"You are always your first hearer; to be one's own critic is the most
difficult of all.
"When a new theme enters you must make it plain to the listener; all the
features of the new theme, the new figure, must be plastically brought
out.
"Brilliancy does not depend on velocity but on clarity. What is not
clear cannot scintillate nor sparkle. Make use of your strongest fingers
in brilliant passages, leaving out the fourth when possible. A scale to
be brilliant and powerful must not be too rapid. Every note must be
round and full and not too legato--rather a mezzo legato--so that single
tones, played hands together, shall sound like octaves. One of the most
difficult things in rhythm, is to play passages where two notes
alternate with triplets. Scales may be practised in this way alternating
three notes with two.
"We must make things sound well--agreeably, in a way to be admired. A
seemingly discordant passage can be made to sound well by ingeniously
seeking out the best that is in it and holding that up in the most
favorable light. Practise dissonant chords until they please the ear in
spite of their sharpness. Think of the instruments of the orchestra and
their different qualities of tone, and try to imitate them on the piano.
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