in the
list, but often whole sets of pieces are contained in one opus number,
as is the case with the Etudes, of which there are twelve in Op. 10,
and the same in Op. 25. These Etudes take up every phase of piano
technic; each one has a definite aim, yet each is a beautiful finished
work as music. They have been edited and re-edited by the greatest
masters.

The twenty-four Preludes were composed before the trip to Majorca,
though they were perfected and polished while there. Written early in
his career, they have a youthful vigor not often found in later
works. "Much in miniature are these Preludes of the Polish poet," says
Huneker.

There are four Impromptus and four Ballades, also four Scherzos. In
them the composer is free, fascinating, often bold and daring. The
great Fantaisie, Op. 49, is an epic poem, much as the Barcarolle is a
poem of love. The two Sonatas, not to mention an early effort in this
form, are among the modern classics, which are bound to appear on the
programs of every great pianist of the present, and doubtless of
the future. The two Concertos are cherished by virtuosi and audience
alike, and never fail to make an instant and lasting appeal.

And think of the eleven Polonaises, those courtly dances, the most
characteristic and national of his works; the fourteen Valses, beloved
of every young piano student the world over; the eighteen Nocturnes,
of starry night music; the entrancing Mazurkas, fifty-two in number.
One marvels, in merely glancing over the list, that the composer, who
lived such a super-sensitive hectic life, whose days were so occupied
with lesson giving, ever had the time to create such a mass of music,
or the energy to write it.

When one considers the amount of it, the beauty, originality and glory
of it, one must acknowledge Frederic Chopin as one of the greatest
piano geniuses of all time.

XIII

HECTOR BERLIOZ

In the south of France, near Grenoble, is found a romantic spot, La
Cote Saint-Andre. It lies on a hillside overlooking a wide green and
golden plain, and its dreamy majesty is accentuated by the line of
mountains that bounds it on the southeast. These in turn are crowned
by the distant glory of snowy peaks and Alpine glaciers. Here one of
the most distinguished men of the modern movement in French musical
art, Hector Berlioz, first saw the light, on December 11, 1803.

He was an only son of a physician. His father, a learned man, with
the utmost car