Paderewski.

Auckland Star, Volume XXV, Issue 143, 16 June 1894, Page 1 (Supplement)

Paderewski.

AX INTERESTING INTERVIEW.

The ' Woman ab Home,' which is by far the best of the periodicals designed for the special service of the fair ccx, contains in its current issue an interview with Paderewski. The Baroness yon Zedlilz met him at dinner during his recent tour in America, and by piecing together her conversation with the eminenb pianist on that occasion, some general details gathered promiscuously during subsequent opportunities, and illustrating the article with a series of very interesting photographs and drawings, this clever lady has succeeded in producing a very readable sketch of bis career. Once the Baroness yon Zedlitz managed to overcome bis scruples in the matter of being interviewed, a practice which he is Btrongly opposed to, he spoke quite freely:—' I was born,' ho said, ' in a small village called Kurilowka, in Podolia, on November 6th, 1860, and owe my musical talenb to my mother. At the early age of three I used to creep to the piano and listen to the sound of the nofceß. When I was six, I took my first piano lessons from a bad violin player. I think that, after all, Nature was my first teacher,' he continued, meditatively, * for she taughb me to revere her sounds of forest, field, and brook, her stir of living growth, her smiles and tears. To this first music lesson my imagination owes muoh of its objective material.' Daily Habits. After talking pleasantly of his early career at Warsaw, and of a marriage at the age of nineteen, ; his wife dying a year later, Paderewski told the Baroness , some curious facts bearing upon the daily routine of his professional life :—'When I am, to appear in public, I keep perfectly quiet during the preceding, hours, and I practice calisthenics immediately after rising every day. I can'b imagine bow people got hold of the idea that I live on lemons and soda, for that is absurd. You sco that, on the contrary, I eat with great appetite, and am not in the least a dim'culb man to cater for. When my recitals are over, 1 feel that a weight has been * lifted off my mind, and then I love to join.in any, amount of fun. I practise at all hours of the day and nighb— sometimes all night, for I have no set rules for working* Of oouvse lam never by any chance without a piano, and very ofben practise between the courses ab meals or while I am dressing. I suffer from insomnia coneequenb to the great strain on my nerves, and although it is not noticeable to the general public, I am a martyr to nervousness. ' I assure you I go through positive tortures when I contemplate playing. And this is where one's strength of will predominates, and one be-, comes master ■of oneself. I have schooled myself to absolutely subdue my loolings, or they would rise to such a pitch as to prevent-my having the least control over my fingers. ■ : English Orchestras. In view of the very different opinions expressed by many well-known musicians concerning the merits and demerits of our English instrumentalists, ib is satisfactory to find the great Polish player on the side of the angels. The Baroness yon Zeidlitz asked him what he thought of English music. ~The maestro replied thus: • I think English compositions are charming. There is nothing that appeals to me as suggestive of very greab creabive genius, bub the music is highly cultivated, and shows individuality arid deep pootical feeling. Here I must pay England an undivided compliment. Nowhere have I encountered better conducted orchestras than in London, nor can I recall any city to my mind ia which I have heard such fine performances withput previous rehearsals. Ib has been a revelation to me on more than one occasion to bo present ab the first recital of a w.ork, in which each player interpreted his part almost faultlessly, while each musician appeared to inspire his neighbour with his artistic influence, and to stimulate him to contribute to a perfect rendering of the whole.' ' H e added that ib is a great pity the Government of the country doe 3 nob aid the cultivation of good music all the year rou n d. The English season only lasts six we e ks, and people get too much of a good thing, whereas on the Continent there are excellent operabic performances every week, and one many days in the week in bhe principal towns. Methods of Study. Paderewski never allows study and practice to cease:—'The night preceding my recital I go over the .programme repeatedly and exhaustively, so thaD, when I have planned oub my execution and technique, I am quite ready for my hearers. The next day, in spite of my nerves, I go to the piano, feeling myself the master, as ib were, of my material; then uay inner feeling and sympathy which goes forth to my audience, and returns refreshed and encouraged, urges mo on, and'l play with hope and confidence. You have no idea how much the development of talenb and delivery depends upon a sincere audience. My audiences have been my most-exacting teachers; for I -found that true criticism lies in the hearb of a mass, and that we must nob depend upon single judgment.' The maestro gave his fair interviewer some memorable opinions on the great composers of pianoforte music, and the article is brightened by such interesting, souvenirs ag a reproduction of some bars of Paderewski's own composition, written by him in a friend's uutograph book, a sketch of his favourite dog, and a aeries of snap-shot photographs taken ab Yport. • The whole number of tho f Woman ab Home' is particularly smarb and readable. The editress, Annie S. Swan, continues her excellent character studies under the guise of the experiences of a lady doctor and other writers for the magazine are Mrs Stephen Batson, the Rev. S. Baring-Gould, W. J, Lacey, Katharine Lee, Headon Hill, Signor Tosti, who sends a page of''confessions,' Mildred Harris, and the Dean of Armagh.