reflects the
unrest that has existed in the vast country of the Czar, and it is not
at all unlikely that this very unrest is responsible for the mental
activity which has characterized the work of so many artists of Russian
birth.

Although Russia is one of the most venerable of the European nations,
and although she has absorbed other territory possessed by races even
more venerable than herself, her advance in art, letters and music is
comparatively recent. When Scarlatti, Handel, and Bach were at their
height, Russia, outside of court circles, was still in a state of
serfdom. Tolstoi was born as late as 1828, Turgenieff in 1818 and
Pushkin, the half-negro poet-humorist, was born in 1799. Contemporary
with these writers was Mikhail Ivanovitch Glinka--the first of the great
modern composers of Russia. Still later we come to Wassili Vereschagin,
the best known of the Russian painters, who was not born until 1842. It
may thus be seen that artistic development in the modern sense of the
term has occurred during the lifetime of the American republic. Reaching
back into the centuries, Russia is one of the most ancient of nations,
but considered from the art standpoint it is one of the newest.

The folk songs that sprang from the hearts of the people in sadness and
in joy indicated the unconcealable talent of the Russian people. They
were longing to sing, and music became almost as much a part of their
lives as food. It is no wonder then that we find among the names of the
Russian pianists such celebrities as Anton Rubinstein, Nicholas
Rubinstein, Essipoff, Siloti, Rachmaninoff, Gabrilowitsch, Scriabin, de
Pachmann, Safonoff, Sapellnikoff and many others. It seems as though the
Russian must be endowed by nature with those characteristics which
enable him to penetrate the artistic maze that surrounds the wonders of
music. He comes to music with a new talent, a new gift and finds first
of all a great joy in his work. Much the same might be said of the
Russian violinists and the Russian singers, many of whom have met with
tremendous success.

WITH THE MUSICAL CHILD IN RUSSIA

The Russian parent usually has such a keen love for music that the child
is watched from the very first for some indication that it may have
musical talent. The parent knows how much music brings into the life of
the child and he never looks upon the art as an accomplishment for
exhibition purposes, but rather as a source of great joy. Music is
fost