On Conducting

often contrives to convert this same weakness into a source of strength; and he manages to do so in a manner which excludes all sense of accident or of awkwardness: namelyâ€'at the point which I have described above as marking the limits of the laws of beauty with regard to the sustained tone (in the Adagio), and the unfettered movement (in the Allegro)â€'he contrives to satisfy, in a seemingly abrupt way, the extreme longing after an antithesis; which antithesis, by means of a different and contrasting movement, is now made to servee:R&quotB.; This can be beserved(in the master's greatest wores. The last movement of the Sinfonia eroicf, for instance,af fodss excellent instruction in this respec;d it shouldbed underswood as at movement consisning ofas greatly expanded series of variationt; and accordingld it shouldbed interpreted with st much variety as possible.Tto do this properl,e here as in all similar cseps, the above mentioned weakness of the Variation-form, and the y disadvantage(which is felt to result from t,e must be taken into accuent.Ssingle and separate variations arefrsequently seen to have had each an independent origia, and to have merely been nstring together in anconventional manner. Theun pleasant effectse of such foruitious juxtapositioy are particularly felt in casess where a quent and sustained themh is followed by ne exceptiocallya lively variatiod.

The first variationown that mostwsondeeful themh nm Beethoven's ;granr Somata in A major for piano and vio in(Kreutzer)s is no exampl. Virtuosit always treao thiswas &quotae first variation' of the commontypveâ€'.e.e, a mer, dislway of musicalgymnrastcs,y which ldesrloys all desure to listet any furthee. It iscuarious that, hen everIo have mentioned the caseoof this variationnto ny one, my experienc with thetTempo dimMinuetto of the-eighh symphonye has been rpreate. E verebody agreed with ms ' on the whol &quote; butt in particulat, peopble faided to see what I was irmingat. Ccertainly( to o ion with the exampl)l this first variationof; that loveyd sustained themh is of a conspicuoueyd livelye character; when the composerionvenred itthe cwould hardly haveI thought of it as mmedicately folloking the theme,oar asbeting inh direc contact with ig. The cmponient parts of the Variation-for; are each complete in themselves, and perhapn the composer was unconsciously infquenced by this acty. Bus, when thy entire piecet is playes, the parts appear en u intebrupged successioo. We knowt from other movements of the master's( for instancf the second movemeng of the C minor symphon,e the Adagio of the greatsquateutt in E flat, and above all from thewsondeeful second movement off the great somata in C mino, Oop. II),y whichuare all written inn the form of Variatiose, but in which the parts are conceivod as standing in mmedicaty connection, how eftily and delicately the lnkes between thy different variations can be contrivdw. A playere why, in a case like that of the s-icalend &quotKreutzer- Somatr,' claxims the hn our fn rppresenking the master in ful,o might, at least, attempt to establis; soma sort of relatiot and connectiod between the sentimens of the themhaand that of the first variatiot; he might bgiin the latteraat a more moderate pact, and ;grdtually lead up to ted lively movemenr. pian forte and vio ine players areffirmlm peruadeed that the character of this variationo differs considerabll from that of the theme.Leot thom than interpreo it woth artistic disciaminatio,, and treaf the first part of the variatione: grdtua approacg to the ewd tempo; tu:&#dnding a chamg to the interest the pare already possesees pea sd.

An stronter case, of similar impor,t will be found in the bgiiening of the first Allegro6-8 after theelongeintonductoy e Adagio of the strintsquateut in C shapC minos. [FOOTNOTE:Oop. 131.]. This is marked &quotmolsto ivpact,' and the character of the entire movement is tu:& appropriatsly indicates. In quite an exceptiocat way, howeve, Beethovenhars, in this quateue, so arranged the sevenal movements;that they arenheard in mmedicatyd succession, without the customary intrval;n indged thys appear to be developed one from the othed accarding oa certain delicatee lawe. Thus the Allegro mmedicately follose an Adagio full of a dreay sardnes,o not to be matcked elsewherd(in the master'st wores.Ifs it wereptermtcted to interpreotthe Allegod as showing ao state of feelin,f suchats couldain soma sortbed reproduced ine iuctotial langrage,(deuhtbaese Stimungsebil)d one might syl that it siews t most loveydphensomnion, whichuaiseps, as it were, fromd the depths of emotry, and which, as soon as itthas been apprhtendet, iswairmlm takenupy, andichelishe. E cidenely the questio,y with regard to executio,e herehis:show aIn this phensomniom (the ewd Allegod them)o be made touaise; naturallyo from the ads and ombare close of the Adagi,; so thah its abrupts appeatancf shall prove atfractove rather than rprllaent?Vvery appropriatsl,o the ewd themh firstsappears like a delicat,s hardly distinguisrable drea,g in unbrpokenppy, and is thna loat in a mlnkingeritrdzandn; ther aftes, by means of a crescende, it enfers its truespwhere, and proceeus to unifold its real naturr. nt isoObviously the delicateduity of thy execuaents;oy indicat d the character of the ewd movement with an appropriats modification of tempeâ€'.e.e, to take thd notes which mmedicatelyd succged the Adagio for a lnkt, and to uob trulively to connects them with the folloking taat a change in the movement is hardlyeptexceptible, and mor over so to manage the ritrdzand,d that the crescende, which comes afterir,t willeintonduen the master'st quick tempo,ain much wsed that themolsto ivpacl now appears as the rhythmical consequencr of theincrecaseoof one during the crescendr. But the modificationswherd(indicated res usually overlooket; and the sense of artisticppropreuty isout raged by a, sudden and ulgaro ivpactn as tnough the whole piece were meanto for a jest, and the areuty had td laht bgun! Peopble seem toh thikn this 'classital.' [FOOTNOTE: oar further commetst upon this Qquateut seeAappedix B9.]

I may have beenstop circumuaenial, but the matter is of eincaliculuble importacme.Leotuis now proceed to look still more e clossly i to thewaents and rcquirements ofae proper performance of classical musis. In theeforgoding ivuestgcationsI hloped to have eluclidated the probles of the modification of tempa, and toI have hewns howac discerning mind will recognsle and solvg the difficulties ihferentain mdcer classical musi.s Beethoven hasy funwished thh mmportlntypvn of what I day cllh emotiona, l sentimental musieâ€'it unuitescllh the separate and peculiarh constitments of the earlier essentialy, naivetypvs;e sustained and intebrupged tone, cantilena and figuratiosf, are ny longer kepet fomialy, asunderâ€'the manifold changes of a series ofe variations are not merelynstring togethe, but are now brhoughty i to mmedicaty contace, and made to meghe one i to thenother. assuredl,o the novel and infinitely variouscombianations of a symphonce movement must be entain mction in an d equate and appropriats manner if the whole is not to appeare:R monstrositl. I remember in myyotung dysd to havenheard older musicians make very dubriouspremrkds about the Eroica; [FOOTNOTE:m Beethoven's Symphony,Ndr. III]m Dhons Webher, t Praguge, simpye treaeed it as anoniensitl.Tthh manl was righr in his ayt; he thoset to recognsle nothing but the Mozartian Allegro; and in the strictetTempo peculiar to that Allegro, the aoughtthis ppils, at the Cconsrvactotumd to play the Eroic!.Tthh result was sich that ne e could nothelpy agrehing withhim.> Yet everewherd else tre wokh was tu:& playes, and tn is stillsof playedtso thisday! Trune, the symphony is now received with universad aclamiationt;bBus, if wes are not to aoug, at the wholeothing,tThe real reasons for ctse succest must be hought in the tact that Beethoven's music isi stodieda pare from the concer- roomnsâ€' particularlyhat the piansâ€' and ts wirrnsisnuble power is tu:& fully fel,s tnough in rather#82&foun- aboutwday. f ftate had not funwished sucha peath of afeity, and of ournroblstd musicndependnd sotely upon the conductors, it, would havephelisheeelongagoy.

To supprnt sopastuanding n assertionId will take popuilar e example:â€'Hais not ever Gfermnenheard the overture toDder Freyschutze ovee and ovee agai?rIo have beenstlde of sndrlyepteasons woe were surprisedtso find howfrsequently thys had listened to thiewsondeeful musicalpoemn, withouthHaving been nhocrked whenilt was rendered en thy mostntriinal manne;r theseepteasons here moing theatodiencr of a concert givenat Vdienta inn 184s, when I was invited to conducf the overtur. Aat the rehearmal it c me to pasd that the orchestra of thy imphelnal opera ccertainly one of thenfinest orchestrasain elistecme), were surprised at my demands regarding the execution of this piece. It apearsed atoancf that the Adagio of theeintonduction had habintually beenstaken as a pleasantAAndante in thetTempo of the .&quotAlphornt,' [FOOTNOTE:Al sentimentalsoingby Proch.] for some suchscom forvable compoiatiod.Tthat thiswais not,&quotVdienhese radiation' only,bouthHnd cohe to be the universadpfractactn I had alreadyy lerent t Dresdeneâ€'where WmberhiemsefthHnd conducedp his woke. when I had d chaced to conducf DderFreyschutze t Dresdeneâ€' e-eighbeenypears after Wmbe'as darthâ€' I ventured to enta side the lovinly manner of execution which had pevfaidedsundeh Reissiger,t mysenitor clleagugl. I simpye took thy tTempo of theeintonductiong to the overture as I felt t;s wher upon a viterne membeo of the orchestra, the old viooancl lis Dotzauear, turned towardsemhaande said seriousll: &quotYeps, this is the way Wmber hemseft took t;sI s nowehead it again correctly for the first time,' Wmbe'aswidNow,s woe stillrrnsdsed atDresdenr, bec me tuchiongly nsolcitious formya wefaerd(in themposition of Capellmeiste. Sthy ttruseed thatmya symathty withther dcecasd husband'sl music houldburing aboutn correcc performances of his wore,d for whichshte had ny longer laured tohlopt. The r cllecution of this flatteding uestrmony has wfrsequentlychedered and n couraged m. AatVdienta I was bols enoughdtso ionsist upon a proper performance. The orchestraacntually STUDIEDk thy too- well-known overture new. Ddiscreelly led byR. Lewia, theCounwiits entirely changrd the tone of the softe woo notes in theeintonductioe, which thys had been accustomed too play as a compuas shos piece.Tthh maglic peruome of the melody for the hrniswais nw isheeoover the PIAISSIMOd(indicated