“The modern pianist is often lacking in two important essentials—­phrasing and shading.  Inability to grasp the importance of these two points may be the cause of artistic failure.  An artist should so thoroughly make his own the composition which he plays, and be so deeply imbued with its spirit, that he will know the phrasing and dynamics which best express the meaning of the piece.  When he has risen to such heights, he is a law to himself in the matter of phrasing, no matter what marks may stand upon the printed page.  As a rule the editing of piano music is extremely inadequate, though how can it really be otherwise?  How is it possible, with a series of dots, lines, dashes and accents, to give a true idea of the interpretation of a work of musical art?  It is not possible; there are infinite shadings between piano and forte—­numberless varieties of touch which have not been tabulated by the schools.  Great editors like von Buelow, Busoni and d’Albert have done much to make the classics clearer to the student; yet they themselves realize there are a million gradations of touch and tone, which can never be expressed by signs nor put into words.

FOUR REQUISITES FOR PIANISTS

“Four things are necessary for the pianist who would make an artistic success in public.  They are:  Variety of tone color; Individual and artistic phrasing; True feeling; Personal magnetism.  Colors mean so much to me; some are so beautiful, the various shades of red, for instance; then the golden yellows, rich, warm browns, and soft liquid blues.  We can make as wonderful combinations with them as ever the painters do.  To me dark red speaks of something tender, heart-searching, mysterious.”  Here Mr. Hochman illustrated his words at the piano with an expressive fragment full of deep feeling.  “On the other hand, the shades of yellow express gaiety and brightness”; here the illustrations were all life and fire, in crisp, brilliant staccatos.  Other colors were just as effectively represented.

“What I have just indicated at the keyboard,” continued the artist, “gives a faint idea of what can be done with tone coloring, and why I feel that pianists who neglect this side of their art, or do not see this side of it, are missing just so much beauty.  I could name one pianist, a great name in the world of music—­a man with an absolutely flawless technic, yet whose playing to me, is dry and colorless; it gives you no ideas, nothing you can carry away:  it is like water—­water.  Another, with great variety of tonal beauty, gives me many ideas—­many pictures of tone.  His name is Gabrilowitsch; he is for me the greatest pianist.

MAKING CLIMAXES PIANISSIMO