Oh,  I  know  of  certain  cries  calling  to
heaven  to  witness  that  he  was  anointed  of  the
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MEZZOTINTS   IN    MODERN    MUSIC

Lord  !  Pooh  !  if  he  had  not  had  to  cut  and
run  to  sanctuary  to  escape  two  women  we
should  never  have  heard  of  Liszt  the  Abb6 !

One  penalty  of  genius  is  its  pursuit  by
glossaries  and  gibes.  Liszt  was  no  exception.
Like  Maeterlinck  and  Ibsen,  he  has  had  many
things  read  into  his  music;  mysticism  not
being  forgotten.  Perhaps  the  best  estimate
of  him  is  the  purely  human  one.  He  was
made  up  of  the  usual  pleasing  compound  of
faults  and  virtues,  as  is  any  distinguished  man,
not  in  a  book.
The  Mephisto  Valse  from  Lenau's  Faust,
in  addition  to  its  biting,  broad  humor  and
Satanic  suggestiveness,  contains  one  of  the
most  voluptuous  episodes  outside  of  a  score
by  Wagner.  That  halting  languorous  synco-
pated, valse-like  theme  in  D  flat  is  marvel-
lously expressive,  and  the  poco  allegretto
seems  to  have  struck  the  fancy  of  Wagner,
who  did  not  hesitate  to  appropriate  from
his  esteemed  father-in-law  when  the  notion
struck  him.
He  certainly  considered  Kundry  Liszt-wise
before  fabricating  her  motif  for  Parsifal.  In
the  hands  of  a  capable  pianist  the  Mephisto
Valse  can  be  made  very  effective.  The
twelve  great  6tudes  should  be  on  the  desk
of  every  student  of  advanced  technique.
