“It stands to reason that no matter how great a student’s gifts may be, he can profit by study with a great teacher.  This, I think, applies to all.  After I had already appeared in concert at Albert Hall, London, in 1909, where I played the Beethoven Concerto with orchestra, I decided to study with Auer.  When I first came to him he wanted to know why I did so, and after hearing me play, told me that I did not need any lessons from him.  But I knew that there was a certain ‘something’ which I wished to add to my violinistic make-up, and instinctively felt that he alone could give me what I wanted.  I soon found that in many essentials his ideas coincided with those of Hubay.  But I also discovered that Auer made me develop my individuality unconsciously, placing no undue restrictions whatsoever upon my manner of expression, barring, of course, unmusicianly tendencies.  When he has a really talented pupil the Professor gives him of his best.  I never gave a thought to technic while I studied with him—­the great things were a singing tone, bowing, interpretation!  I studied Brahms and Beethoven, and though Hubay always finished with the Bach sonatas, I studied them again carefully with Auer.

TECHNIC:  SOME HINTS TO THE STUDENT

“At the bottom of all technic lies the scale.  And scale practice is the ladder by means of which all must climb to higher proficiency.  Scales, in single tones and intervals, thirds, sixths, octaves, tenths, with the incidental changes of position, are the foundation of technic.  They should be practiced slowly, always with the development of tone in mind, and not too long a time at any one session.  No one can lay claim to a perfected technic who has not mastered the scale.  Better a good tone, even though a hundred mistakes be made in producing it, than a tone that is poor, thin and without quality.  I find the Singer Fingeruebungen are excellent for muscular development in scale work, for imparting the great strength which is necessary for the fingers to have; and the Kreutzer etudes are indispensable.  To secure an absolute legato tone, a true singing tone on the violin, one should play scales with a perfectly well sustained and steady bow, in whole notes, slowly and mezzo-forte, taking care that each note is clear and pure, and that its volume does not vary during the stroke.  The quality of tone must be equalized, and each whole note should be ‘sung’ with a single bowing.  The change from up-bow to down-bow and vice versa should be made without a break, exclusively through skillful manipulation of the wrist.  To accomplish this unbroken change of bow one should cultivate a loose wrist, and do special work at the extreme ends, nut and tip.

“The vibrato is a great tone beautifier.  Too rapid or too slow a vibrato defeats the object desired.  There is a happy medium of tempo, rather faster than slower, which gives the best results.  Carl Flesch has some interesting theories about vibration which are worth investigating.  A slow and a moderately rapid vibrato, from the wrist, is best for practice, and the underlying idea while working must be tone, and not fingerwork.