physical forces, in order that a fine interpretation of
music may be attained. Faultless technique, in the service of a lofty
ideal, indeed ceases to be mechanical and becomes artistic.

A musical work of art originates in the deep well of the fertile
imagination of genius, and can only be drawn forth when the composer is
in that highly exalted frame of mind we call inspiration. The theme, or
musical subject, is a vital spark of the divine fire, and has flashed
unbidden into his consciousness, demanding undivided attention for its
logical development. With infinite care he molds and groups the musical
factors which are his working forces, and of which he has both an
intuitive and a practical knowledge. The manifold forms he fashions all
combine for one purpose, and lead persistently to one grand climax, from
which they may return to the repose whence they came. Unity in diversity
is the goal he sets before himself. All aglow though he is with the joy
of artistic production, he dare not permit his mind to waver from the
task in hand.

Music is not to be played with, and the labor of composition is no
trifling matter. It demands the keenest mental activity, the most
profound mental concentration. It demands consecration. The composer
thinks and works in tones, in an ideal realm, far removed from the
realities of the external world. His business is to bring his theme to
its most magnificent unfolding, treating it with absolute definiteness,
that his intention may be perfectly clear.

It is the business of the interpreter of music to be so thoroughly
acquainted with the elements of which music is composed that he can
promptly recognize the color, complexion and individual character of
every interval, chord and chord-combination, every consonance and
dissonance, every timbre and nuance, and every degree of phrasing and
rhythm. He must have so complete a mastery of his materials and working
forces that his imagination may be influenced unimpeded by the
emanations from the composer's imagination which animate the moving
forms he commands.

It is his business to respond with his whole being to the appeal of the
musical masterpiece he attempts to interpret, and so express the
emotions aroused by it from their slumbers in his own bosom that a
responsive echo may be found in the bosoms of the listeners. A most
ingeniously constructed music-box, with the presentation of a
complicated piece of music, may fail to move a heart tha