Liszt never was in this country, but we can gain some idea of the
success that would have been his from the triumphs of Ignace
Paderewski. Other famous pianists have come to this country--Thalberg
in 1856; Rubinstein in 1872; Von Buelow, Joseffy, who took up his
residence here; Rosenthal, Josef Hofmann. But Paderewski's success has
been greater than any of these. Americans are said to be fickle; but
although Paderewski no longer is a novelty, his name still is the one
with which to fill a concert hall from floor to roof.
Why this is so is no secret. Hear him and you will understand the
reason. To a technique which does not hesitate at anything and an
industry that flinches at nothing--no one practices more assiduously
than he--he adds the soul of a poet and the strength of an athlete. He
looks slender and poetical enough as he sits at the piano on the
concert stage; but if you watch him from near by you will be able to
note the great physical power which he can bring into play when
necessary--_and which he never brings into play unless it is
necessary_. Therefore he combines poetry with force; and back of both
is thought--intellectual capacity.
In a frame on the wall of a New York trust company is a check for
$171,981.89. It represents the net receipts of one virtuoso for one
concert tour, and is believed to be the largest actual amount ever
earned in this country by an artist, whether singer or player, in a
single season. This check is drawn to the order of Ignace J.
Paderewski.
An opinion regarding the piano by a man who by playing it can earn so
large a sum, and earn it because he is the greatest living exponent of
pianoforte playing, would seem worth having. Paderewski believes that,
save in one respect, the pianoforte has reached perfection and is
incapable of further improvement. He does not think that anything more
should be done to add to its volume of tone. If anything, he considers
this too great and the instrument too loud already. Instead of more
power, rather less would be satisfactory. Wherein, however, he
considers the instrument still lacking, notwithstanding its wonderful
development during the last century, is in its capacity for sustained
tone--for holding a long-drawn-out tone with the facility of the
violin, for example. He is convinced, however, that the means of
imparting this capacity for sustaining tone to the pianoforte will be
discovered in due time and that the invention probably will be made in
this country. That increased tone-sustaining power for the instrument
is a great desideratum doubtless is the opinion of many experts; but
that the greatest master of the pianoforte considers it perfect in
other respects is highly interesting and significant. After all, it
remains the greatest of all solo instruments, because, within the
smallest compass and with the simplest means of control, it has the
range of an orchestra. For this reason it is the most popular of
instruments and, in its manufacture, extends from the polished
dry-goods box with internal organs of iron, wire and felt and with a
glistening row of celluloid teeth ready to bite as soon as ever the
lid is raised, to the highest-class concert grand.