“What,” I asked of him, “do you consider the chief element of your success?”
“That is difficult to say. Perseverance, hard work, stern discipline,—each had its part.”
“You have never attempted to become rich?”
“Poh!”
“Do you still believe in the best music for the mass of the people?”
“I do. My success has been with them. It was so in New York; it is so here in Chicago.”
“Do you still work as hard as ever?” I inquired.
“Nearly so. The training of a large orchestra never ends. The work must be gone over and over. There is always something new.”
“And your life’s pleasure lies in this?”
“Wholly so. To render perfect music perfectly—that is enough.”