musicians." But one would have thought that the personality of the pupil
of Clementi, the companion of A. Klengel, the friend of Steibelt, Field,
and Crotch, and the teacher of Mendelssohn and Taubert, would have
particularly interested a young pianist. Berger's compositions cannot
have been unknown to Chopin, who, moreover, must have heard of him from
his Warsaw acquaintance Ernemann. However, be this as it may, our friend
was more fortunate as regards hearing good music, which certainly was a
more important business than interviewing celebrities, often, alas,
so refrigerating in its effect on enthusiastic natures. Before his
departure from Warsaw Chopin wrote:--"It is much to hear a really good
opera, were it only once; it enables one to form an idea of what a
perfect performance is like." Although the most famous singers were
on leave of absence, he greatly enjoyed the performances of Spontini's
"Ferdinand Cortez", Cimarosa's "Die heimliche Eke" ("Il Matrimonio
segreto"), Onslow's "Der Hausirer" ("Le colporteur"), and Winter's "Das
unterbrochene Opferfest." Still, they gave rise to some "buts," which
he thought would be wholly silenced only in Paris; nay, one of the two
singers he liked best, Fraulein von Schatzel (Signora Tibaldi was
the other), reminded him by her omissions of chromatic scales even of
Warsaw. What, however, affected him more than anything else was Handel's
"Ode on St. Cecilia's Day," which he heard at the Singakademie; it came
nearest, he said, to the ideal of sublime music which he harboured in
his soul. A propos of another musical event he writes:--

To-morrow the "Freischutz" will be performed; this is the
fulfilment of my most ardent wish. When I hear it I shall be
able to make a comparison between the singers here and our
own.

The "Freischutz" made its first appearance on the Warsaw stage in 1826,
and therefore was known to Chopin; whereas the other operas were either
unknown to him or were not considered decisive tests.

Music and things connected with music, such as music-shops and
pianoforte-manufactories, took up Chopin's attention almost exclusively.
He declines with thanks the offer of a ticket for the meetings of the
congress:--

I should gain little or nothing for my mind from these
discussions, because I am too little of a savant; and,
moreover, the professional gentlemen might perhaps look at
me, the layman, and think: "How comes Saul among the
prop