Walker-My_Musical_Ex.. - Walter Cosand

172 MY MUSICAL EXPERIENCES
leriana, several of Chopin's Polonaises, two rhapsodies
of Liszt, Beethoven's Sonata in E Major, Op. 101,
and several other pieces. To my surprise and mor-
tification, however, Henselt, who came in looking
cross and ugly, with one side of his face all covered
with wadding (he had been suffering from toothache),
just took the portfolio out of my hands, laid it on
the top of the piano, and then pointing to a piece
of music that was lying open on the music-desk, said
imperiously and without any preliminary remarks,
' You are to play that.'
I looked at the piece and perceived that it was a
sonata of Hummel's, and one which I had never seen
before. I therefore replied in a tone of remonstraince,
' But I don't know this piece ; I have never seen it
before.' ' No
surly tone ;
matter,' was the reply, in a short and
' play it, or try to play it, in whatever
way you can ; if you cannot manage to play the two
hands together, you may play the left or the right
alone.' I was not afraid of him, but rather wound
up and excited by his downrightness of [manner
therefore, after looking attentively at the piece for a
moment or two in silence, I began to read it very
slowly, and, as I thought, with tolerable correctness.
I had not, however, gone very far, when, to my
surprise, Henselt stopped me and told me to pause,
and asked me in a very loud voice why I did not Vmd
the notes, and carry the tone on to the following bar.
He seated himself, and began then to show me what
;