ANECDOTES
OF
GREAT MUSICIANS.
ANECDOTES
OF
GREAT MUSICIANS.
THREE HUNDRED ANECDOTES AND BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES
OF FAMOUS COMPOSERS AND PERFORMERS.
BY
AUTHOR OF "MUSICAL MOSAICS," "PIPE AND STRINGS," ETC.
LONDON:
WEEKES & CO.,
14, Hanover Street, Regent Street, W.
1896.
INTRODUCTORY.
In the search for what this volume comprises, much material has been examined. Had the intention been to make it include all the anecdotes that are related of various musicians, three times the present space would have been necessary. But many of the narratives of past and current literature will not stand the test of probability, and in some cases the humor or reason for relation is hard to find.
I have attempted to cull from the mass of material that came to my notice such anecdotes as have two features,—that of being characteristic of the person referred to, and that of possessing sufficient interest; and in this re-narration I have incorporated such bits of musical information, along biographical and historical lines, as came to mind at the time of writing, but letting this feature be secondary to the main idea of the work. Thus it is hoped that while my readers may find interesting anecdote, they may also incidentally find that which is of more permanent value.
This work may be regarded as a companion volume to my "Musical Mosaics," supplementing the thoughts of the great musicians there expressed with incidents giving somewhat of a clue to their personality.
It would be in vain for me to attempt to acknowledge all the sources from which these anecdotes have been gleaned, owing to the extent of the field covered. The majority of the matter appears in this volume for the first time in its present form, although in a few cases there are partial quotations.
No classification has been made in the body of the work, thus avoiding monotony in a consecutive reading. The indexes furnish ample references.
If these narrations awaken a more general interest in musical biography, one purpose of my labor will have been accomplished.
This work is in the public domain in the United States because it was published before January 1, 1929.
The longest-living author of this work died in 1941, so this work is in the public domain in countries and areas where the copyright term is the author's life plus 82 years or less. This work may be in the public domain in countries and areas with longer native copyright terms that apply the rule of the shorter term to foreign works.
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