t. His merits in this as in other
respects, his various claims to priority of invention, are only too
often overlooked. As at one time all ameliorations in the theory and
practice of music were ascribed to Guido of Arezzo, so it is nowadays
the fashion to ascribe all improvements and extensions of the pianoforte
technique to Liszt, who more than any other pianist drew upon himself
the admiration of the world, and who through his pupils continued to
make his presence felt even after the close of his career as a virtuoso.
But the cause of this false opinion is to be sought not so much in
the fact that the brilliancy of his artistic personality threw all his
contemporaries into the shade, as in that other fact, that he gathered
up into one web the many threads new and old which he found floating
about during the years of his development. The difference between
Liszt and Chopin lies in this, that the basis of the former's art is
universality, that of the latter's, individuality. Of the fingering of
the one we may say that it is a system, of that of the other that it
is a manner. Probably we have here also touched on the cause of Liszt's
success and Chopin's want of success as a teacher. I called Chopin a
revolutioniser of fingering, and, I think, his full enfranchisement of
the thumb, his breaking-down of all distinctions of rank between
the other fingers, in short, the introduction of a liberty sometimes
degenerating into licence, justifies the expression. That this master's
fingering is occasionally eccentric (presupposing peculiarly flexible
hands and a peculiar course of study) cannot be denied; on the whole,
however, it is not only well adapted for the proper rendering of his
compositions, but also contains valuable contributions to a universal
system of fingering. The following particulars by Mikuli will be read
with interest, and cannot be misunderstood after what has just now been
said on the subject:--

In the notation of fingering, especially of that peculiar to
himself, Chopin was not sparing. Here pianoforte-playing owes
him great innovations which, on account of their expedience,
were soon adopted, notwithstanding the horror with which
authorities like Kalkbrenner at first regarded them. Thus, for
instance, Chopin used without hesitation the thumb on the
black keys, passed it even under the little finger (it is
true, with a distinct inward bend of the wrist), if this could
facilitate the exec