iet chat, how he produced this luscious
singing quality of tone.

"A beautiful tone? Ah, that is difficult to describe, whether in one
hour or in many hours. It is first a matter of experiment, of
individuality, then of experience and memory. We listen and create the
tone, modify it until it expresses our ideal, then we try to remember
how we did it.

"I cannot say that I always produce a beautiful tone; I try to produce
a characteristic tone, but sometimes it may not be beautiful: there are
many times when it may be anything but that. I do not think there can be
any fixed rule or method in tone production, because people and hands
are so different. What does for one will not do for another. Some
players find it easier to play with high wrist, some with low. Some can
curve their fingers, while others straighten them out. There are of
course a few foundation principles, and one is that arms and wrists must
be relaxed. Fingers must often be loose also, but not at the nail joint;
that must always be firm. I advise adopting the position of hand which
is most comfortable and convenient. In fact all forms of hand position
can be used, if for a right purpose, so long as the condition is never
cramped or stiff. I permit either a high or low position of the wrist,
so long as the tone is good. As I said, the nail joint must remain firm,
and never be crushed under by the weight of powerful chords, as is apt
to be the case with young players whose hands are weak and delicate.

[Illustration: TO MISS HARRIETTE BROWER, OSSIP GABRILOWITSCH]

TECHNICAL STUDY

"Yes, I am certainly in favor of technical practise outside of pieces.
There must be scale and arpeggio study, in which the metronome can be
used. But I believe in striving to make even technical exercises of
musical value. If scales are played they should be performed with a
beautiful quality and variety of tone; if one attempts a Czerny etude,
it should be played with as much care and finish as a Beethoven sonata.
Bring out all the musical qualities of the etude. Do not say, 'I'll play
this measure sixteen times, and then I'm done with it.' Do nothing for
mechanical ends merely, but everything from a musical standpoint. Yes, I
give some Czerny to my students; not many etudes however. I prefer
Chopin and Rubinstein. There is a set of six Rubinstein Studies which I
use, including the Staccato Etude.

"In regard to technical forms and material, each player may need a
diffe