T h e three w h o heard the story delighted in the n o t i o n that brave Mendelssohn had made a Beethoven convert of the great bard
of the
German-speaking
world.
But
Chopin,
"Little
C h o p i n e t t o , " as t h e o t h e r s called h i m , actually shared s o m e of Goethe's misgivings about Beethoven's might. C h o p i n certainly was the m o s t quiet, e v e n i n t r o v e r t e d m e m b e r o f t h e Paris fours o m e , his h e a l t h a l r e a d y p o o r w h e n h e m o v e d t o t h e city f r o m W a r s a w i n 1 8 3 1 , his d e m e a n o r fastidious a n d i n e v e r y w a y r e s e r v e d . Effusive a n d f i e r y e x p r e s s i o n s — w h e t h e r m u s i c a l o r o t h erwise—plainly repulsed him, and he did everything he could t o a v o i d t h e c o n s t a n t e m o t i o n a l t h e a t r i c s o f m e n like H e c t o r Berlioz. H e w a s a R o m a n t i c w h o disliked R o m a n t i c i s m , Franz Liszt e x p l a i n e d y e a r s later w h e n h e d e s c r i b e d his b y - t h e n deceased colleague's uncertainties a b o u t t h e cult of admiration they had built a r o u n d the Viennese composer. F o r his p a r t , t h e p a l l i d b u t d a s h i n g L i s z t — h i s face a r r e s t i n g l y h a n d s o m e a n d expressive, his dark hair c h o p p e d in a severe l i n e b e l o w his e a r s — b e l o n g e d , l i k e B e r l i o z , a t t h e h e a d o f t h e q u e u e of true-believers. A native of H u n g a r y , he had lived in P a r i s for m o r e t h a n a d e c a d e b y n o w a n d i n t h a t t i m e h a d e s t a b l i s h e d h i m s e l f a s a s p e c t a c u l a r l y i n n o v a t i v e p i a n i s t , o n e for w h o m t h e p e r f o r m a n c e difficulties i m p o s e d b y B e e t h o v e n ' s c o m p o s i t i o n s o n l y s e r v e d t o h i g h l i g h t his o w n v i r t u o s i t y . " F o r u s m u s i c i a n s , " Liszt a v e r r e d , " B e e t h o v e n ' s w o r k i s like t h e p i l lar o f c l o u d a n d f i r e t h a t g u i d e d t h e Israelites t h r o u g h t h e d e s e r t . " I t w a s a p a t h t h a t H i l l e r a n d his c o m r a d e m u s i c i a n s w e r e k e e n t o a d h e r e t o ; for t h e m i t r e p r e s e n t e d n o t o n l y a c o l legial a p p r e c i a t i o n o f B e e t h o v e n ' s c e r t a i n g e n i u s , b u t also a v i sion of t h e shape their o w n careers as c o m p o s e r s m i g h t take in