to convey this impression
to his audience, he is little better than some mechanical instrument.
Josef Hofmann has the ability of investing each composition with an
individual and characteristic charm that has always been very delightful
to me.

THE SIGNIFICANCE OF THE PEDAL

The pedal has been called the soul of the piano. I never realized what
this meant until I heard Anton Rubinstein, whose playing seemed so
marvelous to me that it beggars description. His mastery of the pedal
was nothing short of phenomenal. In the last movement of the B flat
minor sonata of Chopin he produced pedal effects that can never be
described, but for any one who remembers them they will always be
treasured as one of the greatest of musical joys. The pedal is the study
of a lifetime. It is the most difficult branch of higher pianoforte
study. Of course, one may make rules for its use, and the student should
carefully study all these rules, but, at the same time, these rules may
often be skilfully broken in order to produce some very charming
effects. The rules represent a few known principles that are within the
grasp of our musical intelligence. They may be compared with the planet
upon which we live, and about which we know so much. Beyond the rules,
however, is the great universe--the celestial system which only the
telescopic artistic sight of the great musician can penetrate. This,
Rubinstein, and some others, have done, bringing to our mundane vision
undreamt-of beauties which they alone could perceive.

THE DANGER OF CONVENTION

While we must respect the traditions of the past, which for the most
part are very intangible to us because they are only to be found in
books, we must, nevertheless, not be bound down by convention.
Iconoclasm is the law of artistic progress. All great composers and
performers have built upon the ruins of conventions that they themselves
have destroyed. It is infinitely better to create than to imitate.
Before we can create, however, it is well to make ourselves familiar
with the best that has preceded us. This applies not only to
composition, but to pianoforte playing as well. The master pianists,
Rubinstein and Liszt, were both marvelously broad in the scope of their
knowledge. They knew the literature of the pianoforte in all its
possible branches. They made themselves familiar with every possible
phase of musical advancement. This is the reason for their gigantic
prominence. Their greatness was