http://etudemagazine.com/etude/ en-us Copyright 2012 Tue, 01 Feb 1938 14:26:48 -0500 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. http://etudemagazine.com/etude/1902/09/sir-alexander-campbell-mackenzie-and-the-royal-academy-of-music-london.html http://etudemagazine.com/etude/1902/09/sir-alexander-campbell-mackenzie-and-the-royal-academy-of-music-london.html Interviews 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. http://etudemagazine.com/etude/1901/05/mr-david-bispham-on-the-study-of-the-english-song.html http://etudemagazine.com/etude/1901/05/mr-david-bispham-on-the-study-of-the-english-song.html Interviews http://etudemagazine.com/etude/1895/05/impromptu-opinions-of-prominent-musicians.html http://etudemagazine.com/etude/1895/05/impromptu-opinions-of-prominent-musicians.html Interviews 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. http://etudemagazine.com/etude/1901/07/mr-pol-plancon---the-study-of-the-french-song.html http://etudemagazine.com/etude/1901/07/mr-pol-plancon---the-study-of-the-french-song.html Interviews http://etudemagazine.com/etude/1924/01/the-thresholds-of-vocal-art---mme-amelita-galli-curci.html http://etudemagazine.com/etude/1924/01/the-thresholds-of-vocal-art---mme-amelita-galli-curci.html Interviews 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 the last section of this series the all important matter... http://etudemagazine.com/etude/1924/01/basic-principles-in-pianoforte-playing-part-iv---josef-lhevinne.html http://etudemagazine.com/etude/1924/01/basic-principles-in-pianoforte-playing-part-iv---josef-lhevinne.html Interviews 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. http://etudemagazine.com/etude/1923/12/basic-principles-in-pianoforte-playing-part-iii---josef-lhevinne.html http://etudemagazine.com/etude/1923/12/basic-principles-in-pianoforte-playing-part-iii---josef-lhevinne.html Interviews 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 http://etudemagazine.com/etude/1923/12/should-piano-playing-undergo-a-radical-reform---vladimir-de-pachmann-de-pachmann.html http://etudemagazine.com/etude/1923/12/should-piano-playing-undergo-a-radical-reform---vladimir-de-pachmann-de-pachmann.html Interviews 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. http://etudemagazine.com/etude/1923/11/basic-principles-in-pianoforteplayingsecured-exclusively.html http://etudemagazine.com/etude/1923/11/basic-principles-in-pianoforteplayingsecured-exclusively.html Interviews 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? http://etudemagazine.com/etude/1922/01/would-i-take-up-music-again.html http://etudemagazine.com/etude/1922/01/would-i-take-up-music-again.html Interviews 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. http://etudemagazine.com/etude/1923/08/alexander-siloti---leaves-from-a-virtuosos-note-book.html http://etudemagazine.com/etude/1923/08/alexander-siloti---leaves-from-a-virtuosos-note-book.html Interviews 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? http://etudemagazine.com/etude/1922/01/dr-richard-strauss---new-paths-and-visions-in-musical-progress.html http://etudemagazine.com/etude/1922/01/dr-richard-strauss---new-paths-and-visions-in-musical-progress.html Composers 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. http://etudemagazine.com/etude/1925/08/modern-ideas-in-pianoforte-technic---e-robert-schmitz.html http://etudemagazine.com/etude/1925/08/modern-ideas-in-pianoforte-technic---e-robert-schmitz.html Pianists 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. http://etudemagazine.com/etude/1925/09/how-music-is-saving-thousands-from-permanent-mental-breakdown---willem-van-de-wall.html http://etudemagazine.com/etude/1925/09/how-music-is-saving-thousands-from-permanent-mental-breakdown---willem-van-de-wall.html Interviews 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. http://etudemagazine.com/etude/1924/03/josef-lhevinne---basic-principles-in-pianoforte-playing.html http://etudemagazine.com/etude/1924/03/josef-lhevinne---basic-principles-in-pianoforte-playing.html Interviews