The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1899-01-15
NEW STORIES ABOUT LIST
TOLD BY ONE OF HIS PUPILS
ILKA HAROVITz-BARNAY.
Wagner Burned Up al the Furniture
Legs When Won Bulow Refused to
Buy the Firawood He Wanted.

List was my teacher for many years,
and many are the charming recollec-
lions of that period in my life. As
Schuman said, IF you only heard List
play and didn't see him, you lost half
the pleasure" so wonderful was his
personality.
1 shall never forget how a young
Magyar tried to play a sonata of Beeth-
oven before him one day. Piano,
piano." cried List. Piano, softly! Let
it sing, let it singl Can't you see piano
written there?" cried he, still more
sharply; but the young patriot only
grew more nervous and played the
harder.
AT last List took his hands from the
keys saying, half-Gngrily, half-laugh-
ingly: DO you know, my young
friend, what the field sergeant does
when the recruits cannot tell the differ
ence between right and left? He ties a
bundle of straw on their right arms and
a bundle of hay on their left. and then
gives the command, Hay! Straw We
shall have to try this plan with you for
piano and 'forte'i Now, then, give old
Beethoven chance. Hay! Hay! Hay.
Well! Now, Straw. Straw Straw,
Plenty Of straw-stiI more straw" and
List laughed till the tears came.
Straw, straw, nothing but straw
But even this had no effect on the
young man, so at last LisZt said: Per
haps L can explain it better on the
piano." And. seating himself, ne played
the allegretto of Beethoven's seventh
symphony. We were all so moved that
we sat GREATNESS, until at ~ast a little
Russian woman jumped up and rushed
out of the room, crying, 'J'ai peur!
j'ai peurr' Liszt turned around on his
chair to say. We'll, what's the mat
ter?" and after he learned, ne turned
to the young pianist: so you see, my
friend. that hay and straw in proper
proportion produce good results
WAGNER WAS CHILLY.
Here is an anecdote of his early life.
as related by List himself: Richard
Wagner, Bulow and L were all quite
young when we lived together in Leip-
zig. and had a good time. That is, I
enjoyed myself, but Wagner was al
ready fermenting with his political and
philosophical ideas. and cur prosaic
circumstances offered little ground for
the idealists Of the future. We called
Bulow "Kritikus," and we-especially
always feared his sharp tongue a lit
tie. OF course. all of us had very little
money, but Wagner put our slender
purse to great strains. He could not
bear money-worries, and we let him
feel them as little as possible.
"Once, after long autumn, it be-
came cold very suddenly, and Wagner,
with his nerves suffered from the sud
den change in the temperature. He
demanded heated room at once. For
two whole days the debate ragged be-
tween him and Bulow as to the imme-
date purchase of wood with our re-
duced purse. / was not asked because
Bulow knew that / would yield; but he,
as treasurer. contended that it was
ridiculous to buy wood in the month of
September. But L am freezing said
Wagner, in a rage. to which the mex
orable Bulow suggested that he go out
and get warm by running. or warm
himself by his muse. Laughing at his
cheap, spiteful advice, Bulow and I
went out.
But when we returned. after two
hours, we were thunderstruck to End
Wagner in the room. heated to suffo-
cation. He sat at his writing table,
deep in his work. His face was very
red
'where?' began Bulow: but the
words stuck in his throat fer a glance
around the room showed him how
Wagner had helped himself. Several
chairs and our work tables lay on the
floor, permanently crippled: Wagner
had cut off their legs and made the fire
with them. Bulow was speeches. with
rage. But / stood at the door and
laughed till the tears came. at this in