"If the leader of the quartet has lived himself into and mastered a
composition, together with his associates, the result is sure. I must
live in the music I play just as an actor must live the character he
represents. All higher interpretation depends on solving technical
problems in a way which is not narrowly mechanical. And while the
_ensemble_ spirit must be preserved, the freedom of the individual
should not be too much restrained. Once the style and manner of a modern
composer are familiar, it is easier to present his works: when we first
played the Reger quartet here some twenty years ago, we found pages
which at first we could not at all understand. If one has fathomed
Debussy, it is easier to play Milhaud, Roger-Ducasse, Samazeuil--for the
music of the modern French school has much in common. One great cultural
value the professional quartet has for the musical community is the fact
that it gives a large circle a measure of acquaintance with the mode of
thought and style of composers whose symphonic and larger works are
often an unknown quantity. This applies to Debussy, Reger, the modern
Russians, Bloch and others. When we played the Stravinsky pieces here,
for instance, his _Pétrouschka_ and _Firebird_ had not yet been heard.