When Young, One Learns His

When Young, One Learns His Craftsmanship, May Become A Young Master, And It Is Youth That Is Most Auspicious For Developing Certain Skills.

An Evil Fate Has Deprived Me Of The Full Use Of My Right Hand, So That I Am Not Able To Play My Compositions As I Feel Them. The Trouble With My Hand Is That Certain Fingers Have Become So Weak, Probably Through Writing And Playing Too Much At One Time, That I Can Hardly Use Them.

If, While At The Piano, You Attempt To Form Little Melodies, That Is Very Well; But If They Come Into Your Mind Of Themselves, When You Are Not Practising, You May Be Still More Pleased; For The Internal Organ Of Music Is Then Roused In You. The Fingers Must Do What The Head Desires; Not The Contrary.

I Feel So Entirely In My Element With A Full Orchestra; Even If My Mortal Enemies Were Marshalled Before Me, I Could Lead Them, Master Them, Surround Them, Or Repulse Them.

It Was An Unforgettable Picture To See Chopin Sitting At The Piano Like A Clairvoyant, Lost In His Dreams; To See How His Vision Communicated Itself Through His Playing, And How, At The End Of Each Piece, He Had The Sad Habit Of Running One Finger Over The Length Of The Plaintive Keyboard, As Though To Tear Himself Forcibly Away From His Dream.