The strength of an athlete, the lightness of a bird, capriciousness, charm, and a perfect understanding of style in general and of the style of this composer in particular are the qualifications needed to perform this work.

It is far too difficult for most _virtuosi_, however talented they may be.
Among the women singers I shall only mention Madame Cahier from the Viennese Opera.

She is a great artist with a wonderful voice and her interpretation of several _lieder_ made them wonderfully worth while.
Madame Cahier interpreted the part of Dalila at Vienna with Dalmores, so it can easily be appreciated how much pleasure I took in hearing her.
A final word about the Dante Symphony.

I have read somewhere that Liszt used pages to produce an effect which Berlioz accomplished in the apparition of Mephistopheles in _Faust_ with three notes.

This comparison is unjust.