,
engineering, surgery and music is absurd, because the three former do
not appeal to the masses in the same manner as music does. Precisely: it
is because of this universal appeal on the part of music that the public
should be educated to _listen_ to _good_ music; that they should be
given, in a general way, a chance to acquaint themselves with the laws
underlying the "Beautiful in Music" and should be shown the demands
which a right appreciation of the Art makes upon the Intellect and the
Emotions.

And, surely, such a "desideratum" may best be effected by a careful
perusal of the manuals to be included in the present series. It is
incontestable that the reader of the following pages--apart from a
knowledge of the various musical forms, of orchestration, etc.--all of
which will be duly treated in successive volumes--will be in a better
position to appreciate the works of the several composers to which he
may be privileged to listen. The last essay, especially, will be read
with interest to-day, when we may hope to look forward to a cessation of
race-hatred and distrust, and to what a writer in the _Musical Times_
(September, 1914) has called, "a new sense of the emotional solidarity
of mankind. From that sense alone," he adds, "can the real music of the
future be born."

CLAUDE LANDI.

MUSICIANS OF TO-DAY

BERLIOZ

I

It may seem a paradox to say that no musician is so little known as
Berlioz. The world thinks it knows him. A noisy fame surrounds his
person and his work. Musical Europe has celebrated his centenary.
Germany disputes with France the glory of having nurtured and shaped his
genius. Russia, whose triumphal reception consoled him for the
indifference and enmity of Paris,[1] has said, through the voice of
Balakirew, that he was "the only musician France possessed." His chief
compositions are often played at concerts; and some of them have the
rare quality of appealing both to the cultured and the crowd; a few have
even reached great popularity. Works have been dedicated to him, and he
himself has been described and criticised by many writers. He is popular
even to his face; for his face, like his music, was so striking and
singular that it seemed to show you his character at a glance. No clouds
hide his mind and its creations, which, unlike Wagner's, need no
initiation to be understood; they seem to have no hidden meaning, no
subtle mystery; one is instantly their friend or their enemy,