mall concern. Not for one generation are
great masterpieces born. The artist lives in the future; he is always
in advance of his time.

Beethoven's character was a prism of many facets. Wagner views him
always as the mystic, the seer, at odds with the world. Side by side
with this characterization he constantly dwells, as just noted, on
Beethoven's uncontrollable tendency to humor, gayety (_Heiterkeit_)
which shows itself not only in his life, but still more in his works.
This may have been a device deliberately assumed to enable him to escape
mental suffering. At all events it was a prominent trait of his
character, but does not seem to have added to his enjoyment of life. No
circumstance, however painful, but that he is able to extract some jest
or pleasantry from it. The paradox is before us of a man world-weary at
the core, outwardly serene, gay. In the same ratio in which those things
which serve to make life enjoyable to the average man were diminished or
withdrawn, does his tendency to incessant humor increase.

The consciousness of being able to achieve great things, and the joy in
accomplishing them, is what gives the artist the exultant mood, the
feeling of gayety. To be sensible of such an heritage, to participate in
this God-given wealth, to run riot in it, to know that the more of it
that is used the more will be given, to be favored of the gods in a way
that the possessor of untold wealth cannot aspire to--this is what gives
the serene and joyous mood, which characterizes the man of genius for
the most part. When he comes out of this ideal world into the
commonplace every-day life, and realizes his unfitness for it, the other
side of the picture is presented to his consciousness, and then is
exhibited that strange melancholy, _Weltschmerz_, which constantly
comes to the fore in the journals and letters of men like Wagner, or
Beethoven, or Liszt.

The Sunday morning concerts, instituted by Czerny in the winter of 1816,
call for more than passing notice. A select company of professional
musicians and amateurs had banded themselves into an organization for
the purpose of performing and studying the best class of chamber-music
with special reference to Beethoven's compositions. Czerny was the
originator and moving spirit, as stated, and the performances were held
at his house. Beethoven attended them frequently. Czerny, whose
admiration for the master was unbounded, was brought into more intimate
relations