made him concert master, which post he
occupied from 1836. Seven years later the conservatory was founded by
Mendelssohn, and David became professor of violin, in which position his
influence became great and beneficial.

In Leipzig David established a quartet, which was one of the best, if
not the very best, in its day, though it may have been surpassed later
by the Florentine Quartet and those of Joachim, in London and Berlin,
and possibly by Brodsky's later Leipzig quartet.

David died in 1873, beloved and respected, and will be remembered as one
of the most refined musicians and admirable teachers of the century.

Josef Hellmesberger, one of the most brilliant violinists and noted
teachers of Vienna, founded, in 1849, a quartet which achieved an
immense reputation. His associates were Heissler, Durst, and
Schlesinger. Hellmesberger made a point of finding works of merit which
had sunk into oblivion, but which were worthy of a hearing.
Hellmesberger spent the whole of his life in Vienna, with the exception
of a tour in 1847, and he held the highest musical office in the
Austrian Empire, that of director of the Imperial Band.

A story which is told of him bears testimony to his remarkable musical
instinct. Teresa Milanollo, in 1840, took a new manuscript by De Bériot
to Vienna. She wished to keep it for her own use, and did not show it to
anybody. Hellmesberger heard it played at two rehearsals, and then went
home and wrote out the whole work from memory.

No small portion of the immense influence which Joachim has wielded in
the musical world has been directed toward quartet playing, and he has
established a quartet in London and another one at Berlin, which both
bear an enviable reputation. His chamber music classes, too, at the
Berlin High School, tend to develop admirable quartet players; thus we
find Marie Soldat organising a ladies' quartet which had a good career,
and Gabrielle Wietrowitz taking the place of first violin in the
excellent ladies' quartet formed in England by Miss Emily Shinner.[1]
Miss Shinner, whose efforts in the artistic world have been of great
value, and whose quartet has an immense reputation in England, was also
a pupil of Joachim.

[Footnote 1: The Shinner Quartet consisted of Miss Emily Shinner (Mrs. F.
Liddell), first violin, Miss Lucy H. Stone, second violin, Miss Cecilia
Gates, viola, and Miss Florence Hemmings, violoncello.]

The "Florentine Quartet" was founded by Jean Becker, a violinist of
excellent ability, who made his mark in Europe about the middle of the
nineteenth century. Becker was travelling in Italy in 1865, and settled
in Florence for a time, during which he organised the above-mentioned
quartet, with Masi, second violin, Chiostri, viola, and Hilpert,
violoncello. In Florence there existed a society for the performance of
chamber music, which had been established by a wealthy professor named
Bazzini, a violinist and composer who travelled much, and whose
influence in Italy, in the cause of German music, was of great value.
Bazzini was born in 1818 and died in 1897.

From time to time this society gave subscription concerts, and Becker
was invited to lead ten such concerts during the winter of 1865-66. He
consented to do so, but found the quartet in a state of dissolution. He
brought Hilpert with him, and engaged Masi as second violin, Chiostro
being the only member of the original quartet. Masi was not accustomed
to chamber music, but Becker took him in hand and he improved rapidly.
In order to still enhance his value in the quartet, Becker presented him
with a Stradivarius violin. They remained in Florence until their
ensemble was absolutely perfect, and then began a series of tours which
took them all over Europe. In Vienna the quartet was subjected to
comparison with those of Hellmesberger and of Joachim, for the former
had just given six chamber concerts, and the latter three. The first
concert given by the Florentine Quartet was thinly attended, but the
report of its excellence brought an overflowing audience to the second
concert, and in all ten were given during the remainder of the season.

About 1875 Hilpert withdrew, and his place was filled by Hegyesi, who
remained with the quartet until it was disbanded in 1880.

An excellent series of quartet concerts was founded in Stuttgart by
Edmund Singer, who was appointed professor of violin in the
Conservatorium, leader of the court music, and chamber musician, in
1861, after a distinguished career of some ten or more years as a
virtuoso. These concerts met with triumphant success.

Georg J.R. Heckmann founded a quartet at Cologne and travelled through
Europe, but it was surpassed by the Florentine Quartet, and did not gain
the highest reputation.

A quartet which has been pronounced to be one of the best in existence
is that which is led by Jeno Hubay, in Pesth, and in which Hegyesi,
formerly of the Florentine Quartet, is the 'cellist.

Adolf Brodsky, who for a time resided in New York, founded a string
quartet at Leipzig, with Hans Becker, son of the founder of the
Florentine Quartet, Hans Sitt, and Julius Klengel, the 'cellist, and
this quartet was said to have no superior in Europe, and not more than
one equal,--the Joachim Quartet of Berlin. In 1891 Brodsky went to New
York, where he also established a quartet, but with little success. The
organisation was received with respect, owing to Mr. Brodsky's European
reputation, but it was admitted on all hands that superior organisations
existed in America. Before Mr. Brodsky had time to bring his quartet to
a high degree of proficiency, he returned to Europe, and, after a brief
stay in Germany, accepted a position in England, where he has
established another quartet.

He was succeeded in the quartet at Leipzig and at the conservatory by
Arno Hilf, a distinguished violinist with an enormous technique, who was
born in 1858 and was taught by David, Röntgen, and Schradieck.

Quartet playing in public was established in England in 1835, when the
admirers of Joseph Dando, an excellent violinist, opened a subscription
for the purpose of giving some concerts in which the chamber music, and
especially the quartets of Haydn, Mozart, Beethoven, Spohr, etc., should
be performed. The first concert was given at the Horn Tavern,
Doctors'-Commons, in London, on September 23d of that year, and being
highly successful, a second was given on October 12th, and a third on
the 26th, each proving more attractive than its predecessor. These
concerts lasted for two seasons, when a new quartet was formed, with
H.G. Blagrove and Henry Gattie as first and second violins, Mr. Dando,
viola, and Mr. Lucas, 'cello, for the more perfect study and
presentation of quartets and other chamber music. These concerts were
given at the Hanover Square rooms, and on account of the care bestowed
upon the rehearsals (of which they held seven or eight for each
concert), they threw all previous performances into the shade.

The tide of public favour had now set in, and other quartets were
formed, but none reached such excellence as that headed by Blagrove,
which was invited to play at the Philharmonic concerts, where it
produced a great sensation.

About the end of the seventh season Blagrove withdrew, but the quartet
continued in existence for many years, Mr. Dando playing first violin,
and Mr. Loder, the viola, and the concerts were given at Crosby Hall in
the city, instead of the Hanover Square rooms.

At St. Petersburg a quartet was formed by Leopold Auer, an excellent
violinist, who at the death of Wieniawski was appointed professor of
violin at the Conservatoire. Auer was born in Hungary, and became a
pupil of Dont at Vienna, after which he had a brilliant career as a
virtuoso in Europe. His St. Petersburg quartet was founded in 1868, and
became one of the leading musical organisations of the Russian capital,
until the death of Davidoff, the violoncellist, who was one of its
members, in 1890.

Auer has been very active in the musical life of St. Petersburg, and is
very highly esteemed both as a man and as a musician, teacher, and
performer.

A quartet which has gained a great reputation in Europe during recent
years is the Bohemian Quartet, consisting of Carl Hoffmann, first
violin, Joseph Suk, second violin, Oscar Nedbal, viola, and Hanus Wihom,
violoncello. They play with a great deal of vim and abandon, and the
ensemble is remarkable.

At Hanover Richard Sahla has established a quartet, with Meneke, Kugler,
and Loeleberg, and Arnold Rosé's quartet, of Vienna, has travelled in
Hungary, Italy, and other countries, gaining a good reputation.

In the United States there have been well meant efforts to found good
quartets, and these have all had a beneficial influence. In Boston Mr.
Bernhard Listemann, some twenty years ago, established a quartet which
gave some very delightful concerts, but the past decade has witnessed
the rise of an organisation which is able to bear comparison with any
quartet in the world.

The Kneisel Quartet was organised in 1885, the year in which Mr. Franz
Kneisel accepted the position of concert-master to the Boston Symphony
Orchestra. Mr. Henry L. Higginson invited him at the same time to
organise a quartet, and a series of concerts was given that season in
Chickering Hall. While the excellence of the quartet was apparent from
the start, there were comparatively few people in Boston who took much
interest in chamber music, and the audiences were, as a rule, small.
Year by year they have increased, and for the past few years it has been
necessary to give the concerts in Association Hall, which has a seating
capacity about twice as large as that of the original hall.

The second violin is Mr. Otto Roth,[2] a native of Vienna, who played
for three years under the baton of Hans Richter, and came to Boston to
play first violin in the Symphony Orchestra.

[Footnote 2: Mr. Roth retired from the quartet in 1899 and his place
was filled by Mr. Karl Ondricek.]

Mr. Louis Svecenski, an excellent artist, who studied in the Vienna
Conservatory, under Hellmesberger and Grün, plays the viola, and the
'cellist is Alwyn Schroeder, an artist, who had achieved a high
reputation as a 'cello virtuoso, before he came to America.

After a few years the Kneisel Quartet began to appear in other
cities, and now gives regular series of subscription concerts in New
York, Washington, Baltimore, Hartford, and Worcester, also Harvard,
Yale, and Princeton Universities, besides occasional performances in
more remote cities. In 1896 the quartet had given over eight hundred
concerts since its formation.

[Illustration: FRANZ KNEISEL]

At the end of the Symphony season in Boston, in 1896, the Kneisel
Quartet made a visit to London and gave several concerts. In London it
was obliged to stand comparison with the finest quartets in existence.
The Joachim Quartet and the Bohemian Quartet gave concerts the same
season, but the unanimous verdict was to the effect that none could
equal the Kneisel Quartet in absolute ensemble and perfection of detail.
While the Bohemian Quartet played with a great deal of abandon and
enthusiasm, and the Joachim Quartet contained players of a greater
reputation in Europe, yet the Kneisel Quartet simply confirmed the
reputation it had acquired in America. "It would, indeed, be impossible
to conceive greater perfection in the matter of ensemble, precision,
delicacy, and all the qualities requisite for the proper interpretation
of chamber music."

In the spring of 1899 the Kneisel Quartet made an extended tour in
America, and found the musical condition of the great cities in the
United States, as evidenced by the appreciation of music, fully equal to
that of the European centres. Brahms and Beethoven were played in Denver
and in San Francisco to audiences who were fully equal to the enjoyment
of the highest class of music, and everywhere the quartet was greeted
with enthusiasm.

The success of the Kneisel Quartet is due to the long and arduous
practice which the members have enjoyed together, for perfection in
quartet playing is only possible through long association.

While virtuosity is not essential for quartet playing, good musicianship
is very necessary. Patient and self-denying practice are absolute
requisites.

The love of chamber music is apparently growing in the United States,
for in many of the large cities quartets have been established by good
musicians, and the opportunities for hearing fine interpretations of the
best chamber music are increasing each year. It is a branch of musical
art which appeals only to cultivated taste, for it is necessarily free
from sensationalism and individual display. Therefore, the love of
quartet playing may be considered to be a true index of the growth of
musical culture.


THE END.




CHRONOLOGICAL TABLE OF FAMOUS VIOLINISTS.

"c" indicates that the date given is only approximate.

-------------------------------------------------------------------
           NAME.           | Place and Date    | Place and Date   |
                           |    of Birth.      |    of Death.     |
-------------------------------------------------------------------
Alessandro, Romano         | Italy       c1530 |    ?         ?   |
Baltazarini                | Italy       c1550 |    ?         ?   |
Farina, Carlo              | Italy       c1580 |    ?         ?   |
Alberghi, Paolo            | Italy       c1600 |    ?         ?   |
Biber, Henry J.            | England     c1600 |    ?         ?   |
Cortellini, Camillo        | Italy       c1600 |    ?         ?   |
Madorus, Giovanni          | Venice      c1600 |    ?         ?   |
Manoir, Guillaume          |    ?        c1600 |    ?         ?   |
Baltzar, Thomas            | Lubec        1630 | London      1663 |
Bannister, John            | England      1630 | London      1679 |
Lulli, Jean Baptiste de    | Florence     1633 | Paris       1687 |
Strunck, Nicolas Adam      | Germany      1640 |    ?        1700 |
Laurenti, Bartolomeo G.    | Bologna      1644 |    ?        1726 |
Vitali, Tomasso            | Bologna     c1650 |    ?         ?   |
Eccles, John               | London       1650 | London      1735 |
Marini, Carlo Antonio      | Bergamo     c1650 |    ?         ?   |
Corelli, Arcangelo         | Italy        1653 | Rome        1713 |
Aschenbrunner, Christian H.| Alstettin    1654 | Jena        1732 |
Bassani, Giovanni B.       | Padua        1657 | Ferrara     1716 |
Vivaldi, Antonio           | Venice       1660 |    ?        1743 |
Eccles, Henry              | London       1660 | London       ?   |
Bannister, John, Jr.       | England      1673 | London      1735 |
Albinoni, Thomas           | Venice       1674 | Venice      1745 |
Hesse, Ernest Christian    | Germany      1676 | Darmstadt   1762 |
Somis, Lorenzo             | Piedmont     1676 |    ?        1763 |
Aubert, Jacques            |    ?         1678 | Paris       1753 |
Geminiani, Francesco       | Lucca        1680 | Dublin      1762 |
Alberti, Guiseppe Matteo   | Bologna      1685 |    ?         ?   |
Veracini, Francesco        | Florence    c1685 |             1750 |
Senaillé, Jean Baptiste    | Paris        1687 |    ?        1730 |
Pisendel, Johann Georg     | Karlsburg    1687 | Dresden     1755 |
Birckenstock, Johann A.    | Hesse        1687 | Eisenach    1733 |
Montanari, Francesco       | Padua          ?  |  Rome       1730 |
Matheis, Nicola            |     ?          ?  |    ?        1749 |
Gentili, Georges           | Venice       1688 |    ?         ?   |
Valentini, Guiseppe        | Florence     1690 |    ?         ?   |
Castrucci, Pietro          | Rome         1690 | London      1769 |
Tartini, Guiseppe          | Pirano       1692 | Padua       1770 |
Locatelli, Pietro          | Bergamo      1693 | Amsterdam   1764 |
Rothe, August Friedrich    | Sonderhausen 1696 |    ?        1784 |
Leclair, Jean Marie        | Lyons        1697 | Paris       1764 |
Graun, Jean G.             | Germany      1698 | Berlin      1771 |
Francoer, François         | Paris        1698 |    ?        1787 |
Abaco, Evaristo F. Dall    | Verona      c1700 |    ?         ?   |
Anderle, F.J.              |     ?       c1700 |    ?         ?   |
Bitti, Martini             |     ?        1700 |    ?         ?   |
Borghi, Luigi              |     ?          ?  |    ?         ?   |
Brown, Abram               |     ?          ?  |    ?         ?   |
Carbonelli, Stefano        | Rome        c1700 | London       ?   |
Dalloglio, Domenico        | Venice      c1700 | Russia      1764 |
Guignon, Jean Pierre       | Turin        1702 | Versailles  1775 |
Dubourg, Matthew           | England      1703 | London      1767 |
De Croes, Henri Jacques    | Antwerp      1705 | Brussels    1786 |
Guillemain, Gabriel        | Paris        1705 |    ?        1770 |
Czarth, Georg C.           | Deutschbrod  1708 | Mannheim    1774 |
Benda, Franz               | Albenatky    1709 | Potsdam     1786 |
Girauek, Fernandino        | Bohemia      1712 | Dresde      1761 |
Benda, Johann              | Albenatky    1713 | Potsdam     1752 |
D'Auvergne, Antoine        | France       1713 | Lyons       1797 |
Clegg, John                | Ireland      1714 |    ?       c1750 |
Hempel, George C.          | Gotha        1715 | Gotha       1801 |
Fritz, Caspar              | Geneva       1716 | Geneva      1782 |
Giardini, Felice           | Turin        1716 | Moscow      1796 |
Mozart, Leopold            | Augsburg     1719 | Salzburg    1787 |
Stamitz, Johann Carl       | Bohemia      1719 | Mannheim    1761 |
Bini, Pasqualino           | Pesaro       1720 |    ?         ?   |
Morigi, Angelo             |     ?          ?  | Parma       1788 |
Lemière                    |     ?          ?  | Paris       1771 |
Pagin, André Noel          | Paris        1721 |    ?         ?   |
Abel, Leopold A.           | Cothen      c1700 |    ?         ?   |
Festing, Michael C.        | London         ?  | London      1752 |
Ferrari, Domenico          | Piacenza       ?  | Paris       1780 |
Enderle, Wilhelm C.        | Bayreuth     1722 | Darmstadt   1793 |
Nardini, Pietro            | Tuscany      1722 | Florence    1793 |
Lefêbre, Jacques           | Prinzlow     1723 |    ?        1777 |
Van Malder, Pierre         | Brussels     1724 | Brussels    1768 |
Glaser, John Michel        | Erlangen     1725 |    ?         ?   |
Hattasch, Dismas           | Hohenmant    1725 | Gotha       1777 |
Gavinies, Pierre           | Bordeaux     1726 | Paris       1800 |
Gow, Neil                  | Strathband   1727 | Inver       1787 |
Pugnani, Gaetano           | Turin        1727 | Turin       1803 |
Manfredi, Filippo          | Lucca        1729 | Madrid     c1780 |
Gallo, Domenico            | Venice       1730 |    ?         ?   |
Cannabich, Christian       | Mannheim     1730 | Frankfort   1798 |
Lolli, Antonio             | Bergamo      1730 | Sicily      1802 |
Vachon, Pierre             | Arles        1730 | Berlin      1802 |
Goepfert, Charles F.       | Weissenstein 1733 | Weimar      1798 |
Raimoni, Ignazio           | Naples       1733 | London      1802 |
Lahoussaye, Pierre         | Paris        1735 | Paris       1818 |
Haranc, Louis André        | Paris        1738 | Paris       1805 |
Celestine, Eligio          | Rome         1739 |    ?          ?  |
Weigl, Franz J.            | Bavaria      1740 | Vienna      1820 |
Tomasini, Luigi            | Bohemia      1745 | Gotha       1805 |
Jarnowick, Giovanni M.     | Palermo      1745 | St.              |
                           |                   | Petersburg  1804 |
Navoigille, Guillaume J.   | Givet        1745 | Paris       1811 |
Paisible                   | Paris        1745 | St.              |
                           |                   | Petersburg  1781 |
Salomon, Johann Peter      | Bönn         1745 | London      1815 |
Cambini, Giovanni G.       | Leghorn      1746 | Bicêtre     1825 |
Gervais, Pierre Noel       | Mannheim     1746 | Bordeaux    1805 |
Stamitz, Carl              | Mannheim     1746 | Jena        1801 |
Ghirett, Gaspar            | Naples       1747 | Parma       1827 |
Leduc, Simon               | Paris        1748 | Paris       1787 |
Mestrino, Niccolo          | Milan        1748 | Paris       1790 |
Guerillot, Henri           | Bordeaux     1749 | Paris       1805 |
Navoigille, Herbert J.     | Givet        1749 |    ?          ?  |
Obermeyer, Joseph          | Bohemia      1749 |    ?          ?  |
Bagatella, Antonio         | Padua        1750 |    ?          ?  |
Almeyda, C.F.              |     ?       c1750 |    ?          ?  |
Fuchs, Peter               | Bohemia      1750 | Vienna      1804 |
Henry, Bonventure          |     ?       c1750 |    ?          ?  |
Kriegck, J.J.              | Bebra        1750 | Meiningen   1813 |
Sirmen, Maddalena          | Venice      c1750 |    ?          ?  |
Woldemar, Michael          | Orleans      1750 | Clermont-        |
                           |                   |  -Ferrand   1816 |
Barthelemon, François H.   | Bordeaux     1751 |    ?        1808 |
Campagnoli, Bartolomeo     | Cento        1751 | Neustrelitz 1827 |
Lamotte, François          | Vienna       1751 | Holland     1781 |
Berthaume, Isidore         | Paris        1752 | St.              |
                           |                   | Petersburg  1802 |
Kasska, Wilhelm            | Ratisbon     1752 | Ratisbon    1806 |
Brunetti, Gaetano          | Pisa         1753 | Madrid      1808 |
Janitsch, Anton            | Switzerland  1753 | Westphalia  1812 |
Lem, Pierre                | Copenhagen   1753 |    ?          ?  |
Fiorillo, Federigo         | Brunswick    1753 |    ?       c1800 |
Stamitz, Anton             | Mannheim     1753 | Paris         ?  |
Viotti, Giovanni B.        | Piedmont     1753 | London      1824 |
Kranz, Johann F.           | Weimar       1754 | Stuttgart   1807 |
Mosel, Giovanni F.         | Florence     1754 |    ?          ?  |
Leduc, Pierre              | Paris        1755 | Holland     1816 |
Fauvel, André Joseph       | Bordeaux     1756 |    ?          ?  |
Lacroix, Antoine           | Remberville  1756 | Lubeck      1812 |
Wranitzky, Paul            | Moravia      1756 | Vienna      1808 |
Haack, Karl                | Potsdam      1757 | Potsdam     1819 |
Rolla, Alessandro          | Pavia        1757 | Milan       1841 |
Galeazzi, Francesco        | Turin        1758 | Rome        1819 |
Liber, Wolfgang            | Donanworth   1758 | Ratisbon    1817 |
Weberlin, Jean F.          | Stuttgart    1758 | Stuttgart   1825 |
Bruni, Antonio B.          | Piedmont     1759 |    ?         ?   |
Gautherot, Louise          |     ?        1760 |    ?         ?   |
Guiliani, François         | Florence     1760 |    ?        1819 |
Haack, Friedrich           | Potsdam      1760 |    ?         ?   |
Krommer, Franz             | Kamenitz     1760 | Vienna      1831 |
Neubauer, Franz C.         | Bohemia      1760 | Bückeburg   1795 |
Jarnewicz, Felix           | Wilna        1761 | Edinburgh   1848 |
Wranitzky, Anton           | Moravia      1761 | Vienna      1819 |
Wessely, Johann            | Bohemia      1762 |    ?         ?   |
Bonnet, Jean Baptiste      | Montauban    1763 |    ?         ?   |
Danzi, Franz               | Mannheim     1763 | Carlsruhe   1826 |
Peshatschek, François      | Bohemia      1763 | Vienna      1816 |
Alday, P                   | Perpignan    1764 |    ?         ?   |
Lorenziti, Bernado         | Würtemburg   1764 |    ?        1813 |
Schlick, Regina (Sacchi)   | Mantua       1764 |    ?         ?   |
Cartier, Jean Baptiste     | Avignon      1765 | Paris       1841 |
LaCroix, Antoine           |     ?        1765 |    ?         ?   |
Hampeln, Karl von          | Mannheim     1765 | Stuttgart   1834 |
Eck, Johann F.             | Mannheim     1766 | Bamberg     1809 |
Hunt, Karl                 | Dresden      1766 |    ?         ?   |
Kreutzer, Rudolph          | Versailles   1766 | Geneva      1831 |
De Volder, Pierre Jean     | Antwerp      1767 | Brussels    1841 |
Romberg, Andreas           | Vechta       1767 | Gotha       1821 |
Pauwels, Jean E.           | Brussels     1768 | Brussels    1804 |
Spagnoletti, P.            | Cremona      1768 | London      1834 |
Valmalete, Louis de        | Rieux        1768 |    ?         ?   |
Grasset, Jean J.           | Paris        1769 | Paris       1839 |
Paravicini, Signora        | Turin        1769 |    ?         ?   |
Boucher, Alexandre Jean    | Paris        1770 | Paris       1861 |
Gerbini, Luigia            |     ?        1770 |    ?         ?   |
Girault, August            | Paris        1770 | Paris       1806 |
Hoffmann, Heinrich Anton   | Mainz        1770 | Mainz       1842 |
Baillot,                   |                   |                  |
Pierre M.F. de Sales       | Passy        1771 | Paris       1842 |
Festa, Guiseppe M.         | Naples       1771 |    ?        1839 |
Labarre, Louis J.C.        | Paris        1771 |    ?         ?   |
Vacher, Pierre Jean        | Paris        1772 | Paris       1819 |
Lottini, Denis             | Orleans      1773 | Orleans     1826 |
Vaccaro, Francesco         | Modena       1773 | Portugal    1823 |
Eck, Franz                 | Mannheim     1774 | Strasburg   1804 |
Rode, Pierre               | Bordeaux     1774 | Loire-et-        |
                           |                   |     Garonne 1831 |
Eberwen, Traugott M.       | Weimar       1775 | Rudolstadt  1831 |
Libon, Philippe            | Cadiz        1775 | Paris       1838 |
Schuppanzigh, Ignace       | Vienna       1776 | Vienna      1830 |
Dobrynski, Ignace          | Volhyna      1777 | Warsaw      1841 |
Giorgis, Joseph            | Turin        1777 |    ?         ?   |
Kieserwetter, Cristophe G. | Anspach      1777 | London      1827 |
Moralt, Johann B.          | Mannheim     1777 | Munich      1825 |
Paravicini, Mme.           | Milan        1778 |    ?         ?   |
Blanchard, Henri L.        | Bordeaux     1778 | Paris       1858 |
Radicati, Felice A.        | Turin        1778 |    ?        1823 |
Weiss, Franz               | Silesia      1778 |    ?         ?   |
Bridgetower, George A.     | Poland      ?1779 |    ?       c1850 |
Müller, John Henry         | Königsberg   1780 |    ?         ?   |
Habeneck, François A.      | Mézières     1781 | Paris       1849 |
Lafont, Charles Philippe   | Paris        1781 | Tarbes      1839 |
Polledro, Giovanni B.      | Turin        1781 | Turin       1853 |
Mazas, Jacques F.          | Beziers      1782 |    ?        1849 |
Puppo, Felice A.           | Turin        1778 |    ?        1823 |
Bohrer, Anthony            | Munich       1783 | Hanover     1852 |
Linke, Joseph              | Silesia      1783 | Vienna      1837 |
Paganini, Nicolo           | Genoa        1784 | Nice        1840 |
Spohr, Louis               | Brunswick    1784 | Cassel      1859 |
Zocca                      | Ferrara      1784 |    ?         ?   |
Fontaine, Antoine N.M.     | Paris        1785 | St. Cloud   1866 |
Lafonde                    |     ?        1785 |    ?         ?   |
Eberwen, Karl              | Weimar       1786 | Weimar      1868 |
Granafond, Eugene          | Compiegne    1786 |    ?         ?   |
Pixis, Friedrich, Wilhelm  | Mannheim     1786 | Prague      1842 |
Cudmore, Richard           | Chichester   1757 | Manchester  1841 |
Guhr, Charles              | Militsch     1787 | Frankfurt   1848 |
Berwald, Johann F.         | Stockholm    1788 | Stockholm   1861 |
Fesca, Friedrich E.        | Magdeburg    1789 | Carlsruhe   1826 |
Maurer, Ludwig             | Potsdam      1789 | St.              |
                           |                   | Petersburg  1878 |
Mayseder, Joseph           | Vienna       1789 | Vienna      1863 |
Wery, Nicolas L.           | Liège        1789 | Luxemburg   1867 |
Femy, François             | Ghent        1790 |    ?         ?   |
Klose, J.                  | London       1790 | London      1830 |
Lipinski, Karl Joseph      | Poland       1790 | Urlow       1861 |
Goetz, Jean N.C.           | Weimar       1791 |    ?        1861 |
Benesch, Joseph            | Batelow      1793 |    ?         ?   |
Pichatschek, François      | Vienna       1793 | Carlsruhe   1840 |
Filipowicz, Elizabeth M.   |     ?        1794 |    ?         ?   |
Jansa, Leopold             | Bohemia      1794 | Vienna      1875 |
Krahmer, Mme. Caroline     |     ?        1794 |    ?         ?   |
Parmy, Joseph              | Austria      1794 | Mainz       1835 |
Batta, Pierre              | Maastricht   1795 | Brussels    1876 |
Bohm, Joseph               | Pesth        1795 | Vienna      1876 |
Drin, Finlay               | Aberdeen     1795 | Edinburgh   1853 |
Lacy, Michael R.           | Bilbao       1795 | London      1867 |
Giorgetti, Fernandino      | Florence     1796 | Florence    1867 |
Mori, Nicolas              | London       1796 | London      1839 |
Calcagno, Catarina         | Italy        1797 |    ?         ?   |
Collins, Isaac             |     ?        1797 | London      1871 |
Girard, Narcisse           | Nantes       1797 | Paris       1860 |
Müller, Karl Friedrich     | Brunswick    1797 |    ?        1873 |
Roberrechts, Andre         | Brussels     1797 | Paris       1860 |
Rolla, Antoine             | Parma        1797 | Dresden     1837 |
Tolberque, Jean B.J.       | Belgium      1797 | Paris       1869 |
Coronini, Paolo            | Vincenza     1798 |    ?        1875 |
Batta, Pantaleon           | Paris        1799 | Paris       1870 |
Rudersdorff, J.            | Amsterdam    1799 | Königsberg  1866 |
Gattie, Henry              |     ?        1800 |    ?         ?   |
Hellmesberger, Georg       | Vienna       1800 | Newaldegg   1873 |
Meerts, Lambert            | Brussels     1800 | Brussels    1863 |
Müller, Theodore Heinrich  | Brunswic     1800 |    ?        1855 |
Nohr, Christian F.         | Thuringia    1800 | Meiningen   1875 |
Schulz, Mlle. L.           |       ?      1800 |    ?         ?   |
Wanski, Johann N.          | Posen       c1800 |    ?         ?   |
Kalliwoda, Johann W.       | Prague       1801 | Carlsruhe   1866 |
Saint Lubin, Leon de       | Turin        1801 | Berlin      1856 |
De Bériot, Charles         | Louvain      1802 | Brussels    1870 |
Ella, John                 | England      1802 | London      1888 |
Labitzky, Joseph           | Schönfeld    1802 | Carlsbad    1881 |
Molique, Wilhelm Bernard   | Nuremburg    1802 | Stuttgart   1869 |
Ries, Hubert               | Bonn         1802 | Berlin      1886 |
Lomagne, Joseph            | Perpignan    1804 | Perpignan   1868 |
Magnien, Victor            | Epinal       1804 | Lille       1885 |
Kudelski, Karl Matthias    | Berlin       1805 | Baden-Baden 1877 |
Pollini, Mme.              |     ?        1805 |    ?         ?   |
Dando, Joseph H.B.         | London       1806 |    ?        1894 |
Hartmann, Franz            | Coblentz     1807 | Cologne     1857 |
Panofka, Heinrich          | Breslau      1807 | Florence    1887 |
Sauzay, Moritz             | Moravia      1808 | Breslau     1885 |
Bessems, Antoine           | Antwerp      1809 | Antwerp     1868 |
Müller, Franz F.G.         | Brunswick    1809 |    ?         ?   |
Bull, Ole Borneman         | Bergen       1810 | Bergen      1880 |
David, Ferdinand           | Hamburg      1810 | Switzerland 1873 |
Ganz, Leopold              | Mainz        1810 | Berlin      1869 |
Ghys, Joseph               | Ghent        1810 |    ?        1848 |
Blagrove, Henry Gamble     | Nottingham   1811 | London      1872 |
Hamm, Johann V.            | Winterhausen 1811 | Stuttgart   1834 |
Sainton, Prosper Philippe  | Toulouse     1813 | London      1890 |
Ernst, Heinrich Wilhelm    | Brünn        1814 | Nice        1865 |
Alard, Delphine J.         | Bayonne      1815 | Paris?      1888 |
Artot, Alexandre J.M.      | Brussels     1815 | Paris       1845 |
Dont, Jacob                | Vienna       1815 | Vienna      1888 |
Sivori, Ernest Camillo     | Genoa        1815 | Paris       1894 |
Zerchoff, Mlle.            |     ?        1815 |    ?         ?   |
Batta, Alexandre           | Maastricht   1816 |    ?         ?   |
Prume, François Herbert    | Liège        1816 | Liège       1849 |
Deldevez, Ernest           | Paris        1817 | Paris       1897 |
Göbel, Johann Ferdinand    | Baumgarten   1817 |    ?         ?   |
Bazzini, Antonio           | Brescia      1818 | Milan       1897 |
Dancla, Jean B. C.         | Bagnières de      |                  |
                           |    Bignon    1818 |    ?         ?   |
Kramer, Traugott           | Codburg      1818 |    ?         ?   |
Eller, Louis               | Graz         1819 | Pau         1862 |
Hering, Karl               | Berlin       1819 |    ?        1889 |
Léonard, Hubert            | Bellaire     1819 | Paris       1890 |
Batta, Joseph              | Maastricht   1820 |
Dreyschock, Raimund        | Bohemia      1820 | Leipzig     1869 |
Kéler-Béla                 | Hungary      1820 | Wiesbaden   1882 |
Neumann, Louise            |              1820 |                  |
Vieuxtemps, Henri          | Verviers     1820 | Algiers     1881 |
Wallace, Eliza             | England      1820 |                  |
Gautier, Karl              | Vaugirard    1822 | Vaugirard   1878 |
Hauser, Miska              | Presburg     1822 | Vienna      1887 |
Dancla, Leopold            | France       1823 |             1895 |
Gaertner, Karl             | Stralsund    1823 |                  |
Hermann, Constant          | Douai        1823 |                  |
Eichberg, Julius           | Düsseldorf   1824 | Boston      1893 |
Hullweck, Ferdinand        | Dessau       1824 | Blasewitz   1887 |
De Kontski, Apollinari     | Warsaw       1825 | Warsaw      1879 |
Bott, Jean Joseph          | Cassel       1826 |             1895 |
Collins, Rosina            |              1826 |                  |
Hauser, Maurice            | Berlin       1826 | Königsberg   1857 |
Kundinger, August          | Kitzengen    1827 |                  |
Milanollo, Teresa          | Turin        1827 |                  |
Mollenhauer, Edward        | Erfurt       1827 |                  |
Hellmesberger, Georg       | Vienna       1828 | Hanover     1853 |
Hermann, Frederick         | Frankfort    1828 |                  |
Huber, Karl                | Varjas       1828 | Pesth       1885 |
Hellmesberger, Joseph      | Vienna       1829 | Vienna      1893 |
Röntgen, Engelbert         | Holland      1829 |                  |
Adelburg, August R. Von    |      ?       1830 |    ?        1873 |
Arditi, Emilia             |      ?       1830 |                  |
Garcin, Jules A. S.        | Bourges      1830 |    ?        1896 |
Hennen, Friedrich          | Heerlen      1830 |                  |
Remenyi, Edouard           | Hungary      1830 | SanFrancisco1898 |
Zirges, Hortensia          |              1830 |                  |
Bargheer, Karl Louis       | Bückeburg    1831 |                  |
Joachim, Joseph            | Kitsee       1831 |                  |
Kassmayer, Moritz          | Vienna       1831 | Vienna      1884 |
Kömpel, August             | Bavaria      1831 | Weimar      1891 |
Singer, Edmund             | Hungary      1831 |                  |
Laub, Ferdinand            | Prague       1832 | Tyrol       1875 |
Lauterbach, Johann C.      | Bavaria      1832 |                  |
Milanollo, Maria           | Turin        1832 |             1848 |
Becker, Jean               | Mannheim     1833 | Mannheim    1884 |
Bennewitz, Anton           | Privat       1833 |                  |
Graff, Carl                | Hungary      1833 |                  |
Filby, Heinrich            | Vienna       1834 |                  |
De Ahna, Heinrich K. H.    | Vienna       1835 | Vienna      1892 |
Jaffé, Moritz              | Posen        1835 |                  |
Monasterio, Jesus          | Potes (Spain)1835 |                  |
Strauss, Ludwig            | Pressburg    1835 |                  |
Wieniawski, Henry          | Poland       1835 | Moscow      1880 |
Besekirskij, Wasil W.      | Moscow       1836 |                  |
Carrodus, John T.          | Keighley     1836 | London      1895 |
Holmes, Alfred             | London       1837 | Paris       1876 |
Grün, Jacob                | Buda-Pesth   1837 |                  |
Brousil, Bertha            |     ?        1838 |                  |
Piercy-Feeny, Mme.         |              1838 |                  |
Neruda, Wilhelmina (Lady   |                   |                  |
  Hallé)                   | Brünn        1838 |                  |
Werner, Hildegard          |              1838 |                  |
Holmes, Henry              | London       1839 |                  |
Jacobsohn, Simon           | Mittau       1839 |                  |
Rappoldi, Edouard          | Vienna       1839 |                  |
Bargheer, Adolph           |              1840 |                  |
David, Peter P.            | Leipzig      1840 |                  |
Lotto, Isidor              | Warsaw       1840 |                  |
Gobbi, Aloys               | Pesth        1844 |                  |
Heermann, Hugo             | Hulbrönn     1844 |                  |
Sarasate, Pablo de         | Pampeluna    1844 |                  |
Auer, Leopold              | Hungary      1845 |                  |
Singelee, Louise           |              1845 |                  |
Castellan, Mlle            |              1845 |                  |
Wilhelmj, August           | Usingen      1845 |                  |
Courvoisier, Carl          | Basle        1846 |                  |
Schradieck, Henry          | Hamburg      1846 |                  |
Papini, Guido              | Florence     1847 |                  |
Walter, Benno              | Munich       1847 |                  |
De Bono, Victoria          |              1848 |                  |
Heckmann, Georg J. R.      | Mannheim     1848 | Glasgow     1891 |
Marsick, Martin P. J.      | Jupille      1848 |                  |
Drechsler-Adamson, Mme.    |              1849 |                  |
Gibson, Alfred             | Nottingham   1849 |                  |
Drechsler-Woycke, Mme.     |     ?        1850 |                  |
Brodsky, Adolph            | Taganrog     1851 |                  |
Hagen, Adolph              | Bremen       1851 |                  |
Sauret, Emil               | Dun-le-Roi   1852 |                  |
Boulanger, Mlle.           |              1853 |                  |
Meyer, Waldemar            | Berlin       1853 |                  |
Zajic, Florian             | Bohemia      1853 |                  |
Ferrari, Signora Elvira    |              1854 |                  |
Hermant, Mlle.             |              1854 |                  |
Drechsler-Hamilton, Mme    | Agnes        1855 |                  |
Holländer, Gustav          | Silesia      1855 |                  |
Sahla, Richard             | Graz         1855 |                  |
Kess, Wilhelm              | Dordrecht    1856 |                  |
Petri, Henri Wilhelm       | Utrecht      1856 |                  |
Thomson, César             | Liège        1857 |                  |
Barcevicz, Stanislaus      | Warsaw       1858 |                  |
Hilf, Arno                 | Saxony       1858 |                  |
Huber, Eugen (Jeno Hubay)  | Budapest     1858 |                  |
Halir, Karl                | Hohenlohe    1859 |                  |
Hess, Willie               | Mannheim     1859 |                  |
Ondricek, Franz            | Prague       1859 |                  |
Ysaye, Eugene              | Liège        1859 |                  |
Loeffler, Charles Martin   | Alsace       1861 |                  |
Rossi, Marcello            | Vienna       1862 |                  |
Wolff, Johannes            | Hague        1862 |                  |
Rose, Arnold               | Roumania     1863 |                  |
Soldat, Marie              | Gratz        1863 |                  |
Prill, Carl                | Berlin       1864 |                  |
Senkrah, Arma              | New York     1864 |                  |
Eissler, Marianne          | Brünn        1865 |                  |
Kneisel, Franz             | Roumania     1865 |                  |
Carpenter, Nettie          | New York     1865 |                  |
Dunn, John                 | Hull         1866 |                  |
Wietrowitz, Gabrielle      | Laibach      1866 |                  |
Dengremont, Maurice        | Rio Janeiro  1867 |    ?       c1887 |
Gregorowitsch, Charles     | St.               |                  |
                           | Petersburg   1867 |                  |
Tua, Teresina              | Turin        1867 |                  |
Powell, Maud               | Aurora, Ill. 1868 |                  |
Sapellnikoff               | Odessa       1868 |                  |
Burmester, Willy           | Hamburg      1869 |                  |
Petschnikoff, Alexander    | Moscow       1873 |                  |
Marteau, Henri             | Reims        1874 |                  |
Saenger-Sethe, Irma        | Brussels     1876 |                  |
Jackson, Leonora           | Boston       1879 |                  |


INDEX.


Adams, Suzanne, 339.
Ahna, H.K. de, 240.
Aichelburg, Count, 331.
Alard, D., 68, 135, 144, 145, 161, 226.
Albertinatti, 105.
Alday le jeune, 68.
Alexander, Czar, 81.
Alexander III., 222.
Amati, Andrea, 13.
Amati, Nicolo, 14.
Anêt, B., 28, 35, 39, 40.
Arditi, Emilia, 312.
Artot, 149, 150, 169, 192.
Auer, Leopold, 359, 360.
Austria, Emperor of, 206.

Bacchiochi, Princess Elise, 112.
Bach, J.S., 254, 275, 277, 334, 340.
Baillot, P.M.F. de S., 26, 68,
     71-75, 129, 144, 177, 346.
Baltizarini, 15.
Baltzar, Thomas, 19, 20.
Banister, John, 19, 20, 21.
Bargheer, C.L., 97.
Baroni, Leonora, 302.
Bassani, G.B., 30.
Bazzini, 247, 354.
Beauharnais, Eugene, 307.
Becker, Hans, 356.
Becker, Jean, 353, 354, 355.
Beethoven, L. von, 57, 77, 91, 205, 225,
     231, 352, 254, 290, 333, 347, 258, 364.
Benda, Franz, 56, 57.
Bennewitz, 277.
Bériot, Charles A. de, 25, 28, 29, 67, 68, 136,
     138-144, 147, 148, 150, 162, 188,
     266, 309, 334, 352.
Berlioz, Hector, 79, 80, 126,
     127, 128, 248, 253.
Berry, Duchesse de, 81.
Berthaume, 81.
Bertin, Armand. 127.
Besekirskij, Wasil W., 240, 285.
Bianchi, Antonia, 116.
Bilse Orchestra, 277, 283.
Bini, P., 49.
Blagrove, H.G., 97, 170, 358.
Boccherini, L., 76.
Bohemian Quartet, 360, 363.
Böhm, J., 28, 68, 206, 215.
Brahms, Johannes, 212, 253, 329, 332, 364.
Brazil, Emperor of, 230.
Brodsky, Adolf, 82, 263-265, 356, 357.
Brousil, Bertha, 312.
Bruch, Max, 295, 328, 341.
Brunswick, Duke of, 85.
Bull, Ole, 149, 150, 151, 152, 153,
     169, 172-203, 225, 237.
Bülow, Hans Von, 291, 292, 293, 315.
Bunn, 247.
Bunzl, 294.
Burmester, Willy, 286-293, 333.
Burney, Doctor, 43, 55, 56.

Calcagno, Caterina, 111, 154, 308.
Caldera, 309.
Campbell, Lucie, 330.
Careño, Theresa, 265.
Carpenter, Nettie, 338.
Carrodus, John T., 170, 241.
Cartier, 68.
Cessole, Conte di, 117, 118.
Cherubini, 62, 93, 136.
Chiabran, F., 36.
Chiostri, 354.
Chopin, F., 187, 210.
Ciandelli, 114.
Clegg, John, 24.
Clement, 254, 255.
Clementi, 86.
Cleveland, Mrs. G., 342.
Cleves, Anne of, 301.
Coburg-Gotha, Duke of, 240.
Colbran, Madame, 189.
Collins, Rosina, 308.
Colonne, 295.
Corbett, William, 22.
Corelli, A., 28, 30, 31-35, 36, 38,
     40, 50, 52, 59.
Costa, G., 105, 157.
Cumberland, Duke of, 302.
Cuvillon, 68.
Cuzzoni, F., 53.

Damrosch, Leopold, 339.
Damrosch, Walter, 263, 340.
Dancla, C., 129, 135, 171.
Dando, J., 357, 358, 359.
D'Artot, 69.
David, Ferd., 97, 234, 247, 253, 350, 351, 357.
Davidoff, 360.
Delavan, 136.
Delibes, 214.
Dellepaine, 157, 159.
Dengremont, M., 68, 281, 282.
Derwies, Baron, 268, 279.
Diamantina, La, 302.
Dont, Jacob, 68, 171, 285, 359.
Dubois, 295.
Dubourg, M., 22, 23, 40.
Dulcken, Madame, 350.
Dunn, John, 299.
Durand, 68.
Durst, 352.
Dwight, J.S., 201, 225, 320, 324.

Eccles, Henry, 22.
Eck, Ferdinand, 85.
Eck, Franz, 85.
Eder, Josephine, 163.
Elizabeth, Queen, 301.
England, Queen of, 343.
Ericsson, Lief, 198.
Ernst, H., 68, 146-149, 169, 187, 233, 246, 247.

Farina, Carlo, 15, 16.
Ferrari, 49.
Ferrero, 309.
Festing, M., 53.
Fétis, 129, 145.
Field, 86, 210.
Filipowicz, Madame, 308.
Fischer, Konrad, 232.
Florentine Quartet, 353-355, 356.
Fontana, Giovanni B., 16.

Garcia, Pauline, 143.
Gattie, Henry, 358.
Gautherst, Louise, 307.
Geminiani, F., 23, 24, 28, 35, 40, 43.
Gerbini, Luigia, 68, 307.
Gericke, W., 283.
Germany, Empress of, 343.
Geyer, A., 331.
Ghiretti, 106.
Giardini, F., 36, 53.
Görgey, General, 206.
Gotha, Duke of, 86.
Gounod, C., 294.
Graun, 49, 56.
Gregorowitsch, C., 241, 284, 286.
Grün, Jacob, 242, 283, 362.
Guiraud, 279.

Habeneck, 68, 78-80, 93, 145, 309.
Halir, Carl, 256, 276-278, 283.
Hallé, Lady (Mme. Norman-Neruda), 312-319, 323, 327, 335.
Hallé, Sir Charles, 124, 125, 127, 136,
     160, 169, 265, 315-317.
Hampton, Miss, 222.
Handel, G.F., 23, 32.
Hanover, King of, 248.
Hanslick, E., 229.
Harkness, A., 337.
Hauptmann, 247.
Hauser, Miska, 215-218.
Hausmann, 234.
Haydn, J., 58, 245, 358.
Heckmann, G.J.R., 356.
Hegyesi, 356.
Heissler, 352.
Hellmesberger, G., 68.
Hellmesberger, J., 264, 283, 352, 355, 362.
Henry VII., King, 301.
Henselt, 162.
Herwig, 150.
Hess, Willy, 256.
Higginson, H.L., 361.
Hilf, A., 357.
Hilpert, 354.
Hoffmann, 215, 360.
Hogarth, G., 133.
Hollaender, G., 256.
Holmes, Henry, 98, 241.
Holmes, Alfred, 241.
Hrimaly, 296.
Hubay, J., 256, 299, 356.
Huber, Mlle., 143.
Hummel, 245.
Hunt, L., 133.

Isabella, Queen, 226.

Jackson, 17.
Jackson, Leonora, 326, 342, 343.
Jacobsen, 326.
Jacotot, 139.
Jaffé, Sophie, 336.
Janin, Jules, 126.
Jansa, L., 313.
Joachim, J., 16, 27, 29, 68, 206, 212,
     213, 224, 231, 234, 236, 238,
     240, 244-260, 277, 279, 285,
     286, 287, 289, 290, 315, 325,
     326, 328, 329, 331, 341, 351, 353, 355.
Joachim Quartet, 357, 363.
Jokisch, 334.
Joseph II., Emperor, 306.
Josephine, Empress, 78, 307.

Kalkbrenner, 83.
Kannitz, Count de, 114.
Kinsky, Count, 43, 49.
Klapka, 206.
Klengel, J., 356.
Kneisel, F., 279, 282, 361-364.
Kneisel Quartet, 281, 284, 361-364.
Kömpel, 97.
Kossuth, 206.
Krahmer, Madame, 308.
Kreutzer, Rodolphe, 26, 68-71, 76, 93,
     128, 136, 170, 215.
Kreutzer Sonata, 137, 138.
Kufferath, 238.
Kugler, 360.

Lablache, L., 142.
Lacour, 186.
Lafont, C.F., 26, 29, 70, 80-82, 130, 309.
Lahoussaye, 49.
Lassabathie, M., 226, 227.
Laub, F., 240, 297.
Lauterbach, 68.
Leclair, J.M., 36, 51, 52.
Lecloux, 162.
Lenox, Lady, 302.
Léonard, H., 68, 136, 145, 238, 268,
     282, 294, 296.
Leschetizky, Th., 298.
Lichtenberg, L., 299.
Liddell, Capt. A.F., 327.
Lind, Jenny, 216.
Linley, Thomas, 24.
Liphart, 350.
Lipinski, K.J., 100-103, 130.
Listemann, B., 299, 361.
Liszt, F., 120, 137, 206, 213, 233,
     234, 245, 248, 253, 310.
Livron, M., 108.
Locatelli, 28, 35, 36.
Loder, 359.
Loeffler, C.M., 138, 279-281.
Loeleberg, 360.
Lolli, A., 55.
Lotto, L, 138.
Louis Philippe, 310.
Lucas, 358.
Lulli, J.B., 30, 37-39.
Lundholm, 177, 178, 179.

Malibran, 25, 142, 143, 144, 168, 188.
Manfredi, 49.
Mapleson, 207.
Mara, G.E., 302, 305.
Marchesi, 105.
Margherita, Queen, 324.
Maria Theresa, 296.
Marini, B., 15.
Marsick, M., 28, 68, 146, 237-239, 267, 269.
Marteau, H., 293-296.
Masi, 354.
Massart, 70, 136-138, 238, 278, 320, 323, 349.
Massenet, 294.
Maurer, 182, 247.
Maurin, 135.
Mausch-Jerret, M., 236.
Mayseder, 188, 215, 346.
Mazas, 68.
Mazzurana, Doctor, 101.
Meck, Countess of, 222.
Mell, D., 19.
Mendelssohn, 161, 246, 247, 278, 279,
     329, 331, 342, 351.
Meneke, 360.
Metternich, Count, 114.
Milanollo, M., 310.
Milanollo, T., 29, 68, 309, 313, 352.
Mingotti, 53.
Molique, B.H., 70, 162, 169, 241, 294.
Montes, Lola, 216.
Montebello, Duke of, 187.
Morgan, Geraldine, 338, 339, 340.
Mori, 68.
Morra, 309.
Mozart, L., 54.
Mozart, W., 24, 58, 306, 307, 322, 323, 358.
Murska, Ilma di, 265.
Musaeus, 180, 181.

Nagel, 150.
Napoleon, 89, 90, 112.
Napoleon III., 230.
Nardini, P., 24, 49, 50, 54, 55, 73, 303.
Nedbal, 360.
Neruda, J., 313.
Neruda, Norman, 318.
Neumann, E., 308.
Nicholl, Anne, 302.
Nickisch, A., 275, 295.
Nilsson, C., 169, 303.
Norman, L., 314, 315.
North, Colonel, 208.

Occa, Victoria dall', 307.
Ondricek, F., 267, 278.
Ottey, Sarah, 302.
Ottoboni, Cardinal, 31.
Ourosoff, Princess, 297.
Oury, A.J., 25.

Paderewski, I., 273, 276.
Paer, 106.
Paganini, Achille, 116.
Paganini, Antonio, 105.
Paganini, Nicolo, 26, 29, 75, 82, 92, 100-134,
     135, 141, 147, 148, 150, 151, 154, 156,
     157, 160, 161, 162, 180, 183, 184, 185,
     188, 191,200, 217, 233, 269, 288, 308.
Pallerini, Mme., 112.
Paravicini, Mme., 68, 307.
Parmentier, Captain, 310.
Pasdeloup, 280, 321.
Pasini, 109.
Paton, Mary Ann, 302.
Patti, Adelina, 194.
Patti, Amalia S., 194.
Paulsen, 175.
Paur, Emil, 298.
Petri, Henri, 236, 299.
Petschnikoff, A., 296-298.
Pfeiffer, Marianne, 95.
Piatti, 247.
Piercy-Feeny, Mme., 312.
Pisendel, 42.
Pixis, 64, 68.
Pleiner, 328.
Polidori, 72.
Pollani, 72.
Pollini, 308.
Portugal, King of, 285.
Pott, A., 329.
Powell, Maude, 326, 340-342.
Prume, 68.
Prussia, King of, 310.
Pugnani, G., 28, 29, 36, 52, 61.
Purcell, 18.

Quagliati, P., 15.

Rappoldi, E., 68, 242.
Remenyi, E., 150, 154, 205-215, 232.
Riario, Duke of, 187.
Richter, Hans, 234, 330, 362.
Rivarde, A., 278.
Roberrechts, 28, 68, 139.
Rode, Pierre, 28, 68, 70, 71,
     75-77, 120, 162, 348, 349.
Röger, 330.
Rolla, 105, 106.
Röntgen, 357.
Rosé, A., 299, 360.
Rossini, 67, 92, 191.
Roth, O., 362.
Rovelli, 70.
Roy, Gabrielle, 330.
Rubinstein, Anton, 154, 219, 220, 273.
Russia, Czar of, 285.
Russia, Empress of, 324.

Sacchi, R. (Schlick), 305, 306, 307.
Saenger-Sethe, I., 332-336.
Sahla, R., 360.
Saint-Saëns, C., 334.
Sainte-Marie, 72.
Sainton, C.P., 169, 247.
Salomon, J.P., 57, 63.
Santley, C., 234.
Sarasate, P., 28, 29, 68, 226-231, 238.
Sauret, E., 265-267.
Scarlatti, A., 33, 34.
Scheidler, D., 86.
Schlesinger, 352.
Schradieck, H., 265, 357.
Schroeder, A., 281, 362.
Schubert, F., 246.
Schulz, M., 308.
Schumann, 120, 162, 213, 253.
Schumann, Mme., 293.
Schuppanzigh, 346.
Scotta, Frida, 336.
Sechter, 215.
Sembrich, M., 303.
Senaillé, J.B., 28, 39.
Senkrah, A., 337.
Servaczinski, 246.
Servais, 163.
Servetto, 105.
Shinner, E. (Mrs. Liddell), 325-327, 332, 353.
Shinner Quartet, 327, 353.
Simonelli, 30.
Singer, E., 68, 239.
Sirmen, Maddalena, 303.
Sitt, Hans, 356.
Sivori, C., 150, 153, 154-161, 167, 168, 231, 294.
Soldat, M., 257, 326, 327-330, 342, 353.
Somis, 28, 29, 35, 51, 53.
Sontag, H., 143, 233.
Soubre, E.J., 163.
Spain, Queen of, 230, 324.
Spohr, L., 26, 75, 82-99, 158, 159, 162,
     170, 178, 182, 183, 184, 188, 191,
     233, 261, 346-349, 358.
Stamitz, A., 69.
Stern, Leo, 339.
Stradivari, A., 14.
Strakosch, M., 194.
Strauss, L., 68.
Suk, J., 360.
Süssmayer, 120.
Svecenski, L., 362.
Sweden, King of, 198.

Tartini, G., 29, 43, 44-51, 52, 54, 101, 304.
Thalberg, 163, 165, 166.
Thierot, 328.
Thomson, C., 267-269, 273, 279, 283.
Thorpe, S.C., 197.
Thursby, Emma, 198.
Tiby, M., 139.
Torelli, G., 41.
Tschetchulin, Agnes, 330.
Tua, Teresina, 70, 138, 323-325, 337.
Turkey, Sultan of, 217, 232.
Tuscany, Duke of, 189.

Urso, Camilla, 312, 319-322, 323, 337.
Urso, Salvator, 319.

Valentini, 34.
Valetta, Count F.V. della, 325.
Vanderbilt, G., 342.
Veracini, F.M., 42, 43, 46, 47.
Viardot, Madame, 246.
Vidocq, 185.
Vieuxtemps, H., 28, 68, 136, 149, 162-169, 192,
     202, 221, 223, 231, 241, 271, 328, 337.
Villermot, F., 191.
Viotti, G.B., 28, 56-68, 72, 73, 75,
     81, 85, 93, 140, 261, 307.
Vitali, T., 16, 40.
Vivaldi, A., 36, 41, 42, 52.
Vuillaume, 145.

Wagner, R., 92, 162.
Wales, Prince of, 324.
Wales, Princess of, 324.
Wallace, 150.
Wallace, Eliza, 308.
Wasielewski, 244.
Weber, 94.
Weiss, A., 249.
Werner, H., 312, 313.
Wieniawski, 70, 136, 138, 154, 218-226, 231,
     270, 271, 273, 285, 337.
Wietrowitz, G., 257, 326, 330-332, 342, 353.
Wihom, H., 360.
Wilhelmj, A., 208, 209, 231-237, 263, 267, 282, 334.
William I, Emperor, 230.
Wittgenstein, Prince Emil of, 233.
Wood, Mrs., 302.

Young, 18.
Ysaye, 237, 239, 263, 269, 276, 334, 335.

Zampieri, Marquis, 189.
Zerbst, Theresa, 277.
Zerchoff, Mlle., 308.





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