of
spiritual discernment.

IN REGARD TO INTERPRETATION

"On this subject I think we should avoid pedantry; not to say to the
pupil, you must play this piece a certain way; but rather say, I see or
feel it in this way, and give the reasons underlying the conception. I
believe the successful teacher should be a pianist. He should understand
every point and be able to _do_ the thing, else how can he really show
the manner of the doing? Many of the _nuances_, subtleties of color and
phrase, effects of charm or of bravura, cannot be explained; they must
be illustrated. And furthermore, only he who has been over the road can
be a safe or sympathetic guide. Tolstoi realized he could not be of
service to the people he would uplift unless he lived among them, shared
their trials and experienced their needs. The time has gone by when the
musician and composer was considered a sort of freak, knowing music and
nothing else. We know the great composers were men of the highest
intelligence and learning, men whose aim was to work out their genius
to the utmost perfection. Nothing less than the highest would satisfy
them. As George Eliot said, 'Genius is the capacity for taking infinite
pains.' Think of the care Beethoven took with every phrase, how many
times he did it over, never leaving it till he was satisfied."

In speaking of the great European teachers Mr. Roeder continued:

"We hear much of the Leschetizky method; but with that master technic is
quite a secondary matter over which, when once the principles are
mastered, he troubles himself but little. It is the conception of the
work as a whole which concerns him, how to project it, so to say, most
effectively to an audience. He brings into prominence now this part, now
that, accenting here, slightly exaggerating there, in order to make the
picture more vivid to the listener. Harold Bauer is another illuminating
master for those who have a technical equipment adequate to the
performance of great works of piano literature. Some go to him who are
not ready for what he has to give, but to those who can direct attention
to the meaning of the music, he is a wonderful inspirational force.
First he will point out a phrase here, another there, and so on through
the piece, showing how the same idea takes on various aspects in the
composer's thought. Then he shows how to gather up these different
threads to form the perfect pattern which the author of the work had in
mind; and fin