“It is the transcriber’s privilege—­providing he be sufficiently the artist to approach the personality of another artist with reverence—­to donate his own gifts of ingenuity, and to exercise his judgment in either adding, omitting, harmonically or otherwise embellishing the work (while preserving the original idea and characteristics), so as to thoroughly re-create it, so completely destroying the very sensing of the original timbre that one involuntarily exclaims, ’Truly, this never was anything but a violin piece!’ It is this, the blending and fusion of two personalities in the achievement of an art-ideal, that is the result of a true adaptation.

“Among the transcriptions I have most enjoyed making were those of Debussy’s Il pleure dans mon coeur, and La Fille aux cheveaux de lin.  Debussy was my cherished friend, and they represent a labor of love.  Though Debussy was not, generally speaking, an advocate of transcriptions, he liked these, and I remember when I first played La Fille aux cheveaux de lin for him, and came to a bit of counterpoint I had introduced in the violin melody, whistling the harmonics, he nodded approvingly with a ‘pas bete ca!’ (Not stupid, that!)

DEBUSSY’S POEME FOR VIOLIN

“Debussy came near writing a violin piece for me once!” continued Mr. Hartmann, and brought out a folio containing letters the great impressionist had written him.  They were a delightful revelation of the human side of Debussy’s character, and Mr. Hartmann kindly consented to the quotation of one bearing on the Poeme for violin which Debussy had promised to write for him, and which, alas, owing to his illness and other reasons, never actually came to be written: 

“Dear Friend: 

“Of course I am working a great deal now, because I feel the need of writing music, and would find it difficult to build an aeroplane; yet at times Music is ill-natured, even toward those who love her most!  Then I take my little daughter and my hat and go walking in the Bois de Boulogne, where one meets people who have come from afar to bore themselves in Paris.

“I think of you, I might even say I am in need of you (assume an air of exaltation and bow, if you please!) As to the Poeme for violin, you may rest assured that I will write it.  Only at the present moment I am so preoccupied with the ‘Fall of the House of Usher!’ They talk too much to me about it.  I’ll have to put an end to all that or I will go mad.  Once more I want to write it, and above all on your account.  And I believe you will be the only one to play the Poeme.  Others will attempt it, and then quickly return to the Mendelssohn Concerto!

“Believe me always your sincere friend,

“CLAUDE DEBUSSY.”