New-York tribune., 1921-06-05
Leopold Auer Reveals
Secrets of His Teaching
Veteran Violinist and Pedagogue Urges Expression
of individuality Rather Than Blind Ad-
herence to Tradition i'm Recent Volume

early age-in fact, the sooner the bet
ter. 1t is in early youth, from the age
Of six or seven on, while the muscles
still have certain softness and elias
ticity, that they may best be shaped
and trained for the development of per-
feet technique. Even in these early
years he claims that the child should
not only be guided by a conscientious
and experienced teacher, but provided
with violin of more than mediocre
quality.
One way of testing a pupils ability
is to set him q task beyond his powers
Mischa Elman was one of the first to
be subjected by Auer to this expert
ment. When boy Of twelve at the
Petrograd Conservatory he was chosen
to play the first movement of the
Tschaikowsky concerto at a public ex-
animation. At one of the rehearsals,
ten days before the examination, a
passage in thirds in the cadence proved
too mucn for him. Auer then told him
that he would be unable to play the
concerto and prepare another piece.
With eyes filled with tears Elman
swore to overcome the difficulty. But
his teacher, still doubtful of the result,
instructed him to bring another piece
as we'll as the concerto to the dress
rehearsal. Elman's ambition was so
fred and he practiced with such dill
gence that when he began the concerto
at the rehearsal there was no need
of his playing the second piece. The
same experiment proved success with
Toscha Seidel, when told to prepare
Spohr's concerto No. 8 at time when
the work presented enormous difficult
ties for SO young student.
"Nuance is the soul of interpreta
tion," says the famous teacher. Dynam-
les, the science of strength; timbre,
quality and color of tone and tempo
are the three factors to be considered
in the general conception of the term.
Bach's sonatas are recommended as the
finest studies for the perfecting of this
most important asset in the violinist's
equipment
In his remarks on style Auer shows
unusual breadth of vision. He does
not insist upon tradition, which he re-
| CARDS as the antithesis of progress, the
letter which kills the living spirit.
| Tradition weighs down the living spirit
of the present with the dead Journalism
| of the past. He urges violinists of to-
day to express themselves, not to fet-
ter their playing with rules that have
| lost their meaning. He recognizes only
one tradition-that it is the function of
! the artist to enter into the spirit of
composition and to reveal the inten-
| tions of the composer. To pedantic
| Interpretation of a Beethoven violin
concerto, based on "tradtionap evi
dence and prepared with that conscien-
tious lack of imagination which is so
often the enemy of all beauty, he pre-
fers an ardent, temperament reading,
one quite unsupported by any tradition,
yet in which the artist pours out mis-
very soul in the honest endeavor to
grasp that of the master.
| Tradition represents the attempt 10
| impose the individuality of another
But the violinist must form his own
style, and his style must be the express
| sion of his own individuality.
Other chapters are devoted to SLOW
to Hold the Violin," "Tone Production"
"Hints on Bowing," "Left-Hand Tech
nique," Double Stops-The Trill,"
Ornaments" "Harmonics," "The Vio-
lin Repertory of Yesterday and To
day." what Give My Pupils to Play"
Professor Auer has probably NOR
distinguished pupils now before the
public than any other pedagogue of the
violin now living. Many of their por-
traits adorn the volume. They include
Jascha Heifetz, Mischa Elman, Efrem
Zimbalist. Toscha Seidel, Eddy Brown,
Kathleen Parlow, Thelma Given and
Mischief Piastro.