time holds that
personal inspiration is not necessary; for the feeling is all in the
music itself. All we have to do is to play with such and such a dynamic
quality of tone. Like a country doctor measuring out his drugs, this
master apportions so many grains of power for _forte_, for _mezzo_, for
_piano_, and so on. This plan puts a damper on individuality and
enthusiasm, for it means that everything must be coldly calculated. Such
playing does not really warm the heart.

"I believe in teaching tonal contrasts and tone color even to a
beginner. Why should not the child form a concept of _forte_ and
_piano_, and so get away from the deadly monotony of _mezzo_? I have
written some little descriptive piano pieces, and my small boy learned
one of them to play for me. There is a closing phrase like this," and
Mr. Ganz illustrated at the piano; "it is to be played _forte_, and is
followed by a few notes to be touched very softly, like an echo. It was
really beautiful to see how the little fellow reached out for the pedal
to make the loud part more emphatic, and then played the echo very
softly and neatly. He had grasped the first principle of tone
color--namely tone contrast, and also a poetic idea.

"There are so many wonder children in these days, and many marvels are
accomplished by infant prodigies. Very often however, these wonder
children develop no further; they fail to fulfil their early promise, or
the expectations held of them.

"A youthful wonder in the field of composition is Eric Korngold, whose
piano sonata I played in my New York recital. I have played this work
eight times in all, during my present tour, often by request. To me it
is most interesting. I cannot say it is logical in the development of
its ideas; it often seems as though the boy threw in chords here and
there with no particular reason. Thus the effort of memorizing is
considerable, for I must always bear in mind that this C major chord has
a C sharp in it, or that such and such a chord is changed into a most
unusual one. One cannot predict whether the boy will develop further. As
you say, Mozart was an infant prodigy, but if we judge from the first
little compositions that have been preserved, he began very simply and
worked up, whereas Korngold begins at Richard Strauss. His compositions
are full of the influence of Strauss. The critics have much to say for
and against these early works. I do not know the young composer
personally, though he