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THE VIOLI N DEPARTME NT Every great mUSICIan has his favorite instrument : Liszt, the piano ; Pagan nini, the violin ; and of the present day one could mention Toscannini and his 'cello ; Konssevitsky and the string bass-to name j ust a few. Any one o f these on being interviewed would say of course that his favorite is king of i nstruments, and would no doubt have much to say about nuance, shading, tone color, technical adaptation, and other like terms, embroidered with all the suitable adjectives at his command. Then whose word may we take ? Which oracle shall we follow ? The answer is obviously, Take your choice. In the ranks o f men who have achieved distinction i n other fields than that of music, but who nevertheless found a hobby in playing and composing for the violin, we find such names as Albert Einstein, Charles G . Dawes, Premier Musso lini, and Thomas Jefferson. No small part o f their eminence i s due to this musical activity. The concert violinist i s one of the most exacting of athletes. Constant train ing in the form of two to six hours' drill every day is necessary to keep the physical agil ity and finger strength which it requires. He is always contesting with himself to make each day's practice a strong link in the knowledge and ability which will make him a master. There is satisfaction in creating musi c which cannot be enjoyed by merely l i stening. It rests the exhausted mind, and replaces boredom with enthusiasm. It creates sel f-confidence and otherwise helps remedy an undesirable condition o f t h e mind. Parents and teachers are realizing the benefits of self expression by young people in this way. More will be done in the f uture. Family ensembles can take the place of the "talkies." String-quartet practice will have more appeal than the night automobile j oy r ide. Junior symphonies will make ideal Sunday afternoons ; and Americans will real ize that discipline with young people has suddenly become non-essential through the great medium of instrumental music as a means o f sel f -expression.
B.
DAWSON,
J. S HORT, F. LUNDY, M. DIXON, R. T.
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WILLI A M S ,
R. LANG.
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