because of his
abnormal hand, he plays with the first and third fingers, where virtuose
players, as a rule, are only too happy if they can play them with the
first and fourth. To verify this individual character of his revisions,
one need only glance at his edition of Godowsky's '12 Impressions' for
violin--in every case the fingerings indicated are difficult in the
extreme; yet they supply the key to definite effects, and since this
music is intended for the advance player, are quite in order.

"The ms. and revisions of many other distinguished artists have passed
through my hands. Theodore Spiering has been responsible for the
educational detail of classic and modern works; Arthur Hartmann--a
composer of marked originality--Albert Spalding, Eddy Brown, Francis
MacMillan, Max Pilzer, David Hochstein, Richard Czerwonky, Cecil
Burleigh, Edwin Grasse, Edmund Severn, Franz C. Bornschein, Leo
Ornstein, Rubin Goldmark, Louis Pershinger, Louis Victor Saar--whose ms.
always look as though engraved--have all given me opportunities of
seeing the best the American violin composer is creating at the present
time.

EDITORIAL DIFFICULTIES

"The revisional work of the master violinist is of very great
importance, but often great artists and distinguished teachers hold
radically different views with regard to practically every detail of
their art. And it is by no means easy for an editor like myself, who is
finally responsible for their editions, to harmonize a hundred
conflicting views and opinions. The fiddlers best qualified to speak
with authority will often disagree absolutely regarding the use of a
string, position, up-bow or down-bow. And besides meeting the needs of
student and teacher, an editor-in-chief must bear in mind the artistic
requirements of the music itself. In many cases the divergence in
teaching standards reflects the personal preferences for the editions
used. Less ambitious teachers choose methods which make the study of the
violin as _easy_ as possible for _them_; rather than those which--in the
long run--may be most advantageous for the _pupil_. The best editions of
studies are often cast aside for trivial reasons, such as are embodied
in the poor excuse that 'the fourth finger is too frequently indicated.'
According to the old-time formulas, it was generally accepted that
ascending passages should be played on the open strings and descending
ones using the fourth finger. It stan