electric bell, but not fast enough!' And he kept at me to speed up my
tempo without loss of clearness or tone-volume, until I could do justice
to a rapid trill. It is a great quality in a teacher to be literally
able to _enforce_ the pupil's progress in certain directions; for though
the latter may not appreciate it at the time, later on he is sure to do
so. I remember once when he was trying to explain the perfect
_crescendo_ to me, fire-engine bells began to ring in the distance, the
sound gradually drawing nearer the house in Charles Street where I was
taking my lesson. 'There you have it!' Loeffler cried: 'There's your
ideal _crescendo_! Play it like that and I will be satisfied!' I
remained with Loeffler a year and a half, and when he went to Paris
began to study with Felix Winternitz.

"Felix Winternitz was a teacher who allowed his pupils to develop
individuality. 'I care nothing for theories,' he used to say, 'so long
as I can see something original in your work!' He attached little
importance to the theory of technic, but a great deal to technical
development along individual lines. And he always encouraged me to
express myself freely, within my limitations, stressing the musical side
of my work. With him I played through the concertos which, after a time,
I used for technical material, since every phase of technic and bowing
is covered in these great works. I was only fifteen when I left
Winternitz and still played by instinct rather than intellectually. I
still used my bow arm somewhat stiffly, and did not think much about
phrasing. I instinctively phrased whatever the music itself made clear
to me, and what I did not understand I merely played.


KNEISEL'S TEACHING METHODS