MY MUSICAL EXPERIENCES.
BETTINA WALKER,
I,ONDON:
RICHARD BENTT-EY A ND
SON,
CONTENTS.
L 9*
Il
II],
Iv.
Srlrrau DuNm
,,.
lt[OSICllt EX?EiIENC)jS
ot
v.
DEPPE .\ND SCHAR\I'ENCI(A.
lr nry be irisined tllt I rhought m rh
over
all I lad heard at thc Liszt aftcrnoons. Stransely
$hfi Paul Eckhotr
always .carred to ne in a most pe.sistent
mannerwh€nevff ny though€ tufted to Weimar.
€nough, a certain conveßation
This talentcd young pianist had slDwn mc sone
technical fingcrstudics of iis ovn conpositio!,
shich he said $,c.e so exrremely dia6.!i! that
but iew coukl execuk them. L@king at the*,
I played then at oncc (as I thousht) rvith easc,
and 6 I repqted thcm oncc or tRice, I askcd,
"Are tbse the very dif6cult stldies of $hich
you lave been tell;ng mel" 'Io which he
replied, "Yesi they are the difEcult srudies
wh;ch I have inlented, and ,,, Nill not
be able to hasler dren." lle said dtis re.y
pol;tely, but with an ak of great convi.rion i and,
on fry contillirg to repeax the soht öl the
I
?IINOICORTE STUDEN?.
stud;es ;n question over and oaer agäin sev€Gl
dn6, though he did not repeat rvhat he had said,
I could pereive from his ndnncr-his exprersive
sileoce-that he ws still of the same opinio..
This surp;sed. and aot a lirtle vexed me: bur.
not choosing to let him perccivc my annoyancej
I cbanged thc suüjcct by asking him to phy a
litde to nre. The fact of the natter *as, lhat I
had üen not the renrorest norion ot whzL ta/t.
AII t.ue zrrrrrt are well avare
that it is or€ of th subdest ot all physical hovesents. Soncthing 4t that monent, lowever,
dawded on nq and ttre restrh ol rhis yery dnr
atrd faint su.nrise regardirg the cause ol ny
deficiencies ;n lianororte,llay;ng !!as rhat I resolved, on reaching Berljr, to seek o t Her
Deppe, ard gct him to help me throügh dE
haze, sltich seef,cd to grorv all the denser the
nore I thought on rhe subject. Miss Fay's
book (rvhich pla.ed
hin
as
a te&her or tte
pianolortc above Ttrusir, Krllak, and even above
Liszt had grcadl interesred oc, bur i had rhen
so little norion of whar*rs neant by " a method,,
that I ach,ally thoughr th^t il rhere @s a ne-
in ny Nay of approaching tlte
tew üeeks of good eartrest studt
ch^nical deEcicncy
keyboard,
a
MAS'C)
L
F,XPERIENCE,I O}
voxld €asily remedy iL flaving ascertained
Herr Deppe's addrcss, and hcard that he lived
in a small inn close by the Anlülter Bahnhol
I went there, and N6 told by tlre waiter to go
up to the highest story ol the lüildi.g, wnere
the llerr Kapcllmcist$ lad a suite ol roons. I
set of up the slaircase, and ws on th€ first
step of the stans which led to dre rhird Roor,
when t found m)5elf face to face $hh a plainiookirg, elderly gcnllcnan, who seemed to be
coming straight from the corridor on vhich
according to the waite/s dh€ctions to nre Herr
Dcppes roons {cre situated. I glänced at hi6
just as hc was äbout to pas by ne, änd probably my look sugsested inqüiry, for be asked
ne abruptly, but not rude)y, {hat I rdted up
tbe.e-if I vere loo[ing for iny one I repl;ed,
am going up to ascertaitr vhen it is possiue
to see
Deppe, and I have been told that
his rooms are on the rh;d flooi" ..I
Hefu
Deppe" was the rejoind€a "änd you want
to see me, and speak !o ne, I nus! leg you ro
cone back at four otlocl, thar is dr hour for
?
"l
He
ii
m
sedoA people; and I an now on ny way ro
dinnea so please excuse ne." Saying d:is, he
bowed slighdy to me, ind, pßing on down
/
PJANOFORTE SIVDEN|.
the stai.s, $ent into the dining-room of
th€
Tbere was not the dishtest pose about Herr
Depp+nothing renarkable in his appeaance,
his glance, or his loice; and yet hc had at once
idpressed m€, lad inspired me with confidence
in lim. I seened to sce and feel thät hc rvas
an irdividüal such as one neets with i! a lifet'ne. I cane back to th€ hotel at foür o'clock,
and, goitrg up the stai.s, raos the bell at his
door, and (Geman cuslorns and ways being
as yet unkno\ln ro ne) {as grcatly surpnsed
when he nor only op.ne,l it himscli to ler me
in, but, briDging nrc throlgli tbc ante-room and
into the musicjoom, pointed to a sear, sa,ing as
he did so, " Now sit down and l€ll ne all you
hare to say; I shall hear it q!;te well, rhough I
must go on nnking ny cotrec." He listened
with a slance ofkindly inrer€s!, {hici encouragrd
me to desribc s far as I really ws avare of
them myscjf all my diltculties. When I had
ended, he sa;d he should like ro look ät
ny
haads
([t;ss Fay relates lhat he did the sam€ vnh he.) i
and when I took offmy gloves, and shoped them
!o him, he at oncc said, ' You have a very good
hand, thorsh snall; bü! üe orter side of it is
MUS]C'T EXPIR]E]\'CES OF
i
it is undeveloped and unNow go ovcr ro th€ p;ano and play
quite limp and flabby
I sr
down accordirgly, aod attacked with
great visour Talsig's tran$ription of a Bach
prelnde and iugue. Hetr Dcppe seated himsell at a liitl€ table, add besan to dri.k his coffee
6 if my presenc€ tlerc counted for norhin& I
played this p;ece vith nnch enctgy and a?/Mb,
and nade quite sure that ny performaüce would
impres hin with tle idea that I had much
mdtery over tle keyboard; but I had not
p)ayed more than half the piece when, or
glancing idquiringly at lin, I lerceived that he
va
highly amused -that, :n facq he was laughing
to himell at my perforhaoce; and yet, stransely
enough,
was not laugh thar acred like a
dmper on my energn for I could percdve that
he vas lully as much interested as amused, and
when had ended the piccc he said, ,,co on ;
playsomething nore." I pla)ed piece afrer piecc,
feeling neither nervols no. aDtuyed, though he
it
.
I
{as at so little pa;ns ro conc€l his anusement
that he oncc or rwice laushcd quite audibly. A
tapjust theo lvas h@rd ät rhe door. and on Hcr.
Deppe ;sing ro ope! iq a tall, pale, and sing ar-
,4 PL4NAIORTT SIUDTNT.
Iooking young man walked in w;thout saying a
word; and Herr Deppe hav;ng by this time
finished d.inkins his coffee, the teo gendemen
came over to the piäno, and scated thenselves
dde by side, a lhtle to rhe right ol ne"Please go on playiog,' said Hcft Deppe;
atd when I did so, and glanced round at then
both, I saw th:t the young oan was just as much
amused
Her Deppe, and yet rhar, like rhe
latter, his amusenenr wd suffi.ie dy leavened
with iDtere* to rinuläre rärl r tl-an !o deprers
nte. At lcnsth, howerer, I crnc toa paüse, üd,
turning round to Her. Deppe, waited for hin
to speak. H€ d;d nor do so for a momedt or
two rnd lhen his sords Ncrc äddre.sed rarher
d
to the )olrs tun r\in to nc. (Ihc laLter
w6 Mr. Frederick Cleke, ao American gesdemaD, who had some months previously married
Annr Stcinccke, Hcrr Dcppcs bcst pupil.) "Shc
vill dever le ablc to dve up all that to lay it
all aside from the beginning-nor could I cxpect
it," were llcr l)eppes 6.st words. To lvhich
the other rejoired, "Yet with such gilts, such a
neüory, such t4ste, such fceling and withal so
helpless I It is indeed a phy." "But who could
advise h$ to give it up?" said Hcr. Deppe
MÜ,IIC)
L
EXPNR]NNCES ÖF
i ('for ifshe begi$ w;lh me a.d has not the
patien.e rnd l)e6evennle Lo,JEy ir rhroJgh to
again
end. .ll her prc.cnt enjoymcnl in pianoplayirg w;ll be enbittcrcd."
.What is wrong? l aked very earncstly.
buL rery quict'y I hrve nor m:ndcd your
laughina ar me. bedu\e I had the leelirg rhat
rhere wa' much in ny pla)ing that not onlt
amused, but al,o ple'ed and inlerested you i lrut
ir is ,cä(ely tir ol )ou to pu! dp off like th.t
with gene€l rb(cncnrs. Tell mc plainly where
yo! think my chref de6cicncy lies, and wherh.it is of a nalure which rcsolution, peßcvemncei
end Parencc can ovrromc.
We all three looked full at one anotier for a
f.w noments. The genllemen hesitated. Her
l\e
DeppF,till remrin",l ,il(n,, rnd I rhink n w6
Mi Chrkc Nho fir,r spoh-. and ad,lrcss"d me
" I tell you, then, that, to iccomPlish anytling
in the Dcppe nerhod )ou musl'ntirely lJy iside
evF.y ti(c yo, have ever le,rneJ, rnd g.ve
youßelf up to a phyi.rl drill ol which you as
yet have not thc very faintes! pc.ception-and
thar supposing you do this, and supposing you
are unusually giited in m6ter;ng lhis side of the
,4 P],4NOFORTE STUDENT.
io a )ear and a hal[ ]ou vho now play
Schünann's Cd@ a, and Lir^ 5 R/k!tudß, will
at the most be only able to play some of llozant
school,
sinpler Sonats, and \toscheles' Studies."
AII this natually rouscd and exc;red me
I did not, of course, believe that I should be
as long in making way 6 Mr. Clarke seemed to
rhirk. Turning to l-ler Deppe, and assüring
nin that I hrd qüite thc re$lve, qukc rh€
pati€nce, quite rhe self-renunciation, ro give up
ail my present artainoents, in order to attai.
tbat which I so nuch dcsircd, !ha! which I felt
I much needed. I enrcated him to t€ll he
$hat $'as the great wrnt in my pla/ng. He
e
"Yo!r
wit!, häs never been
properly vorked-thse has ben lttle exreosion,
and scarcely any muscula. exertios i you cannot
hand, to besin
produce a succcasion ofclear rcsonant
lones. Bur
you force oe to siy all this," hc addcd, ,.aod I
warn you beforehard nor ro ask me ro help you,
and then grow wea.y of the slow progrcss you
mak€, asd leave off If yo! do this" you will be
uolappy. In one lesson you will have losr your
innocence" (FIen Deppe's ovn *ords); ,,for rhat
one lesson will set an intcllieent pcßon like you
!1[US|C/1
L ]iXPt RTENCF-S AF
t6ck of thougbt, and as )ou will rot be able
without help to follow this out, and tüus arive
on a
at final and sadsfacroo' concllsions, you Njll wish
that you had never seer me, never come to me.
And .emenber it will not have becn mv lault."
At lenltl, however, Her Deppe w6 convinced that I N6 not only nuch in earnest, blt
that I utuld \a\e thc courÄge, the patience, to
cärry tbrough what I should begin eith hio.
He named an early day for his 66r les$4 and
I püt aside all my progr3mme, and .ane to him
quite resolved to rcnain ündcr his glidance until
I had fully nastered his nethod.
And I had, aiter all, but one lesson from him !
For a cncuhstance i.tervcred {hicll, much to ny
regrer, h.ndercJ me from carrying out the plan ol
study which he had laid do$n for me. I at once
wrcre a courteous lettcr to hin, nnd excused
Dyselias Nell6 I could for hav;ng oeupied so
much ol his valuablc !imc, havirg asked for his
help vith so nuch insislencc, and yet not availing
mys€li ol that wlich he had so kindly giled.
Although it is anticipaliq a little, I may add
that whe! I ris;led Her Deppe some yeaß after
this, I was received by hin not onlywith cou.tesy,
bur alNo.t \.rh coldialrty. I üen told him
'hdt
)
I
t1/,4,\taFok
?), STUDEN?
feli nrtseli to be his debtor for
lavirg given ne his otinion in such a fraok,
urv&nisl€d m.nne., and that even thoush I
had not contino.d to stud) Nith him, )er in his
had alNays
one lcsson he
lad
done nre immense service.
He sas very kiod ind pleasant. He spoke
oli rounA lady \rl-o. dfter An a Sreinecke-Clarke
$ds sone (o AmFrici. had taken hcr pli-c as his
'' best plpil. 'fh;s young lad) rvas shortly to
givF a pertornanre l" a lcw lr:(rJ. in his roonr i
and Deppe said that ne Nould send ne rvord
when thc da! and hour Nere defrnitelv fried.
A fe{ morli";s Jlter tl,is intcrview with Her
Deppe, a young lad) .alled on mF about nine
oclck in tle frorning, and said she had come to
rell mc rl,rr in l$o houb rimF FrJülein S*ä< to plrl ä long projr:nlr( ol pLnoforr( nieces
in Heo Dcpte! ruor' "It \ccmed a ..holl
gite )oJ,' ,-id rhc toung la lI: "bdr thc
aranjcncn, sa\ nor ,nadc uatil tl'c prcv:ous day.
and I crme round in the evenins ro !e11 yoJ ol ir.
but concluded cvery onc mlst hale beer oot, as I
nng several rines.r the bell,and had to go avay
witlout even see;nr äny onc wiü shom ro leave
rhe mes\aee. l was vcry alid indeed ro have
tl;s opponuDity of hearins anotber of Her.
noticc ro
MI'SICI'
EXPF,R'ENCDS OF
D€ppes pupils, and one, moreovcr, whom he
him*lrput forrvard s bei.g rn adminble qponeDt of his method. At the hour nained I
ac.orlingly rang dre bell at his door, and found
myselt on ente.ing ihe adte-roomi among a set of
young girls-all very quierlooking, and all just
as simply dressed as il there rvas nothiog more
;D queslion than a walk into tbe country. The
yolng lady Nho had opened the doo. to admit
me ushered me into the hlsiciooni, where I
found the gcnial ousician dtting on a sort ol
ottonan sofa, which was placed nearly opposire
to the piarc. A middle-aged lady (a person of
nnk, rvhose nane I do .ot now recollecr) was
sittins beside him, engased, as it seemed to me,
in a very earnGt discussion. when I appqred,
however, He( Deppe lose at once to .eceive ne,
and court€ously lshed me Nhere would besr
like to be seated. I chose a s@r so placed with
regard lo th€ p;ano that could obsene eyery
I
I
lnoaement ol rhe player. k was some ninuües
before dle niusic legan-an intewal which gave
ne an amplc opportüdhy of tak;ng in all aroünd
ne. The large folding'doors between h;s sleepios,rood and the ore I rvas sitting ;n had been
thrown ope.
I
sodc ol the lurniture had
been
1
P]'NAFORTE STÜDENt
noved back ; and there vere a good many girls
and sevcral young men (all, as I artcrwards
learned, pupils of the Deppe school), si ing both
in the room, and along the vall at either side ol
the doorway. There was a subdued hum of
whispedng voices, vnh vhich thc Kapeltdeister's
presence did not seem in any way to interiere.
There was sonething in the atmosphere of the
rooh, in its adangements, add, above all, in the
mannc. of Herr Deppe, at once resttul, stinulating,and hon€like. I couid havc quite ;magined
any one ofthc school sitdrg down !o piay thqe
jüst 6 il he or she werc at home
After a few minltcs ller D€ppe called out,
"Wül;e, Willie, you hay begin;" on vhich a
you.g gi.l in a sinple p.int d.ess, with ber hair
closely plaitcd, and brushed ofl a la.ge and open
brow-a gendelooking girl, wnh a lery slight
igure, who looked as happy and f.ee from all
anxiet) ß if her task had been to deorate the
room with floNeß, or pour out tca fo. a schml
(
/rla insread of leing lhe exponent oi a method "
quietly inrö the room without naking a
-@lkedloo\;ng rrorn.l with the sl,ghtect i:.
bos. or
of
self-consciousness. She went stmigbt up to Her
Deppc and put a sheet of pape. into his haDds,
M ÜSI C)
L
EX?E A IE]/CF,.\ AN
on which was written a list
of the picces she sas
play.
He, gldnc;ng at it, asked her
which piece she intended to play frrst. " Whichever yöu pleasei Herr Kapellmeister," vd the
rcply. He then naned rhe tiece vith wlich she
was to bcgin, observing in a very pleasant tone,
as he took out his rvatch and looked at k, 'h
takes just so many ninutes to pliy." Fräulein
wcnt over thefl at once to the piano and seated
herselfat it,layins as she d;d e all the music she
s6 goirg to pcrforn on the instrunent bside
her. She played nost adniGbly €very sinsle
tooe liddng olt with dclicious clearnes-s€venl
ol B&h's Preludes and Fusues, an lmpronptu
by SclL,berr, and a Sonata of Beethoven, etc.
about to
The dcep. simplc, and genuioc cxprcssion vhich
characterized her reading or the aAvio in thc
larter, inspired m€ whh the nrost profoünd r€slect
for the teacher who lad süch a bealtiful conception of Bcethoven's "divine yeart;ng towards
hieler spheres." tsut qu;te agree witl Letz,
qho nore than once says, ;n his Beüdrd d
I
'a
hai' s41.', ilfdi i J a drs n@es ,t" o" $te t@nd
o".ty'a .;" and i refcin fion going into any
ecstrsies abort thc nusic wlicl I heärd that
morning. Sufice it that tlc yotog girl \ras Play-
t
zJtNOFOn"n STUDt.jrr
ing. " That
is what pianoforte-playing was manr
ro be, ouEhl Lo be a dear. unJtre(rcd rcading o
miny lov.ly
by rums soothing. srimu.
'ore.pocnß.
Iäring. "aJdFri--, Jn,l yct
"s lirLle insisrent s rhe
solnJs ir nlrure rhe Nind
"s n nurmlß änong
the rorcsL trre,, or the rvFer .olouß thar exhalE
rrod the flo$er-spangled nreadows in June." And
so rhorouEl- y il hcr eJ\e wr\ r\e young pianist.
rhat once o,
Lelore sh" cohmcnced pliying
'$i"c.
ä Prece (pe.ormed rr rl snc were rn her osn
rooh). sh" mJdc
\ay cJrioJs movcncns
'ome
th h€r frngers on the kclboard. Or playing
rhe 6ßl hofcnenr of Be"rhov.n. Sonälas sh<
rool un d,e m'ß c-book rhlt lay b"sid. rl'r d6k.
3nd scemed to be noting ,on,e point in the aäl'ri,,
for she l@kcd at it carefllly for a nometrt or rwo
vithout bet.aying the slightest flurry oranxiery,
anJ tl'cn. I.)i.d ir Josn rgain. sl,e gJ\e Lhc
readirg ol this norenert to $hich I have al.eady
llluded as si\irs me so high an ider of whar
Iterr Deppe! frusical conccptions musr be.
Rcrurniag now, hoNcver. back ro rhe rime
when I had seen ilerr Deppc only three tineq
and had. afrer one lerson frcm him, been drifled
I
.ome ro sp.rli or Zr\i'r scha'wpncka,
who is regarded as one of the lead;ns techcß in
rwdt.
G*many, and ose of the highest autLorhies o.
o^e le$od I had häd rrom Her Deppe
had so fa. helped he, tlat I had re&hed the
convjction that all the practice io the wodd never
lhe
gives any one pc.fect mastüy ove. the kcyboard
i
that ;t is only reach€d by getting insidc of cerlaio
Iines, which slould bc äs clear and defrnite as th€
nrst principlcs ofdrawing and peßpective.
But now the question was, " Whe.€ sLotrld
1 find a nrastcr who would be able and willins
ro guide me to lhese linesl'
tuming
over rhe mdrer i1 my m;nd, I rcncnbered rta!
Scharwencka w6 in Bcrlin, and that three ol
pupils-M iss Stcphens (an American), Frä!lein
Richter (now ma.ried and settled in Londotr),
and Hc.r Pnul Eckhoff-had ail takcd a prominedt part at the Liszt afternooos, I went
then to Scharwcncka, and rold lid tnat I was
anxious to get tl\arclgl1 teininr in tr.trEk.
^ heard that he qas g(at
I said thai I had
a
authority or tlis point, and I begged him to
give ne le"sons. I had rhch belseen rhi.ly
and forty pieces thoroughly under ny 6rgers,
which I could pläy by heart, besides a conside.able nunber more ehich I was qu;te able io
his
,4 PIAAIOFOR?E STI'DENT
plar wheD I had the düsic bclore me. Wh€n
I reDt to Scharwencka, I pür a list of rles
;nto his hands, and he srood opposire to me
s I played, and called for a Rhalsody of Liszds,
lor the Tausig-Bach Prelude and Ftlgue, for
Chopid's Third Schü,o, and some of Chopin's
Studies. His comnents on ny nechanical de6ciencics *ere. that I did nor worli tl,e small
joints of the fingers, and that I did not üse the
lnrd stfic;ently in prssing out tle tone. He
told me to bring iim for rhe 6ßt lesson his own
staccato study, and Liszts transcription of Bach's
Organ Prclude ind Fusxe in A ltlino.. ln the
formea le took great pains ro show ne how to
forn cvery single tone, using both frnge.tips
and srist i and in rhe lauer, hor to phcrise rbe
prclode with displaccncnt of accent in order to
give strelgrh to thc fingeß He told me that
I sbould do v$y sellj reminded mc
bring rny frrger-tips rvell irro action, dd {nr
ne aMy falins voy nlch pleased.
SchaNenckas ConservatoriuD ;s looked on
in Berlin c a school ol v'rluosiry, and many
ol the pupils who had Laketr out thei cenincäks
at the l{och-schule sent to him ro get the 16r
finishins louches, and lc.rn thc effecrs su;table
MCSICIL EXNIRJDNCDS OF
tor concert-playing. Hc was a very interesting
teacher, and I not oDly had private lesoos from
him, bu! I also play€d ;n the large evening class
at {hich there were not many performers, but
many lktcners (roü;ta 1.t\, eh,o o.capied seats
whicl vcre placed close !y tb€ wall all round
thc roon. SchaiNcncka is a most extruordinary
reader, and seened
to
have
tlc
power
ot playing
otrat sight and io the nrost mastdly ma.ner any
piece one might bring to h'm. A gcntlcnan slo
had beetr his fellow'stüdent in the Conservatoire
of Kullak, told ne thar rhen he c€ased to study
rnder Kullak, he had *t hin*lf with a nost
hon dctermination to conquer every imaginable
dimculty lvhich the pianolorte might present, and
in three years he had never flagljed or fahered
lrtil be had acconplisled lis pürFse. His playinA was, as cohplred Nith Sgämbrtis, as sculpture when compar,"d sith painting.
an eleneot of gr€t ud mdsive grandeu., a
treDendous force of will, and a fervent glow ol
inagination, rvhich told even nor€ vhen he
played ., roöe d. cltaftöre ia the Conseruatorium, when he was just enjoying hnrselfanong
those lrho Iooked up to and admired him, thar
when he wäs in the concerrioom veighted with
)
PIANOFARIE S?UDE,VX
responsibilky attaching to his nanre and lis positioD. He had a very inleresting class on teach-
ing, harmony, melhoJ, erc., whnh be bim.elf
condlcled in persoD every week. And hisnanner
ofinpärting knovledge wa nost clcar and full
ofsuggcstion. He had his own sp.cial v.y, too,
of stihulating his pupils, and calling fordr thei.
posers. When he eid, " Forvarts l" it seemed to
inspke the dost timid lupih to push fo.ward
at all hazards. L;szt srcatly admired and es'
hin; and to
have come frcm under his
glidarce qas a p6spo* to thc }leister's favour.
Daturally rebelled rathcr at Her Deppc\
teemed
I
Dnconproh;sins conden@tion of all my p;eces
should nther say his demand that I should
-I
give up all the pieces which were lart ud
parcel of hy lilc, and st t alrcsh-aod herc
I had the pleasing prospect of a shortd and
more plcaslnt road to the goal. And sq for
thc frrst iew lcssons, I was really charmed with
Scharwcockä; bur rhc! D€ppe's plediction began
to verify ilsela I grew redess and arx;ous,
in additioa to my studics $i!h Scha^vercka
I l€gan to try and f€el my Nay throrigh diffeent
books on ncthods for getting the mstery over
ev€ry possiblc dimculty, Groping ny wy thus
and,
)ltL-slcn
t
ExttRlENcEs aF
(if I oay so phrase it), I cane oo Ehrlich's
editior of Talsigs " Daily Practice;" and io
reäding his olxenat;ons on somc of rhe fingerstudies I was mlch struck by his comhenring
on these as "denanding gr€at muscular exer
tior. No$, t was able apprrently to ptay these
v€ry
stldi6 vkhout lcing
conscious
of naking
excrtion. I vould have liked then and
ther€ to have gone to Her Ehrlich, and ask€d
him to tell ne rvhat vas rhe cause of this appaany such
rent ease, which I then naturally connecring ir
with what P.ul lickholi had said to me in lveinar
begäd to lear snt rhat I N* still getting no
nea.e. to the objcct of oy desirc.
But I wß with S.hasvencka, he vas giving
him*lf great t.ouble rith nr€, and I felr ir but
duc to hin, before Daking änother nove, to try
if he could or would hclp me. I therdore
brought tbe Ehrlich.Tausig Srud;es to him, and
said, "Why docs Ehrlich speak of muscular
exert;on, a.d I feel none whätevol I wish you
would sanction nry goidg to Herr Ehrlich aod
6kins him to hclp ne in the Tausig alone, for
I wish to continue ny lessons with you."
He replied thar he would go through rhenr
with lnc hinsclli that such studies n€eded to be
A PrA,\'aFORft SfADE,vf.
aPProached
with lnuch thought and much
care
But I never had a single leson f.om him ;D which
tlrcse studics eere the suliccrnatte.. Meinwhile,
somethins st-in8p and unforcsccn had o.cured
somFthinß which ss to bring me rgain. lholsh
;n{itectly, ., l.ly'o,t witb Deppc and bis school.
I lived in a pen,ior wherc only ladies sere
r(civcd a: boJrJers, and the fict that thcre are
-
in most German chies
rerdes a stäy :n r\Jr ,olnrry mosr .onvenhr(
.nd pleasant fo. botlr younglady srudenrq and
older ladies sho wkh to live abrcad. Mr.
Steinecke-Cl.rkc had inrrcduced lis wilc to he
the vc.y next day, I bcli€vc, aftcr he and I
had net at Deppet. I hrd lound the pa;r very
symPathetic and interGting, ard tley had $ked
ne to go and sec theo. I had piid thed one
visiti but whco I left Deppe, and when, latü
on, instcad of retur.jng to him, I had consulted
so mioy of such ppns:ons
Sch.Nencka, I did not belicve the Clarkes
vould carc to sec nc asain; I therelo.e did
not seck to rencrv the acquaintance, and it was
by oo nea.s agreeable to ne to leär that they
$ere coming to spend a f.w {eeks in the sane
pension Nith me. Their plans were, it seems. a
Iittle unsenled i they wcrc nov;ng out ol a house
,I'I]SIC,1', EX PE R I]iNCES OF
in vhich they fiad l;ved sincc their mariage, atd
they we.e undecided whcthcr to remain in Berlin
or go to AmericA. Thc ladies ofthe pension had
knosn Anna Steineckc all her life, aod they told
me thal drey wfe matiDg aD exception in her
favour by admitdng a gentlcnan. They lold
me it eould be only for a very short tinci but
still I was not at all pleased at the idea, for
lhough I liked them both greatl, yet, knowing
that they lookcd od evcry one outside tleir
sclool "as being in the ouler courts of t.t" I
did not nuch .clish having them ior such near
oeighbours. A little reflection, hovever, sus
gested to m€ that äs ny quarters rvere shut oft
frc6 the rest of th€ pcnsion by double doors,
they could hcar but l;ttlc of what I might be
doing. We Dced not be neiglbours at table, a.d
whenever we did neet there was no reason why
we should approäch the slbjcc! ol pianofo.teplayin& .nd thc Dcplc ncthod-no reason, indeed, lor ny becoming io .ny eay intinate with
then. I thought all th;s, and arrived at lhes
conclus;ons i and yet tlle Stdnecke'Clark6 had
rot bccn r week in the house bclorc by thc
wish of all three I sat beside then at tabl€.
and it seened to us qu;te a matter of cou߀
,4
PI,4 NOFORTE STUDDNZ,
r53
th3t, iostead of retidng to ny own rcom .fter
supper, I should tüm into theirs (which adjoired
the Spe;se-sl), and tlat we should spend the
evenings together in a f€ok and sinple int€tchange of our thoughts and feelings. Need I
say that the subjec! which we discussed most
frequenrly, the one ;tr \'hich we all thr€e waxed
most eloquent, was music, and, above all, pianoforte lnusic I Mr. Clarke wäs one of the greatesr,
the nost idel enthudasts, I have ever met with,
and the intercoüße I had w;th him and his gift€d
wife w6 dre neirest poss;ble apProach rc shat
one night pi.ture the inlercouße of primitive )er
cultured mcn a-d wonen oüg\t to be None
of us altäched any välue lo exkrnals. Anna
Skinecke worc slor! hair, and did not try by
presure to give any conventioDal synnetry to
her la.se .nd by no mons idcally proPort;oned
fom. Her dre<q indeed, bo(h in cut and
coloua gave one a? once lhe imPr6s;on of a
woman who never troublcd heRlf to do nore
lhan buy rhe fißr suitable stuff which miglt offer
ir*lf lo hcr wh"D she entered a shop; and rhar
she .ever did more thai
jßt l*
her measure be
laken tor a drcs'. and lhen qtep into it, $dthout
dy afterthoughts on tle nattei
NUS]C,4L EXPDR]ENCES OT
But it will be of couße 6ked, what vas ber
i
lik+rvas it bcaütiful, peculinr,
'nastedy
To which I reply, that it d6 rli theie, and that,
noreove', it had a special quälity of sinple uF
pläyins
obtrusivene$, which ft the fißt hearing ptevedted one fron lully rcalizing all that was in it
Mr. Clarke had iritated me greatly tle 6rst time
I heard ler play, by saying, "If you äre lrart,
you vill see that there is a sincerity, a sinplicity,
and an unafTccted sveetness in her pltying {hich
you will scarcely ever fiod approached."
I
could not, and I lvould not, in the frß!
instance,.ccett this judgnent ol his; but living
in the sme house with her lor scveral weeks,
and hearing her practke as I rvent up and down
stairs, and wdlkcd alons the passqe which led
to their room, I camc inscnsibly udder üe charm
of her truly unaffeclcd and unöbt.usive depth ot
expression; while as I stood bcsidc ier {hen
she *as plaling, and perceived, froD the cxpre$
sio! of her facc and the ease of her pos'don, that
she vas in a state oi the h;ghcst posible enjoynent, I was fored to rcknowledge ier great
matery over the keyboard.
One evenins ve all asre€d to tell each other
the history ol our musi€l äspirations, and it 16
A PIA
OFORTE S?UDEN?.
oo hearing N.. Clarke rel.le his, that I adved
by a sudden leap at the fullest and clearGt ida
of what it was (as reJaards thc pianoforte) thal I
had becn lodsing fo. all by life, and yet tad becn
unable to exp.es in so nany vords.
Ir.
Frederick Steinecke.Clarke's lile rook
three successivc everings to relate, for we were
all sutrciently prinßve to teel sleepy long before
the hou. when most peoplc retire to rest. We
werci noreover, all workirs hard durils the day,
and we ag.eed, when wc fißt amnged to spend
our cvc.ings togetnc., that we would not allow
our sociable instinds !o tehpt üs ioto encroacling
on üe lroD6 rvhicb wc neded fo. rest- Accord-
ingly.
'ould
$.oon d. rhc.lo"k sldck ren, Mr. Clärle
break ofl in his nanative, and we wished
each other "good night."
givc dre follo'ring G nerrly as I @n reßember in the naftab.s o{n words.
'' My family. hü raid. had l,een lor one or
two generrtion, setrb,r down in oie of üe loneli6r and nosl isol(pd qtots you coJld poss:blt
imesine. They had clo.ed a tnct of land in
the hear! of i great American folest, built a
hoßestead, and reared a large family there. I
was the youngesl. One or rwo of ny sisters
I
,ttÜs rc,4
t
Ex PE R ftt Ncns oF
ben
s€nt lor a yeä. or tvo to rclatjois {bo
lived far awav, and vhile there had got a little
had
smatteriog ol pianolortc?laying-just enougl to
bungle through *altzes, !o!s pouris,and the like.
My parents bought an old piano for them, and
when lws still a sdall child,I used to listen wnh
awe-st.icken adniFt;on to their Perlormanccs on
lt Ns to ne quile enchanted g.oun4 ald as
I grew biggcr ;t 1'as the grcatest joy of my life
it.
to b€ ajlo{ed to try ard lcarn some of my sisteß'
pieces. Halins n,ade these dy own, I began
after a vhile to hunge! for nore. Several odd
chances so favourcd ne at d;fferert tim€s, that
I sradually got hold of dany pieces by Bach,
Mo,an, Beethoven, and Mendelssohn. When I
was about t$€lve years old ny pareots bcgan to
rurn ovd many plans;n the; minds for ny
future, aod fi'ally de.iding that I was to l€arn
tl€ book busioess, scnt hc for th€ lorpose to a
distant toNn, Nhere I would have lhe adr,anhge
ol living in tle hNsc or J nea! relxtion during
tbe yeaß ofny app.eotic€ship. It Nas then that
I first hedd of Liszt, ud, $me ol his com.
positions falling into Dy hands, I thleaded ny
*ay throügh therl, and actually belicved that I
hs on the road to playing the so as to
A
PTANONORN| STAD]'TT.
tie public. I
t
believed dyself to
hc on tbe road to excellcnce,' coDtinued Mr.
Steinecke-Clarke, "but ny nusical ;nstincts toid
oe th* I should not reac! the goal to which I
astonish
say
aspired witnout help. ln GerNany, the land
of nusic-in Leipzig, at that time rega.ded as
the 6ßt müsical college in that coun$y-there
tlat vlich I Deeded in order to rۊlize
ny dreansl But it secmed hopeless to wislro rhink of ever getting there. I rhought and
thought, however, planred and planned; rhe
üpslot ol ill rhis rh;nkiog, all this plannins,
alone wäs
beiog tbat I resolved, by doiog various jobs out
of {orking hours, to earn thc rnorey which would
bring ne to Germaoy-to Leipzig. Once resolved on this, i! \'as ny thought by day and
right for several yeärs. I Säve nusi.l€ssons in
the evenings, did a göod deal ol copyiDg, and
finally, at the age ol sixtecn, in coünting up all
I had püt togelher, believed the sum rotal would
enable me to t€vel the whole lvay |rom Anerie
to Leipsig, and tberc I hoped my talents-of
which I had ao mean opinion-would gain me
free inskucdon et the Codservatorium of Music.
I knew my parents rvorld never have given their
consent to such a step; and therefore, {ithout
][AS]CA
I
EXPERIENC'S AF
ol n,y porposc, I left my
counlry .nd camc to Hamburg in a stomer.
Whq I reached this city, I found that I had
only a few marks ;n my pockct, and thcr€ was,
therefore, notliog for ;t, if I ever wished to reach
saying anything io thcm
Le;pzig, but to travel there on foot. '
Mr
Clarke nust na'e had an adm;lable
nemory, for he descibcd each day of this
jouroey, and elery litde itrcidcnt that marked
the various drys. He was deeply religious, and
he told us tfiät hc prayed carnestly that people
nighr be kind to him. lle was thankful to slecp
iü stables and haylotts, and people rv€re sone'
times so kind ß to give ii,n a good meal for
nothng, while thcre wcre [email protected] days, whc! he
was v€ry thankful il he had succccded ir setting
enough of dry and 5rJle Lread ro satidy his
tünser. Onc dry ir ][d bcen raining hard for
hou.s, and he had becn trudsins on, footere, and
rvory in body, but bräve and hopeful in sp;rh;
but, ns he himself said ;r relatins the incident,
" l *as but ä boy, after all i .od rvhen night ome
on I was {orn olt a.d vdy wet, ald as I walk€d
on, I prayed that I might ind sohe sbeltered
coroer in whicl I could lie dorvn and rcst myscll
The counlry ali rolDd wäs open and bleak, and
)
?J,4
NOliDRl:E SrADDltT.
I
it
seemed as if $ould have to trüdse on all
night my clothes were soaked through, and I
i
vs in the greatBt state of cxhaustion. My
ourage gave say at last, and fl;nging nys€lf on
the grco.d, I d;ed, 'l-a!her, i5 it poss;ble that
you leve no pity for yoor poor child ?' Just as I
had ulter€d these sords, my glance lighted on a
ha)stack, which rvas quit€ near, though had
I
not before perce;ved iL How glad and }ow
thanklul I felt as I saw itl And how I chid
tnyeli and, kneeling doen, pöyed to be forgiven
!
How sweet afld refrcshins
for lny sant or faith
vs the sleep I €njoyed that night;n tle shelter
of that
opportsnely dis.overed haystack l"
'nost
At l6t, how€vea he reached the long-wished-
for goal-he arrived at Leipzig. "You nay
ihagi're," lre sa;d, " after the cxposurc and fatigue
of thet loig weary jolrney, wlat I mst lave
looked like when I presetrted Fyself 6 a candidate for admissior to the Conservätoriüml I
had, howevcr, inmense belief in ny own taleot,
thougb I noticed that the prcfessors looked at
o'e another and shook their hqds, when they
heard, in reply to the question, 'Where have yo!
studie,l music up ro rhr pre<nt time: 'l have
stldied by myself-both at home, and in the c'ty
N' USJC'
L
E XPE & fE JICES OF
where I was lerning the book business. 'But
your t€cher, or yolr tcachers, who were Äey I'
'I have n€ver had any tcache., büt have sttdied
by dyseif-' I sdw thcm shake their heads at
tl6e replies i but I qas no whit dä!.ted by
the;r looks, and rvas quit€ ready to show them
$/hat I could do. Need I tell you üa! eved
before I had leit Anerid, ny playing was
lothing-could, indccd, harc bcen nothing-but
a *ild chaos, cspccially io thc oazy intricacies
ol LisÄs compGitions I
whar ir nust havr bten whcn want ol phctice
and e\treme fatigue sere added to all the other
drawbacks ! Yet, so lhtle was I conscious ol
ny own defciencies, thar, instead ol cloosing
for ny trial-pie.e befo.e the examiners a piece
of any ordinar) difficulty, I attacked a difücuh
polonaisc of Liszts, and, witl, all thc p.Gumprion
ald roolhardiness of unblushing ignorance, vouid
lave played it on to thc end, lad not tle examiners angrily called out to me to stop-that I
knev nothing--that they hnd hcard q\ite enough,
and sould not listeo to .ny more! I begged
thed, however, so earnestly Dot to send me away
without on€ more rrial, thät one of them-who,
it seems.Iad lron the,ißt doncnt fekan inrererr
2
P]ANOFOR?E STTTDDNT
in me-asked il I
was able to read at sighr.
And when I said that I could, he induced his
professional collcqlcs to give De another tr;al.
Mozart's Soratas wc.e plac€d before ne, and ny
.€ading, or ralher my attempt at rqdiog these,
iotuediately influened the b@rd in my favour,
ad I .t
on.e percdvcd vkh joy that I woold
he admitted ioto the Conseruatorilm. lJut before
all this w6 finally arrunged, ny ideal conceptions
about nusical ccrnatry, and, above all, of the
world-renowned Le;pzig Conscryatoriun, reccived
a cruel blov. häd foodly believed that such
mus;cal s€n'us as slpposed mysell to possss
would, even in the cudest posible state, have
I
at
I
once ,tained me admission-that, ;n fad, I
slould b€ admitled ;nto thc Leipzig Conservato.iuo, havc all my €xperses paid, and havc
my musical .ducation free. I $d, therefore,
thundeßfuck when die question was p!! to ne,
'Who is goiDg to paythe fees for yoür irstruction, and the cost of your living herei' I was
overcohe vith soroy, fo. it seemed d
alter
all I had gone throlgh, ny plans were 'f,io €nd
in nothinF lllt lny gr@! carnestnss, my firm
belicf in my owr powers, and perhaps, still more
thd rhest, something in my bearing $Iich
',II]STCA
L
NXPEN TENCDS OF
showed rhem that undcr my shabby Ättire tiere
was one who had cone ol well-principled änd
rvonhy p.rents, *on then so far nt ny favour,
that they said I should rema;n the.e at the expense of tle board lntil I sloüld have written
to ny Parcnts, and asccrtained vhether they we.e
silliog and able to promise to supply rhe funds
dur;ry ny stay thcre. I\ly pa.ents $ere good
enough to forgiee the runa{ay, and gDarantee
all that üe Loinl GquiNJ. In t$o rcrß and a
ialf I took my diploma,' cont;nued XIr. Clarke,
" and, retumiDg to America, sought for ard
obtained a posilior 3s organ;st, *hich, dling ne
ä snall ircome, rclieed ny good parenls from
the bu&lcn of slpporting me. ln Anerie I
cortirued to study $ith unnagging industry and
zeal during thc nex! thrce or lour lears. I Sarc
seleral concerts, at $hich I played ncarly aU the
picces which fom, rhe programncs ol (he l<aLlin!
pianists. But I Nas rcsdess and dissatis,ied ßith
fryselfi rherc \as 3 wdnt in n,) pliying, $hich
wen' fir decprr rl,an , nerc inabilir) ro master
a dimcult pßrsc Not only d;d I iail to produc"
the qualiry of rore lor $hich my naLlre Na!
always carins. bur I ncver could be cerrrin !h
{hen I laid nyha d on the keyboard I could pro-
,1 ?rA XOFO,| ft
drm an even
S
f L',D r: N7,
succession of rich clea.
tones. The
oi this feelirg
gradually increased,
ünril it beca e so intense that ever ir my sleep
i! Iet me have ro rest, and I have dreaned that
the piano played of ia osn accord, and in to'es
$hose delicious timb.e tbrilled me with delight,
and üth a de€p satisfäction vh;cb rs at oD.e
physical ind spiritual. Ät last I coutd bear it no
lorger. I felt I could not rest vithout rrying to
d;scover if rhere was äny way oi producing tones
sinilar to those which haunted ny d.€ans; I
müst try to reali2e what I heard ;n my sleep. I
t.ied, but it was like bcing in a labyrinth,;r which
I could not see my wly to any pssible ouder
.t\t last I vas unable to bear this süaogely
consciousness
niDgled physi.al and nental süair ary longer.
I once more saved up a litrle money, and,
again qo$ing thc oceän, retumed to cemany.
There I had alhost at once the singular sood
luck to hear of tlcn Deppe, nnd to be introduced
to him. The nooent I heard ny Aona play, I
koew that 6y quest was over. I $as ar rhe goal
ol my desires; thcse se.e the tones of rhich I
had dreamed
I Il I had gone on," contimed Mi
Clarke, "giving concerts, and refusing to lhten
to the loice ol mI husical
conscience, where
]IIU,VC'
Pß
L
EXPERTEA'CES OF
the nert to tell her
I'fe
She
hoN she häd been admired and /lzerl
pianist, and had thought }€ßelf on€,
u'til lndeceived by Hed Deppe i and yet hovthoußh it had cos! llcr a scverc strDggle, end the
loss oiall prestige and posit;on for sev€nl yeaß
had givcn !p all hc. |rc!io!s acauisitions,
-shc
had ceasd to phy either at cod.€.ts or in socicty
and had surrendered hereelf wholly to Herr
When my turn came, and I spoke of my past,
and of St. Cecilia, and r€lated what I ws doing
at the present timc, llr. Clerk., vho {as ltte.ly
unworldly and unconventionali b!.st aonh with
all thc fcrvonr lnJ äll (lr hqrt ol one who hels
rhär vital intcre$s arc a( ,täk.. 'Mv Anna
tlere has rot a tenth part of your natural gifts
you can
-for I havc bcen listening noreyo!than
came here.
surmise to your practice since
Ahl how conscientiolsly you go to work, and
how you toil ar rhc kcylJorrdiand ycralasl it
sill result in nothins but pain and diss.dsfaction
''I
is.ot
me"
mu,! trish you gnoJ nighr, lsai,l.'thcrc
the dightest use in yoür sp€king thls to
And so saying, I turned ro go; but thk
.I
PLINAFOR?D S?UDENL
stnnse, simple, urconventionäI, and really noble
being held my hard, and detained me quite
against hy will.
" No, no," he sa;d, " you shall not evade me i
if you never hear the whole truth in your lifc
again, you shall hear it non, and hea. it to the
endj and yo! day bes ansryjust at this noment
as you like at the freedon which I take, yet I
know wlen $e are h difl€rent parts ol the world,
perhaps never to see one aoolher's face again,
you wiil forsive d€*you *ill say vas a true,
deep, and tender inte.cst in your wellde that
nade me lhui ins.st on debining )ou againn
your will. I repeat orcc nore, and repeat it in
the presence ol my \rife-in natural gifts you
srand far, far above her; but this makes it all
the saddcr, rhar in arl sh^ dh ! she is uP th"re.
and, suiling the action to the softl. he €i$d his
hand as ;l he sere poirting to something loweF
;ng Jbove uc, an.l yuu arc down there;" arc
he brought his händ dorvn lower and lower as ii
I
he were dirccti"g our anention
to some
yawnins
deprh. " You lnoN ir in yoLr inmosl hean,'he
rontinuedi but you soni listen to your con$iene
in.
You will no( strip otr all those €gs
of prerens:on, and become l.ke a litLlc .hild. I
and Cive
ItUS]CAT DXPNR]DNCES AF
could weep fo. you," h€ continued, with ever
infieas'ng fefroua "for your aim is id€l, and
you will suffer cruclly vhen you at last discover
that )"ou have never cvcn been on the road to it."
Such was the force of his eloqü€nce, :hat
although I would not at once tell bin so, he had
nearly won ne over to rcturD to Hcrr Deppe,
aDd thus becone tfuly drcir conrade in a.t. But
a friend rt {hosc hoü5e j was ä consBnt gxsr
n€ver cqsd to ;nnrcDce me aga;nst Herr Deppe
and his iollowers. I, norcover, did not l;ke the
idEa of oilerins slight !o Schar\eercka, whoD I
^
l;led and adnired, and sho had ralen gre.t pains
wilh me, and rvis ir nany resp@ts an admihble
tqcher: I thercfor. decided that vher the
.nd I should bc arvaY from all
petunal influe.ce eitler for or against Heü
D€ppe, I $oukl thinl it out for mysell atd decide
whether I should join his school. Wheo I said
good bye to the Stcinecke-Cla.les early itr
Jüly, it was, drercfore, quite Nitb the id€ that
wc should
all threc bc nluch together duriEg the
This is, I think, üc best place for quotiig
some very interesting obsctuatiors of Anna
Steinecket on piaroforte-playing, of Nhicl I
A
PIINOFORTN SrADDNt.
a memonndufl at the time in ny
note-
Sne was a woman wno had thousbt prc-
toundly on this subiect.
" The question is not whether we sludy very
maoy subjccts, nor, as regards art, whcdrer our
knowledse cxt€nds ovet lary. s ,'fe. ol t\e
^
speciel departnent or section in which rve work.
Noi the question is, to seled cenai^ points w};ch
\ye feel to have special vaiue for or spcciai
individuality, and dig and delve the/e, lnril we
get all that qn po$ibly be got tct , deep down
helow the surface lve nüst live oürselves, as
composition befo.e vc
it 1vcrc, into a
'nusical
cen lc4ad .c;r, gi\c it agah that lile and Puletion wh;ch it bas lost, as it (ystalliz€s ioto ,r,/,
notes ind p.ssages on the Page."
With rcgard to slow practice sle sys,
,, P€ople
talk bere and there ol a person r@ding
of anything at sight, 6 if tbat were the rr''. /'la
Mr ol a inished a.tist: but wlat cad ther€ be
to rlrcrpst in su,l, s:AhFleidiiR ) Whcn the
performer L"Sin, to sork ar a sonlra. or a
@nce o. or such-like, he must play every
pJs€e. so iJ to obsurve, wit\out hury or
anxiety, all that is in the compcit;on, a all
that is in his or her performance of it-touch,
,VASICI
T N IPD R ]E NCDS OF
ph6;ng, etc. Whh evcry sev€61 repetition the
obsetuations are nore rapidly takeo in, and after
a rvhile, üthout dy strain or effort, the {hole
develops just ns calmly, a silently. and s
ha.moriously as a flo\rer-'
tr'Iy readers nay possibly
w6 I\Ii$ !-ay's book vhich
Deppe in the fi.st instarce.
iead her book, they nay teel
the differen! @ys in which he
to hüaodro the writerofth;s little b@k, and may
con.ldJe thrr thr r{'*qrr wrirer was rery litde
advanced, as Hcr Deppe pcrnitted her so very
lirLle larilude. r! h prFt'y clü to ne, tha!
the rin,. rvhen I senr to Hetr Dcppr, h rhe
Anhalt", srrd*c, hi5 .ysrpr nrusr ha\e Ltrone
nuch morc fornulated than it w6 when sh€ paid
her 6ßt visit to him ;n the Königg.ätzer Stnsse.
For hc allorved her, evcn in her 6st lesrcn, an
anount of freedod wfiich dt the presen! date is
neve. g.anred to any one. ft is not e nüch for
tny owr ekq as for that of the schools in rvhich
I had studied, and of the dusic;ans under wh6e
guidance I häd worked, that I anticipat€ the
probablc re.joinder to what I have just now said
about Deppe. It vill be said, and v€ry natur-
PIANOFON"E S?UDENL
'
ally too-Miss Fay must have ben far nore
.dlanccd in pianoione-playing whcn she went
to Hcr. Deppc tl,an NA the wriFr of this liEle
Bnt I will take Mr. Clarke as an instace. He
had been a concert-playcr in Amer;ca; aod vhen
I 6rst knew hin, he had b€cn working lnder
Deppe for a year and three months {ith all his
might, and during a third at l€st ol that tine
he had had the advantäge of constant help from
his wife. He had grca! ntusical iacilities, and
vas ve.y giftcd j and yet Le had been allowed
to advance so slowly, that he was then only
beginning to work at lloscbeled Studi€s-they
had hitherto bcen too dijfrcült lor hin to play in
t\. t'ch ;gü ol the school. I cao perhaps nake
this last observation nore intelligible. On the
day belore I lelt Berlin hc played to ne, for the
6Gt rime, onc or rNo or the -\los.heles Stu.li6 ar
shich he va theo so'[ing, and I oust conle,s
that, in the firet insBnce, I wä5 far nore tiken
up in obscrvnlg his hands and fingere, whicb to
me looked like clJ\/s on Lhe kcyboanl, than in
analyzing any special qJdlly of tone in his playingi foa as I have beforc orten sa;d, my perception ol tone {as as yct very lndeveloped.
N|USICiL EXPERIENCES OF
Alter he had played serenl ol the M6cheles
Studies to me, NIi Chrke changed the position
of bis hands, and tl,e. besan to play oost
brilli.ntly ädd witlt s.eat fore seve@l grand
concert pieccs, srying is he did soi 'r I an not
now playing h tlie Detpe t../t ittt/., bnt in tlß
matner wlich I had b.lore I ever went to him.'
" But you are pläying very vell,' I replied ;
" most brilliantly, and sith gieat etr€ct."
'' tsüt dont you obsdvc the difference of
tone I DoD't you perceiv€ that, although I am
playiog rnuch loude. now than I did befor€, yet
the tone I produc€ has litle or no tidbre, no
dng?'
I
remember f.eling in a sort of nze as I
looked at hin and listened to himi and yet, in
just a year fron that datc, I was nyself making
som€thing like the sane rcply to a friend who
sat beside ne as I played to her iD St. Pe!eß'
burg. had thcd been seaenl mooths in
I
another Areat tone-fornling sc}ool, in wlich I
was almost en*ely restr;cted to Cramer; but
havins had a larse proqramme ol pieces when
I began to stud-! in tlnl school, atd Henselt not
having, like Depre, d€sired ne .o give them up,
I used for a long tirne to play them occasionally
A
?ItrNOFOR?E S?T;DDNT.
oth.rs. But the morc I s€t mvself
to the delishtlul tasl ol seekilg to produ.e a
clear, telling, and tuntabih tone, the Iess Ms I
Ior mrself or
setisfied rvith any piccc i! which this tone was
not pre*nl I said so to dle rriend to vhon I
was playing on this particular occsion, addiDg,
" I shall play then no Do.e, but drop them all,
and this vith a.onliction \ylich com€s fron the
!€ry centr€ oi my bcing."
" Is it p6siblc, my ddr friend," she repl;ed,
"that you an bring toußelf to comm;t whrt I
c^nnot hclp callins ,uD suicidc noral ? "' and as
she *id tl;s she nctually bußt inro r@rs!
i sid to her; "dotrt you
note the diffcrcnce ?" And tben I played tle
"But do listeq"
of Cramer which I had sludied accord;og
to Hersehi nrethod, afterwa.ds giving her once
ßore so'ne pieces of my old prosramne, and
she ills ;n a m@sure convioced dnt the lattc.
PerfoElaoce rvas tu trurh uisatisltiog, though
iar more b'illiant than the fo.ner, far more
cahulated to impress the hsrer w;th drc idca
that thc player vas doing something nasterly
and wonderful; sbe felt at length that the
aPParent mastely was mastery on a codPdativcly low planei ir säs, in faci not on lhe
st'rdies
1I' ÜSICA' DXPDR ]D NCE S
plare
O
F
of true a.t at all, but on that of
a
giAantic dilettanteism, Nhjle Hcnselt's nerhod
Ms leading ne oD, slovly, perlaps, bur no.e the
less slrel, tovards the true hcights of a.L
Whether I sholld be able to clinb very high,
or indeed to clidb at all, vas not the quesdon for
me i I had rather Le on lhe iowest srep of Aris
Iadder, than or the highGt limacle of d;lettrn,
ßut I
bave andcipated my Darrative, and
I must retulr orce more to Heff llepp+just
to observe tha! ie is, to my tlinking, one
of the most sagacious be;ngs I have ever come
acrcss. lle tells his pupilsto " live achild's life,"
and kcep Dluch in the open a;i to wear no
gloves, not to go !o nany concerts, and (nost ol
all characteristic oi dre man) not to associate
vith people who .rc either not wonh being
Istened to thcfrselvcs, or who do not pos*ss the
facuhy of listening sith attertion to otheß.
" Chatty people," said he !o ne (at a later dat€
lban the time ol whic! I have now been speaking), "Sd often into . hat'h ot not l;stening, and
this habit ories nsef into all thcy do. A person
who gives way ro rhis haLit vill lose by degrees
the power ol conccDtrating lis att€ntion, and
,I
P]ANOFORTE STUDDAT?.
withoul .ön.enrrition advance in any study i(
,imply imfos,iLic.' TLi. ohervation lJllie,
admihbiy with whrt I hrve ofren hedrd irom a
valued friend, lvhose lifervork v6 scicnce, and
not art. Fle outs it thus: " lletter inaction than
a half.efro,r 'for in th" former yoJ resr i and il
you have a conscienle. you will finally tire or
inetion, rcuse youßelr u.. and püsh vigorously
on; whcreas in thc l.tter case you may indeed
bc moring. bur yoJ Jre nor r lvrn.ing. rnd ever)
on€ of tbesc half-ef{orts tends to relar the nertil
system, an,l to deprivc ir of thc cncrgy to locus
irs porv€rs lor an eflon nr a given di.ection.'
Ard row I nust .elile bow it cade abolt
that, somewhat early in the {int€r, the 6ßt iink
{5 woven in the singüla. chain of circudstances
r{h;ch brought me at hst dnder the innueoc€ of
Adoll vod tlcnselt. Many of Henselt's compositions were ilrcady kno$'n to me, and I had
hard vagxe .umours hcre and there of his ex- ,
trao.dinary poweF äs a /rirurrr, but it Nas not
lrtil I listeaed to the playing of Madenoiselle
Katy Ranuscheritz (the young lady who hed
taken such a proninent positioo at the Liszt
aft rnoo^ //"aiott) that I bccane aware of his
gre'tness as a teacher, and discovered rhat lE
AS]C.4
L
E X?ER ]E NCE,'
O
F
was recognized ädong nusi.ians s one of the
greatest Autlrorities jn t..h 1! e the Notld h^s
ever seen. The way by which I was brousht
into contact with llcnselt was curious enoush;
it {as by a seening chance, and it cane about
sinply bccanse on one larticular Sunday norning
! hed taken a rath6 longer sl€ep than usual,
add conscquendy had sct out lor church fully
lalf an hoür läter than I was in the habit of
doing. I always went to the Dom-not only
because onc was surc
ol
ahvays hearing a good
sermon there, but also atracled by lhe famous
choir ol men's voices, add thc lurther advaotage
of the museum beins close bn into whicli I ofteo
turned alter service, !o spcnd a quiet hour
adong the ea.ly ltalian mateß. Lt was alvays
Decessa.y to bc carly.t the Don Ki.che, if oDe
wished to securc r good seat, and it is ä curious
fäct that I nevd remcnbe. having been so latc
in setting off for .hü.ch as on the evemful dorning which *äs ro p.epnr€ the way for brirgirg
me into personal conr&t virh Henselt. Looking at my Natch vhen seated in the trarn-.d,
rvhich was gonrg in the direction of the Don,
I saw tlut by dr tinc {e should arnve there
I sholld be fa. too late to gct anlthing like a
, PhiraFoRft
sfaDEMf,
good seat; and u I obseryed a hymr-book in
the hard of the lady rvho was siuing b6ide me,
I thought she might possibly bc o! her lvay to
eme odrer chürch vliich we sholld re&h before
service had co'nnerced. Tuming to her, I
asked if th€re rvas aoy ch!.ch ntu$ ro ß in
ehich tbe preachins was g@d. The lady whol't
I had addressed did not at one answer me i but
while she seemed to be makins up her mind
vhich church to reconmend, another lady whom
I had not before obscrved, and who was siuing
right opposite to me, said in a pl@nt tone, and
$ith a slance ol kindly
and
I arejut
inrcrest,
,'My
husband
gerting our of the tr.m ro att€nd
service iß a church close
like to acto'npany
!s.
by:
perhaps you would
I assüre )ou the preachiog
The tram-car slolrped h a minute or two
afte. this. The lady, h€r husband, and her son gor
our
We all vent into chufth tos€thcr, and sat in
the same pep. Therc had b€en no opponlnity
for us to intcrchange dore lhan a word or wo
we entered the church; and wheo rhe
was over we all came silently out until
rached the door, There rve paused and
rt each other for a nomeht, and she it
M']STCAT EXPERTINCES OT
I
bclicvc, \vho took the initiative by 6king
6e whether intcnded ro walk o. d.ive to my
home. The friendly drift ol her quest;on beins
pretty evide.t, I replied drat, as th€ day vas 6ne,
I thought a walk vould perhaps be more agreenble Perlaps our respcctive ways home lay in
This lappeded to be the
the sane di.€cdon
ca*, and we agrccd to ivalk toSether, and soon
got into snch an animated corversation, that w€
found oußelves nci. olr noncs, slich vere in
adjoin;ng streets not 6ve minutes' distance from
e&h other. much soorcr thao we corld hrve
was,
I
?
We had not t ken ve.y long to discover thar
there ex;sted betweeo us one of rhe strongest
reasons for bcconing int'mate,
that we both
';a
had had all our life long an infatuating, allenglossing love fo. nusic. i tokl her rhat I w6
a watrdcrer Lon ny colntry in search of n
perlect scientiEc method lor acqui.iDg masrery
over the pianoione i and shc told ne tlat she
was by naüiasc a falourite riece of Adotf lon
Henseh, ol St. Irete.sburg, {ho vas,
her, the greatest danoforte authority
M;la,
it
I
parted that forenooo
was scttled that I sd to
When
I
P|,]NOFOR?E STatDENT
the lollowing eve ng to hear some very good
püpils of the late Herr Vogl play in Kullak's
Conservatoire. That evening ceoente<l our intimacy. and before long I almost inwriably spent
my Sünday aft€rnoons *ith F€u Mila W€
used to talk about Schanvenck4 Deppe, thc
Steinecke-Clarkes, and \yhat lhey eid, and then
ofthe
labyrinrh our of which I was veinly
'Nsical
trying to 6nd ny way. She would oflen say ro
lf
you could but see my uncle, and be
unds his guidan.e, he would soon smooth away
me, "