A June 1922 article from The Etude on Pablo de Sarasate
(All text – spellings, subtitles, etc. – is as in the original article by Robert Braine The photos and artwork have been added.)
SPAIN has given comparatively few great artists and composers to the musical world, but the few she has given are of royal rank. Of these the greatest of all is the late Pablo de Sarasate, violin virtuoso of the first rank, and composer of solo works for the violin which have achieved an enormous vogue, and which are now more popular and are played more than when they were first published.
The story of the life and career of Sarasate reads like the romance of a fairy prince. He was one of the prodigies who “grew up,” and far surpassed—unlike most prodigies— the success which was predicted for him in childhood. His whole life was a constant crescendo of success, in which fortune showered on him everything that she had to give in the way of fame and fortune.
It takes genius to attain to great eminence in one branch of the musical art, but it takes super-genius to achieve the same degree of success in several branches. Sarasate attained the highest rank in three he was a great violin virtuoso; he was a great composer of violin works; and he became the world’s greatest interpreter of violin solo works, founded on Spanish dance forms, principally of his own composition.
As a violin virtuoso, Sarasate stood among the first; indeed, in a list of, say, the ten greatest violinists of all time, his name would stand well towards the top.
Pablo Martin Meliton de Sarasate y Navascues was born March 10th, 1844, at Pamplona, a small city which is the capitol of the province of Navarre, in Spain. The boy showed his aptitude for violin playing at a very tender age, for we are told that he was invited to play for the Spanish court at Madrid at the age of ten. His playing so impressed the Spanish Queen Isabella that she forthwith presented him with a superb Stradivarius violin, a very handsome present indeed, although at that time (1854) the violins of Stradivarius had not reached the. fabulous prices which they enjoy today.
A Splendid Training
At that time the Paris Conservatoire was the Mecca for Spanish violin students who wished to study their art thoroughly, so, on the advice of friends in Madrid, the little Sarasate was sent to the French capital where he entered the Conservatoire, Jan. 1st 1856. His splendid gifts at once attracted attention, and he was soon the favorite pupil of Alard, the famous French violinist. M. Lassabathie, the administrator of the Conservatoire, was so anxious that the young genius should be properly looked after, that he took him into his own house to live, and Sarasate made his home with him for ten years, when M. Lassabathie died.
The rapidity of his progress may be judged from the fact that within a year from the time he entered the Conservatoire, he gained the first prize for violin playing and solfeggio. His love for composition prompted him to enter the harmony class of M. Reber, the famous theorist and teacher of composition. His progress in composition was as rapid as that in violin playing, for he was awarded a first prize (premier accessit) in 1859.
He, no doubt, would have continued his studies in composition, but his beautiful tone, wonderful technical skill, sureness of finger, and the general charm of his playing had by this time made him in great demand as a solo violinist for concert work. He was continually besieged by the impresarios for concerts in Paris and the provinces and for foreign tours. Although he made Paris his home, he was constantly on the wing, from his student days to the day of his death, filling engagements all over the world. Concerning his early professional life as a concert violinist, Lahee, in his work Famous Violinists says: “For ten years after gaining the prize, Sarasate remained a salon violinist, of amiable disposition, a ladies’ virtuoso with a somewhat mincing style, who played only variations on opera motives, and who was an entire stranger to classical music.
“Then came a complete change, the character of his playing became serious; a large and noble style replaced the mincing manner which he had previously affected, and instead of the showy trifles which had filled his repertoire, he took to the works of the great masters. By hard work he developed his technical ability so that he reached the limit beyond which, few, if any violinists succeed in passing And all this he accomplished without losing anything of the elegance of his phrasing, or of the infinite charm of his tone.”
In his various concert tours Sarasate visited almost all civilized countries, including North and South America. Up to the time of the Franco-Prussian war Sarasate had not played in Germany, and after that war he feared to play there, for, while a Spaniard by birth, he was. known as a violinist of the French- school. He finally mustered up courage for a German concert tour however, and the immense sensation his playing created on the occasion of his first appearance at Leipsic proved that his fears were groundless. He later became the idol of German music lovers.
He was an especial favorite in Austria, and at Vienna. Hanslick, the noted critic and writer of musical works, wrote of his playing: “There are few violinists whose playing gives such unalloyed enjoyment as the performance of this Spaniard. His tone is incomparable—not powerful or deeply affecting, but of enchanting sweetness. The infallible correctness of the player contributes greatly to the enjoyment. The moment the how touches the Stradivarius a stream of beautiful sound flows towards the hearer. A -pure tone seems to me the prime quality of violin playing—unfortunately, it is also a rare quality.
“Sarasate’s virtuosity wins and pleases and surprises the audience continually. He is distinguished, not because he plays great difficulties, but because he plays with them.”
M. Gustave Chouquet, Keeper of the Museum of the Conservatoire of Paris, wrote of his playing: “Sarasate’s distinguishing characteristics are not so much fire, force and passion, though of these he has an ample store, as purity of style, charm, flexibility and extraordinary facility. He sings on his instrument with taste and expression, and without that exaggeration of affectation of sentiment which distinguishes the playing of many violinists.”
Sarasate’s hand was rather small, and for this reason he played few of Paganini’s compositions, which require large stretches, although, it is said as an additional reason, that he did not care much for Paganini. He played all the works of the best modern French and Belgian composers, and the great works of the German composers. He was especially successful with his readings of the Beethoven, Mendelssohn, Lalo, St. Saëns, and Bruch violin concertos, and with works of Raff. He played little Bach, except minor works, in which he was most successful. The concertos and other works of Lalo and St. Saëns were among his favorites.
An Inspiration to Masters
The wonderful charm of Sarasate’s playing inspired many notable violin compositions. Max Bruch wrote for him his Scottish Fantasia and his Second Concerto, and Lain was -inspired to write for him his Symphonic. Espagnole (Spanish Symphony) one of the finest works ever written for the violin, and which is constantly heard on the modern concert platform.
Sarasate was contemporary. with Joachim, the great Hungarian violinist, who was during the greater part of his life in Berlin at the. head of the German school of violinists. A great German critic compared the two as follows:
“The German was a monument of devotion to austere and classical standards; the Spaniard was all fire and magic. His fiddle bow resembles a wand of magic, and he has the air of a magician of poetic legend, who has chosen to exercise his powers through his violin.”
Sarasate did not care to teach and had no pupils. He resolutely refused all requests for instruction. He was a virtuoso pure and simple, and even the idea of teaching was irksome.
Sarasate’s Works
His compositions are not numerous, but are of the highest character and are popular the world over with violinists for public performance. They are all difficult, and it takes an advanced and finished technic to play them. He wrote for artists and virtuosi, not for students. Among the best known of his compositions are the Zigeunerweisen (Gipsy Dances), Jota Navarra, Playera, Danses Espagnoles, Serenata Andaluza, a Fantasia on airs from Carmen, and others. Sarasate’s arrangements on Spanish dance forms are the finest ever written. They are well de-scribed as the “spirit of the Spanish dance translated into terms of the violin virtuoso.”
Sarasate had two fine Stradivarius violins, one of 1724, which was presented to him by the Queen of Spain, was one of those brought to Spain from the chapelle royale at Naples by Charles III. He used this violin during the greatest part of his career, although he sometimes used a Stradivarius of 1713, which he acquired later from the famous Boissier collection. Vuillaunie, the great French violin maker, made a fine copy of the Stradivarius of 1724, for Sarasate which the violinist sometimes used at rehearsals.
The violinist made it a point to visit his native city of Pamplona (population in 1900, 28,886) once a year, and the in-habitants looked forward to these occasions all year as royal events. There were holidays, banquets, fetes, and merrymaking during the violinist’s visit. He distributed large amounts of money to the poor, and there were gala times for all the inhabitants.
His Immense Earnings
Sarasate’s earnings from his violin playing were very large, exceeding, during his career as a concert player, over $2,000,000, it is estimated. He received the largest fees of any European violinist of his day. Even in Germany, his fee for a concert was 3,000 marks ($750) , while Joachim only received 1,000 marks ($250).
The writer well remembers the first visit of Sarasate to the United States, and to Cincinnati, when he made a tour in conjunction with Eugene D’ Albert, the eminent pianist. The two artists gave two concerts at the Cincinnati Odeon. After the concert the music students of the College of Music crowded into the artists’ room to see the great violinist and his wonderful Stradivarius. He showed them his violin, but would not let it go out of his hands. He showed them that the neck of the violin was a quarter of an inch shorter than normal, which made it easier for him to play on account of his small hand.
Sarasate was a singularly handsome man, and looked every inch the Spanish grandee as he strode proudly to his carriage, his valet marching in front carrying his violin case. Sarasate would not trust to luck in picking up an accompanist in the various countries he visited. His accompanist was Mme. Bertha Marx, and she went with him on all his tours no matter how distant the country.
His Love for Animals
Sarasate was passionately fond of nature and of wild animals. When he was in Cincinnati, he was deluged with invitations to social affairs planned in his honor. He refused them all, and spent all his spare time at the Zoological Gardens inspecting the very fine collections of animals at the Cincinnati Zoo. Sarasate never married, believing that domestic life would injure his artistic career. The violinist died Sept. 20th, 1908, at Biarritz, mourned by lovers of the violin in every country all over the world.
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