Chapters XXIV and XXV Summary and Analysis

Chapters XXIV and XXV describes the influence of others like Chopin, Saint-Saens, Liszt, Leschetizky and Schumann on their students

Chapter XXIV The Chopinzee, the Buddha, and Others describes the little man Vladimir de Pachmann as the greatest expert on Chopin, who was nicknamed "Chopinzee." The author attributes his fame to onstage behavior not musical skill. For example, he talked, muttered, made faces and lectured during recitals claiming it expressed his artistic soul. The Chopinzee dressed in a smelly, old gown he claimed was Chopin's and made other pianists fear he would disrupt their performance. He was not taken seriously by them like the Polish Leopold Godowsky was. Godowsky was short and round like "Buddha" and was nicknamed "Brahma of the Keyboard." He had no formal training and was virtually self-taught except for three years with...