New-York tribune., 1882-08-13
COMMON sENsE ABorT TIE PLlNO
Prom The 81 James,s Ga.e.,e.


Little girls fer the piano, and long
for the time when having at last mastered
its difficulties, they Will not be called upon
To play upon 1t any more while mum
berless great girls TegarU II as one Of tbe many
nulsances which they must put up NTH until they
get married. once however, nDerate young
women from that piano 20 which like serls they
have so long been assigned but not attached
and some OF them VIII take TO cutIyatng u iOr Iis
own sake; while the remainder Vii at least space
both themselves and their fnends q considerable
amount OF annoyance.
The enormous dliiaulty OF modern pIanoforte
constitutes IN Itself a reason v by IN the edu-
cation OF young girls the piano should not Ike
DANCING and department" be made obligatory. A
woman can get through lie 50 well without play
ing the piano and Tor a few stlllines. or even IN
extreme cases Tor single smiling, she can, u her
lot happens be cast IN London, hear from time TO
time the hDest players that this great paa0IOfte-
playing age has ever produced. IL is nor Dccaisc
the piano unworthy Of her attention that woman
should be liberated from tie task work imposed
upon her In connection with H. Ii Is because music,
Like every other art, demands IRON us VOtarleS
special gifts and inclinatlOns, and because among
women who are tnus endowed II Is a mistake %
suppo,e that the piano the only instrument SUIT
aule To them. Let II be understood IN the ;lrst
place that It l. more disgrace Tor young Ia y
not to play the piano than IL l. q disgrace IOf her
not to draw, To paint, or 10 model; ana, IN Tie
second place, thai If she does mean TO play some
instrument it a mistake for her To resCrlct herself
as a matter Of course 10 the pIanO. Next u the
organ the piano is, thanks to the orchestral elects
which 10 can be made % produce tie nnest lustfu-
ment in the world and II IS the only Instrument
Tor which every great composer writes as matter
of course, and Tor which every great composer
orchestral works are arran yed IN reduced i0Tm 10
prase at the expense CT the piano the violin,
which-except when tours de Jorco are Indulged IN
yields like the human voice but a single note, IS
a very common thing, but 10 is one that We shou
not ourselves care 10 undertake. The violin 70 be
effective in truly musical sense must, Ike the
human voice, be accompanied either by the orches.
ira or by the pianOiOrte. or by other members OF
the violin family. The planOiorte is lputtDg aside,
of course. the too colossal organ the only nstru-
ment which. tor harmonic as vel as Ineiodle pur-
poses is complete III itself and which Is really an
orchestra in little
There are good reasons then, why all who care
much tor music should study the piano but no
reason why they should study The piano exclu-
sIyely Often in the family there are TWO,
three and even four pIauls;s. How much and how
adyantageOusy the musical domain OF such fam
ily would he increased If, with or without negece
Of the piano, the instruments OF the violin family
were taken up, with view not necessarily 20
string quariets, but, ut least to the numerous
pieces written by great composers Tor vIoiin or
viOoncello. and piano. " / he yloln-l Include
aiwavs the viola and yiOlOnceo-Is no Doubt
saws Mr. Hullah in hts excellent little WORK on
Music IN the House. a difficult lnstrume ent' but
the difficulty OF acquiring seTNlceable amount 0t
skill on IL has been mach exaggerated. 10 become
a Joachim, Holmes, or fiattl. i the WolA OF 4
lifetime even for men gifted with e uaI aptitude
and perseverance to these-turned TO account under
skilful guidance and at the right time of lite, and
supplemented and encouraged by thousand cir
cumstances as impossible % take account OF a. 10
bring about and foresee. But there ls an amount
OF skill be4OW-fefy hIuCh D'l"" % 'l''s'o VI
this class which, If accompanied by feeling, taste,
and intelligence may contribute largely
10 the variety and aereeaD.cness Of music
in the house, 1t may be hoped that in
a le ~ years. without the number OF our domestic
nlansts being too much diminished that OF onr
domestic viollnists viii be considerably ucrea, eG.
some haf-dvzen lady yiolinists nave appeared this
season IN London, az public concerts. who possess
the very highest merit and at hall pr ate ha.i'
public concert gi recently at Stafford iionse FOR
the benefit of n charity, the chief attraction was
string band consisting Uf 40 fewer than twenty
fonr ladv eyecutanta The diversion then OF lem
iuine talent from the piano towards tie violin i- not
movement which has 10 be originated; 10 needs
only to be encouraged.