way to play. At that time, word was sent to the King of Spain
that I showed talent, and he became interested in me, and I played
before him.

MY FRIENDSHIP WITH ARTHUR NIKISCH

A short time afterward, Herr Arthur Nikisch, conductor of the
_Gewandhaus_ Orchestra at Leipsic, and at one time conductor of the
Boston Symphony Orchestra in America, came to Madrid to conduct the
Philharmonic Orchestra for a special concert. Some one told him about my
playing and I was permitted to play for him. He became so interested
that he insisted upon my being taken to Leipsic for further study. I was
then four years of age, and although musical advantages in Spain are
continually increasing, my mother thought it best at the time that she
should follow the great musician's advice and that I should be taken to
the German city.

I want to say that in my earliest work, my mother made no effort to push
me or urge me to go ahead. I loved to play for the sake of playing, and
needed no coaxing to spend time at the keyboard. In my very early years
I was permitted to play in public very little, although there were
constant demands made to engage me. I was looked upon as a kind of
curiosity and my mother wanted me to study in the regular way with good
masters, and also to acquire more strength before I played in public
very much.

I did, however, play at the great Albert Hall, in London. The big
building holds 8000 people, but that was so long ago that I have almost
forgotten all about it, except that they all seemed pleased to see a
little boy of four playing in so very big a place. I also played for
royal personages, including the Kaiser of Germany, who was very good to
me and gave me a beautiful pin. I like the Kaiser very much. He seems
like a fine man.

MY FIRST REGULAR INSTRUCTION

My first teacher, aside from my mother, was a Herr Dreckendorf, of
Leipsic. He was very kind to me and took the greatest pains, but the
idea of learning the notes was very distasteful to me. I was terribly
bored with the technical exercises he gave me, but have since learned
that one can save much time by practicing scales and exercises. Although
I do not like them, I practice them every day now, for a little while,
so as to get my fingers in good working order.

In about six weeks I knew all that was expected of me in the way of
scales in octaves, sixths, thirds, double thirds, etc., and my teacher
commenced to turn his attention to studies and pieces