,transcriber's ,note3 ,every effort has been made to replicate this text as faithfully as possible1 including inconsistencies in spelling and hyphenation2 changes 7corrections of spelling and punctuation7 made to the original text are listed at the end of this file4 ,sketch of ,a ,new ,esthetic of ,music by ,,ferruccio ,,busoni ,translated from the ,german by ,dr4 ,,th4 ,,baker ,,new ,,york3 ,g4 ,,schirmer #aiaa ,copyright1 #aijg ,by ,,ferruccio ,,busoni ,copyright1 #aiaa ,by ,g4 ,,schirmer #bbcge ,,sketch ,,of ,a ,,new ,,esthetic ,,of ,,music ,what seek you8 ,say6 ,and what do you expect8-- ,i know not what2 the ,unknown ,i would have6 ,what's known to me1 is endless2 ,i would go ,beyond the end3 ,the last word still is wanting4 ,der mchtige ,zauberer4 ,,loosely joined together as regards literary form1 the following notes are1 in reality1 the outcome of convictions long held and slowly matured4 ,in them a problem of the first magnitude is formulated with apparent simplicity1 without giving the key to its final solution2 for the problem cannot be solved for generations--if at all4 ,but it involves an innumerable series of lesser problems1 which ,i present to the consideration of those whom they may concern4 ,for it is a long time since any one has devoted himself to earnest musical research4 ,it is true1 that admirable works of genius arise in every period1 and ,i have always taken my stand in the front rank of those who joyfully acclaimed the passing standard-bearers2 and still it seems to me that of all these beautiful paths leading so far afield--none lead upward4 ,the spirit of an art-work1 the measure of emotion1 of humanity1 that is in it--these remain unchanged in value through changing years2 the form which these three assumed1 the manner of their expression1 and the flavor of the epoch which gave them birth1 are transient1 and age rapidly4 ,spirit and emotion retain their essence1 in the art-work as in man himself2 we admire technical achievements1 yet they are outstripped1 or cloy the taste and are discarded4 ,its ephemeral qualities give a work the stamp of modernity2 its unchangeable essence hinders it from becoming obsolete4 ,among both modern and old works we find good and bad1 genuine and spurious4 ,there is nothing properly modern--only things which have come into being earlier or later2 longer in bloom1 or sooner withered4 ,the ,modern and the ,old have always been4 ,art-forms are the more lasting1 the more closely they adhere to the nature of their individual species of art1 the purer they keep their essential means and ends4 ,sculpture relinquishes the expression of the human pupil1 and effects of color2 painting degenerates1 when it forsakes the flat surface in depiction and takes on complexity in theatrical decoration or panoramic portrayal4 ,architecture has its fundamental form1 growth from below upward1 prescribed by static necessity2 window and roof necessarily provide the intermediate and finishing configuration2 these are eternal and inviolable requirements of the art4 ,poetry commands the abstract thought1 which it clothes in words4 ,more independent than the others1 it reaches the furthest bounds4 ,but all arts1 resources and forms ever aim at the one end1 namely1 the imitation of nature and the interpretation of human feelings4 99 99 99 ,architecture1 sculpture1 poetry and painting are old and mature arts2 their conceptions are established and their objects assured2 they have found the way through uncounted centuries1 and1 like the planets1 describe their regular orbits4,a ,a ,none the less1 in these arts1 taste and individuality can and will unceasingly find refreshment and rejuvenation4 ,music1 compared with them1 is a child that has learned to walk1 but must still be led4 ,it is a virgin art1 without experience in life and suffering4 ,it is all unconscious as yet of what garb is becoming1 of its own advantages1 its unawakened capacities4 ,and again1 it is a child-marvel that is already able to dispense much of beauty1 that has already brought joy to many1 and whose gifts are commonly held to have attained full maturity4 99 99 99 ,music as an art1 our so-called occidental music1 is hardly four hundred years old2 its state is one of development1 perhaps the very first stage of a development beyond present conception1 and we--we talk of classics and hallowed traditions6 ,and we have talked of them for a long time6,b ,b ,tradition is a plaster mask taken from life1 which1 in the course of many years1 and after passing through the hands of innumerable artisans1 leaves its resemblance to the original largely a matter of imagination4 ,we have formulated rules1 stated principles1 laid down laws2--we apply laws made for maturity to a child that knows nothing of responsibility6 99 99 99 ,young as it is1 this child1 we already recognize that it possesses one radiant attribute which signalizes it beyond all its elder sisters4 ,and the lawgivers will not see this marvelous attribute1 lest their laws should be thrown to the winds4 ,this child--it floats on air6 ,it touches not the earth with its feet4 ,it knows no law of gravitation4 ,it is wellnigh incorporeal4 ,its material is transparent4 ,it is sonorous air4 ,it is almost ,nature herself4 ,it is--free4 99 99 99 ,but freedom is something that mankind have never wholly comprehended1 never realized to the full4 ,they can neither recognize nor acknowledge it4 ,they disavow the mission of this child2 they hang weights upon it4 ,this buoyant creature must walk decently1 like anybody else4 ,it may scarcely be allowed to leap--when it were its joy to follow the line of the rainbow1 and to break sunbeams with the clouds4 99 99 99 ,music was born free2 and to win freedom is its destiny4 ,it will become the most complete of all reflexes of ,nature by reason of its untrammeled immateriality4 ,even the poetic word ranks lower in point of incorporealness4 ,it can gather together and disperse1 can be motionless repose or wildest tempestuosity2 it has the extremest heights perceptible to man--what other art has these8--and its emotion seizes the human heart with that intensity which is independent of the idea4 ,it realizes a temperament1 without describing it1 with the mobility of the soul1 with the swiftness of consecutive moments2 and this1 where painter or sculptor can represent only one side or one moment1 and the poet tardily communicates a temperament and its manifestations by words4 ,therefore1 representation and description are not the nature of music2 herewith we declare the invalidity of program-music1 and arrive at the question3 ,what are the aims of music8 99 99 99 ,,absolute ,music6 ,what the lawgivers mean by this1 is perhaps remotest of all from the ,absolute in music4 ,absolute music is a form-play without poetic program1 in which the form is intended to have the leading part4 ,but ,form1 in itself1 is the opposite pole of absolute music1 on which was bestowed the divine prerogative of buoyancy1 of freedom from the limitations of matter4 ,in a picture1 the illustration of a sunset ends with the frame2 the limitless natural phenomenon is enclosed in quadrilateral bounds2 the cloud-form chosen for depiction remains unchanging for ever4 ,music can grow brighter or darker1 shift hither or yon1 and finally fade away like the sunset glow itself2 and instinct leads the creative musician to employ the tones that press the same key within the human breast1 and awaken the same response1 as the processes in ,nature4 ,per contra1 absolute music is something very sober1 which reminds one of music-desks in orderly rows1 of the relation of ,tonic to ,dominant1 of ,developments and ,codas4 ,methinks ,i hear the second violin struggling1 a fourth below1 to emulate the more dexterous first1 and contending in needless contest merely to arrive at the starting-point4 ,this sort of music ought rather to be called the architectonic1 or symmetric1 or sectional1 and derives from the circumstance that certain composers poured their spirit and their emotion into just this mould as lying nearest them or their time4 ,our lawgivers have identified the spirit and emotion1 the individuality of these composers and their time1 with symmetric music1 and finally1 being powerless to recreate either the spirit1 or the emotion1 or the time1 have retained the ,form as a symbol1 and made it into a fetish1 a religion4 ,the composers sought and found this form as the aptest vehicle for communicating their ideas2 their souls took flight--and the lawgivers discover and cherish the garments ,euphorion left behind on earth4 ,a lucky find6 ',twas now or never2 ,the flame is gone1 it's true--however1 ,no need to pity mankind now4 ,enough is left for many a poet's tiring1 ,or to breed envy high and low2 ,and though ,i have no talents here for hiring1 ,i'll hire the robe out1 anyhow4 ,is it not singular1 to demand of a composer originality in all things1 and to forbid it as regards form8 ,no wonder that1 once he becomes original1 he is accused of formlessness4 ,mozart6 the seeker and the finder1 the great man with the childlike heart--it is he we marvel at1 to whom we are devoted2 but not his ,tonic and ,dominant1 his ,developments and ,codas4 99 99 99 ,such lust of liberation filled ,beethoven1 the romantic revolutionary1 that he ascended one short step on the way leading music back to its loftier self3--a short step in the great task1 a wide step in his own path4 ,he did not quite reach absolute music1 but in certain moments he divined it1 as in the introduction to the fugue of the ,sonata for ,hammerclavier4 ,indeed1 all composers have drawn nearest the true nature of music in preparatory and intermediary passages 7preludes and transitions71 where they felt at liberty to disregard symmetrical proportions1 and unconsciously drew free breath4 ,even a ,schumann 7of so much lower stature7 is seized1 in such passages1 by some feeling of the boundlessness of this pan-art 7recall the transition to the last movement of the ,d-minor ,symphony72 and the same may be asserted of ,brahms in the introduction to the ,finale of his ,first ,symphony4 ,but1 the moment they cross the threshold of the ,principal ,subject1 their attitude becomes stiff and conventional1 like that of a man entering some bureau of high officialdom4 99 99 99 ,next to ,beethoven1 ,bach bears closest affinity to infinite music4,c ,his ,organ ,fantasias 7but not the ,fugues7 have indubitably a strong dash of what might be overwritten ,man and ,nature4,d ,in him it appears most ingenuous because he had no reverence for his predecessors 7although he esteemed and made use of them71 and because the still novel acquisition of equal temperament opened a vista of--for the time being--endless new possibilities4 ,c ,die ,ur-,musik1 is the author's happy phrase4 ,but as this music never has been1 our ,english terms like primitive1 original1 etc41 would involve a non sequitur which is avoided1 at least1 by infinite4 ,translator's ,note4 ,d ,in the recitatives of his ,passions we hear human speech2 not correct declamation4 ,therefore1 ,bach and ,beethoven,e are to be conceived as a beginning1 and not as unsurpassable finalities4 ,in spirit and emotion they will probably remain unexcelled2 and this1 again1 confirms the remark at the beginning of these lines3 ,that spirit and emotion remain unchanged in value through changing years1 and that he who mounts to their uttermost heights will always tower above the crowd4 ,e ,as characteristic traits of ,beethoven's individuality ,i would mention the poetic fire1 the strong human feeling 7whence springs his revolutionary temper71 and a portent of modern nervousness4 ,these traits are certainly opposed to those of a classic4 ,moreover1 ,beethoven is no master1 as the term applies to ,mozart or the later ,wagner1 just because his art foreshadows a greater1 as yet incomplete4 7,compare the section next-following47 99 99 99 ,what still remains to be surpassed1 is their form of expression and their freedom4 ,wagner1 a ,germanic ,titan1 who touched our earthly horizon in orchestral tone-effect1 who intensified the form of expression1 but fashioned it into a system 7music-drama1 declamation1 leading-motive71 is on this account incapable of further intensification4 ,his category begins and ends with himself2 first1 because he carried it to the highest perfection and finish2 secondly1 because his self-imposed task was of such a nature1 that it could be achieved by one man alone4,f ,the paths opened by ,beethoven can be followed to their end only through generations4 ,they--like all things in creation--may form only a circle2 but a circle of such dimensions1 that the portion visible to us seems like a straight line4 ,wagner's circle we can view in its entirety--a circle within the great circle4 ,f ,together with the problem1 it gives us the solution1 as ,i once said of ,mozart4 99 99 99 ,,the name of ,wagner leads to program-music4 ,this has been set up as a contrast to so-called absolute music1 and these concepts have become so petrified that even persons of intelligence hold one or the other dogma1 without recognition for a third possibility beyond and above the other two4 ,in reality1 program-music is precisely as one-sided and limited as that which is called absolute4 ,in place of architectonic and symmetric formulas1 instead of the relation of ,tonic to ,dominant1 it has bound itself in the stays of a connecting poetic--sometimes even philosophic--program4 99 99 99 ,every motive--so it seems to me--contains1 like a seed1 its life-germ within itself4 ,from the different plant-seeds grow different families of plants1 dissimilar in form1 foliage1 blossom1 fruit1 growth and color4,g ,g 444 ,beethoven1 dont les esquisses thmatiques ou lmentaires sont innombrables1 mais qui1 sitt les thmes trouvs1 semble par cela mme en avoir tabli tout le dveloppement 444 ,vincent d',indy1 in ,csar ,franck4 ,even each individual plant belonging to one and the same species assumes1 in size1 form and strength1 a growth peculiar to itself4 ,and so1 in each motive1 there lies the embryo of its fully developed form2 each one must unfold itself differently1 yet each obediently follows the law of eternal harmony4 ,this form is imperishable1 though each be unlike every other4 99 99 99 ,the motive in a composition with program bears within itself the same natural necessity2 but it must1 even in its earliest phase of development1 renounce its own proper mode of growth to mould--or1 rather1 twist--itself to fit the needs of the program4 ,thus turned aside1 at the outset1 from the path traced by nature1 it finally arrives at a wholly unexpected climax1 whither it has been led1 not by its own organization1 but by the way laid down in the program1 or the action1 or the philosophical idea4 ,and how primitive must this art remain6 ,true1 there are unequivocal descriptive effects of tone-painting 7from these the entire principle took its rise71 but these means of expression are few and trivial1 covering but a very small section of musical art4 ,begin with the most self-evident of all1 the debasement of ,tone to ,noise in imitating the sounds of ,nature--the rolling of thunder1 the roar of forests1 the cries of animals2 then those somewhat less evident1 symbolic--imitations of visual impressions1 like the lightning-flash1 springing movement1 the flight of birds2 again1 those intelligible only through the mediation of the reflective brain1 such as the trumpet-call as a warlike symbol1 the shawm to betoken ruralism1 march-rhythm to signify measured strides1 the chorale as vehicle for religious feeling4 ,add to the above the characterization of nationalities--national instruments and airs--and we have a complete inventory of the arsenal of program-music4 ,movement and repose1 minor and major1 high and low1 in their customary significance1 round out the list4--,these are auxiliaries1 of which good use can be made upon a broad canvas1 but which1 taken by themselves1 are no more to be called music than wax figures may pass for monuments4 99 99 99 ,and1 after all1 what can the presentation of a little happening upon this earth1 the report concerning an annoying neighbor--no matter whether in the next room or in an adjoining quarter of the globe--have in common with that music which pervades the universe8 ,to music1 indeed1 it is given to set in vibration our human moods3 ,dread 7,leporello71 oppression of soul1 invigoration1 lassitude 7,beethoven's last ,quartets71 decision 7,wotan71 hesitation1 despondency1 encouragement1 harshness1 tenderness1 excitement1 tranquillization1 the feeling of surprise or expectancy1 and still others2 likewise the inner echo of external occurrences which is bound up in these moods of the soul4 ,but not the moving cause itself of these spiritual affections2--not the joy over an avoided danger1 not the danger itself1 or the kind of danger which caused the dread2 an emotional state1 yes1 but not the psychic species of this emotion1 such as envy1 or jealousy2 and it is equally futile to attempt the expression1 through music1 of moral characteristics 7vanity1 cleverness71 or abstract ideas like truth and justice4 ,is it possible to imagine how a poor1 but contented man could be represented by music8 ,the contentment1 the soul-state1 can be interpreted by music2 but where does the poverty appear1 or the important ethic problem stated in the words poor1 but contented8 ,this is due to the fact that poor connotes a phase of terrestrial and social conditions not to be found in the eternal harmony4 ,and ,music is a part of the vibrating universe4 99 99 99 ,i may be allowed to subjoin a few subsidiary reflections3--,the greater part of modern theatre music suffers from the mistake of seeking to repeat the scenes passing on the stage1 instead of fulfilling its own proper mission of interpreting the soul-states of the persons represented4 ,when the scene presents the illusion of a thunderstorm1 this is exhaustively apprehended by the eye4 ,nevertheless1 nearly all composers strive to depict the storm in tones--which is not only a needless and feebler repetition1 but likewise a failure to perform their true function4 ,the person on the stage is either psychically influenced by the thunderstorm1 or his mood1 being absorbed in a train of thought of stronger influence1 remains unaffected4 ,the storm is visible and audible without aid from music2 it is the invisible and inaudible1 the spiritual processes of the personages portrayed1 which music should render intelligible4 99 99 99 ,again1 there are obvious psychic conditions on the stage1 whereof music need take no account4 ,suppose a theatrical situation in which a convivial company is passing at night and disappears from view1 while in the foreground a silent1 envenomed duel is in progress4 ,here the music1 by means of continuing song1 should keep in mind the jovial company now lost to sight2 the acts and feelings of the pair in the foreground may be understood without further commentary1 and the music--dramatically speaking--ought not to participate in their action and break the tragic silence4 ,measurably justified1 in my opinion1 is the plan of the old opera1 which concentrated and musically rounded out the passions aroused by a moving dramatic scene in a piece of set form 7the aria74 ,word and stage-play conveyed the dramatic progress of the action1 followed more or less meagrely by musical recitative2 arrived at the point of rest1 music resumed the reins4 ,this is less extrinsic than some would now have us believe4 ,on the other hand1 it was the ossified form of the aria itself which led to inveracity of expression and decadence4 99 99 99 ,,the audible presentation1 the performance1 of music1 its emotional interpretation1 derives from those free heights whence descended the ,art itself4 ,where the art is threatened by earthliness1 it is the part of interpretation to raise it and rendow it with its primordial essence4 ,notation1 the writing out of compositions1 is primarily an ingenious expedient for catching an inspiration1 with the purpose of exploiting it later4 ,but notation is to improvisation as the portrait to the living model4 ,it is for the interpreter to resolve the rigidity of the signs into the primitive emotion4 ,but the lawgivers require the interpreter to reproduce the rigidity of the signs2 they consider his reproduction the nearer to perfection1 the more closely it clings to the signs4-- ,what the composer's inspiration necessarily loses,h through notation1 his interpreter should restore by his own4 ,h ,how strongly notation influences style in music1 and fetters imagination1 how form grew up out of it and from form arose conventionalism in expression1 is shown very convincingly and avenges itself in tragic wise in ,e4 ,t4 ,a4 ,hoffmann1 who occurs to me here as a typical example4 ,this remarkable man's mental conceptions1 lost in visionary moods and revelling in transcendentalism1 as his writings set forth in oft inimitable fashion1 must naturally--so one would infer--have found in the dreamlike and transcendental art of tones a language and mode of expression peculiarly congenial4 ,the veil of mysticism1 the secret harmonies of ,nature1 the thrill of the supernatural1 the twilight vagueness of the borderland of dreams1 everything1 in fact1 which he so effectively limned with the precision of words--all this1 one would suppose1 he could have interpreted to fullest effect by the aid of music4 ,and yet1 comparing ,hoffmann's best musical work with the weakest of his literary productions1 you will discover to your sorrow how a conventional system of measures1 periods and keys--whereto the hackneyed opera-style of the time adds its share--could turn a poet into a ,philistine4 ,but that his fancy cherished another ideal of music1 we learn from many1 and frequently admirable1 observations of ,hoffmann the littrateur4 ,to the lawgivers1 the signs themselves are the most important matter1 and are continually growing in their estimation2 the new art of music is derived from the old signs--and these now stand for musical art itself4 ,if the lawgivers had their way1 any given composition would always be reproduced in precisely the same tempo1 whensoever1 by whomsoever1 and under whatsoever conditions it might be performed4 ,but1 it is not possible2 the buoyant1 expansive nature of the divine child rebels--it demands the opposite4 ,each day begins differently from the preceding1 yet always with the flush of dawn4--,great artists play their own works differently at each repetition1 remodel them on the spur of the moment1 accelerate and retard1 in a way which they could not indicate by signs--and always according to the given conditions of that eternal harmony4 ,and then the lawgiver chafes1 and refers the creator to his own handwriting4 ,as matters stand to-day1 the lawgiver has the best of the argument4 99 99 99 ,notation 7writing down7 brings up the subject of ,transcription1 nowadays a term much misunderstood1 almost discreditable4 ,the frequent antagonism which ,i have excited with transcriptions1 and the opposition to which an ofttimes irrational criticism has provoked me1 caused me to seek a clear understanding of this point4 ,my final conclusion concerning it is this3 ,every notation is1 in itself1 the transcription of an abstract idea4 ,the instant the pen seizes it1 the idea loses its original form4 ,the very intention to write down the idea1 compels a choice of measure and key4 ,the form1 and the musical agency1 which the composer must decide upon1 still more closely define the way and the limits4 ,it is much the same as with man himself4 ,born naked1 and as yet without definite aspirations1 he decides1 or at a given moment is made to decide1 upon a career4 ,from the moment of decision1 although much that is original and imperishable in the idea or the man may live on1 either is depressed to the type of a class4 ,the musical idea becomes a sonata or a concerto2 the man1 a soldier or a priest4 ,that is an ,arrangement of the original4 ,from this first transcription to a second the step is comparatively short and unimportant4 ,and yet it is only the second1 in general1 of which any notice is taken2 overlooking the fact1 that a transcription does not destroy the archetype1 which is1 therefore1 not lost through transcription4 ,again1 the performance of a work is also a transcription1 and still1 whatever liberties it may take1 it can never annihilate the original4 ,for the musical art-work exists1 before its tones resound and after they die away1 complete and intact4 ,it exists both within and outside of time1 and through its nature we can obtain a definite conception of the otherwise intangible notion of the ,ideality of ,time4 ,for the rest1 most of ,beethoven's piano compositions sound like transcriptions of orchestral works2 most of ,schumann's orchestral compositions1 like arrangements from pieces for the piano--and they are so1 in a way4 99 99 99 ,strangely enough1 the ,variation-,form is highly esteemed by the ,worshippers of the ,letter4 ,that is singular2 for the variation-form--when built up on a borrowed theme--produces a whole series of arrangements which1 besides1 are least respectful when most ingenious4 ,so the arrangement is not good1 because it varies the original2 and the variation is good1 although it arranges the original4 99 99 99 ,,the term musikalisch 7musical7 is used by the ,germans in a sense foreign to that in which any other language employs it4,i ,it is a conception belonging to the ,germans1 and not to culture in general2 the expression is incorrect and untranslatable4 ,musical is derived from music1 like poetical from poetry1 or physical from physic7s74 ,when ,i say1 ,schubert was one of the most musical among men1 it is the same as if ,i should say1 ,helmholtz was one of the most physical among men4 ,that is musical1 which sounds in rhythms and intervals4 ,a cupboard can be musical1 if music-works be enclosed in it4,j ,in a comparative sense1 musical may have the further signification of euphonious4--,my verses are too musical to bear setting to music1 a noted poet once remarked to me4 ,i ,the author probably had in mind the languages of southern ,europe2 the word is employed in ,english1 and in the tongues of the ,scandinavian group1 with precisely the same meaning as in ,german4 ,translator's ,note4 ,j ,the only kind of people one might properly call musical1 are the singers2 for they themselves can sound4 ,similarly1 a clown who by some trick produces tones when he is touched1 might be called a pseudo-musical person4 ,spirits moving musically ,to a lute's well-tuned law1 writes ,edgar ,allan ,poe4 ,lastly1 one may speak quite correctly of musical laughter1 because it sounds like music4 ,taking the signification in which the term is applied and almost exclusively employed in ,german1 a musical person is one who manifests an inclination for music by a nice discrimination and sensitiveness with regard to the technical aspects of the art4 ,by technics ,i mean rhythm1 harmony1 intonation1 part-leading1 and the treatment of themes4 ,the more subtleties he is capable of hearing or reproducing in these1 the more musical he is held to be4 ,in view of the great importance attached to these elements of the art1 this musical temperament has naturally become of the highest consequence4 ,and so an artist who plays with perfect technical finish should be deemed the most musical player4 ,but as we mean by technics only the mechanical mastery of the instrument1 the terms technical and musical have been turned into opposites4 ,the matter has been carried so far as to call a composition itself musical1,k or even to assert of a great composer like ,berlioz that he was not sufficiently musical4,l ,unmusical conveys the strongest reproach2 branded thus1 its object becomes an outlaw4,m ,k ,but these pieces are so musical1 a violinist once remarked to me of a four-hand worklet which ,i had characterized as trivial4 ,l ,my dog is very musical1 ,i have heard said in all seriousness4 ,should the dog take precedence of ,berlioz8 ,m ,such has been my own fate4 ,in a country like ,italy1 where all participate in the delights of music1 this differentiation becomes superfluous1 and the term corresponding is not found in the language4 ,in ,france1 where a living sense of music does not permeate the people1 there are musicians and non-musicians2 of the rest1 some are very fond of music1 and others do not care for it4 ,only in ,germany is it made a point of honor to be musical1 that is to say1 not merely to love music1 but more especially to understand it as regards its technical means of expression1 and to obey their rules4 ,a thousand hands support the buoyant child and solicitously attend its footsteps1 that it may not soar aloft where there might be risk of a serious fall4 ,but it is still so young1 and is eternal2 the day of its freedom will come4--,when it shall cease to be musical4 99 99 99 ,,the creator should take over no traditional law in blind belief1 which would make him view his own creative endeavor1 from the outset1 as an exception contrasting with that law4 ,for his individual case he should seek out and formulate a fitting individual law1 which1 after the first complete realization1 he should annul1 that he himself may not be drawn into repetitions when his next work shall be in the making4 ,the function of the creative artist consists in making laws1 not in following laws ready made4 ,he who follows such laws1 ceases to be a creator4 ,creative power may be the more readily recognized1 the more it shakes itself loose from tradition4 ,but an intentional avoidance of the rules cannot masquerade as creative power1 and still less engender it4 ,the true creator strives1 in reality1 after perfection only4 ,and through bringing this into harmony with his own individuality1 a new law arises without premeditation4 99 99 99 ,so narrow has our tonal range become1 so stereotyped its form of expression1 that nowadays there is not one familiar motive that cannot be fitted with some other familiar motive so that the two may be played simultaneously4 ,not to lose my way in trifling1,n ,i shall refrain from giving examples4 ,n ,with a friend ,i once indulged in such trifling in order to ascertain how many commonly known compositions were written according to the scheme of the second theme in the ,adagio of the ,ninth ,symphony4 ,in a few moments we had collected some fifteen analogues of the most different kinds1 among them specimens of the lowest type of art4 ,and ,beethoven himself3--,is the theme of the ,finale in the ,fifth any other than the one wherewith the ,second introduces its ,allegro8--or than the principal theme of the ,third ,piano ,concerto1 only in minor8 99 99 99 ,that which1 within our present-day music1 most nearly approaches the essential nature of the art1 is the ,rest and the ,hold 7,pause74 ,consummate players1 improvisers1 know how to employ these instruments of expression in loftier and ampler measure4 ,the tense silence between two movements--in itself music1 in this environment--leaves wider scope for divination than the more determinate1 but therefore less elastic1 sound4 99 99 99 ,what we now call our ,tonal ,system is nothing more than a set of signs2 an ingenious device to grasp somewhat of that eternal harmony2 a meagre pocket-edition of that encyclopedic work2 artificial light instead of the sun4--,have you ever noticed how people gaze open-mouthed at the brilliant illumination of a hall8 ,they never do so at the millionfold brighter sunshine of noonday4-- ,and so1 in music1 the signs have assumed greater consequence than that which they ought to stand for1 and can only suggest4 ,how important1 indeed1 are ,third1 ,fifth1 and ,octave6 ,how strictly we divide consonances from dissonances--in a sphere where no dissonances can possibly exist6 ,we have divided the octave into twelve equidistant degrees1 because we had to manage somehow1 and have constructed our instruments in such a way that we can never get in above or below or between them4 ,keyboard instruments1 in particular1 have so thoroughly schooled our ears that we are no longer capable of hearing anything else--incapable of hearing except through this impure medium4 ,yet ,nature created an infinite gradation--infinite6 who still knows it nowadays8,o ,o ,the equal temperament of #ab degrees1 which was discussed theoretically as early as about #aejj1 but not established as a principle until shortly before #agjj 7by ,andreas ,werkmeister71 divides the octave into twelve equal portions 7semitones1 hence 'twelve-semitone system'7 through which mean values are obtained2 no interval is perfectly pure1 but all are fairly serviceable4 7,riemann1 ,musik-,lexikon47 ,thus1 through ,andreas ,werkmeister1 this master-workman in art1 we have gained the twelve-semitone system with intervals which are all impure1 but fairly serviceable4 ,but what is pure1 and what impure8 ,we hear a piano gone out of tune1 and whose intervals may thus have become pure1 but unserviceable1 and it sounds impure to us4 ,the diplomatic ,twelve-semitone system is an invention mothered by necessity2 yet none the less do we sedulously guard its imperfections4 ,and within this duodecimal octave we have marked out a series of fixed intervals1 seven in number1 and founded thereon our entire art of music4 ,what do ,i say--one series8 ,two such series1 one for each leg3 ,the ,major and ,minor ,scales4 ,when we start this series of intervals on some other degree of our semitonic ladder1 we obtain a new key1 and a foreign one1 at that6 ,how violently contracted a system arose from this initial confusion1,p may be read in the law-books2 we will not repeat it here4 ,p ,it is termed ,the ,science of ,harmony4 99 99 99 ,we teach four-and-twenty keys1 twelve times the two ,series of ,seven2 but1 in point of fact1 we have at our command only two1 the major key and the minor key4 ,the rest are merely transpositions4 ,by means of the several transpositions we are supposed to get different shades of harmony2 but this is an illusion4 ,in ,england1 under the reign of the high concert pitch1 the most familiar works may be played a semitone higher than they are written1 without changing their effect4 ,singers transpose an aria to suit their convenience1 leaving untransposed what precedes and follows4 ,song-writers not infrequently publish their own compositions in three different pitches2 in all three editions the pieces are precisely alike4 ,when a well-known face looks out of a window1 it matters not whether it gazes down from the first story or the third4 ,were it feasible to elevate or depress a landscape1 far as eye can reach1 by several hundred yards1 the pictorial impression would neither gain nor lose by it4 99 99 99 ,upon the two ,series of ,seven1 the major key and the minor key1 the whole art of music has been established2 one limitation brings on the other4 ,to each of these a definite character has been attributed2 we have learned and have taught that they should be heard as contrasts1 and they have gradually acquired the significance of symbols3--,major and ,minor--,maggiore e ,minore--,contentment and ,discontent--,joy and ,sorrow--,light and ,shade4 ,the harmonic symbols have fenced in the expression of music1 from ,bach to ,wagner1 and yet further on until to-day and the day after to-morrow4 ,minor is employed with the same intention1 and has the same effect upon us now1 as two hundred years ago4 ,nowadays it is no longer possible to compose a funeral march1 for it already exists1 once for all4 ,even the least informed non-professional knows what to expect when a funeral march--whichever you please--is to be played4 ,even such an one can anticipate the difference between a symphony in major and one in minor4 ,we are tyrannized by ,major and ,minor--by the bifurcated garment4 99 99 99 ,strange1 that one should feel major and minor as opposites4 ,they both present the same face1 now more joyous1 now more serious2 and a mere touch of the brush suffices to turn the one into the other4 ,the passage from either to the other is easy and imperceptible2 when it occurs frequently and swiftly1 the two begin to shimmer and coalesce indistinguishably4--,but when we recognize that major and minor form one ,whole with a double meaning1 and that the four-and-twenty keys are simply an elevenfold transposition of the original twain1 we arrive unconstrainedly at a perception of the ,,unity of our system of keys tonality4 ,the conceptions of related and foreign keys vanish1 and with them the entire intricate theory of degrees and relations4 ,we possess one single key4 ,but it is of most meagre sort4 99 99 99 ,unity of the key-system4 --,i suppose you mean that 'key' and 'key-system' are the sunbeam and its diffraction into colors8 ,no2 that ,i can not mean4 ,for our whole system of tone1 key1 and tonality1 taken in its entirety1 is only a part of a fraction of one diffracted ray from that ,sun1 ,music1 in the empyrean of the eternal harmony4 99 99 99 ,however deeply rooted the attachment to the habitual1 and inertia1 may be in the ways and nature of humankind1 in equal measure are energy1 and opposition to the existing order1 characteristic of all that has life4 ,nature has her wiles1 and persuades man1 obstinately opposed though he be to progress and change2 ,nature progresses continually and changes unremittingly1 but with so even and unnoticeable movement that men perceive only quiescence4 ,only on looking backward from a distance do they note with astonishment that they have been deceived4 ,the ,reformer of any given period excites irritation for the reason that his changes find men unprepared1 and1 above all1 because these changes are appreciable4 ,the ,reformer1 in comparison with ,nature1 is undiplomatic2 and1 as a wholly logical consequence1 his changes do not win general acceptance until ,time1 with subtle1 imperceptible advance1 has bridged over the leap of the self-assured leader4 ,yet we find cases in which the reformer marched abreast of the times1 while the rest fell behind4 ,and then they have to be forced and lashed to take the leap across the passage they have missed4 ,i believe that the major-and-minor key with its transpositional relations1 our twelve-semitone system1 exhibits such a case of falling behind4 99 99 99 ,that some few have already felt how the intervals of the ,series of ,seven might be differently arranged 7graduated7 is manifested in isolated passages by ,liszt1 and recently by ,debussy and his following1 and even by ,richard ,strauss4 ,strong impulse1 longing1 gifted instinct1 all speak from these strains4 ,yet it does not appear to me that a conscious and orderly conception of this intensified means of expression had been formed by these composers4 ,i have made an attempt to exhaust the possibilities of the arrangement of degrees within the seven-tone scale2 and succeeded1 by raising and lowering the intervals1 in establishing one hundred and thirteen different scales4 ,these #aac scales 7within the octave ,c-,c7 comprise the greater part of our familiar twenty-four keys1 and1 furthermore1 a series of new keys of peculiar character4 ,but with these the mine is not exhausted1 for we are at liberty to transpose each one of these #aac1 besides the blending of two such keys in harmony and melody4 ,there is a significant difference between the sound of the scale c-d-e-f-g-a-b-c when c is taken as tonic1 and the scale of d minor4 ,by giving it the customary ,c-major triad as a fundamental harmony1 a novel harmonic sensation is obtained4 ,but now listen to this same scale supported alternately by the ,a-minor1 ,e-major1 and ,c-major triads1 and you cannot avoid a feeling of delightful surprise at the strangely unfamiliar euphony4 ,but how would a lawgiver classify the tone-series c-d-e-f-g-a-b-c1 c-d-e-f-g-a-b-c1 c-d-e-f-g-a-b-c1 c-d-e-f-g-a-b-c8--or these1 forsooth3 c-d-e-f-g-a-b-c1 c-d-e-f-g-a-b-c1 c-d-e-f-g-a-b-c8 ,one cannot estimate at a glance what wealth of melodic and harmonic expression would thus be opened up to the hearing2 but a great many novel possibilities may be accepted as certain1 and are perceptible at a glance4 99 99 99 ,with this presentation1 the unity of all keys may be considered as finally pronounced and justified4 ,a kaleidoscopic blending and interchanging of twelve semitones within the three-mirror tube of ,taste1 ,emotion1 and ,intention--the essential feature of the harmony of to-day4 99 99 99 ,the harmony of to-day1 and not for long2 for all signs presage a revolution1 and a next step toward that eternal harmony4 ,let us once again call to mind1 that in this latter the gradation of the octave is infinite1 and let us strive to draw a little nearer to infinitude4 ,the tripartite tone 7third of a tone7 has for some time been demanding admittance1 and we have left the call unheeded4 ,whoever has experimented1 like myself 7in a modest way71 with this interval1 and introduced 7either with voice or with violin7 two equidistant intermediate tones between the extremes of a whole tone1 schooling his ear and his precision of attack1 will not have failed to discern that tripartite tones are wholly independent intervals with a pronounced character1 and not to be confounded with ill-tuned semitones4 ,they form a refinement in chromatics based1 as at present appears1 on the whole-tone scale4 ,were we to adopt them without further preparation1 we should have to give up the semitones and lose our minor third and perfect fifth2 and this loss would be felt more keenly than the relative gain of a system of eighteen one-third tones4 ,but there is no apparent reason for giving up the semitones for the sake of this new system4 ,by retaining1 for each whole tone1 a semitone1 we obtain a second series of whole tones lying a semitone higher than the original series4 ,then1 by dividing this second series of whole tones into third-tones1 each third-tone in the lower series will be matched by a semitone in the higher series4 ,thus we have really arrived at a system of whole tones divided into sixths of a tone2 and we may be sure that even sixth-tones will sometime be adopted into musical speech4 ,but the tonal system above sketched must first of all train the hearing to thirds of a tone1 without giving up the semitones4 ,to summarize3 ,we may set up either two series of third-tones1 with an interval of a semitone between the series2 or1 the usual semitonic series thrice repeated at the interval of one-third of a tone4 ,merely for the sake of distinction1 let us call the first tone ,c1 and the next third-tones ,c1 and ,d2 the first semitone 7small7 c1 and its following thirds c and d2 the result is fully explained by the table below3 ,music ,a preliminary expedient for notation might be1 to draw six lines for the staff1 using the lines for the whole tones and the spaces for the semitones3 ,music then indicating the third-tones by sharps and flats3 ,music ,the question of notation seems to me subordinate4 ,on the other hand1 the question is important and imperious1 how and on what these tones are to be produced4 ,fortunately1 while busied with this essay1 ,i received from ,america direct and authentic intelligence which solves the problem in a simple manner4 ,i refer to an invention by ,dr4 ,thaddeus ,cahill4,q ,he has constructed a comprehensive apparatus which makes it possible to transform an electric current into a fixed and mathematically exact number of vibrations4 ,as pitch depends on the number of vibrations1 and the apparatus may be set on any number desired1 the infinite gradation of the octave may be accomplished by merely moving a lever corresponding to the pointer of a quadrant4 ,q ,new ,music for an ,old ,world4 ,dr4 ,thaddeus ,cahill's ,dynamophone1 an extraordinary electrical invention for producing scientifically perfect music4 ,article in ,mc,clure's ,magazine for ,july1 #aijf1 by ,ray ,stannard ,baker4 ,readers interested in the details of this invention are referred to the above-mentioned magazine article4 ,only a long and careful series of experiments1 and a continued training of the ear1 can render this unfamiliar material approachable and plastic for the coming generation1 and for ,art4 99 99 99 ,and what a vista of fair hopes and dreamlike fancies is thus opened for them both6 ,who has not dreamt that he could float on air8 and firmly believed his dream to be reality8--,let us take thought1 how music may be restored to its primitive1 natural essence2 let us free it from architectonic1 acoustic and esthetic dogmas2 let it be pure invention and sentiment1 in harmonies1 in forms1 in tone-colors 7for invention and sentiment are not the prerogative of melody alone72 let it follow the line of the rainbow and vie with the clouds in breaking sunbeams2 let ,music be naught else than ,nature mirrored by and reflected from the human breast2 for it is sounding air and floats above and beyond the air2 within ,man himself as universally and absolutely as in ,creation entire2 for it can gather together and disperse without losing in intensity4 99 99 99 ,,in his book ,beyond the ,good and the ,bad 7,jenseits von ,gut und ,bse7 ,nietzsche says3 ,with regard to ,german music ,i consider precaution necessary in various ways4 ,assuming that a person loves the ,south 7as ,i love it7 as a great training-school for health of soul and sense in their highest potency1 as an uncontrollable flood and glamour of sunshine spreading over a race of independent and self-reliant beings2--well1 such an one will learn to be more or less on his guard against ,german music1 because1 while spoiling his taste anew1 it undermines his health4 ,such a ,southlander 7not by descent1 but by belief7 must1 should he dream of the future of music1 likewise dream of a redemption of music from the ,north1 while in his ears there rings the prelude to a deeper1 mightier1 perchance a more evil and more mysterious music1 a super-,german music1 which does not fade1 wither and die away in view of the blue1 sensuous sea and the splendor of ,mediterranean skies1 as all ,german music does2--a super-,european music1 that asserts itself even amid the tawny sunsets of the desert1 whose soul is allied with the palm-tree1 and can consort and prowl with great1 beautiful1 lonely beasts of prey4 ,i could imagine a music whose rarest charm should consist in its complete divorce from the ,good and the ,bad2--only that its surface might be ruffled1 as it were1 by a longing as of a sailor for home1 by variable golden shadows and tender frailties3--an ,art which should see fleeing toward it1 from afar off1 the hues of a perishing moral world become wellnigh incomprehensible1 and which should be hospitable and profound enough to harbor such belated fugitives4 ,and ,tolstoi transmutes a landscape-impression into a musical impression when he writes1 in ,lucerne3 ,neither on the lake1 nor on the mountains1 nor in the skies1 a single straight line1 a single unmixed color1 a single point of repose2--everywhere movement1 irregularity1 caprice1 variety1 an incessant interplay of shades and lines1 and in it all the reposefulness1 softness1 harmony and inevitableness of ,beauty4 ,will this music ever be attained8 ,not all reach ,nirvana2 but he who1 gifted from the beginning1 learns everything that one ought to learn1 experiences all that one should experience1 renounces what one should renounce1 develops what one should develop1 realizes what one should realize--he shall reach ,nirvana4,r 7,kern1 ,geschichte des ,buddhismus in ,indien47 ,r ,as if anticipating my thoughts1 ,m4 ,vincent d',indy has just written me3 444 laissant de ct les contingences et les petitesses de la vie pour regarder constamment vers un idal qu'on ne pourra jamais atteindre1 mais dont il est permis de se rapprocher4 ,if ,nirvana be the realm beyond the ,good and the ,bad1 one way leading thither is here pointed out4 ,a way to the very portal4 ,to the bars that divide ,man from ,eternity--or that open to admit that which was temporal4 ,beyond that portal sounds music4 ,not the strains of musical art4,s--,it may be1 that we must leave ,earth to find that music4 ,but only to the pilgrim who has succeeded on the way in freeing himself from earthly shackles1 shall the bars open4 ,s ,i think ,i have read1 somewhere1 that ,liszt confined his ,dante ,symphony to the two movements1 ,inferno and ,purgatorio1 because our tone-speech is inadequate to express the felicities of ,paradise4 ,,addenda ,,feeling--like honesty--is a moral point of honor1 an attribute of whose possession no one will permit denial1 which claims a place in life and art alike4 ,but while1 in life1 a want of feeling may be forgiven to the possessor of a more brilliant attribute1 such as bravery or impartial justice1 in art feeling is held to be the highest moral qualification4 ,in music1 however1 feeling requires two consorts1 taste and style4 ,now1 in life1 one encounters real taste as seldom as deep and true feeling2 as for style1 it is a province of art4 ,what remains1 is a species of pseudo-emotion which must be characterized as lachrymose hysteria or turgidity4 ,and1 above all1 people insist upon having it plainly paraded before their eyes6 ,it must be underscored1 so that everybody shall stop1 look1 and listen4 ,the audience sees it1 greatly magnified1 thrown on the screen1 so that it dances before the vision in vague1 importunate vastness2 it is cried on the streets1 to summon them that dwell remote from art2 it is gilded1 to make the destitute stare in amaze4 ,for in life1 too1 the expressions of feeling1 by mien and words1 are oftenest employed2 rarer1 and more genuine1 is that feeling which acts without talk2 and most precious is the feeling which hides itself4 ,feeling is generally understood to mean tenderness1 pathos1 and extravagance1 of expression4 ,but how much more does the marvelous flower ,emotion enfold6 ,restraint and forbearance1 renunciation1 power1 activity1 patience1 magnanimity1 joyousness1 and that all-controlling intelligence wherein feeling actually takes its rise4 ,it is not otherwise in ,art1 which holds the mirror up to ,life2 and still more outspokenly in ,music1 which repeats the emotions of ,life--though for this1 as ,i have said1 taste and style must be added2 ,style1 which distinguishes ,art from ,life4 ,what the amateur and the mediocre artist attempt to express1 is feeling in little1 in detail1 for a short stretch4 ,feeling on a grand scale is mistaken by the amateur1 the semi-artist1 the public 7and the critics too1 unhappily671 for a want of emotion1 because they all are unable to hear the longer reaches as parts of a yet more extended whole4 ,feeling1 therefore1 is likewise economy4 ,hence1 ,i distinguish feeling as ,taste1 as ,style1 as ,economy4 ,each a whole in itself1 and each one-third of the ,whole4 ,within and over them rules a subjective trinity3 ,temperament1 ,intelligence1 and the instinct of ,equipoise4 ,these six carry on a dance of such subtility in the choice of partners and intertwining of figures1 in the bearing and the being borne1 in advancing and curtesying1 in motion and repose1 that no loftier height of artistry is conceivable4 ,when the chords of the two triads are in perfect tune1 ,fantasy may--nay1 must--associate with ,feeling2 supported by the ,six1 she will not degenerate1 and out of this combination of all the elements arises ,individuality4 ,the individuality catches1 like a lens1 the light-impressions1 reflects them1 according to its nature1 as a negative1 and the hearer perceives the true picture4 99 99 99 ,in so far as taste participates in feeling1 the latter--like all else--alters its forms of expression with the period4 ,that is1 one aspect or another of feeling will be favored at one time or another1 onesidedly cultivated1 especially developed4 ,thus1 with and after ,wagner1 voluptuous sensuality came to the fore2 the form of intensification of passion is still unsurmounted by contemporary composers4 ,on every tranquil beginning followed a swift upward surge4 ,wagner1 in this point insatiable1 but not inexhaustible1 turned from sheer necessity to the expedient1 after reaching a climax1 of starting afresh softly1 to soar to a sudden new intensification4 ,modern ,french writers exhibit a revulsion2 their feeling is a reflexive chastity1 or perhaps rather a restrained sensualism2 the upstriving mountain-paths of ,wagner are succeeded by monotonous plains of twilight uniformity4 ,thus style forms itself out of feeling1 when led by taste4 99 99 99 ,the ,apostles of the ,ninth ,symphony have devised the notion of depth in music4 ,it is still current at face-value1 especially in ,germanic lands4 ,there is a depth of feeling1 and a depth of thought2 the latter is literary1 and can have no application to tones4 ,depth of feeling1 by contrast1 is psychical1 and thoroughly germane to the nature of music4 ,the ,apostles of the ,ninth ,symphony have a peculiar and not quite clearly defined estimate of depth in music4 ,depth becomes breadth1 and the attempt is made to attain it through weight2 it then discovers itself 7through an association of ideas7 by a preference for a deep register1 and 7as ,i have had opportunity to observe7 by the insinuation of a second1 mysterious notion1 usually of a literary sort4 ,if these are not the sole specific signs1 they are the most important ones4 ,to every disciple of philosophy1 however1 depth of feeling would seem to imply exhaustiveness in feeling1 a complete absorption in the given mood4 ,whoever1 surrounded by the full tide of a genuine carnival crowd1 slinks about morosely or even indifferently1 neither affected nor carried away by the tremendous self-satire of mask and motley1 by the might of misrule over law1 by the vengeful feeling of wit running riot1 shows himself incapable of sounding the depths of feeling4 ,this gives further confirmation of the fact1 that depth of feeling roots in a complete absorption in the given mood1 however frivolous1 and blossoms in the interpretation of that mood2 whereas the current conception of deep feeling singles out only one aspect of feeling in man1 and specializes that4 ,in the so-called ,champagne ,aria in ,don ,giovanni there lies more depth than in many a funeral march or nocturne3--,depth of feeling also shows in not wasting it on subordinate or unimportant matters4 99 99 99 ,,routine is highly esteemed and frequently required2 in musical officialdom it is a sine qua non4 ,that routine in music should exist at all1 and1 furthermore1 that it can be nominated as a condition in the musician's bond1 is another proof of the narrow confines of our musical art4 ,routine signifies the acquisition of a modicum of experience and artcraft1 and their application to all cases which may occur2 hence1 there must be an astounding number of analogous cases4 ,now1 ,i like to imagine a species of art-praxis wherein each case should be a new one1 an exception6 ,how helpless and impotent would the army of practical musicians stand before it6--in the end they would surely beat a retreat1 and disappear4 ,routine transforms the temple of art into a factory4 ,it destroys creativeness4 ,for creation means1 the bringing form out of the void2 whereas routine flourishes on imitation4 ,it is poetry made to order4 ,it rules because it suits the generality3 ,in the theatre1 in the orchestra1 in virtuosi1 in instruction4 ,one longs to exclaim1 ,avoid routine6 ,let each beginning be1 as had none been before6 ,know nothing1 but rather think and feel6 ,for1 behold1 the myriad strains that once shall sound have existed since the beginning1 ready1 afloat in the ther1 and together with them other myriads that shall never be heard4 ,only stretch forth your hands1 and ye shall grasp a blossom1 a breath of the sea-breeze1 a sunbeam2 avoid routine1 for it strives to grasp only that wherewith your four walls are filled1 and the same over and over again2 the spirit of ease so infects you1 that you will scarcely leave your armchairs1 and will lay hold only of what is nearest to hand4 ,and myriad strains are there since the beginning1 still waiting for manifestation6 99 99 99 ,it is my misfortune1 to possess no routine1 ,wagner once wrote ,liszt1 when the composition of ,tristan was making no progress4 ,thus ,wagner deceived himself1 and wore a mask for others4 ,he had too much routine1 and his composing-machinery was thrown out of gear1 just when a tangle formed in the mesh which only inspiration could unloose4 ,true1 ,wagner found the clew when he succeeded in throwing off routine2 but had he really never possessed it1 he would have declared the fact without bitterness4 ,and1 after all1 this sentence in ,wagner's letter expresses the true artist-contempt for routine1 inasmuch as he waives all claim to a qualification which he thinks meanly of1 and takes care that others may not invest him with it4 ,this self-praise he utters with a mien of ironic desperation4 ,he is1 in very truth1 unhappy that composition is at a standstill1 but finds rich consolation in the consciousness that his genius is above the cheap expedients of routine2 at the same time1 with an air of modesty1 he sorrowfully confesses that he has not acquired a training belonging to the craft4 ,the sentence is a masterpiece of the native cunning of the instinct of self-preservation2 but equally proves--and that is our point--the pettiness of routine in creative work4 99 99 99 ,,respect the ,pianoforte6 ,its disadvantages are evident1 decided1 and unquestionable3 ,the lack of sustained tone1 and the pitiless1 unyielding adjustment of the inalterable semitonic scale4 ,but its advantages and prerogatives approach the marvelous4 ,it gives a single man command over something complete2 in its potentialities from softest to loudest in one and the same register it excels all other instruments4 ,the trumpet can blare1 but not sigh2 contrariwise the flute2 the pianoforte can do both4 ,its range embraces the highest and deepest practicable tones4 ,respect the ,pianoforte6 ,let doubters consider how the pianoforte was esteemed by ,bach1 ,mozart1 ,beethoven1 ,liszt1 who dedicated their choicest thoughts to it4 ,and the pianoforte has one possession wholly peculiar to itself1 an inimitable device1 a photograph of the sky1 a ray of moonlight--the ,pedal4 ,the effects of the pedal are unexhausted1 because they have remained even to this day the drudges of a narrow-souled and senseless harmonic theory2 the treatment accorded them is like trying to mould air or water into geometric forms4 ,beethoven1 who incontestably achieved the greatest progress on and for the pianoforte1 divined the mysteries of the pedal1 and to him we owe the first liberties4 ,the pedal is in ill-repute4 ,for this1 absurd irregularities must bear the blame4 ,let us experiment with sensible irregularities4 99 99 99 ,i ,,felt 444 that the book ,i shall write will be neither in ,english nor in ,latin2 and this for the one reason 444 namely1 that the language in which it may be given me not only to write1 but also to think1 will not be ,latin1 or ,english1 or ,italian1 or ,spanish1 but a language not even one of whose words ,i know1 a language in which dumb things speak to me1 and in which1 it may be1 ,i shall at last have to respond in my grave to an ,unknown ,judge4 7,von ,hofmannsthal3 ,a letter47 ,transcriber's ,note3 ,the following is a list of corrections made to the original4 ,the first line is the original line1 the second the corrected one4 ,i know not what2 the ,unknown ,i would have6 ,i know not what2 the ,unknown ,i would have6 mme en avoir tabli tout la dveloppement 444 ,vincent d',indy1 in mme en avoir tabli tout le dveloppement 444 ,vincent d',indy1 in 7,von ,hoffmannsthal3 ,a letter47 7,von ,hofmannsthal3 ,a letter47