ave told the difference. And, in fact,
he has adopted the wire E just like Kreisler, Maud Powell and others,
and has told me that he is charmed with it--for Ysaye has had a great
deal of trouble with his strings. I shall continue to use them even
after the war, when it will be possible to obtain good gut strings
again.

THE IDEAL PROGRAM

"The whole question of programs and program-making is an intricate one.
In my opinion the usual recital program, piano, song or violin, is too
long. The public likes the recital by a single vocal or instrumental
artist, and financially and for other practical reasons the artist, too,
is better satisfied with them. But are they artistically altogether
satisfactory? I should like to hear Paderewski and Ysaye, Bauer and
Casals, Kreisler and Hofmann all playing at the same recital. What a
variety, what a wealth of contrasting artistic enjoyment such a concert
would afford. There is nothing that is so enjoyable for the true artist
as _ensemble_ playing with his peers. Solo playing seems quite
unimportant beside it.

"I recall as the most perfect and beautiful of all my musical memories,
a string quartet and quintet (with piano) session in Paris, in my own
home, where we played four of the loveliest chamber music works ever
written in the following combination: Beethoven's 7th quartet (Ysaye,
Vo. I, myself, Vo. II, Kreisler, viola--he plays it remarkably well--and
Casals, 'cello); the Schumann quartet (Kreisler, Vo. I, Ysaye, Vo. II,
myself, viola and Casals, 'cello); and the Mozart G major quartet
(myself, Vo. I, Kreisler, Vo. II, Ysaye, viola and Casals, 'cello). Then
we telephoned to Pugno, who came over and joined us and, after an
excellent dinner, we played the Cesar Franck piano quintet. It was the
most enjoyable musical day of my life. A concert manager offered us a
fortune to play in this combination--just two concerts in every capital
in Europe.

"We have not enough variety in our concert programs--not enough
collaboration. The truth is our form of concert, which usually
introduces only one instrument or one group of instruments, such as the
string quartet, is too uniform in color. I can enjoy playing a recital
program of virtuose violin pieces well enough; but I cannot help fearing
that many find it too unicolored. Practical considerations do not do
away with the truth of an artistic contention, though they may often
prevent its realization. What