with the assistance of
MESSRS. MATH. DURST, CARL HEISSLER,
CARL SCHLESINGER
"In other words, Hellmesberger was the quartet himself, the other three
artists merely 'assisted,' which, after all, is going too far!
"Of course, quartets differ. Just as we have operas in which the alto
solo _rôle_ is the most important, so we have quartets in which the
'cello or the viola has a more significant part. Mozart dedicated
quartets to a King of Prussia, who played 'cello, and he was careful to
make the 'cello part the most important. And in Smetana's quartet _Aus
meinem Leben_, the viola plays a most important rôle. Even the second
violin often plays themes introducing principal themes of the first
violin, and it has its brief moments of prominence. Yet, though the
second violin or the 'cellist may be, comparatively speaking, a better
player than the first violin, the latter is and must be the leader.
Practically every composer of chamber music recognizes the fact in his
compositions. He, the first violin, should not command three slaves,
though; but guide three associates, and do it tactfully with regard to
their individuality and that of their instruments.
"ENSEMBLE" REHEARSING
"You ask what are the essentials of _ensemble_ practice on the part of
the artists? Real reverence, untiring zeal and punctuality at
rehearsals. And then, an absolute sense of rhythm. I remember
rehearsing a Volkmann quartet once with a new second violinist." [Mr.
Kneisel crossed over to his bookcase and brought me the score to
illustrate the rhythmic point in question, one slight in itself yet as
difficult, perhaps, for a player without an absolute sense of rhythm as
"perfect intonation" would be for some others.] "He had a lovely tone, a
big technic and was a prize pupil of the Vienna Conservatory. We went
over this two measure phrase some sixteen times, until I felt sure he
had grasped the proper accentuation. And he was most amiable and willing
about it, too. But when we broke up he pointed to the passage and said
to me with a smile: 'After all, whether you play it _this_ way, or
_that_ way, what's the difference?' Then I realized that he had stressed
his notes correctly a few times by chance, and that his own sense of
rhythm did not tell him that there were no two ways about it. The
rhythmic and tonal _nuances_ in a quartet cannot be marked too perfectly
in order to secure a beautiful and finished performance. And such a
violinist as the one mentioned, in spite of his tone and technic, was
never meant for an _ensemble_ player.
"I have never believed in a quartet getting together and 'reading' a
new work as a preparation for study. As first violin I have always made
it my business to first study the work in score, myself, to study it
until I knew the whole composition absolutely, until I had a mental
picture of its meaning, and of the interrelation of its four voices in
detail. Thirty-two years of experience have justified my theory. Once
the first violin knows the work the practicing may begin; for he is in a
position gradually and tactfully to guide the working-out of the
interpretation without losing time in the struggle to correct faults in
balance which are developed in an unprepared 'reading' of the work.
There is always one important melody, and it is easier to find it
studying the score, to trace it with eye and mind in its contrapuntal
web, than by making voyages of discovery in actual playing.
"Every player has his own qualities, every instrument its own
advantages. Certain passages in a second violin or viola part may be
technically better suited to the hand of the player, to the nature of
the instrument, and--they will sound better than others. Yet from the
standpoint of the composition the passages that 'lie well' are often not
the more important. This is hard for the player--what is easy for him
he unconsciously is inclined to stress, and he must be on his guard
against it. This is another strong argument in favor of a thorough
preliminary study on the part of the leading violin of the construction
of the work."
THE FIRST VIOLIN IN CHAMBER MUSIC VERSUS
THE ORCHESTRA CONDUCTOR
The comparison which I asked Mr. Kneisel to make is one which he could
establish with authority. Aside from his experience as director of his
quartet, he has been the _concert-meister_ of such famous foreign
orchestras as Bilse's and that of the _Hofburg Theater_ in Vienna and,
for eighteen years, of the Boston Symphony Orchestra in this country. He
has also conducted over one hundred concerts of the Boston Symphony, and
was director of the Worcester Music Festivals.
"Nikisch once said to me, after he had heard us play the Schumann A
minor quartet in Boston: 'Kneisel, it was beautiful, and I felt that you
had more difficulty in developing it than I have with an orchestral
score!' And I think he was right. First of all the symphonic conductor
is an autocrat. There is no appeal from the commands of his baton. But
the first violin of a quartet is, in a sense, only the 'first among
peers.' The velvet glove is an absolute necessity in his case. He must
gain his art ends by diplomacy and tact, he must always remember that
his fellow artists are solo players. If he is arbitrary, no matter how
right he may be, he disturbs that fine feeling of artistic fellowship,
that delicate balance of individual temperaments harmonized for and by a
single purpose. In this connection I do not mind confessing that though
I enjoy a good game of cards, I made it a rule never to play cards with
my colleagues during the hours of railroad traveling involved in keeping
our concert engagements. I played chess. In chess the element of luck
does not enter. Each player is responsible for what he does or leaves
undone. And defeat leaves no such sting as it does when all may be
blamed on chance. In an _ensemble_ that strives for perfection there
must be no undercurrents of regret, of dissatisfaction--nothing that
interferes with the sympathy and good will which makes each individual
artist do his best. And so I have never regretted giving cards the
go-by!"