The right comprehension of the melos is the sole guide to the right tempo; these two things are inseparable:  the one implies and qualifies the other.  As a proof of my assertion that the majority of performances of instrumental music with us are faulty it is sufficient to point out that our conductors so frequently fail to find the true tempo because they are ignorant of singing.  I have not yet met with a German Capellmeister or Musik-director who, be it with good or bad voice, can really sing a melody.  These people look upon music as a singularly abstract sort of thing, an amalgam of grammar, arithmetic, and digital gymnastics;—­to be an adept in which may fit a man for a mastership at a conservatory or a musical gymnasium; but it does not follow from this that he will be able to put life and soul into a musical performance.  The whole duty of a conductor is comprised in his ability always to indicate the right tempo.  His choice of tempi will show whether he understands the piece or not.  With good players again the true tempo induces correct phrasing and expression, and conversely, with a conductor, the idea of appropriate phrasing and expression will induce the conception of the true tempo.

This, however, is by no means so simple a matter as it appears.  Older composers probably felt so, for they are content with the simplest general indications.  Haydn and Mozart made use of the term “Andante” as the mean between “Allegro” and “Adagio,” and thought it sufficient to indicate a few gradations and modifications of these terms.

Sebastian Bach, as a rule, does not indicate tempo at all, which in a truly musical sense is perhaps best.  He may have said to himself:  whoever does not understand my themes and figures, and does not feel their character and expression, will not be much the wiser for an Italian indication of tempo.

Let me be permitted to mention a few facts which concern me personally.  In my earlier operas I gave detailed directions as to the tempi, and indicated them (as I thought) accurately, by means of the Metronome.  Subsequently, whenever I had occasion to protest against a particularly absurd tempo, in “Tannhauser” for instance, I was assured that the Metronome had been consulted and carefully followed.  In my later works I omitted the metronome and merely described the main tempi in general terms, paying, however, particular attention to the various modifications of tempo.  It would appear that general directions also tend to vex and confuse Capellmeisters, especially when they are expressed in plain German words.  Accustomed to the conventional Italian terms these gentlemen are apt to lose their wits when, for instance, I write “moderate.”  Not long ago a Capellmeister complained of that term (massig) which