C'est presque incroyable!

I am aware he is a true master, _un artiste véritable, un compositeur magnifique!_ He has done more for music than any other man in Paris. _Mais, Mon dieu..._ he sure can be a challenge.

_Dan mi-août_ I was to be playing the _Deux Arabesque_ in a concert, and he was interested enough in my piano playing to offer me some advice. I, _bien sûr_, agreed readily. It is a day _très bizarre_ when one refuses a lesson from Claude Debussy. I come into his home and he leads me to his piano.

"Show me, Emile" he said.

It is not long before I am stopped. _"Non, non"_ he said. "You must play more _agile._"

Frustrated, I tried again, and was stopped soon after beginning again. He motioned me to let him sit. And then, he played. It was more _belle_ than I could possibly recount. _Délicat, étincelant... Ah, mon dieu!_ I could hardly believe my ears. Encouraged by this, I sat down again, and tried to play what was now in my heart. And then, after I was done...

"_Bien_," he said. And that was all.

-Emile Vuillermoz 1889