Anton Rubinstein (1830-1894), a concert pianist second only to Liszt, perhaps suffered from being a public pet. Usually his songs are insufferably sentimental, with a banality in almost every line which counteracts the charm latent in the idea. His accompaniments are usually thin and conventional. His romanticism is of the rag and tatter type, which calls upon the stock modulations and phrases in a routine way. One feels that the composer never _saw into_ his songs, that he wrote three-fourths of his notes with his eyes shut. However, he has done a few thoroughly fine songs. ‘The Asra,’ to Heine’s words, is highly emotional and picturesque. Rubinstein’s setting of _Du bist wie eine Blume_, with its delicate piano background, may perhaps be ranked second to Liszt’s. There is a fine luxuriance about the song ‘Golden Rolls the Kura Beneath Me,’ while _Es blinkt der Tau_ and _Die Waldhexe_ can command the respect of musicians. ‘Not with Angels’ is another song well worth knowing. Perhaps the lyrics which show Rubinstein the musician in the best light are the ‘Persian Songs,’ which combine exotic coloring and great expressive beauty. Here, probably, the list ends. The remainder of Rubinstein’s large output suffers continually from thinness and banality. The ‘Modern Greek Love Song’ is a touching melody of the simplest type and manages to escape the commonplaceness which seems always about to engulf it. ‘Be Not so Coy’ is graceful and musicianly, and ‘The Ravens’ contains considerable vitality. But it would be useless to enlarge a list of songs, none of which can be praised without some reservation. Rubinstein is one of the composers whose reputation is fast on the wane. We can part with him with light hearts, for what has replaced him is hardly second to anything in all song literature. Nor in Tschaikowsky’s case need we name the long list of songs that are only somewhat good. He has a few that are thoroughly fine. The children’s song entitled ‘Legend’ makes effective use of modal harmony and remains a most touching and impressive lyric. ‘At the Ball’ is a melody such as Tschaikowsky could create on occasion, utterly aristocratic and artistic. Over this, as over few of his others, the conventional has not cast its spell. ‘The Canary’ is an elaborate effort at oriental color and is completely successful, the piano part being especially fine. The piece is most effective in the concert hall. Perhaps the best known of the Tschaikowsky songs is the setting of Goethe’s famous lyric, _Nur wer die Sehnsucht kennt_. It may be taken as a type of Tschaikowsky’s average. There is in it a certain intensity of feeling, but it is all strained, over orchestrated, as it were, and every now and then--banal. The long list of Tschaikowsky songs includes a number which attempt to be impressively dramatic. They usually make their effect at first hearing, but they fall to pieces beneath scrutiny. They suggest too much brass and percussion and too little--music.