ABSTRACT
The problem of musical interpretation must be as old as music itself. Put at its simplest, it is the problem of leaving the listener with the most powerful, direct, deep, and lasting impression possible. Musicians have always been concerned with the basic questions of interpretation, and much has already been said and written on the subject. Every musical phrase can be regarded as the symbol of a certain expressive content. The true artist is privileged not merely to recognize this content but to fix it so firmly in his consciousness that his intellectual and spiritual qualities are set free for other tasks. Once the performer is recognized as an interpreter, not an imitator, then a record of the composer’s performance can naturally assist him very much, particularly as he is glad of any help in understanding what the composer is trying to say.
