Dvorak _Humoresque_, are so obviously effective on the
violin that a transcription justifies itself. My latest temptative in
that direction is my 'Four American Folk Songs,' a simple setting of
four well-known airs with connecting cadenzas--no variations, no special
development! I used them first as _encores_, but my audiences seemed to
like them so well that I have played them on all my recent programs.

SOME HINTS FOR THE CONCERT PLAYER

"The very first thing in playing in public is to free oneself of all
distrust in one's own powers. To do this, nothing must be left to
chance. One should not have to give a thought to strings, bow, etc. All
should be in proper condition. Above all the violinist should play with
an accompanist who is used to accompanying him. It seems superfluous to
emphasize that one's program numbers must have been mastered in every
detail. Only then can one defy nervousness, turning excess of emotion
into inspiration.

"Acoustics play a greater part in the success of a public concert than
most people realize. In some halls they are very good, as in the case of
the Cleveland Hippodrome, an enormous place which holds forty-three
hundred people. Here the acoustics are perfect, and the artist has those
wonderful silences through which his slightest tones carry clearly and
sweetly. I have played not only solos, but chamber music in this hall,
and was always sorry to stop playing. In most halls the acoustic
conditions are best in the evening.

"Then there is the matter of the violin. I first used a Joseph
Guarnerius, a deeper toned instrument than the Jean Baptista Guadagnini
I have now played for a number of years. The Guarnerius has a tone that
seems to come more from within the instrument; but all in all I have
found my Guadagnini, with its glassy clearness, its brilliant and limpid
tone-quality, better adapted to American concert halls. If I had a Strad
in the same condition as my Guadagnini the instrument would be
priceless. I regretted giving up my Guarnerius, but I could not play the
two violins interchangeably; for they were absolutely different in size
and tone-production, shape, etc. Then my hand is so small that I ought
to use the instrument best adapted to it, and to use the same instrument
always. Why do I use no chin-rest? I use no chin-rest on my Guadagnini
simply because I cannot find one to fit my chin. One should use a
chin-rest to prevent perspiration from marr