It was at this period that I became acquainted with the works of César Franck, Vincent d’Indy, Fauré, Paul Dukas, and Debussy, of whose names I had hardly heard. Our Academy pretended to know nothing of all these French composers of widespread fame, and never included their works in the programs of the big symphony concerts. As the Soirees of Contemporary Music had not the wherewithal for giving orchestral performances, we were at that time able to hear only the chamber music of these composers. It was not till later, at the concerts of Siloti and those of Koussevitzky, that our public had a chance to hear their symphonic productions. / The impressions I formed of the work of these composers, so different from each other, were naturally varied. My feelings were already beginning to crystallize on the subject of César Franck and his academic thought, Vincent d’Indy and his scholastic yet Wagnerian mentality, on the one hand, and Debussy on the other, with his extraordinary freedom and freshness of technique that was really quite new for his period. Next to him Chabrier appealed most to me, notwithstanding his well-known Wagnerianism (to my mind a purely superficial and outward aspect of him), and my taste for his music has increased with time. << less