I tried the more
exasperated I became. I simply could not make it go, and before I knew
it I had wasted a whole morning upon it. My little daughter took it up
and in a few minutes' practice she was able to do it as well as an
expert. It is precisely the same at the keyboard. What takes some pupils
hours to accomplish others can do in a few seconds with apparently less
effort. The age of the pupil seems to have little to do with musical
comprehension. What does count is talent, that peculiar qualification
which seems to lead the student to see through complex problems as if he
had been solving them through different generations for centuries.

QUESTIONS IN STYLE, INTERPRETATION, EXPRESSION
AND TECHNIC OF PIANOFORTE PLAYING

SERIES XVI

EMIL SAUER

1. Can missed practice periods ever be made up?

2. Does piano study cultivate concentration?

3. What is a good arrangement of practice hours?

4. What are some remedies for slovenly playing?

5. How is one's playing affected by health?

6. Are stimulants good or bad?

7. Is listening important in pianoforte playing?

8. How may finger strength be cultivated?

9. Upon what does velocity depend?

10. What part does talent play in the artist's success?

[Illustration: X. SCHARWENKA]

XAVER SCHARWENKA

BIOGRAPHICAL

Franz Xaver Scharwenka was born at Samter, Posen (Polish Prussia),
January 6, 1850. He was a pupil of Kullak and Wuerst at Kullak's Academy
in Berlin, from which he graduated in 1868. Shortly thereafter he was
appointed a teacher in the same institution. The next year he made his
debut as a virtuoso at the _Singakademie_. For many years thereafter he
gave regular concerts in Berlin in connection with Sauret and Gruenfeld.
In 1874 he gave up his position in the famous Berlin music school and
commenced the career of the touring virtuoso. In 1880 he founded the
Scharwenka Conservatory in Berlin together with his brother Philipp
Scharwenka, an able composer.

In 1891 Scharwenka came to New York to establish a conservatory there.
This, however, was closed in 1898 when Scharwenka returned to Berlin as
Director of the Klindworth-Scharwenka conservatory. He has been the
recipient of numerous honors from the governments of Austria and
Germany. He received the title of "Professor" from the King of Prussia
(Emperor Wilhelm II) and that of Court Pianist from the emperor of
Austria.

His many concert tours in America and in Europe have establis