The sketches of composers contained in this volume may seem arbitrary in
the space allotted to them. The special attention given to certain names
has been prompted as much by their association with great art-epochs as
by the consideration of their absolute rank as composers.
The introduction of Chopin, born a Pole, and for a large part of his
life a resident of France, among the German composers, may require
an explanatory word. Chopin's whole early training was in the German
school, and he may be looked on as one of the founders of the latest
school of pianoforte composition, whose highest development is in
contemporary Germany. He represents German music by his affinities
and his influences in art, and bears too close a relation to important
changes in musical form to be omitted from this series.
The authorities to which the author is most indebted for material are:
Schoelcher's "Life of Handel;" Liszt's "Life of Chopin;" Elise
Polko's "Reminiscences;" Lampadius's "Life of Mendelssohn;" Chorley's
"Reminiscences;" Urbino's "Musical Composers;" Franz Heuffner's "Wagner
and the Music of the Future;" Haweis's "Music and Morals;" and articles
in the leading Cyclopædias.