Chapter I: Front Matter

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MEMORIES OF A

MUSICAL LIFE

Memories of a

Musical Life

by

William Mason

NEW YORK

THE CENTURY CO.

MCMII

Copyright, 1900, 1901, by

THE CENTURY CO.

_Published October, 1901._

THE DEVINE PRESS.

TO MY DAUGHTER MINA MASON VAN SINDEREN AT WHOSE REQUEST THESE MEMORIES HAVE BEEN WRITTEN

CONTENTS

PAGE

EARLY DAYS IN NEW ENGLAND 3
Lowell Mason's Career 7
First Beethoven Symphony in America 8
Musical Conventions 9
Early Musical Training 10
Webster and Clay 11
First Public Appearance 18
Leopold de Meyer 19
"Father Heinrich" 22
An Embarrassing Experience 25

STUDENT LIFE ABROAD 27
Meeting with Meyerbeer 28
Liszt's Feat of Memory 31
First Meeting with Liszt 33
Arrival at Leipsic 34
Moscheles, Beethoven, and Chopin 36
The Intimacy of Moscheles and Mendelssohn 37
Schumann 38
Schumann's "Symphony No. 1, B Flat" 39
Schumann's Absent-mindedness 42
Moritz Hauptmann 44
A Visit to Wagner 48
Wagner on Mendelssohn and Beethoven 51
A Wagner Autograph 55
Moscheles 57
Joseph Joachim 62
Schumann's "Concerto in A Minor" 63
Carl Mayer 65
Dreyschock 66
Prince de Rohan's Dinner 71
Chopin, Henselt, and Thalberg 75
Anton Schindler, "Ami de Beethoven" 79
Schindler and Schnyder von Wartensee 82
First London Concert 84

WITH LISZT IN WEIMAR 86
Accepted by Liszt 88
The Altenburg 93
How Liszt Taught 97
"Play It Like This" 99
Liszt in 1854 101
His Fascination 102
Liszt's Indignation 103
Objects to my Eye-glasses 106
A Musical Breakfast 108
Liszt's Playing 110
Liszt and Pixis 117
Liszt Conducting 119
Liszt's Symphonic Poems--Rehearsing "Tasso" 121
Extracts from a Diary 122
Opportunities 126
Brahms in 1853 127
Nervous before Liszt 128
Dozing while Liszt Played 129
"Lohengrin" for the First Time in Leipsic 132
In Stuttgart--Hotel Marquand 135
The Schumann "Feier" in Bonn, 1880 136
Brahms's Pianoforte-playing 137
A Historical Error Corrected 141
More about Liszt's Wonderful Sight-reading 142
Liszt's Moments of Contrition 144
Peter Cornelius 145
Some Famous Violinists 147
Remenyi 151
Some Distinguished Opera-singers 153
Henriette Sontag 154
Johanna Wagner 156
Mme. de la Grange 157
"Der Verein der Murls" 158
The Wagner Cause in Weimar 159
Raff in Weimar 161
Dr. Adolf Bernhard Marx 165
Berlioz in Weimar 168
Entertaining Liszt's "Young Beethoven" 171
Rubinstein's Opposition to Wagner 174

AT WORK IN AMERICA 183
Touring the Country 184
"Yankee Doodle" and "Old Hundred" 187
Settling down to Teach 191
Theodore Thomas at Twenty 195
Thomas as Conductor 197
Karl Klauser, Musical Director at Miss Porter's School 202
Louis Moreau Gottschalk 205
Propaganda for Schumann's Music 209
Sigismond Thalberg 210
Pedal and Pedal Signs--Why not Dispense with the Latter? 215
Pedal Study for the Pianoforte 219
Rubinstein and the Autograph-hunter 221
Evolution in Musical Ideas--Beethoven Pianoforte Recitals 226
Rubinstein's Favorite Seat at a Pianoforte Recital 227
Bach's "Triple Concerto" and "Les Agrements" 229
A Significant Autograph from Rubinstein 234
Rubinstein, Paderewski, and "Yankee Doodle" 236
Meetings with Von Bulow 238
Edvard Grieg 241
Rates of Tempo--The Present Time Compared with Fifty Years Ago 243
Electrocuting Chopin 244
Tempo Rubato 246
Unusual Pupils--Transposing--Positive and Relative Pitch 247
Appledore, Isles of Shoals 251

MUSIC IN AMERICA TO-DAY 259