THE ETUDE JANUARY 1920 Paye 11 The Indispensables in Pianistic Success An Interview with the Eminent Piano Virtuoso JOSEF HOFMANN Secured Expressly for THE ETUDE "THE Indispensables in Pianistic Success? Are not the indispensables in all success very much the same? Nothing can take the place of real worth. This is es-pecially true of America, in which country I have lived longer than in any other, and which, I am glad to call my home. Americans are probably the most traveled people of the world, and it is futile to offer them any-thing but the best. Some years ago a conductor brought to this country an orchestra of second-class character, with the idea that the people would accept it just because it bore the name of a famous European city which possessed one of the great orchestras of the world. It was a good orchestra, but there were better orchestras in American cities, and it took American audiences just two concerts to find this out, resulting in a disastrous failure, which the conductor was man enough to face and personally defray. The American people know the best, and will have nothing but the best. Therefore, if you would make a list of the indispensables of pianistic success in this country at this time you must put at the head of your list, REA L WORTH . Musical Gifts "Naturally, one of the first indispensables would in-clude what many term 'the musical gift.' However, this is often greatly misunderstood. W e are, happily, past the time when music was regarded as a special kind of divine dispensation, which, by its very posses-sion, robbed the musician of any claim to possible ex-cellence in other lines. In other words, music was so special a gift that it was even thought by some mis-guided people to isolate the musician from the world— to make him a thing apart and different from other men and women of high aspirations and attainments. "It is true that there have been famous prodigies in mathematics, and in games such as chess, who have given evidence of astonishing prowess in their chosen work, but who, at the same time, seem to have been lamentably under-developed in many other ways. This is not the case in music at this day at least, for, al-though a special love for music and a special quickness in mastering musical problems is indispensable, yet the musicians are usually men and women of broad cul-tural development if they desire it and are willing to work for it. "Nor can I concede that a very finely developed sense of hearing is in all cases essential. The pos-session of what is known as absolute pitch, which so many seem to think is a sure indication of musical genius, is often a nuisance. Schumann did not possess it, and (unless I am incorrectly informed) Wagner did not have absolute pitch. I have it, and can, I believe, distinguish differences of an eighth of a tone. I find it more disturbing than beneficial. My father had absolute pitch in remarkable fashion. He seemed to have extremely acute ears. Indeed, it was often im-possible for him to identify a well-known composition if he heard it played in a different key—it sounded so different to him. Mozart had absolute pitch, but music, in his day, was far less complicated. W e now live in an age of melodic and contrapuntal intricacy, and I do not believe that the so-called acute sense of hearing, or highly developed sense of absolute pitch has very much to do with one's real musical ability. The physical hearing is nothing; the spiritual hearing— if one may say so—is what really counts. If, in trans-posing, for instance, one has associated the contents of a piece so closely with its corresponding tonality that it is hard to play in any other tonality, this con-stitutes a difficulty—not an advantage. "To o much cannot be said about the advantage of an early drill. The impressions made during youth seem to be the most lasting. I am certain that the pieces that I learned before I was ten years of age remain more persistently in my memory than the com-[EDITOR'S NOTE : No pianist of high distinction has played for more years before the American public, and yet Mr. Josef Hofmann is still to be regarded as a young man. In 1887, as a child of ten (after four years' public experi-ence in Europe, touring Germany, Norway, Sweden, Den-mark, England, France and the Netherlands) he made his American debut, playing forty concerts in two and one-half months. His father, who was professor of harmony and composition at the Warsaw Conservatory and orchestra leader at the Iioyal Opera House (in Warsaw, then Russian Poland), then withdrew the boy from public work for special study. After a year spent with Moszkowski, Josef Hoffmann went to Rubinstein (piano) and Urban (musical theory) for the completion of his musical education. In 1894 he made his debut as a mature pianist in Hamburg (Rubinstein leading the orchestra and Hoffmann performing the piano part of Rubinstein's D Minor Concerto). He was then eighteen. Since that time he has played in most of the great music centers with ever-increasing success. His fine poise, sympathetic and sensitive musical appreciation, high intellectual attainments and rich technical endowments have made him one of the most demanded o£ all the present-day virtuosi.] positions I studied after I was thirty. The child who is destined for a musical career should receive as much musical instruction in early life as is compatible with the child's health and receptivity. To postpone the work too long is just as dangerous to the child's career as it is dangerous to overload the pupil with more work than his mind and body can absorb. Chil-dren learn far more rapidly than adults—not merely because of the fact that the work becomes more and more complicated as the student advances, but also because the child mind is so vastly more receptive. The child's power of absorption in music study be-tween the ages of eight and twelve is simply enormous; it is less between twelve and twenty; still less between twenty and thirty, and often lamentably small between thirty and forty. It might be represented by some such diagram as: 30 y&rs of*Sc limVtcd Receptivity Limited Results I ytax$ cf f fjfcttt Less Accomplishment 12h>20 I year&oiagf. f Less Accomplishmen t 8&IZ I ye*r* V ) Gi^est^c^Kwfy ©rates t Accom^lisliiTicnr one who is thorough, painstaking, conscientious, alert and experienced. The foundation is the part of the house in which the greatest strength and thoroughness is required. Everything must be solid, substantial, firm and secure, to stand the stress of use and the test of time. Of course, there is such a thing as employing a teacher with a big reputation and excep-tional skill, who would make an excellent teacher for an advanced student, but who might be incapable of laying a good foundation for the beginner. One wants strength at the foundation—not gold ornaments and marble trimmings and beautiful decorations, fretwork, carving. Just as in great cities, one finds firms which make a specialty of laying foundations for immense buildings, so it is often wise to employ a teacher who specializes in instructing beginners. In European mu-sic schools this has almost always been the case. It is not virtuosity that is needed in the makeup of the teacher of beginners, but rather sound musicianship, as well as the comprehension of the child psychology. Drill, drill, and more drill, is the secret of the early training of the mind and hand. This is indicated quite as much in games such as tennis, billiards and golf. Think of the remarkable records of some very young players in these games, and you will see what may be accomplished in the early years of the young player. Meeting Obstacles and Complications ^ "In all arts and sciences, as one advances, complica-tions and obstacles seem to multiply in complexity until the point of mastery is reached; then the tendency seems to reverse itself, until a kind of circle carries one round again to the point of simplicity. I have often liked to picture this to myself in this way: point Gvcakcoh Complexity irgartcsf r 3irnp]fcij> * ^Simplicity "Of course, these lines are only comparative, _and there are exceptional cases of astonishing development late in life, due to enormous ambition and industry. Yet the period of highest achievement is usually early in life. This is especially true in the arts where digital skill is concerned. Early Drill "All teachers are aware of the need for the best possible drill early in life. The idea one so often hears expressed in America: 'Since my daughter is only be-ginning her studies—any teacher will do,' has been the source of great laxity in American musical educa-tion. If the father who has such an idea would only transpose the same thought to the building of a house he would be surprised to find himself t saying: 'Since I am only laying a foundation, any kind of trashy material will do. I will use inferior cement, plaster, stone, bricks, decayed wood and cheap hardware, and employ the cheapest labor I can procure. But when I get to the roof I shall engage the finest roofmakers in the world!' "The beginning is of such tremendous importance that only the best is good enough. By this I do not mean the most expensive teacher obtainable, but some-"It is encouraging for the student to know that he must expect to be confronted with ever-increasing dif-ficulties, until he reaches the point where all the in-tense and intricate problems seem to solve themselves, dissolving gradually into the light 0f a clear understand-ing day. This is to me a general principle underlying almost all lines of human achievement, and it appears to me that the student should learn its application, not only to his own but to other occupations and attain-ments. This universal line of life, starting with birth, mounting to its climax in middle life, and then pass-ing on to greater and greater simplicity of means, until at death the circle is almost completed, is a kind of human program which all successful men would appear to follow. Perhaps we can make this clearer by study-ing the evolution of the steam engine. "The steam engine started with the most primitive kind of apparatus. At the very first it was of the turbine type. Hero of Alexander (Heron, in Greek) made the first steam engine, which was little more than a toy. According to some historians, Heron lived in the second century before Christ, and, according to others, his work was done in the latter half of the first century. He was an ingenious mathematician, who often startled the people of his times with his mechan-ical contrivances. It is difficult to show the principle of his engine in an exact drawing; but the follow-ing indicates in a crude way the application of steam force something after the manner in which Heron first applied it.
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