Music Trade Review

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THE
MUSIC TRADE
REVIEW
9
;ind trying to make itself heard and understood. are more complex and involved, although the great
And withal it is most fascinating, for its very in- fugue at the end is astonishingly attractive. It
consistency, its lightning changes of mood, its should be noted, however, that nowhere does the
stormy beginning and equally stormy end.
original theme escape attention if one searches
Tn different vein are the two very remarkable for it well, and perhaps the most extraordinary
sets of variations after themes by Paganini and thing about both sets is that Brahms was able
liandei. Here, in place of the stormy, the pas- to preserve the original thread through such ter-
sionate or the sentimental Brahms, we have rifically intricate interweaving.
By all means
Brahms the consummate master of technic, the study the Paganini and Handel variations.
amazing giant of musical learning. We are not The two piano concert! are likewise to be recom-
here dealing with the unspeakable inanity of the mended highly. Especially will the music-lover be
old-fashioned variation, with its horribly tedious attracted by the work in B flat major. Not alone
arpeggiations, its silly changes of rhythm, its is it exceptionally brilliant, but the lovely melodic
continual childish banging out of the main theme. lines and the ingenious working out of the four
On the contrary, we have here variations on the movements render them unexcelled mental as well
original mood, variations again with wholly new as emotional treats.
(COPYRIGHT)
superstructures built on the original base, vari-
A last word may be said here. One peculiar
ations made by taking merely the original notes trait of Brahms is his use of syncopation; that
and treating them in wholly different ways, such broken rhythm much used in our popular music,
as by augmentation, by diminution, by complete and emphasized in rag-time. Those who imagine
change of feeling, of rhythm and of harmonic that this characteristic rhythm is peculiar to this
basis. From the first enunciation of the typical country, or to rag-time, should listen to the sym-
theme in the Paganini variations through the whole phonies, the piano pieces and the concerti of
long series of wonderful pictures which follow it, Brahms. They will find much to interest and sur-
HE above is the title of a book which will
one has a bewildering succession of moods, an prise them.
interest every owner of a player-piano.
amazing convolution of tonal, harmonic and me- It might be suggested that those who desire to
lodic complexities in unity, a veritable tour de study the music of Brahms might take up certain
It is carefully compiled and is a mine
force of learning, imagination and science.
of information for the student.
of his piano pieces in the following order, the
And withal these variations are fascinating to grouping being made roughly from the simpler to
It is the only volume ever put forth which deals
the last degree. No matter whether one labors the more complex: The intermezzi, op. 117; the exhaustively with the many problems which the
through them like the pianist himself, or whether, other intermezzi; the capriccios, op. 11G; the player-pianist and student have to overcome.
as a player-pianist, one sees their wonderful uni- other capriccios; the rhapsody in G minor; the
It is designed to afford a complete guide to music
fying conception from the first, one is enthralled, Cradle Song; the Sapphic Ode; the piano con-
appreciation, player technic, music roll reading,
amazed. It is no wonder that musicians speak certo in B flat; the variations on a theme of
etc.
with bated breath, of these marvelous tonal cre- Paganini; the variations and fugue on a theme
ations. The Handel variations are, perhaps, even of Handel; the four symphonies (piano arrange-
It contains many useful suggestions which will be
more majestic and splendid, but correspondingly ments) in their numerical order.
made apparent to every observer.
THE
PLAYER
PIANIST
The Last Word on
the Player of To-day
T
A HEART TO HEART TALK
On Taking
Things
Seriously.
A sense of humor is the salt of life; yet be-
ware of savor without meat withal. A sense of
the ridiculous is an excellent and saving thing;
yet beware of making it merely ridiculous sense.
We must take things lightly, we are told. Some-
times it is that we must not take ourselves too
seriously. In effect, a light life, light thought,
a cheery optimism. And all that sort of thing.
There is danger in doctrine like this, if it is over-
much insisted upon. There is a grave need
in this world to take ourselves seriously some-
times. It has been well said that the fault of the
world to-day is in its glorification of things and
its contempt for ideas. There is truth in the al-
legation.
We are intent on things. We want
results. We think little of the mind and much
of the senses. It is a bad state of affairs. Let
us reason together a little on this. Let us, though
we think it unnecessary, sit apart for a moment
and consider something of this matter, with es-
pecial reference to our musical taste. Is there any
connection? By all means. Wait a moment and
you shall see.
Art
and Mechanism.
It has been said that an art begins to de-
cline when the technic of its acquirement may
become public property, when no longer need the
artist labor to create; when the means of creation
are open to all. In our case, the invention of the
player-piano has been said, by many musicians, to
mark such a period in the evolution of public
taste. We are told that the creation of an in-
strument which solves the technical difficulties
of playing, marks the final degradation of an
high and holy art. The question is serious. For-
tunately, it misses an important element. And in
so doing it deceives itself fatally. For music
has two sides, creation and reproduction. And the
second is not the first. The player-piano has
nothing to do with creation, nothing to do with
the conception which brings forth a rounded and
complete musical work. Its mission is to repro-
duce that which some one else has first created.
And there alone its work can lie. But there is
another side to the musical criticism above noted,
one that is more implied than expressed, which
bv all means needs our close attention. It is the
criticism implied in the statement that degrada-
tion of public taste must follow the popularization
of means of musical expression. There is some-
thing to this well worth while considering.
"Easy Cinch" Music.
The point to be considered is that with the
throwing open of the gates of music there may
come a contempt for the whole art, a laziness
of feeling, a commonplaceness of attitude. With
the player-piano, there has already been something
of this sort. People are apt to play carelessly
simply because they are not compelled to play
well. With manual playing one must play respec-
tably or one cannot get through a score at all.
With the player-piano one can always get through
a piece, always make the correct tones sound.
And hence one is apt to get into a lazy habit of
doing things. One is apt to think that it is not
necessary to play well, that after all it does not
make much difference. Particularly is this the
case with salesmen and with any who have to
use the player-piano to a large extent. The habit
of thought is fatal, more than justifying any slur
that may be made upon those who practice it.
A New Thought.
To be serious is not necessarily to be freakish.
It is not required that we should be afraid to
think independently, to feel independently, to have
our own individuality and express it when and
how we will. And, how in God's name are we
ever to get anything worth while out of an in-
strument like the piayer-piano if we do not take
it seriously? If there ever were a musical in-
strument requiring care, attention and love to
make it interesting, it is the player-piano. For
pity's sake let us keep that in mind. Let us re-
member that if we have the slightest idea of ever
making our taste better, of educating ourselves
into the appreciation of what is high and beauti-
ful and serene in music, we must, above all things
remember that to treat a fine work carelessly is
to profane it. Music in its highest sense is a
sacred, a religious thing. If we treat it as enter-
tainment only, if we think of it merely as some-
thing wherewith to pass the time, then we shall
never be music-lovers. "Sir," said a lady to Dr.
Johnson, "I know nothing about art, yet I know
what I like." "Madame," replied the sage of
Fleet street, "your tastes are shared by all the
lower animals." The moral of this saying, ac-
cording to Captain Cuttle, lies in the application
of it. Verb. sap.
Specially drawn illustrations add to its attractive-
ness and dealers will find they can handle it to
advantage to dispose of among their customers,
for, it is of direct use to everyone who owns a
player-piano or who contemplates the purchase of
one.
It is original in make-up, splendidly bound in
cloth, gilt top, and contains nearly one hundred
and fifty pages.
Single copies will be sent to any address in the
United States upon receipt of $1.00.
Foreign subscriptions 15c. additional.
Special discounts will be made in quantity lots.
If the book is found unsatisfactory by any pur-
chaser upon receipt, the payment made for it will
be cheerfully refunded upon the return of the book
to the publisher.
There is no source of information in the world
regarding the player-piano which compares with
this volume and every player-piano that is sold
should be accompanied by one of these books.
THE PLAYER PIANIST IS the newest, most
up-to-date and the most useful contribution to
the music trade literature of our times. This in-
stitution has become the recognized authority for
trade and technical literature in the player line.
Therefore, when we make a statement regarding
matters of this kind it usually carries weight and
we say unqualifiedly that our experience in con-
nection with musico-industrial affairs covering a
long period of years teaches us that this volume
should be in the hands of everyone interested in
the player-piano.
Money back every time to those who desire it.
ORDER YOUR COPY NOW
ONE DOLLAR
EDWARD LYMAN BILL
PUBLISHER
1 Madison Avenue - - - New York