singer. The pianist should hear a great deal of opera,
for there he will learn much of color, of effect, light and shade,
action and emotion.

WE DO NOT WANT CUT-AND-DRIED PERFORMANCES

"The third requisite for the pianist, as I have said, is true feeling. I
have no sympathy with dry, mechanical performance, where every effect
is coldly calculated beforehand, and the player always strives to do it
the same way. How can he always play the same way when he does not feel
the same? If he simply seeks for uniformity where does the inspiration
come in?

"The true artist will never give a mechanical performance. At one time
he may be in a tender, melting mood; at another in a daring or exalted
one. He must be free to play as he feels, and he will be artist enough
never to overstep bounds. The pianist who plays with true feeling and
'heart' can never play the same composition twice exactly alike, for he
can never feel precisely the same twice. This, of course, applies more
especially to public performance and playing for others.

"Another essential is breath control. Respiration must be easy and
natural, no matter how much physical strength is exerted. In
_fortissimo_ and all difficult passages, the lips must be kept closed
and respiration taken through the nostrils, as it always ought to be.

DISSECTION OF DETAILS

"Yes, I do a great deal of teaching, but prefer to take only such pupils
as are intelligent and advanced. With pupils I am very particular about
hand position and touch. The ends of the fingers must be firm, but
otherwise the hand, wrist and arm, from the shoulder, are all relaxed.
In teaching a composition, I am immensely careful and particular about
each note. Everything is dissected and analyzed. When all is understood
and mastered, it is then ready for the stage setting, the actors, the
lights, and the colors!"

* * * * *

"I was intended for a pianist from the first. Born in Russia, I
afterward came to Berlin, studying seven or eight years with Xaver
Scharwenka, then with d'Albert, Stavenhagen and others. But when one has
all that can be learned from others, a man's greatest teacher is
himself. I have done a great deal of concert work and recital playing in
Europe, and have appeared with the leading orchestras in the largest
cities of America."

Mr. Hochman has done considerable work in composition. Numerous songs
have been published and doubtless larger works may b