FINGERING

"One point Paderewski is very particular about, and that is fingering.
He often carefully marks the fingering for a whole piece; once this is
decided upon it must be kept to. He believes in employing a fingering
which is most comfortable to the hand, as well as one which, in the long
run, will render the passage most effective. He is most sensitive to the
choice of fingering the player makes, and believes that each finger can
produce a different quality of tone. Once, when I was playing a
Nocturne, he called to me from the other end of the room: 'Why do you
always play that note with the fourth finger? I can _hear_ you do it;
the effect is bad,' He has a keen power of observation; he notices
little details which pass unheeded by most people; nothing escapes him.
This power, directed to music, makes him the most careful and
painstaking of teachers. At the same time, in the matter of fingering,
he endeavors to choose the one which can be most easily accomplished by
the player. The Von Bülow editions, while very erudite, are apt to be
laborious and pedantic; they show the German tendency to
over-elaboration, which, when carried too far becomes a positive fault.


CORRECT MOTION

"Another principle Paderewski considers very important is that of
appropriate motion. He believes in the elimination of every unnecessary
movement, yet he wishes the whole body free and supple. Motions should
be as carefully studied as other technical points. It is true he often
makes large movements of arm, but they are all thought out and have a
dramatic significance. He may lift the finger off a vehement staccato
note by quick up-arm motion, in a flash of vigorous enthusiasm; but the