MUSIC 237 



They knew every note of the part, often knew it better than the player himself; and if 

 he stumbled or made a mistake they could sing the right note for him through all the 

 maze of other parts. 



The interpretation of the Wagnerian scores was also a great training ground for con- 

 ductors in the actual instrumental technique of the orchestra; and in the extension of 

 this, and the first modern definition of it in the form of an authoritative monograph, the 

 work of Hector Berlioz is pre-eminent. It was of old the invariable excuse of the lazy 

 orchestral player to pronounce a passage presenting any unusual difficulties " unplay- 

 able," and the ignorant conductor, hesitating to contradict the player on a matter con- 

 cerning the technique of his own instrument, was obliged to accept his verdict. But 

 Berlioz and the disciples of Wagner changed all that. They armed themselves with an 

 exact knowledge of what was and what was not possible for every instrument in the 

 orchestra; they were careful not to write anything physically impossible. They thus 

 abolished a great piece of bluff with which orchestral players had hitherto been able to 

 oppose the exacting conductor; for composers had often written without any regard to 

 the construction of the instrument employed, had even written notes which did not 

 exist on the instrument; so that the conductor who should have demanded their execu- 

 tion would have been laughed at by his band, which would not fail to take advantage of 

 this state of affairs when presented with a passage which was merely difficult and not 

 impossible. But under the new regime the conductors very often knew as much about 

 the technique of the instrument as did the players themselves; they were firm in de- 

 manding the execution of passages which were only difficult because they were unusual; 

 and the natural pride of the artist, responding to the challenge, was found equal to the 

 new demands. The old phrase " I can't do impossibilities," or " I can't play notes that 

 are not on the instrument " gave way to " If the instrument can play it, I can play it." 



The first result of this was a great increase in the efficiency of orchestral players, who 

 began to find that their work was not a mere dull, slovenly, and rhythmic scraping and 

 blowing, but a new and intricate art in which their artistic pride was challenged, a task 

 arduous indeed and involving hitherto unheard-of labour and study, but rewarded, as 

 all true artistic labour is, by the new interest and intrinsic joy found in the doing of the 

 work. Thus the conductors improved the orchestras; the orchestras reacted on the con- 

 ductors; the public found new pleasure in listening to orchestral performances; com- 

 posers found a limitless field of possibilities in orchestration, and the whole art of music, 

 borne high on this great wave, was swept forward to a new stage in its development. 



This aspect of the matter is enlarged upon here because, as has already been said, the 

 last three years have seen the culmination of the period of musical interpretation. The 

 .technique of orchestral playing has become so perfect that it seems almost impossible 

 to carry it farther. Instruments have been improved, and families of instruments 

 completed, and a first class orchestra of to-day is really an association of virtuosi, each 

 of them a master of his own instrument. It is the period of style. Even the student 

 of to-day is a master of orchestral resources that would have astounded Berlioz, and has 

 an astonishing facility in using and blending them. 



In the other great branch of interpretative music, the pianoforte has been mechan- 

 ically developed along with the manual technique of the pianist to a point which leaves 

 little if any room for further development. Even mechanical players, the universal use 

 of which is one of the features of the day which cannot be ignored, have been so wonder- 

 fully perfected that they have brought practically the whole range of pianoforte music 

 within the grasp of the ordinary uninstructed person. This has had the immediate 

 effect of removing many of the barriers within which the art of music was enclosed, and 

 of making it less and less a cult for the initiated; and more and more a possession of the 

 world at large. The benefit of this is obvious; obvious also is the unfortunate defect 

 which it shares with all short cuts and with attempts to provide by rough and ready 

 means high pleasures which can only be attained in perfection by a path of long and 

 consistent study. | ";*.., 



We stand now as regards symphonic and orchestral music at the threshold of a new 



