His object in the essay to which I refer is to define and contrast the characteristics of dramatic symphony and pure symphony respectively. What he says on this subject implies the principle of the separation of types in all its rigour a work must conform with the type to which it belongs not merely in general aspect, but in all its elements and all its details. It is not merely by the manner of developing the themes that symphonic style is differentiated from dramatic style, but also by the nature of the themes that suit it. Wagner's views on this point carry with them the affirmation of another rule no less general and classical.
"I cannot reasonably conceive a principal theme of symphonic development bristling with modulations, especially if beginning from its opening announcement it presents itself in this tangle of display."
In drama it may happen that a series of modulations each bolder than the last and following each other close is perfectly appropriate. There are emotions that call for these bold changes of expression, these vivid transformations of colour in musical speech. The procedure has in that case something so natural about it that though worked so hard it does not draw on itself the hearer's attention. The musician notices it when reading and wonders why he was not struck by it when listening. But the pedantry of narrow-minded professsors practises its censure on formulae of which it cannot see the reason through its spectacles. And yet if you look into it these professors are not so severe as Wagner himself would be in their place.
"It seems to me that in my dramatic music a great part of the public finds absolutely natural and frankly enjoys almost everything that evokes loud protests from our 'professors.' But if these professors were
