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Page 56
"People go to Europe to get atmosphere (stimmung)--that much abused
term! I could tell them they make their own atmosphere wherever they
are. I have lived in music all my life, but I can say I find musical
atmosphere right here in America. If I listen to the Boston Symphony
Orchestra, or to the Kneisel Quartet, when these organizations are
giving an incomparable performance of some masterpiece, I am entirely
wrapt up in the music; am I not then in a musical atmosphere? Or if I
hear a performance of a Wagner opera at the Metropolitan, where Wagner
is given better even than in Bayreuth, am I not also in a musical
atmosphere? To be sure, if I am in Bayreuth I may see some reminiscences
of Wagner the man, or if I am in Vienna I can visit the graves of
Beethoven and Schubert. But these facts of themselves do not create a
musical atmosphere.
"You in America can well rejoice over your great country, your fine
teachers and musicians and your musical growth. After a while you may be
the most musical nation in the world."
XXVIII
OSSIP GABRILOWITSCH
CHARACTERISTIC TOUCH ON THE PIANO
Arthur Hochman, Russian pianist and composer, once remarked to me, in
reference to the quality of tone and variety of tonal effects produced
by the various artists now before the public:
"For me there is one pianist who stands above them all--his name is
Gabrilowitsch."
The quality of tone which this rare artist draws from his instrument, is
unforgettable. I asked him one morning, when he was kind enough to give
me the opportunity for a quiet chat, how he produced this luscious
singing quality of tone.
"A beautiful tone? Ah, that is difficult to describe, whether in one
hour or in many hours. It is first a matter of experiment, of
individuality, then of experience and memory. We listen and create the
tone, modify it until it expresses our ideal, then we try to remember
how we did it.
"I cannot say that I always produce a beautiful tone; I try to produce
a characteristic tone, but sometimes it may not be beautiful: there are
many times when it may be anything but that. I do not think there can be
any fixed rule or method in tone production, because people and hands
are so different. What does for one will not do for another. Some
players find it easier to play with high wrist, some with low. Some can
curve their fingers, while others straighten them out. There are of
course a few foundation principles, and one is that arms and wrists must
be relaxed. Fingers must often be loose also, but not at the nail joint;
that must always be firm. I advise adopting the position of hand which
is most comfortable and convenient. In fact all forms of hand position
can be used, if for a right purpose, so long as the condition is never
cramped or stiff. I permit either a high or low position of the wrist,
so long as the tone is good. As I said, the nail joint must remain firm,
and never be crushed under by the weight of powerful chords, as is apt
to be the case with young players whose hands are weak and delicate.
[Illustration: TO MISS HARRIETTE BROWER, OSSIP GABRILOWITSCH]
TECHNICAL STUDY
"Yes, I am certainly in favor of technical practise outside of pieces.
There must be scale and arpeggio study, in which the metronome can be
used. But I believe in striving to make even technical exercises of
musical value. If scales are played they should be performed with a
beautiful quality and variety of tone; if one attempts a Czerny �tude,
it should be played with as much care and finish as a Beethoven sonata.
Bring out all the musical qualities of the �tude. Do not say, 'I'll play
this measure sixteen times, and then I'm done with it.' Do nothing for
mechanical ends merely, but everything from a musical standpoint. Yes, I
give some Czerny to my students; not many �tudes however. I prefer
Chopin and Rubinstein. There is a set of six Rubinstein Studies which I
use, including the Staccato �tude.
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