finger down the string, he took the next note with the third, in such a way that a most exquisite legato effect, like a breath, the echo of a sigh, was secured.  And the beauty of tone color in this instance not only proved his point, but has led me invariably to examine very closely a fingering on the part of a master violinist which represents a departure from the conventional—­it is often the technical key to some new beauty of interpretation or expression.

“Fritz Kreisler’s individuality is also reflected in his markings and fingerings.  Of course those in his ‘educational’ editions are strictly meant for study needs.  But in general they are difficult and based on his own manner and style of playing.  As he himself has remarked:  ’I could play the violin just as well with three as with four fingers.’  Kreisler is fond of ‘fingered’ octaves, and these, because of his abnormal hand, he plays with the first and third fingers, where virtuose players, as a rule, are only too happy if they can play them with the first and fourth.  To verify this individual character of his revisions, one need only glance at his edition of Godowsky’s ‘12 Impressions’ for violin—­in every case the fingerings indicated are difficult in the extreme; yet they supply the key to definite effects, and since this music is intended for the advance player, are quite in order.

“The ms. and revisions of many other distinguished artists have passed through my hands.  Theodore Spiering has been responsible for the educational detail of classic and modern works; Arthur Hartmann—­a composer of marked originality—­Albert Spalding, Eddy Brown, Francis MacMillan, Max Pilzer, David Hochstein, Richard Czerwonky, Cecil Burleigh, Edwin Grasse, Edmund Severn, Franz C. Bornschein, Leo Ornstein, Rubin Goldmark, Louis Pershinger, Louis Victor Saar—­whose ms. always look as though engraved—­have all given me opportunities of seeing the best the American violin composer is creating at the present time.

EDITORIAL DIFFICULTIES

“The revisional work of the master violinist is of very great importance, but often great artists and distinguished teachers hold radically different views with regard to practically every detail of their art.  And it is by no means easy for an editor like myself, who is finally responsible for their editions, to harmonize a hundred conflicting views and opinions.  The fiddlers best qualified to speak with authority will often disagree absolutely regarding the use of a string, position, up-bow or down-bow.  And besides meeting the needs of student and teacher, an editor-in-chief must bear in mind the artistic requirements of the music itself.  In many cases the divergence in teaching standards reflects the personal preferences for the editions used.  Less ambitious teachers choose methods which make the study of the violin as easy as possible for them; rather than those which—­in the long run—­may be most advantageous for the pupil.  The