W I L L I A M M A S O N w r it e s o f t h e M A S O N &. H A M L I N P I A N O F O R T E :' ' I t i s a n i n s t r u m e n t f o r t h e m u s i c a l l y i n t e l l i g e n t . ”The Nestor of American Musicians.Dr. William Mason’s Reminiscences.Of all the prominent figures in American music none have so attractive and genial a personality as Dr. William Mason, whose professional life has ex­tended over half a century, spent in this country and abroad: a life and labors which have given him an international reputation and contributed largely to the development of musical interests and musical educa­tion in the United States.The son of a father, Lowell Mason, whose name and work are closely associated with the most important musical activities of American music in the first half of the previous century,Dr. Mason’s musical career may be said to have begun, when “ at the age of seven,” as he relates, his father placed him on the organ-bench, and he played the accompaniment while the choir sang “ Boylston,” one of the best of the famous tunes that Lowell Mason has handed down to Christian worship.Early dispatched to Europe to make himself one with the advanced art of Germany, Dr. Mason met, on equal terms, almost every living celebrity of the day; and in his musical home in Steinway Hall, New York City, during his entire career as an original and innovating teacher of music, he has acted as Dean of the New Y ork musicians and given the right hand of fellowship to every foreign artist that has visited our shores.Naturally there has been the strongest kind of a demand for Dr. Mason to put in permanent form his recollections of the great artists, com­posers, teachers, conductors, and other musical celebrities whom he has known intimately, and to give his impressions of the various move­ments which have made musical history dur­ing the period of his long life, and to which he himself contributed a share. This has been done in a work, “ Memoirs of a Musical Life,” to be issued this month by the Century Com­pany, from advance sheets of which actionURI(http://etudemagazine.com/):T actionURI(http://etudemagazine.com/):h actionURI(http://etudemagazine.com/):eactionURI(http://etudemagazine.com/): actionURI(http://etudemagazine.com/):E actionURI(http://etudemagazine.com/):t actionURI(http://etudemagazine.com/):u actionURI(http://etudemagazine.com/):d actionURI(http://etudemagazine.com/):eactionURI(http://etudemagazine.com/): has been given the privilege of making some selections of interest to its readers.Dr. Mason’s book, as may be expected, includes memories of the most famous names in modern music,— from his delicate picture of Moritz Hauptmann, on whose “ stove, a regular old-fashioned German struct­ure of porcelain nearly as high as the ceiling, there was always a row of apples in process of slow baking,” to his unexpected addition to the Brahms ana,— every picture is graphic and delightful. So much has been said about Liszt’s friendship for Brahms that we quote the description of their first meeting verbatim:“ On one evening early in June, 1853, Liszt sent us word to come up to the Altenburg next morning, as he expected a visit from a young man who was saidto have great talent as a pianist and composer, and whose name was Johannes Brahms. He was to come accompanied by Eduard Remenyi.“ The next morning, on going to the Altenburg with Klindworth, we found Brahms and Remenyi already in the reception-room with Raff and Pruckner. After greeting the new-comers, of whom Remenyi was known to us by reputation, I strolled over to a table on whichCopyright, 1901, by T he Century Co.notwithstand­ing the earnest solicitations of both Liszt and Re­menyi, could not be persuaded to approach the piano. Liszt, seeing that no progress was being made, went over to the table, and taking up the first piece at hand, the illegible scherzo, and saying: ‘Well, I shall have to play,’ placed the manuscript on the piano-desk.“ He read it off in such a marvelous way— at the same time carrying on a running accompaniment of audible criticism of the music— that Brahms was amazed and delighted. Raff thought, and so expressed himself, that certain parts of this scherzo suggested the Chopin 'Scherzo in B-flat Minor' but it seemed to me that the likeness was too slight to deserve serious consideration. Brahms said that he had never seen or heard any of Chopin’s compositions. Liszt also played a part of Brahms’s ‘C-major Sonata,’ opus I.were lying some manuscripts of music. They were several of Brahms’s yet unpublished compositions, and I began turning over the leaves of the uppermost in the pile. It was the piano solo opus 4, ‘Scherzo, E-fl at Minor,’ and, as I remember, the writing was so illegible that I thought to myself that if I had occasion to study it I should be obliged first to make a copy of it. Finally Liszt came down, and after some general con­versation he turned to Brahms and said: ‘W e are interested to hear some of your compositions whenever you are ready and feel inclined to play them.’N e r v o u s B e f o r e L i s z t.“ Brahms, who was evidently very nervous, pro­tested that it was quite impossible for him to play while in such a disconcerted state, and, D o z i n g W h i l e L i s z t P l a y e d.“ A little later some one asked Liszt to play his own sonata, a work which was quite recent at that time, and of which he was very fond. Without hesitation, he sat down and began playing. As he progressed he came to a very expressive part of the sonata, which he always imbued with extreme pathos, and in which he looked for the especial interest and sympathy of his listeners. Casting a glance at Brahms, he found that the latter was dozing in his chair. Liszt continued playing to the end of the sonata, then rose and left the room. I was in such a position that Brahms was hidden from my view, but I was aware that something unusual had taken place, and I think it was Remenyi who afterward told me what it was.”The pictures of Weimar life, in which Mason shared with Raff and Klindworth the honor of being Liszt’s only pupils, are delightful. There is the description of Liszt himself:L i s z t i n 1854.“ The best impression of Liszt’s appearance at that time is conveyed by the picture which shows him approaching the Altenburg. His back is turned; nevertheless, there is a certain something which shows the man as he was better even than those portraits in which his features are clearly reproduced. The picture gives his gait, his figure, and his general appearance. There is his tall, lank form, his high hat set a little to one side, and his arm a trifle akimbo. He had piercing eyes. His hair was very dark, but not black. He wore it long, just as he did in his older days. It came almost down to his shoulders, and was cut off square at the bottom. He had it cut frequently, so as to keep it at about the same length. That was a point about which he was very particular.”Then another genre picture, in which Liszt invites himself and friends to breakfast with his pupils, and suggests the bill of fare: “ rolls, caviar, and herring.” After breakfast they all go walking in the muddy little garden. Every detail about “ the master” is drawn with a loving hand; perhaps none is more
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