Forest City press. (Forest City, Potter County, D.T. [S.D.]) 1883-19??, 1906-09-27
GREATEST TEACHER Of
PIANO IN THE WORLD
Theodore Leschetizky. the Vi
emma Music Master, Con-
coded This Ointinc.ion.
WONDERFUL EXPERIENCE
Such Is Said BY One Of His Pupils t.
&c the Result Of Taxing Lesson
from Famous Master
Of Piano.
WONDERFUL EXPERIENCE

From Current Literature.
Concentration. ii seems. is tar watch
@ord OF TEeidor LeSoh.fiszy the Vi
emma music master. H. rcomrlatc. Gu-
swcfVirs concentration" sass An
netfe Euilah, an English writer. he mas
Iuiniled mis- own III. and character. aIa
ne IS never tired OF impges-!HE Ipon
his pupils the idea thai without COM
centrauon you can DO nothing"
~L@-schctizhy y personality ald piano
method, both OF which aye fully de-
scribed by Miss iiullan. have ii real
ana vital interest for all maukir' Ihey
helped to mold the careers Of several
OF the greatest living pianlsts. among
them Paderewski, Mark H~amuoGrS
Gabrilowitcii, Fanny Bloomne.l-Zeis-
Ter. and Tor thirty years have drawn.
as a magne the promising musical
students OF every nation. II is we'll 10
remember. however. that the "Loschet-
tzky method" so-called. is not in any
strict sense u method at All. The term
was coined by Lescheti2ky's assistants.
who arranged In a connected series the
technical exercises through which Ihey
have put the pupils TO be prepared for
him.. He himself has said Il have no
technical method. There are certain
ways OF producing certain effects, u
L have found those which succeed best.
but l have no iron rules. How is 1t
possible one should have hem? one
pupil needs this. another that. the
hand of each differs. The brain of
each differs There can be no rule. !
am a doctor to whom my pupils come
as patients TO be cured OF their mu-
steal ailments, and the remedy must
vary In each case" In only ore re
spect can 1t be said tina Leschetizk y
has originated a method. and this is
In the way In which he teaches his pu-
pills to learn "A piece of music. He re-
Quires the student to analyze a com
position bar by bar. slowly and DELHI
erately engraving each point on his
snind as on a map, until he knows II
30 thoroughly that he can play any
part without the music.
His System Of Teachinq.
Leschetizky endeavors TO inculcate:
(1) an absolutely clear comprehension
OF the principal points TO be studied
In the music on hand: (2) a clear con-
of where the difficulties lie. and
OF the way in which to conquer them.
and CD h mental realization of these
facts before they are carried out by
abe hands. Decide exactly what IL is
you want to do in the first place. he
his pupils. then how you viii
do IL: then play it. Stop and think II
yuu have played it in the way you
have meant TO do; then only. If sure OF
this. go ahead. Without concentration,
remember. you can do nothing. The
brain must guide the fingers. not the
fingers the brain" Other points in mu-
s5cal science have been conveyed by
LeschetZky in felicitous smiles and
suggestions, as follows:
20 make an affective accelerando
you must glide into rapidity as steadily
as a train increases its speed when
Ets-arning out OF a station.
Teach yourself 10 make a r%allentan-
do evenly by watching the drops of wa
ter cease as you turn off a tap.
"A player with an unbalanced
rhythm reminds me of an intoxicated
man who cannot walk straight.
III your wrists are weak. go and roll
the grass in the garden.
III you want to develop strength and
sensitiveness in the tips OF your fing-
ers. use them in every day life. For
instance, when you g out for a walk,
mold your umbrella with the tips in
stead Of in the palm of your hand.
Practice your technical exercises on
IA ruUshion or upon a table sometimes.
You do not always need the piano to
strengthen your muscles.
Leschetizky is said to love his pupils
'as II they were his w children; but
las a good father" observes Miss HUI
lah. he considers his duty better done
through the aid Of discipline tina OF
sympathy" Like all highly strung
people. ne Is extremely sensitive to
personality. Once in a while when the
door bell the arrival of the
first pupil. il the professor happens to
be in n fashionable rame of mind. he
VIII steal down stairs to find out who it
ds. and II on peeping surreptitiously
into the room he sees some one anti
pathetic to him, he promptly steals up
stairs again and stays there a quarter
of an hour or more to recover from
the blow. Like all individuaLstic ma
1ureA he desires the monopoly of GER
tain emotions. He may be sad. but
others must not be SO. He cannot en-
dure half heartedness: enthusiasm he
must and will have. Nor can he pear
dismal solemnity and silence. On one
occasion he gave n lesson TO a taciturn
lady without uttering a single word,
She would not speak. he said, so why
mould she? Still further eccentricities
nre recounted by Miss Hullah:
Is Full Of Sympathy.
He Is full OF benevolent sympathy
But when the time for the lessor
comcx, everything but the immediate
need OF getting the thing lone in the
night way Is obliterated from his mind
and In the enthusiasm of The momenI
all traces Of this ~benevolence speedil,
disappear. He forgets the pupil Is full
OF original sin and cannot wait fol
the signs Of grace.
This leads to misunderstanding. i
leads also to the SUDDEN exit OF the pu.
Eli: to the slamming Of doors: to tht
crushing OF music on the floor; tc
BB18Q ICul6IhS dOOAS n Aut0AC OcklCl
spent ia tomato planting Once Il
Led to total darkness. In the intensity
Of his feelings the master arose, has.
ely put out the gas. rushed away. ant
left the pupils sitting round the elias:
In silence and gloom till things were
patched up by some comforting sou
outside.
When all goes well. however. a lessor
With Leschetizky is q really wonderful
experience. Says Miss Hullah:
His point Of view is SO interesting
the depth Of his comprehensions sc
DroSound. his power of clear exposition
% great, the parallels he draws be
tween art and life 30 unexpected. tina
Ris listener is held under a spell o
wondering enthusiasm throughout
Both his and his memory are yer,
remarkable. He Is able to retain &C
cu1ateIy in his mind every detail in !;
piece OF music on hearing 1t for tn,
0rxt time; and not only to play 1
through Immediately afterward, but Il
discuss points in II.
He sits very still and very straight
never stopping over the keys, or sway.
Ing about. HIS hands. often partially
resting on the notes. are almost fiat,
the wrists low. the fingers doing all the
--nra, HE rvbo1o figure fatf ,..f.n go