ABSTRACT
I Come now to the question of Erwin’s musical memory. I thought it necessary to investigate this by the aid of precise experiments, for it is of great importance with regard to artistic production. It is interesting to discover whether any relation, and, if so, what kind of relation, exists between creative imagination and intuition on one side, and activity of memory on the other. It would, however, be too far removed from my present purpose to discuss this question in detail. It will be generally admitted, however, that the various different qualities that are embodied in the gift for memorizing, such as, for instance, the diversity of types of memory, the strength of the impression received, the degree of accuracy in remembering, the illusions of memory, the power of recognizing something already familiar, the rôle played by this quality of “familiarity,” etc., must undoubtedly influence creative activity, which after all is, to a certain extent, based upon the reproduction of actual experience. A reliable memory is invaluable to a composer; with it he knows that the leading themes and motives in a musical work of some length will always be stored, ready, in his memory. A good memory will save him from involuntarily incorporating the ideas of others into his compositions.
