FA C E T O FA C E 'W I T H G R E AT M U S I C I A N S CH ARLES D I SAA C SON LEOPOLD GODOWSKY FIRST EKGUP D A P P L E T O N AN D C O M P A N Y NE W YO R K L O N D O N D EDI CATEU I F WH O F IR ST SAW TH E VALU E OF TH E IDE A PRE FACE F is there such a place as the Land of the Beyond, the immortals of music doubtless have gathered o o t gether there s me time since, and come to some o about - - conclusi n this, their self appointed latter day os B well . I have seen them if it is possible to see a man in o his o his his w rks, in letters , in his mem irs, in biog ra hies in his or and o n of his p , p traits, in the c mme ts enemies and friends . Each name in the whole history of music conjures o n I up f r me a livi g personality, with whom may in he c s a t silences of solitude, onver e in no mistak ble - d nn . no n wor ma er It is dead, empty soundi g for me to see the name of a composer on a program ; each number that is to be heard is a key Which un locks for me a stage on Which is reenacted a scene from the ’ drama of a man s life . In these little meetings face to face with great s musicians, I have tried to make it pos ible for the most unlearned novice in music to enter the inner n circle of musical creators and i terpreters . As a matter of fact I have written the articles in such a way that the musical idea may be disre vii Preface as garded, permitting them to be read just little stories for sheer entertainment . Dr. Humphrey, of s homeopathic fame, used to give sugar tablet that ea people like to t . The tablets, however, had just enough medicine in them to cure many ills . I have never had the fortune to know railroad operators intimately, and I have no particular sym - pathy for the railroad operating business . If I were to live for some months with a set of men whose en am tire lives were devoted to that subject, I sure that I would emerge with a knowledge and interest r in railroad work, which would car y me through the rest of my days . The reason that so many people are indifferent to music has been simply a matter of circumstance con and environment . In my work of bringing certs to hundreds of thousands of people I have dis covered that the most outspoken skeptic becomes an — c c ardent music lover, under this pro ess of introdu ing I the human element . t has broken down the im agined barrier between the great public and what “ f ” they erroneously termed high brow stu f. These face to face meetings have been read to some three hundred thousand laymen that they might, in this intimate manner, gain an interest in music through knowing musicians . They have come into the circle ; they have discovered that musicians s r n are not impo sible of unde standi g, but that they are r ve y human creatures , whose lives furnish an Preface l x infinite source of entertainment to keep you laughing an d weeping, to give you thrills and starts . The music that a man writes is only the reflec ” own s tion of his life, ambitions , hope and failures, “ I have said . When you know his life, you have si ni can ce the clue to the g fi of his music . With h c c c t is as a premise, with fa e to fa e arti les as the s c medium, I have a ked audien es to interpret music i a for me n their own w y . Their imaginations are —an d c set at work, what is musi worth if it does not -an d find excite the imagination they the loveliest, z a c most ama ing me nings in the spee h of the piano, an d c . am violin, cello or hestra Some day I going to write all about these interpretations, but as Kip it h . ling has , that is anot er story These articles were written for me to read to my audiences ; then it w as asked that they run in my New G o be finall department in the York l ; and y, hundreds of people asked that the articles be brought c to book publi ation , or I would not have essayed so serious an undertaking. Each article represents research into all the avail c c b able existing data, whi h in most ases is misera ly c c s ant . I have tried to put no words into a harac ’ c ter s mouth whi h were not taken from some actual , - chronicled quotation of his life time utterances , or - c were not j ustified by co related eviden e . In every instance it has been my desire to write the article in ’ c s s the dominant spirit of the ompo er s music, a I is to conceive it . For instance, Mendelssohn me x Preface he - o is o t spring time poet, Tschaik wsky m rbid trag — - edy Rossini is bubbling good humor ; Berlioz is a philosopher ; Chopin is the living expression of re gret ; Gluck represents the revolutionary spirit . I have purposely pressed- down-hard in order to leave the reader with a definite impression of a specific characteristic or set of characteristics to be remem bered evermore when the name is mentioned, or the music of the man is heard . The book is built with Widely varying characters following one another. No academic method of In c has grouping has been attempted . fa t that style been religiously avoided, although the entire series, s weaving all facts together, give a comprehensive knowledge of musical facts and history . I have c Christo fori instru in luded Stradivarius, and other ment makers, that even the instruments may take on a new interest because of those Who are responsi c c ble for their existen e . For the musi student Who has neither the time nor inclination to wade through the voluminous dry-as-dust encyclopedias and biog ra hies ff p , I trust these articles will o er a pleasant s —cut hort to the goal , being vignettes out of the ’ o a comp sers lives , presented without ped ntic or tech fla nical vor. I am grateful to all the sources of information o c c fr m whi h I have gleaned my fa ts . I wish to extend to the publishers and editors of the New York Gl o be my appreciation for the assistance they have given me and to the several hundred important Preface xi artists o f to-day W ho have aided me with their per s onal opinions and experiences . S ACSO N CH ARL E S D . I A CON TEN TS PAGE PR EF ACE, TRO D U CT IO BY LEO PO LD IN N, Gonowsxy FACE TO FACE WITH M U S IC FA CE TO FACE wrm BEETHOVEN FACE TO FACE WITH M END ELS SOH N F ' ACE r o FA C}. WITH CH OPIN FACE r' o FACE WITH GRETRY FACE TO FACE WITH BRAHM S FACE TO FACE WITH DE BU SSY FACE TO FACE WITH PAGANINI FACE r' o FACE WITH STRAD IVARIU S FACE TO FACE WITH WO LF FACE TO FACE WITH BACH FACE TO FACE WITH GLU CK FACE TO FACE WITH M Ac W E LL FACE TO FACE WITH LI SZ T FACE TO FACE WITH LU LLY FACE TO FACE WITH PER GO LE S I FACE TO FACE WITH M EYER BEER FACE TO FACE WITH GRANADOS FACE TO FAC E WITH CH ERU BINI FACE TO FACE WITH SU LLIVAN Co nte n ts FACE TO FACE wi m STRADELLA FACE TO FACE WITH CH AMINAD E FACE TO FACE WITH MASSENET FACE TO FACE WITH MASCAGNI FACE TO FACE WITH HAYDN FACE TO FACE WITH MONTEVERDE FACE TO FACE WITH BELLINI FACE TO FACE WITH NO VE RR E FACE TO FACE WITH VER D I FACE TO FACE WITH HAND EL INTRODUCTION BY L EO P O LD GO DO W SK Y H E n America s adore people . If you have done something which gives you a person If c ality, you are popular. you reate an o atm sphere which stimulates the curiosity, excites admiration, or even arouses scorn, you are sure to ’ be on everybody s lips . Abraham Lincoln will live forever as a dear i . friend, because he s an idol We know all his c U . S . foibles and whims . Stonewall Ja kson, c L . u Grant, Henry Ward Bee her, John S llivan, “ fi ures Matty the pitcher, are national g because the people have a chance to hang their names to a se human t of qualities . Americans want to know what goe s on under s— n neath the skin of folk not the sca dal, but the real being, irrespective of genius .