"In the middle of the first Allegro is a passage of which I knew well that it would please. All the auditors were transported by it, and there was great applause. As I knew, when I wrote the passage, what its effect would be, I introduced it once more towards the end of the movement. Then they demanded a repetition of the entire Allegro. The Andante pleased also; but especially the last Allegro. As I had been told that it was the usual custom with the composers here in Paris to commence the last Allegro of a symphony, like the first, with the full orchestra, generally in unison, I commenced mine with only the first and second violins, piano through eight bars. Then came suddenly forte. Consequently, the auditors made first, as I had expected,—hush! and then the forte surprised them so greatly, that they applauded as a matter of course."
Is this not thoroughly practical in an artistic point of view?
MUSIC AND MEDICINE.
Music is capable of exercising a favourable influence upon health, but it may also prove injurious. In order to know how to employ it with good result in certain illnesses, an exact acquaintance with its various effects is requisite. First of all, it ought to be borne in mind that music may serve as a remedy either by directly affecting the mind, or by acting primarily upon the body. In the former case its influence may be called psychical; and in the latter, physical.