was Richter who taught us in London how a symphony of Beethoven ought
to sound; before he came, performances were approved which the present
day would not tolerate. He, as well as his great compeers, was brought
up in the school of Wagner, the essence of which lies in
_correctness_, in rendering the work as the composer intended it,
with conscientious attention to every detail, not only of notes, but
of rhythm, tempo, phrasing, dynamics, instead of the slovenly muddling
which then passed for breadth of style, and the substitution of the
conductor's own subjectivity for that of the composer. It has been
well expressed in a few incisive words by one of the greatest of the
school: "The privilege of an interesting subjectivity is given to few,
its expression will always give evidence of that instinctive logic
which is a necessary condition of intelligibility."[6] Call Wagner
perverse, dislike his art, say that his dramas are chaos and his music
discord--all this you have a right to do; but you cannot refuse your
homage to his rectitude of purpose, his courageous and resolute
struggle for the ideals which were before him.

[Footnote 6: I have translated rather freely so as to give the general
sense, as von Buelow's German is not always very easy to follow. It
will be found in his comments upon Beethoven's _Fantasie_, Op. 77.]

This is the secret of what is known as the modern German spirit--close
attention to every detail, faithfulness to the work in hand, with the
conviction that no part of the organism is so trifling as not to be
vital. This it was, and not bookish education, that inspired the
German army in its victories of 1870-71; this spirit it was that
enabled the Meiningers in 1882 to fill our Drury Lane Theatre to
overflowing with performances of our own Shakespeare in a foreign
language. At the present day it still continues to actuate German