demands upon the orchestras have increased greatly of late, their task has become more difficult and more complicated; yet the directors of our art-institutions, display increasing negligence in their choice of conductors.  In the days when Mozart’s scores afforded the highest tasks that could be set before an orchestra, the typical German Capellmeister was a formidable personage, who knew how to make himself respected at his post—­sure of his business, strict, despotic, and by no means polite.  Friedrich Schneider, of Dessau, was the last representative I have met with of this now extinct species.  Guhr, of Frankfort, also may be reckoned as belonging to it.  The attitude of these men towards modern music was certainly “old fashioned”; but, in their own way, they produced good solid work:  as I found not more than eight years ago [Footnote:  Circa, 1861.] at Carlsruhe, when old Capellmeister Strauss conducted “Lohengrin.”  This venerable and worthy man evidently looked at my score with some little shyness; but, he took good care of the orchestra, which he led with a degree of precision and firmness impossible to excel.  He was, clearly, a man not to be trifled with, and his forces obeyed him to perfection.  Singularly enough, this old gentleman was the only German conductor of repute I had met with, up to that time, who possessed true fire; his tempi were more often a trifle too quick than too slow; but they were invariably firm and well marked.  Subsequently, H. Esser’s conducting, at Vienna, impressed me in like manner.

The older conductors of this stamp if they happened to be less gifted than those mentioned, found it difficult to cope with the complications of modern orchestral music—­mainly because of their fixed notions concerning the proper constitution of an orchestra.  I am not aware that the number of permanent members of an orchestra, has, in any German town, been rectified according to the requirements of modern instrumentation.  Now-a-days, as of old, the principal parts in each group of instruments, are allotted to the players according to the rules of seniority [Footnote:  Appointments at German Court theatres are usually for life.]—­thus men take first positions when their powers are on the wane, whilst younger and stronger men are relegated to the subordinate parts—­a practice, the evil effects of which are particularly noticeable with regard to the wind instruments.  Latterly [Footnote:  1869.] by discriminating exertions, and particularly, by the good sense of the instrumentalists concerned, these evils have diminished; another traditional habit, however, regarding the choice of players of stringed instruments, has led to deleterious consequences.  Without the slightest compunction, the second violin parts, and especially the Viola parts, have been sacrificed.  The viola is commonly (with rare exceptions indeed) played by infirm violinists, or by decrepit players of wind instruments who happen to have been acquainted with a stringed instrument once upon a time:  at best a competent viola player occupies the first desk, so that he may play the occasional soli for that instrument; but, I have even seen this function performed by the leader of the first violins.  It was pointed out to me that in a large orchestra, which contained eight violas, there was only one player who could deal with the rather difficult passages in one of my later scores!