He had absolute confidence in his judgment. He seldom considered what
his audience would like. The best that was in him was what he gave to
the world. He knew its value, and if others could not understand it, he
knew the time would come when it would be appreciated. In art as in
religion, faith is a necessary preliminary to all great achievements.
In going so far beyond us, in pushing the art to the limit of its
possibilities, Beethoven has made portions of his work inaccessible to
the large body of people who look upon music as an art for enjoyment
only. The same kind of problem that is presented to this generation in
the works of his last years, confronted his contemporaries in those of
his middle life, which were as far beyond the comprehension of his own
generation as the more abstruse works of his last years are beyond the
ability of the present. To a future age, seemingly, has been relegated,
as an heritage of the past, the best fruit of Beethoven's genius. When
the Mass in D and the last Quartets can be heard frequently, a new era
in the art will have been inaugurated.
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