The reading and performing of chamber music is a necessary part of every musician's education. It is especially vital to players of stringed instruments. Pianists, also, would do well to give a certain amount of time and attention to chamber music, even though their own library is comparatively rich in its own right. But the library for solo violin is none too extensive, and some of the greatest works for the violin are not solo pieces at all. In the case of the violoncello, the situation is even worse. These instrumentalists would be denied access to some of the most sublime music in the world, if they did not seek an opportunity of exploring the rich library of ensemble or chamber works.

Furthermore, it is extremely difficult, if not impossible, to gain genuine musicianship as a soloist exclusively. Virtuosity, no doubt, may be achieved by applying one's self to his own instrument and nothing more. But well-rounded, wellgrounded musicianship requires more than that. It requires musical building.

An Ideal Plan of Work

In my own student days, two hours a week of ensemble work were set down as part of the regular Conservatory training. It was as much part of the curriculum as theory and harmony. And after those ‘required’ hours were done, my fellow students and I made music together, purely for the enjoyment of it. We would meet at my home, where my father was always ready to listen to us, and would read through quartets, trios, octets, everything. After supper, then, we went at it again, reading, playing, discussing the music, and arguing about it.