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He who is only a good man that men may know it, and that he may be the better esteemed when 'tis known; who will not do well but upon condition that his virtue may be known to men: is one from whom much service is not to be expected: "Credo ch 'el reste di quel verno, cose Facesse degne di tener ne conto; Ma fur fin' a quel tempo si nascose, Che non a colpa mia s' hor 'non le conto Perche Orlando a far l'opre virtuose Piu ch'a narrar le poi sempre era pronto; Ne mai fu alcun' de'suoi fatti espresso, Se non quando ebbe i testimonii appresso."
"The ideal violin program, to play in public, as I conceive it, is one that consists of absolute music, or should it contain virtuose pieces, then these should have some definite musical quality of soul, character, elegance or charm to recommend them.
And the modern violin sonata is also a vehicle for violin virtuosity in the very best meaning of the word. The sonatas of César Franck, d'Indy, Théodore Dubois, Lekeu, Vierne, Ropartz, Lazarri they are all highly expressive, yet at the same time virtuose. The violin parts develop a lovely song line, yet their technic is far from simple.
As he himself has remarked: 'I could play the violin just as well with three as with four fingers. Kreisler is fond of 'fingered' octaves, and these, because of his abnormal hand, he plays with the first and third fingers, where virtuose players, as a rule, are only too happy if they can play them with the first and fourth.
But the reason modern French composers give the viola special attention is because France now is ahead of the other nations in virtuose viola playing. It is practically the only country which may be said to have a 'school' of viola playing. In the Smetana quartet the viola plays a most important part, and Dvořák, who himself played viola, emphasized the instrument in his quartets.
We could play things that were really worth while for each of us for the piano parts of the modern sonatas call for a virtuose technical and musical equipment, and I have had more satisfaction from this ensemble work than I would have had in playing a long list of solo pieces.
Sir Thomas More says: "The Holy Byble was longe before Wycliffis daies by virtuose and well-learned men translated into the English tongue, and by good and godly people with devotion and soberness well and reverently read."
But Schönberg, Reger, Ravel quartets make too great a demand on the technical ability of the average quartet amateur. "Naturally, the first violin is the leader, the Conductor of the quartet, as in its early days, although the 'star' system, with one virtuose player and three satellites, has disappeared.
My essay attracted favourable comment, and Schlesinger asked me to write an article in praise of the arrangement made by the Russian General Lwoff of Pergolesi's Stabat Mater, which I did as superficially as possible. On my own impulse I then wrote an essay in a still more amiable vein called Du metier du virtuose et de l'independance de la composition.
Of course such false prophets of the virtuose have nothing in common with such high-priests of public utterance as Ysaye, Kreisler and others, whose virtuosity is a true means for the higher development of the musical. The encouragement of musicianship in general suffers for the stress laid on what is obviously technical impedimenta.
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