The Birmingham age-herald., 1913-04-08
BY DOLLY DALRyuPLE

ID DoLL1 DAIh1 MILE
Catch Ysaye-Eugen Ysaye the great
Belgian violinist-that is, catch him off
the stage: at his hotel out afor prom
enade, spinning over the road in an au-
tomobile. or at any time when he hasn't
his fiddle raised to his chin, and he's
the sweetest. most natural the most
lovable and the most charming man i'm
aginab1e
He's very serious when he is work
ing.
The first thing that he will tell You
is that he is the happy grandfather OF
five husky youngsters-and he will
swell with pride at the very mention
of such thing, quite to his full height
of six feet one.
You'd never believe it. for his face
looks like "A big overgrown boys.
There isn't a line or a mark blem-
ish on his fair skin and his eyes are
like dancing water; they twinkle AMI
smile, even before his beautiful, express
sive lips have formed word
He's a perfect darling with a heart
as big as his body, and gentleness
and kindness that is surprising sweet.
OAt . DiS itSS uDoQt nlll-nOl
only the bigness of avoirdupois (his
magnificent chest is a sounding board,
you might say. for the beautiful tonal
quality that he gets from the violin)
but a bigness akin to greatness-the
real "bisness" that counts
Simple and unaffected as a child, he
is interested in everything you men
ton as much as he is interested in mu-
sic
His head and the way he combs his
hair suggests for all the world an in
earnation of Rubenstein, although his
face is different. and he'll sit down and
chat with you in the most Bohemian
manner and "swap stories" as quickly
as you can catch them and you imagine
that you've met an old college chum
instead of the peerless Ysaye, of whom
one of his critics has said:
"All of them try to play the fiddle;
Ysaye alone does.
Yesterday I had the pleasure of
lunching with Nh. Ysaye and his ever
dear friend Mr.. Emile Levy.
When Mr.. Ysaye discovered that
was that much maligned and much
abominated creature, a newspaper per-
SON. he rather "shyed" at the idea of
an interview, for he hates an inter-
viewer like game bird hates a red
dog.
mo. no, no. he said as he glanced
over the smenu card for his favorite
dish, apple pie, II won't talk tonal
quality, where I studied. who ] think
was the greatest violinist, nor give my
opinion of Paganini but I'll talk about
my five grandchildren and apple pie"
Wasn't that human enough to make
me like him right away?
Above all things, Ysaye is human.
He is entirely without those moods
and eccentricities that are attributed
to many great artists.
"Will the youngsters any of them.
be musicians, like their grandfather"
l asked.
mo, indeed said Mr.. Ysaye. Not
that / think the life of an artist is any
harder than that of any one else, but
| do not wish them to be musicians.
My son is fine violinist, but the
youngsters Il don't wish them to be-.
where were you first introduced to
apple pie?" 7 asked
2 introduced to it," he repeated, son1e-
what puzzled; II was introduced in It.
That's it. That's it," laughing heartily
at his own joke. 81 was introduced in
1t right here in America. A pretty lady
told me that If l would eat some apple
pie that she had made, she would kiss
me, and you bet l ate 1T and kissed her.
too"