dangerous
stage of artistic stagnation which will result in the ruin of his
career. There is always room for improvement, that is the development of
new details, and it is this which gives zest and intellectual interest
to the work of the artist. Without it his public efforts would become
very tame and unattractive.

SELF DEVELOPMENT

"In my own development as an artist it has been made evident to me, time
and time again, that success comes from the careful observance of
details. All students should strive to estimate their own artistic
ability very accurately. A wrong estimate always leads to a dangerous
condition. If I had failed to attend to certain details many years ago,
I would have stopped very far short of anything like success.

"I remember that when I concluded my term as professor of piano at the
New England Conservatory of Music I was very conscious of certain
deficiencies in my style. Notwithstanding the fact that I had been
accepted as a virtuoso in Europe and in America and had toured with
great orchestras such as the Boston Symphony Orchestra, I knew better
than anyone else that there were certain details in my playing that I
could not afford to neglect.

"For instance, I knew that my method of playing the trill could be
greatly improved and I also knew that I lacked force and endurance in
certain passages. Fortunately, although a comparatively young man, I was
not deceived by the flattery of well-meaning, but incapable critics, who
were quite willing to convince me that my playing was as perfect as it
was possible to make it. Every seeker of artistic truth is more widely
awake to his own deficiencies than any of his critics could possibly be.

"In order to rectify the details I have mentioned as well as some I have
not mentioned, I have come to the conclusion that I must devise an
entirely new technical system. Technical systems are best when they are
individual. Speaking theoretically, every individual needs a different
technical system. Every hand, every arm, every set of ten fingers, every
body and, what is of greatest importance, every intellect is different
from every other. I consequently endeavored to get down to the basic
laws underlying the subject of technic and make a system of my own.

"After much study, I discovered what I believed to be the technical
cause of my defects and then I returned to Europe and for two years I
devoted myself almost exclusively to technical study along the