, spreads out
his hands and waits for the clapper-clawing to cease. He is an
undersized, paunchy East German, with hair the color of wet hay, and an
extremely pallid complexion. Talcum powder hides the fact that his nose
is shiny and somewhat pink. His eyebrows are carefully penciled and
there are artificial shadows under his eyes. His face is absolutely
expressionless._)

THE VIRGIN

Oh!

THE MARRIED WOMEN

Oh!

THE OTHER WOMEN

Oh! How dreadfully handsome!

THE VIRGIN

Oh, such eyes, such depth! How he must have suffered! I'd like to hear
him play the Prelude in D flat major. It would drive you crazy!

A HUNDRED OTHER WOMEN

I certainly _do_ hope he plays some Schumann.

OTHER WOMEN

What beautiful hands! I could kiss them!

(THE GREAT PIANIST, _throwing back his head, strikes the massive opening
chords of a Beethoven sonata. There is a sudden hush and each note is
heard clearly. The tempo of the first movement, which begins after a
grand pause, is_ allegro con brio, _and the first subject is given out
in a sparkling cascade of sound. But, despite the buoyancy of the music,
there is an unmistakable undercurrent of melancholy in the playing. The
audience doesn't fail to notice it._)

THE VIRGIN

Oh, perfect! I could love him! Paderewski played it like a fox trot.
What poetry _he_ puts into it! I can see a soldier lover marching off to
war.

ONE OF THE CRITICS

The ass is dragging it. Doesn't _con brio_ mean--well, what the devil
_does_ it mean? I forget. I must look it up before I write the notice.
Somehow, _brio_ suggests cheese. Anyhow, Pachmann plays it a damn sight
faster. It's safe to say _that_, at all events.

THE MARRIED WOMAN

Oh, I could listen to that sonata all day! The poetry he puts into
it--even into the _allegro_! Just think what the _andante_ will be! I
like music to be sad.

ANOTHER WOMAN

What a sob he gets into it!

MANY OTHER WOMEN

How exquisite!

THE GREAT PIANIST

(_Gathering himself together for the difficult development section._)
That American beer will be the death of me! I wonder what they put in it
to give it its gassy taste. And the so-called German beer they sell over
here--_du heiliger Herr Jesu!_ Even Bremen would be ashamed of it. In
Muenchen the police would take a hand.

(_Aiming for the first and second C's above the staff, he accidentally
strikes the C sharps instead and has to transpose three measures to get
back in