on well together; there seems to have
been something antagonistic in their natures which prevented anything
approaching to reciprocal feeling between them. Beethoven from the
first considered that he had a grievance against his master in the
fact that he did not make sufficient progress, owing to Haydn's being
so much occupied with his own work. This dissatisfaction led to his
seeking guidance in other quarters; but for about a year after his
arrival in Vienna he refrained from doing this openly, until Haydn's
departure for England gave him the opportunity of changing masters.
Thereafter he took lessons every day of the week from several of the
best musicians in the city both in playing and composition.
Albrechtsberger was the famous contrapuntist of his day, and Beethoven
derived much from his teaching; he does not appear to have impressed
his master, however, with a high opinion of his powers, for the old
man advised one of his pupils to have nothing to do with the young man
from Bonn. 'He has learnt nothing,' Albrechtsberger added, 'and will
never do anything in decent style.' This was in allusion to
Beethoven's wilfulness in persistently transgressing certain
established rules of composition. The old teacher failed to see that
Beethoven's refusal to be bound by hard-and-fast rules arose, not from
mere caprice, but from the force of a genius which would not submit to
be trammelled by any kind of artificial limitations. The wisdom of
Beethoven is, however, shown by the fact that he wrote out his
exercises with the most scrupulous care, and in exact accordance with
what were regarded as the laws of composition, for his genius, great
and original as it was, would not presume upon ignorance.

But who could resist the young player when he seated himself at the
pianoforte and began one of those wonderful improvisations about which
so much has been written, but of the effect of which we can only
faintly judge by the fact that the hearers were held spellbound until
the finish? Who amongst that audience, gathered from the best and most
critical followers and lovers of the art that Vienna contained, gave a
thought to how many rules had been broken, or were likely to be
broken, by the player, or, indeed, had room for any other thought but
one of admiration for the music which was filling their ears and
charming their senses? 'His improvisation was most brilliant and
striking,' wrote Karl Czerny, the player and composer, and pu