New-York tribune., 1901-12-10

I ..er, wer. produced without the advantase %
. genuinely musical touch IN. =, his
TOO little pIiancy fexion and relaxatlon ~, III ~
aieat loo Renee = lack of economy in the eH-
| penditure of his energies
| Mr. Mason knew Gottschalk well anu -,
cina.ed by his playing, which was iuii 0
fancy and bravura. His strong rns liiii -
| cent his vigor and dash, were e1clIiis ~
WAYS aroused enthusiasm He was the
| tion of his school, and his efforts mao tie
rd e4,arveScence Of champagne" RuolhSiei'
| had transcendent ability, but ne "ae w
| nu1sive and lost self-control and sei1-posseio-
| u. u.e therefore an uneven player, out a lho
| orspIx, conscientious artist. Won Buow S Chopii-
| nl.vinp IMPRESSED Mr.. Mason as dry anu iiis
! Beethoven interpretations Lacked wal HILL
! fervency But he had extraordinary
remarkable technic, was lnVafi"'1' -,
and nrecise in his careful observation OF rhy 'i'
| accentuation and phrasins
NJ Mason touches lightly but interestingly
on +be domestic affairs of Won Bulow ana "a
ner The general impression has long oeen 'ia'
when the latter won the love OF his "lIe ""0'
from his friend the shock came near sila
| vo, Rr1ou,,s mental as well as physical heal'h'
| Mr. Mason saws that he knew that Won buio"
| had accepted the matter philosophlcalIS' anu
In proof relates the following anecdote:
Soon after he (von Bulow) arrived IN ~ o'r
york in 1876 | called him, and during oui
! conversation l broached the subject IN d 80 ~.
In 80 was not sure that his feelings tow
ard Wagner were not so hostile that iieLtlot -
- P,,rrartb master would have to be aVolded'
and I thought it just as well 10 aIii'e i
diately at a clear understanding. g
@tSIioyy ;. said you will excuse me IL L
| touch On q rather delicate subject or course
- friends abroad know just what your pres
ent attitude is toward Wagner; nuI over me- @
! we know little or nothing a bout it. Pernaps yoI T
| would like to enlighten me L nope, no"e'ei'
/ how touched palnIul SupJcCb
MOT at ALL he exclaimed w nat Happen
! was the most natural thing in the world. You
80, ~. u-hat a wonderful woman Cosima is
such intellect such energy, such amoltlon' Will
| she naturally inherits from her rather. wa ~a
| entirely too small personality Tor he,. S ga
required a colossal genius like wagner s. anu
I he needed the sympathy and 1nSplraIlon ot az
intellectual and artistic woman nihe ent11aIly
| That they should nave come 'os0'4iei
was inevitable
Here finally. are two contributions to what
the Germans would call the characteristic OF
Mr. Mason's most admired master:
Deep beneath the surface there was IN Llszt
organization religious trend Whlcn 1ndillIe0'eu
itself openly now and then. and there were oc
casions upon which his contrltlon dlsplayeeu
itself to an nordinate degree JoachilIl 1>dIi,
long his intimate friend and associate tol9 iIe
that these periods sometimes or consiue,
able duration, and while they lasted ne WoIid
seek solitude and. going frequently TO ciutO O-i,
would throw himself upon the fagstones peloIe
a Nuttergottesbild. and remain Tor hours, aS
Raft expressed it. SO deeply ABSORBED as ~ pS
utterly unconscious of events occurring IN ms
presence. . oosior,
he had been a witness of such an act on the
part of List. One afternoon at dusk they @ Weie
walking together in the catheurat at SoIpslt' st
and quite suddenly Rubinstein missed LlsZt,
who had disappeared in mysterious way ne
searched for quite while through the many
secluded hooks and corners OF the immense
building and finally found List kneeIinS before
a prie-dieu so deeply engrossed that Rubinsteln
had not the heart to disturb him. ana SO ielt 'he
building alone
his dress He was also particular about the ap-
rearance of his pupils | remember TWO IN
stances which show how particular ne was III
little matters. I have been nearslghted all my
Iife and when I went to Weimar l wore eye
glasses much preferring them TO spectacleS.
Eyeglasses were not much worn IN Germany at
thai time and were considered about as afrected
as the mode of wearing a monocle Inc Ger
mans wore spectacles. | had not been in Weimar
long when List said to me: Mason, L don IKE
to see you wearing those glasses shail sehq
nv optican to fit your eyes with spectacleS-
hardly thought that he serious, and so paid
no attention to him. But sure enough, about a
week later there a knock at my door, anu
the optician presented himself, saying he had
come at the command of DR. List 10 examine
nv eyes and fit a pair Of spectacles TO them
AS was evidently to have no say in the matter,
I submitted, and few days later received Two
pairs, one in a green and one IN a req case.
Thought them extremely unbecOmine, but L was
very particular to put them on whenever went
to see List.
Not long afteryard List went TO Paris, and
when called to see him after his return ana
he was talking about his experiences there, he
said casually: BY the way, Mason hnd that
the gentlemen in Paris are wearing eyeglasses
now In fact, they are considered quite CONNIE
il faut so | have no objection to your wearing
YOURS" AS he did not ask to send him the
spectacles, 1 kept them, and have them TO TINS
day.