Europe; now I am in America for a time. I like it here; I am fond of
your country already.

"The piano is such a wonderful instrument to me; I feel we are only
beginning to fathom its possibilities; not in a technical sense, but as
a big avenue for expression. For me the piano is capable of reflecting
every mood, every feeling; all pathos, joy, sorrow--the good and the
evil too--all there is in life, all that one has lived." (This recalls a
recently published remark of J. S. Van Cleve: "The piano can sing, march,
dance, sparkle, thunder, weep, sneer, question, assert, complain,
whisper, hint; in one word it is the most versatile and plastic of
instruments.")

"As for the technic of the piano, I think of it only as the
material--only as a means to an end. In fact I endeavor to get away from
the thought of the technical material, in order that I may get at the
meaning of the music I wish to interpret. I am convinced there is a
great future for the piano and its music. Even now we are taking piano
music very seriously, and are trying to interpret it in a far deeper and
broader sense than the pianists of, say, fifty years ago ever thought of
doing. I fancy if Clara Schumann, for instance, could return and play
to us, or even Liszt himself, we should not find their playing suited to
this age at all. Some of us yet remember the hand position Mme. Schumann
had, the lack of freedom in fingers and arms. It was not the fashion of
her time to play with the relaxed freedom, with the breadth and depth of
style which we demand of artists to-day. In those days relaxation had
not received the attention it deserved, therefore we should probably
find the playing of the greatest artists of a former generation stiff
and angular, in spite of all we have heard of their wonderful
performances.