"After three years' study I left Joachim and went to Paris. Liszt had
given me letters of introduction to various French artists, among them
Saint-Saëns. One evening I happened to hear Léonard play Corelli's _La
Folia_ in the _Salle Pleyel_, and the liquid clarity and beauty of his
tone so impressed me that I decided I must study with him. I played for
him and he accepted me as a pupil. I am free to admit that my tone,
which people seem to be pleased to praise especially, I owe entirely to
Léonard, for when I came to him I had the so-called 'German tone' (_son
allemand_), of a harsh, rasping quality, which I tried to abandon
absolutely. Léonard often would point to his ears while teaching and
say: '_Ouvrez vos oreilles: écoutéz la beauté du son!_' ('Open your
ears, listen for beauty of sound!'). Most Joachim pupils you hear
(unless they have reformed) attack a chord with the nut of the bow, the
German method, which unduly stresses the attack. Léonard, on the
contrary, insisted with his pupils on the attack being made with such
smoothness as to be absolutely unobtrusive. Being a nephew of Mme.
Malibran, he attached special importance to the 'singing' tone, and
advised his pupils to hear great singers, to _listen_ to them, and to
try and reproduce their _bel canto_ on the violin.
"He was most particular in his observance of every _nuance_ of shading
and expression. He told me that when he played Mendelssohn's concerto
(for the first time) at the Leipsic _Gewandhaus_, at a rehearsal,
Mendelssohn himself conducting, he began the first phrase with a full
_mezzo-forte_ tone. Mendelssohn laid his hand on his arm and said: 'But
it begins _piano!_' In reply Léonard merely pointed with his bow to the
score--the _p_ which is now indicated in all editions had been omitted
by some printer's error, and he had been quite within his rights in
playing _mezzo-forte_.
"Léonard paid a great deal of attention to scales and the right way to
practice them. He would say, _'Il faut filer les sons: c'est l'art des
maîtres_. ('One must spin out the tone: that is the art of the
masters.') He taught his pupils to play the scales with long, steady
bowings, counting sixty to each bow. Himself a great classical
violinist, he nevertheless paid a good deal of attention to _virtuoso_
pieces; and always tried to prepare his pupils for _public life_. He had
all sorts of wise hints for the budding concert artist, and was in the
habit of saying: 'You must plan a program as you would the _ménu_ of a
dinner: there should be something for every one's taste. And,
especially, if you are playing on a long program, together with other
artists, offer nothing indigestible--let _your_ number be a relief!'