"With whom did I study? With two famous masters; by a strange
coincidence both Hungarians. First with Jenö Hubay, at the National
Academy of Music in Budapest, later with Leopold Auer in Petrograd.
Hubay had been a pupil of Vieuxtemps in Brussels, and is a justly
celebrated teacher, very thorough and painstaking in explaining to his
pupils how to do things; but the great difference between Hubay and Auer
is that while Hubay tells a student how to do things, Auer, a
temperamental teacher, literally drags out of him whatever there is in
him, awakening latent powers he never knew he possessed. Hubay is a
splendid builder of virtuosity, and has a fine sense for phrasing. For a
year and a half I worked at nothing but studies with him, giving special
attention to technic. He did not believe in giving too much time to left
hand development, when without adequate bow technic finger facility is
useless. Here he was in accord with Auer, in fact with every teacher
seriously deserving of the name. Hubay was a first-class pedagog, and
under his instruction one could not help becoming a well-balanced and
musicianly player. But there is a higher ideal in violin playing than
mere correctness, and Auer is an inspiring teacher. Hubay has written
some admirable studies, notably twelve studies for the right hand,
though he never stressed technic too greatly. On the other hand, Auer's
most notable contributions to violin literature are his revisions of
such works as the Bach sonatas, the Tschaikovsky Concerto, etc. In a way
it points the difference in their mental attitude: Hubay more concerned
with the technical educational means, one which cannot be overlooked;
Auer more interested in the interpretative, artistic educational end,
which has always claimed his attention. Hubay personally was a _grand
seigneur_, a multi-millionaire, and married to an Hungarian countess. He
had a fine ear for phrasing, could improvise most interesting violin
accompaniments to whatever his pupils played, and beside Rode, Kreutzer
and Fiorillo I studied the concertos and other repertory works with him.
Then there were the conservatory lessons! Attendance at a European
conservatory is very broadening musically. Not only does the individual
violin pupil, for example, profit by listening to his colleagues play in
class: he also studies theory, musical history, the piano, _ensemble_
playing, chamber-music and orchestra. I was concertmaster of the
conservatory orchestra while studying with Hubay. There should be a
national conservatory of music in this country; music in general would
advance more rapidly. And it would help teach American students to
approach the art of violin playing from the right point of view. As it
is, too many want to study abroad under some renowned teacher not,
primarily, with the idea of becoming great artists; but in the hope of
drawing great future commercial dividends from an initial financial
investment. In Art the financial should always be a secondary
consideration.
"It stands to reason that no matter how great a student's gifts may be,
he can profit by study with a great teacher. This, I think, applies to
all. After I had already appeared in concert at Albert Hall, London, in
1909, where I played the Beethoven Concerto with orchestra, I decided to
study with Auer. When I first came to him he wanted to know why I did
so, and after hearing me play, told me that I did not need any lessons
from him. But I knew that there was a certain 'something' which I wished
to add to my violinistic make-up, and instinctively felt that he alone
could give me what I wanted. I soon found that in many essentials his
ideas coincided with those of Hubay. But I also discovered that Auer
made me develop my individuality unconsciously, placing no undue
restrictions whatsoever upon my manner of expression, barring, of
course, unmusicianly tendencies. When he has a really talented pupil the
Professor gives him of his best. I never gave a thought to technic while
I studied with him--the great things were a singing tone, bowing,
interpretation! I studied Brahms and Beethoven, and though Hubay always
finished with the Bach sonatas, I studied them again carefully with
Auer.