AUTOBIOGRAPHY 
 
 OF 
 
 ANTON RUBINSTEIN.
 
 AUTOBIOGRAPHY 
 
 OF 
 
 ANTON RUBINSTEIN 
 
 1829-1889 
 
 TRANSLATED FROM THE RUSSIAN 
 
 BY ALINE DELANO 
 
 BOSTON 
 LITTLE, BROWN, AND COMPANY 
 
 1890
 
 Copyright, 1890, 
 BY LITTLE, BROWN, AND COMPANY. 
 
 UNIVERSITY PRESS : 
 JOHN WILSON AOT SON, CAMBRIDGE.
 
 PEEFACE. 
 
 ON the 18th of November, 1889, Russia 
 celebrated the Jubilee of her greatest 
 living pianist and composer, Anton Rubin- 
 stein. Although from time to time various 
 articles and criticisms on the life and works 
 of the famous musician have been pub- 
 lished, the biographical details, often inac- 
 curate, possessed little or no value. It is 
 a well-known fact that Rubinstein has 
 always shown a reluctance to talk about 
 himself or about his musical career. The 
 idea suggested itself that it would be well 
 to ask him to contribute materials for a 
 brief biography. Having gained his con- 
 sent, a stenographer was engaged to take 
 down from the musician's own lips the 
 story of his life. These notes were after- 
 ward read to Rubinstein and corrected
 
 vi Preface. 
 
 under his supervision. We are all familiar 
 with his activity during these latter years. 
 Yon Bulow once called him the Michael 
 Angelo of music ; and Rubinstein has said 
 of himself: "I play as a musician, not as a 
 virtuoso." It is this very sincerity that has 
 won for him an exclusive position among 
 the pianists of the world. When beneath 
 his fingers the piano alternately sings like 
 a human voice or thunders with all the 
 force of an orchestra, it is not easy to real- 
 ize the limited compass of the instrument. 
 The accounts of the enthusiasm aroused 
 by his playing seem almost fabulous. In 
 Spain and in Italy he was cheered in the 
 streets. His first appearance in America 
 marks a new era in its musical history. 
 In all the great cities of Europe the crowds 
 that collected around the ticket offices, 
 even when fourteen successive concerts had 
 been announced, were so great as to re- 
 quire the presence of the police to preserve 
 order. Among the delighted audiences of 
 St. Petersburg and Moscow, who enjoyed 
 the privilege of listening to his historical
 
 Preface. vii 
 
 concerts, no true lover of music can have 
 failed to appreciate that educational sig- 
 nificance which lent to them a double value. 
 His programmes were for the most part 
 made up from the noted works of the great 
 European composers; and his lectures on 
 the history of piano-playing, illustrated as 
 they were by his own incomparable render- 
 ing of the masterpieces of every land, won 
 universal admiration. The Russian people 
 can never forget its debt of gratitude to the 
 famous composer, philanthropist, and pa- 
 triot; and if illustrious men be the chief 
 jewels in a nation's crown, then Russia may 
 well be proud to claim as her own a man 
 whose name will stand inscribed among the 
 foremost in the history of Russian music 
 of the nineteenth century. 
 
 The stimulating example of genius quick- 
 ens the pulse of the nation, and Russia, 
 the cradle of giants, still mourns the loss 
 of Pushkin, Ldrmontov, Skobelev, Glinka, 
 Daragomijski, Serdv, and others, all of 
 whom died in the full tide of their vigor 
 and activity. In 1887 Rubinstein was re-
 
 viii Preface. 
 
 appointed to the directorship of the St. 
 Petersburg Musical Conservatory, where 
 he still continues his valuable labors. 
 
 The supplement consists largely of what 
 may be called the echoes of musical criti- 
 cism. They are taken partly from the 
 Russian journals, and partly from a pam- 
 phlet printed on the occasion of the Rubin- 
 stein Jubilee, an event celebrated by all 
 classes of the vast Russian empire. 
 
 ALINE DELANO. 
 
 BOSTON, August, 1890.
 
 CONTENTS. 
 
 CHAPTER I. 
 
 PAGE 
 
 Birth. My mother my first teacher. My father 
 and our family. Removal to Moscow. 
 Music lessons. V. B. Griinberg and her daugh- 
 ter Julia Lvovna. A. I. Villoing. The first 
 concert. Going abroad 1 
 
 CHAPTER II. 
 
 In Paris. Liszt, Chopin, and other celebrities. 
 In Holland. Children-artists. In London. 
 The musical memory Divided and united 
 Germany. In the Winter Palace. Emperor 
 Nicholas and the Imperial Family 12 
 
 CHAPTER III. 
 
 Return to Moscow. My departure for Berlin. 
 Dehn, the teacher of counterpoint. Mendels- 
 sohn and Meyerbeer. My father's death. 
 Brother Nicholas. My first appearance as an 
 author. Robert Schumann's opinion of me. 
 Departure for Vienna 22
 
 Contents. 
 
 CHAPTER IV. 
 
 PAGE 
 
 In Vienna. Letters of Introduction. Hunger 
 and authorship. Liszt's visit. Lessons. 
 Return to Berlin . 29 
 
 CHAPTER V. 
 
 Eesidence in Berlin. Echoes of revolution. In 
 the streets of Berlin. Dehn. Fantastical en- 
 terprises. The flutist Heindl and Baron Fuhl . 34 
 
 CHAPTER VI. 
 
 On the frontier of the fatherland. Arrival in St. 
 Petersburg. Three incidents 40 
 
 CHAPTER VII. 
 
 In St. Petersburg. Symphony concerts in the 
 University. A. I. Fitztum. K. B. Schuberth. 
 
 The Russian Opera. The Grand Duchess 
 Helen Pavlovna. Emperor Nicholas and his 
 relations to musicians and artists. La Blache. 
 
 Operas of " Dmitri Donskoi " and " Thomas 
 the Fool." A. M. Gedeonov and the singer 
 Bulachov 56
 
 Contents. xi 
 
 CHAPTER Vin. 
 
 PAGE 
 
 Life abroad. In Moscow at the time of the coro- 
 nation of the Emperor Alexander II. At Nice 
 in the suite of the Grand Duchess Helen. The 
 conception of the Russian Musical Society . . 72 
 
 CHAPTER IX. 
 
 Vassili Alekseyevich Kologrivov. Foundation in 
 St. Petersburg of the Russian Musical Society, 
 now the Imperial. My first idea of founding 
 the degree of Bachelor of Music in the depart- 
 ment of music. Friends and opponents of the 
 Russian Musical Society. Ser6v. The first 
 concerts of the Russian Musical Society. A 
 new feature of musical education in Russia . . 85 
 
 CHAPTER X. 
 
 Musical classes in the Michael Palace. The 
 teachers and scholars. The Music School. 
 The Conservatory The first professors and 
 the first graduating classes of pupils of both 
 sexes. Relations of society to the Conserva- 
 tory, and its demands upon it. Services ren- 
 dered to Russia by the Conservatory .... 103
 
 xii Contents. 
 
 CHAPTER XI. 
 
 PAGE 
 
 Leaving the Conservatory. My concerts. Ar- 
 tistic tour in America. Wieniawski. The dif- 
 ferent degrees of musical appreciation in the 
 different nations .... .112 
 
 CHAPTER XII. 
 
 My articles on music, and my various musical 
 works. Historical concerts in the principal cities 
 of Europe. Entrance upon my second term as 
 Director of the Conservatory. My memoranda 
 and projects. Reforms in the organization of 
 music in Russia regarded as one of the most 
 effective instruments for popular education . . 121 
 
 SUPPLEMENT. 
 
 Rubinstein as a composer 141 
 
 Rubinstein as a pianist . 163
 
 AUTOBIOGRAPHY 
 
 OF 
 
 ANTON GRIGORIEVITCH RUBINSTEIN. 
 
 1829-1889. 
 
 CHAPTER I. 
 
 Birth. My mother my first teacher. My father and 
 our family. Removal to Moscow. Music 
 lessons. V. B. Griinberg and her daughter Julia 
 Lvovna. A. I. Villoing. The first concert. 
 Going abroad. 
 
 1829-1840. 
 
 I WAS born on the 16th of November, 
 1829, in Vichvatijnetz, a village on 
 the Dniester, near the frontier of the 
 government of Pod disk and Bessarabia. 
 This village lies about thirty versts 1 from 
 the city of Dubosar, and perhaps fifty versts 
 from Balta. It is only within a short time 
 that I have learned the exact date of my 
 
 1 One verst is about three-fourths of a mile. TB. 
 1
 
 2 Autobiography of Rubinstein. 
 
 birth, my ignorance of which was due to 
 the lapse of memory on the part of my 
 venerable mother. The result of recent 
 examinations of the local documents seems 
 to prove beyond a doubt that the 16th of 
 November, 1829, must have been my birth- 
 day ; but having all my life celebrated the 
 same on the 18th, now that I am in my 
 sixtieth year it is rather late to alter 
 this family fgte-day, and so I shall continue 
 ,to celebrate the 18th of November. 
 
 My mother Kaleria Christoforovna, a 
 Levenstein by birth, was a native of Prus- 
 sian Silesia, where she had received a fair 
 education, especially in music, and was 
 thereby enabled to instruct her children ; 
 and to her I owe a debt of gratitude, for 
 .she was my first music-teacher. 
 
 My father, Gregori Romano vich, a Rus- 
 sian subject of the town of Berdichev, had 
 leased a tract of land in the village of 
 Vichvatijnetz. We were a large family. 
 Nicholas, the oldest son, died in child-
 
 Autobiography of Rubinstein. 3 
 
 hood ; Jacob, the second born, became a 
 doctor, and died in 1863 ; I am the third, 
 and the fourth was again called Nicholas ; 
 he was born in 1835, and has occupied the 
 post of Director of the Moscow Conservatory. 
 We had two sisters : Lubov, who married the 
 attorney Weinberg in Odessa, and Sophia, 
 who with our mother also lives in Odessa. 
 
 The moderate income derived from the 
 lands in Yichvatijnetz was divided equally 
 between my father, his brother, and his 
 brother-in-law. 
 
 My earliest recollections are of a journey 
 to Moscow in a roomy covered-wagon, 
 undertaken by the three families, with all 
 the children and servants, nothing less 
 than a tribal migration. We reached the 
 city and crossed the Pokrdvski bridge. 
 Here we hired a large house belonging to 
 a certain Madame Pozniakov ; it was sur- 
 rounded by trees, and stood near a pond 
 beyond the river lowza. This was in 1834 
 and 1835.
 
 4 Autobiography of Rubinstein. 
 
 After our removal to Moscow, we were 
 for a time fairly well off while the three 
 families lived and worked together. This 
 arrangement however did not last long. 
 My father separated from his brother and 
 brother-in-law, and with my mother and 
 the children removed beyond the Ordinka 1 
 into the Zamoskvortchie, 2 where he started 
 a pin and pencil factory. 
 
 Though our manage was a modest one, 
 we always had what for those times would 
 have been called a fairly good piano, 
 square, like a table, as they were made then. 
 When I was between five and six years 
 old, my mother began to give me lessons 
 in music, and not only to me, but to my 
 brothers as well. She devoted more time 
 to me than to the others, perhaps because 
 she soon discerned my love for music, or at 
 any rate the ease with which I understood 
 and assimilated it. The lessons she gave us 
 
 1 A part of Moscow. TR. 
 
 2 Literally, beyond the Eiver Moscow. TR.
 
 Autobiography of Rubinstein. 5 
 
 were not only serious, but often severe, as 
 in accordance with the method of teaching 
 common in those days ; but, as she after- 
 wards admitted, she had never conceived 
 any definite plan for my future musical 
 career, teaching me simply because she 
 was a musician herself. Our repertoire 
 included Hummel, Hertz, Moscheles, Kalk- 
 brenner, Czerny, Diabelli, Clementi, and 
 other musical celebrities of those days ; 
 these I studied when quite a child. 
 
 Meanwhile our good friend, Mme. Barbara 
 Griinberg, who had married a doctor, came 
 to Moscow with her daughter Julia, a girl 
 of ten, even then a remarkable pianist, and 
 who had already begun to give concerts 
 in Moscow. She afterward married Sen- 
 ator Turin, 1 and is now a neighbor of 
 
 1 It is at this time that Mme. Turin, nee Griinberg, 
 writes as follows of the great pianist and composer : 
 
 " Antoine Rubinstein etait de'ja cleve de sa mere lors- 
 que a Moscou nous le vimes pour la premiere fois. II 
 e'tait age de huit ans, et c'e'tait un enfant charmant, qui
 
 6 Autobiography of Rubinstein. 
 
 mine in St. Petersburg. They often vis- 
 ited us, and it was Julia's progress that 
 first inspired my mother with the idea of 
 a more systematic musical education for 
 me. Conscious of her own inability to 
 continue that instruction to which, in view 
 of my musical talent, she deemed me en- 
 titled, she made inquiries for the best 
 piano-teacher in Moscow. The Griinbcrgs 
 told her of Alexander Villoing, who at 
 that time was thought to stand at the 
 head of his profession in Moscow. He 
 was invited to the house, and I think had 
 known us before, when we lived beyond 
 
 e'tonnait tout le monde par la pre'cocite de son talent. 
 Madame Rubinstein avait tout lieu d'etre fiere de son 
 fils ; mais ayant plusieurs enfants, elle ne pouvait se con- 
 sacrer toute entiere a 1'cducation musicale du jeune An- 
 toine. Ma mere le lui fit observer, et elle insista pour 
 que 1'enfant fut confie a Villoing, ce qui arriva en 
 effet." 
 
 Madame Turin, nee Griinberg, a pupil of Henselt 
 and Mozart, became a famous pianist. She gave con- 
 certs at the courts of St. Petersburg and Vienna, and 
 in other European cities, with great success.
 
 Autobiography of Rubinstein. 7 
 
 the Pokrovski bridge. However that may 
 have been, he came and heard me play. 
 My mother then told him how she had 
 earnestly hoped that he would consent to 
 become my teacher, but that owing to our 
 limited means she was unable to pay a 
 large price for lessons. Villoing hastened 
 to reply that he was not pressed for money, 
 and would willingly undertake my musical 
 education free of charge. And with him 
 my lessons began and ended, for no other 
 teacher did I have. 
 
 In my eighth year I began to study with 
 Villoing, and in my thirteenth my musical 
 education was completed, and, as I said be- 
 fore, I had no other teacher. 
 
 Villoing especially devoted much time 
 and pains with most successful results 
 to the correct position of my hands. He 
 was most particular in this regard, as well 
 as in the care he bestowed on the produc- 
 tion of a good tone. His musical method 
 is well known ; and although he played
 
 8 Autobiography of Rubinstein. 
 
 but little himself, lie was unquestionably 
 one of the best, if not the very best profes- 
 sor of music. To him and to no one else 
 am I indebted for a thorough, firm foun- 
 dation in technique, a foundation which 
 could never be shaken. And let me here 
 affirm that in all my life I have never met 
 a better teacher. Although in his latter 
 years he became somewhat exacting, he 
 was at the time when I received lessons 
 from him, the very best teacher possible. 
 He insisted upon certain details which 
 proved of the utmost importance to me 
 as a student of the piano. A patient, 
 although strict master the latter quality 
 no less essential than the former Villoing 
 was soon on such intimate terms with me 
 that he seemed more like a friend or a 
 second father. 1 
 
 1 Later, when already a man advanced in years, 
 he married the sister of Bachmetev, the director of 
 the Imperial Chapel Choir, a union which resulted 
 in misery. He died recently at the age of seventy, 
 leaving but little money and a few violins. He died 
 poor, as artists are wont to die. A. K.
 
 Autobiography of Rubinstein. 9 
 
 After we removed to the Ordinka, he 
 visited us almost daily, and was indefati- 
 gable in his instructions. He evidently 
 found them a pleasure and a recreation. 
 I cannot call them lessons ; they were a 
 musical education. 
 
 On the llth of July, 1839, I, being in 
 my tenth year, yielded to the desire of 
 Villoing and gave my first public con- 
 cert in Moscow. 1 During the next three 
 years I travelled with my master all over 
 Europe. . . . Before leaving Moscow I 
 must mention that my father was not 
 prosperous in business ; and yet 1 do not 
 remember that he seemed at all anxious 
 about his affairs. However, we children 
 gave very little thought to our father's 
 business matters. During the course of 
 my studies with Villoing my mother fol- 
 
 1 In the " Galatea," a Moscow daily of that period, 
 we find that in this, his first public concert, Rubin- 
 stein played an Allegro from Hummel's Concerto, an 
 Andante of Thalberg, and four minor pieces by Field, 
 Liszt, and Henselt.
 
 io AntobiograpJiy of Rubinstein. 
 
 lowed them with close attention, and in 
 his absence watched over my daily exer- 
 cises and the preparation of my lessons. 
 I have already said that in those days 
 the method of teaching was very stern, 
 ferules, punches, and even slaps on the face 
 were of frequent occurrence. ... In these 
 times one can form but a slight conception 
 of the degree to which discipline, both in 
 the home and the school, was carried. I 
 cannot say that I personally should advo- 
 cate severity, although I am a foe to law- 
 lessness ; a certain amount of discipline 
 is needful and formerly it was enforced, 
 but nowadays it can hardly be said to exist 
 at all. . . . 
 
 Absorbed in my music, I do not remem- 
 ber when or how I learned my alphabet. 
 While still in my eleventh year I was 
 travelling over Europe, appearing even at 
 that early age on the concert platform 
 with no thought of shyness. I looked at 
 my concerts in the light of a plaything,
 
 Autobiography of Rubinstein. II 
 
 like a child that I was, and as I was re- 
 garded. I remember on one occasion, in 
 1843, when I returned to St. Petersburg 
 with Villoing, that after a benefit concert 
 I was, at the desire of the Empress Alex- 
 andra, 1 placed on a table and caressed by 
 Her Majesty. 
 
 1 Wile of Emperor Nicholas. TK.
 
 CHAPTER II. 
 
 In Paris. Liszt, Chopin, and other celebrities. In 
 Holland. Children-artists. In London. The 
 musical memory. Divided and united Germany. 
 In" the Winter Palace Emperor Nicholas and 
 the Imperial family. 
 
 1840-1843. 
 
 MY journey abroad in December of 
 1840 came about in this way. My 
 mother, anxious to make of me a first-class 
 artist, expressed to Villoing her wish to 
 place me in the Paris Conservatory. Vil- 
 loing approving the plan offered to take 
 me there. We left Moscow in a stage, and 
 travelled by way of St. Petersburg. I was 
 not however admitted into the Paris Con- 
 servatory. Whether they considered me 
 too young, or too far advanced in music, I 
 cannot tell, but 1 suspect that Villoing, 
 who regarded me as his own creation, was 
 reluctant to part with me, or to intrust my 
 musical education to any other than him-
 
 A utobiography of Rubinstein. 1 3 
 
 self, even to the teachers in the Paris Con- 
 servatory. At all events I was never 
 admitted. ... At that time Europe was 
 overrun by a host of " infant prodigies," 
 from ten to twelve years of age, gifted 
 in various ways, who were exhibited and 
 admired as phenomenal. ... I was among 
 the number. . . . For a whole year I re- 
 mained in Paris, but had no lessons, ex- 
 cept in music with Villoing, who jealously 
 guarded me from all approach ; not a be- 
 ing could gain access to me ! I gave 
 several concerts, generally in the piano 
 rooms of some famous factory, such as 
 Erards's and others. At one of these con- 
 certs Liszt, Chopin, Leopold Meyer, and 
 other musical celebrities were present. 
 This concert was given toward the end of 
 the year 1841, before a large audience, and 
 although many other artists besides myself 
 sang and played on the occasion, the pro- 
 ceeds were to be used for my benefit only. 
 ... It was then that I played with the
 
 14 Autobiography of Rubinstein. 
 
 Belgian violinist Vieuxtemps. ... I can- 
 not remember the programme. . . . One 
 of the programmes of these child-concerts 
 is still in existence, and I lately saw it in 
 Holland. Villoing was highly gratified 
 with my success ; as for myself, 1 looked 
 upon all this, as I have said before, in 
 the light of an amusement. And I must 
 confess that although my tutor was strict, 
 1 myself was a great rogue. 
 
 How many famous people I met at that 
 time ! I received many invitations and 
 made many acquaintances, but I was too 
 young at the time to remember very much 
 about it. I have not however forgotten 
 my first visit to Chopin, which has al- 
 ready been described in my historical lec- 
 tures. . . . Nine years later Chopin died. 
 
 The year spent in Paris passed like a 
 dream, but as far as regarded my develop- 
 ment, it was absolutely unprofitable. 
 
 The Queen of Holland, Anna Pavlovna, 1 
 1 A Russian grand duchess. TK.
 
 Autobiography of Rubinstein. 15 
 
 had not at that time lost her hearing ; she 
 understood music and was fond of it, and 
 at her invitation I played in the palace. 
 This, my first appearance at any court, 
 took place at the time of the visit of her 
 nephew, the Grand Duke Constantin, then 
 a youth of fourteen, who accompanied by 
 his tutor Litke* was making his first tour 
 of Europe, and whose intellect, wit, and 
 amiability had already charmed all who 
 saw him. The Grand Duke was most kind 
 and attentive to me. . . . 
 
 At this time Villoing was about to take 
 me to Germany. Liszt was then in the 
 apogee of his glory. In the domain of 
 music he was a king, a god ; his counsels, 
 his verdicts, were revered as the law and 
 the gospel. It was he who advised Villo- 
 ing to take me to Germany to complete 
 my musical education. And thus we trav- 
 elled through Holland, England, Norway, 
 and Sweden into Germany, giving con- 
 certs wherever we went.
 
 1 6 Autobiography of Rubinstein. 
 
 As I have before stated, infant-virtuosi 
 were quite the fashion. Among others I 
 recollect Sophie Bohrer, the heroine of a 
 romantic and tragic story. Her very ex- 
 istence is now a matter of dispute ; some 
 assert that she is still living, others main- 
 tain that she is dead. I also remember 
 the boy pianists, Fitch, the Englishman 
 Palmer, the two sister violinists, Maria and 
 Theresa Milanolo. A certain virtuoso- 
 mania seems to have prevailed in 1848. 
 Liszt stood at the head of this movement ; 
 a virtuoso playing was demanded ; bril- 
 liancy and style were required. The re- 
 volution of 1848, which made great changes 
 in the policy of nations, also gave a new 
 direction to music ; it created a demand 
 for the very soul of art, and thus we 
 reached the climax, the ne plus ultra, 
 culminating in Wagner. . . . 
 
 In London 1 was graciously received by 
 the young and then handsome Queen Vic- 
 toria, and subsequently in all the aris-
 
 Autobiography of Rubinstein. 17 
 
 tocratic circles. Although but a boy of 
 twelve I felt no shyness or timidity in the 
 presence of these formal lords and ladies. 
 My musical memory at this time and for 
 many years later, in fact until my fiftieth 
 year, was prodigious ; but since then, I have 
 been conscious of a growing weakness. I 
 begin to feel an uncertainty ; something 
 like a nervous dread often takes possession 
 of me while I am on the stage in the pres- 
 ence of a large audience. . . . One can 
 hardly imagine how painful this sensation 
 may be. I often fear lest memory betray 
 me into forgetfulness of a passage, and that 
 I may unconsciously change it. The public 
 has always been accustomed to see me play 
 without notes, for I have never used them ; 
 and I will not allow myself to rely upon 
 my own resources or ability to supply the 
 place of some forgotten passage, because 
 I know that there will always be many 
 among my audiences who, being familiar 
 with the piece I am performing, will readily
 
 1 8 Autobiography of Rubinstein. 
 
 detect any alteration. This sense of un- 
 certainty has often inflicted upon me tor- 
 tures only to be compared with those of 
 the Inquisition, while the public listening 
 to me imagines that I am perfectly calm. 
 Yes, this nervous agitation has developed 
 itself since my fiftieth year. Previous to 
 that time, more especially during the early 
 period of which I am now speaking, these 
 sensations were unknown. . . . 
 
 I was entirely in the hands of Villoing. 
 He arranged the programmes for the con- 
 certs, and drilled me ; I obeyed his com- 
 mands without demur. But then, as I 
 said before, I was a healthy and roguish 
 youngster. . . . 
 
 Among the German countries we visited 
 were Prussia, Austria, Saxony, and many 
 other courts of the petty German sover- 
 eigns. . . . No one will refuse to ac- 
 knowledge the fact that divided Germany 
 did good service in the cause of science, 
 literature, and art. United Germany is
 
 Autobiography of Rubinstein. 19 
 
 politically strong, but it makes no such 
 advances in the domain of the fine arts. 
 
 In 1843, after a four years residence 
 abroad, we returned to St. Petersburg. I 
 was summoned to the Winter Palace and 
 presented to the Imperial family. Em- 
 peror Nicholas received me with that in- 
 expressibly charming affability of manner 
 which he knew so well how to employ. He 
 embraced me as he jestingly exclaimed, 
 "How is your Excellency?" 
 
 At that time I was a devoted imitator of 
 Liszt, of his manners and movements, his 
 trick of tossing back his hair, his way of 
 holding his hands, of all the peculiar move- 
 ments of his playing, which naturally called 
 forth a smile from those who had heard 
 Liszt, and perhaps also increased the in- 
 terest felt in the boy-virtuoso. My concerts 
 were quite successful, and I received many 
 gifts. Presents from the public were not 
 in vogue at that time. I had also brought 
 many presents from Germany, but they
 
 2O Autobiography of Rubinstein. 
 
 were inferior to those I received in Russia, 
 particularly to those that were given me 
 after playing in the palace. These gifts 
 were both elegant and costly. Those which 
 were sent later to the house, through the 
 Court office, were less valuable 
 
 I spoke of imitating Liszt. I had often 
 heard him in Paris, when he was at the 
 zenith of his glory (1839-1848), and had 
 been deeply impressed by his playing. 
 Rubini too made a very similar impres- 
 sion on me. The charm of his voice was 
 quite beyond conception, and his power 
 of overcoming difficulties was really mar- 
 vellous. He carried his listeners by storm. 
 Suffice it to say that when the best voices 
 in the Italian opera were invited from 
 Paris to St. Petersburg, Rubini's sing- 
 ing brought tears to the eyes of guess 
 whom? Emperor Nicholas himself ! Fancy 
 Emperor Nicholas shedding tears ! Ru- 
 bini's singing produced so powerful an 
 effect on my senses that 1 strove to
 
 Autobiography of Rubinstein. 21 
 
 imitate the sound of his voice in my 
 playing. 
 
 I remember with gratitude the many 
 kindnesses showered upon me by the Im- 
 perial family. The Grand Duke Constan- 
 tin had already spoken of me to his 
 mother, the Empress, as well as to his 
 brothers and sisters, and had told them 
 of our previous acquaintance in Holland, 
 saying many kind things in my praise, 
 and all were most gracious to me. They 
 were a delightful family. Both the grand 
 dukes and their sisters were well grown 
 and handsome. . . . The Empress was very 
 fond of music, and the Emperor was a 
 zealous patron and lover of art, and a fairly 
 good musician and artist in his own per- 
 son. He had a good deal of talent for 
 music, and an excellent musical memory. 
 I heard him once hum through the whole 
 opera of "Fenella." He knew by heart the 
 music of the ballet " Catherine, or the 
 Brigand's Daughter " but I shall re- 
 turn to him later.
 
 CHAPTER III. 
 
 Return to Moscow. My departure for Berlin. 
 Dehn, the teacher of counterpoint. Mendelssohn 
 and Meyerbeer. My father's death. Brother 
 Nicholas. My first appearance as an author. 
 Robert Schumann's opinion of me. Departure 
 for Vienna. 
 
 1843-1846. 
 
 ONCE more I found myself at home in 
 Moscow. I had brought back no 
 money, since the proceeds of the concerts 
 given during our travels had been ex- 
 pended in travelling expenses ; but I 
 brought several valuable presents, cost- 
 ly articles studded with diamonds and 
 brilliants, such as artists in these days 
 rarely receive. These were gifts from 
 members of the reigning families of Russia 
 and the other European courts, as well as 
 from private individuals. I had received 
 no gifts from the public. At that time 
 laurel wreaths had not come into fashion,
 
 Autobiography of Rubinstein. 23 
 
 but who does not get them now ! The 
 needs of my family were urgent. The 
 presents were pledged to a government 
 collateral banking-house, and the money 
 thus received was spent. It is needless 
 to remark that the things were never 
 redeemed. 
 
 Meanwhile my mother was not fully 
 satisfied with my progress. My wise and 
 anxious preceptress with unerring judg- 
 ment at once perceived how very little had 
 been done by way of perfecting my musical 
 education, and also that if I were to go on 
 giving concerts, I should make no further 
 progress ; and she realized the necessity 
 for serious study. Hence she decided to 
 go at once to Berlin, taking me, my sister 
 Luba, and my brother Nicholas, who be- 
 sides his excellent technique had already 
 given signs of ability in original composi- 
 tion ; in fact he began to compose at the 
 age of five. 
 
 In 1844 we settled in Berlin. This
 
 24 Autobiography of Rubinstein, 
 
 ended our relations with Villoing, and after 
 my thirteenth year I became my own 
 teacher. We remained in Berlin till 1846. 
 All this time I had lessons from Dehu, the 
 famous teacher of harmony and counter- 
 point ; there also, I learned the languages, 
 which I acquired with great facility. I 
 studied the catechism and Russian gram- 
 mar with Father Dormidont, a priest of the 
 Orthodox Greek Church, whose daughter, 
 Madame Kdchetov by marriage, but 
 better known under the pseudonym of 
 Madame Alexandrov, became quite a 
 prominent singer, and a professor in 
 the Moscow Conservatory. In the other 
 branches I had various teachers. 
 
 Many knew me in Berlin because of the 
 concerts I had given there when a child. 
 During this period however (1844-1846) I 
 was giving no concerts, although I often 
 played in society and at the clubs. The 
 Empress Alexandra visited Berlin about 
 this time, and my brother and myself were
 
 Autobiography of Rubinstein. 25 
 
 invited to play in her presence, and as 
 usual were graciously received. The costly 
 presents given us were sold at once, and 
 were a help to us toward defraying our 
 expenses in Berlin. 
 
 As to Dehn, my teacher in counterpoint, 
 of whom Glinka afterward took lessons 
 (Dehn outlived him, dying soon after 1860), 
 he was undoubtedly the finest teacher in 
 harmony in Europe. Marks, another of 
 my instructors, of whom in accordance 
 with the advice of Mendelssohn and Meyer- 
 beer I took lessons in the theory of music, 
 was inferior to him. 
 
 Mendelssohn and Meyerbeer were both 
 good friends of my mother, who often 
 visited them in Berlin and took counsel 
 with them concerning my musical educa- 
 tion. Every Sunday my brother and I 
 called upon them. Dehn was a fine 
 scholar in his line, and had a faculty for 
 imparting knowledge. 
 
 Dehn had other famous pupils besides
 
 26 Autobiography of Rubinstein, 
 
 Glinka, among whom were Friedrich Kiel 
 and many others. He was really quite an 
 original character. 1 took but few lessons 
 from him however, for in 1846, when but a 
 youth of sixteen, I started alone for Vienna. 
 My individual career may be dated from 
 that time, a career in which joy and sor- 
 row, abundance and penury, ay, even to 
 hunger, followed one another; an expe- 
 rience by no means uncommon to men who 
 live before the public. 
 
 My father died that same year (1846), 
 and my mother with my sister Luba and 
 brother Nicholas returned to Moscow, where 
 Nicholas entered the University. But his 
 frequent music-lessons and numerous con- 
 cert engagements left him insufficient time 
 for the study required from a University 
 student. However, all the professors were 
 very kind and indulgent to him, and in 
 some way he managed to graduate either 
 as a Student or as a Candidat, I do not 
 remember which.
 
 Autobiography of Rubinstein. 27 
 
 At the time of my residence in Berlin 
 my first musical composition appeared in 
 print. It was edited by Schlesinger, one 
 of the local musical editors, in 1843. It 
 was a short study for the piano written in 
 1842 on the poetical subject of the " Un- 
 dine." I suppose it must have been ap- 
 proved by Villoing, but it was absolutely 
 without Inhalt. 1 At the same time two of 
 
 1 The composition of which Rubinstein speaks 
 thus was favorably noticed by Schumann in 1842. 
 See Gesammelte Schriften uber Musik und Musiker 
 von Robert Schumann (4 Band). Leipzig, Georg 
 Wigands Verlag, 1854. (1843.) T. IV. 
 
 Kurzere Stiicke fur Pianoforte. A. Rubinstein. 
 " Undine," Etude fur das Pianoforte. (1843.) 
 
 WEEK I. 
 
 Die erste Arbeit des talentvollen Knaben, der sich 
 als Spieler einen schon grossen Ruhm gemacht. Ob 
 er auch bedeutendes productives Talent habe, lasst 
 sich nach dieser vorliegenden ersten Leistung weder 
 behaupten, noch verneiuen. Doch in dem kleinen 
 Stiicke das Melodische vorwiegt, ohne gerade eine 
 schone neue Melodie zu bieten, lasst hoffen, dass er 
 das wahre Wesen der Musik zu begreifen angefangen
 
 28 Autobiography of Rubinstein. 
 
 my minor compositions were edited in 
 Cologne, one of which was even accom- 
 panied by my portrait. It is hardly neces- 
 sary to remark that neither then, nor in 
 the course of the years immediately follow- 
 ing, did my works bring me any return 
 worth mentioning, and I considered myself 
 quite lucky if 1 found a publisher willing 
 to print them, an experience common to 
 most young composers. 
 
 und sich in diesem Sinne immer gliicklicher ent- 
 wickeln werde. Der Titel der Etude findet seinen 
 Grand zumeist in der wellenfornrigen Art der Be- 
 gleitungsfigur; etwas Originelleres, durch und durch 
 Gelungenes konnten wir von jungen Jahren nicht 
 erwarten. In keinem Falle diirften aber unreine 
 Harmonien stehen bleiben, \vie 
 
 t?' : 
 
 
 jeder irgend leidlich gewandte Musiker hatte ihm die 
 Stelle verbessern konnen.
 
 . CHAPTER IV. 
 
 In Vienna. Letters of introduction. Hunger and 
 authorship. Liszt's visit Lessons. Return to 
 Berlin. 
 
 1846-1848. 
 
 I WENT to Vienna in 1846 because that 
 city was one of the principal musical 
 centres in Europe, and there too lived 
 Liszt, the king of musicians, on whose help 
 and protection I relied. These hopes how- 
 ever were at first dashed by the cold and 
 distant manner with which Liszt received 
 me. He bade me remember that a talented 
 man must win the goal of his ambition by 
 his own unassisted efforts. This estranged 
 me from him. I made several other calls, 
 having brought with me some ten or fif- 
 teen letters of introduction from N. N., 
 the Russian Ambassador, and his wife in 
 Berlin. I made the calls and left the let-
 
 3O Autobiography of Rubinstein. 
 
 ters. Then I waited for replies and invita- 
 tions. Silence was the sole response. After 
 my first, second, third, and fourth letters 
 had met with a similar fate, I fell to pon- 
 dering over the mystery. What could it 
 mean ? I was utterly at a loss. " Let me 
 look," I thought, " and see what is said 
 about me in these letters of introduction," 
 quite a pile of which still remained unde- 
 livered. I opened one of them, and what 
 did I read ! The following. The ambassa- 
 dor and his wife introduced me with words 
 to this effect : 
 
 MY DEAR COUNTESS So AND So, To the 
 position which we, the ambassador and his 
 wife, occupy, is attached the tedious duty of 
 patronizing and recommending our various 
 compatriots in order to satisfy their often- 
 times clamorous requests. Therefore we 
 recommend to you the bearer of this, one 
 Rubinstein. 
 
 The riddle was solved. I understood at 
 once the meaning of the mysterious silence,
 
 Autobiography of Rubinstein. 3 1 
 
 and straightway flung the remaining letters 
 in the fire. 
 
 In Vienna I gave lessons, mostly at 
 cheap rates ; I lived in the attic of a large 
 house, and often for two and three days in 
 succession I had not money enough to pay 
 for a dinner at the nearest restaurant, and 
 so I went without. The room that I had 
 hired was fairly bare, but soon I had 
 crowded every corner and literally carpeted 
 the floor with my writings. And what did 
 I not write in these days of hunger! 
 Every sort of composition, not only in the 
 department of music, operas, oratorios, 
 symphonies and songs, but articles philoso- 
 phic, literary, and critical as well. In my 
 " attic " I even wrote a paper for the bene- 
 fit of a single reader, myself. And how 
 often I suffered from hunger ! This life of 
 poverty lasted a year and a half; and 
 very poor I was in those days. In fact it 
 was the old story of a friendless man 
 struggling on without help, a story that
 
 32 Autobiography of Rubinstein. 
 
 will doubtless repeat itself as long as 
 the world lasts. ... It was now two 
 months since I had called on Liszt. My 
 prolonged absence had at last reminded 
 him of my existence. He took it into his 
 head to pay me a visit; and one day he 
 made his way up to my attic accompanied 
 by his usual retinue, his so-called courtiers, 
 who followed him wherever he went, a 
 certain prince, a count, a doctor, an artist ; 
 all ardent admirers and servants of the 
 master. The first sight of my quarters 
 seemed to shock the whole party, more 
 especially Liszt himself, who during his 
 sojourn in Moscow had visited my family 
 and knew our style of living. He showed 
 however much tact and delicacy, and in the 
 most friendly manner asked me to dine with 
 him on the same day, a most welcome 
 invitation, since the pangs of hunger had 
 been gnawing me for several days. After 
 this I was always on good terms with Liszt 
 until the time of his death. As for the
 
 Autobiography of Rubinstein. 33 
 
 music that I wrote while in Vienna, but 
 a small part of it appeared in print. 
 Vienna was always well supplied with 
 publishers, but during the year between 
 1846 and 1847 I had only ten musical works 
 printed, among which were several very 
 short pieces. If I by chance received a 
 few guldens for certain of them, I esteemed 
 myself fortunate. A young musician just 
 entering upon his career receives but 
 slight remuneration for his works.
 
 CHAPTER V. 
 
 Residence in Berlin. Echoes of revolution. In the 
 streets of Berlin. Dehn. Fantastical enter- 
 prises. The flutist Heindl and Baron Fuhl. 
 
 1848. 
 
 THE year 1848 found me in Berlin. 
 I had removed from Vienna to pro- 
 mote my chief desire in life, to mingle 
 with the musical world, to give lessons, 
 to play, and to compose. 
 
 In Berlin I found myself hurried along 
 by the current of revolutionary ideas. 
 Every one was agitated, and living in a 
 state of nervous excitement. ... I had 
 many acquaintances among the journal- 
 ists and artists, in fact among profes- 
 sional men in general. . . . They were 
 all restless and feverishly excited. . . . 
 The signal was given in Vienna and echoed 
 back from Berlin. The revolution had
 
 Autobiography of Rubinstein, 35 
 
 burst forth. ... I was eager to be in the 
 streets, and what wonder ? I was but 
 nineteen. ... I did not realize the folly 
 of meddling with matters that were no 
 concern of mine, or of sympathizing 
 with aspirations foreign to my interests. 
 My kind landlady watched over me, and 
 would not permit her artist lodger to go 
 out on the day when the excitement rose to 
 the highest pitch. She simply shut me up. 
 All that I could see from my window in 
 the Bernstrasze was the building of the 
 barricades. But on the following day I 
 was out among the crowds on the square, 
 and subsequently witnessed all the scenes 
 of this popular revolution. ... I saw my 
 professor, Dehn. . . . This elderly man, 
 a famous teacher in counterpoint, had 
 shouldered a musket, and in his role of 
 soldier of the National Guard, was patrol- 
 ling in front of one of the government 
 buildings. 
 
 I little realized what a grand epoch was
 
 36 Autobiography of Rubinstein, 
 
 ushered in by the revolutionary movement 
 of 1848, not in politics alone, but in art 
 as well. . . . My life may be divided into 
 two distinct periods, and for this reason 
 may offer hereafter a certain interest. . . . 
 
 I mentioned Dehn, who at 'that time in 
 Berlin saved me from carrying out a fantas- 
 tic intention which might have ended sadly 
 for me. While I was living in Vienna, in 
 1847, I became acquainted with Heindl, 
 a good flutist, with whom I made a concert 
 tour through Hungary. Then we two, both 
 youths at that time, and another friend, 
 Baron Fuhl, agreed to try our fortunes in 
 America. Our route led through Berlin, 
 and from thence we were to go to Bremen 
 or Hamburg, and set sail for the New 
 World. No sooner was the idea con- 
 ceived than we proceeded to carry it out. 
 I went at once to Dehn and told him of 
 our plans. 
 
 " See here," I said, " I am going to try 
 my luck in America." " Heavens, are you
 
 Autobiography of Rubinstein. 37 
 
 mad ! " he exclaimed. " Is it possible that 
 you can find nothing to do in Europe ? 
 You are still but a lad, you have seen 
 nothing of your own country, and yet you 
 would recklessly rush off to America, where 
 you are likely to meet with any kind of 
 misfortune." 
 
 In short, Dehn so energetically and 
 warmly protested against my plan that I 
 at last recognized my folly, and parted 
 company with my travelling companions, 
 who were naturally quite indignant with 
 me. Soon after this the flutist Heindl 
 became engaged, and one day when he 
 had started to pay a visit to his fiancee, 
 while attempting to cross a drill-ground, 
 he was accidently shot and killed by the 
 bullet of a sharpshooter. As to the baron, 
 he went to America, where he won for 
 himself both social position and fortune ; 
 but, as he afterward told me, he began 
 as a common laborer by breaking stones 
 on the road. I saw him in 1872 during
 
 38 Autobiography of Rubinstein. 
 
 my concert tour in America ; he was mar- 
 ried, had a family of daughters, and seemed 
 happy and contented. 
 
 Yielding to Dehn's advice I remained in 
 Berlin, and continued to give lessons and 
 to visit Mendelssohn and Meyerbeer. . . . 
 Some of the lessons were well paid, but 
 as in Berlin, and afterward in St. Peters- 
 burg, I led the bohemian life of an artist, 
 feasting when money was plenty, and 
 going hungry when it was gone. I was 
 reduced to such straits at times that I 
 used to return the receipted tickets for 
 lessons, accompanied by a note to the ef- 
 fect that my pressing engagements obliged 
 me to discontinue my instructions for the 
 present, and requesting to be paid before 
 the end of the term. The money was 
 always sent, but my patrons were often 
 too much annoyed to employ me again. 
 
 It is hardly necessary to say that when 
 the revolution broke out, music, as a mat- 
 ter of course, was wholly neglected. No
 
 Autobiography of Rubinstein. 39 
 
 lessons were sought and no concerts given ; 
 a dreary time for musicians set in. My 
 last resource was to lose no time in re- 
 turning to St. Petersburg, which I pro- 
 ceeded to do.
 
 CHAPTER VI. 
 
 On the frontier of the fatherland. Arrival in St. 
 Petersburg. Three incidents. 
 
 1849. 
 
 HT^HESE events happened in 1849 or in 
 
 * the latter part of 1848, I am not 
 quite sure which. I packed my scanty 
 effects, crowded my notes, my unpublished 
 works, the fruits of the toil of a young 
 composer, into a box, and with all the 
 artless trust of innocence set out for 
 Russia. 
 
 I was stopped at the frontier. 
 
 " Your passport, please," demanded a 
 fellow countryman. 
 
 " What passport ? " 
 
 " What passport ? You know perfectly 
 well. Are you not aware that every 
 person who enters Russia must have a 
 passport ? "
 
 Autobiography of Rubinstein, 41 
 
 I had actually forgotten it ; or, to speak 
 more accurately, had never known it. 
 When I came to Berlin with my mother, 
 in 1844, I was a mere child. My brother, 
 my sister, and myself were all included 
 in the same passport with my mother. 
 Afterward, when I went to Vienna the 
 rest of the family returned to Moscow, and 
 I was left without papers to prove my 
 identity. During the three years that fol- 
 lowed, I had had no occasion to use them 
 in any of the cities of Germany where I 
 had lived. But no sooner did I set my foot 
 on native soil (I think it was in Maslo- 
 vitzi) than I was confronted with the 
 demand for a passport. 
 
 When I strove to explain, they seemed 
 rather inclined to suspect my apparent 
 simplicity. 
 
 " Your luggage, sir ! What have you in 
 your box ? Music ? It looks more like 
 manuscripts. We will put the seals on, 
 and it will be attended to yonder. Here
 
 42 Autobiography of Rubinstein. 
 
 is your receipt. "Where are you going ? 
 St. Petersburg, by way of Warsaw ? You 
 will show them your receipt, and the lug- 
 gage will be delivered to you." 
 
 I have forgotten the reason why they 
 allowed ine to pass, but I did not receive 
 my box. I was directed to go to one 
 FreVille in St. Petersburg, who would 
 hand over my traps to me. 
 
 At last, after an absence of six years, I 
 found myself once more in St. Petersburg. 
 In 1843 I had been a petted child ; I re- 
 turned an unsophisticated youth, quite igno- 
 rant of the customs of my native land. And 
 I was not long in draining the cup of ex- 
 perience to its bitter dregs. 
 
 I went to a hotel. I could not at first 
 remember the name of my acquaintances. 
 Here was I, a youth of twenty, as much 
 alone as if I had been in the depths of a 
 forest. Early in the morning there came 
 a rap at the door. 
 
 "Your passport, please."
 
 Autobiography of Rubinstein. 43 
 
 " I have none." 
 
 "What! In that case we cannot keep 
 you any longer." 
 
 Here was a fine dilemma. I bethought 
 myself of an acquaintance, a playmate of 
 my childhood, Charles Le"vi, an amateur 
 musician, a little man, who died about five 
 years ago. I started out, and found him 
 somewhere in the Grafski Lane. 
 
 " See here," said I to him, " they refuse 
 to keep me at the hotel because I have no 
 passport." 
 
 " Spend the night with me," he said, 
 " and we will think the matter over." 
 
 In the morning came the dvornik. 1 
 
 " Your passport." 
 
 The deuce take their passport ! 
 
 " I will go to the chief of police ! " I 
 exclaimed. 
 
 General Galahov was the chief of police 
 at that time. I went to the bureau and 
 informed the clerk in the reception room 
 1 Janitor.
 
 44 Autobiography of Rubinstein. 
 
 that I had recently come from abroad, and 
 knew nothing whatever about passports or 
 that one would be required of me. . . . He 
 looked at me in utter astonishment. 
 
 " Wait here," he said. 
 
 "When Galahov appeared, the clerk re- 
 ported to him : " A certain Rubinstein has 
 arrived from abroad without any passport, 
 and there he is. " 
 
 " What ! How is that ! " roared Galahov, 
 " Where does he live ? Where has he been ? 
 Where does he come from ? Send some 
 one to find out without delay ! Inquire 
 in whose house he has been staying ! 
 Who are they ? And see that they are 
 fined!" . . . 
 
 " What can all this mean," I thought ; 
 "why do they make such an ado over a 
 passport ? I am known to a number of 
 men, to Prince Lvov, Count Stroganov, 
 Count Vielgdrski ; . . . I will call upon 
 them. What is it they require me to do ? '' 
 
 1 never understood why Galahov allowed
 
 Autobiography of Rubinstein. 45 
 
 me to go. 1 hastened to Count Matthew 
 Vielgorski, and laid the matter before 
 him. His face grew long. One must re- 
 member in what times we were living, 
 1849! 
 
 " This is a serious matter," said the 
 count, " I will write to Galahov and tell 
 him that I know you, and meanwhile you 
 must write to your mother about your 
 passport." 
 
 I wrote to my mother, and she wrote to 
 Berdichev asking to have individual papers 
 sent to me. Meanwhile I returned to Gala- 
 hov, and tendered him Count Vielgdrski's 
 letter, which he read. 
 
 " That is of no value," he said ; " a 
 letter like that is worth nothing whatever ! 
 How dare you show yourself here with- 
 out a passport ! " All this he shouted in 
 stentorian tones. " Mind that you have a 
 passport in two weeks from this time ! Do 
 you understand ? " 
 
 I had no difficulty in understanding,
 
 46 Autobiography of Rubinstein. 
 
 but I thought within myself, " Why do you 
 get so excited ? There are officials above 
 you." I went to Shulgin, the governor- 
 general. As soon as I opened my mouth 
 he screamed, 
 
 " I will have thee put in chains ! In 
 chains, I tell thee ! I will send thee to 
 Siberia by 6tape ! " 1 
 
 At that time Russian generals always 
 used " thee " to persons of my rank in life. 
 
 I was dumfounded. A youth of twenty, 
 straight from the centre of civilization, from 
 the world of arts and sciences, returning 
 to his native land to find such a welcome 
 as this ! 
 
 I cannot remember how I left Shulgin, or 
 why he did not execute his threat. . . . 
 That he could have done so is beyond a 
 doubt. ... I only remember that all this 
 weighed on my mind. Days passed, and 
 
 1 The Russian system of conveying prisoners 
 to Siberia, fttape means a halt, a resting-place, a 
 station. TR.
 
 Autobiography of Rubinstein. 47 
 
 still no passport. Meanwhile I stayed with 
 my friends, visiting from house to house. 
 About this time a Court ball or concert, I 
 do not remember which, took place ; and all 
 my influential friends, to whom I had given 
 an account of my treatment by Shulgin 
 and Galahov, were highly indignant. 
 
 " What are you doing with Rubinstein ? 
 He is a friend of ours; he was received 
 at Court and played before the Imperial 
 family. Why do you treat him in this 
 way ? " they asked. 
 
 The following day I went to Galahov. 
 Here I had to wait in the reception room 
 for three hours, standing all the time, since 
 etiquette forbade me to sit. In those days 
 all who waited for his Excellency usually 
 did so standing. Those were dreary times. 
 At last I was called into his study. 
 
 " Well, my good fellow," he said, " I 
 have been told that you are quite a musi- 
 cian ; but I have little faith in all this talk. 
 What I want you to do is to go to my
 
 48 Autobiography of Rubinstein. 
 
 secretary Chesnakov and play something 
 to him, so that we may know if you are a 
 real musician ; and bear in mind that he 
 understands music." All this was uttered 
 in the most scornful tones. 
 
 I was conducted to the secretary, who had 
 some kind of miserable piano. I seated my- 
 self, and all the bitterness, the wrath, the 
 indignation I felt at the treatment that I 
 had received I poured forth upon the keys 
 of that instrument. I thundered so that 
 the piano fairly shook under my touch, and 
 seemed on the point of falling to pieces. 
 It was really the most wretched piano, 
 and my wrath knew no bounds. The sec- 
 retary, however, listened patiently to the 
 end, and then we returned to the chief of 
 police. 
 
 " Your Excellency's information was cor- 
 rect," he reported. " Rubinstein is a musi- 
 cian indeed ; he can play " 
 
 " Then let him have three weeks' grace !" 
 thundered Galahov.
 
 Autobiography of Rubinstein. 49 
 
 And thus I won my reprieve. . . . 
 
 Ah, those were hard times, particularly 
 in the year 1849 ! Meanwhile my pass- 
 port arrived from Berdichev, and so the 
 demands of the law were satisfied. 
 
 This was my first adventure in my native 
 land. The second was no less curious. 
 
 Soon after my arrival I went in quest of 
 my treasure, the box that contained my 
 music. As I have said before, it was in 
 manuscript, my work during the three 
 years' residence in Berlin and Vienna. I 
 do not remember who this Fre'ville was to 
 whom I was sent, whether he was in the 
 Custom House or in the Censure Depart- 
 ment, or the secret or ordinary police. 
 Only he did not give me my box. 
 
 " It is true my dear sir," he said, " that 
 your manuscripts all appear to be sheet 
 music, but it is well known to the govern- 
 ment that the anarchists and the revolu- 
 tionists write their proclamations and 
 
 other papers in conventional signs that 
 4 

 
 50 Autobiography of Rubinstein. 
 
 look somewhat like notes. . . . This may 
 be some political cipher. . . . Wait pa- 
 tiently for five or six months, and perhaps 
 your notes may be restored to you." 
 
 There was nothing for it but to submit. 
 I afterward reproduced from memory such 
 parts of my compositions as I wished to 
 preserve, and put the ill-fated box out of 
 my mind. 
 
 Several years later I happened one day 
 to drop in to Bernard's music store, and 
 there I was told that they had just bought 
 some of my autograph compositions. 
 
 " Where did you buy them ? " I asked. 
 
 " We bought them at auction, where 
 they were sold for waste paper." 
 
 " I wish you would send and buy some 
 for me," I said. 
 
 " I fear it is too late ; it was all sold for 
 waste paper. The paper was of a good 
 quality." 
 
 And how did this happen ? Either the 
 Custom House or the censor, I really do
 
 Autobiography of Rubinstein. 51 
 
 not know which of the two, advertised for 
 the owner in the " Police News ; " but the 
 owner not having the habit of reading the 
 " Police News," the box with its contents was 
 sold by weight at public auction. Several 
 years later when I went to the office of the 
 chief of police to obtain a travelling pass- 
 port, one of the clerks boasted that he too 
 had bought several of my manuscripts 
 from a dealer in old paper. And all these 
 came from the same ill-fated box. 
 
 Another adventure of that same unlucky 
 year of 1849 chanced as follows. 
 
 The famous pianist Sophie Bohrer, who 
 had given concerts in her childhood, 
 arrived in St. Petersburg. As an old 
 friend I was in the habit of calling upon 
 her, and on the occasion of my first visit I 
 met a young man there dressed in stu- 
 dent's uniform. I will mention no name; 
 for if he be still alive he must long since 
 have reached the dignity of general, 1 and 
 
 1 A remark meant to be satirical, for generals both
 
 52 Autobiography of Rubinstein. 
 
 possibly he may be dead. He seemed 
 anxious to make my acquaintance, and was 
 quite attentive. He took the trouble to 
 hunt up my quarters and showed himself 
 very friendly. Here is a sample of his 
 conversation : 
 
 " You come to us here in Russia from 
 intellectual centres, and even in our culti- 
 vated circles you will find nothing en- 
 couraging. You must feel the sudden 
 transition from civilization and progress 
 into a wilderness ; and yet if you are so 
 inclined, I can, even here, introduce you 
 into society which you will find congenial 
 and sympathetic." . . . 
 
 Suspecting no harm, I replied that I 
 should be very glad to become acquainted 
 with cultivated people. 
 
 " Agreed, then ; on Saturday I will call 
 and take you to my friends." 
 
 civil and military abound in Russia. It is in fact 
 the polite mode of retiring an old and useless 
 man. TR.
 
 Autobiography of Rubinstein. 53 
 
 At the appointed hour he made his 
 appearance. I accompanied him to the 
 end of Great Sadd voya Street, beyond the 
 Church of the Pokrov. We entered an 
 apartment in which a large number of men 
 of all ages, both military and civilians, 
 were assembled; I remember only one of 
 them, a man named Palm. When I in- 
 quired for the host, who was not visible, 
 the reply was given, " Wait awhile, and 
 we shall all be called." 
 
 At last a bell rang, the door was flung 
 open, and we entered a large room where 
 a row of chairs was arranged in front of 
 a platform, as in a concert hall. A tall, 
 handsome man with a beard mounted the 
 platform and read a sort of treatise advo- 
 cating communistic or socialistic theories. 
 All this surprised me greatly, and I made 
 no attempt to conceal my feelings from 
 my neighbors. 
 
 " I confess I never expected to find such 
 a state of things as this in Russia," I said.
 
 54 Autobiography of Rubinstein. 
 
 " I can understand that ideas and publica- 
 tions of this kind might have a raison 
 d'etre abroad, but surely we have no occa- 
 sion for them here in Russia. They are 
 quite impracticable and out of place in our 
 fatherland." 
 
 I spoke thus to all who would listen to 
 me on this evening at the house of the 
 famous conspirator Michael Vassilievich 
 Butashevich-Petrashevski, for the tall, 
 handsome man was no less a personage 
 than he ; and it was to these remarks of 
 mine that I eventually owed my escape. 
 Petrashdvski and I met, however, several 
 times after that evening ; he visited me in 
 my apartments on the Morskaya, where he 
 used to bring me radical books written in 
 foreign languages, and we had many a chat 
 and discussion on parliaments, constitu- 
 tions, and kindred subjects. 
 
 Soon afterward I went to Moscow ; and 
 one day my mother said to me : " Have you 
 heard what is going on in St. Petersburg ?
 
 ^Autobiography of Rubinstein. 55 
 
 A man named Petrashevski has been ar- 
 rested, and likewise many others who fre- 
 quented his house. These gentlemen were 
 members of some secret society, and are 
 all imprisoned in the fortress." 
 
 You may imagine my feelings. I re- 
 turned with fear and trembling to St. 
 Petersburg, expecting at any moment to 
 be arrested. On the Nevski I met my 
 friend the student, who had introduced 
 me to Petrashevski ; he was as cordial to 
 me as ever, but I was now on guard. . . . 
 Evidently my remarks had saved me, and 
 the " Third Division," whose dreaded name 
 carried terror to all who heard it, had 
 spared me.
 
 CHAPTER VII. 
 
 In St. Petersburg. Symphony concerts in the Univer- 
 sity. A. I. Fitztum. K. B. Schuberth. The Rus- 
 sian opera. The Grand Duchess Helen Pavlovna. 
 Emperor Nicholas and his relations to musicians 
 and artists. Lablache. Operas of" Dmitri Don- 
 skoi" and "Thomas the Fool." A. M. Gede'onov 
 and the singer Bulachov. 
 
 1849-1854. 
 
 I SUPPORTED myself in St. Petersburg, 
 as I had done in Berlin, by giving 
 lessons. . , . Some of my pupils paid me 
 one rouble and others twenty-five. ... I 
 wrote operas in German and in Italian ; for 
 at that time, with the exception of Glinka, 
 there were no Russian composers, noth- 
 ing but amateurs, dilettanti landlords, 
 dilettanti clerks : musicians, real artists, 
 who looked upon their art as the very es- 
 sence of their lives, were nowhere to be 
 found. . . . The more ardent lovers of 
 music used to congregate at the Symphony
 
 Autobiography of Rubinstein. 57 
 
 Concerts, which were held in the Univer- 
 sity under the patronage of its famous 
 inspector, Alexander Ivanovich Fitztum. 
 The students formed an orchestra, and 
 were joined by many amateurs like Doctor 
 Behrs and myself ; and so, without any re- 
 hearsals, we played on Sundays, charging 
 a rouble for admission, and the public 
 came flocking into the Graduation Hall 
 of the University. 
 
 When I recall those times, I often won- 
 der that the people should have come in 
 such crowds to these concerts, when many 
 of them had to cross the frozen Neva on 
 the plank-walk. The seats were taken at 
 once. Karl Bogdanovich Schuberth was 
 the conductor, and when he was absent I 
 sometimes took his place myself. And 
 would you believe it ? even without re- 
 hearsals, such was the love and enthu- 
 siasm that animated the performers, the 
 orchestra really played very well. It must 
 be remembered that previous to these Uni-
 
 58 Autobiography of Rubinstein. 
 
 versity Concerts the Symphonic Assemblies 
 had taken place but infrequently, possibly 
 three or four times a year in the Court 
 chapel, no oftener than that. 
 
 A very small band of amateurs, includ- 
 ing both military and civilians, not to 
 mention grand dukes, clustered around 
 the Court chapel. (Grand Duke Constan- 
 tin, the Emperor's son, was a very good 
 'cello player.) The Russian opera was 
 as yet in embryo, as far as regards the 
 singers, who, with the exception of Petrov, 
 a basso of note, were beneath criticism. 
 The famous writer, Count Sallogub, once 
 said of the prima donna that her voice 
 was a draft of air, not a voice. And 
 at this very time, when music was at 
 so low an ebb, a new era for art was 
 dawning within the palace of the Grand 
 Duchess Helen, the sister of Emperor 
 Nicholas. 
 
 A truly remarkable woman ! I never 
 in my life met her equal. To a royal
 
 Autobiography of Rubinstein. 59 
 
 dignity of manner she united the perfection 
 of tact. She knew how to put herself in 
 sympathy with every one who entered her 
 presence ; were he a savant, a soldier, an 
 artist, a writer, a statesman, a poet, she 
 could converse with all, and leave a pleas- 
 ing impression on every listener. Emperor 
 Nicholas was deeply attached to her, and 
 set a high value on her opinions. It was 
 in her salon that the famous conversation 
 took place between Emperor Nicholas and 
 the English embassador Hamilton, con- 
 cerning " the sick man," Turkey, which 
 precipitated the Crimean war in 1853. 
 There too the period of reform under 
 Emperor Alexander II. was ushered in, 
 and projects for the liberation of the serfs 
 were discussed between the statesmen of 
 the new reign and the cultured mistress of 
 the salon. She was indeed an extraordi- 
 nary woman, and exercised a great influence 
 over the political affairs of Russia. 
 
 It must also be remarked that her en-
 
 60 Autobiography of Rubinstein. 
 
 tourage was remarkable; the Baroness 
 Raden, one of the ladies of her court, was 
 accounted among the cleverest women of 
 the times, and the Grand Duchess owed 
 much to her. 
 
 I was often invited to her soirees 
 while the Grand Duke Michael was still 
 alive. One evening he came into the 
 salon with a cigar between his lips, and 
 a big dog at his heels ; he laughed and 
 jested with the guests after his usual 
 fashion, but soon he bade farewell to his 
 wife and her friends, and departed for 
 Warsaw. The next time he was seen in 
 St. Petersburg he lay in his coffin. After 
 his death the palace of the Grand Duchess 
 became the centre toward which flowed 
 the current of all the intellectual life of 
 the capital, as at this time the Empress 
 Alexandra was ill. 
 
 In 1852 I was engaged by the Grand 
 Duchess as accompanist in general to the 
 palace singers. I jestingly took upon my-
 
 Autobiography of Rubinstein. 61 
 
 self the title of " Janitor of Music." Yes, 
 I repeat, she was an extraordinarily intel- 
 lectual woman ; I never knew her equal. 
 Some rank with her the Empress Augusta, 
 an extremely intelligent lady beyond doubt, 
 but our Grand Duchess Helen far sur- 
 passed her in intellect as well as in educa- 
 tion. One had only to mention her name 
 to Auerbach, or to any other European 
 celebrity, to hear the most enthusiastic 
 eulogies. When she lived abroad, she 
 often invited this or that celebrity to spend 
 a week or a month with her; writers and 
 artists lived at her court, met and con- 
 versed with her day after day and were 
 thoroughly charmed by her marvellous in- 
 telligence, her varied attainments, her tact 
 and her amiability. 
 
 The musical soirees of the Grand Duch- 
 ess were extremely interesting, for the best 
 artists in St. Petersburg were invited to 
 them. The majestic form of Emperor 
 Nicholas was often seen among the guests.
 
 62 Autobiography of Rubinstein. 
 
 He always treated me with gracious con- 
 sideration, and on one occasion remained 
 by my side at the piano for more than an 
 hour talking, and whistling very correctly 
 an entire opera. While his sons and daugh- 
 ters literally worshipped the Emperor, at 
 the same time they stood greatly in awe 
 of him, especially when he was out of 
 humor. 
 
 I have a vivid recollection of two even- 
 ings in particular, when they were rehears- 
 ing tableaux at the palace of the Grand 
 Duchess Maria Nicolaevna. 1 The Empress 
 Alexandra, far from well, was reclining on 
 a lounge, the young people, dukes and 
 maids-of-honor, were laughing and rol- 
 licking in the room ; it was a scene of gay 
 merriment and confusion. I was seated at 
 the piano playing the music set to the 
 tableaux, then being rehearsed, when sud- 
 denly in the door-way appeared the majes- 
 tic figure of the Emperor. Everything 
 1 The Emperor's daughter.
 
 Autobiography of Rubinstein. 63 
 
 came to a standstill, and a death-like 
 silence took the place of gay confusion. 
 The Emperor seemed care-worn and gloomy 
 it was the year of the Crimean war. 
 Suddenly he turned to Roller, the decora- 
 tor, and rented his wrath on him for 
 some awkwardly arranged decoration. His 
 mood, as may be supposed, was reflected 
 on all present. Imagine the position of 
 the young pianist! 
 
 As a matter of course the irate monarch 
 paM no attention whatever to me. But 
 when those who were to take part in the 
 tableaux and theatricals assembled on the 
 following day, they were nervous and ill at 
 ease. I, dreading what might befall them, 
 took my seat at the piano ; and remember- 
 ing the outbreak of displeasure on the 
 previous evening, we awaited with trepi- 
 dation the arrival of His Majesty, who, 
 when he appeared, disappointed all expec- 
 tations by his kindness and amiability. 
 So charming was his manner to each one
 
 64 Autobiography of Rubinstein. 
 
 of us, not even excepting Roller, that he 
 inspired us with fresh enthusiasm, and ex- 
 cited such genuine merriment that for 
 many months after, this evening was re- 
 membered by many as the merriest and 
 most animated they had known. Mean- 
 while, the Emperor seated himself behind 
 me near the piano, and jested and laughed 
 a good deal between the acts, asking me 
 whether I remembered this or that air, and 
 then cleverly whistling it for me. 
 
 During the winters of 1853 and 1854 
 these soirees were given alternately in the 
 salons of the Grand Duchess Helen and 
 the Grand Duchess Maria. 
 
 I remember one more episode of this 
 same winter that serves to show what an 
 ineffaceable impression the voice, the fig- 
 ure, the whole bearing of Emperor Nicho- 
 las produced on all who came into his 
 presence. 
 
 The occasion was a musicale in the salon 
 of the Grand Duchess Helen. The famous
 
 Autobiography of Rubinstein. 6$ 
 
 singer Lablache, who had been expected in 
 St. Petersburg, had just arrived. This 
 good-natured and finished artist was a 
 somewhat corpulent person. Animated and 
 quick-witted, he was a general favorite, 
 and very much at his ease in the courts of 
 royal personages, whether princesses, grand 
 duchesses, or queens. The Empress Alex- 
 andra never allowed Lablache to stand in 
 her presence ; she would often place both 
 hands on his shoulders and compel him 
 to be seated. That evening the Emperor 
 chanced to drop in. As he entered, Lablache 
 rose with the rest, as a matter of course, 
 and when the Emperor approached, and 
 taking his hand said a few pleasant words, 
 this clever, brilliant man, who had felt 
 absolutely at ease with Queen Victoria, 
 in the presence of the Emperor, lost his 
 self-possession entirely ; his lips quivered, 
 his voice trembled, and he could scarcely 
 utter a word, and this with Lablache, 
 himself a king among men, a thoroughly 
 
 5
 
 66 Autobiography of Rubinstein, 
 
 independent and fearless character ! But 
 the Emperor with a courteous affability all 
 his own, an affability which he never 
 failed to show to all artists and musi- 
 cians, soon restored his equanimity. 
 
 I remember an incident related to me by 
 the architect Kusmin, who had the habit 
 of interlarding all his remarks with the 
 phrase, " you understand." On one occa- 
 sion when he was explaining certain archi- 
 tectural matters to the Emperor, he, ac- 
 cording to custom, made free use of his 
 favorite phrase. 
 
 " Good heavens ! " exclaimed the Em- 
 peror, " of course I understand ! My dear 
 fellow, how could I help it ? " 
 
 You may picture the architect's astonish- 
 ment. 
 
 Another rather curious affair took place 
 at the Grand Italian Opera House. It was 
 the first night of Meyerbeer's " Prophet." 
 After the fourth act the Emperor went 
 behind the scenes, and while talking with
 
 Autobiography of Rubinstein. 67 
 
 Mario, he asked the latter to take off his 
 crown, which he did, and handed it to 
 His Majesty, who, without interrupting the 
 conversation, quietly broke off the cross, 
 and returned the crown to the artist. 
 
 From 1852 to 1854 in St. Petersburg, 
 I continued to lead the same old life of 
 teaching. In spite of the fact that my 
 pupils paid me well, I was often so much 
 pressed for money that in the summer- 
 time I have been forced to walk from Ka- 
 meimoi-Ostrov Palace, where I lived, as 
 the guest of the Grand Duchess Helen, 
 into town, because I had no money to pay 
 an izvbschik. 1 . . . About this time it was 
 that one of the chief events of my life took 
 place, I appeared before the public as a 
 composer. I chose for the subject of my 
 first opera, " Dmitri Donskoi." Count 
 Sallogub wrote the first and third acts 
 of the libretto ; the " Tartar scenes " in 
 the second act were the work of Zotov. 
 1 An open hired carriage and driver. TK.
 
 68 Autobiography of Rubinstein. 
 
 Ge'de'ouov was then the director of the 
 theatre. He accepted the opera and put 
 it on the stage. 
 
 At this time, and indeed for many years 
 later, Russian opera was not popular ; for 
 which reason I afterward wrote my operas 
 in Italian and in German. . . . Fiodorov, 
 and after him Lukashevich, were the sole 
 defenders of Russian opera. Indeed, one 
 of GedeSnov's successors, Stephen Gede'd- 
 uov frankly declared that it was a mystery 
 to him that any composer should find cour- 
 age to write Russian operas, since there 
 was no possible hope of success. . . . How- 
 ever, " Dmitri Donskoi, or the Battle of 
 Kulikdvo," was written and accepted ; new 
 costumes were provided, and on April 18, 
 1882, the first public representation was 
 given. 
 
 I well remember the rehearsal. I led 
 the orchestra, and the rudeness of Ge'de'6- 
 nov to all the artists engaged, can never be 
 forgotten. A distinguished audience had
 
 Autobiography of Rubinstein. 69 
 
 assembled to hear it ; I was already known, 
 and my numerous friends were all pre- 
 seut. . . . The music did not please the 
 audience, and the singing was certainly 
 outrageous ; the only air which won an en- 
 core was that of the dervish, which was well 
 sung by the young artist Bulachov, who 
 made his debut on the occasion. . . . He 
 was recalled, applauded, and made to re- 
 peat it. ... After the curtain had fallen 
 I hurried on to the stage to look for 
 Bulachov, that I might thank him. I 
 found the young man hidden in some 
 corner behind the scenery. . . . He was 
 agitated, trembling, and in tears. . . . 
 
 " What is the matter ? " 
 
 " Director Ge'de'onov has just been abus- 
 ing me in such terms as no izvoschik 
 would use ! " 
 
 " What reason did he give ? " 
 
 " It was because I took my hat when I 
 bowed to the audience. ' A dervish,' he 
 said, * should never bow ; ' and I might
 
 /o Autobiography of Rubinstein. 
 
 have ruined that new hat ; he was amazed 
 at my boldness. And this is the way 
 things go on ; how can any one be ex- 
 pected to work under such conditions ? " 
 
 But the saddest part of all was the re- 
 sult of these reproaches on the spirits of 
 this young artist, whose debut had given 
 promise of a successful career. The abuse 
 of the director discouraged him to such a 
 degree that he took to drink, and has 
 never risen above the rank of a second-rate 
 artist. 
 
 Eventually, however, the opera of " Dmi- 
 tri Donskoi " proved fairly successful. 
 Soon after this the Grand Duchess Helen 
 invited me to act as accompanist to the 
 singers at her musical soirees, and also 
 asked me to write a series of short operas 
 to illustrate the various nationalities of our 
 great country. I wrote three one-act 
 operas ; the first, descriptive of Caucasia, 
 " Hadji Abrek," in which I used Lermon- 
 tov's poem for my theme ; the second,
 
 AutobiograpJiy of Rubinstein. 71 
 
 of Siberia,- called " Siberian Huntsmen," 
 founded on a libretto of Andre' Ge're'bzov, 
 and the third, " Thomas the Fool," the lib- 
 retto of which was written by the well- 
 known poet Michailov, who was banished 
 in 1861 to Siberia, where he soon after- 
 ward died. 
 
 The motif for the latter opera was taken 
 from Little Russian life. It was first given 
 in 1853, but the singing was so outrage- 
 ously bad that I actually ran away from 
 the theatre, and appeared the following 
 day at the office and persistently de- 
 manded the return of the score. ... I was 
 afterward informed that the public re- 
 ceived the opera kindly. Semionov, who 
 at that time occupied the position of sub- 
 ordinate clerk, tried in vain to pacify and 
 reason with me. ... He seemed to be 
 the only man in the office at that time who 
 took the slightest interest in Russian 
 opera ; but I was not to be appeased.
 
 CHAPTER VIII. 
 
 Life abroad. In Moscow at the time of the corona- 
 tion of the Emperor Alexander II. At Nice in 
 the suite of the Grand Duchess Helen The con- 
 ception of the Russian Musical Society. 
 
 1854-1858. 
 
 THE intervening years, from 1854 to 
 1858, 1 spent abroad, making a musi- 
 cal tour through German) 7 , France, and 
 England, visiting all the principal centres 
 of these countries. Directly after this jour- 
 ney I was summoned to Moscow by the 
 Grand Duchess Helen, to be present at the 
 coronation of the Emperor Alexander II., 
 but arrived only in time for the festivities 
 of the second day. 
 
 During my sojourn abroad in 1854, I 
 spent five or six months in Weimar. Let 
 me here remark, that at the time of the 
 Crimean war all Europe was hostile to 
 Russia, or rather to her foreign and domes-
 
 Autobiography of Rubinstein. 73 
 
 tic policy. Everything Russian was re- 
 garded with an unfriendly eye, in Prussia 
 no less than in other countries. A few of 
 the officers and generals decorated with 
 Russian orders were the only persons who 
 showed any degree of sympathy for our 
 fatherland ; all the others were decidedly 
 hostile. However, this hostility did not 
 extend to the domain of music, although, 
 oddly enough, I was considered a Russian 
 in Germany and a German in Russia. 
 
 "Weimar was the paradise of art, litera- 
 ture, and music. Here was the home of 
 Liszt, wherein he reigned supreme. No 
 shrine was ever more devoutly visited ; 
 authors, painters, musicians, all came 
 hither as guests of the Duke of Weimar. 1 
 The Duke himself, a man of cold and 
 formal bearing, playing as he did the part 
 of a potentate in this microscopic king- 
 ' dom, could not fail to appear rather ridicu- 
 lous, although he was sincerely fond of art 
 
 1 Brother of the late Empress Augusta of Ger- 
 many. TR.
 
 74 Autobiography of Rubinstein. 
 
 and literature, and especially devoted to 
 music. During the residence of Goethe 
 in Weimar it was facetiously said of the 
 reigning duke, " "We, by the grace of 
 Goethe. Duke So and So." The present 
 duke seemed eager to formulate something 
 of the same nature in regard to Liszt, who 
 was worshipped as a demi-god. 
 
 The Princess "Witgenstein, a Polish lady, 
 whose maiden name was Ivanovska, wife of 
 an aide-de-camp of the Russian Emperor, 
 and mother of the present Princess of 
 Hohenloe, lived in Weimar at that time. 
 She was a woman of such ability and 
 education that to venture upon a conver- 
 sation with her was a serious matter. She 
 was something more than a blue-stocking. 
 She was not handsome, but her influence 
 over Liszt was unbounded. She it was 
 who persuaded him to abandon a cer- 
 tain dilettanteism in music, and goaded 
 his genius toward the more serious voca- 
 tion of a composer ; hence they may both
 
 Autobiography of Rubinstein. 75 
 
 be looked upon as sponsors in some sort to 
 Wagner and the music of the future, of 
 which Weimar was the cradle. (Madame 
 Olivi^ and Madame Wagner were both 
 daughters of Liszt.) I spent five or six 
 months there, living with Liszt, and dining 
 at the house of Madame Witgenstein. The 
 personality of Liszt, it must be granted, 
 was most unusual. His career as a virtuoso 
 had ended some forty years prior to this 
 time, and now, septuagenarian as he was, 
 he had taken it up again. At this time, 
 however, the impression he produced was 
 due rather to his clerical title, his long 
 silvery hair, and his advanced age. ... I 
 think it was in 1871 that Liszt was in- 
 vited to visit Vienna; I was there, and 
 conducted the orchestra at one of the con- 
 certs given in honor of his visit. We met 
 as old friends sincerely attached to each 
 other. I knew his faults (a certain pom- 
 posity of manner for one thing), but al- 
 ways esteemed him as a great performer,
 
 76 AutobiograpJiy of Rubinstein. 
 
 a performer-virtuoso, indeed, but no com- 
 poser. I shall doubtless be devoured piece- 
 meal for giving such an opinion. . . . 
 
 My object in removing to Western Eu- 
 rope at that time was to introduce myself 
 as a composer. Germany, with its numer- 
 ous petty sovereignties, was then a kind of 
 Eldorado for the arts and sciences. . . . 
 Each court vied with the other in protect- 
 ing science and the fine arts. . . . Each 
 university strove to attract to itself the 
 shining lights of science. The universal 
 standard of intelligence and intellectual 
 development in general was carried to a 
 much higher pitch in divided Germany 
 than in these later times, now that it is 
 compressed as by an iron ring into a single 
 great kingdom. . . . Howsoever absurd may 
 have been the political aspirations of di- 
 vided Germany, in the domain of intel- 
 lectual development she knew no superior. 
 Petty sovereignties as a rule progress more 
 rapidly than those of greater extent. What
 
 Autobiography of Rubinstein. 77 
 
 was Italy before her unification, and what 
 is she now ? It was this very intellectual 
 greatness, however, that laid the founda- 
 tion for the political strength of Germany 
 and her present unity, which already 
 weighs so heavily on intellectual progress. 
 While abroad from 1854 to 1855 I not 
 only visited Germany, but London and 
 Paris as well, giving concerts wherever I 
 went. During the time of my stay in 
 Vienna I wrote for one of the musical 
 journals an article on the condition of 
 music in Russia, in which I spoke of Glinka 
 with reverence, praising him to the skies, 
 and comparing him to Beethoven and other 
 masters ; but the other composers fared ill 
 at my hands. I was justly severe upon the 
 ignorant dilettanteism of clerks and land- 
 lords, who, saving Glinka, the great creator 
 of Russian opera, were the chief rulers in 
 the musical circles of Russia. Not having 
 the habit of repentance for the occasional 
 follies of which I am guilty, I cannot say
 
 78 Autobiography of Rubinstein. 
 
 that I regret the article, although I must 
 fain admit that it was a great piece of in- 
 discretion on my part. . . . "Well, I was 
 severely criticised for this article in my 
 own country. Torrents of vituperation de- 
 scended upon my head ; all those Russian 
 dilettanti composers and amateurs whose 
 claims I had ignored, with the exception 
 of Glinka, were so enraged that they were 
 about to bring a suit against me. I do not 
 remember who interfered to avert the catas- 
 trophe, but I think it was the Grand Duchess 
 Helen. ... To my utter surprise, however, 
 Glinka himself was angry with me. 
 
 I had known Glinka in St. Petersburg, 
 and had always had the highest regard for 
 him, and he, too, had been very friendly with 
 me ; but when I called on him in Berlin, 
 I found him ill and irritable. He received 
 me coldly, and actually reproached me for 
 the very article in which I had spoken so 
 enthusiastically of his genius and compo- 
 sitions. Thus we parted ; I, deeply grieved,
 
 Autobiography of Rubinstein. 79 
 
 and saying, as I bade him good-by, that I 
 was wholly unprepared to learn that I had 
 incurred his displeasure, for I had, and al- 
 ways should have, the highest admiration 
 for his genius. 
 
 In after years I proved my sympathy for 
 the author of the " Life for the Czar " by 
 something more substantial than words. 
 I was the first person to start a subscrip- 
 tion fund for his monument, five thousand 
 roubles (the proceeds of a concert I gave) 
 forming the nucleus. I may say without 
 vain-glory that had it not been for my ef- 
 forts, Heaven alone knows when the monu- 
 ment would have been raised. And yet on 
 the day when it was unveiled, I received 
 from the managers no other invitation than 
 the ordinary notice. During August and 
 September of 1856, 1 spent three weeks in 
 Moscow. Among the other festivities by 
 which the coronation of the Emperor Alex- 
 ander II. was celebrated, were several con- 
 certs at the palace of the Grand Duchess
 
 8o Autobiography of Rubinstein. 
 
 Helen. Emperor Alexander II. was not 
 particularly fond of music. At the con- 
 certs given by the Grand Duchesses Maria 
 or Helen, he would generally play his usual 
 game of whist in the adjoining room, and 
 when he passed through the concert hall 
 after the last rubber, it was a signal 
 for the concert to close. Sometimes he 
 would say a word or two of praise to one 
 performer or another. It must be borne 
 in mind, however, that he was preoccupied 
 with questions of the greatest importance 
 to the general welfare of our country, and 
 had but little time to devote to music ; and 
 yet his reign marks an era even in this 
 art, for one of the chief objects of his re- 
 gime was to excite the spirit of activity in 
 Russian society, to animate it with a new 
 life, and to set it free not only from the 
 bonds of serfdom, but also from many an- 
 other fetter which had till then constrained 
 it. Thus his reign forms a brilliant epocli 
 in the annals of Russian music. After the
 
 Autobiography of Rubinstein. 8 1 
 
 coronation, the Empress-Dowager Alexan- 
 dra and the Grand Duchess Helen proceeded 
 to Nice. I too received an invitation from 
 the Grand Duchess to spend some time at 
 her court, in which I held the office of 
 " Janitor of Music," a title I had jestingly 
 given myself. 
 
 I have charming recollections of this 
 winter from 1856 to 1857, which was spent 
 in Nice. The Empress Alexandra, bowed 
 down with grief for the death of her hus- 
 band and the result of the Crimean war, 
 still liked to keep the young people around 
 her bright and cheerful ; and many of the 
 members of the Imperial family visited 
 her there. Among others the Grand Duke 
 Constantin came, and the Grand Dukes 
 Nicholas and Michael spent weeks at a 
 time, accompanied by their suites. I 
 well remember some of them, Count 
 Matthew Vielgorski, Adjutant Apraksin, 
 and others. There was no end to jokes 
 
 and merriment. . . . Once we arranged a 
 6
 
 82 Autobiography of Rubinstein. 
 
 mock serenade to amuse the Empress. We 
 all wore masks, and each one played on 
 the musical instrument with which he was 
 least familiar. Thus Vielgorski took a 
 bass-viol, I a kettle-drum, the Grand Dukes 
 each one odd instrument or another, and 
 the masked orchestra entered the apart- 
 ments of the Empress. She was some- 
 what startled at the first sounds of this 
 chaotic music, but afterward laughed and 
 joked over the wild prank. . . . The Em- 
 press Alexandra was always affable and 
 charming in her manners. . . . While stay- 
 ing at Nice the Court spared no money. 
 King Victor Emmanuel came there repeat- 
 edly, and did all in his power to amuse 
 his Imperial guests ; although during the 
 Crimean war he had been the ally of our 
 enemies, now that the war was over he 
 strove by every means to efface all unfa- 
 vorable impressions from the heart of the 
 widow of the Emperor Nicholas. ... It 
 was then that I made the acquaintance of
 
 Autobiography of Rubinstein. 83 
 
 Cavour, the creator of Italian unity. . . . 
 On the whole, our season in Nice was ex- 
 tremely pleasant. We had constant visitors 
 from Russia ; the Grand Duchess Helen 
 even bought a villa there. . . . We played, 
 sang, and enjoyed music to our hearts' 
 content; and long and frequent were the 
 discussions about the music of our father- 
 land. The Grand Duchess Helen, with 
 her usual sympathy, became deeply ab- 
 sorbed in this matter. Count Matthew 
 Yielgorski and I, as well as others who 
 belonged to her circle, took an active part 
 in these conversations. We talked a great 
 deal about it, and all acknowledged that 
 the state of music in Russia was deplora- 
 ble. We all unanimously agreed the 
 Grand Duchess particularly favoring it 
 that on our return to St. Petersburg some- 
 thing must be done for the musical educa- 
 tion of Russian society ; and it was there 
 in Nice, under the beautiful skies of Italy, 
 that the first conception of the Russian
 
 84 Autobiography of Rubinstein. 
 
 Musical Society in St. Petersburg took its 
 origin. ... In 1857 the Grand Duchess 
 returned to St. Petersburg; and I, after 
 having visited Paris and London, also 
 returned to Russia.
 
 CHAPTER IX. 
 
 Vassili Alekseyevich Kologrivov. Foundation in 
 St. Petersburg of the Russian Musical Society, 
 now the Imperial. My first idea of founding 
 the degree of Bachelor of Music in the depart- 
 ment of music. Friends and opponents of the 
 Russian Musical Society. Serov. The first 
 concerts of the Russian Musical Society. A 
 new feature of musical education in Russia. 
 
 1858-1859. 
 
 ONE of the first to comprehend and 
 sympathize with our project for 
 founding the Russian Musical Society was 
 Kologrivov, an energetic worker, whom 
 I had known well since 1852. A land 
 proprietor in the government of Tula, for 
 some time a clerk in one of the civil de- 
 partments, but now retired, Vassili Alek- 
 sdyevich was an excellent 'cellist and an 
 ardent lover of music. ... At first he 
 made an attempt to animate the Russian 
 opera troupe. He had in some way con-
 
 86 Autobiography of Rubinstein. 
 
 nected himself with the theatre ; but on 
 one occasion, in the presence of all the 
 troupe, Fiodorov spoke to him so sharply 
 that Kologrivov gave up both the theatre 
 and his project. The noble individuality 
 of Kologrivov was never recognized by our 
 public or by the press, and now he seems 
 to be almost wholly forgotten. I may add 
 that even during his lifetime Kologrivov 
 was but little appreciated. . . . Full of in- 
 domitable energy, and with an ardent fa- 
 naticism verging upon rudeness, he devoted 
 himself to the pioneer task of establishing 
 and organizing the Musical Society. He 
 drafted into the society every man he 
 could find ; he fairly took possession of 
 people in the streets ; he would explain, 
 demonstrate, almost drag them in by main 
 force ; he was a man of expedients. In 
 a word, he labored for the society, not only 
 previous to its foundation, but during the 
 early years of its existence. He worked 
 in the true spirit of self-sacrifice, and
 
 Autobiography of Rubinstein. 87 
 
 regardless of his own interests, devoted 
 his entire fortune to the cause. He died a 
 poor man. His widow, a worthy lady, is 
 working at this very day as a music- 
 teacher in the Kiev Institute. . . . We owe 
 a debt of gratitude to the memory of Kolo- 
 grivov ; in the first place for his labors in 
 founding the Musical Society, and secondly 
 for the establishment of the conservatories 
 in St. Petersburg, Moscow, and Kiev. In- 
 credible as it may seem^ the enemies of 
 the new society were to be found on every 
 hand. They spoke, declaimed, wrote, and 
 printed against it; they even condemned 
 our audacity in calling the new society 
 " Russian." And had it not been' for the 
 enlightened patronage of the Grand Duch- 
 ess Helen and the energy of Kologrivov, the 
 enterprise could never have been carried 
 out so rapidly and successfully as it was. 
 
 It must be admitted that we conducted 
 our affair with great circumspection. We 
 were well aware of the tedious delays
 
 88 Autobiography of Rubinstein. 
 
 awaiting us in the various departments if 
 we should ask for the ratification of new 
 by-laws for the society, for the atmos- 
 phere was still charged with the traditions 
 of the Nicholas regime, when the founda- 
 tion of any society whatsoever was a 
 matter of extreme difficulty. We called 
 to mind the existence of a certain Society 
 of Musical Amateurs connected with the 
 Court chapel, who were favored by the 
 government, and were in the habit of giv- 
 ing symphony concerts. In the beginning 
 they had a fine orchestra, conducted by 
 old Louis Maurer ; but for the past few 
 years this society had been practically 
 dead, and our plan was to restore it to 
 life, that we might take advantage of its 
 ready-made by-laws. All we asked was 
 permission to continue what had been pre- 
 viously allowed, that is to say, to come 
 together for the purpose of playing and 
 singing. 
 
 " Certainly, if you wish to sing and play
 
 Autobiography of Rubinstein. 89 
 
 you may do so ; you have already had per- 
 mission to do that," was the answer we 
 received. And thus it was to all appear- 
 ance on the old foundations, and under the 
 guise of the old set of musical amateurs, 
 who had, so to speak, come to life again, 
 that we started the new Russian Musical 
 Society, which now bears the title of " Im- 
 perial." "Within the Michael Palace those 
 classes were formed which may be regarded 
 as the nucleus of the St. Petersburg Con- 
 servatory, founded in 1862. 
 
 In the same palace a mixed choir of 
 amateurs was quickly formed, and lectures 
 delivered before the classes. Leschetizki 
 was professor of the piano, Madame Xis- 
 sen-Salomon of vocal music, Wieniawski 
 of the violin, etc ; I assumed the director- 
 ship of this embryo conservatory. In 
 order to raise funds for the establishment, 
 we used to give concerts nearly every day ; 
 and the excitement and competition were 
 widespread and universal.
 
 90 Autobiography of Rubinstein. 
 
 But the birth of this new musical asso- 
 ciation was an extremely critical event. 
 Music was at a low ebb in Russia. The 
 professional artist was unknown ; we had 
 amateurs in plenty, not to mention Maece- 
 nas-musicians, also a crowd of devotees 
 to the Italian opera, landlords and chin- 
 ovniks-melomans, but as to professional 
 musicians, there was not one to be found. 
 Kologrivov and I, pioneers and innovators 
 as we were, devoted our energies to start- 
 ing an institution in which a musician 
 might win the degree of Bachelor of Mu- 
 sic, a title similar to that bestowed by 
 the Academy of Fine Arts on painters, 
 sculptors, and architects. 
 
 I will relate in passing the seemingly in- 
 significant incident that first gave me the 
 idea of defining the status of a musician in 
 Russian society, so that by itself alone, 
 without the addition of merchant, clerk, or 
 landowner, this title would ensure for its 
 bearer a recognized position.
 
 Autobiography of Rubinstein. 91 
 
 On one occasion while I was performing 
 my religious duties, I went to the confes- 
 'sion in the Kazan Cathedral. After con- 
 fession I proceeded to the table to have my 
 name enrolled in the books. 1 The deacon 
 began his inquiries. 
 
 " Your name, rank, (chin) and voca- 
 tion?" 
 
 " Rubinstein, artist," I said. 
 
 " Are you employed in the theatre ? " 
 
 " Xo." 
 
 " Then perhaps you give lessons in some 
 school?" 
 
 " I do not," I replied. 
 
 The deacon appeared surprised, but no 
 more so than I. We both remained silent. 
 
 " I am a musician, an artist," I repeated. 
 
 " Yes, I understand ; but are you in the 
 government service ? " 
 
 1 The Russian law obliges every adult belonging 
 to the Greek Church to go to confessional once 
 in three years. The records of names are set down 
 in books kept for that purpose. TR.
 
 92 Autobiography of Rubinstein, 
 
 " I told you that I was not." 
 
 " Who are you then ? How shall we 
 describe you ? " 
 
 For several minutes the questioning 
 went on. I know not how it would have 
 ended had it not occurred to the deacon to 
 say, 
 
 " May I ask your father's profession ?" 
 
 " A merchant of the second guild." 
 
 " Now, then, we understand ! " exclaimed 
 the deacon, greatly relieved. " You are 
 the son of a merchant of the second guild, 
 and as such we shall inscribe your name." 
 
 These questions and the careful defini- 
 tion of my social position left an indelible 
 impression upon my mind. Evidently the 
 name and estate of a musician, universally 
 acknowledged in other lands, had in Rus- 
 sia no clearly defined meaning. Who was 
 Glinka after all ? A landowner, a noble- 
 man in the government of Smolensk. 
 Serov ? An official in the Post-office De- 
 partment. ... In fact, all who had to do
 
 Autobiography of Rubinstein. 93 
 
 with music, whether as performers or com- 
 posers, were either noblemen, government 
 officials, attaches of the theatre, or peda- 
 gogues in public or private schools, etc. 
 Was it possible that a man who had 
 adopted music for his profession had no 
 recognized position in Russia as a musician 
 pure and simple. 
 
 The deacon of the Kazan Cathedral 
 called forth this thought in me, put this 
 problem before me, and several years later 
 Kologrivov and myself solved it. The 
 conservatory in Russia created from its 
 pupils a new class of citizens called 
 " Bachelors of Music." It was not until 
 1860 that the Russian musician won for 
 himself that acknowledged position which 
 the painter had held for a hundred years, 
 and which, thanks to the influence of Sum- 
 arokov, the founder of the Russian theatre, 
 had also been enjoyed by the Russian actors. 
 
 Kologrivov was indeed a man of remark- 
 able character, energetic, inspired with the
 
 94 Autobiography of Rubinstein. 
 
 enthusiasm of the pioneer, and loving 
 music with his whole soul. . . . 
 
 Men who are ready to strike out for 
 themselves in unbeaten paths and to de- 
 vote all their energies to the attainment of 
 their goal are by no means common in 
 Russian society ; in truth, I know none 
 such. ... A fine musician and finely edu- 
 cated man, intimate with the best musical 
 circles of Europe, Kologrivov had encour- 
 aged and protected both Pikkel and Weik- 
 man, those famous pillars of the orches- 
 tra, now aged men. Karl Sclmbcrth, the 
 never-to-be-forgotten Fitztum (Inspector of 
 University students), Lavonius, Skorduli 
 (whose daughter was a known singer in 
 her day), Shustov, the architect's son, all 
 belonged to Kologrlvov's set. . . . This 
 circle was made up of men who inhaled 
 music with every breath they drew, for 
 whom it was the very alpha and omega of 
 their existence. . . . Such men have, I 
 grieve to say, utterly died out!
 
 Autobiography of Rubinstein. 95 
 
 It cannot be denied that the present 
 time (I am speaking of the musical world) 
 is in many respects far in advance of the 
 old days of 1859 and 1860 ; art is more 
 widely diffused, and its devotees are more 
 numerous, but alas for the ardent love 
 that once filled our hearts ! Very little 
 trace of that remains. . . . 
 
 I have already spoken of the enthusiasm 
 kindled in the hearts of those who, under 
 the patronage of the Grand Duchess Helen, 
 had labored in behalf of the Russian Mu- 
 sical Society and its early classes in her 
 palace. . . . The best musical talent in St. 
 Petersburg was offered almost free of 
 charge for the promotion of the good work ; 
 Zaremba, Leschetizki, Nissen-Salornon, 
 Wieniawski, and others asked but a rou- 
 ble a lesson in the classes at the Michael 
 Palace. And these classes were soon 
 crowded with pupils of different ages and 
 degrees of social standing, all eager to gain 
 a higher musical education. . An or-
 
 96 Autobiography of Rubinstein. 
 
 chestra and choruses were organized. . . . 
 The Grand Duchess took a deep interest in 
 this enterprise ; she frequented the classes, 
 contributed to their support, and bestowed 
 her patronage not only by smiles and 
 gracious demeanor, but by substantial 
 pecuniary aid. . . . Ah, the definition of 
 patronage has suffered a change since 
 those days ; it no longer signifies money, 
 and more's the pity, since money is the 
 nerve of every enterprise. 
 
 At the head of this musical society stood 
 Count Matthew Vielgorski, Kologrivov, 
 Stasov, Kanshin, and myself. Kanshin had 
 intended to start a separate society in St. 
 Petersburg ; but in order to promote unity 
 of action as well as to avoid weakening our 
 forces by division, we invited him to join 
 ours. "When he joined us, he promised to 
 influence a large number of men of fortune ; 
 and although the event proved him unable 
 to fulfil his promise, he was 1 individually a 
 very useful member. . . .
 
 Autobiography of Rubinstein. 97 
 
 We leaders, together with our co workers, 
 visited several of the wealthy residents of St. 
 Petersburg, soliciting contributions ; and 
 the first year we collected quite a respect- 
 able sum, several thousand roubles. We 
 were like priests going from house to house 
 glorifying Christ 1 and collecting alms; we 
 visited Prince Yusupov, Bernadaki, Gromov, 
 and others. Some gave one hundred, some 
 three hundred, and some five hundred rou- 
 bles. Several ladies in the higher circles 
 labored indefatigably in behalf of our con- 
 servatory. Madame Verigin (wife of a 
 member of the Council of State) collected by 
 subscription about three thousand roubles 
 at one time ; Madame Abaza, ne Stube", 
 undertook the charge of our modest treas- 
 ury ; Princess Elizabeth Witgenstein, ne 
 Eyler, collected rouble after rouble for our 
 
 1 At Christmas and Easter, Russian priests go 
 from house to house, singing certain short prayers, 
 for which they receive a small sum. This is called 
 glorifying Christ." TR.
 
 98 Autobiography of Rubinstein. 
 
 enterprise. The enthusiasm and energy 
 were truly remarkable, and yet we found no 
 lack of opponents. . . . Opposition sprang 
 up in various official circles ; for instance, it 
 was reported that the Director of the Court 
 chapel, Lvov, had threatened to discharge 
 any of his singers who dared to take part 
 in our concerts during Lent. A "free 
 school " started up as rival : " You demand 
 payment for instruction, but we invite pu- 
 pils to come to us, free of charge ! " With 
 scant courtesy Serov thundered against us 
 everywhere, in the public ways as well as 
 in print. " They are a set of Germans, pro- 
 fessional pedants ! " he declaimed on every 
 side ; and all this because we had not invited 
 him to become a director in the Musical 
 Society, or offered him any position what- 
 soever. . . . Theophilus Tolstoi, who wrote 
 musical criticisms under the name of Ros- 
 tislav, was another of our detractors ; the 
 fact was that every man was eager to gain 
 -a place, and we had none to give. When
 
 Autobiography of Rubinstein. 99 
 
 we afterward learned the secret of their 
 animosity, we began to create places for our 
 opponents. We appointed several commit- 
 tees connected with the society ; one, for 
 instance, to examine musical compositions, 
 another to draw up programmes, etc. We 
 invited the railers to become members of 
 these committees, and thus succeeded in 
 pacifying their outbursts of envy by grati- 
 fying their personal ambitions. 
 
 A word about Serov. He was undeniably 
 a talented man ; he had a thorough know- 
 ledge of the stage, and of everything apper- 
 taining to it. Possessed of a certain kind 
 of instinct, he might have gone very far in 
 the composition of operas ; but unfortu- 
 nately, the want of aesthetic training was 
 only too evident ; his productions lack re- 
 finement, and give but slight evidence of 
 artistic feeling. ... I do not know what 
 ideals of art he may have cherished in youth, 
 but he was consumed by a morbid self-es- 
 teem and ambition. . . . Carried away by
 
 IOO Autobiography of Rubinstein. 
 
 his desire to be conspicuous, what surpris- 
 ing statements has he not made in his essays 
 on music and in his lectures on art ! He 
 even went so far as to protest against music 
 schools. . . . Out of the great mass of his 
 writings I have read but very little, and 
 even this little seemed absurd to me. . . . 
 This remarkable man was an extremist. 
 At times he hardly seemed to realize the 
 full significance of what he was doing and 
 saying ; as for instance when he denied the 
 advantage of conservatories, and of musical 
 education in general. 
 
 In the first three years of the existence of 
 the Russian Musical Society, the concerts 
 were given in the house of Yellissdyev, near 
 the Police Bridge, where the Club of the 
 Nobles is now located. The audiences were 
 large, filling the hall to its utmost capacity. 
 One original feature of these very success- 
 ful concerts was the programme contain- 
 ing bibliographical details concerning the 
 composers whose works were given. But
 
 Autobiography of Rubinstein. 101 
 
 however great the success of these con- 
 certs, it was but as a drop in the ocean 
 compared with the influence that, thanks 
 to the activity of the Russian Musical So- 
 ciety, gradually effected a transformation 
 in the method of teaching music through- 
 out all Russia, in the institutes, 1 schools, 
 and in families. . . . Hitherto, the musical 
 training of the girls and boys had amounted 
 to no more than the drumming of some 
 foolish air to celebrate papa's or mamma's 
 birthday, or to do honor to the principal 
 of the school ; but in these days a musical 
 education is a more serious matter. We 
 all know that it is regarded as an impor- 
 tant factor in every school and institute. 
 The former pupils of the St. Petersburg 
 Conservatory, and other numerous estab- 
 lishments throughout Russia, of which that 
 is the prototype, have effected a complete 
 change in the methods of musical instruc- 
 
 1 High schools exclusively for daughters of the 
 nobility. TB.
 
 IO2 Autobiography of Rubinstein. 
 
 tion in Russia. . . . Great changes have 
 taken place in Moscow under the direc- 
 tion of my deceased brother, Nicholas Ru- 
 binstein, and his able successors. He acted 
 in accordance with my advice : " Make haste 
 and enlist as many members as possible," 
 I said. " Summon all your energy and 
 courage, and lose no time in organizing 
 your musical society." His success was 
 partly due to the fact that there was no 
 competition in Moscow, and largely to the 
 generous response of the citizens to his 
 appeal in behalf of musical education.
 
 CHAPTER X. 
 
 Musical classes in the Michael Palace. The teachers 
 and scholars. The Music School. The Conser- 
 vatory. The first professors and the first gradua- 
 ting classes of pupils of both sexes. Relations of 
 society to the Conservatory, and its demands upon 
 it. Services rendered to Russia by the Conserva- 
 tory. 
 
 1859-1867. 
 
 MEANWHILE the " musical classes " 
 of the Michael Palace were gradu- 
 ally developing into a conservatory. . . . 
 By-laws were drawn up, and an establish- 
 ment founded. It must be remembered 
 that this was a time of ultra-patriotism. 
 ... In framing the by-laws we deemed 
 it wiser to avoid foreign words, and con- 
 sequently would not think of calling our 
 school a " Conservatory," and therefore we 
 called it the " Music School." Neither 
 would our teachers bear the title of " pro- 
 fessor," since that too is a foreign word,
 
 IO4 Autobiography of Rubinstein. 
 
 but must bo called "instructors." The 
 by-laws were presented and ratified in 
 1862, and the result proved that in our 
 struggle to adhere to the vernacular, we 
 had, to some extent, injured our position ; 
 for the title of professor in Russia indi- 
 cates a far more honorable rank than that 
 of instructor. However, in 1873, after the 
 death of the Grand Duchess Helen, when 
 the Grand Duke Constantin became the 
 patron of the Conservatory, the by-laws 
 were amended. The Music School was 
 turned into a Conservatory, and the " in- 
 structors " into " professors." 
 
 I was its first director, serving from 
 Sept. 1, 1862 to 1867. Gerke, Leschetizki, 
 Dreischok, Davydov, Nissen-Salomon, Wieni 
 awski, Schuberth, Peterson,Weikman, Zabel, 
 Chiardi, ZartJinba, Villoing, Luft, Metzdorf, 
 Yoyachek, Cavalini, Fererro, Repetto, Van- 
 Ark, Kross, Zeifert, Famintsin, Rubetz, Jo- 
 hanson, Czerny, and other musicians well 
 known in Russia, were by turns profes-
 
 Autobiography of Rubinstein. 105 
 
 sors and tutors of the first Russian 
 conservatory. 
 
 The members of our first class were really 
 artists and connoisseurs : Tchaikovski, Ry- 
 basov, Laroche, Madame Lavrovski, Ma- 
 dame Essipov, Mademoiselle T^rminski, 
 Mademoiselle Malozyemov (now one of 
 its teachers), Mademoiselle Iritzki, Made- 
 moiselle Minkvitz, Mademoiselle Timanov 
 (she too was afterward professor, and has 
 since removed to Berlin), Albrecht, Made- 
 moiselle Spasski (a fine musician, who 
 founded a music school in Vilno), Puclri- 
 lov., Salin (violinists), Hommelius (organ- 
 ist), Makarov, Kross (he and Tchaikovski 
 received medals), may be mentioned among 
 others. This affluence of talent in the first 
 class may be ascribed to the fact that in 
 the beginning of 1860 Russian society sent 
 from its midst as pupils to the Conserva- 
 tory, men and women of ripe talents ; it 
 had waited long for just such an institu- 
 tion, and rapid indeed was its growth.
 
 io6 Autobiography of Rubinstein. 
 
 Toward the end of the first term of my 
 directorship, the number of pupils increased 
 to two hundred ; and it continued to in- 
 crease until seven hundred pupils of both 
 sexes had enrolled their names. This seems 
 to me to have been a serious mistake. A 
 conservatory should grow in height, so to 
 speak ; and instead of this it grew in breadth, 
 and became a music-factory. And now, 
 when after many years I am again its direc- 
 tor, I shall certainly bring all my influence 
 to bear to restore the factory to a studio, 
 and I am not without hope of success. 
 
 Returning to the period of the founda- 
 tion of the Conservatory in St. Petersburg, 
 I will relate a few incidents in order to 
 illustrate the relations of Russian society 
 to this new institution. Many of our ladies 
 openly expressed their surprise that an 
 establishment for musical education should 
 be thoroughly Russian. On introducing 
 her young daughter to me, some fashion- 
 able lady would remark in French,
 
 Autobiography of Rubinstein. 107 
 
 " Monsieur Rubinstein, I have brought 
 my daughter; I hope she will benefit by 
 your musical instruction, and also keep in 
 practice with languages." 
 
 " But all our lessons are given in 
 Russian." 
 
 " "What, music in Russian ! " exclaims 
 the astonished lady. "That is an original 
 idea ! " 
 
 And surely it was surprising that the 
 theory of music was to be taught for the 
 first time in the Russian language in our 
 Conservatory. Professor Zaremba, a Pro- 
 testant, and something of a fanatic, taught 
 it in Russian. Hitherto, if any one wished 
 to study it, he was obliged to take lessons 
 from a foreigner, or to go to Germany. 
 . . . Zaremba understood his business thor- 
 oughly, and his services were invaluable to 
 the Conservatory. 
 
 It was by no means unusual to learn 
 that our new establishment was regarded 
 as a place especially adapted for weak-
 
 loS Atttobiography of Rubinstein. 
 
 minded children. "Monsieur Rubinstein," 
 some afflicted mamma would say, as she 
 brought in her half-witted boy, " I was 
 obliged to take my son away from such 
 and such an establishment on account of 
 ill health " (in others words for incapacity) ; 
 " what shall I do with him ? I had thought 
 that if I were to place him in your Con- 
 servatory, it might be easier for him. He 
 could take up a few branches, and might 
 possibly develop a talent for music." 
 
 Under these circumstances what could 
 be done ? Of course I must say to these 
 ladies that only an intelligent and studi- 
 ous child, sound in body as well as in 
 mind, can be admitted to the Conservatory. 
 
 Our decision to introduce other branches 
 of instruction besides music proved very 
 attractive to parents of an economical turn 
 of mind, who argued that it must cost less 
 to send their children to the Conservatory 
 than to other schools. Certain privileges 
 relating to military service had been
 
 Autobiography of Rubinstein. 109 
 
 granted to the Academy of Fine Arts, and 
 when the same privileges were bestowed 
 on us, young men were to be found, who, 
 without one spark of musical talent, know- 
 ing that a diploma would secure to them 
 exemption from two years military duty, 
 sought refuge beneath the hospitable roof 
 of the Conservatory. Of course such 
 cases were not numerous ; . . . still they 
 did occur, and surely the cause of music 
 gained nothing from them ! The Conserva- 
 tory expanded, especially during my ab- 
 sence ; and the rapid increase of students 
 had its essential disadvantages. Under the 
 directorship of Zaremba, Azanchevski and 
 Davydov, no doubt much good was accom- 
 plished, and yet many mistakes were made. 
 One serious mistake was the comparative 
 ease with which diplomas were won, since 
 many of the students (I am speaking of 
 the men), were not animated with the love 
 of art, or possessed of a talent for it. They 
 valued their diploma solely as a means of
 
 no Autobiography of Rubinstein. 
 
 shortening their term of military service. 
 Such students as these, as I said before, 
 were of no advantage to the cause of music. 
 Another mistake was the introduction of 
 scientific branches into the curriculum of 
 the Conservatory. A conservatory should 
 be a musical university in the strict sense 
 of the word ; a young person should not be 
 admitted without a certain degree of edu- 
 cation, and there should be no opportunity 
 for preparatory classes. 
 
 After all, our conservatories have done 
 good service. Through their influence 
 the light of musical education has spread 
 throughout all Russia. The St. Peterburg 
 Conservatory alone, not to mention that 
 of Moscow, and the schools at Kiev, Khar- 
 kov, Saratov, Tiflis, Odessa, and even in 
 Omsk (Siberia), has given birth to a 
 group of remarkable musicians, a few of 
 whom I will mention : Tchaikovski, a 
 graduate of the fccole des Droits, a com- 
 poser of genius, known throughout Europe,
 
 AutobiograpJiy of Rubinstein. 1 1 1 
 
 although barely fifty years of age ; Madame 
 Lavrovski the contralto ; Madame fissipov 
 the pianist ; the late Hubert, director, and 
 successor of Nicholas Rubinstein at the 
 Moscow Conservatory ; Kross the pianist, 
 and former professor in the St. Petersburg 
 Conservatory ; Laroche, a highly educated 
 man, who wields a clever pen as musical 
 critic, and understands the theory of music 
 better than most professors (he had been 
 professor in the Moscow Conservatory) ; 
 Altani, a remarkable orchestra leader, and 
 many others. The competent teachers who 
 have been graduated from the Conservatory 
 may be reckoned by the dozens ; . . . but in 
 regard to singing, it is difficult to say who 
 are the superior and who the inferior teach- 
 ers. They may be compared to physicians, 
 not even the most successful among them 
 can ensure life ; and the best master in the 
 world may ruin the voice of his pupil when 
 trying to cultivate it.
 
 CHAPTER XL 
 
 Leaving the Conservatory. My concerts. Artistic 
 tour in America. Wieniawski. The different 
 degrees of musical appreciation in the different 
 nations. 
 
 1867-1872. 
 
 IN the month of September, 1867, having 
 disagreed with some of its professors 
 as to the objects and methods of instruc- 
 tion, I left the Conservatory. This breach 
 was partly caused, no doubt, by my hasty 
 temper ; for I am ever in deadly earnest, 
 and the affairs of the Conservatory lie 
 very close to my heart. 
 
 While I was connected with the Conser- 
 vatory, and ever since that time, I have had 
 the habit of giving many concerts. I have 
 given them in all the principal countries of 
 Europe, with the exception of Greece, Rou- 
 mania, and Turkey. I have also given a 
 great many charity concerts. And here let 
 me call attention to one of the distinguish-
 
 Autobiography of Riibinstein. 113 
 
 ing features of Russian society ; that is, 
 the frequency with which one is called 
 upon to give concerts in aid of the stu- 
 dents of the various educational establish- 
 ments. This is a charity to which I have 
 never been asked to contribute outside of 
 Russia. "Whenever I have given concerts 
 abroad for benevolent purposes, it has usu- 
 ally been for the benefit of the poor of one 
 town or another, or to aid the sufferers 
 from some calamity, or for the benefit of 
 an artists' fund, etc. ; but neither in Ger- 
 many, nor in any other country save Rus- 
 sia, have I been asked to play for the 
 benefit of students. 1 This is all the more 
 
 1 It has been ascertained that during the twenty- 
 eight years which have elapsed since the foundation 
 of the Conservatory, Rubinstein devoted the proceeds 
 of his charity concerts, amounting to more than three 
 hundred thousand roubles, to the benefit of the poor, 
 and to other good works. His brother Nicholas also 
 gave generously to the cause of charity. During the 
 winter of 1877-78 his Saturday and Sunday concerts 
 in Moscow netted the sum of fifty-two thousand rou- 
 bles for the benefit of the Red Cross Society. 
 8
 
 H4 Autobiography of Rubinstein, 
 
 surprising, because university education 
 abroad is very expensive. ... I cannot 
 explain the matter; I only know that at 
 home I have repeatedly been asked to as- 
 sist at such concerts, and have often given 
 them myself. . . . 
 
 In 1872 the late violinist Henri Wieni- 
 awski 1 and I accepted a manager's proposal 
 to make a concert tour in the United States. 
 Only two Russian artists had ever visited 
 America, Prince Galitzin and Slavianski- 
 Agrenev. The contract with the American 
 manager was concluded in Vienna through 
 the agency of the attorney Jacques. I was 
 to receive two hundred thousand francs, half 
 of which sum was deposited by the manager 
 in the bank then and there. According to 
 the terms of the contract, he had no right 
 
 1 Wieniawski was then undoubtedly the finest vio- 
 linist. His playing was extremely brilliant ; he was 
 a bright, witty man, but somewhat feeble. While 
 in America he was quite well, and received for his 
 tour one hundred thousand francs. He died of 
 -dropsy in Moscow.
 
 Autobiography of Rubinstein. 115 
 
 to take me to the Southern States, the whole 
 route being clearly defined by this legal 
 document. For a time I was under the en- 
 tire control of the manager. May Heaven 
 preserve us from such slavery ! Under 
 these conditions there is no chance for art, 
 one grows into an automaton simply, per- 
 forming mechanical work ; no dignity re- 
 mains to the artist, he is lost. . . . 
 
 During the time I remained in America 
 we travelled through the United States as 
 far as New Orleans, and I appeared before 
 an audience two hundred and fifteen times. 
 It often happened that we gave two or three 
 concerts in as many different cities in the 
 same day. The receipts and the success 
 were invariably gratifying, but it was all 
 so tedious that I began to despise myself 
 and my art. So profound was my dis- 
 satisfaction, that when several years later 
 I was asked to repeat my American tour, 
 with half a million guaranteed to me, I re- 
 fused point blank. It may be interesting
 
 u6 Autobiography of Rubinstein. 
 
 to iiote that the contract was fulfilled to 
 the letter. 
 
 Wieniawski, a man of extremely ner- 
 vous temperament, who, owing to ill health 
 quite often failed to meet his appointments 
 in St. Petersburg, both at the Grand 
 Theatre and at the Conservatory, never 
 missed one concert in America. However 
 ill he might be, he always contrived to find 
 strength enough to appear on the platform 
 with his fairy-like violin. The secret of 
 his punctuality lay in the fact that by the 
 terms of the contract he must forfeit one 
 thousand francs for every non-appearance. 
 The proceeds of my tour in America laid 
 the foundation of my prosperity. On my 
 return I hastened to invest in real estate. 
 I purchased a country residence in Peter- 
 hof, and in 1865 I married. 1 My wife has 
 never accompanied me on my travels, and 
 
 1 Rubinstein married Mile. Viera Tchekuanov, 
 and has three children, Jacob, Anna, and Alexan- 
 der. TB.
 
 Autobiography of Rubinstein. 117 
 
 on these occasions I have employed my 
 leisure moments either in reading or in 
 composing. I usually wrote my librettos 
 in German or in French on account of the 
 difficulty of finding Russian librettists, and 
 the consequent delay in putting the opera 
 on the stage. The libretto of " Demon " 
 was written at my request by Viskovatov, 
 professor at the Dorpat University ; that of 
 " Gorusha " by Dmitri Avesrkiev. 
 
 As to the degree of musical appreciation 
 possessed by the different nations, I believe 
 that Germany stands to-day at the head of 
 the musical world, and this in spite of the 
 fact that she is eaten up with pride in her 
 patriotism, her pietism, and sense of superior- 
 ity to all other countries. Culture has but 
 slender chance in a nation so absorbed in 
 its bayonets and its unity ; but in spite of 
 all these drawbacks it must be confessed 
 that Germany is the most " musical " na- 
 tion in the world. 
 
 The relative knowledge of music among
 
 liS Autobiography of Rubinstein. 
 
 Germans, French, and English, stated arith- 
 metically, would be somewhat as follows : 
 of the German people at least fifty per cent 
 understand music ; of the French not more 
 than sixteen per cent; while among the 
 English the least musical of people 
 not more than two per cent can be found 
 who have any knowledge of music. Even 
 the Americans have a higher appreciation 
 of music than the English. 
 
 I speak frankly, but without malice, for 
 I have always been most hospitably re- 
 ceived in England. . . . But while I am 
 deeply sensible of this kindness to me, I 
 cannot refrain from saying that their igno- 
 rance of music is only exceeded by their 
 lack of appreciation. The children of Al- 
 bion may resent my candor, and perhaps 
 it would have been wiser to have reserved 
 my opinion. . . . 
 
 In America we find a little more music 
 than in England. . . . But it is only in 
 Germany that one learns to what noble
 
 Autobiography of Rubinstein. 119 
 
 heights it may attain. In France, music 
 has a special part assigned to it, which is 
 in a prosperous condition and well appreci- 
 ated ; but it is very, very different from 
 Germany. In no other land do we find 
 the real merit of musical compositions so 
 quickly discerned and accurately valued as 
 in Germany. The folk-songs of the Rus- 
 sians stand alone. . . . Only those of Swe- 
 den and Norway are worthy to be compared 
 with them for enchanting melody. But I 
 must not say too much in praise of Rus- 
 sian music, lest as a Russian I should be 
 suspected of partisanship. 
 
 And now, with the supremacy of Bis- 
 marck on the one hand, and Wagnerism 
 on the other, with men's ideals all reversed, 
 dawns the critical moment for music. 
 Technique has taken gigantic strides, but 
 composition, to speak frankly, has come 
 to an end. ... Its parting knell was 
 rung when the last incomparable notes of 
 Chopin died away. It may prove but a
 
 I2O Autobiography of Rubinstein. 
 
 temporary paralysis, and who can say how 
 long it may endure ? Between the fifteenth 
 and seventeenth centuries painting stood 
 at the zenith of its power, but during the 
 eighteenth century deterioration set in ; and 
 I believe that music is passing through a 
 similar crisis. . . . When and how it will 
 end no one can know. One thing is be- 
 yond denial, all that enchanted us. all 
 that we loved, respected, worshipped, and 
 admired, has ended with Chopin.
 
 CHAPTER XII. 
 
 My articles on music, and my various musical works. 
 Historical concerts in the principal cities of Europe. 
 
 Entrance upon my second term as Director of 
 the Conservatory. My memoranda and projects. 
 
 Reforms in the organization of music in Russia 
 regarded as one of the most effective instruments 
 for popular education. 
 
 1852-1889. 
 
 pETURNING to the subject of my 
 -*-^- activity as a writer on music, I re- 
 member that in the first number of the 
 " Tiek," a periodical started in 1860 by the 
 late Be"zobrasov and others, I wrote an arti- 
 cle called " Music in Russia " on the subject 
 of dilettanteism in music, violently attacking 
 the dilettanti amateurs, who have wrought 
 only mischief to the cause of music in Rus- 
 sia. . . . The article produced a commo- 
 tion, and a torrent of abuse descended 
 upon my head ; but even now, after the 
 lapse of thirty years, I still adhere to the
 
 122 Autobiography of Rubinstein. 
 
 views advanced at that time. It must be 
 said however that the prevailing dilettan- 
 teism against which I had waged war pre- 
 vious to the foundation of the Conservatory 
 has in these days lost its baleful influence, 
 and the article written in 1860 has lost its 
 former significance. 
 
 It is but little that I have ever written 
 on the subject of music. Some years ago 
 1 wrote an article in German 1 (which was 
 afterward translated into Russian) upon 
 sacred operas or oratorios, and another in 
 the Leipsic magazine " Signal " in answer 
 to a proposition made to me to undertake 
 the editing of a series of musical classics, 
 an important scheme, whose develop- 
 ment would prove a valuable contribution 
 to musical knowledge. Lately I have 
 sketched a plan for drawing up by-laws, ac- 
 companied by notes on that subject, and 
 
 1 Rubinstein's letter on the " Geistliche Oper," 
 edited in Berlin in a miscellaneous collection by 
 Levlnski under the title : " Vor den Kullissen."
 
 Autobiography of Rubinstein. 123 
 
 also on the subject of Russian music in 
 general, which I hope will receive a legal 
 sanction. . . . This is the sum of my 
 activity in that line, and my future biogra- 
 pher will not even enjoy the pleasure of 
 collecting my correspondence, since it has 
 absolutely no existence. I am not a friend 
 to the pen, and especially do I dislike 
 letter-writing. 
 
 I have no means of recalling the data of 
 my operas, that is to say, of their com- 
 position; and the date of representation 
 would be of no assistance, because that 
 often took place long after they were 
 written. I remember that "Thomas the 
 Fool " was written in 1852, and the 
 " Demon " in 1871. Several years ago 
 the latter had already been sung over one 
 hundred times, but whether it has been 
 given five times since, I cannot tell. I 
 never addressed the slightest request or 
 even suggestion to the directors concern- 
 ing my musical works. They may do as
 
 124 Autobiography of Rubinstein. 
 
 they please. I have not the vdguest idea 
 why " Merchant Kalashnikov " was taken 
 from the repertoire. I was greatly pleased 
 to learn that the opera was approved in 
 high quarters, and at the expressed wish of 
 those in authority it was again reinstated ; 
 but why, notwithstanding this approval, it 
 was after two or three performances again 
 withdrawn, I cannot possibly imagine. 
 And yet the fact that it paid well, showed 
 that it pleased the public. The " Macca- 
 bees," 1 written in 1873-1875, was not per- 
 formed in St. Petersburg until 1877. My 
 " Nero " was given first in Hamburg. In 
 1885 I wrote my comic operas " With the 
 Brigands" and "The Parrot." 
 
 1 cannot claim that my operas have a 
 warm reception at the hands of theatrical 
 managers. Very often when they have 
 
 1 When Count Adlerberg consented at last to put 
 the " Maccabees " on the stage, he wrote the follow- 
 ing order : " It may be given providing that nothing 
 is spent either for costumes or decorations."
 
 Autobiography of Rubinstein. 125 
 
 been most cordially received outside my 
 native land, our own managers have ut- 
 terly ignored them. The " Demon " is 
 given very seldom of late years ; the " Mac- 
 cabees," not at all ; while " Kalashnikov " 
 has been withdrawn altogether. . . . 
 
 If they are received with favor in the 
 official world, it is only because of influ- 
 ence in high circles. ... I may be mis- 
 taken, but I believe that the secret of the 
 ill-will on the part of the management is 
 not dislike of me personally, but hostility 
 to the Conservatory. ... I have never 
 spoken a word upon this subject to the 
 directors, who are changed from time to 
 time, and they are always perfectly civil 
 to me. ... It must be acknowledged that 
 this position of director, not in Russia 
 alone, but in all countries, is by no means 
 to be coveted ; and if I were asked if the 
 post of director were not more difficult 
 than that of Minister of Foreign Affairs, I 
 should reply in the affirmative.
 
 126 Autobiography of Rubinstein. 
 
 The oratorios or the sacred operas of 
 "Paradise Lost" and the "Tower of Babel" 
 were written many years ago, the former 
 in 1854, and the latter about 1870. The 
 " Moses," a series of musical tableaux, also 
 belongs to this class of composition. 
 
 I 1 have written about six symphonies, 
 but most of them have no name. Those 
 best known are the " Ocean," the " Drama- 
 tic," and the " Russian." Of the musical 
 tableaux may be mentioned " Ivan the Ter- 
 rible," " Don Quixote," and " Faust ; " the 
 ballad " Lenore " and the " Eroica," dedi- 
 cated to the memory of Skobelev, the manu- 
 script of which I presented to the Bogolubov 
 museum in Saratov. Among my earlier 
 works are the musical illustrations to Kry- 
 lov's fables : " The Donkey and the Night- 
 ingale," "The Cuckoo and the Eagle," 
 "The Grasshopper and the Ant," "The 
 Crow and the Fox," " Parnassus," and " The 
 Quartet : " and among the more recent are 
 the operas " Sulamith " and " Gorusha." I
 
 A utobiograpJiy of Rubinstein . 127 
 
 have set to music a great many of our best 
 poems ; but at present I have wholly for- 
 gotten both their names and their numbers. 
 They are all enumerated in the catalogues, 
 however. 
 
 During the season of 1885-1886 I was 
 able to execute a long cherished plan, and 
 to celebrate the last years of my career as 
 a virtuoso by a series of concerts to be 
 given in the chief cities of Europe. These 
 performances were intended to illustrate 
 the gradual development of piano music ; 
 lectures on the history of music had been 
 given before, but not historical concerts on 
 the scale that I proposed. 
 
 I gave a series of seventeen concerts in 
 each of the following cities: St. Peters- 
 burg, Moscow, Vienna, Berlin, London, 
 Paris, and Leipsic ; and in some of them 
 every concert that I gave in the evening 
 was repeated the next day for the benefit 
 of the musical students. Both morning 
 and evening concerts were crowded. It
 
 128 Autobiography of Rubinstein. 
 
 was really a great undertaking. I played 
 in St. Petersburg and Moscow alternately, 
 giving two concerts in the one city and 
 then two in the other, until fourteen con- 
 certs had been given in each city. I had 
 every reason to be satisfied with the re- 
 sult of these performances, which proved 
 successful in all respects. I suffered no 
 inconvenience either from fatigue of body 
 or mind ; my memory served me faithfully. 
 Much of what I played at the concerts I 
 had studied when I was a child. . . . And 
 as to the rest, I spent one summer in 
 studying a good deal of the music that I 
 now played for the first time. I have 
 never employed a prompter ; indeed I 
 hardly think that it would be possible to 
 have one. The financial part of the affair 
 was under the management of Wolf, a 
 special agent from Berlin, who received a 
 certain percentage of the profits. I stepped 
 upon the platform with my mind quite free 
 from care or anxiety. This most conve-
 
 A utobiography of Rubinstein . 129 
 
 nient arrangement has only recently been 
 introduced into Russia. Peterson in St. 
 Petersburg, Jurgenson in Moscow, relieve 
 the artist of every care and responsibility. 
 In regard to Peterson, I will have to men- 
 tion that he is the sole proprietor of Bek- 
 ker's piano manufactory, and all rumors 
 to the effect that my savings have been 
 invested in it are without foundation. 
 
 Early in the year 1887, I resumed the 
 management of the St. Petersburg Conser- 
 vatory, and in March of the same year 
 presented a memorial to the Russian Musi- 
 cal Society on the organization of popular 
 theatricals and concerts. The object of 
 this scheme was twofold, to introduce 
 the works of rising composers, and to give 
 the public a chance to enjoy the talents 
 developed by the Russian conservatories. 
 In the same year I drew up a project for a 
 new constitution for the Conservatory, 
 which was taken under consideration. 
 
 The status of music in Russia and the 
 9
 
 130 Autobiography of Rubinstein. 
 
 best possible way of directing musical edu- 
 cation, greatly interest me. I have also 
 written a comprehensive memorial on this 
 subject. ... It is important that our con- 
 servatories should be under the administra- 
 tion of the government. The universities, 
 the various academies (the Academy of 
 Fine Arts, for instance), and the higher 
 schools are all under the control of the 
 government, and it should be the same 
 with our conservatories. Individual enter- 
 prise and the energy of private societies 
 has effected their organization, but after an 
 existence of thirty years there is no reason 
 why these schools for higher musical edu- 
 cation should remain outside the pale of 
 governmental care. The change from pri- 
 vate control to that of the government can- 
 not fail to produce the most satisfactory 
 results. Moreover, all other musical schools 
 should be made dependent on the conser- 
 vatories, and required to furnish a certain 
 contingent of pupils. It would be well to
 
 Autobiography of Rubinstein. 131 
 
 establish conservatories in all the principal 
 centres of Russia, in St. Petersburg, Mos- 
 cow, Tiflis, Riga, Warsaw, Kiev, Odessa, 
 and even in Omsk ; the more numerous 
 they are, the better. It is still more im- 
 portant that the government maintain at 
 least two conservatories ; one in the north 
 of Russia should be for instrumental music, 
 and the other in the south for vocal music. 
 We should consider the advantages of our 
 southern climate for vocal culture and 
 profit by them. 
 
 If the Russian government were to as- 
 sume the superintendence of musical edu- 
 cation, a most important factor in the 
 civilization of its people, it should, I 
 think, make an effort to establish the opera 
 in the capital of each government. 1 Sup- 
 ported by the material help and moral 
 influence of the government with the co- 
 operation of the governor of each province, 
 as well as that of the local and central 
 1 Russia is divided into fifty-two governments. TR.
 
 132 Autobiography of Rubinstein. 
 
 authorities, this would not prove so difficult 
 an undertaking as it might at first appear. 
 There would be no lack of musicians and 
 singers for the conservatories and the mu- 
 sical schools of some of the governments. 
 Kharkov, Kiev, Saratov, Tiflis, and others 
 have already for more than a quarter of a 
 century been engaged in training artists, 
 who only ask for the opportunity to prac- 
 tise the art they have acquired after years 
 of patient study. And with the birth of 
 new conservatories, under the care and 
 direction of the government, the number 
 of musicians will increase, and there will 
 always be a supply ready to meet the 
 demand. 
 
 It is an undeniable fact that our provin- 
 cial society is as much addicted to gam- 
 bling as our lower classes are to drink, 
 and that ignorance prevails among all 
 orders. One need be no prophet however 
 to foretell the results that will spring from 
 the beneficent influence of a permanent
 
 Autobiography of Rubinstein. 133 
 
 opera in the province. The standard of 
 morality cannot fail to rise, and surely 
 that is a consummation devoutly to be 
 wished, and one which the government in 
 all its public enterprises seeks or should 
 seek to promote. Again the establishment 
 of provincial opera will open a wider field 
 for the rapidly growing contingent of musi- 
 cians, who are to be trained in these con- 
 servatories and music schools. Not until 
 the government takes this matter in hand 
 shall we emerge from the present miser- 
 able condition of musical affairs, when 
 Russia supports but two opera troupes ; 
 and this can be achieved by government 
 alone. We know too well the result of 
 private enterprise in the provinces, it 
 almost invariably comes to grief. 
 
 It is a well-nigh incredible fact that we 
 have but a single opera troupe in each of 
 the capitals ; and how is it possible to be 
 faithful to requirements of national art by 
 giving the works of Russian composers and
 
 134 Autobiography of Rubinstein. 
 
 at the same time to please the public by 
 frequent repetition of foreign operas, as 
 well as ballets ? It would require the en- 
 tire time of one troupe adequately to repre- 
 sent the works of foreign composers of the 
 older schools, excluding those as near to 
 our time as are Mozart and Meyerbeer. 
 All this is not as it should be ! 
 
 While I am speaking of the provinces, 
 let me suggest that the encouragement of 
 the opera and of popular concerts, together 
 with musical culture in general, should be 
 included in the duties of the governors. 
 And I believe that if the government will 
 but turn its attention to this subject, giv- 
 ing proper directions to the governors, the 
 marshals of nobility, and the mayors, and 
 encourage their efforts, this project cannot 
 fail to succeed. In a monarchical country 
 like ours, where both regime and govern- 
 mental authority are very strong, where it 
 is not only the right of that country, but its 
 sacred duty to care for and to guide the
 
 Autobiography of Rubinstein. 135 
 
 masses, it can hardly fail, I think, to give 
 its serious consideration to the establish- 
 ment and development of musical training. 
 
 And futhermore, I would urge that 
 classes in music be formed in every educa- 
 tional institution to whatsoever grade it may 
 belong, not merely to teach the boys and 
 girls to sing songs or church music, but to 
 give them solid instruction in the funda- 
 mental principles of music. Look at Ger- 
 many and America, and see how they do 
 things in those countries. ... I demand 
 no useless innovations ; I do not ask for 
 children's orchestras, like one I saw in a 
 school in St. Petersburg, for that takes too 
 much of the children's time ; but let the 
 first elements of music be taught in all 
 schools as one of the regular studies, so 
 that every boy and girl may have learned 
 the alphabet of music while yet in school. 
 Believe me, this will bring forth a rich har- 
 vest. The conservatories must maintain a 
 high standard ; and the right to grant di-
 
 136 " Autobiography of Rubinstein. 
 
 plomas, such as are given after a close ex- 
 amination by the universities and other 
 special schools, should be restricted to 
 them alone. That is the only method by 
 which this matter of diplomas can be prop- 
 erly controlled. Every instructor in the 
 different branches of music should be re- 
 quired to show a certificate from the con- 
 servatories, granting the right to teach 
 music in families and schools, similar to 
 those required from every tutor and gover- 
 ness who teaches the common branches, 
 either in schools or in private families. In 
 regard to the theatre, I do not hold with 
 those who would cater to the popular taste 
 by representing the works of second-rate 
 dramatists. It would be far better to give 
 those of Pushkin, Gogol, Goethe, Shak- 
 speare, and other great writers, both native 
 and foreign. Let us not minister to the 
 cravings of the ignorant for foolish amuse- 
 ment ; what satisfaction can there be for a 
 mujik to pay even fifteen kopecks to see on
 
 Autobiography of Rttbinstein. 137 
 
 the stage the same drunkard in sheepskin 
 whom he meets in the pothouse ? If the 
 theatre is to be a medium of education, 
 let it be above the people. It may be that 
 at first the lower classes will find sucli 
 pieces dull and uninteresting; but believe 
 me, it will not be long before they will 
 have learned to appreciate their beauties, 
 and will seek the theatre, now become an 
 instrument of civilization for the masses. 
 Much has been written and spoken on this 
 subject, but few care to consider in ear- 
 nest the importance of the matter, and 
 are still less willing to do their part to- 
 ward promoting its realization. 
 
 Between 1860 and 1870 much has been 
 accomplished in the direction of reform in 
 the methods of musical education in Russia. 
 Very little had been done for music before 
 that time ; and in spite of the genius of 
 Glinka, Russian opera was held in disfavor. 
 Since the establishment of the Russian 
 Musical Society and the Conservatory, a
 
 138 Autobiography of Rubinstein. 
 
 network of musical societies and music 
 schools has gradually covered the land. 
 Thus the government has already on hand 
 not only a large amount of musical ma- 
 terial, but establishments for its further 
 production ; and all that remains now is to 
 consider the musical development of Russia 
 a State affair, and to place conservatories 
 and musical schools in the Bureau of Pub- 
 lic Instruction, on the same footing with 
 universities and gymnasiums. 
 
 I make these few cursory remarks by 
 the way, but all my ideas concerning the 
 proper conditions of musical establishments 
 and musical education in Russia, and what 
 should be done to promote their prosperity, 
 I have set down systematically and in de- 
 tail in a separate memorial. 
 
 I firmly believe that in view of the deep 
 interest felt by the highest authorities in 
 this noble problem of civilization, the 
 liberation of the masses from the slough 
 of vice, and the opening out to them of a
 
 Autobiography of Rubinstein. 139 
 
 means of moral development through the 
 medium of the arts, many of my pro- 
 jects will be adopted, and ways will be 
 provided to carry them into execution for 
 the benefit of our beloved country and the 
 welfare of many millions of the Russian 
 people. 
 
 May God grant this ! As for myself, 
 the ideas which I have striven to express 
 are confirmed by many years of experience 
 and a thorough acquaintance with the sub- 
 ject in question ; and I can truly affirm that 
 my sole motive has been to serve my dear 
 native land according to the best of my 
 knowledge and ability. 
 
 ANTON RUBINSTEIN. 
 
 ST. PETERSBURG, 
 
 October, 1889.
 
 SUPPLEMENT. 
 
 RUBINSTEIN AS A COMPOSER. 
 
 IT is too soon to speak of Rubinstein as a 
 composer ; he is not even an old man, 
 and his talent is in full vigor. No doubt 
 he will yet give us many works. The fu- 
 ture alone can determine which of them 
 will go down to posterity, to be cherished 
 as precious pearls in musical literature. 
 Even now, however, the characteristic 
 features of the famous master's composi- 
 tions are sufficiently defined to enable 
 us to determine with more or less accu- 
 racy the rank which this or that noted 
 work occupies in the musical literature of 
 the present day. 
 
 "While yet in his early childhood, Rubin- 
 stein developed the gift of composition. 
 His artistic nature endowed with a re-
 
 142 Autobiography of Rubinstein. 
 
 markably imaginative feeling for melody, 
 and a wealth of invention, manifested it- 
 self at every turn. Hardly a musical form 
 escaped him, and there are but few of 
 which he has not given us some fine ex- 
 amples. Many a day when overborne by 
 hard work and engrossing outside occupa- 
 tions, he would seize an hour to devote 
 to his favorite occupation of composing. 
 And now that he is not diverted from it, 
 he gives himself up to it almost exclusively 
 
 If we cast a glance at the catalogue of 
 Rubinstein's compositions we shall be no 
 less surprised at the number of them than 
 at the versatility of his genius. It in- 
 cludes five symphonies, five concertos for 
 the piano, several overtures, trios and 
 quartets, thirteen operas, two oratorios, 
 and many songs. Only one richly en- 
 dowed with the gift of melody could have 
 produced them all. 
 
 Rubinstein's melodies are for the most 
 part original, although sometimes the in-
 
 Autobiography of Rubinstein. 143 
 
 fluence of Mendelssohn may be felt; but 
 the majority of them, as in the " Macca- 
 bees," the "Demon," the "Tower of Babel," 
 are of an Oriental character. This is true, 
 however, of all Russian music. Some 
 of his motifs have the general character of 
 European music and often remind one of 
 Mendelssohn, which is not to be wondered 
 at when we remember that in his youth 
 Rubinstein was under the influence of the 
 Mendelssohnian school ; for it is an ac- 
 knowledged fact that even the greatest 
 composers have felt the influence of their 
 predecessors. 
 
 In regard to the forms which Rubinstein 
 uses, they are exclusively old classical, and 
 have nothing whatever in common with 
 Berlioz, Wagner, or Liszt. By thus per- 
 sistently ignoring the progress of operatic 
 and dramatic music, the compositions of 
 Rubinstein have certainly gained nothing. 
 
 The " Battle of Kulikdvo," his first " test 
 opera," if we may so call it, which met
 
 144 Autobiography of Rubinstein. 
 
 with a certain success, was written in 
 1850. This was followed in 1853 by the 
 one-act opera of " The Siberian Huntsmen " 
 and " Thomas the Fool ; " the latter was 
 given but once, and at his own request 
 withdrawn from the stage. A three-act 
 ballet called "The Grape- Vine " was never 
 given on any stage. " The Children of 
 the Steppes," written in 1860 or there- 
 about, met with no favor when it was pre- 
 sented in Moscow ; and in the opera of 
 " Vengeance," written in 1853, the bac- 
 chanalian song of Zulima, " Pour to the 
 brim the noble juice," alone survives. His 
 lyric opera " Feramors," based on the Orien- 
 tal theme of Moore's " Lalla Rookh," re- 
 ceived some notice. Rubinstein is particu- 
 larly devoted to Oriental motifs, and in such 
 he achieves his greatest triumphs. The 
 " Dances of the Bayaderes "from this opera, 
 and the aria " I am oppressed," have won 
 such popularity that they are often to be 
 found on concert programmes. This opera,
 
 Autobiography of Rubinstein. 145 
 
 although popular abroad, was not a fa- 
 vorite in Russia. His best and most famil- 
 iar opera is undoubtedly the u Demon," 
 written in 1871, and given both in St. 
 Petersburg and Moscow more than one 
 hundred times. Its first performance took 
 place in St. Petersburg on January 13, 
 1873, for the benefit of the barytone Mel- 
 nikov. Here again the best portions of 
 the opera are those in which the author 
 uses Oriental motifs, such as the " Scene 
 of the Caravan," the " Dance of the Wo- 
 men " and the " Lezghinka." l This opera 
 was ,a grand success both at home and 
 abroad ; it was followed by the " Macca- 
 bees," the plot of which is taken from the 
 Bible, and in which the Greek and Hebrew 
 elements are manifested by two distinct 
 styles. The distinguishing characteristic 
 of this opera is that the plot is not 
 founded on love, but on the struggle of 
 two nationalities for religion and indepen- 
 
 1 Circassian dance. 
 10
 
 146 Autobiography of Rubinstein. 
 
 dence. It greatly resembles an oratorio, 
 and has been given many times both in 
 Russia and abroad. Berensdorf, musical 
 critic of Leipsic, says that in it Rubin- 
 stein has stated and solved the whole 
 problem, and that this music is remark- 
 able for its brilliant coloring, its wealth 
 of imagination, and its inspiration. 
 
 Then came " Nero " and " Merchant 
 Kalashnikov." " Nero " is written on 
 Barbie's libretto, and is in four acts with 
 eight tableaux. It was composed for the 
 Paris Grand Opera, and was sung in 
 Italian in Russia. It is unnecessarily long, 
 and crowded with useless details that 
 hamper the action ; the characters are 
 numerous, and many of them have very 
 difficult roles. The greater part of the 
 opera consists of recitatives in which Ru- 
 binstein is by no means at his best. We 
 miss the Oriental element; still it has 
 many fine passages, the finest of which is 
 the tableau in the fourth act, where Nero
 
 Autobiography of Rubinstein. 147 
 
 is haunted by the shades of his murdered 
 victims. " Nero " is no longer included in 
 the repertoire. 
 
 *' Merchant Kalashnikov " is written on 
 Lerniontov's epic poem entitled " Song 
 about the Czar Ivan Vassilievich, the 
 young Oprichnik, 1 and the gallant mer- 
 chant Kalashnikov." It is in three acts 
 with four tableaux, and was put on the 
 stage under the direction of the com- 
 poser, and received with crowded houses 
 in St. Petersburg on January 22 and 
 February 25, 1880, but for some reason 
 unknown to the general public was almost 
 immediately withdrawn from the reper- 
 toire. Those who heard it, speak of it 
 with enthusiasm, as of an opera possessing 
 remarkable merit. Here the motifs are 
 based upon Russian folk-song, and the 
 characters are eminently Russian. 
 
 1 Body-guard of the czars, who rebelled at the 
 accession of Peter the Great, and were by him 
 suppressed altogether.
 
 148 Autobiography of Rubinstein. 
 
 Rubinstein had before now, in the " Bat- 
 tle of Kulikovo " and in " Thomas the 
 Fool," attempted to introduce the national 
 element into his operas, without much 
 success. But the character of Merchant 
 Kalashnikov was a -perfect success. By 
 this opera he proved his ability to write 
 Russian as well as Oriental and German 
 music, and showed that he was not to be 
 excluded from the ranks of Russian com- 
 posers. " Merchant Kalashnikov " has no 
 prominent female rdle ; the part of Aliena 
 is purely subordinate, as it should be, to 
 give a correct idea of the position of woman 
 in the times of the Domostrdi. 1 The dra- 
 matic interest rising steadily to a climax 
 forms one of its chief merits. The last act, 
 the execution of the hero and his fare- 
 well to his family, produces a profound 
 and striking impression. All the charac- 
 ters, that of the opricJinik Kiribdievich, Ka- 
 lashnikov, Nikitka the fool, the gossiping 
 1 The old code of Russian sumptuary laws.
 
 Autobiography of Rubinstein. 149 
 
 Solomonida, the Tartar Chulubei, and the 
 Czar Ivan, are powerfully and sincerely 
 drawn. Aliena's part is not so well sus- 
 tained ; her aria, " I will enter the sacred 
 temple," in spite of its musical beauty is 
 wholly devoid of national coloring. The 
 choruses are a prominent feature of the 
 opera. The chorus of the OpricTiniks in 
 the first act, written in the ecclesiastical 
 style, is very impressive. The femaljs 
 chorus of neighbors is lively and realistic. 
 Those at the meeting of the Czar on the 
 Moscow river, and that of the execution of 
 Merchant Kalashnikov, are also worthy 
 of mention; the latter is accompanied by 
 the ringing of bells. The dances of the 
 jesters, and Nikitka's song, " There lived 
 an eagle in a distant land," are also fine. 
 In " Merchant Kalashnikov " as well as 
 in the "Maccabees" we find Rubinstein's 
 orchestration somewhat monotonous ; but in 
 the former there are fortunately no recita- 
 tives. Among the solos we may mention
 
 150 Autobiography of Rubinstein. 
 
 Kal&shnikov's aria, " They have stolen the 
 bird from the nest ; " the aria of Kiribeie- 
 vich in the first act, " Oh, our sovereign 
 Ivan Vassilievich ; " and also Kalashni- 
 kov's duet with Aliena, " Where hast thou 
 been, wife " etc. On the whole, the opera 
 has many pages of genuine inspiration, and 
 might have become as great a favorite as 
 the " Demon " if it had not been unfortu- 
 nately withdrawn from the repertoire. 
 
 His last two comic operas, "With the 
 Brigands" and "The Parrot," as well as 
 the biblical opera " Sulamith," were pub- 
 lished in Germany. 
 
 In his operatic works, Rubinstein mani- 
 fests a disposition to follow his own inspi- 
 ration regardless of the laws laid down 
 by this school or that, and in none of 
 his compositions is the peculiarity more 
 marked than in his symphonic music. 
 Few of his symphonies are preceded by 
 the usual explanatory programme of 
 modern composers. Brought up on Ger-
 
 Autobiography of Rubinstein. 151 
 
 man music, he follows in the footprints 
 of Beethoven. 
 
 Rubinstein has written five symphonies ; 
 the Second is called the "Ocean," the 
 Fourth the " Dramatic ; " the others have 
 no titles. The Ocean Symphony was writ- 
 ten many years ago and from that time 
 his renown as a composer was established. 
 It is one of his principal works. It was 
 originally written in four parts, but the 
 author afterward added two movements, 
 the second adagio and the second scherzo. 
 The musical critic Ambros in comparing 
 it to Beethoven's Pastoral Symphony, 
 likens the " Sailor's Dance " (the first 
 scherzo') to the " Peasant's Merry-making," 
 and the final choral to the " Glad and 
 grateful feelings after the storm" in the 
 "Pastoral." Ambros alluded to the discre- 
 tion which Rubinstein showed in leaving 
 the storm to the imagination of the hearers. 
 Afterward, however, and as if by inten- 
 tion, a seventh movement was added.
 
 152 Autobiography of Rubinstein. 
 
 called " The Storm," in which Rubinstein 
 gave evidence of his thorough knowledge 
 of technique. 
 
 The Fourth Symphony, in D minor, may 
 also be included among his best work, and 
 occupies a prominent place in musical lit- 
 erature. In the beginning of the decade 
 of 1870 Rubinstein made a prolonged and 
 exhaustive tour of Germany, giving this 
 symphony to admiring audiences. It is 
 rich in motifs and masterly in orchestra- 
 tion. The composer introduces the instru- 
 ments separately, like characters in an 
 opera. It contains long monologues, dia- 
 logues, etc ; hence its title " Dramatic." 
 The introduction to the first movement is 
 very picturesque ; the scherzo of the second, 
 written after the manner of Beethoven, 
 animated and full of life, offers a distinct 
 contrast to the emotional adagio that 
 follows it. The final movement is rich 
 in color, although somewhat long in 
 comparison with the preceding movements.
 
 Autobiograpliy of Rubinstein , 153 
 
 The Third Symphony has been less fre- 
 quently heard in the concert room. The 
 adagio and the scherzo of this symphony 
 have been much admired for their beautiful 
 motif and fine instrumentation. 
 
 The Fifth, the so-called " Russian Sym- 
 phony, " has never won the popular favor. 
 It is founded exclusively on Russian melo- 
 dies, and breathes the very spirit of the coun- 
 try. The allegro with its characteristic 
 Russian dance, performed on wooden in- 
 struments, is very spirited ; the andante is 
 rather long, and the melodies played by the 
 horns are uninteresting and monotonous. 
 
 Rubinstein has also written a quantity 
 of concertos and chamber music, includ- 
 ing three characteristic musical portraits, 
 "Don Quixote, " " Ivan the Terrible," and 
 Faust. " 
 
 The famous orchestral portrait of " Don 
 Quixote " may be reckoned among his most 
 successful works. The argument is as 
 follows :
 
 154 Autobiography of Rubinstein. 
 
 "The reading of cMvalric romances exalt- 
 ing the exploits of knights errant in service 
 of fair ladies and in aid of the oppressed in 
 general, excite in Don Quixote a desire to im- 
 itate their example; whereupon he dons the 
 helmet and coat of mail, and sets forth on his 
 bony steed Rosinante. His first encounter is 
 with a flock of sheep, whom he disperses, and 
 encouraged by the success of this exploit pur- 
 sues his journey. A little farther on he meets 
 three peasant women singing cheerfully at 
 their work, one of whom he selects for the 
 lady of his love, his Dulcinea. He declares 
 his passion, and vows to perform all his fu- 
 ture deeds of prowess in her honor. The peas- 
 ant women, taking him for a madman, laugh 
 in his face and run away. Don Quixote 
 seems perplexed ; but still hoping to win re- 
 nown by his future exploits he goes on his 
 way. He next falls in with a band of crimi- 
 nals being led to execution, whom he takes 
 for the innocent victims of despotism, and 
 straightway determines to set them free. He 
 attacks the guards and puts them to flight, 
 but in the course of a discussion into which 
 he enters with the liberated criminals he irri-
 
 Autobiography of Rubinstein. 155 
 
 tates them ; they fall on him, and give him a 
 sound drubbing. Here follows the worthy 
 knight's despair. He sees his folly, and 
 dies. " 
 
 Such are the incidents which Rubinstein 
 has selected for his musical portraiture. 
 He has illustrated only the humorous side 
 of Don Quixote's career ; the fundamental 
 conception of the romance, that Don Quix- 
 ote is a man of lofty ideals, ready to die for 
 truth and justice, does not lend itself to 
 music, and Rubinstein has chosen only de- 
 tached incidents, such as may be described 
 by music. He handles this theme in his 
 usual masterly manner. All in it is es- 
 sential, nothing superfluous. The work 
 has been arranged for four hands by 
 Tchaik6vski. 
 
 The second musical portrait, " Ivan the 
 Terrible," was performed at a concert in 
 Smolensk on the 20th of May 1885, on the 
 occasion of the unveiling of Glinka's mon- 
 ument. The first allegro describes the wild
 
 156 Autobiography of Rubinstein. 
 
 orgies of the Oprichniks, the . Czar's wrath, 
 his repentence and prayer, the groans of 
 the suffering. In vivid colors the composer 
 depicts the sentiments aroused by the con- 
 templation of that period. It is one of 
 Rubinstein's best works on a Russian 
 theme. 
 
 "Faust" is the third musical portrait. 
 In treating this subject Rubinstein seems 
 to have been attracted by the lyric side of 
 the tragedy ; it is therefore free from the 
 confusion and discord which other compos- 
 ers have employed in depicting Faust's 
 state of mind and the aspect of Mephistoph- 
 eles. A quartet of strings plays the chief 
 part in a smoothly flowing harmonious 
 discourse. 
 
 Among Rubinstein's most important or- 
 chestral works " Russia " and the " Eroica " 
 may be included. 
 
 " Russia " was written on the occasion 
 of the opening of the Russian Exposition 
 of the Arts and Trades, and offers a me-
 
 A utobiography of Rubinstein. 1 5 7 
 
 chanical combination of motifs represent- 
 ing the various nationalities that people 
 that vast country. 
 
 The " Eroica " is said to have been writ- 
 ten on the death of Sk6belev. Both these 
 works show signs of haste, with little or 
 no inspiration. The counterpoint devel- 
 opment of the themes, however, is ex- 
 tremely interesting. 
 
 Glancing rapidly over Rubinstein's cham- 
 ber and concert music, we will mention 
 only a few of the more important works. 
 It is a department in which he has shown 
 himself prolific. Here we may find octets, 
 sextets, quintets, trios, and concertos for 
 the piano, violin, violoncello, etc. 
 
 The G- minor quintet. In this quintet 
 the score for the piano predominates. It 
 opens with an introduction suggestive of 
 the theme of the allegro f that follows, 
 a theme which deepens to pathos in the 
 next motif, constructed on a simple minor 
 triad. Its simplicity positively amazes the
 
 158 Autobiography of Rubinstein. 
 
 listener. In the second movement the 
 scherzo has a motif of a Russian type, 
 quite original and graphic ; the third 
 movement, an adagio, resembles the music 
 of the Greek Church ; the finale some- 
 what wearies the listener by its long-drawn 
 thematical development, but we also meet 
 many new melodies, only one of which has 
 a national character. As we have before 
 stated, Rubinstein was brought up on the 
 German classics, and rarely uses Russian 
 melodies ; they seem to have had no 
 influence whatever upon the charac- 
 ter of his compositions and to have in- 
 terested him only from a musical point 
 of view. 
 
 Rubinstein wrote five trios, two of which 
 one in F major and the other in G minor, 
 written long before the others, when he was 
 under the influence of Mendelssohn are 
 extremely interesting. Yon Bulow's state- 
 ment that Rubinstein's style is not unlike 
 that of Beethoven is correct as regards the
 
 Autobiography of Rubinstein. 159 
 
 B major trio, although even here the imi- 
 tation of Mendelssohn is evident. In this 
 trio the andante shows intense dramatic 
 power. 
 
 Rubinstein wrote five concertos for the 
 piano; the majority of his concertos rer 
 quire from the performer a perfect tech- 
 nique, and a knowledge of the effects which 
 may be produced on the instrument. All 
 his concertos have an intrinsic meaning, 
 and the significance of the theme is skil- 
 fully worked out. 
 
 To this class belongs the " Caprice Russe," 
 dedicated to the famous pianist Madame 
 Essipov. It is a fantaisie on various Rus- 
 sian songs, with an orchestral accompani- 
 ment. The motifs of this fantaisie are 
 delicately worked out. After several va- 
 riations played by the orchestra on a slow 
 and rhythmical Russian melody, the piano 
 takes up the same air with all the inter- 
 vals reversed. This method in counter- 
 point gives us a charming new melody,
 
 160 Autobiography of Rubinstein. 
 
 which comes in at the end of this move- 
 ment in the major key and forms the last 
 motif, for which the composer makes a de- 
 lightful accompaniment on the piano, using 
 it at the same time by the way of transi- 
 tion to the next triumphal song. This 
 song is played by the orchestra with a 
 brilliant accompaniment of piano, after 
 which the first slow air reappears in the 
 piano score, while at the same time we 
 hear from the orchestra a third merry 
 dance-song, upon which the whole finale 
 is constructed, bringing in the three melo- 
 dies simultaneously. 
 
 We will but touch upon Rubinstein's les- 
 ser piano works, most of which contain 
 interesting musical conceptions, and are 
 known under the name of " Miscellaneous." 
 Opus 93, composed of nine numbers, de- 
 serves special mention. 
 
 No. 1. The Ballad of Lenore. This 
 work belongs to the programme music. 
 It was written on the theme of Burger's
 
 Autobiography of Rubinstein. 161 
 
 famous ballad. Lenore awaits the re- 
 turn of her betrothed from the war. Peace 
 is concluded, and the troops come march- 
 ing home with beating of drums and mar- 
 tial -music. Vainly she looks for the face 
 of her loved one ; he has perished in the 
 battle. Deaf to the words of her mother, 
 who strives to comfort her, Lenore curses 
 her fate. That night a trooper appears to 
 her, bids her to follow him and share his 
 home, the grave. All night they gallop 
 over hill and vale, till they come to the grave- 
 yard. Rubinstein illustrates this theme 
 with picturesque details ; we feel Lenore's 
 sadness, we hear the military march of the 
 returning troops, and the mad galloping of 
 the rider with his beloved. 
 
 No. 2. Variations on an American na- 
 tional air. This work consists of an in- 
 troduction and a theme with thirty-nine 
 variations, followed by a Dumka l and a 
 Polonaise (dedicated to Mademoiselle Ter- 
 
 1 " Dumb.i " is a genre of Ruthenian song. 
 11
 
 1 62 Autobiography of Rubinstein. 
 
 minski), 1 the first of which is tinged with 
 a deep melancholy. 
 
 No. 4 contains two Russian serenades, 
 studies, a scherzo, a barcarolle, and two 
 morceaux (Nos. 5, 6, 7, 8), all specimens 
 of an attractive style of music. The last 
 number, " Miniatures," consists of twelve 
 pieces, the more prominent of which are, 
 "At the Brook," "Serenade," "Oriental 
 March," and " Cradle Song." In this class 
 may be included the popular " Valse Ca- 
 price," which has achieved an immense 
 success. 
 
 "We may likewise mention his " Bal Cos- 
 tume*," several numbers of which have been 
 arranged for the orchestra by Ermansdb'r- 
 fer. It consists of twenty numbers, and is 
 remarkable for the brilliancy of coloring 
 with which the different nationalities are 
 indicated. We must not forget to men- 
 tion his concertos for violin and violon- 
 cello, for they help to supplement the 
 1 A well-known Russian pianist.
 
 Autobiography of Rtibinstein. 163 
 
 rather scanty contributions to this class 
 of musical literature. The A minor vio- 
 lin sonata, Opus 19, is rich in musical 
 effects. 
 
 He has also written a great many 
 songs. 
 
 RUBINSTEIN AS A PIANIST. 
 
 WE must devote a brief space to the con- 
 sideration of Rubinstein as a pianist. 
 
 His first appearance on the concert plat- 
 form is contemporary with the birth of mu- 
 sical criticism. There can be no simpler 
 means of introducing the reader to the char- 
 acteristics of Rubinstein as a pianist, than 
 to quote the opinions of several well-known 
 musical critics. 
 
 This is what Brachvogel has written con- 
 cerning him : 
 
 "No artist has ever before shown to his 
 audience so merciless a front. Both his pro-
 
 164 Autobiography of Rubinstein. 
 
 grammes and his attitude are absolutely un- 
 compromising. At first sight one is conscious 
 of something stern, even inimical in his bear- 
 ing toward his audience, as though a chasm, 
 were fixed between them, and he stood ready 
 to plunge single-handed into the conflict ; but 
 gradually the sense of hostility vanishes, 
 and the great artist conquers once and forever. 
 Rubinstein has no idea of descending to the 
 level of popular taste, he can only raise his 
 audience to his own plane. It is enough 
 to look in his face to understand what it 
 all means. He has the head of an inspired 
 sphinx, upon whose face not even the par- 
 oxysms of enthusiasm call forth a smile. 
 Did not the color of life illumine it, it 
 might be of stone. Those who have heard 
 his playing will never forget it." 
 
 Hanslick thus characterizes Rubinstein's 
 playing : 
 
 "We always follow Rubinstein's playing 
 with a sense of infinite delight. His youth- 
 ful and untiring vigor, his incomparable power 
 of bringing out the melody, his perfection of 
 touch in the stormy torrents of passion, as
 
 Autobiography of Rubinstein. 165 
 
 well as in the tender long-drawn notes of 
 pathos, his wonderful memory, and his energy 
 that knows no fatigue, these are the quali- 
 ties which amaze us in Rubinstein's playing. 
 His rendering of Chopin's B minor Sonata is 
 indeed wonderful; he plays the first movement 
 tempestuously, giving to it the atmosphere of 
 passionate gloom; the funeral march is stern 
 and sustained; the mighty crescendo at the 
 beginning of the trio, and the gradual decres- 
 cendo after it, is a brilliant innovation of his 
 own. But in the finale he takes such an as- 
 tounding prestissimo that all accents are lost, 
 and only a gray cloud of dust seems. to hover 
 before the dazed listener, who simply waits 
 for the last note that he may open his eyes 
 and draw a long breath of relief. Therefore 
 young virtuosi must beware of imitating the 
 excesses of Rubinstein's playing, rather learn- 
 ing from him to play with expression, keep- 
 ing all the while strict watch over the tempo. 
 The sentimental fluctuations of the measure 
 by which young pianists, and lady pianists in 
 particular, disfigure the noblest inspirations of 
 Chopin, is unendurable to Kubinstein. One 
 finds no vestige of this caricature of tempo
 
 1 66 Autobiography of Rubinstein. 
 
 rubato, or any affectation whatsoever in Ru- 
 binstein's playing. It is a delight to listen to 
 him, in the highest and most sincere sense of 
 the word. A vigorous and wholesome current 
 of feeling flows so refreshingly over the hearer 
 that he receives the impression of having been 
 in a musical symposium, to the unspeakable 
 delectation of his ear. 
 
 "The merits of Rubinstein's playing are 
 sought principally in his elementary power, 
 and from this same source spring likewise 
 many of his faults. With years, however, 
 his playing has become more equal. The 
 bewitching beauty of his tones, the power 
 and delicacy of his touch have now reached 
 their climax. One seldom finds in contem- 
 porary pianists that genuine, spontaneous in- 
 ward fervor which in the heat of passion 
 dares all things, even to indiscretion, rather 
 than pause to reason and reflect. Where 
 reflection is absent there may be heard the 
 overwhelming voice of the passions and the 
 heart-strings echoing in response. Rubin- 
 stein's temperament is of such compelling 
 force that exhausted Europe yields submis- 
 sion to his will."
 
 Autobiography of Rubinstein. 167 
 
 The following is taken from the criticism 
 of the well-known Russian critic Leven- 
 sohn, who wrote it a few years asro under 
 
 tf 
 
 the immediate influence of Rubinstein's 
 
 concerts in Moscow : 
 
 
 "Many years ago the famous historian* 
 
 Thomas Carlyle, in his lecture on 'Hero- 
 Worship/ says in effect: Nothing so ele- 
 vates mankind as the worship of men of 
 genius. However much the eternal cavil- 
 lers may strive to pick flaws, the enthusiasm 
 of those who have truly learned to love great 
 men with all the strength of their souls will 
 suffer no loss. This is the kind of feeling in- 
 spired by Eubinstein. Can there be a higher 
 delight for the man who loves and appreci- 
 ates music than to see and hear the man of 
 genius ? In listening to Anton Rubinstein, 
 one receives an impression not unlike that 
 produced by some magnificent display of the 
 elements. His creations at the piano are as 
 spontaneous as those of Nature herself, and 
 this is the secret of his personal influence. 
 His repertoire embraces the entire range of 
 compositions, beginning with the works of
 
 1 68 Autobiography of Rubinstein. 
 
 Handel and ending with his own. His pas- 
 sionate temperament often carries him be- 
 yond the lawful boundaries ; for instance, he 
 takes too rapid a tempo in the prestissimo of 
 Beethoven's Sonata, Op. 109, hindering the 
 listener from following in detail this despe- 
 rate soul-shriek ; he also plays Chopin's F 
 major Ballad too rapidly. On the other hand, 
 the beauty of certain compositions is never 
 fully appreciated until we hear them inter- 
 preted by Rubinstein. Thus in Chopin's 
 Nocturne, Op. 37, the heart-rending wail is in- 
 terrupted by a succession of Palestriiia-like 
 chords. In Rubinstein's rendering, it is as if 
 these chords were played on the organ. We 
 feel, however, that these religious strains fail 
 to soothe the suffering soul. The desperate 
 cry is renewed and grief resumes its sway. 
 This soul-picture of a lonely sufferer, who 
 seeks consolation in religion and fails to find 
 it, such is the theme of this nocturne, 
 which becomes intelligible in Rubinstein's 
 rendering. For another example take the 
 last variation in Beethoven's Sonata, Op. 109, 
 with that never ending tfill, which passes 
 through several octaves ; you feel yourself
 
 Autobiography of Rubinstein. 169 
 
 in the presence of a sphinx. But lo ! beneath 
 the fingers of Kubinstein this labyrinth of 
 sounds becomes an almost indistinguishable 
 murmur, and through this murmur, penetra- 
 ting it like a sunbeam, comes the E major 
 theme ; then you see the necessity of the pre- 
 ceding chaos. 
 
 " From out the numberless proofs of genius 
 of which his playing gives evidence, we will 
 select his rendering of Handel's theme, with 
 its beaded ornamentations (known in the old 
 times under the name of agrements), the sec- 
 ond variation of this air executed by octaves 
 in the bass, and the wonderful transition from 
 the lower to the higher register in the second 
 theme of Beethoven's C major Sonata, Op. 
 53; indeed the grandeur of his rendering of 
 that sonata cannot be too highly praised. 
 His daintiness of execution in Schumann's 
 'Traumes-Wirren' and 'Vogel als Prophet,' 
 as well as the ' singing ' of the second theme in 
 Chopin's B minor scherzo, reminds one of his 
 own far-away childhood and the happy days 
 of youth, now gone forever, that visited us ere 
 we plunged into the turmoil of life. Were 
 we to recall all the moments wherein Kubin-
 
 170 Autobiography of Rubinstein. ' 
 
 stein stirs the soul of his hearer, we should 
 never have done. 
 
 " Why allude to the technique of this man 
 of genius ? Here also he differs from all 
 others, and sets at defiance formerly accepted 
 methods. How is one to play the rapid 
 octave accompaniment of the Schubert-Liszt 
 ' Erl Konig ' ? Any professor will tell you to 
 do it with a light wrist, and the middle fingers 
 extended. And what does Rubinstein do ? 
 He curves the middle fingers and raises 
 the wrist, so that the fingers that play the 
 octaves instead of falling sideways on the 
 keys strike with their tips as with a hammer. 
 By this method the octaves are played with 
 ease and freedom, whereas in the rendering 
 of other pianists one is always sensible of 
 the effort. There is no living pianist who 
 could imitate him in this. It is his OAvn 
 invention and a manner peculiar to himself. 
 An Oriental on meeting a man of genius 
 says a special prayer for the occasion. We 
 too have our own way of expressing our 
 enthusiasm. One can realize the excitement 
 of the public at each appearance of Rubin- 
 stein only in witnessing it."
 
 A utobiography of Rubinstein . 171 
 
 In January 1889" Rubinstein played in 
 Moscow for the last time ; and as he came 
 upon the stage at the close of the perform- 
 ance to make his final bow of acknowledge- 
 ment, the lid of the grand piano was 
 locked. He made one pathetic gesture of 
 farewell, and disappeared from the concert- 
 room forever. 
 
 THE END.
 
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