The Forest Republican. [volume] (Tionesta, Pa.) 1869-1952, 1903-12-02
MASTERS OF MUSIC.
THE GREAT COMPOSERS AND THEIR
PECULIAR METHODS OF WORK.

Hnydn's Dress Suit and sapphire
Ring and Beethoven's wild Walks.
All the great musical composers had
their w peculiar ideas and manner
of working. They had their peculiar
traits, their moods, their eccentric hab-
its, such as are generally said TO mark
the genius. In "Musical Education NJ.
Lavignac tells of their peculiarities.
Haydn was a very early riser" he
writes, land yet he lever worked eX-
cept in full dress, in which he was
like Button. He began by shaving
himself carefully, powdered himself
and put on his finger n certain ring, Il
sapphire, | believe, surrounded with
brilliants, which had been given him
by the great Frederick, unless it was
Prince Esterhazy. That done, he shut
himself up in a quiet and wrote
for several consecutive hours, five or
six, without stopping.
Mozart. the gentle and pious Mo-
TART, was sometimes less particular
and composed a little everywhere and
under all conditions, Happily the
ideas came often enough and pursued
him even into the restaurants of Wen
ma, Prague and Munich, where he was
very fond of playing billiards and
smoking Il pipe and composing in his
head.
"Rosslni composed almost constantly
and in all ways, rarely at the piano,
most often in the evening or at night,
and, like Mozart, often found iuspira-
the irregular joltings of these vehicles
he perceived rhythm, and of these
rhythms melodies were born. There il
no doubt that he would have found
them in the trepidation of the railroad
if he had dared to try, but he had such
a dread of this mode of locomotion that
no one was ever able to induce him to
set foot in Il car.
"Gluck composed violently gesticu-
lating, walking up and down and act
ing all his characters, often in the open
air, on the lawn, in a garden.
Beethoven also undoubtedly found
Il powerful auxiliary to inspiration in
motion and walking. Whatever the
season, every day after dinner, which
vas ut ! o'clock, according to the Wen
nese CUSTOM. he set out for Il walk,
and with big strides twice made the
circuit of the city of Vienna. Neither
cold nor heat nor rain nor hail was able
to stop him. Then il was that his heat
of fancy attained its full ardor. He
would enter Il restaurant, sit down for
an instant and ask the stupefied waiter
for the bill. without having ordered
anything. His clumsiness was pro-
digious. He usually broke everything
he touched. Not a single piece of fur.
niture in his house, and any article Of
value less than anything else, was safe
from his attacks, and many times his
ink pot fell into the piano by which he
was working. which, religiously pre-
served in the museum at Bonn, still
retains its indelible traces. Although
he had always lived in the midst of the
high Viennese aristocracy, in which
drawing room dances were held in
high honor, he never succeeded in dane
ing in time.
"Herold composed while walking,
humming or singing, often in the
Champs Elysees, and often passed his
best friends by without recognizing
them.
"Gounod composed especially at the
table, or at least in his head. When he
wrote, everything was absolutely clear
in his brain. His manuscripts prove
this.
Wagner liked to write standing up
before IL large table desk like the cash
desks in the shops. His scores were
written without erasures. in a superb
calligraphic hand, admirable for its
clearness and firmness and worthy Of
a professional copyist.
''Berlioz, who played no instruments
but the guitar, flute and flageolet, nee
essarily worked at the table.
"Franck. who was the head of a
school, scarcely composed at all till
| after 8 o'clock in the evening.
"Meyerbeer wrote in Il regular a
ner in the evening. and his servant had
orders to drag him away from the
piano at the stroke of midnight. Schu-
mann would not admit that any Il
could write otherwise than at a table.
Mendelssohn made much use of the
piano and preferred to work in the
morning. Auber generally worked at
night and very late, till 2 or 3 o'clock
in the morning, in order to avoid out
side noises.
'Halevy had a table piano that had
been made for him by Pleyel. From
time to time he would draw out his key
board, strike a few chords on it, and
then push it back like Il simple drawer
and continue to write.
"Boieldieu also wrote at the piano.
Felicien David, not being much of a
pianist, sometimes sought the aid Of
his violin. Adolphe Adam almost al
ways worked mt his grand piano, the
right hand side of whose keyboard
was stained with innumerable splashes
of ink. He played eight, ten or twelve
bars, and then wrote them down. Bizet
worked especially in the evening and
still more at night; he often made use
of a piano bureau by Pleyel, like Gou-
nod and Halevy."