of magnetism.

A NOTABLE EXAMPLE

Among virtuosos Paderewski is peculiarly forceful in the personal spell
he casts over his audience. Someone has said that it cost one hundred
thousand dollars to exploit his hair before he made his first American
tour. But it was by no means curiosity to see his hair which kept on
filling auditorium after auditorium. I attended his first concert in New
York, and was amazed to see a comparatively small gathering of musical
zealots. His command of the audience was at once imperial. The critics,
some of whom would have found Paderewski's hirsute crown a delightful
rack upon which to hang their ridicule, went into ecstasies instead. His
art and his striking personality, entirely apart from his appearance,
soon made him the greatest concert attraction in the musical world.
Anyone who has conversed with him for more than a few moments realizes
what the meaning of the word magnetism is. His entire bearing--his lofty
attitude of mind, his personal dignity all contribute to the
inexplicable attraction that the arch hypnotist Mesmer first described
as animal magnetism.

That magnetism of the pianist must be considered wholly apart from
personal beauty and great physical strength is obvious to anyone who has
given the subject a moment's thought. Many of the artists already
mentioned (in this book) who possess magnetism similar to that of
Paderewski could surely never make claim for personal beauty. Neither is
magnetism akin to that attraction we all experience when we see a
powerful, well-groomed horse, a sleek hound, a handsome tiger--that is,
it is not mere admiration for a beautiful animal. Whether it has any
similarity to the mysterious charm which makes the doomed bird lose
control of its wings upon the approach of a snake is difficult to
estimate. Certainly, in the paraphernalia of the modern recital with its
lowered lights and its solitary figure playing away at a polished
instrument one may find something of the physical apparatus employed by
the professional hypnotist to insure concentration--but even this can
not account for the pianist's real attractiveness. If Mr. Frohman's
"vitality" means the "vital spark," the "life element," it comes very
close to a true definition of magnetism, for success without this
precious Promethean force is inconceivable. It may be only a smouldering
ember in the soul of a dying Chopin, but if it is there it is
irresistible until it becomes extinct. Fa