Identifier: modernmusicmusic02elso (find matches)
Title: Modern music and musicians : (Encyclopedic)
Year: 1918 (1910s)
Authors: Elson, Louis Charles, 1848-1920
Subjects: Piano Musicians Composers
Publisher: New York : The University Society Inc.
Contributing Library: Harold B. Lee Library
Digitizing Sponsor: Brigham Young University

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t of his person-ality. His great fault is that he lacks moderation; he does not stop him-self in time, but loses himself in stupid digressions of wearisome length.He was aware of this himself, and anticipated criticism by noting pas-sages in his compositions which could be left out. These cuts often de-tract from the beauty of the whole, and it is possible to find better onesthan those indicated by the author. His music bubbles over with melody,a little too much for the taste of Germany, and for those who adopt herideas—people who affect great scorn for all singing phrases, regularly de-veloped, and can be pleased with nothing but polyphony, no matter howheavy, sulky, awkward, or confused. It makes no difference to somepeople that music is devoid of charm and elegance, or even devoid of ideasand correct composition, as long as it is complicated. But the richness of melody in the works which now occupy us is bal-anced by as great a richness of harmony. In his bold search in the world
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THE WARTBURG. Here Liszt conducted his .Saint Elizabeth on the 800th anniversary of the building of the castle.The singers contest in Tannhiiuser was held in the left wing. of new harmony Liszt lias far surpassed all that was done before him.Wagner himself has not attained the audacity shown in the prelude to Faust, written in a hitherto unknown tonality, yet containing nothingto wound the ear, and in which it is impossible to change a single note. Liszt has the inestimable advantage of having typified a people : Schu-mann is the soul of Germany, Chopin of Poland; Liszt of the Magyar.He was a delightful combination of pride, native elegance, and wild, tame-less energy. These traits lived and breathed in his marvelous playing, inwhich the most diverse gifts met—those even which seem to contradict eachother, like absolute correctness combined with the most extravagant fancy.Haughtily wearing his patrician pride, he never had the air of a gentle-man who plays the piano. When he played

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