Such a plethora of concerts, theatres, choral societies, and
chamber-music societies, absorbs the whole life of the musician. When
has he time to be alone to listen to the music that sings within him?
This senseless flood of music invades the sanctuaries of his soul,
weakens its power, and destroys its sacred solitude and the treasures of
its thought.
You must not think that this excess of music existed in the old days in
Germany. In the time of the great classic masters, Germany had hardly
any institutions for the giving of regular concerts, and choral
performances were hardly known. In the Vienna of Mozart and Beethoven
there was only a single association that gave concerts, and no
_Chorvereine_ at all, and it was the same with other towns in Germany.
Does the wonderful spread of musical culture in Germany during the last
century correspond with its artistic creation? I do not think so; and
one feels the inequality between the two more every day.
Do you remember Goethe's ballad of _Der Zauberlehrling_ (_L'Apprenti
Sorcier_) which Dukas so cleverly made into music? There, in the absence
of his master, an apprentice set working some magic spells, and so
opened sluice-gates that no one could shut; and the house was flooded.
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