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[Illustration: image of the book's cover]

MEMORIES OF A

MUSICAL LIFE

[Illustration: WILLIAM MASON IN 1899]




Memories of a

Musical Life

by

William Mason

[Illustration: colophon]

NEW YORK

THE CENTURY CO.

MCMII

Copyright, 1900, 1901, by

THE CENTURY CO.


_Published October, 1901._


THE DEVINE PRESS.


TO
MY DAUGHTER
MINA MASON VAN SINDEREN
AT WHOSE REQUEST
THESE MEMORIES
HAVE BEEN WRITTEN




CONTENTS


                                                                    PAGE

EARLY DAYS IN NEW ENGLAND                                              3
  Lowell Mason's Career                                                7
  First Beethoven Symphony in America                                  8
  Musical Conventions                                                  9
  Early Musical Training                                              10
  Webster and Clay                                                    11
  First Public Appearance                                             18
  Leopold de Meyer                                                    19
  "Father Heinrich"                                                   22
  An Embarrassing Experience                                          25

STUDENT LIFE ABROAD                                                   27
  Meeting with Meyerbeer                                              28
  Liszt's Feat of Memory                                              31
  First Meeting with Liszt                                            33
  Arrival at Leipsic                                                  34
  Moscheles, Beethoven, and Chopin                                    36
  The Intimacy of Moscheles and Mendelssohn                           37
  Schumann                                                            38
  Schumann's "Symphony No. 1, B Flat"                                 39
  Schumann's Absent-mindedness                                        42
  Moritz Hauptmann                                                    44
  A Visit to Wagner                                                   48
  Wagner on Mendelssohn and Beethoven                                 51
  A Wagner Autograph                                                  55
  Moscheles                                                           57
  Joseph Joachim                                                      62
  Schumann's "Concerto in A Minor"                                    63
  Carl Mayer                                                          65
  Dreyschock                                                          66
  Prince de Rohan's Dinner                                            71
  Chopin, Henselt, and Thalberg                                       75
  Anton Schindler, "Ami de Beethoven"                                 79
  Schindler and Schnyder von Wartensee                                82
  First London Concert                                                84

WITH LISZT IN WEIMAR                                                  86
  Accepted by Liszt                                                   88
  The Altenburg                                                       93
  How Liszt Taught                                                    97
  "Play It Like This"                                                 99
  Liszt in 1854                                                      101
  His Fascination                                                    102
  Liszt's Indignation                                                103
  Objects to my Eye-glasses                                          106
  A Musical Breakfast                                                108
  Liszt's Playing                                                    110
  Liszt and Pixis                                                    117
  Liszt Conducting                                                   119
  Liszt's Symphonic Poems--Rehearsing "Tasso"                        121
  Extracts from a Diary                                              122
  Opportunities                                                      126
  Brahms in 1853                                                     127
  Nervous before Liszt                                               128
  Dozing while Liszt Played                                          129
  "Lohengrin" for the First Time in Leipsic                          132
  In Stuttgart--Hotel Marquand                                       135
  The Schumann "Feier" in Bonn, 1880                                 136
  Brahms's Pianoforte-playing                                        137
  A Historical Error Corrected                                       141
  More about Liszt's Wonderful Sight-reading                         142
  Liszt's Moments of Contrition                                      144
  Peter Cornelius                                                    145
  Some Famous Violinists                                             147
  Remenyi                                                            151
  Some Distinguished Opera-singers                                   153
  Henriette Sontag                                                   154
  Johanna Wagner                                                     156
  Mme. de la Grange                                                  157
  "Der Verein der Murls"                                             158
  The Wagner Cause in Weimar                                         159
  Raff in Weimar                                                     161
  Dr. Adolf Bernhard Marx                                            165
  Berlioz in Weimar                                                  168
  Entertaining Liszt's "Young Beethoven"                             171
  Rubinstein's Opposition to Wagner                                  174

AT WORK IN AMERICA                                                   183
  Touring the Country                                                184
  "Yankee Doodle" and "Old Hundred"                                  187
  Settling down to Teach                                            