St. Tammany farmer. [volume] (Covington, La.) 1874-current, 1885-11-14
ABBE LIST.
An Hour With the Great ssMelster' AMI
His Pupils.

ABBE LIST.
An Hour With the Great "Melster" and
His Pupils.
Liszt is man of the world in the
highest degree. q gallant host. . con-
vivial guest. but he adds to these quail
ties others of u far more solid kind.
When his life one day comes to be
written. it will be recorded that no more
self-denying and no kinder-hearted
man ever existed. Many q promising
pupil would. but for his material assist
ance, have been unable to pursue his or
her career. In his early years he ex-
perienced the greatest triumphs due to
knowing in how high esteem his genius
is held. The great refreshment of his
declining years lies in handing down to
posterity through the medium of others.
whom he has especially chosen. his con-
ceptions of music as science, to be q
living testimony to his greatness. There
may be little pardonable self-lauda-
ton in this, but there is no doubt that
to have been pupil of Liszt is pass
port to most of the concert halls of the
world. It must be remembered that
''musical excellence" 10 the only intro
duction required to the charmed circle
of which he is the center; but it must
be excellence such as to augur great
ness in the future. Not one farthing
of pecuniary remuneration does he ever
accept from any pupil.
Between two and four o'clock in the
offoppnon ~ oh0,,t throo dorc IN tho
week musical reunions are held in the
Meister's salon. There are then gath
cred together about twenty pupils
around his grand piano-pupils is per-
haps hardly the name suited to the
persons here collected. 1t might be
said that there were assembled num-
Der of admirers looking to their chief
for words of appreciation, encourage
ment. and advice. but vet pupils they
call themselves. A pupil is invited to
play. LISTS n,odus operandi is to al
low them to choose their own pieces.
The young lady singled out seats her
self; the Meister PAGES the room and
beats time with his finger; all the eyes
of the remaining nineteen enthusiasts
are fixed upon his face; a nod of ap-
proval means sullen looks from the
nineteen; at remarks such as: go on,
go on. That is your way," TASTES
differ" the nineteen faces light up with
glee and flash exultation, for this means
failure on this occasion, and the sole
endeavor of these rival artists is to mar
row the circle of the Meister's admirers
and favor.tes. It is. however, the high
est reward if the player be constantly
interrupted. and if the Meister himself
takes his seat at the piano and replays
the few bars. This is recognition. in
deed. 1t is bad sign if the piece is
allowed to be finished without COM
ment; the more frequent the Interrupt
tions, the greater as rule the perform
er's perfection in the art-except, of
course. in the case of a really famous
performer. For Liszt. though sympa-
thetic. is sparing of his interest until .
tirst-rate standard has been reached.
That green-eyed monster. jealousy,
plays nowhere ih the world greater
role than in Weimar generally, and in
the Meister's salon in particular. Petty
intrigues to gain the great mans favor
or to bring a rival into disfavor are un-
ceasingly going on. To possess one of
the hairs from the Meister's venerable
head. to kiss his hand. and. in the case
of q lady. to be chastely kissed upon
the brow in return. constitutes the sole
bliss of the hard-worked worshiper of
Listz. Weimar echoes not with the din
of arsenals and workshops, but with the
changing and banging of some scores of
pianos, each endeavoring to out-Herod
Herod, and to forge weapons to assert
the superiority of L;szt in the musical
world. While his pupils are inter-
changing glances and looking askance.
the great man sometimes-not infre-
quently-retires to his buffet and re-
freshes himself with glad red wine. BY
four o'clock the seance is over, and now
woe to the poor Meister, and woe
to the happy possessor should he
present q flower to any young
lady as. mark of special favor.
Those who know him more init
mately will then successfully upbraid
him, and will, until they have received
other and similar tokens of recogni-
ton, plot against the now luckless pos
SCISSOR. Those who stand more outside
the charmed circle will beg morsels of
the costly flower. and treasure them in
their secretaries as souvenirs. 1t may,
therefore. be readily conjectured that
such marks of distinction are but sell
dom given.
The rest of the great Meister's wax
ing hours are mostly given mp to the
composition of oratoriOs, one of which. |
"Die heilige Elizabeth" he conducted
and introduced to the world at Marburg
in 1883. Thus lives and thus works
L:szt, the Altmeister of the tonic art;
and so long as he lives the classic
groves along the lin will not miss .
worthy successor to the celebrities that
have made the name of Weimar famous.
Poll M0ll Gazette.
A Lucky Man.