a
beautiful tapestry in which the main consideration is the principal
design of the work as a whole and not the invisible marking threads
which the manufacturer is obliged to put in the loom in order to have a
structure upon which the tapestry may be woven.

BACH, BACH, BACH

"In the study of the subject of accentuation and phrasing it would not
be possible for anyone to recommend anything more instructive than the
works of Johann Sebastian Bach. The immortal Thueringian composer was the
master-weaver of all. His tapestries have never been equalled in
refinement, color, breadth and general beauty. Why is Bach so valuable
for the student? This is an easy question to answer. It is because his
works are so constructed that they compel one to study these details.
Even if the student has only mastered the intricacies of the _Two Voice
Inventions_, it is safe to say that he has become a better player. More
than this, Bach forces the student to think.

"If the student has never thought before during his practice periods, he
will soon find that it is quite impossible for him to encompass the
difficulties of Bach without the closest mental application. In fact, he
may also discover that it is possible for him to work out some of his
musical problems while away from the keyboard. Many of the most
perplexing musical questions and difficulties that have ever confronted
me have been solved mentally while I have been walking upon the street
or lying in bed at night.

"Sometimes the solution of difficult details comes in the twinkling of
an eye. I remember that when I was a very young man I was engaged to
play a concerto with a large symphony orchestra. One part of the
concerto had always troubled me, and I was somewhat apprehensive about
it. During one of the pauses, while the orchestra was playing, the
correct interpretation came to me like a flash. I waited until the
orchestra was playing very loud and made an opportunity to run over the
difficult passage. Of course, my playing could not be heard under the
_tutti_ of the orchestra, and when the time came for the proper delivery
of the passage it was vastly better than it would have been otherwise.

"I never neglect an opportunity to improve, no matter how perfect a
previous interpretation may have seemed to me. In fact, I often go
directly home from the concert and practice for hours upon the very
pieces that I have been playing, because during the concert certain new
ideas