However, although most people appreciated Talberg, Chopin and Liszt held different attitudes toward Talberg's performance.
Chopin once candidly wrote in a letter to Arthur: "He plays excellently, but he's not the type I admire. He's younger than me and more favored by the ladies, but he turned 'The Mute Girl' into a hodgepodge, using the pedal instead of the wrist to control dynamics, which I don't really like. However, he plays a ten-note span as effortlessly as I play an octave, and he does it while wearing diamond cufflinks, which speaks to his talent. In short, he's a technical genius like you, and I think I can finally understand why Talberg was your substitute pianist when you were in the third orchestra of the London Philharmonic Association."
If Chopin avoided interaction with Talberg merely due to differing musical philosophies, then Liszt's dislike for Talberg was because he felt threatened by him.
