> V i;i- il .. a ±jh ; ~- ^^ J •S /J 2 <*%. JTHE MUSICIAN'S YEAR BOOK COMPILED BY MARGARET REINTZEL NEW YORK E. P. DUTTON & COMPANY 31 West Twenty-third Street 1907 Copyright, by E. P. Dutton & Co, 1895. IN GRATEFUL MEMORY OF MY TEACHERS. JANUARY. I can always leave off talking tuhen I hear a master play. Browning. THE MUSICIAN'S YEAR BOOK. January First. Every day that we spend without learning something is a day lost. Beethoven. William Beale was born January i, 1784. Lef6bvre Wely died January 1, 1870. January Second. In January, 1822, Maelzel came before the public with his metronome. " One must not only learn to count while playing, but make the playing fit the count- ing." 7 8 THE MUSICIAN'S YEAR BOOK. January Third. He who would do a great thing well must first have done the simplest thing perfectly. Cady. Henriette Sontag was born January 3, 1806. Thomas Ludford Bellamy died January 3> l8 43- January Fourth. The study of the history of music, and the hearing of masterworks of different epochs, will cure one of vanity and self-adulation. Robert Schumann. Ludwig Ehlert died January 4, 1884. January Fifth. A rule drawn up in 1653 in Germany, signed by Emperor Ferdinand III. : THE MUSICIAN'S YEAR BOOK. 9 "No man shall dare to perform on dis- honorable instruments, such as hurdy-gur- dies, bagpipes, and triangles, which beggars use for collecting alms, so that the noble art of music is brought into contempt by them." January Sixth. Music is a stimulant to mental exertion. D'Israeli. Max Bruck was born January 6, 1838. Taubert died January 6, 1891. Heinrich Hertz was born January 6, 1806. Rudolph Kreutzer died January 6, 1831. January Seventh. When Thalberg played a melody it stood out in bold dynamic relief ; not because he pounded, but because he kept the accom- paniment duly subdued. Christiani. IO THE MUSICIAN'S YEAR BOOK. Sigismund Thalberg was born January 7, 1812. Robert Nicolas Bochsa died January 7, 1856. January Eighth. Without enthusiasm one will never accom- plish anything in art. Robert Schumann. Handel's first opera, " Almeria," was pro- duced January 8, 1705. Hans Guido von Bulow was born January 8, 1830. January Ninth. Of all the fine arts music is that which has most influence on the passions, and which the legislator ought the most to encourage. Napoleon Bonaparte. THE MUSICIAN'S YEAR BOOK. II January Tenth. If all were determined to play the first violin we should never have a complete orchestra. Therefore respect every musi- cian in his proper place. Robert Schumann. January Eleventh. You should no more play without phras- ing than speak without inflection and gram- matical pauses. Charles Landon. John Field died January n, 1837. Domenico Cimarosa died January 11, 1801. January Twelfth. I am what I am because I was industri- ous ; whoever is equally sedulous will be equally successful. J. Sebastian Bach. 12 THE MUSICIAN'S YEAR BOOK. Arabella Goddard was born January 12, 1836. January Thirteenth. Genius at first is little more than a great capacity for receiving discipline. George Eliot. Heinrich Hoffmann was born January 13, 1842. Ferdinand Ries died January 13, 1838. Lud wig Ehlert was born January 13, 1825. January Fourteenth. Music is a discipline, and a mistress of order and good manners. Martin Luther. Luigi Boccherini was born January 14, 1740. Francois Joseph Dizi was born January 14, 1780. THE MUSICIAN'S YEAR BOOK. 1 3 January Fifteenth. Music resembles chess: the queen (mel- ody) has the most power, but the king (har- mony) turns the scale. Robert Schumann. January Sixteenth. The principal requisites for a musician, a fine ear and a swift power of comprehension, come, like all things, from above. Robert Schumann. January Seventeenth. When an artist has been able to say, " I came, I saw, I conquered," it has been at the end of patient practice. George Eliot. 14 THE MUSICIAN'S YEAR BOOK. January Eighteenth. To accompany well you must not only be a good musician, but you must be mesmeric, sympathetic, intuitive. Haweis. Arcangelo Corelli died January 18, 1713. Stephen Foster died January 18, 1864. January Nineteenth. Sacrifice all the trivialities of social life to thy art. The Odyssey. Ferdinand David was born January 19, 1810. Louis Joseph Ferdinand Harold died January 19, 1833. THE MUSICIAN'S YEAR BOOK. I 5 January Twentieth. The art of true accompanying lies in a willing self-immolation. Haweis. January Twenty-first. The hallowed melody of magic song Does to creation as a link belong ; Blending its music with God's harmony, As rivers melt into the mighty sea. Schiller. Parepa Rosa died January 21, 1874. January Twenty-second. " Music is allied to the highest sentiments of man's moral nature — love of God, love of country, love of friends." 1 6 THE MUSICIAN'S YEAR BOOK. January Twenty -third. In order to please everybody at once it is necessary to compromise, and in questions of art he who compromises is sure to disap- pear in a short time. Richard Wagner. January Twenty-fourth. Let not a day pass, if possible, without having heard some fine music, read a noble poem, or seen a beautiful picture. Goethe. Carlo Farinelli was born January 24, 1722. Baron von Flotow died January 24, 1883. January Twenty-fifth. Sing aloud old songs — the precious music of the heart. Wordsworth. THE MUSICIAN'S YEAR BOOK. 17 Robert Burns was born January 25, 1759. Parish Alvars died January 25, 1849. January Twenty-sixth. Music in the best sense does not require novelty. Goethe. Frederick Corder was born January 26, 1852. January Twenty -seventh. From whatever side and with whatever feeling we may glance at Mozart, we always meet with the genuine and pure nature of the artist, a nature filled with perennial love, which finds only joy and satisfaction in pro- ducing the beautiful, animated with the spirit of truth. Otto Jahn. Johann Wolfgang Mozart was born Janu- ary 27, 1756. 1 8 THE MUSICIAN'S YEAR BOOK. January Twenty-eighth. He is a good musician who understands the music without the score, and the score without the music. Robert Schumann. Louis Joseph Ferdinand Herold was born January 28, 1791. January Twenty-ninth. Music washes away from the soul the dust of every-day life. Auerbach. Franz Auber was born January 29, 1784. Frederick Cowen was born January 29, 1852. January Thirtieth. As the true poem is the poet's mind, so true expression is the artist's soul. Tapper. THE MUSICIAN'S YEAR BOOK. \q January Thirty-first. There was a time when I talked unwill- ingly of Schubert, whose name, I thought, should only be whispered at night to the trees and stars. Robert Schumann. Franz Peter Schubert was born January 3 1 , 1797- FEBRUARY. There is music in all things if men had ears. THE MUSICIAN'S YEAR BOOK. 23 February First. Save Mendelssohn, I know no other living artist but Bennett who has so much to say at so little expense. There may be bolder and more gifted ones, but none more neat and tender. Robert Schumann. Sterndale Bennett died February i, 1875. February Seeond. Palestrina's music has all its separate parts so beautiful that one would like to sing them all one's self. Hauptmann. Giovanni Palestrina died February 2, 1 594. 24 THE MUSICIAN'S YEAR BOOK. February Third. It is not his [Mendelssohn's] genius that surprises me and compels my admiration, for that he has from God. No, it is his inces- sant toil, his bee-like industry, his stern conscientiousness, his inflexibility toward himself, his actual adoration of art. Zelter. Felix Mendelssohn-Bartholdy was born February 3, 1809. Emile Prudent was born February 3, 181 7. February Fourth. Music should strike fire from the heart of man, and bring tears from the eyes of woman. Beethoven. THE MUSICIAN'S YEAR BOOK. 25 Michael Costa was born February 4, 1 8 1 o. Joseph Artot was born February 4, 181 5. February Fifth. What shall I say of Jenny Lind ? This wonderful astiste stands far too high in my estimation to be dragged down by common- place phrases such as newspaper writers so copiously indulge in. Moscheles. Jenny Lind and Otto Goldschmidt were married February 5, 1852. Ole Bull was born February 5, 1810. February Sixth. The barriers are not erected that can say to aspiring talents and industry, " Thus far and no farther." Beethoven. 26 THE MUSICIAN'S YEAR BOOK. February Seventh. True art endures forever, and the true ar- tist delights in the works of great minds. Beethoven. William Boyce died February 7, 1779. February Eighth. Make a habit to go into music, not over it. Tapper. February Ninth. Great is song used to great ends. Tennyson. Schroeder-Devrient died February 9, i860. Johann Ludwig Dussek was born Febru- ary 9, 1 761. THE MUSICIAN'S YEAR BOOK. 2 "J February Tenth. Love your instrument, but do not vainly suppose it the highest and only one. Schumann. February Eleventh. Although instrumental music cannot be sung, yet the player may render by adequate modulation its meaning, and the sad or joy- ous thoughts it is intended to express. Praetorius. February Twelfth. Every one who thinks genius can be with- out understanding, thinks without under- standing himself. Jean Paul. 28 THE MUSICIAN'S YEAR BOOK. February Thirteenth. The understanding is not a vessel which must be filled, but firewood, which needs to be kindled ; and love of learning and love of truth are what should kindle it. Plutarch. Richard Wagner died February 13, 1883. Von Biilow died February 13, 1894. Johann Burgmuller died February 13, 1874. February Fourteenth. Have you real talent for art ? Then study music, do something worthy of the art, and dedicate your whole soul to the beloved saint. Longfellow. THE MUSICIAN'S YEAR BOOK. 29 February Fifteenth. When any master holds 'Twixt chin and hand a violin of mine, He will be glad that Stradivari lived, Made violins, and made them of the best. George Eliot's " Stradivarius" Frederick Ernst was born February 15, 1789. February Sixteenth. Perfection should be the aim of every true artist. Beethoven. Leopold Damrosch died January 15, 1885. February Seventeenth. We must hear Italian music among the Italians. German music can be enjoyed under every heaven. Schumann. 3<D THE MUSICIAN'S YEAR BOOK. February Eighteenth. Paganini is the turning-point of virtuosity. Schumann. Paganini was born February 18, 1784. February Nineteenth. Lightlier move The minutes edged with music. Tennyson. Ernst Sivori died February 19, 1894, Giovanni Pacini was born February 19, 1796. February Twentieth. I will live alone and pour my pain with passion into music, where it turns to what is best within my better self. George Eliot. De BeViot was born February 20, 1802. THE MUSICIAN'S YEAR BOOK. 3 1 February Twenty-first. The most talented composers of the pres- ent day are pianists — a fact that has been observed during former epochs. Schumann. Carl Czerny was born February 21, 1791. Theodore Doehler died February 21, 1856. John Pyke Hullah died February 21, 1884. February Twenty-second. The sole aim of a composer should be the progress of his art. Gluck. Niels Wilhelm Gade was born February 22, 1817. Alexander Campbell was born February 22, 1764. 32 THE MUSICIAN'S YEAR BOOK. February Twenty-third. How divine is the vocation of art ! Mendelssohn. February Tiventy -fourth. Handel is the unequaled master of all masters. Go, turn to him and learn, with few means, how to produce such great effects. Beethoven. George Frederick Handel was born Feb- ruary 24, 1684. Johann Baptist Cramer was born Febru- ary 24, 1771. Arrigo Boito was born February 24, 1842. Gasparo Spontini died February 24, 185 1. February Twenty-fifth. In music you will soon find out what per- sonal benefit there is in being serviceable. THE MUSICIAN'S YEAR BOOK. 33 Get your voice disciplined and clear, and think only of accuracy. If you have any soul worth expressing it will show itself in your singing. Ruskin. Thomas Moore died February 25, 1852. February Twenty-sixth. Play to our nobler selves a strain triumphant, To victory a call! Then in the hour of temptation We'll soar above it all. Francis Albert Doughty. February Twenty-seventh. The human voice is really the foundation of all music. Wagner. Joseph Victor Capoul was born February 27, 1839. 34 THE MUSICIAN'S YEAR BOOK. February Twenty-eighth. I love not the men whose lives are not in unison with their works. Schumann. February Twenty-ninth. Music was taught to Achilles in order to moderate his passions. Homer. Gioacchimo Rossini was born February 29, 1792. Parish Alvars was born February 29, 1816. MARCH. I pant for music that is divine. Shelley THE MUSICIAN'S YEAR BOOK. 37 March First. When we speak of grace, enthusiasm, pres- ence of mind, nobility, and warmth of feel- ing, who does not think of Chopin ? Schumann. Frederick Chopin was born March i, 1809. Moscheles married Charlotte Embden March i, 1825. Theodore Kullak died March 1, 1882. March Second. Faith in his subject is an indispensable requisite in the work of an artist. Mendelssohn. Sir George Alexander Macfarren was born March 2, 1834. 38 THE MUSICIAN'S YEAR BOOK. March Third. Any fool can play fast, but it takes a good _ musician to play slowly. Anon. March Fourth. Artists will derive additional facility of execution from hearing and cultivating vocal as well as instrumental music. C. P. E. Bach. Charles Oberthur was born March 4, 1819. March Fifth. Pianistic technique implies, in its widest sense, a faultless mastery of every mechan- ical difficulty in the required tempo, and without any perceptible effort. Christiani. Alfred Jaell was born March 5, 1830. THE MUSICIAN'S YEAR BOOK. 39 March Sixth. True genius, so far from imitating the productions of others which command its admiration, is only impelled to new efforts by them. Weber. March Seventh. A composer who has the power to con- struct very beautiful works of art in a cer- tain form by inventing ideas, and by show- ing in a new light ideas not invented by him, deserves to be regarded as a great composer. Engel. March Eighth. True art is the result of knowledge and inspiration. Berlioz. 40 THE MUSICIAN'S YEAR BOOK. Hector Berlioz died March 8, 1869. Delphin Alard was born March 8, 181 5. March Ninth. For recreation from your musical studies read the poets frequently. Schumann. Muzio Clementi died March 9, 1832. Theodore Labarre was born March 9, 1805, and died March 9, 1870. March Tenth. Of the nine the loveliest three Are painting, music, poetry. But thou art freest of the free, Matchless muse of harmony. Grillparzer. ( Translated by Sir Walter Scott for Moscheles 's album in 1828.) THE MUSICIAN'S YEAR BOOK. 4 1 Ignaz Moscheles died March 10, 1870. Dudley Buck was born March 10, 1839. March Eleve?ith. Music is one of the greatest educators in the world, and the study of it in its highest departments, such as composition, harmony, and counterpoint, develops the mind as much as the study of mathematics or the languages. Anon. March Twelfth. Improve every opportunity of practising upon the organ : there is no instrument which takes such- speedy revenge on the impure and the slovenly in composition or in play- ing as the organ. Schumann. Felix Alexandre Guilmant was born March 12, 1837. 42 THE MUSICIAN'S YEAR BOOK. March Thirteenth. Music is such a perfect expression of human emotion that we can almost deduce from it a moral science — a rule of life. Goodrich. March Fourteenth. Art springs in its earliest beginnings from religion, and returns to it in its highest de- velopment. Ambrose. Philipp Emanuel Bach was born March 14, 1714. March Fifteenth. The love of the beautiful, next to the spir- itual perception of God and eternal relation- ships, must be admitted to be man's crown- ing distinction. Vancleve. THE MUSICIAN'S YEAR BOOK. 43 Maria Luigo Cherubini died March 15, 1842. March Sixteenth. The spirit of the artist is one of self-abne- gation, of devotion to ideal aims. Fillmore. John Baptiste Calkin was born March 16, 1827. March Seventeenth. Notions may be imported by books from abroad; ideas must be grown at home by thought. Hare. Rheinberger was born March 17, 1839. March Eighteenth. The best definition of true melody, in a higher sense, is something that may be sung. Ernst Hoffmann. 44 THE MUSICIAN'S YEAR BOOK. Madam Anna Bishop died March 18, 1884. March Nineteenth. He who can see the good in art-works is an abler and a far superior critic than he who sees only faults. Men. March Twentieth. The road to perfection, to mastership, lies in the direction of constant application. Werz. Johann Ludwig Dussek died March 20, 1812. March Twenty -first. To me it is with Bach as if the eternal harmonies discoursed with one another. Goethe. THE MUSICIAN'S YEAR BOOK. 45 Johann Sebastian Bach was born March 21, 1685. March Twenty-second. If by your art you cannot please all, con- tent the few. To please the multitude is bad. Schiller. Jean Baptiste Lully died March 22, 1687. Carl Rosa was born March 22, 1842. March Twenty-third. The love of beauty is taste ; the creation of beauty is art. Emerson. Franz Bendel was born March 23, 1833. 46 THE MUSICIAN'S YEAR BOOK. March Twenty -fourth. On life's dull stream, that niggard moves along, Shimmers the lively shadow-world of song. Schiller. Maria Felicia Malibran was born March 24, 1808. Thomas Attwood died March 24, 1838. March Twenty -fifth. Think more of your own progress than of the opinion of others. Mendelssohn. Francois Joseph F6tis was born March 25, 1784. March Twenty-sixth. In Beethoven imagination, feeling, intel- lect, and character are developed with equal THE MUSICIAN'S YEAR BOOK. 47 power, and in perfect harmony with one another. Von Elterlein. Ludwig von Beethoven died March 26, 1827. March Twenty -seventh. The masterworks of the past should be the standard of the works of the present. Franz. March Twenty-eighth. Music is calculated to compose the mind, and fit it for instruction. Aris tides. Gottlob Bachmann was born March 28, Johann Andre was born March 28, 1741. John Cheshire was born March 28, 1839. 48 THE MUSICIAN'S YEAR BOOK. March Twenty-ninth. It is one thing to give ourselves up to re- flection, and another to yield to inspiration. Beethoven. Johann Andreas Amon died March 29, 1825. March Thirtieth. The scholastic music had no art, the popu- lar music no science. Hullah. March Thirty-first. Joseph Haydn! A man who always held his gifts as a trust from the Maker of all, and who recognized his own stewardship by inscribing most of his writings, " To the praise of God." Ernst Patter. Joseph Haydn was born March 31, 1732. APRIL. A man may mirror his own nature in his playing. Schumann. THE MUSICIAN'S YEAR BOOK. 5 1 April First. All inmost things, we may say, are melodi- ous, naturally utter themselves in song. The meaning of song goes deep. Who is there that, in logical words, can express the effect music has on us ? Carlyle. April Second. What the learner discovers by mental ex- ertion is better known than what is told to him. Marcel. April TJiird. To the true artist music should be a neces- sity, not merely an occupation. R. Franz. 52 THE MUSICIAN'S YEAR BOOK. Friedrich Wilhelm Kiicken died April 3, 1882. April Fourth. It is essential that you train your mind more than your fingers. Moscheles. God has a few of us whom he whispers in the ear; The rest may reason, and welcome — 'tis we musicians know. Robert Brcnvning. April Fifth. Contact with the powers of others calls forth new ones in ourselves. Von Weber. Theodore Hagen was born April 5, 1826. S6bastien £rard was born April 5, 1752. THE MUSICIAN'S YEAR BOOK. 53 April Sixth. It is much easier to be critical than to be correct. D '■ } Israeli. Volkmann was born April 6, 1815. April Seventh. Harmony is a beautiful problem of which melody is the solution. Gretry. Giovanni Rubini was born April 7, 1795. April Eighth. Music is the outflow of a beautiful mind. Schumann. 54 THE MUSICIAN'S YEAR BOOK. Gaetano Donizetti died April 8, 1848. Anton Diabelli died April 8, 1858. April Ninth. Think you I felt myself a prima donna ? No, but a happy spiritual star, such as old' Dante saw, whose only self was conscious- ness of glory wide-diffused, music, life, power. George Eliot. Adelina Patti was born April 9, 1843. John Balsir Chatterton died April 9, 1871. April Tenth. We must ever strive after the highest, and never weary because others have earlier obtained the good to which we aspire. Mendelssohn. THE MUSICIAN'S YEAR BOOK. 55 The Leipzig Conservatoire was inaugu- rated April 10, 1843, with Mendelssohn at the head. Eugene d' Albert was born April i o, 1 864. April Eleventh. Music is never stationary ; successive forms and styles are only like so many resting- places — like tents pitched and taken down again on the road to the Ideal. Franz Liszt. John Alcock was born April 11, 171 5. April Twelfth. The beginning is half of the whole, and we all praise a good beginning. Plato. Charles Burney was born April 12, 1726 ; died April 12, 18 14. 56 THE MUSICIAN'S YEAR BOOK. April Thirtee?ith. Learn all there is to learn, and then choose your own path. Handel. Handel's oratorio, "The Messiah," was first performed April 13, 1742, at Dublin. The audience, with George II. at its head, rose at the Hallelujah Chorus, and the custom survives to the present day. George Frederick Handel died April 13 1759- Sterndale Bennett was born April 13, 18 16. April Fourteenth. You may be a genius and still trample art underfoot. You may be one only possess- THE MUSICIAN'S YEAR BOOK. 57 ing meager talent and still claim the respeci due to him who strives worthily. Ferdinand von Hiller. Lotus Niedermeyer died April 14, 1861. April Fifteenth. There is fame enough for one man in the " Overture to the Midsummer Night's Dream " of Mendelssohn. Schumann. James Bartlemann died April 15, 1821. Thomas Anderton was born April 15, 1836. April Sixteenth. In sweet music is such art, Killing care and grief of heart Fall asleep, or hearing, die. Shakespeare, 58 THE MUSICIAN'S YEAR BOOK. Johann Baptist Cramer died April 16, 1850. Gaetano Gaffarelli was born April 16, Domenico Dragonetti died April 16, 1846. April Seventeenth. We cannot understand a complete educa- tion of man without music. Jean Paul Richter. Ann Sheppard Mounsey Bartholomew was born April 17, 181 1. April Eighteenth. By the word " symphony " we designate the largest proportion hitherto attained in instrumental music. Schumann. THE MUSICIAN'S YEAR BOOK. 59 April Nineteenth. The tone-art shows the play of various emotions: it is an ideal representation of the individual life and its soul melodies. Carriere. April Twentieth. The man who labors only for money is selfish ; he who sacrifices all for fame is fool- ish ; he who lives for the truth is the true disciple. Men. Theodore Doehler was born April 20, 1814. April Twenty-first. From the bottom of my heart do I detest that one-sidedness of the uneducated many 60 THE MUSICIAN'S YEAR BOOK. who think that their own small vocation is the best, and that every other is a humbug. Schubert. George Benjamin Allen was born April 2 1 , 1822. April Twenty-seco?id. Musical rhythm drives away weariness, lessens fatigue, detaches the mind from the painful realities of life, and braces up the courage to meet danger. Anon. Henri Berton died April 22, 1844. April Twenty-third. A truly inspired artist always plunges into his work with enthusiastic abandon. Wagner. THE MUSICIAN'S YEAR BOOK. 6 1 April Twenty -fourth. The greatest beauties of melody and har- mony become faults and imperfections when they are not in their proper place. • Gluck. April Twenty-fifth. In a composition which is full of merit a critic should point out the faults ; in another which is full of faults he should look for the redeeming features. Hauptmann. Louis Spohr was born April 25, 1784. Tschaikowsky was born April 25, 1840. Alfred Scott Gatty was born April 25, 1847. 62 THE MUSICIAN'S YEAR BOOK. April Twenty -sixth. Good music has a logic of its own ; none more severe, and surely none so fascinating ; for it leads, it charms into the Infinite. Dwight. April Twenty-seventh, Every difficulty slurred over will be a ghost to disturb your repose later on. Chopin. Baron von Flotow was born April 27, 1812. Louis Niedermeyer was born April 27, 1802. Romberg was born April 27, 1767. THE MUSICIAN'S YEAR BOOK. 63 April Twenty-eighth. The aim of art is not only to copy the ex- amples of nature, but to beautify, to idealize, and to group and arrange them. Ernst Pauer. April Twenty-ninth. The musical genius of Germany is divided into three eras, each identified with a triad whose works have successively enlarged the domain of art — viz., Bach, Handel, and Gluck; Haydn, Mozart, and Beethoven; Weber, Mendelssohn, and Spohr. Ella. 64 THE MUSICIAN'S YEAR BOOK. April Thirtieth. Sing frequently in choruses, especially in the middle parts. This makes you musical. Schumann. Carl Formes died April 30, 1889. Sir Henry Rowley Bishop died April 30, i855- MAY. It was by music that mankind was harmonized. Herder. THE MUSICIAN'S YEAR BOOK. 67 May First. The crucial test of good vocal music is the intrinsic merit of the music when sepa- rated from the words, and that merit consists in the beauty of musical thought. Hiller. Emma Albertazzi was born May i, 1814. May Second. We soon grow weary of mere imitation, because it affords no food for our intellect. Veron. Giacomo Meyerbeer died May 2, 1864. May Third. Touch is to the pianist what a good man- agement of the voice is to the vocalist, or 68 THE MUSICIAN'S YEAR BOOK. a good action of the bow to a violinist — the means of producing agreeable sounds and of executing difficulties. Taylor. William Beale died May 3, 1854. May Fourth. Cheerfulness is one of the graces every artist should cultivate, and it should be de- veloped and increased. Sonnekalb. Felix Mendelssohn-Bartholdy and Cecile Jeanrenaud were married in May. May Fifth. In my opinion a musician's real work only begins when he has reached what is called perfection, viz., a point beyond which he has nothing apparently to learn. Mendelssohn. THE MUSICIAN'S YEAR BOOK. 69 May Sixth. It is art and science alone that reveal to us and give us the hope of a loftier life. Beethoven. May Seventh. What love is to the heart, that music is to the other arts and to man, for music is love itself. Weber. Parepa Rosa was born May 7, 1830. Beethoven's ninth symphony was played first May 7, 1824. Brahms was born May 7, 1833. May Eighth. As Beethoven regarded his art as some- thing sacred, which he placed higher than all 70 THE MUSICIAN'S YEAR BOOK. philosophy, so has a refined artist an innate horror of all vulgar, frivolous, and effeminate music. Ambros. May Ninth. Music is evidently a necessity of our ex- istence, and the more the taste for it is de- veloped in its highest form the greater will be our appreciation of the good and beautiful. Anon. Ciro E. Pinsuti was born May 9, 1829. May Tenth. It is only in original work that genius ripens to maturity. Richard Wagner. The grand festival march was composed by Wagner for the opening of the Centen- nial Exhibition, Philadelphia, May 10, 1876. THE MUSICIAN'S YEAR BOOK. 7 1 May Eleventh. Technique should not seek to shine by itself, and least of all give the impression of being the performer's strongest point. Chris Hani. May Twelfth. When technique, already faultless, is quali- fied by refinement and poetry in touch and taste, it ceases to be simply mechanical, and becomes artistic. Christiani. Adolph Henselt was born May 12, 1814. Massenet was born May 12, 1842. May Thirteenth. He who has not been a servant cannot become a praiseworthy master. Plato. f2 THE MUSICIAN'S YEAR BOOK. Daniel Francois Auber died May 13, 1871. John Sullivan Dwight was born May 13, 1813. Arthur Sullivan was born May 13, 1842. May Fourteenth. You must gradually make acquaintance with all the more important works of all the important masters. Schumann. fimile Prudent died May 14, 1863. May Fifteenth. Seek among your associates those who know more than you. Schumann. Alexander Campbell died May 15, 1824. John Wall Calcott died May 15, 1821. Stephen Heller was born May 15, 181 5. THE MUSICIAN'S YEAR BOOK. 73 May Sixteenth. Consider it a monstrosity to alter or to leave out anything, or to introduce any new- fangled ornaments, in pieces by a good com- poser. That is the greatest outrage you can do to art. Schumann. May Seventeenth. Perfection even in a sphere the most for- eign to us leaves its own stamp on the mind. Mendelssohn. Fanny Cecile Mendelssohn Hensel died May 17, 1848. May Eighteenth. Beauty in music lies not alone in the agreeable union of sweet tones, but also is 74 THE MUSICIAN'S YEAR BOOK. largely couched in the symmetry of struc- ture which we call rhythm and form. Anon. Karl Goldmark was born May 18, 1832. May Nineteenth. It is not enough for us to be musicians only. We must be men and women of gen- eral information, of liberal education — in short, men and women of culture. Gates. May Twentieth. I am inclined to think that only men of genius understand each other fully and thor- oughly. Schumann. Jean Henri Ravina was born May 20, 1818. THE MUSICIAN'S YEAR BOOK. 75 May Ttventy-first. Time goes on, and what sufficed for one age appears to the next as a woeful short- coming. Beethoven. Abbe* Giuseppe Baini died May 21, 1844. May Twenty -second. To Wagner at birth the gods gave two gifts — a capacity to receive and to retain the most various and the most intense impres- sions, and, as he phrases it, " the ever intensi- fied spirit that ever seeks new things." Dannrenther. Richard Wagner was born May 22, 1813. The corner-stone of Wagner's theater was laid May 22, 1872. Domenico Corri died May 22, 1825. 76 THE MUSICIAN'S YEAR BOOK. May Twenty -third. An assiduous and persevering cultivation ot a talent is as necessary as the talent itself. Engel. May Twenty -fourth. Music requires, indeed, a code of rules just as poesy requires a system of versification. Thibaut. Frederick Ernst died May 24, 1826. May Twenty-fifth. An enemy is always a keen searcher for faults, while a friend seeks to find also our good qualifications. The critic should be a friend. Merz. THE MUSICIAN'S YEAR BOOK. 77 May Twenty-sixth. Music produces like effects on the mind as good medicine on the body. Mirandola. May Twenty-seventh. Music requires inspiration. Ghtck. Nicoli Paganini died May 27, 1840. Halevy was born May 27, 1799. Joseph Joachim Raff was born May 27, 1822. May Twenty -eighth. As the study of geometry trains the mind in the abstract, so the study of music trains the emotions in the abstract. Anon. Thomas Moore was born May 28, 1779. Luigi Boccherini died May 28, 1805. 78 THE MUSICIAN'S YEAR BOOK. May Twenty -ninth. I verily think, and am not ashamed to say, that, next to divinity, no art is comparable to music. Martin Luther. May Thirtieth. It is cheering once more to meet an artist [Moscheles] who is not a victim to envy, jealousy, or miserable egotism. Mendelssohn. Ignaz Moscheles was born May 30, 1794. May Tfiirty-first. How in keeping is a musical love so warm and a musical proficiency so general with a nation which has given to the world a Mozart, a Haydn, a Beethoven! Trotter. Franz Joseph Haydn died May 31, 1809. JUNE. Music to the mind is as air to the body. Plato. THE MUSICIAN'S YEAR BOOK. 8 1 June First. inspiration is after all the noblest attribute in an artist. Hanptynann. Ignez Josef Pleyel was born June i, 1757. June Second. Music is architecture translated or trans- posed from space into time ; for in music, besides the deepest feeling, there reigns also a rigorous, mathematical intelligence. Hegel. Manuel Garcia died June 2, 1832. June Third. The aim of all arts is the same, though every one of them arrives at its own ends by different roads. Hitter. 82 THE MUSICIAN'S YEAR BOOK. Alexander George Bizet died June 3, 1875. John Christmas Beckwith died June 3, 1809. June Fourth. Music, sphere-descended maid, Friend of pleasure, Wisdom's aid! Collins. June Fifth. There never lived a musician more Ger- man than thou. England renders thee jus- tice, France admires thee, but Germany alone can love thee. Richard Wagner (at Von Weber's grave). Carl Maria von Weber died June 5, 1826. June Sixth. Why music was ordained ? Was it not to refresh the mind of man THE MUSICIAN'S YEAR BOOK. 83 After his studies, or his usual pain ? Then give me leave to read philosophy, And while I pause serve in your harmony. Shakespeare. Henri Vieuxtemps died June 6, 1881. June Seventh. What can wake the soul's strongest in- stinct of another world like music ? L. E. Landon. June Eighth. No art is more closely connected with the inner life of man than music, whose magic power steps in precisely at the point where the positive expression of language fails. Ritter. 84 THE MUSICIAN'S YEAR BOOK. Luigi Ricci was born June 8, 1805. Giuseppe Antonio Guarnerius was born June 8, 1683. June Ninth. Music is the essence of order, and leads to all that is good, just, and beautiful. Plato. June Tenth. The mind alone, whose every thought is rhythm, can embody music, can comprehend its mysteries, its divine inspirations, and can speak to the senses of its intellectual revela- tion. Beethoven. Charles Ainslie Barry was born June 10, 1830. Frederick Michael Kalkbrenner died June 10, 1849. THE MUSICIAN'S YEAR BOOK. 85 June Eleventh. The purest music will produce the purest sentiments. How important, then, that we should study the best! C. Merz. Anna Mehlig was born June n, 1846. June Twelfth. " While the painter or sculptor must bor- row the raiment for his idea from the human form or the landscape, the musician is alone with his imagination." Angelica Catalini died June 12, 1846. Edward Horsley died June 12, 1858. June TJiirteenth. Healthy criticism, such as is based on true art-knowledge, is very healthful to the pro- 86 THE MUSICIAN'S YEAR BOOK. gress of art ; yes, we may call it the very life of art. Merz. Henry Charles Banister was born June 13, 1831. June Fourteenth. A fugue, sonata, or symphony, studied sci- entifically, in all the relations of the separate parts to one another and to the whole, de- mands for its proper comprehension intellec- tual powers and training. Fillmore. June Fifteenth. The air we breathe penetrates even to the inward man. A man's life and work are greatly influenced by his surroundings. Schumann. Edward Grieg was born June 15, 1843. Orlando di Lasso died June 15, 1594. THE MUSICIAN'S YEAR BOOK. S'J June Sixteenth. I need not tell you that music bears upon its wings some of the sweetest and purest pleasures of the passing hour, whether it gushes forth from the human lips or from the breath of old ^Eolus upon his throne. Dr. John Hall. Etelka Gerster was born June 16, 1857. June Seventeenth. O Music, thou who bringest the receding waves of eternity nearer to the weary heart of man as he stands upon the shore and longs to cross over, art thou the evening breeze of life or the morning air of the future? Jean Paul Richter. Henriette Sontag died June 17, 1854. Charles Gounod was born June 17, 18 18. 88 THE MUSICIAN'S YEAR BOOK. June Eighteenth. It is in music, perhaps, that the soul most nearly attains the great end for which, when inspired by the poetic sentiment, it struggles — the creation of supernal beauty. Edgar Allen Poe. Johann Andre died June 18, 1799. David Popper was born June 18, 1846. June Nineteenth. Every note of Mozart's is a round in the ladder of the spheres, by which he ascended to the heaven of perfection. Jean Paul Richter. Walter Bache was born June 19, 1842. Ferdinand David was born June 19, 18 10. THE MUSICIAN'S YEAR BOOK. 89 June Twentieth. Even in the most intricate compositions, and particularly in those which express his most mysterious feelings, the artist should employ simple form in order to render his ideas clear and intelligible. Stephen Heller. June Twenty-first. All music is an idealization of the natural language of passion. Herbert Spencer. Charles Frederick Curschmann was born June 21, 1805. June Twenty-second. My sphere extends to regions which to the poet and painter are not easily accessible. Beethoven. go THE MUSICIAN'S YEAR BOOK. June Twenty -third. Chopin gave a concert in London June 23, 1848. After the hammer and tongs in the piano to which we have of late years been accus- tomed, the delicacy of Chopin's touch is de- licious to the ear. Choreley's criticism. Carl Reinecke was born June 23, 1824. June Twenty -fourth. The esthetic principle is the same in every art, only the material differs. Schumann. Mehul was born June 24, 1763. Jtine Twenty-fifth. Mendelssohn's " Hymn of Praise " was performed for the first time on the 25th of THE MUSICIAN'S YEAR BOOK. 9 1 June at the celebration of the fourth cente- nary of printing. June Twenty -sixth. Music, once admitted to the soul, becomes a sort of spirit, and never dies. Bulwer. June Twenty-seventh. He who sets limits to himself will always be expected to remain within them. Schumann. John Pyke Hullah was born June 27, 1812. August Wilhelm Ambros died June 27, 1876. June Twenty -eighth. The works of those who have stood the test of ages have a claim to that respect 92 THE MUSICIAN'S YEAR BOOK. and veneration to which no modern can pretend. Sir Joshua Reynolds. Robert Franz was born June 28, 181 5. Josef Joachim was born June 28, 1831. June Twenty -ninth. The three requisites of a good singer are natural talent, artistic training, and practice. Praetorius. J. Campanini was born June 29, 1846. June Thirtieth. A singer who is not able to recite his part according to the intention of the poet can- not possibly sing it according to the inten- tion of the composer. Wagner. Edward John Hopkins was born June 30, 1818. JULY. Exalt art, and art will elevate you. Booth. THE MUSICIAN'S YEAR BOOK. 95 July First. Listen attentively to all folk-songs : these are a treasure of lovely melodies, and will teach you the characteristics of different nations. Schumann. July Second. Simplicity, truth, and naturalness are the great principles of the beautiful in all pro- ductions of art. Glitck. Christoph Willibald von Gluck was born July 2, 1 7 14. July Third. Merely to have learned how to learn is a great advance. Menander. Franz Bendel died July 3, 1874. 96 THE MUSICIAN'S YEAR BOOK. July Fourth. If an artist does not himself feel what is great, how can he succeed in making me feel it ? Mendelssohn. William Byrd died July 4, 1623. July Fifth. Art in general is that magic instrumental- ity by which man's mind reveals to man's senses that great mystery, the beautiful. Ritter. William Crotch was born July 5, 1775. July Sixth. Genius is the most beautiful gift with which nature favors mankind from time to time. THE MUSICIAN'S YEAR BOOK. 97 Through it we are allowed to enjoy what is most sublime — self-oblivion in a loftier life. F. Hiller. July Seventh. Before a man can produce anything great, he must understand the means by which he has to produce it. Goethe. July Eighth. On the 8th of July, 1791, the degree of Doctor of Music was conferred on Haydn by the University of Oxford. Ye peddlers in art, do ye not sink into the earth when ye are reminded of the words uttered by Beethoven on his dying-bed : " I believe I am yet but at the beginning " ? Schumann. Robert Schumann was born July 8, 1810. 98 THE MUSICIAN'S YEAR BOOK. July Ninth. Mannerism is a false idealism, a personi- fied ideal ; for this reason it rarely lacks a certain intellectuality. Goethe. July Tenth. Tis God gives skill, But not without men's hands: he could not make Antonio Stradivari's violins Without Antonio. George ElioVs Stradivarius. Wieniawski was born July 10, 1835. July Eleventh. That composer is greatest who most clearly discerns the true ends and capabilities of his THE MUSICIAN'S YEAR BOOK. 99 art ; who aims to give worthy expression to the noblest emotional experience. Fillmore. July Twelfth. I am too like the pedant who, seeing a virtuoso quietly continue playing when his music had fallen from his desk, cried out in hot excitement, " Look, look, that is indeed art ! He knows it by heart ! " Schumann. Jean Ancot died July 12, 1848. July Thirteenth. The mind which is not gifted with the powers of imagination may be fitted for other studies than music, but in the arts it will always be dull and inert. Merz. IOO THE MUSICIAN'S YEAR BOOK. July Fourteenth. Schubert wrote for silence : half his work Lay like a frozen Rhine till summer came, That warmed the grass above him. Even so ! His music lives now with a mighty youth. George Eliot. July Fifteenth. She longed for music that was natural ; Physicians said it was medicinal ! The humors might be schooled by true con- sent Of a fine tenor and fine instrument. . George Eliot. Carlo Farinelli died July 15, 1782. Carl Czerny died July 15, 1857. John Barnett was born July 15, 1802. THE MUSICIAN'S YEAR BOOK IOI July Sixteenth. A certain music never known before Here lulled the pensive, melancholy mind. Thomson- Luigi Arditi was born July 16, 1825. July Seventeenth. What shines and glitters has its birth But for the present hour alone ; The Real — the thing of truth and worth — To all posterity goes down. Goethe. July Eighteenth. The quality which Chopin most valued in the player was a sympathetic touch. Charles Williby. 102 THE MUSICIAN'S YEAR BOOK. Pauline Viardot Garcia was born July 18, 1821. July Nineteenth. Lose no opportunity of playing music- duos, trios, etc. — with others. This will make your playing broader and more flowing. Schumann. Ferdinand David died July 19, 1873. July Twentieth. One of the principal elements of genius is strength of will to control the mind and com- mand the mental energies. Anon. July Twenty-first. The laws of morality are also the laws of art. Schumann. THE MUSICIAN'S YEAR BOOK. I 03 Johann Nepomuk Miilzel died July 21, 1838, at sea, on his way to the United States. Robert Burns died July 21, 1796. July Twenty-second. The aim of all arts is the same, though every one of them arrives at its own end by different roads. Ritter. July Twenty-third. Every artist of genius breathes into his work an unexpressed idea, which speaks to our feelings even before it can be defined. F. Liszt. July Twenty -fourth. We are often made to feel with a shivering delight that from an earthly harp are stricken 104 THE MUSICIAN'S YEAR BOOK. notes which cannot have been unfamiliar to the angels. Edgar Allen Poc. Felix Godefroid was born July 24, 181 8. Adolph Charles Adam was born July 24, 1803. July Twenty-fifth. Without imagination no perfection in art is possible. Merz. Ferdinand Beyer was born July 25, 1803. Horton Claridge Allison was born July 25, 1846. July Twenty-sixth. The human voice is really the foundation of all music ; and whatever the development of the art, whatever the boldest combinations THE MUSICIAN'S YEAR BOOK. 1 05 of a composer or the most brilliant execution of a virtuoso, in the end they must always return to the standard set by vocal music. Wagner. " Parsifal " was first performed July 26, 1882. John Field was born July 26, 1782. July Twenty -seventh. Music doth not only expel the greatest griefs, but it doth extenuate fears and furies, appeaseth cruelty, abateth heaviness, and to such as are watchful it causeth great rest. Cassiodorus. George Onslow was born July 27, 1784. July Twenty -eighth. The concert of musicians at a banquet is as a carbuncle set in gold ; and as the signet 106 THE MUSICIAN'S YEAR BOOK. of an emerald well trimmed with gold, so is the melody of music at a pleasant banquet. Epictetus. Giulietta Grisi was born July 28, 181 1. July Twenty-ninth. Be sure the works of mighty men, The good, the faithful, the sublime, Stored in the gallery of Time, Repose awhile — to wake again. Goethe. Robert Schumann died July 29, 1856. July Thirtieth. A deeper insight into Bach's works cannot fail to further the progress of art. Moscheles. Johann Sebastian Bach died July 30, 1750. THE MUSICIAN'S YEAR BOOK. 107 July Thirty-first. Liszt will certainly be known in the history of pianoforte music as the greatest virtuoso of his time. Fillmore. Franz Liszt died July 31, 1886. John Bishop was born July 31, 181 7. AUGUST. All deep things are song. Carlyle. THE MUSICIAN'S YEAR BOOK. Ill August First. Do not give Beethoven to the children ; strengthen them with Mozart, brimming with rich vitality. Schumann. Elizabeth Randies, the little Cambrian prodigy, was born August i, 1800. August Second. The most talented composers of the pres- ent day are pianists — a fact that has been observed during former epochs. Schumann. Jules Schulhoff was born August 2, 1825. 112 THE MUSICIAN'S YEAR BOOK. August Tfiird. The one thing you have to do is to make a clear-voiced little instrument of yourself, which other people can depend upon entirely for the note wanted. Ruskin. Christine Nilssen was born August 3, 1843. August Fourth. Music resembles poetry : in each Are nameless graces which no methods teach, And which a master hand alone can reach. Pope. Francis Edward Bache died August 4, 1858. Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart and Con- stanze Weber were married August 4, 1782. THE MUSICIAN'S YEAR BOOK. 113 August Fifth. There is no feeling, perhaps, except the extremes of fear and grief, that does not find relief in music, that does not make a man sing or play better. George Eliot. Ambrose Thomas was born August 5, 1811. Robert Lucas de Pearsall died August 5, 1856. August Sixth. Natural gift may produce a poet, but it does not make a musician. The highest perfection is reached only by untiring prac- tice and almost ceaseless work. F. Brendel. 114 THE MUSICIAN'S YEAR BOOK. August Seventh. That music is the usefulest which makes the best words most beautiful, which en- chants them in our memory, each with its own glory of sound, and which applies them closest to the heart at the moment we need them. Ruskin. Carl Formes was born August 7, 1818. August Eighth. Do you not recall How the words fitted to the melody — A carol joyous as it spread its wings, And falling into minors at its close ? Francis Howard Williams. THE MUSICIAN'S YEAR BOOK. 1 15 August Ninth. Dare talent permit itself to take the same liberties as genius ? Yes ; but the former will perish where the latter triumphs. Schumann. August Tenth. "Without haste, without rest," says Goethe. This should be the motto of every aspirant for musical honors. Anon. August Eleventh. Music is love ; it springs from religion and leads to religion. Hanslick. Catherine Hayes died August n, 1861. [l6 THE MUSICIAN'S YEAR BOOK. August Twelfth. Were it not for music we might in these days say the beautiful is dead. D 1 Israeli. Monument erected to Beethoven at Bonn, August 12, 1845. Niccolo Amati died August 12, 1684. Joseph Barnby was born August 12, 1838. The Rev. Sir F. A. Gore Ouseley was born August 12, 1825. August Thirteenth. Wouldst thou know if a people be well governed, if its laws be good or bad, exam- ine the music it practises. Confucius. William Thomas Best was born August 13, 1826. THE MUSICIAN'S YEAR BOOK. I I 7 August Fourteenth. Music is designed for the masses ; it is one of the principal means, outside of Chris- tianity, to refine the masses. Merz. William Croft died August 14, 1727. August Fifteenth. The teacher is the mediator between the pure and high art, as shown in the works of great masters, and between the young and the coming generation. Louis Kohler. Johann Nepomuk Malzel was born August August Sixteenth. Thoroughness is better than cheap ap- plause, and inexhaustible patience that works Il8 THE MUSICIAN'S YEAR BOOK. on and bides its time shall not fail of its re- ward. Anon. Heinrich Marschner was born August 16, 1795- August Seventeenth. There are many minds that only work effectively when they do so under compul- sion. Schumann. August Eighteenth. Art and composition tolerate no conven- tional fetters ; mind and soul soar above them. Joseph Haydn. Benjamin Godard was born August 18, 1849. Ole Bull died August 18, 1880. THE MUSICIAN'S YEAR BOOK. 1 19 August Nineteenth. Three trifles are essential for a good piano or singing teacher: the finest feeling, the deepest feeling, the most delicate ear, and in addition the requisite knowledge, energy, and some practice. Friedrich Wieck. Niccold Porpora was born August 1 9, 1 686. August Twentieth. Whatever may be the permanent signifi- cance of Mendelssohn's best work, he was, as man, musician, conductor, pianist, organ- ist, and composer, one of the most powerful influences in molding the musical thoughts and shaping the musical tendencies of the second and third quarters of this century. Fillmore. 120 THE MUSICIAN'S YEAR BOOK. August Twenty-first. There is but one class of men who con- demn music, and those are fanatics, and there is only one order of beings, according to Luther, who hate it, and those are devils. Mower. August Twenty-second. Art ! Who can say that he fathoms it ? Who is there capable of discussing the nature of this great goddess ? Beethoven. August Twenty -third. One begins by resolving to know every- thing ; soon he despairs of knowing any- thing ; at last he is glad to know something. Van Cleve. THE MUSICIAN'S YEAR BOOK. 121 Emanuel Aguilar was born August 23, 1824. Moritz Moskowski was born August 23, 1854. August Twenty -fourth. It is the duty of every composer to make himself familiar with all the works of the older and modern poets, in order to choose for his vocal music the best and most ade- quate words. Beethoven. Karl Friedrich Curschmann died August 24, 1841. August Twenty '-fifth. Mannerism is displeasing in the original, to say nothing of the same faults in copyists. Schumann. 122 THE MUSICIAN'S YEAR BOOK. August Twenty -sixth. Art is a great fugue into which the differ- ent individualities and nationalities step and become resolved, like the different subjects, one after another. Schumann. August Twenty-seventh. The most difficult art known to art is to teach art. Anon. Theresa Parodi was born August 27, 1827. Josquin Des Pres died August 27, 1521. August Twenty-eighth. I willingly renounce the world, which has no presentiment that music is a higher reve- lation than all their wisdom and philosophy. Beethoven. Niccolo Jomonelli died August 28, 1769. THE MUSICIAN'S YEAR BOOK. I 23 August Twenty-ninth. We see that several airs and tunes do please several nations and persons, accord- ing to the sympathy they have with their spirits. Lord Bacon. August Thirtieth. Reverence the old, but meet the new also with a warm heart. Cherish no prejudice against names unknown to you. Schumann. August Thirty-first. Art is not for the end of getting riches. Only become a greater and a greater artist ; the rest will come of itself. Schumann. Francois Andre Philidor died August 31, 1729. SEPTEMBER. Melody is, and ever will be, the v ery jlcnver of music. Ambros. THE MUSICIAN'S YEAR BOOK. I 27 September First. Exercise your imagination so that you may acquire the power of remembering not only the melody of a composition, but also the harmonies which accompany it. Schumann. September Second. Fancy and feeling go naturally together, and, indeed, ought to be united; but such union is rare, and is one of the surest signs of genius. Patter. September Third. Do not take up the violin unless you mean to work hard at it. Any other instrument may be more safely trifled with. Haweis. Niccolo Amati was born at Cremona, Sep- tember 3, 1596. 128 THE MUSICIAN'S YEAR BOOK. September Fourth. Whatever speculative knowledge is neces- sary for the artist is equally so for the con- noisseur. Sir Joshua Reynolds. Auguste Emil Wilhelmj was born Septem- ber 4, 1845. September Fifth. * The musician cannot transcribe Nature, but he can tell us what he felt at her touch. Barbedetti. Jacob Meyerbeer was born September 5, 1794. September Sixth. Contrast, not uniformity, is a condition of every work of art. Christiani. THE MUSICIAN'S YEAR BOOK. 129 Anton Diabelli was born September 6, 1781. September Seventh. I hold that every composer has a merit of his own which is determined by the intrinsic value of his works. C. P. E. Bach. Francois Andre Philidor was born Sep- tember 7, 1726. September Eighth. So that genius exists it matters little how it appears — whether in the depths, as with Bach, or in the heights, as with Mozart, or in the depths and on the heights at once, as with Beethoven. Schumann. Antonin Dvorak was born September 8, 1841. 130 THE MUSICIAN'S YEAR BOOK. September Ninth. The first and most indispensable quality of any artist is to feel respect for great men, and to bow down in spirit before them ; to recognize their merits, and not to endeavor to extinguish their great flame in order that his own feeble rushlight may burn a little brighter. Mendelssohn. September Tenth. It is by pictures and music, by art and song and symbolic representations, that all nations have been educated in their adoles- cence. Charles Kings ley. September Eleventh. They are never alone that are accom- panied by noble thoughts. Sir Philip Sidney. THE MUSICIAN'S YEAR BOOK. 131 Niccolo Jomelli was born September n, 1714. September Twelfth. Beauty is visible harmony. Aristotle. Robert Schumann and Clara Wieck were married September 12, 1840. Theodore Kullak was born September 12, 1818. Jean Philip Rameau died September 12, 1764. September Thirteenth. It is music's lofty mission to shed light on the depths of the human heart. Schumann. Clara Wieck was born September 13, i8iq. IJ2 THE MUSICIAN'S YEAR BOOK. September Fourteenth. An artist will be more or less inspired ac- cording to how his thoughts correspond and awaken in him his own sensitiveness. La Vallee. Maria Salvador Cherubini was born Sep- tember 14, 1760. Benjamin Cooke died September 14, 1793. September Fifteenth. The Realistic is the truth, a close copy of nature. The Ideal is what a man wishes were true. Van Cleve. Pierre Marie Baillot died September 15, 1842. THE MUSICIAN'S YEAR BOOK. 133 September Sixteenth. It is an indisputable fact that in the union of poetry and music the stronger and more immediate effect is produced by the latter. Ferdinand Hi Her. Ernest Henri Boulanger was born Sep- tember 16, 181 5. September Seventeenth. For Orpheus' lute was strong with poets' sinews, Whose golden touch could soften steel and stones. Shakespeare. Henri Berton was born September 17, 1767. 134 THE MUSICIAN'S YEAR BOOK. September Eighteenth. Thus did Jubal to his race reveal Music, their larger soul, where woe and weal, Filling the resonant chords, the song, the dance, Moved with a wider- winged utterance. George Eliot. September Nineteenth. Music with her silver sound With speedy help doth lend redress. Shakespeare. James Bartlemann was born September 19, 1769. Bartolommeo Campagnoli was born Sep- tember 19, 1 75 1. THE MUSICIAN'S YEAR BOOK. 135 September Twentieth. It hath been anciently held and observed that the sense of hearing and the kinds of music have most operation upon manners. Lord Bacon. September Twenty-first. Give me the best piano in Europe, and listeners who understand nothing and who do not sympathize with me in what I am doing — I no longer feel any pleasure. Mozart. Septe?nber Twenty -second. Is not the precept of a musician to fall from a discord or harsh accord alike true in affection ? Is not the delight of quavering 136 THE MUSICIAN'S YEAR BOOK. upon a stop in music the same with the play- ing of light upon the water ? Lord Bacon. September Twenty-third. Music is God's best gift to man, the only art of heaven given to earth, the only art of earth we take to heaven. Landor. C6cile Mendelssohn died September 23, 1853- Maria Felicita Malibran died September 23, 1836. Vincenzo Bellini died September 23, 1835. September Twenty -fourth There are few artists whom I respect more than a first-class amateur, and there are few that I respect less than a second-rate one. Mendelssohn. THE MUSICIAN'S YEAR BOOK. 1 37 September Twenty-fifth. Among the many essential qualifications of the musician the grandest of all is a poetic imagination. It reveals to him many beauti- ful things that elude the casual observer. Lovejoy. Jean Philip Rameau was born September 25, 1683. Gaetano Donizetti was born September 25, 1798. September Twe?ity -sixth. With varied fire He roused the trumpet and the martial fife, Or bade the lute sweet tenderness inspire. Thomson. 138 THE MUSICIAN'S YEAR BOOK. September Twenty -seventh. But few artists approach the perfection which is needed in unadorned form or sim- ple tune. Christiani. Hermann Wollenhaupt was born Septem- ber 27, 1827. September Twenty -eighth. To the true artist music should be a ne- cessity, and not merely an occupation. He should not manufacture music ; he should live in it. Robert Fjanz. September Twenty-ninth. True virtuosity gives us something more than mere flexibility and execution. A man may mirror his own nature in his playing. Schumann. THE MUSICIAN'S YEAR BOOK. 139 September Thirtieth. We live in this world in order always to learn industriously, and to enlighten each other by means of discussion, and to strive vigorously to promote the progress of sci- ence and the fine arts. Mozart. Mozart's " Magic Flute " performed first September 30, 1791. OCTOBER. Music is a beautiful and glorious gift of God. Praetorius. THE MUSICIAN'S YEAR BOOK. 143 October First. Every man is bound to cultivate his high- est gifts. Schumann. Pierre Marie Baillot was born October i, 1771. Henri Bertini died October i, 1876. John Blow died October 1, 1708. October Second. Unless you are suffused with beauty, truth, wisdom, goodness, and love, abandon the hope that the ages will accept you as an artist. Sidney Lanier. October TJiird. Freedom and progress are our true aim in the world of art, just as in the great crea- tion at large. Beethoven. 144 THE MUSICIAN'S YEAR BOOK. Waldemar Bargiel was born October 3, 1828. October Fourth. A musician's highest aim is to apply his powers to religious music. Schumann. Fanny Persiani was born October 4, 181 8. Stephen Albert Emory was born October 4, 1 84 1. Jacob Blumenthal was born October 4, 1829. October Fifth. What is Beethoven's genius until Bee- thoven has become a scientific man to the extent of knowing the science of musical form, of orchestration, and of harmony ? Sidney Lanier. THE MUSICIAN'S YEAR BOOK. 1 45 October Sixth. Jenny Lind sang Mendelssohn's " Hear my Prayer " so exquisitely that none who heard it can ever forget the impression she created. Moscheles. Jenny Lind was born October 6, 1820. Schroeder-Devrient was born October 6, 1805. October Seventh. Musical art recognizes two kinds of music — artistic music, the production of the artist, and national music, the production of the people. If we liken music to flowers the former would be the cultivated, the latter the wild flowers. Chrlstiani. 146 THE MUSICIAN'S YEAR BOOK. October Eighth. Counterpoint is related to mathematics. A fool with patience becomes a respectable savant in that, but for the part of genius, melody, it has no rules. De Stendhal. Francois Adrien Boildieu died October 8, 1834. Heinrich Wilhelm Ernst died October 8, 1865. October Ninth. The greater the advances we make in art the less we are satisfied with our works of an early date. Beethoven. Francois Joseph Campbell died October 9, 1834. THE MUSICIAN'S YEAR BOOK. *47 Saint-Saens was born October 9, 1835. Giuseppe Verdi was born October 9, 18 14. October Tenth. Playing in public from memory, whether it be done out of charlatanism or daring, is always a proof of uncommon musical powers. Schumann. October Eleventh. Acquire an early knowledge of directing, watch good directors closely, and form a habit of directing with them silently and to yourself. This brings clearness into you. Schumann. Theodore Thomas was born October 11, 148 THE MUSICIAN'S YEAR BOOK. October Twelfth. Melody is the golden thread running through the maze of tones, by which the ear is guided and the heart reached. Christiani. John L. Hatton was born October 12, 1809. October Thirteenth. In the abstract we may regard melody as the moving element ; harmony, on the other hand, as the stable element in music. Moritz Hauptmann. Moritz Hauptmann was born October 13, 1792. October Fourteenth. The worth of art appears most eminent in music, since it requires no material, no sub- THE MUSICIAN'S YEAR BOOK. 149 ject-matter, whose effect must be deducted ; it is wholly form and power, and it raises and ennobles whatever it expresses. Goethe. October Fifteenth. The artist never seeks to represent the positive truth, but the idealized image of the truth. Bulwer. William Alexander Barrett was born Octo- ber 15, 1836. Madame Caradori Allan died October 15, 1865. Alexander Dreyschock was born October 15, 1818. October Six teen th. The older I become, so much the more clearly do I perceive how important it is 150 THE MUSICIAN'S YEAR BOOK. first to learn, and then to form opinions — not the latter before the former ; also not both at once. Mendelssohn. John Francis Barnett was born October 16, 1837. October Seventeenth. In every piece we find, in his own refined hand, written in pearls : " This is by Fred- erick Chopin." We recognize him even in his pauses, and by his impetuous respiration. He is the boldest, the proudest poet soul of to-day. Schumann. Frederick Chopin died October 17, 1848. Johann Nepomuk Hummel died October *7> i»37- THE MUSICIAN'S YEAR BOOK. 151 October Eighteenth. All that is mortal and perishable will gradually weary us ; truth alone will endure. Merz. Etienne Henri Mehul died October 18, 1817. October Nineteenth. If the composer can only move the imag- inative power of his hearers, and call forth some one image, some one thought — it mat- ters not what — he has attained his object. Mendelssohn. October Twentieth. Many critics mistake the rules of the the- ory of music for the rules by which to criti- cize the beautiful in it. Merz. 152 THE MUSICIAN'S YEAR BOOK. October Twenty-first. The sole aim of the composer should be the progress of his art. Gluck. Abb6 Giuseppe Baini was born October «> I 775- Alexander Choron was born October 21, 1772. Michael William Balfe died October 21, 1870. October Twenty -second. No amount of adverse criticism can de- tract in any way from the intrinsic value of a composition. Lndwig Spohr. Ludwig Spohr died October 22, 1859. Jean Ancot was born October 22, 1779. Franz Liszt was born October 22, 181 1. THE MUSICIAN'S YEAR BOOK. I 53 Leopold Damrosch was born October 22, 1832. October Tiventy-third. Just as a writer who speaks to the heart is sure to please, so is a composer who gives the player something which he cannot only play and enjoy himself, but make others en- joy too. Zelter. October Twenty -fourth. In many respects Wagner resembles Na- poleon III. Like him he always had faith in his work, notwithstanding the most ad- verse circumstances. All the means which could help him toward the goal of his as- pirations he has employed with an energy which no musician has possessed before him to the same degree. Ferdinand Hitler. 154 THE MUSICIAN'S YEAR BOOK. Ferdinand Hiller was born October 24, 1811. Alfred James Eyre was born October 24, October Twenty -fifth. Every artist of genius breathes into his work an unexpressed idea which speaks to our feelings even before it can be defined. Liszt. Ernest Sivori was born October 25, 18 15. Alexandre Georges Bizet was born Octo- ber 25, 1838. October Twenty-sixth. If our art is not to sink entirely to the level of trade, commerce, and fashion, the training for it must be complete, intelligent, and really artistic. Merz. THE MUSICIAN'S YEAR BOOK. 155 Karl Ferdinand Becker died October 26, 1877. Henry Smart was born October 26, 181 3. October Twenty-seventh. Literature is the highest of the arts, be- cause its power of expression is the greatest. The effect of music is more intense at a given moment, but its range is not so wide, nor its effect so enduring. Sill. Niccold Paganini was born October 27, 1785- October Twenty -eighth. The fundamental evil in music is the necessity of reproduction of its artistic crea- tions by performance. Were it as easy to learn to read music as words, the sonatas of 156 THE MUSICIAN'S YEAR BOOK. Beethoven would have the popularity of the poems of Schiller. Ferdinand Hiller. Henri Bertini was born October 28, 1798. October Twenty-ninth. Work alone praises or condemns its mas- ters, and I therefore measure every one by that standard. Johann Sebastian Bach. October Thirtieth. The pleasure which the work of a musi- cian affords you is his very life-blood; the trouble it has cost him you do not know. He gives you his very best : the essence of his life, the outflow of his genius, and yet you grudge him a simple wreath of flowers. Schumann. THE MUSICIAN'S YEAR BOOK. I 57 October Thirty-first. The happiest genius will hardly succeed by nature and instinct alone in rising to the sublime. Art is art ; he who has not thought it out has no right to call himself an artist. Goethe. Richard Edwards died October 31, 1566. Rudolph Willmers was born October 31, 1821. NOVEMBER. Under heaven there is but one thing we ought to bow to — genius ; and only one thing before which we ought to kneel — goodness. Victor Hugo. THE MUSICIAN'S YEAR BOOK. 161 November First. All the arts flow from the same source. It is the idea embodied in a work of art, and not the mode of enunciating it, that de- termines its rank in the scale of beauty. Franz Liszt. Gioacchimo Rossini died November i, 1868. November Second. Jenny Lind's true spell consisted, in my opinion, in three things : in the perfection of her technical culture — perfection to an extent that caused the most finished art to appear the most finished nature. Elise Polko. Jenny Lind died November 2, 1887. [62 THE MUSICIAN'S YEAR BOOK. November Third. November 3, 1836: Mendelssohn played Beethoven's " G Major Concerto " to-day with a perfection and power that carried everything before it. — From Henrietta Voighfs Diary. Vincenzo Bellini was born November 3, 1802. November Fourth. It is a charming test of Mendelssohn's heart that all the friendships he ever formed endured to the end of his life. Elise Polko. Felix Mendelssohn-Bartholdy died Novem- ber 4, 1847. THE. MUSICIAN'S YEAR BOOK. 163 November Fifth. The soul that becomes discouraged in the presence of real greatness will never become thoroughly artistic. Mendelssohn. November Sixth. Paderewski is an artist by the grace of God, a phenomenal and inspired player. William Mason. Ignaz Paderewski was born November 6, i860. Bartolommeo Campagnoli died November 6, 1827. November Seventh. I now feel more vividly than ever what a heavenly calling art is, and for this also I 164 THE MUSICIAN'S YEAR BOOK. have to thank my parents. Just when all else which ought to interest the mind appears so repugnant and empty, the smallest real service to art lays hold of your inmost thoughts, leading you so far away from town and country, and from earth itself, that it is, indeed, a blessing sent by God. Mendelssohn. November Eighth. Freedom of spirit and expression are not possible but with nimbleness and sureness of the fingers. Von Weber. November Ninth. Among the various things which are suit- able for man's recreation and pleasure, music is the first, and leads us to the belief that it is a gift of God set apart for this purpose. Calvin. THE MUSICIAN'S YEAR BOOK. 165 November Tenth. And ever against eating cares Lap me in soft Lydian airs, Married to immortal verse Such as the melting soul may pierce. Untwisting all the chains that tie The hidden soul of harmony. Milton. November Eleventh. In the works of Beethoven are to be found gigantic and sublime formula; ; those of Haydn contain a melodic sweetness mixed with artifices which are always agreeable ; while Mozart showed his unequaled genius in everything. I can only compare them to Michael Angelo, Guido, and Raphael. Pacini. 1 66 THE MUSICIAN'S YEAR BOOK. November Twelfth. Musical criticism, and criticism generally, is, with rare exceptions, no more than the ex- pression of a liking or disliking which has its origin in temperament, habit, and educa- tion. Niecks. November Thirteenth. The style of a writer is almost always the faithful representative of his mind. There- fore, if any man wishes to write a clear style let him begin by making his thoughts clear, and if any would write a noble style let him first possess a noble soul. Goethe. Louis Jacques Lefebvre W61y was born November 13, 181 7. THE MUSICIAN'S YEAR BOOK. 167 November Fourteenth. Always play as if a master heard you. Schumann. Fanny Cecile Mendelssohn was born November 14, 1805. Ignaz Pleyel died November 14, 1831. Johann Nepomuk Hummel was born November 14, 1776. Gasparo Luigi Spontini was born Novem- ber 14, 1774. Albert Jungmann was born November 14, 1814. Johann Georg Leopold Mozart was born November 14, 17 19. November Fifteenth. The works of all beginners teem with rem- iniscences : every composition reveals the 1 68 THE MUSICIAN'S YEAR BOOK. model form from which it is derived ; and it is only much later that they learn to act in- dependently, and to strive for the ideal. Von Weber. William Horsley was born November 15, 1774. November Sixteenth. If we look around in modern music we will find that we have a terrible deal of mind and astonishingly few ideas. Ambros. Rudolph Kreutzer was born November 16, 1766. Friedrich Wilhelm Kucken was born November 16, 181 o. November Seventeenth. A critic is justified in seeking and pro- nouncing the truth without reserve. It is THE MUSICIAN'S YEAR BOOK. 1 69 not his duty to consider whom he pleases or offends by his candor. Ambros. August Wilhelm Ambros was born Novem- ber 17, 1816. November Eighteenth. The noisiest and most complicated music has melody, but it may be so laden with ex- ternal flourishes, or so obscured by internal changes, that few only can detect and follow the golden thread. Christiani. Sir Henry Rowley Bishop was born No- vember 18, 1786. November Nineteenth, Schubert's songs : Beautiful as are his sym- phonies, and great as was the treasure he 170 THE MUSICIAN'S YEAR BOOK. bequeathed to the world in his instrumental works, his most important contribution to musical progress is to be found in his songs, of which he wrote some six hundred. Fillmore. Franz Peter Schubert died November 19, 1828. November Twentieth. Beethoven rose so far above his fellow- men that he saw seas and countries, yes, suns and stars, which we cannot yet behold. Merz. Beethoven's " Fidelio " was given first No- vember 20, 1805. John Wall Calcott was born November 20, 1766. Anton Rubinstein died November 20, 1894. THE MUSICIAN'S YEAR BOOK. I 7 I November Twenty-first. Christianity is the only soil in which music could grow and develop herself with a splen- dor never conceived by the ancients. Ernst Pauer. Henry Purcell died November 21, 1695. November Twenty -second. St. Cecilia's Day : At last divine Cecilia came, Inventress of the vocal frame. The sweet enthusiast from her sacred store Enlarged the former narrow bounds, And added length to solemn sounds, With Nature's mother- wit and arts unknown before. Dry den. 172 THE MUSICIAN'S YEAR BOOK. November Twenty -third. Unfortunately the majority of people are more influenced by external appearances than by internal worth. And so it is that we have a crowd of piano-players for whom technique is the chief ambition, and a large number of amateurs who consider it more desirable to play runs and passages very fast and loudly than to play them clearly and in a moderate tempo. Christiani. November Twenty -fourth. In Chopin's compositions boldness is al- ways justified ; richness, often exuberance, never interferes with clearness ; singularity never degenerates into the uncouth and fan- tastic ; the sculpturing is never disordered ; the luxury of ornament never overloads the chaste eloquence of the principal lines. Franz Liszt. THE MUSICIAN'S YEAR BOOK. 173 November Twenty-fifth. The operas of Gluck can only be studied as they deserve by being heard and seen, and, moreover, under conditions of careful and magnificent presentation. Charley. Christoph W. Gluck died November 25, 1787. Grisi's voice Is deliciously pure and young, and she sings as if she loves her art and has its resources at her feet. Charley. Giulia Grisi died November 25, 1869. November Twenty-sixth. When I sat at my old worm-eaten piano I envied no king in his happiness. Haydn. Franz Joseph Haydn was married to Anna Kellar November 26, 1760. 174 THE MUSICIAN'S YEAR BOOK'. November Twenty -seventh. Whoever knows me knows that I owe much to Sebastian Bach, that I have studied him thoroughly and well, and that I acknow- ledge him only as my model. Haydn. Adolph Marx was born November 27, 1799. November Twenty -eighth. With Ferdinand Ries I pass very musical hours. Kindred sympathies are fostered and a lasting friendship promoted by a pro- found veneration for Beethoven, the master of Ries. Moscheles' 's Diary. Ferdinand Ries was born November 28, 1784. THE MUSICIAN'S YEAR BOOK. I 75 November Twenty-ninth. He [Donizetti] is remarkable as an in- stance of freshness of fancy brought on by incessant manufacture. Such a change is almost exclusively confined to Italian genius in its workings. It learns and grows while creating. Chorley. Gaetano Donizetti was born November 29, 1779. November Thirtieth. Rubinstein occupies a unique position among all his contemporaries. As a pianist he holds perhaps the first place since Liszt's death. At the same time, as a composer, not alone for the piano, but in a more marked 176 THE MUSICIAN'S YEAR BOOK. degree as a writer of large works for the orchestra and the operatic stage, he has made an extraordinary success. Upton. Anton Gregor Rubinstein was born No vember 30, 1830. DECEMBER. Till at the last she set herself to man, Like perfect music unto noble words. Tennyson. THE MUSICIAN'S YEAR BOOK. I 79 December First. A distinguished philosopher spoke of archi- tecture as frozen music, and his assertion caused many to shake their heads. We be- lieve this really beautiful idea could not be better reintroduced than by calling architec- ture silent music. Goethe. December Second. If in spite of all the abuse and ill treat- ment to which it is subjected the noble art of music never ceases to charm and edify us, it only attests its unfathomable and ever- lasting grandeur. Ferdinand Hitler. December Third. Genius is the most beautiful gift with which nature favors mankind from time to time. 180 THE MUSICIAN'S YEAR BOOK. Through it we are allowed to enjoy what is most sublime — self-oblivion in a loftier life. Hiller. December Fourth. To describe a scene is the province of the painter. The poet, too, has the advantage over me, for his range is less limited than mine. On the other hand, my sphere ex- tends to regions which to them are not easily accessible. Beethoven. Deceinber Fifth. O Mozart ! If I could instil into the soul of every lover of music the admiration I have for his matchless works, all countries would seek to be possessed of so great a treasure. Haydn. THE MUSICIAN'S YEAR BOOK. l8l Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart died Decem- ber 5, 1791. Karl Friedrich Ludwig Nohl was born December 5, 1831. December Sixth. The person who is unacquainted with the best things among modern literary produc- tions is looked upon as uncultivated. We should be at least as advanced as this in music. Schumann. Luigi Lablache was born December 6, 1794. Giovanni Pacini died December 6, 1867. December Seventh. There are many things in music which must be imagined without being heard. It is the intelligent hearers who are endowed 1 82 THE MUSICIAN'S YEAR BOOK. with that imagination whom we should en- deavor to please especially. J. Emanuel Back. Stephen Glover died December 7, 1870. Ludwig Schunke died December 7, 1834. ■ Karl Anton Florian Eckert was born De- cember 7, 1820. December Eighth. No kind of pianoforte music contains so much that is so excellent as the study, the etude. The reasons are simple : its form is one of the easiest and most attractive, and its aim is so clear and firmly fixed that it is impossible to fail in it. Schumann. December Ninth. The elements of orchestration are those of painting. The composition per se represents THE MUSICIAN'S YEAR BOOK. 1 83 the design ; the melody the outline ; harmony the light and shade j and instrumentation the coloring. J. Raff. December Tenth. Harmony in music does not consist merely in the construction of concordant sounds, but in their mutual relations, their proper succession in what I should call their audi- ble reflex. Delacroix. Wilhelm Kuhe was born December 10, 1823. December Eleventh. Music is at once a sentiment and a sci- ence ; it demands of him who cultivates it, be he executant or composer, natural inspira- 184 THE MUSICIAN'S YEAR BOOK. tion and a knowledge which is only to be acquired by protracted studies and profound meditations. Berlioz. Hector Berlioz was born December 11, 1803. Karl Friedrich Zelter was born December 11, 1758. December Twelfth. Chopin spoke the language of the piano. His pieces are so idiomatic that they cannot be translated into orchestral language any more than Heine's lyrics can be translated into English. Chopin exhausted the possi- bilities of the pianoforte, and the piano ex- hausts the possibilities of Chopin's composi- tions. Finck. THE MUSICIAN'S YEAR BOOK. 1 85 December Thirteenth. I hope you will like my " Lobesang " or " Song of Praise." It is a kind of universal thanksgiving on the words of the last psalm : " Let everything that hath breath praise the Lord." The instruments begin with a sym- phony of three movements, and the voices take it up and continue it with different words, solos and choruses, till all unite again in the same words. Mendelssohn. December Fourteenth. Study only the best, for life is too short to study everything. J. Emanuel Bach. J. Emanuel Bach died December 14, 1788. 1 86 THE MUSICIAN'S YEAR BOOK. December Fifteenth. Every person has a lead with which he attempts to measure the depth of art. The string of some is long, that of others is very short ; yet each thinks he has reached the bottom, while in reality art is as a bottom- less deep that none have as yet fully ex- plored, and probably none ever will. Art is endless. Schopen h auer. S. Mercadante died December 15, 1870. December Sixteenth. Uninterrupted harmony would soon be- come as fatiguing as constant sunshine. THE MUSICIAN'S YEAR BOOK. 1 87 Harmony after discord is a new pleasure ; sunshine after rain gives new enjoyment. Christiani. Francois Adrien Boildieu was born De- cember 16, 1775. Johann Adolf Hasse died December 16, 1783. December Seventeenth. Music is the mediator between the spiri- tual and sensual life. Although the spirit be not master of that which it creates through music, yet it is blessed in this recreation, which, like every creation of art, is mightier than the artist. Beethoven. Ludwig van Beethoven was born Decem- ber 17, 1770. Domenico Cimarosa was born December 17, 1749. l88 THE MUSICIAN'S YEAR BOOK. December Eighteenth. How very differently does he create whose inner ear is judge of the ideas which he sim- ultaneously conceives and criticizes ! This mental ear grasps and holds fast the musical vision, and is a divine secret belonging to music alone, incomprehensible to the lay- man. Von Weber. Karl Maria von Weber was born Decem- ber 1 8, 1786. Louis Moreau Gottschalk died December 18, 1869. December Nineteenth. I require no undercurrent of thought when I hear music, which is not to me "a mere THE MUSICIAN'S YEAR BOOK. 189 medium to elevate the mind to piety," as they say here, but a distinct language speak- ing plainly to me ; for though the sense is expressed by the words, it is equally con- tained in the music. This is the case with the " Passion " of Sebastian Bach. Mendelssohn, extract of a letter to Zelter/rom Rome in 1831. John Ella was bora December 19, 1802. December Twentieth. Exercise without consciousness is not ar- tistic skill ; it is only the working of the in- stinct, which will always make the want of a complete education sensible. The spiritual thought cannot do without the form, and it is this which must be recognized and learned. Richter. 190 THE MUSICIAN'S YEAR BOOK. December Twenty-first. There is no sweeter consolation in misfor- tune than the pursuit of art, for the mind employed in acquiring it sails secretly past its mishaps. Amp his. Ernst Pauer was born December 21, 1826. Franz Abt was born December 21, 18 19. Theodore Hagen died December 21, 1871. December Twenty-second. Although woman has never made an epoch in musical art, it must be said that she has done a very important work in its develop- ment. Though she has never been a great composer, she has surely been great in the interpretation of art-works. Anon. Theresa Carreno was born December 22, i853- THE MUSICIAN'S YEAR BOOK. 191 December Twenty -third. The value of the sketches made by Chopin's extremely delicate pencil has not yet been acknowledged and emphasized sufficiently. It has become customary in our days to re- gard as great composers only those who have written at least half a dozen operas, as many oratorios, and several symphonies. Franz Liszt. December Twenty -fourth. A player may be very glib with finger-pas- sages. They all in time grow commonplace, and must be changed. Only where such facility serves higher ends is it of any worth. Schumann. Giovanni Bottisini was born December 24, 1823. Jules Benedict was born December 24, 1804. I92 THE MUSICIAN'S YEAR BOOK. December Twenty-fifth. Christmas Day: Then let us sing the anthem The angels once did sing ; Until the music of love and praise O'er the whole wide world will ring Gloria in excelsis ! Sing it, sinful earth, In excelsis Deo ! For the Saviour's birth. Father Ryan. John Christmas Beckwith was born De cember 25, 1759. December Twenty-sixth. I am sure if anything on earth can give an idea of the angelic choir, it must be the music of Palestrina. Baroness Bunsen. THE MUSICIAN'S YEAR BOOK. 1 93 Franz Hunten was born December 26, !793- December Twenty -seventh. Schubert was like a gardener bewildered with the luxuriant growth springing up around him. As fast as his ideas arose they were poured forth on paper. He was too rich for himself — his fancy outgrew his powers of arrangement. Haweis. December Twenty-eighth. Passions, however violent, should never be portrayed in all their ugliness ; and even when describing the most horrible situations music should never offend, but always please the ear — in short, always remain music. Mozart. 194 THE MUSICIAN'S YEAR BOOK. December Twenty -ninth. However so-called sober-minded musi- cians may disparage consummate brilliancy, it is none the less true that every genuine artist has an instinctive desire for it. Liszt. William Crotch died December 29, 1847. Dece?nber Thirtieth. In Mendelssohn we admire most his great talent for form, his power of appropriating all that is most piquant, his charmingly beautiful workmanship, his delicate sensitive- ness, and his earnest, I might almost say his impassioned, equanimity. Heinrich Heine. THE MUSICIAN'S YEAR BOOK. 1 95 December Thirty -first. The world is full of musical treasures, but we are not being enriched by these to half the extent we ought to be. Booth. THE LIBRARY UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA Santa Barbara HIS BOOK IS DUE ON THE LAST DATE STAMPED BELOW. aHflBJ*"* 1 ' uuuiiilhh nLUlui^HL LIDnHn T THUILI I T AA 000 242 677 3