* * * * *

“I was intended for a pianist from the first.  Born in Russia, I afterward came to Berlin, studying seven or eight years with Xaver Scharwenka, then with d’Albert, Stavenhagen and others.  But when one has all that can be learned from others, a man’s greatest teacher is himself.  I have done a great deal of concert work and recital playing in Europe, and have appeared with the leading orchestras in the largest cities of America.”

Mr. Hochman has done considerable work in composition.  Numerous songs have been published and doubtless larger works may be expected later.

XXI

TERESA CARRENO

EARLY TECHNICAL TRAINING

A music critic remarked, “That ever youthful and fascinating pianist, Teresa Carreno is with us again.”

I well remember how fascinated I was, as a young girl, with her playing the first time I heard it—­it was so full of fire, enthusiasm, brilliancy and charm.  How I longed and labored to imitate it—­to be able to play like that!  I not only loved her playing but her whole appearance, her gracious manner as she walked across the stage, her air of buoyancy and conscious mastery as she sat at the piano; her round white arms and wrists, and—­the red sash she wore!

During a recent talk with Mme. Carreno, I recalled the above incident, which amused her, especially the memory of the sash.

[Illustration:  TERESA CARRENO]

“I assure you that at heart I feel no older now than in the days when I wore it,” she said.  The conversation then turned to questions of mastering the piano, with particular reference to the remarkable technic of the artist herself.

“The fact that I began my studies at a very early age was a great advantage to me,” she said.  “I loved the sound of the piano, and began to pick out bits of tunes when I was little more than three.  At six and a half I began to study seriously, so that when I was nine I was playing such pieces as Chopin’s Ballade in A flat.  Another fact which was of the utmost advantage to me was that I had an ideal teacher in my father.  He saw that I loved the piano, and decided I must be properly taught.  He was passionately fond of music, and if he had not been a statesman, laboring for the good of his country, he would undoubtedly have been a great musician.  He developed a wonderful system for teaching the piano, and the work he did with me I now do with my pupils.  For one thing he invented a series of stretching and gymnastic exercises which are splendid; they did wonders for me, and I use them constantly in my teaching.  But, like everything else, they must be done in the right way, or they are not beneficial.

580 TECHNICAL EXERCISES