The New Orleans bulletin. [volume] (New Orleans [La.]) 1874-1876, 1876-02-20
REUNION OF ARTISTS.

Went by on the other side.
REUNION OF ARTISTS.
1Isz7 xND CHOPIN.
We hGve been accu stoned Tor many years
20 hear Llszt and Chopin, but never have We
annoyed their playing as during the year 1874
Il WAS during my stay ct Castle B., near th.
eight bank of the Noir. The mistress OF the
castle, an illustrious woman, entranced all by
her genius and talents; but she was loved
more than admired, by those who knew her
Tor her supreme goodness Of heart She VA
St that time entertaining Chopin, and she had
positively snatched him from the vale Of
death. She turned from her maternal cares
20 him, and it is to her influence that We arr
indebted for those last compositions Of that
genius, 80 pure and 80 beautiful. There was
In that year, q reunion of artists at the CASTLE
Liszt came. accompanied by a'star from the
Partisan world, noble lady, as spirituelle .as
she was beautiful, there called Arabella, and
who has since, under another name, held q
distinguished place in literature.
Toe sublime cantatrice, Pauline ", with
her husband, was there, who preserves to
this day the ideal expression, mistress Of her
incompatible talent; Eugene D., the roman
tic painter, the poet OF color; B., the great
actor, and several other celebrities. After
the children of the lord of the castle. Q son
and daughter, were . niece and nephew, and
several friends from the neighboring city,
with their wives, all young and enthusiastic.
Such was the character Of the guests at the
Castle Of Noir. We were Hospitality enter
tanned, and our liberty was absolute. There
were guns and dogs for. those who liked the
chase, boats and tackle for thoss fond Of
fishing, magnificent garden for prone
nade-every one did what he wished.
Liszt and Chopin composed; Pauline v.
studied her role Of the prophet; the mistress
Of the castle wrote romance or drama and
the others amused themselves as they chose.
At 6 o'clock all assembled for dinner, and
did not dispense until OF O'Clock the next
morning. We will not relate here the sew
eral tmprovisations which made the time
seem % short We will speak chiefly of the
mudc, and, above all, OF the rival pianists.
Chopin played rarely; he was not wiling to
play, unless he was sure of perfection; moth
ing in the world would tempt him to play in
Q mediocre style. Lisz,, on the contrary,
always played, whether he played we'll or iii.
Ono night the guests were all assembled in
the great drawing-room; the large windows
were open. the light Of the moon flooded the
room with golden light; the songs Of the
nightingale and the perfume of mignonette
Iiszt played nocturne of Chopin's, and, &C.
cording to his custom, he enlarged the style,
and introduced trills, tremolos, etc., which
were not in the original composition. Several
aimes Chopin showed signs of impatience
At last he approached the piano and said to
List, in grave Eoglish:
"Will You do me the honor to play piece
OF mine Is it is written? No one but Chopin
has right to change Chopin"
"Oh, we'll, play yourself. thens" said List.
arising from the piano.
ssWillingly," said Chopin.
At that moment the light was extinguished |
by . large moth, which had down into the |
room. They wished to relight it. "No!"
cried Chopin, "the light Of the moon is |
enough for me; extinguish all the tapers l"
Then he played an entire hour. It is |
impossible TO describe the effect. There are /
emotions that we feel and can not describe. |
The nightingales tried to rival him with their
songs; the flowers were refreshed with water
divine. Those sounds came from Heaven.
The audience were in mute ecstacy-scarce-
" dared to breathe; and when the enchanter
finished, ell eyes were filed with tears
above al, those Of Liszt He pressed Chopin
in his arms, and cried:
"Ah! my friend, you are right The
works of genius like thine are sacred; it is
= PROCLAMATION to touch them. Thou art q
true poet, and am only buffoon."
s.Come, them" replied Chopin; lyon know
that no one can play Weber and Beethoven
like yourself. pray You, play me the Adagio
in q sharp minor, by Beethoven-play it
slowly and seriously as you can when you
wish"
List played the Adagio. with all his soul
md all his will. Then he manifested to the
another kind of emotion. They
Rept. they groaned. But they were not the
|eefs that Chopin had caused to flow; they
zero cruel tears, Of which Othello speaks.
The melody Of the second artist did not I
ouch the heart, as the first had done; 1t was !
ike the sharp thrust of poniard. 1t was no i
longer an elegy-it was q drama In the
meantime, Chopin thought he had collapsed
List that evening, and boasted Of it. saying !
Z. H0w he was vexedw Lszt understood /
him, and determined to be avenged. spiritusl
rtist though he was. And here is what he
Four or five days after, the :
lour-"a short time before midnight" Liszt
ntreated Chopin to play. After great deal d
4 persuading he consented to play. /.
HLiszt then demanded that ell the lamps and
apers should be exhnguished. They put q
own the curtains and the obscurity was COM q
late. It was caprice of the artist, and they 2
id a. he wished. At that moment Chopin n
rent TO his place ct the piano. Liszt whispered v
ome words rapidly in his ear, and took his il
lace. Chopin, far from dreaming hat his D
omrade wished to do, seated himself. with. b
at noise, in q neighboring armchair. Then al
,iszt played all the compositions that Chopin if
cd played at the memorial soiree, f
which We have spoken. But he knew how o
, play them with such exact imitation Of the il
Vie md manner Of his rival. it was impos- o.
Bile not TO be deceived; and, indeed, they IL
ere I'll deceived. Tie same snchantment! *