understanding and perfect agreement those very tendencies of mine
which many musicians of apparently wider culture than his own
regarded with almost despairing horror, as being dangerous to the
orthodox practice of their art. He forthwith acquired the
literary facility necessary for the expression of his agreement
with my views, and gave tangible proof of this in a lengthy
treatise on 'Instrumental Music,' which appeared in Kolatschek's
German monthly journal. He also sent to me another strictly
theoretical work on the 'Structure of Musical Theme and Phrase.'
In this he showed the originality of his ideas about Mozart's and
Beethoven's methods, to an extent which was only equalled by the
thoroughness with which he had mastered the question, especially
where he discussed their highly characteristic differences. This
clear and exhaustive treatise appeared to me admirably adapted to
form the basis for a new theory of the higher art of musical
phrasing, whereby Beethoven's most obscure construction might be
explained, and elaborated into a comprehensible system that would
allow of further application. These treatises attracted the
attention of Franz Brendel, the astute publisher of the Neue
Zeitschrift fur Musik, to their brilliant young author. He was
invited by Brendel to join the staff of his paper, and soon
succeeded in changing his chief's previous attitude of
indecision. As Brendel's aims were on the whole perfectly
honourable and serious, he was quickly and definitely led to
adopt those views which from this time began to make a stir in
the musical world under the title of the 'New Tendency.' I
thereupon felt impelled to contribute an epoch-making article to
his paper on these lines. I had noticed for some time that such
ill-sounding catch-phrases as 'Jewish ornamental flourishes'
(Melismas), 'Synagogue Music,' and the like were being bandied