roughness. Furthermore, the means which
have produced the great pianists of the past are likely to differ but
little from those which will produce the pianists of the future.

"The ultra-modern teacher who is inclined to think scales old-fashioned
should go to hear de Pachmann, who practices scales every day. De
Pachmann, who has been a virtuoso for a great many years, still finds
daily practice necessary, and, in addition to scales, he plays a great
deal of Bach. To-day his technic is more powerful and more comprehensive
than ever, and he attributes it in a large measure to the simplest of
means.

DIFFICULTIES IN NEW PIANOFORTE COMPOSITIONS

"I have often been asked if the future of pianoforte composition seemed
destined to alter the technic of the instrument, as did the compositions
of Liszt, for instance. This is a difficult question, but it would seem
that the borderland of pianistic difficulty had been reached in the
compositions and transcriptions of Busoni and Godowsky. The new French
school of Debussy, Ravel and others is different in type, but does not
make any more severe technical demands.

"However, it is hard for one to imagine anything more complicated or
more difficult than the Godowsky arrangements of the Chopin studies. I
fail to see how pianoforte technic can go much beyond these, unless one
gets more fingers or more hands. Godowsky's treatment of these studies
is marvelous not only from a technical standpoint, but from a musical
standpoint as well. He has added a new flavor to the individual
masterpieces of Chopin. He has made them wonderfully clever and really
very interesting studies in harmony and counterpoint, so that one
forgets their technical intricacies in the beauty of the compositions.
One cannot say that their original beauty has been enhanced, but he has
made them wonderfully fascinating compositions despite their aggravating
complications for the student.

MERE DIFFICULTY NO LONGER ASTOUNDS

"The day when the show of startling technical skill was sufficient to
make a reputation for a pianist is, fortunately, past. The mechanical
playing devices have possibly been responsible for this. The public
refuses to admire anything that can be done by a machine, and longs for
something finer, more subtle, more closely allied to the soul of the
artist. This does not mean, however, that the necessity for a
comprehensive technic is depreciated. Quite the contrary is true. The
need for an al