I spoke of this plan to his
mother-in-law one day as she was peacefully embroidering at the window,
and told her how pleased I was at the thought of the concerts.
"Don't count on it too much," she told me. "He'll never give them."
When everything was ready, he invited some thirty people to listen to a
trial performance. It was wretched. All the depth of tone had gone from
his violin as well as the skill from his fingers.... The project was
abandoned.
It was left for Maurin to make something out of these terrible quartets.
Maurin had peculiar gifts. He had a lightness of bow which I have never
seen equalled by anyone and a lightness and charm which enchanted the
public. But I can say in all sincerity that Seghers's execution was even
better. Unfortunately for him I was his only listener.
Madame Seghers was a woman of great beauty, unusually intelligent and
distinguished. She had been one of Liszt's pupils and was a pianist of
first rank. But she was even more timid than her husband--a single
listener was sufficient to paralyze her. When Liszt was teaching Madame
Seghers, he came to appreciate her husband's real worth and entrusted
his daughter's musical education to him. This is sufficient indication
of the esteem in which Liszt held Seghers.
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