VIOLIN MASTERY

"I do not believe that any artist is truly a master of his instrument
unless his control of it is an integral part of a whole. The musician is
born--his medium of expression is often a matter of accident. I believe
one may be intended for an artist prenatally; but whether violinist,
'cellist or pianist is partly a matter of circumstance. Violin mastery,
to my mind, still falls short of perfection, in spite of the completest
technical and musical equipment, if the artist thinks only of the
instrument he plays. After all, it is just a single medium of
expression. The true musician is an artist with a special instrument.
And every real artist has the feeling for other forms and mediums of
expression if he is truly a master of his own.


TECHNIC VERSUS IMAGINATION

"I think the technical element in the artist's education is often unduly
stressed. Remember," added Mr. Kreisler, with a smile, "I am not a
teacher, and this is a purely personal opinion I am giving you. But it
seems to me that absolute sincerity of effort, actual impossibility
_not_ to react to a genuine musical impulse are of great importance. I
firmly believe that if one is destined to become an artist the technical
means find themselves. The necessity of expression will follow the line
of least resistance. Too great a manual equipment often leads to an
exaggeration of the technical and tempts the artist to stress it unduly.

"I have worked a great deal in my life, but have always found that too