element and the Polish
enthusiasm had been wanting. Here it is impossible not to be reminded
of the contention between Chopin on the one hand and Liszt and Hiller on
the other hand about the possibility of foreigners comprehending Polish
national music (See Vol. 1., p. 256). After revealing the mystery of
Chopin's tempo rubato, Liszt writes in his book on this master:--

All his compositions have to be played with this sort of
balancement accentue et prosodie, this morbidezza, of which it
was difficult to seize the secret when one had not heard him
often. He seemed desirous to teach this manner to his numerous
pupils, especially to his compatriots, to whom he wished, more
than to others, to communicate the breath of his inspiration.
These [ceux-ci, ou plutot celles-la] seized it with that
aptitude which they have for all matters of sentiment and
poesy. An innate comprehension of his thought permitted them
to follow all the fluctuations of his azure wave.

There is one thing which is worth inquiring into before we close this
chapter, for it may help us to a deeper insight into Chopin's character
as a teacher--I mean his teaching repertoire. Mikuli says that,
carefully arranged according to their difficulty, Chopin placed before
his pupils the following compositions: the concertos and sonatas of
Clementi, Mozart, Bach, Handel, Scarlatti, Dussek, Field, Hummel, Ries,
Beethoven; further, Weber, Moscheles, Mendelssohn, Hiller, Schumann, and
his own works. This enumeration, however, does not agree with accounts
from other equally authentic sources. The pupils of Chopin I have
conversed and corresponded with never studied any Schumann under their
master. As to the cultivation of Beethoven, it was, no doubt, limited.
M. Mathias, it is true, told me that Chopin showed a preference for
Clementi (Gradus ad Parnassum), Bach, Field (of him much was
played, notably his concertos), and naturally for Beethoven, Weber,
&c.--Clementi, Bach, and Field being always the composers most laid
under contribution in the case of debutants. Madame Rubio, on the other
hand, confined herself to stating that Chopin put her through Hummel,
Moscheles, and Bach; and did not mention Beethoven at all. Gutmann's
statements concerning his master's teaching contain some positive
evidence with regard to the Beethoven question. What he said was this:
Chopin held that dementi's Gradus ad Parnassum, Bach's pianoforte
fugues, and Hummel's c