To which criticism the composer's "Well, what of it?" is an all-sufficient reply. None of the traditional forms of composition are any more necessary to Music than the old modes were. And now let us take up one more point. Are not some of the things that composers do today really unmusical-in the sense of contravening certain laws of the art which are still recognized as natural and valid? In this sense, yes, undoubtedly. But this does not necessarily make them artistically bad. Why? Because, ever since the Renaissance, another artistic principle has come more and more into play, setting aside the old principle of absolute conformity to an ideal type. This is the great principle of Individualism. What we today generally call Beauty is something very vague indeed; few of us even have perfectly definite and clean-cut notions of what is meant by the term plastic beauty. This vagueness does perhaps no harm, as common parlance goes; but, for a philosophical discussion of the question, it is well to have clear definitions to start with. In such arts as Painting, Sculpture, and Music, plastic Beauty may be defined as conformity to what Schopenhauer calls the Platonic Idea. This so-called Platonic Idea is in reality little else than what we call the Ideal in general. For instance, the Platonic Idea of Man is the completely perfect man in every respect; the man, évery item in whose physique and mental equipment is adequate to the completest performance of its allotted function, to the extent of not interfering with the equally complete performance of the allotted function of any other item. That is, the Platonic Idea of man is the universally, spherically, and harmoniously developed man; in philosophical æsthetics, the perfectly beautiful man. In a like sense, the Platonic Idea of Music, the ideal of musical beauty, would imply an accurate conformity to every essential law of the art. And all such laws are, in the end, based upon the inherent nature of the natural, or tonal, scale. But, in Nature, the Platonic Idea is practically unrealizable; at least, none of us knows of its ever having been realized. The perfectly beautiful man is not only an abstraction, but, in an entirely true philosophical sense, could hardly be an individual. He could only be a supreme type, lacking the differentiating features which constitute individuality. Music, which is not wholly a natural product, complete conformity to the OLD VIOLINS. Mr. OLIVER offers his annual collection of rare old violins and 'cellos, by the old Italian and other makers; also a fine collection of old and new artists' bows, Italian strings, silver G's, leather cases etc. F. A. OLIVER, 25 Winter Street, Violin Maker and Repairer, High-grade Old Instruments. 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What we recognize as individual traits are often so in virtue of an aberration from the Ideal - that is, from perfect musical beauty.* And, if we establish the Ideal as normal, Individualism in Music will often be abnormal in proportion as it is really individual. In other words, Individualism may depart from pure plastic beauty, and make for ugliness. And one of the most salient, as well as the most fundamental, exhibitions of Individualism in Music is the expression of individual emo It is most true that, in the average human being, the expression of emotion determines a certain distortion of the features, which distortion will be, in general, proportionate to the violence of the emotion. And such distortion makes for ugliness, for a departure from plastic beauty. The same is to a great extent true in Music; the more violent the expression of emotion, the greater will be the departure from what may be called the standard norm of plastic beauty. Now it has been the steady tendency of modern Art to value individualism of expression, individualism of conception and point of view, more than conformity to the Platonic Idea. And it is a sufficient artistic excuse for the "unmusical" things modern composers do — that is, for their contraventions of essential musical laws. - that such aberrations from the Platonic Idea are often necessary for the expression of individualism. The plastic ugliness is condoned by the psychic beauty, by the poignant truth of expression. And only in proportion as this plastic ugliness is necessary to the truth of expression is it artistically defensible; which necessity must be decided separately in every case, you can set up no general rule for it. Yet, while recognizing to the fullest extent the truth of this, we should This statement may seem to be disproved by the fact that certain composers have succeeded in setting the stamp of their individuality upon their works without in the least departing from the musical Ideal. But this comes, in the end, from their never embodying in their music the whole of the Platonic Idea. Although no essential law of the art may be contravened, no departure made from musical beauty, a certain amount of individuation is still possible; for one composition will be differentiated from another by the fact that each is only a partial embodiment of the Platonic Idea. One factor of that Idea may naturally be quite different from another. An incomplete embodiment of ideal beauty is not the same thing as a departure therefrom. 5c. Packages. not forget that some things in Music are "musically" abnormal, even though æsthetically defensible and even admirable. Their being abnormal may be nothing against them; but this does not alter the fact that they are abnormal. A pair of consecutive 5ths may be the greatest stroke of genius in a composition, but this does not in the least impair the validity of the law that consecutive 5ths (when "essential ") contravene the principle of tonality. It only proves that the law of tonality may be at times broken to good artistic purpose. SYMPHONY NO. 1, IN C MINOR, OPUS 68 JOHANNES BRAHMS. (Born in Hamburg on May 7, 1833; died in Vienna on April 3, 1897.) This symphony was first played in public at Carlsruhe on November 4, 1876; it was first played in Boston at the symphony concert given by the Harvard Musical Association on January 3, 1878. Its production in Germany marked the turning-point in the composer's reputation; the work placed him at once upon the pinnacle of fame; it was even dubbed "the tenth symphony" by some enthusiasts in allusion to Beethoven's nine. This seems somewhat curious now, when we reflect upon the character of the work; for it is the profoundest of all Brahms's orchestral compositions, and the one which one theme in the last movement excepted has in it the fewest elements of popularity. But his other symphonies. were not written then; and, in spite of the profundity and what must then have seemed the obscurity of some portions of it, the true greatness of this one could not escape recognition from the musical élite of the world. In it the great composer shows himself at his greatest, as also in his most characteristic vein. The first movement begins with a slow introduction (Un poco sostenuto in C minor, 6-8 time), which is a striking example of the modern system of orchestral scoring, as contrasted with the classical. The first eight measures are in pure four-part writing, scored for full orchestra (without trombones). For the sake of clearness, let us call the four parts in the harmony by their generally accepted names respectively,-soprano, alto, tenor, and According to the classical system of scoring, as commonly adopted by Haydn, Mozart, or Beethoven, the first violins would have played the soprano, the second violins the alto, the violas the tenor, and the 'celli and double-basses the bass; the wind instruments would either have doubled some of these parts (in the unison or octave) or else have sustained plain chords, merely adding their color to the general ensemble. But Brahms here disposes his orchestra quite differently: he gives the soprano to the first and second violins and the 'celli, letting this large mass of stringed instruments play the part doubled in two octaves; he divides his violas and the several pairs of flutes, oboes, clarinets, and bassoons between the alto and tenor parts, the first three pairs of wind instruments doubling them an octave higher than the violas and bassoons; the bass (which is here a longsustained pedal-C) he gives to the double-basses, double-bassoon, and horns. This massing together of a large body of instruments of one character upon one part, and of correspondingly large masses of instruments of another character upon other parts, gives the orchestra an enormous power; no such volume of tone could have been got from the same orchestra by the older methods of scoring. 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