commercial
pursuits to foster and develop the art. Up to the present day the most
eminent virtuoso is commonly spoken of as a "fiddler." Even Joachim,
when he went to a barber's shop in High Street, Kensington, and declined
to accept the advice of the tonsorial artist, and have his hair cropped
short, was warned that "he'd look like one o' them there fiddler chaps."
The barber apparently had no greater estimation of the violinist's art
than the latter had of the tonsorial profession, and the situation was
sufficiently ludicrous to form the subject of a picture in _Punch_, and
thus the matter assumed a serious aspect.

England has not been the home of any particular school of violin
playing, but has received her stimulus from Continental schools, to
which her sons have gone to study, and from which many eminent
violinists have been imported.

The word "school," so frequently used in connection with the art of
violin playing, seems to lead to confusion. The Italian school,
established by Corelli, appears to have been the only original school.
Its pupils scattered to various parts of Europe, and there established
other schools. To illustrate this statement, we will follow in a direct
line from Corelli, according to the table given in Grove's Dictionary.

The pupils of Corelli were Somis, Locatelli, Geminiani (Italians), and
Anet (a Frenchman), whose pupil Senaille was also French. The greatest
pupil of Somis was Pugnani, an Italian, and his greatest pupil was
Viotti, a Piedmontese, who founded the French school, and from him came
Roberrechts, his pupil De Beriot and his pupil Vieuxtemps, the two
latter Belgians, also Baillot, etc., down to Marsick and Sarasate, a
Spaniard, while through Rode, a Frenchman, we have Boehm (school of
Vienna) and his pupil Joachim, a Hungarian (school of Berlin).

Several violinists are found under two schools, as for instance,
Pugnani, who was first a pupil of Tartini and later of Somis, and Teresa
Milanollo, pupil of Lafont and of De Beriot, who appear under different
schools.

The only conclusion to be drawn is that the greatest violinists were
really independent of any school, and, by their own genius, broke loose
from tradition and established schools of their own. Some of them, on
the other hand, had but few pupils, as for instance, Paganini, who had
but two, and Sarasate. Many also were teachers rather than performers.
We have to deal chiefly with the virtuosi.

CHAPTER II.