Uübicheff invariably displays both intellect and cultivation, but it is the cultivation of a man of the world, not that of a musician, which has no bias of enthusiasm or dilettantism; his remarks seldom reach the root of the matter, and are often deceptive in their brilliancy, thus accomplishing little for a better appreciation of his subject. Do not be alarmed, my dear friend, at the invidious position in which I place myself and my work by my want of reserve as to others. My cause is that of knowledge, and I must have a clear understanding as to my powers, {INTRODUCTION.} (xiii) and the means at my disposal, for accomplishing the task before me; least of all would I appear to deprecate censure on my own work by sparing it to that of others. You are aware that music has, from my youth up, occupied a large share of my time and thoughts, so much so, that my elders were in the habit of shaking their heads and auguring ill for my philological studies. They may have been right; I must at any rate acknowledge that music has ever been to me quite as serious a study as philology, and that I have striven to acquire such a thorough and scientific knowledge as should give me an insight into its nature and mechanism. I considered it therefore as a duty to myself to turn to account the labour that had occupied a good share of my life, and I embraced with eagerness the opportunity of dedicating my researches to the great masters, to whom I owed so much. I believed myself justified in considering that a representation of the life and works of a great master offers so many sides, and makes so many demands, that only united forces can prove themselves fully equal to the task. If, therefore, I was obliged, perforce, to leave much that was essential to the musician by profession, my greater practice in scientific method might advance the undertaking in other and not less important directions. Consoled by these reflections, I set to work. The task I proposed to myself was a thorough investigation of the sources available for a trustworthy and exhaustive account of Mozart's life, with special reference to all that was calculated to affect his moral and musical development in the general conditions of his time, and in the local and personal circumstances which influenced him; and, in addition, a history of his development as an artist, and a characterisation of his artistic performances as comprehensive as a thorough study and appreciation of his compositions could make it. No side of this task could be treated altogether independently, both the researches and the remarks resulting from them, touching now one, now the other; in the biography as in the individual, the artist and the man are indissolubly united I soon became painfully aware of the insufficiency of my {LIFE OF MOZART.} (xiv)