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PIANO MASTERY

Talks with Master Pianists and Teachers
and
an Account of a Von Buelow Class, Hints on Interpretation, by Two
American Teachers (Dr. William Mason and William H. Sherwood) and a
Summary by the Author

by

HARRIETTE BROWER

Author of _The Art of the Pianist_

With Sixteen Portraits

Frederick A. Stokes Company
The Musical Observer Company

1915







[Illustration: Photo Copyright By Marran IGNACE JAN PADEREWSKI]




CONTENTS


PRELUDE

IGNACE JAN PADEREWSKI

ERNEST SCHELLING.....The Hand of a Pianist

ERNESTO CONSOLO.....Making the Piano a Musical Instrument

SIGISMOND STOJOWSKI.....Mind in Piano Study.

RUDOLPH GANZ.....Conserving Energy in Piano Practise

TINA LERNER.....An Audience the Best Teacher

ETHEL LEGINSKA.....Relaxation the Keynote of Modern Piano Playing

BERTHA FIERING TAPPER.....Mastering Piano Problems

CARL M. ROEDER.....Problems of Piano Teachers

KATHARINE GOODSON.....An Artist at Home

MARK HAMBOURG.....Form, Technic, and Expression

TOBIAS MATTHAY.....Watching the Artist Teacher at Work

HAROLD BAUER.....The Question of Piano Tone

RAOUL PUGNO.....Training the Child

THUEL BURNHAM.....The "Melody" and "Coloratura" Hand

EDWIN HUGHES.....Some Essentials of Piano Playing

FERRUCCIO BUSONI.....An Artist at Home

ADELE AUS DER OHE.....Another Artist at Home

ELEANOR SPENCER.....More Light on Leschetizky's Ideas

ARTHUR HOCHMAN.....How the Pianist Can Color Tone with Action and
                   Emotion

TERESA CARRENO.....Early Technical Training

WILHELM BACHAUS.....Technical Problems Discussed

ALEXANDER LAMBERT.....American and European Teachers

FANNIE BLOOMFIELD ZEISLER.....The Scope of Piano Technic

AGNES MORGAN.....Simplicity in Piano Teaching

EUGENE HEFFLEY.....Modern Tendencies

GERMAINE SCHNITZER.....Modern Methods in Piano Study

OSSIP GABRILOWITSCH.....Characteristic Touch on the Piano

HANS VON BUeLOW.....Teacher and Interpreter

WILLIAM H. SHERWOOD AND DR. WILLIAM MASON.....Hints on Interpretation

POSTLUDE.....Vital Points in Piano Playing




ILLUSTRATIONS


Ignace Jan Paderewski

Sigismond Stojowski

Rudolph Ganz

Katharine Goodson

Mark Hambourg

Tobias Matthay

Harold Bauer

Raoul Pugno

Ferruccio Busoni

Eleanor Spencer

Teresa Carreno

Wilhelm Bachaus

Fannie Bloomfield Zeisler

Ossip Gabrilowitsch

Hans von Buelow

Dr. William Mason




PRELUDE

TO AMERICAN PIANO TEACHERS AND STUDENTS


The following "Talks" were obtained at the suggestion of the Editor of
_Musical America_, and have all, with one or two exceptions, appeared in
that paper. They were secured with the hope and intention of benefiting
the American teacher and student.

Requests have come from all over the country, asking that the interviews
be issued in book form. In this event it was the author's intention to
ask each artist to enlarge and add to his own talk. This, however, has
been practicable only in certain cases; in others the articles remain
very nearly as they at first appeared.

The summer of 1913 in Europe proved to be a veritable musical
pilgrimage, the milestones of which were the homes of the famous
artists, who generously gave of their time and were willing to discuss
their methods of playing and teaching.

The securing of the interviews has given the author satisfaction and
delight. She wishes to share both with the fellow workers of her own
land.

The Talks are arranged in the order in which they were secured.




PIANO MASTERY




PIANO MASTERY




I

IGNACE JAN PADEREWSKI


One of the most consummate masters of the piano at the present time is
Ignace Jan Paderewski. Those who were privileged to hear him during his
first season in this country will never forget the experience. The
Polish artist conquered the new world as he had conquered the old; his
name became a household word, known from coast to coast; he traveled
over our land, a Prince of Tones, everywhere welcomed and honored. Each
succeeding visit deepened the admiration in which his wonderful art was
held.

The question has often been raised as to the reason of Paderewski's
remarkable hold on an audience; wherein lay his power over the musical
and unmusical alike. Whenever he played there was always the same
intense hush over the listeners, the same absorbed attention, the same
spell. The superficial attributed these largely to his appearance and
manner; the more thoughtful looked deeper. Here was a player who was a
thoroughly trained master in technic and interpretation; one who knew
his Bach, Beethoven, Chopin, Schumann and Liszt. These things of
themselves would not hold an audience spellbound, for there were other
artists equally well equipped. In a final analysis it was doubtless
Paderewski's wonderful _piano tone_, so full of variety and color, so
vital with numberless gradations of light and shade, that charmed and
enthralled his listeners. It mattered to no one--save the critics--that
he frequently repeated the same works. What if we heard the Chromatic
Fantaisie a score of times? In his hands It became a veritable Soliloquy
on Life and Destiny, which each repetition invested with new meaning and
beauty. What player has ever surpassed his poetic conception of
Schumann's _Papillons_, or the Chopin Nocturnes, which he made veritable
dream poems of love and ecstasy. What listener has ever forgotten the
tremendous power and titanic effect of the Liszt Rhapsodies, especially
No. 2? When Paderewski first came to us, in the flush of his young
manhood, he taught us what a noble instrument the piano really is in the
hands of a consummate master. He showed us that he could make the piano
speak with the delicacy and power of a Rubinstein, but with more
technical correctness; he proved that he could pierce our very soul with
the intensity of his emotion, the poignant, heart-searching quality of
his tones, the poetry and beauty of his interpretation.

Paderewski is known as composer and pianist, only rarely does he find
time to give instruction on his instrument. Mme. Antoinette Szumowska,
the Polish pianist and lecturer was at one time termed his "only pupil."
Mr. Sigismond Stojowski, the Polish composer, pianist and teacher has
also studied with him. Both can testify as to his value as an
instructor.

Mme. Szumowska says:

"Paderewski lays great stress on legato playing, and desires everything
to be studied slowly, with deep touch and with full, clear tone. For
developing strength he uses an exercise for which the hand is pressed
against the keyboard while the wrist remains very low and motionless and
each finger presses on a key, bringing, or drawing out as much tone as
possible.

"Paderewski advises studying scales and arpeggios with accents, for
instance, accenting every third note, thus enabling each finger in turn
to make the accent impulse: this will secure evenness of touch