Selected Content from the Interviews Department

Content is listed chronologically in the order originally published by "The Etude".
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Impromptu Opinions of Prominent Musicians. - May, 1895

1.  What instrument, in your judgment, produces the most musical music? 2.  What new fields has the future in store for musical composition? 3.  What is your opinion of the influence exerted upon the community by the German brass band,... Read More

The Musical Listener. - May, 1897

Among the many conversations and discussions about things musical The Listener indulges in, few have proved as interesting and instructive as the little talk he arranged especially for The Etude with Mr. B. J. Lang, of Boston. Read More

The Musical Listener - Mr. Max Heinrich - February, 1898

The Listener did not select Mr. Max Heinrich especially because he is a pianist as well as a singer, but because he is one of the few typically musical natures to be found in our professional ranks--not meaning, however, that he is a typical American musician, but that, in every particular, he materializes the spirit of sound, uttering itself poetically and dramatically. Read More

Mr. David Bispham on the Study of the English Song. - May, 1901

This is the first of a series of talks with prominent artists which Mr. William Armstrong, the well-known critic and writer, has obtained for The Etude. The next will be "The Study of the German Song," by Mme. Schumann-Heink, to be followed by M. Pol Plancon on "The Study of the French Song," and Mme. Lillian Nordica on "Woman in Music," particularly addressed to the American girl music student. Read More

Mr. Pol Plançon - The Study of the French Song. - July, 1901

There is both elegance and finish in the versatility of Mr. Plançon, and whether it is opera, a sacred composition, or a song, there need never be any uncertainty of his artistic poise. He is a man of absolute adaptability, and, after all, if we consider a moment, the lack of this quality, or perhaps, one may say, the lack of its development, prevents success oftener than many more recognized shortcomings. Read More

Josef Hofmann on Piano Practice and Technic - January, 1902

JANUARY, 1902.   A CLOSER knowledge of Josef Hofmann proves two things: his possession of an extraordinary alertness of mind and of concentration,—qualities of eminent importance to the pianist, and an idea is conveyed to him sufficiently by a suggestion,... Read More

Edouard Zeldenrust On the Training Of An Artist. - February, 1902

Hollanders are making great strides in music. I can say, I think, without being accused of partiality, that as fine concerts may be heard in The Hague as anywhere in the world. I attribute this completely to the German influence. The Dutch are a little slow and phlegmatic; but, if they take to things slowly, they take to them properly. The Dutch are, however, not as slow as they were. Americanism is getting into us too. People are more restless than they used to be; they are less phlegmatic and less quiet. Read More

Three English Women Composers - April, 1902

REFINEMENT, fine feeling, and sympathetic appreciation are the qualities that have aided in marked degree in the success of women as song-writers, a form of musical composition for which the sex seems admirably adapted. The three examples at this moment in mind,--Miss Frances Allitsen, Madame Liza Lehmann, and Madame Guy d'Hardelot,--each successful in her particular field, are each so widely different in individuality and in the matter of surroundings as to make them interesting subjects. Read More

My Opus I - July, 1902

PHILIPP SCHARWENKA - I AM to tell about my first work, and to do so must go back to the Second Punic War, which, in my recollection, is connected so closely with the composing of my first work. Read More

Edward Macdowell on the Relation of Music and Poetry - July, 1902

Mr. Macdowell, for he prefers this simple mode of address to that of either professor or doctor, to both of which he is entitled, is firm in his opinions, frank in expressing them, impatient of mediocrity, and unflinching in the holding fast of his ideals. In common with most sensitive and intellectual people, he has two distinct sides to his character, that which the world knows and that which shows only to his friends. Read More

Sir Alexander Campbell Mackenzie and the Royal Academy of Music, London. - September, 1902

The composer is worse off than any other branch. If he writes the highest and best, he cannot publish, and he must teach or sing low to get a living. The music now published, however, is much better than was the case in the past, and there has been a great awakening and extraordinary change in the last fifteen years. Read More

The Making of an Artist. A Talk With Mark Hambourg. - October, 1902

BY WILLIAM ARMSTRONG.   A Broad View of Life. THE individuality of Mark Hambourg is as pronounced in his manner as it is in his view of things musical. Excitable, emotional, absorbed completely in his work during a performance, and... Read More

A Talk With Ossip Gabrilowitsch, Part II. - November, 1902

  The Making Of An Artist. BY WILLIAM ARMSTRONG   Like a number of other noted pianists, Ossip Gabrilowitsch could have recourse to another profession if the necessity should arise. Educated in the law, much of his spare time in... Read More

Two English Composers of To-Day: Frederic H. Cowen & Edwin Elgar - February, 1903

DR. FREDERIC H. COWEN, the busiest conductor in England, is an interesting personality. He has the same restraint of manner that distinguishes many of his countrymen, yet much enthusiasm and a marked gift of fluency of speech, directly and simply... Read More

The Making of an Artist: A Second Talk with Mark Hambourg - June, 1903

"A certain amount of nervous anxiety prior to appearing is really necessary to the securing of a good performance, but this phase of nervousness and stage-right, which is an unnecessary condition, are widely opposite. To my way of thinking, and speaking from experience, if one thoroughly knows a thing--and none should think of performing anything in public that he has not completely grown into--stage-fright is an entirely unnecessary condition." Read More

Amy Beach - New Gems in the Old Classics - February, 1904

She is a woman of charmingly simple manners, and, as foregone conclusion, of high, innate refinement. She is of medium height. Her eyes are of a grayish blue, large, and smiling. Her complexion is fresh and brilliant. Her blonde hair, primly parted, is brushed back smoothly from her face. Read More

A Talk with George W. Chadwick - March, 1904

REPORTED BY WILLIAM ARMSTRONG   There is a generally entertained idea that to know a writer is to feel a keener interest in that which he writes. To the composer this same idea is applicable.   If you know... Read More

The Boy Piano Student - April, 1904

The question has often been put to me, Should a boy who shows no especial musical talent be made to study the piano? There are two ways of looking at the matter. The refining influence of music, and its aid in developing the mind is sufficiently recognized to need no further debate just now. Read More

Madame Marchesi - Some of Her Teaching Principles - April, 1904

Madame Marchesi would strike you with interest no matter where you might see her or in what ignorance you might be of her distinguished personality. Of good height and with an erect bearing and carriage that make her appear taller,... Read More

Dr. Theodor Lierhammer On the German Lied - June, 1904

In talking on a subject intimate to any man, one gets a glimpse of his equipment, quite aside from any opinions that he may express on the work that absorbs him. Mr. John Drew has the most complete vocabulary of any man on the stage with whom I have talked, the outcome of a study of many rôles by well-equipped dramatists each with his special range of expression. With Dr. Lierhammer, in telling a story in general conversation, he gives it briefly, simply, yet graphically, and full of fancy--the result of study of the exact meaning of the words that he delivers in his lieder, and their relation to the picture that they sustain, conveying thus unconsciously the prime point in his art--the equal importance of the poet and the composer in the song. Read More

Mrs. Bloomfield Zeisler on Study and Repertory - February, 1905

She is a charming personality, complex, perhaps contradictory, to be more exact. Thoroughly womanly, sensitive beyond the understanding of persons less finely developed, with profound love of home and all the word conveys to a devoted wife and mother. Read More

The Making of an Artist - The Views of Alfred Reisenauer. - July, 1906

When I had reached a certain grade of advancement it was my great fortune to become associated with the immortal Franz Liszt. I consider Liszt the greatest man I have ever met. By this I mean that I have never met, in any other walk of life, a man with the mental grasp, splendid disposition and glorious genius. Read More

Edouard Risler and His Playing of Beethoven's Sonatas - July, 1906

Edouard Risler, one of the most evenly developed and highly gifted of the younger French pianists, was born of Alsatian descent at Baden-Baden, February 25th, 1873. He was for a long time the pupil of Louis Dièmer, perhaps the most celebrated teacher in Paris, at the conservatoire. His interpretations of Beethoven are especially famous. Read More

The Business Side Of Making An Artist - August, 1907

A Delusion of Student Life. ONE of the cruelest experiences that confronts the student with ambitions to become a great interpretative artist is the disillusionment which he must suffer at the end of the period allotted to preparation for his... Read More

Their Favorite Pieces - May, 1908

In a recent issue of The Strand Magazine several of the most noted virtuosos of the day contributed to a symposium entitled, "The Piece I Most Enjoy Playing." The following is in part taken from the statements of those artists who are known to "American" readers. Read More

Harold Bauer on Music in America - May, 1908

"THE trouble with most people is that they do not realize the importance of America and its music now. The future of the art here is so dazzling that it is beyond estimate, and the present is a great joy... Read More

The Secret of Public Appearance - December, 1908

By MRS. FANNIE BLOOMFIELD-ZEISLER   [Editor's Note.—The following is from an interview secured expressly for The Etude and is designed to assist pupils and teachers who are confronted with the perplexing problems leading to public appearance. Coming from one of... Read More

Ossip Gabrilowitsch: Touch--the Great Essential of Fine Pianoforte Playing - March, 1909

From an Interview Secured Exclusively for THE ETUDE with M. OSSIP GABRILOWITSCH [Editor's  Note.—M.Gabrilowitsch, who is now upon his fourth tour of America, is, without doubt, one of the foremost virtuosos of the day. He is still a young man, as... Read More

Theodore Leschetizky on Modern Pianoforte Study - April, 1909

As for technical development, have the Alkan etudes or the Don Juan Fantasie grown any easier with time? The quantity of piano-playing has increased, yes, more strive for a great technic; but as for the quality I do not see any improvement. Programs are many times entirely too long and too stereotyped. Let us hear more of the new things! Read More

Leschetizky on Piano Playing - May, 1909

From an Interview by E. Hughes II.     BEETHOVEN AND CZERNY. Knowing that Leschetizky had studied all the Beethoven concertos and most of the sonatas during the time when he was a pupil of Czerny, and that Czerny had... Read More

The Story Of Pepito Arriola - February, 1910

A representative of The Etude investigated the case of Pepito Arriola with a view to presenting to our readers some interesting educational facts regarding the most astonishing case of precocity known in recent years, with the possible exception of Master Sidis, the child mathematician of Boston. Pepito was born in Madrid on the 14th of December, 1897. A careful investigation of his ancestry reveals that no less than twelve of his forefathers and relations have been pronouncedly musical. His father was a physician and his mother a musician. The child's early musical training was given to him by his mother, and, as he tells in his own story, was along singularly natural lines. Read More

Ten Important Attributes Of Beautiful Pianoforte Playing. S.V. Rachmaninov - March, 1910

Especially secured for The Etude from an interview with S. V. RACHMANINOFF, Supervisor General of the Imperial Conservatories of Russia   [Editor's Note.—A short biography of M. Rachmaninoff appeared in the "Gallery of Celebrated Musicians" in the October issue of... Read More

Liza Lehmann - To The Young Musician Who Would Compose - April, 1910

I was studying with Mme. Clara Schumann in Frankfurt, where she had invited me to become better acquainted with the immortal songs of her husband, Robert Schumann. While I was in her home, Brahms came for a short visit. Naturally, I was in a state of great ecitement. (sic) The anticipation of meeting one of the world's greatest masters was quite enough to set the student heart aflame. On the morning of the first day of his visit we had sardines for breakfast. They were served after the German custom in the original tin containers. What was my surprise and horror upon seeing Brahms devour his fish and then take up the can and drink the oil! Read More

Neglected Details in Pianoforte Study - April, 1910

There is something particularly interesting in the recent and pronounced successes of Ferruccio Busoni in America which should be of greatest encouragement to those who have striven to succeed and who have imagined that their inability to compel immediate success can only be classified as failure. Busoni has always been recognized as an artist of great gifts and unquestioned artistic ability. It was, however, not until the present season, that American audiences have been forced to realize that in Busoni we now have one of the very greatest virtuosos of our time. His recent success is the result of development and a realization of early deficiencies. Busoni has never stopped in his effort to improve. Read More

Eminent Musicians on Chopin and His Works - May, 1910

Selected and arranged for ETUDE readers from an excellent symposium which appeared recently in the London Musical Times. Chopin had little fondness for the English people and for England. In fact, upon one occasion while returning from that country to... Read More

The Song Masterpieces of Robert Schumann - June, 1910

Mme. Johanna Gadski   [Editor's Note :—Mme. Johanna Gadski, one of the foremost Wagnerian Sopranos of our day and also one of the most successful interpreters of the "Art Songs" of Schumann, Schubert, Franz, Brahms and other masters, has given... Read More

Raoul Pugno - Chopin, The Pre-Eminent Genius Of The Pianoforte - August, 1911

Until his time, Etudes were but irksome means of acquiring technic. Chopin preserved their incontestable technical utility, but communicated to them such a musical quality that they have become magnificent tone poems of enormous variety, traversing the entire scale of human passions, from the peace ineffable expressed in the Etude in E major to the heroic enthusiasm of that in C minor. Read More

Mascagni's Bitter Struggle For Success - October, 1911

"When one has arrived in art or worldly affairs, it is possible to look back without regret upon the hardships of the years of apprenticeship that paved the way to success. Time softens the memory of want and struggle, the poignancy of wrecked ambitions, and we get the true perspective of our lives and a realization of the values of our failures as well as of our achievements. How flat and uninteresting would be the retrospect, if there were no shadows to bring out the high lights!" Read More

Originality in Pianoforte Playing - Vladimir de Pachmann - October, 1911

The peculiar and inimitable gifts of M. Vladimir de Pachmann have attracted such unusual attention in all art-loving countries that it seems hardly necessary to give the biography of this well-known artist or to comment upon his playing. One of the most notable characteristics of de Pachmann is that he has never ceased to work, never ceased to practice with the view of making himself a better and greater pianist. He has not appeared in public in America for some years. Recent London criticisms declare that he has made an entirely new pianist of himself, and that, while he has preserved all of the velvety touch of other days, he has developed a Bravura style which has not been approached since the days of Franz Liszt. Read More

Work, the Secret of Pianistic Success. - November, 1911

The great teacher is an artist who works in men and women. Every pupil is different, and he must be very quick to recognize these differences. He should first of all teach the pupil that there are hundreds of things which no teacher can ever hope to teach. He must make his pupil keenly alert to this. There are hundreds of things about my own playing which are virtually impossible to teach. Read More

Harold Bauer - Artistic Aims in Pianoforte Playing - March, 1912

People talk about 'using the music of Bach' to accomplish some technical purpose in a perfectly heartbreaking manner. They never seem to think of interpreting Bach, but, rather, make of him a kind of technical elevator by means of which they hope to reach some marvelous musical heights. We even hear of the studies of Chopin being perverted in a similarly vicious manner, but Bach, the master of masters, is the greatest sufferer. Read More

Personal Recollections of Famous Musicians - January, 1913

Written Especially for The etude by the Eminent Composer, Conductor, Singer and Teacher   GEORGE HENSCHEL, Mus. Doc.   [Editor's Note.—The distinguished composer, conductor, singer, pianist and teacher, George Henschel, who has kindly consented to give his personal recollections... Read More

Leopold Godowsky - The Place of Technic in Pianoforte Playing - January, 1913

[EDITOR’S NOTE.—The following interview with the renowned pianist, Leopold Godowsky, was secured shortly after his arrival in America for his present tour, No pianist in recent years has attracted such wide attention as Godowsky. He was born at Wilna, Russia... Read More

Mile-Posts in Pianistic Progress. By the Eminent Pianist Teacher SEÑOR ALBERTO JONÁS - January, 1913

The mechanical piano will be so perfected that the "performer," by manipulating stops and levers with hands and feet, will be able to give an individual touch, accentuation and color to every single note, as the pianist does now, and the result may be the same, but with greater effects, with the peculiar articulation and rapidity of enunciation of mechanical appliances. The device, until now sought in vain, whereby a "vibrato" can be imparted to any string of the piano, like the vibrato a violinist brings forth, will be invented; the tone will be sustained, increased and diminished at will, as produced now by players of string and of wind instruments. More than that every instrument of the orchestra will be played automatically, and it will be possible for one person to control a combination of them, or possibly all, so that the "virtuoso manipulator" will "play" alone sonatas for piano and violin, quartets for piano and string instruments, concertos for piano and orchestra. Read More

Success in Concert Singing - An Interview with the Distinguished English Contralto Mme. Clara Butt - February, 1913

Lord Bolingbroke in his essay on the shortness of human life shows how impossible it is for a man to read more than a mere fraction of a great library though he read regularly every day of his life. It is very much the same with music. The resources are so vast, and time is so limited, that there is no opportunity to learn everything. Far better is it for the vocalist to do a little well than do much ineffective. Read More

The Art of Pianoforte Playing in Russia - An Interview with the Distinguished Russian Pianist JOSEF LHEVINNE - March, 1913

"Rag-time," and by this I refer to the peculiar rhythm and not to the bad music that Americans have come to class under this head, has a peculiar fascination for me. There is nothing objectionable about the unique rhythm, any more than there is anything iniquitous about the gypsy melodies that have made such excellent material for Brahms, Liszt and Sarasate. Perhaps some day some American composer will glorify it in the Scherzo of a Symphony. Read More

Raoul Pugno - The Necessity for Daily Practice - November, 1913

  An Interview Secured Especially for The Etude by G. Mark Wilson with the Famous French Pianist Composer RAOUL PUGNO   [Editor's Note.—Raoul Pugno, with the possible exception of Saint-Saens, is the most famous French pianist of the last three... Read More

Emil Sauer - Progress in Music Study - January, 1914

From an Interview Secured Expressly for THE ETUDE by G. Mark Wilson with the Famous Teacher and Virtuoso EMIL SAUER   [EDITOR’s NOTE—Few pianists of our time have been so fortunate in pleasing both professional musicians and amateurs as... Read More

Teresa Carreño - Observations in Piano Playing - February, 1914

Reviews of the interesting life of Teresa Carreño have frequently appeared in THE ETUDE, but we may be excused for reminding our readers of some of the accomplishments which make this famous pianist one of the most significant figures in the history of the music of the new world. Read More

Ossip Gabrilowitsch - Memorizing Music Successfully - May, 1914

AN INTERVIEW WITH THE DISTINGUISHED PIANIST OSSIP GABRILOWITSCH SECURED ESPECIALLY FOR THE ETUDE BY EDWIN HUGHES  [Editor's Note.—Interviews with Mr. Gabrilowitsch have appeared in previous issues of The Etude and have always pleased our readers greatly. His interest in... Read More

An Appreciation of Contemporary Music: Claude Debussy - June, 1914

"Interviewers have often ascribed to me surprising things which I greatly marveled to read. It is often difficult to say much upon the subject of contemporary music. Events are accumulating with incredible speed, and to try to focus them is often to strive after impossibilities. At the point actually reached by musical art, who could make a choice between the many diverging roads that composers follow? The task is distressingly puzzling." Read More

Olga Samaroff - Concentration in Music Study - June, 1914

"The subject of concentration in music study has been discussed so many times that it would seem well nigh impossible to say anything about it approaching novelty. Yet, concentration is a matter of such great consequence to all students, particularly music students, that there are few artists who would hesitate to place it at the very foundation of all serious work." Read More

The Outlook for the Young American Composer - January, 1915

An interview with the Distinguished American Composer, MRS. H. H. A. BEACH Secured Especially for THE ETUDE by Mr. Edwin Hughes    [EDITOR’S NOTE—The following interview was secured by Mr. Edwin Hughes, the well known American pianist and teacher in... Read More

Breadth in Musical Art Work - Ignace Jan Paderewski - February, 1915

The call for breadth in musical art has been insistent since the earliest days of its history. Yet one can not help being conscious of the fact that the public in general is inclined to look upon all art workers as idealists confined to a narrow road very much apart from the broad pathway of life itself. Read More

The Music of Proud and Chivalrous Poland - February, 1915

THE BEAUTY OF POLAND'S NATIONAL MUSIC. BY MME. MARCELLA SEMBRICH The Renowned Prima Donna.   [The Etude invited Mme. Sembrich to contribute to this issue, because of all the Polish singers who have come to America none has a... Read More

Frances Alda - What the American Girl Should Know About an Operatic Career - November, 1916

From an interview secured expressly for The Etude, with the noted prima donna soprano FRANCES ALDA (Mme. Gatti-Casazza) of the Metropolitan Opera Company   (Editor's Note.—Mme. Frances Alda, like Mme. Melba, was born in Australia. Her studies in music... Read More

Has the Art of the Piano Reached Its Zenith or Is It Capable of Further Development? - December, 1918

The Etude has secured a series of articles and statements from illustrious men and women, including General Pershing, General Hugh Scott, Lyman Abbott, Henry C. Van Dyke, Samuel Gompers, John Philip Sousa, Ida M. Tarbell, Dr. Anna Shaw, Thomas Edison and others, emphasizing the special need for music in war time. It is most important that the interest in our art be actively maintained by its leading workers at this time. Read More

Appreciations of Rachmaninoff from Famous Musicians in America - October, 1919

Harold Bauer Sergei Rachmaninoff once said to me that he loved everything   that Tschaikowsky had ever written. I doubt if any single phrase could better illustrate the character, the tendencies, the modesty and generosity of the distinguished composer who... Read More

National and Radical Impressions in the Music of To-day and Yesterday - October, 1919

An Interview Secured Expressly for The Etude with the Eminent Russian Composer, Pianist, Conductor, Sergei Rachmaninoff   [Editor's Note.—Not since the days of the triumphs of Rubinstein in America, has any Russian pianist-composer achieved such success as has Mr.... Read More

The Indispensables in Pianistic Success - February, 1920

An Interview with the Eminent Piano Virtuoso JOSEF HOFMANN   (The First Section of this Interview Appeared in The Etude Last Month)   "In the art of piano playing we have much the same line of curve. At first... Read More

New Tendencies in Pianistic Art - May, 1920

THE ETUDE MAY 1920 Page 295 New Tendencies in Pianistic Art An Interview Secured Expressly for THE ETUDE with the Distinguished Russian Pianist BENNO MOISEIWITSCH    [BIOGRAPHICAL NOTE.—Benno Moiseiwitsch is the latest and possibly the last of the noted... Read More

The Best Remedy I Have Ever Found for Nervousness in Public Performance - July, 1920

THE ETUDE invited a group of well-known teachers to give us their opinions upon this subject. Of course, every teacher encounters nervousness in some form. Senor Alberto Jonas recounts, in "Great Pianists Upon Piano Playing," a method he uses... Read More

Mary Garden - The "Know How" in the Art of Singing - July, 1920

Mary Garden was born in Aberdeen. Scotland, but came to America with her parents when she was eight years of age and was brought up in Chicopee, Mass.; Hartford, Conn.; and Chicago, Ill. She studied violin, piano and voice in Chicago and then went to Paris where she became a pupil of Trabedello, Chevallier and Fugère. Since 1910 she has been connected with many of the greatest successes of the Chicago Grand Opera Company. Read More

Music Composition as a Field for Women - Mrs. Carrie Jacobs-Bond - September, 1920

Years passed like a panorama. Many beautiful and many terrible things happened. After the death of my husband, Dr. Frank Lewis Bond, at Iron River, I moved to Chicago with my son, ready to do anything to earn a living. At the time of my husband's death I had a lovely home, but with his passing everything changed and I found myself, as more than one doctor's wife has found herself, with very little. Read More

Josef Lhévinne - Practical Phases of Modern Pianoforte Study - March, 1921

Scales, it seems to me, are the basis of the development of a perfect technic. I always have been a firm believer in them. I am aware that some seem to think that they are not necessary, but anyone who has sat beside pupils and watched the almost magical effect that the right kind of scale drill produces upon pupils at a certain stage of advance could not fail to be convinced. Read More

Josef Lhévinne - Practical Phases of Modern Pianoforte Technic - April, 1921

  From an interview with the Eminent Pianoforte Virtuoso JOSEF LHEVINNE   (The first part of this interesting and helpful article appeared in The Etude for March)       Touch, Acquired and Natural So many people seem to... Read More

Julia Claussen - Modern Roads to Vocal Success - April, 1921

American children need to be constantly taught to reverence the great creators of the land. Why, Jenny Lind is looked upon as a great national heroine in Sweden, much as one might regard George Washington in America. Before America can go about musical educational work properly, the teachers must inculcate this spirit, a proper appreciation of what is really beautiful, instead of a kind of wild, mob-like orgy of blare, bang, smash and shriek which so many have come to know as ragtime and jazz. Read More

Ignaz Friedman - What is the Most Difficult Thing in Piano Playing? - May, 1921

"Many pianists never develop their rhythmic side so that they are able to play more than a very few pieces with the proper effect. Rhythm is the life of music, color is its flesh and blood. Without either all interpretative art is dead." Read More

Dr. Richard Strauss - New Paths and Visions in Musical Progress - January, 1922

It is not necessary for me to advise America as to the matter of musical ideals. There are horrible perver­sions in all parts of the world. One of the greatest abuses I have observed since my visit to this country has been the deliberate pilfering of the great musical masters of the past to make some popular tune. If there must be prohibition, why not make a law to prevent such desecration. The other night I heard in a hotel in Pittsburgh the lovely Blue Danube Waltz of Johann Strauss murdered in some popular tune in which it appeared in four quarter time. I am told that this is not only common but that popular publishers in keeping with the banditry of the times are making a continual practice of it. The bad effect upon the art and upon the student of the art is that it belittles the need for creating original melodies. When it is so easy to steal, why produce? Read More

Would I Take Up Music Again? - January, 1922

These valued opinions were sent in response to the following questions: Would I Want my Son or my Daughter to Make Music a Career? Would I Take Up Music if I were Beginning my Work Again? Read More

Mischa Levitzki - Getting a Start as a Virtuoso - February, 1923

A debut is a very expensive thing. A failure debut is still more expensive. The managerial cost, the advertising, necessary in these days, the excitement of the event, all concentrate much in the life of a young person. Why is it then that there are so many ill-timed debuts? Better none at all than one given by an unripe talent. Read More

Many Roads to Artistic Playing: Alexander Siloti - March, 1923

Many Roads to Artistic Playing An Interview with the Eminent Pianist-Conductor By ALEXANDER SILOTI Secured Expressly for THE ETUDE    “IT may seem paradoxical, but I have learned almost as much from teaching others as I have from studying with... Read More

Alexander Siloti - Leaves From a Virtuoso's Note Book - August, 1923

Young pianists nowadays are fond of placing some of [Bach's] big works on their programs. Well and good; if they play the notes with clearness and precision and give a general idea of the form of the compositions. When I see these programs I say--if the player is young--no, he has not lived, he has not the life experience to play such things. When one is twenty one cannot fathom the mysteries of Bach. Neither at thirty. At forty one begins to understand; at forty-five, yes, at forty-five, one should have arrived at years of experience--of life. But, lest these words should discourage young students and players who like to play Bach's music, I hasten to say that I encourage them to study much and deeply into the works of this great master, for this study will bear rich fruit one day, when experience has prepared the soil and fertilized it. Read More

Josef Lhévinne - Basic Principles in Pianoforte Playing - October, 1923

Secured Exclusively for The Etude by Interview with the Famous Virtuoso Pianist JOSEF LHÉVINNE   THE possibilities of the piano have been a matter of continual development. The highly developed instrument of to-day is the descendant of many attempts at... Read More

Emma Calve - Practical Aspects of the Art of Studying Singing - October, 1923

The voice demands care and sensible protection. Some singers seem to carry this too far. Patti, for instance, did not even read on the days when she was to sing. Her husband, Nicolini, had a theory that the voice was so delicate that even the act of reading caused a strain upon the eye muscles that was in turn communicated to the throat. Patti also did not attend rehearsals, in order that her voice might be spared. We may laugh at these precautions; but we must remember the very great length of time that the great singer preserved her voice. Read More

Basic Principles in Pianoforte Playing - Josef Lhévinne - November, 1923

I have repeatedly had students come for instruction who have after great effort prepared one, two, or at the most three show pieces, even pieces as far advanced as the Tschaikowsky or the Liszt Con­certo, who barely knew what key they were playing in. As for understanding the modulations and their bearing upon the interpretations of such com­plicated and difficult master works, they have been blissfully ignorant. Read More

Basic Principles in Pianoforte Playing, Part III - Josef Lhévinne - December, 1923

The reason why a number of people say that they do not care for piano playing is that so many so-called performers upon the instrument treat it as though it were an anvil and go on hammering out musical horse shoes. Read More

Should Piano Playing Undergo a Radical Reform? - Vladimir de Pachmann - December, 1923

An Interview Secured Exclusively for the Etude With the Famous Virtuoso VLADIMIR DE PACHMANN Who at the Age of Seventy-five Has Remolded His Entire Repertoire According to New Principles Which He Claims Are of Paramount Importance Read More

Basic Principles in Pianoforte Playing, Part IV - JOSEF LHEVINNE - January, 1924

Basic Principles in Pianoforte Playing SECTION IV Secured Exclusively for THE ETUDE by Interview with the Famous Virtuoso Pianist JOSEF LHEVINNE This Series Began in the "Etude" for October. Each Section May be Read Independently Acquiring Delicacy and Power In... Read More

The Thresholds of Vocal Art - MME. AMELITA GALLI-CURCI - January, 1924

  An Interview Secured Expressly for THE ETUDE with the World=Famous Diva MME. AMELITA GALLI-CURCI Biographical The success of Galli-Curci has often been described as "meteoric " but familarity with her biography reveals that, as in the case with all... Read More

Otokar Sevcik - The Violin Student's Fundamentals - March, 1924

Too often it occurs that students who hope for a virtuoso career are disappointed; and when they turn to orchestra or ensemble playing they find that their command of rhythm and bowing is not sufficiently well developed. I want all pupils who study my system to be all-around musicians, and therefore have incorporated in my studies exercises to develop command of every rhythm and bowing, even to the rag-time or syncopated rhythms which are so overworked in this country. All parts of the bow should be evenly developed; and students should especially work for control of the bow at the frog. Read More

Josef Lhévinne - Basic Principles in Pianoforte Playing - March, 1924

Four hours a day of practice is good measure. Over- practicing is just as bad as under-practicing. It should be the younger student's aim and desire to get done with technic as soon as possible. There is no short cut. One cannot go around or under the mountain. One must climb straight over it. Therefore in the earlier lessons more attention must be given to technic than in the later lessons when a really masterly technic has been developed. The trouble is that most students seem to look upon it the other way. Read More

Moritz Rosenthal - If Franz Liszt Should Come Back Again - April, 1924

Liszt would also be filled with the keenest pleasure by witnessing another advance in piano playing. I refer to the general adoption of the syncopated pedal, that is, putting down the damper pedal after the note is struck rather than when it is struck. Only in this way can a beautiful cantilena be preserved in melodic passages. Liszt knew of this. However, it was not widely used until the last twenty years. It has made a vast difference in the beauty of piano playing generally; and I consider it the most distinctive differences between the piano playing of forty years ago and of to-day. Read More

Modern Ideas in Pianoforte Technic - E. Robert Schmitz - August, 1925

When a melody ascends it generally gathers intensity or force. When it descends it diminishes in force, tending toward relaxation. This principle is observed almost universally by sensitive artists. Take the Busoni edition of Bach's Forty-Eight Preludes and Fugues, for instance, and note how the great interpreter has indicated that the phrases gain in intensity as the pitch ascends. Read More

How Music is Saving Thousands From Permanent Mental Breakdown - Willem Van De Wall - September, 1925

Music often produces instant improvements in behavior. On one of my regular visits to the Woman's Work House, on Blackwell's Island, the jail for New York City, I happened to come in just after a serious outbreak among the hardened type of women prisoners incarcerated there. I was advised for safety's sake not to go near them. The bitter fate of the guards who had tried to reduce the wrath of these furious ladies caused this warning. Eager to give music the acid test, I regarded this as an opportunity and faced the group. Read More

Should The Piano Have Two Keyboards? - April, 1931

FOR YEARS composers have been striving to add to the piano certain features which might increase its scope. Beethoven is quoted as saying that "The piano is, and will continue to be, an unsatisfactory instrument." If Beethoven had heard the magnificent instruments produced by the best American piano makers, he would have marveled at their beauty and advance over the instruments he knew. Read More

Four Hands that Play as Two . . . - December, 1933

By Josef Lhévinne and Rosina Lhévinne   AS TOLD TO ROSE HEYLBUT   TWO PIANO playing is practically virgin territory and this, perhaps, is its chief interest. The possibilities of entertainment and instruction, both to the performers and their hearers, are... Read More

The Saga of Virgil W. Bork - January, 1938

The Saga of Virgil W. Bork The remarkable story of a successful musician who was “brought up under ground” and now directs the large Union County Band and Orchestra School in Roselle, New Jersey Secured expressly for The Etude... Read More

Harry Adjip: From Jungle to Symphony Hall - February, 1938

From Jungle to Symphony Hall An Extraordinary Musical Life The tale of a man with four names; who was born in Hawaii, of American Indian parents; was brought up by a Malay in Singapore, as a Mohammedan; is now a... Read More

Sing With Your Heart! By Frieda Hempel, Internationally Renowned Prima Donna - April, 1939

I see no harm in learning by imitation, provided that the models are worth imitating, and that the imitation does not become mechanical or slavish. Read More

Tooting a Horn for Fifty Years - April, 1939

B. A. Rolfe is distinctly a self-made musician, in every sense of the word. Literally brought up from childhood in a circus band, his progress to Broadway, and his large variety of enterprises, make this one of the most colorful articles The Etude has ever presented. Read More

New Concepts In Present Day Music - April, 1939

I look upon the Philadelphia Symphony Orchestra under Leopold Stokowski and Eugene Ormandy as the greatest musical instrument of its type in the world. There has never been anything in the way of an orchestra so exquisitely perfect and responsive. Read More

What Do Bands Mean to America? - April, 1939

"Music has been aptly termed 'the fourth essential,' only food, clothing and shelter preceding music in importance in a well rounded and happy life. And to participate in a musical performance, even one of mediocre degree of excellence, is ever so much more enjoyable than merely to sit and listen. The progress or retrogression of a nation depends on its home life; and a musical home is a happy home." Read More

The Renaissance of the Band - April, 1939

The band itself was largely to blame for its own downfall. The musicians felt that they were secure in their positions; and their chief interest, and in many cases also their only interest, was in the pay envelope. The result was that many of the bands were terrible. Read More