Page:Anecdotes of Great Musicians.djvu/288

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Musical artists have a proper pride as to circumstances and surroundings in their public appearances. In former days the musician was content to be a servant, to eat at second tables, and to be railed off from the aristocracy that boasted money instead of brains. Nowadays things have changed and a musician's art is the "open sesame" to the high places of the earth. There is an aversion on the part of a true artist toward appearing amid other than dignified surroundings.

This was shown not many years ago in Vienna, where there were being given a series of symphony concerts at popular prices; the listeners were seated at tables where refreshments, solid and liquid—more particularly the latter—were served. At each of these concerts some well-known composer has conducted one or more of his own compositions. Tschaikowsky was also invited to direct one of the series, but hearing that popular prices were charged and the hall resembled a restaurant he refused to assist at the concert, for which the celebrated Russian pianist, Sapellnikow, was also engaged to play. So, after having traveled for these concerts all the way from St. Petersburg to Vienna, he packed his valise and returned to Russia.  

Beethoven was fortunate in finding friends during all of his career who would humor his caprices and could understand his whims.

When quite young he lost his mother, and this was a great blow to the loving son. Beethoven looked upon his mother as his dearest and best friend. After her death he wrote: "Who was happier than I while I could yet pronounce the sweet name of mother? There was once some one to hear me when I said 'mother.' But to