fill an auditorium seating at least
one thousand people. The pupil at home is enjoined not to "bang" or
"pound." The result is a feeble, characterless tone which rarely fills
an auditorium as it should. The actor can not forever rehearse in
whispers if he is to fill a huge theater, and the concert pianist must
have a strong, sure, resilient touch in order to bring about climaxes
and make the range of his dynamic power all-comprehensive. Indeed, the
separation from home ties, or shall we call them home interferences, is
often more responsible for the results achieved abroad than superior
instruction.

Unfortunately, the number of virtuosos who have been taught exclusively
in America is really very small. It is not a question of ability upon
the part of the teacher or talent upon the part of the pupil. It is
entirely a matter of the attitudes of the teacher, the pupil and the
pupil's home advisers. Success demands strong-willed discipline and the
most lofty standards imaginable. Teachers who have taught for years in
America have returned to Europe, doubled and quadrupled their fees, and,
under old-world surroundings and with more rigid standards of artistic
work, have produced results they declare would have been impossible in
America. The author contends that these results would have been readily
forthcoming if we in America assumed the same earnest, persistent
attitude toward the work itself. If these words do no more than reach
the eyes of some of those who are advising students wrongly in this
matter they will not have been written in vain. The European concert
triumphs of Mrs. H. H. A. Beach, whose training was received wholly in
the United States, is an indication of what may be achieved in America
if the right course is pursued. Conditions are changing rapidly in our
country, particularly in the wonderful West and Middle-West. It seems
likely that many pianists without foreign instruction of any kind will
have as great success in our concert field as have many of our best
opera singers who have never had a lesson "on the other side."

Our little pianist has again been playing truant from our manuscript.
Let us see what happens to her when she finished her work with the
famous teacher abroad. Surely the making of a virtuoso is an expensive
matter. Let us take the estimate of the young pianist's father, who
practically mortgaged his financial existence to give his daughter the
right musical training.

Lessons