oted about the practice of the
early classical composers. They were accustomed to give the minimum
amount of indication as to tempo and general detail for the performance
of their works.

And to what conclusion does this lead us? Surely this--that these giants
in music recognized the necessity for every performer of their works to
express _themselves_ through the music, subject to the broad conditions
laid down by the composer. As Hegel said: 'Music is the most subjective
of all arts.' And is it not true that it is this constant necessity for
personal interpretation, so strongly felt by the majority of artists,
which gives the permanent interest to music?

We say, 'by the majority of artists', for now and then we meet an artist
who seems to have strayed from the path of beauty, and who is devoting
his energies to an ascetic determination to keep alive one particular
interpretation of a composer's work, or works; who dictates these
interpretations to his pupils, and who talks of other artists who feel
the bounden duty of self-expression through the said works as
'outsiders', and 'not in the cult'. Such musicians do not appear to see
that such an attitude is 'idolatry' pure and simple. They have not
pondered the well-known anecdote of Brahms, who, when asked by a singer
whether his interpretation of one of his songs was 'the right one',
answered: 'It is one of the many hundred possible interpretations.'

A word must now be said on the organization of instrumental work in the
school. It is important that this should be in the hands of one person,
who will not only keep a supervising eye on questions of method, choice
of music, lengths of lessons and practising, &c., but who will evolve
some means of testing the progress of the pupils every term, in the same
way in which their progress is tested in other subjects. The progress of
the individual pupil should not be a secret between herself and her
particular mistress!

It is a good plan to arrange a short recital every term in a school, at
which from twenty to twenty-five pupils should play at a time. Such
recitals should not exceed more than 1-1/4 hours in length. Nothing is
more wearisome to the outsider than to listen to amateur performances
which stretch out to two and sometimes to three hours' length. If the
above plan be adopted, no child will be able to play more than one short
piece. A mistress who is ambitious for the success of a few specially
gifted pupils wil