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The most eloquent page in Liszt's "Chopin" is the narrative of an
evening in the Chaussee d'Antin, for it demonstrates the
Hungarian's literary gifts and feeling for the right phrase. This
description of Chopin's apartment "invaded by surprise" has a
hypnotizing effect on me. The very furnishings of the chamber
seem vocal under Liszt's fanciful pen. In more doubtful taste is
his statement that "the glace which covers the grace of the elite,
as it does the fruit of their desserts,...could not have been
satisfactory to Chopin"! Liszt, despite his tendency to idealize
Chopin after his death, is our most trustworthy witness at this
period. Chopin was an ideal to Liszt though he has not left us a
record of his defects. The Pole was ombrageux and easily
offended; he disliked democracies, in fact mankind in the bulk
stunned him. This is one reason, combined with a frail physique,
of his inability to conquer the larger public. Thalberg could do
it; his aristocratic tournure, imperturbability, beautiful touch
and polished mechanism won the suffrage of his audiences.


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