life, the concert stage. Hence there is an intensive _technical_ study
of compositions that even if not wholly intended for display are
primarily and principally projected for its sake. It is a well-known
fact that few, even among gifted players, can sit down to play chamber
music and do it justice. This is not because they cannot grasp or
understand it; or because their technic is insufficient. It is because
their whole violinistic education has been along the line of solo
playing; they have literally been brought up, not to play _with_ others,
but to be accompanied _by_ others.

"Yet despite all this there has been a notable development of violin
study in the direction of _ensemble_ work with, as a result, an attitude
on the part of the violinists cultivating it, of greater humility as
regards music in general, a greater appreciation of the charm of
artistic collaboration: and--I insist--a technic both finer and more
flexible. Chamber music--originally music written for the intimate
surroundings of the home, for a small circle of listeners--carries out
in its informal way many of the ideals of the larger orchestral
_ensemble_. And, as regards the violinist, he is not dependent only on
the literature of the string quartet; there are piano quintets and
quartets, piano trios, and the duos for violin and piano. Some of the
most beautiful instrumental thoughts of the classic and modern
composers are to be found in the duo for violin and piano, mainly in the
sonata form. Amateurs--violinists who love music for its own sake, and
have sufficient facility to perform such works creditably--do not do
nearly enough _ensemble_ playing with a pianist. It is not always
possible to get together the four players needed for the string quartet,
but a pianist is apt to be more readily found.

"The combination of violin and piano is as a rule obtainable and the