hed his
fame as a pianist of great intellectual strength as well as strong
poetical force. His compositions, including his four Concertos, have
been widely played, and his opera, _Mataswintha_, has received important
productions. One of his earlier works, the _Polish Dance_, has been
enormously popular for a quarter of a century.

(The following conference was conducted in German and English.)

XIX

ECONOMY IN MUSIC STUDY

XAVER SCHARWENKA

It is somewhat of a question whether any time spent in music study is
actually wasted, since all intellectual activity is necessarily
accompanied by an intellectual advance. However, it soon becomes
apparent to the young teacher that results can be achieved with a great
economy of time if the right methods are used. By the use of the words
"right methods" I do not mean to infer that only one right method
exists. The right method for one pupil might be quite different from
that which would bring about the best results with another pupil. In
these days far more elasticity of methods exists than was generally
sanctioned in the past, and the greatness of the teacher consists very
largely of his ability to invent, adapt, and adjust his pedagogical
means to the special requirements of his pupil. Thus it happens that the
teacher, by selecting only those exercises, etudes and teaching pieces
demanded by the obvious needs of the pupil, and by eliminating
unnecessary material, a much more rapid rate of advancement may be
obtained. One pupil, for instance, might lack those qualities of
velocity and dexterity which many of the etudes of Czerny develop in
such an admirable manner, while another pupil might be deficient in the
singing tone, which is almost invariably improved by the study of
certain Chopin etudes.

TIME LOST IN EARLY STUDY

Although my educational work for many years has been almost exclusively
limited to pupils preparing for careers as teachers and as concert
pianists, I nevertheless have naturally taken a great interest in those
broad and significant problems which underlie the elementary training of
the young music student. I have written quite extensively upon the
subject, and my ideas have been quite definitely expressed in my book,
_Methodik des Klavierspiels: Systematische Darstellung der technischen
und aesthetischen Erfordernisse fuer einen rationellen Lehrgang_. I have
also come in close contact with this branch of musical work in the
Klindworth-Schar