lity
was a suppression or displacement of accent, to which kind of playing
the term is indeed sometimes applied. The reader will remember the
following passage from a criticism in the "Wiener Theaterzeitung" of
1829:--"There are defects noticeable in the young man's [Chopin's]
playing, among which is perhaps especially to be mentioned the
non-observance of the indication by accent of the commencement of
musical phrases." Mr. Halle related to me an interesting dispute bearing
on this matter. The German pianist told Chopin one day that he played in
his mazurkas often 4/4 instead of 3/4 time. Chopin would not admit it
at first, but when Mr. Halle proved his case by counting to Chopin's
playing, the latter admitted the correctness of the observation, and
laughing said that this was national. Lenz reports a similar dispute
between Chopin and Meyerbeer. In short, we may sum up in Moscheles'
words, Chopin's playing did not degenerate into Tactlosigkeit [lit.,
timelessness], but it was of the most charming originality. Along with
the above testimony we have, however, to take note of what Berlioz
said on the subject: "Chopin supportait mal le frein de la mesure; il
a pousse beaucoup trap loin, selon moi, l'independance rhythmique."
Berlioz even went so far as to say that "Chopin could not play strictly
in time [ne pouvait pas jouer regulierement]."

Indeed, so strange was Chopin's style that when Mr. Charles Halle first
heard him play his compositions he could not imagine how what he heard
was represented by musical signs. But strange as Chopin's style of
playing was he thinks that its peculiarities are generally exaggerated.
The Parisians said of Rubinstein's playing of compositions of Chopin:
"Ce n'est pas ca!" Mr. Halle himself thinks that Rubinstein's rendering
of Chopin is clever, but not Chopinesque. Nor do Von Bulow's readings
come near the original. As for Chopin's pupils, they are even less
successful than others in imitating their master's style. The opinion of
one who is so distinguished a pianist and at the same time was so well
acquainted with Chopin as Mr. Halle is worth having. Hearing Chopin
often play his compositions he got so familiar with that master's music
and felt so much in sympathy with it that the composer liked to have it
played by him, and told him that when he was in the adjoining room he
could imagine he was playing himself.

But it is time that we got off the shoals on which we have been lying so