The New York herald., 1922-10-29
DamroSch Replies to
LacEmund of List


structures on my "reminiscences Of Liszt
in 1882 / think that Mr.. Carl Lachnund
makes out. unintentionaliy. a rather good
case for me. - He acknowledges that
there were at least four so-called pupils
who were not worthy TO receive the IN
structions of the meister. Personally I
think there were great many more, but
that is a matter OF opinion.
I do not know who the young woman
was who claims to have been present
when / first called on Liszt. The facts
In the first chapter OF my memoirs are
exactly as stated. Llszt was alone In
the room, and therefore could not have
heard any woman play or say after
ward that she had played hike q god
cess'' There was dreadful woman
pianist who evidently belonged to the
obnoxious crowd L refer to and VINO
played a. the class the following after
noon and so horribly that after Liszt
had interrupted her<twice and sat down
himself to play divinely q certain phrase
in a Beethoven sonata as 1t should be
played. he finally turned from her and
said with a deep sigh. Now sit down
and make a fool OF yourself again
Mr.. Lachmund wonders why did not
Liszt The reason was very sitrple---l
was no pianist l had practiced piano
until my seventeenth year and then be-
cause Of strain In the third finger OF
my right hand gave 1t up. and while
| played piano fairly well, never made
any claims to professional ssatus. l
! certainly never played a Hunlmel con-
certo with orchestra as Mr.. Lachmund
+! imagines, aud therefore could hardly
| have given the pupils Of baszt an OBJ
| jeet lesson as Mr.. Lachnund kindly
| suggests.
have admired Rosenthal. Sauer,
Resenauer, Siloti, Friedheim and other
| Liszt pupils for many years. but as
none of these gentlemen played or were
| present at the one class which ! at
| tended they could not have been in
cluded in the estimate Of the crowd Of
| 'cormorants and sycophants" who were
! thus characterized to me by Frauleir Won
| Scharn. This lady, by the by. has been
| close and ever devoted friend OF Liszt
| since. 1857. se
| Mr.. Lachmund not only acknowledges
the incident OF which Won Bulow told
me but aniplifies it from his own
memoirs as he seems to have been
present on the occasion. gave the
story exactly as Won Bulow told II to
| me. do not for a moment claim, nor do
| suppose did Won Eulow, that In clean
! ing out Liszt's rooms OF tho unsavory
crowd, he had literally taken each indi-
vidual faker by the shoulders ana
pushed him over the threshold. Mr..
| Iachmund relates that ION the day Won
| Bulow gave lesson for the master,
who was i'll. he had told two OF these
women. you should be swept out OF
!. the room, not with a broom. but with its
! handle One would not come back. but
List, himself called and told her to re-
turn" / think that Mr.. Lacllmund's
anecdote simply proves Won Bulow's
claim that He had once cleaned out
, LISTS room and begged this unsavory
crowd never to return. Lisgt had
thanked him, but next morning they
were all back again." n
Those excellent musicians, Otto Less
man. Carl Klindworth and Walter Bache
were not, as Mr.. Lachmund implies
pupils of Iisgt during the period j
refer to. They belonged to a much
earlier era. although they kept up their
frienship and alteration for Liszt and
often visited him in Weimar.
do not know why Mr.. Lachmund OBJ
jects to my appreciation of Lilli Leh-
mann, and that once received q valua-
BILE hint from her In the difficult art OF
accompanying singers. I am not at all
y
age one can still learn a lot, and LII
Lehnianns hint to watch the singers
lips while conducting for them proved
of real value to me.
I have never heard Mr.. Lachulund
play. and assume that he belonged to
those OF whom he says: Then there
were good pianists who received sincers
praise from, the master but who. because
OF their retiring and supersenstive ma
lures did not aspire TO brave the foot
lights" am sure that he got great
deal Of inspiration out pS contact with
Lisst during tiiose days in Weimar. and
that the many years that have inter.
voned have woven ouch a halo Of ro-
nance around that period. that he pre-.
fers to ignore the darker side.
believe that the Impressions as
siven 20 me by Won Buow, Fraulein
Won Scharn and many others--whose re-
lations with Liszt dated from q period
before Mr. Lachmund or / we're born
ard whose love for Liszt lasted through
the ycars--were correct
Mr.. Lachmund thinks that II had
chosen TO stay with Liszt In Weiniar
would have become "a good disciple tor
the Wagner-Liszt cause In the New
World" This Is somewhat amusing as
whatever approval ceuters around my
musical dotngs during the last thirty.
eight years in America is connected
rather closely with the names of Liszt
and Wagner and the continuous produc.
ton OF their works In this country.
WALTER DAARoscH.