Berlioz on Music

The quintessential Romantic artist of his century, Hector Berlioz impressed Paganini and Liszt as "Beethoven's only heir" and dazzled the young Wagner as a composer, orchestra conductor, and critic. To Paris and all Europe, Berlioz was known as much for his writings as for his music, yet there has been no English-language anthology of his criticism available until now. Berlioz on Music plunges us into the Parisian music world during one of its most vibrant periods, the revolutionary years surrounding 1830, still resonant with memories of Napoleon and the French Revolution of only a few decades before. We follow Berlioz as he confronts the transition to a modern, commerce-driven society where music as high art has yet to find a place, using his pen to praise or scold, rouse or cajole performers, composers, managers, and the general public. The articles presented here-given in chronological order and, with a few exceptions, in their entirety-are accompanied by an introductory paragraph and notes that explain Berlioz's references to persons, musical and literary works, historical events, and more. The result is an engaging collection of Berlioz's lively prose, presented with scholarly rigor and rendered in accessible, graceful English. Scholars, lovers of Berlioz's music, history enthusiasts, and Francophiles will delight in this compelling introduction to one of the richest periods of French culture.

Auteur

Katherine Kolb is Professor Emerita of French and German at Southeastern Louisiana University. She also founded and directed the Kolb-Proust Archive at the University of Illinois-Urbana, where she collaborated on the first anthology of Marcel Proust's correspondence (Marcel Proust, Lettres, Plon 2004). Samuel N. Rosenberg is Professor Emeritus of French and Italian at Indiana University, where he taught language and linguistics -- including translation -- and literature of the Middle Ages. His translations, like his philological scholarship, have appeared in a wide variety of publications both American and French.

Contenu

Contents 1. MUSICAL POLEMIC: On "Dilettanti" 2. MUSICAL POLEMIC: On Armide and Gluck 3. THE ARTS. Observations on Classical Music and Romantic Music, Le Correspondant, October 22, 1830 4. Beethoven and the Egyptian Pyramids; Weber's Freischütz; Beethoven's "Pastoral" Symphony 5. Liszt, Chopin, and Ferdinand Hiller; launching of the Fantastic Symphony 6. MUSIC REVIEW: Mozart's Don Giovanni at the Théâtre-Italien; Beethoven quartets 7. MUSIC REVIEW: Beethoven by the Müller Quartet; Chopin; Mozart's Don Giovanni vs. Don Juan; Handel festival in London 8. MUSIC REVIEW: Women performers; violinist Hauman's communicative emotion; Beethoven's Fifth Symphony and Shakespeare's Othello; Cherubini aria sung by Ponchard; rarity of great singers 9. Gluck (Part I). Gazette musicale de Paris, June 1, 1834. Biographical sketch; "critique admirative" of monologue from Il Telemaco 10. MUSIC REVIEW: Turkish music; Beethoven's "Eroica" booed in Bordeaux; musical conditions in the provinces; oasis of progress in Lyon 11. MUSIC REVIEW: Jealousy vs. solidarity among artists; trials of young composers; ironies on Conservatoire training; Henri Reber quartets; Liszt performs in his piano trio 12. Music Review: Choron, voice teacher and propagator of sacred music of the past; funeral service at the Invalides: Mozart Requiem, Jommelli, and Palestrina 13. Funeral service for Choron; Decline of religious music in France; destruction of old-regime choir schools; church ban on women singers 14. Rossini's William Tell (Part I) 15. BOIELDIEU: Funeral music for Boieldieu; survey of requiems; Cherubini 16. NOTICE TO READERS IDLE ENOUGH TO READ MY ARTICLES: Satirical announcement of Berlioz's upcoming concert, conducted by Girard; amusing summary of Harold in Italy 17. IPHIGENIA IN TAURIS (Part I): Early enthusiasm for Gluck; life-changing first experience of Gluck's masterpiece at the Opéra (1821). 18. Music review: à Elle, Letters for Piano by Chrétien Urhan 19. THEATRE-ITALIEN: Gabussi's Ernani 20. MUSIC REVIEW. OPéRA. William Tell. OPéRA-COMIQUE: Zémire et Azor (reprise). 21. CONCERT SOCIETY OF THE CONSERVATOIRE: First Concert [8th season] 22. LE MOINE, text by émilien Pacini, music by G. Meyerbeer 23. THIRD CONCERT AT THE CONSERVATOIRE: Symphonies by Haydn and Beethoven 24. Music REVIEW: Royal Academy of Music: Premiere of la Juive, opera in five acts by MM. 25. Music Review. Concert by the Pupils of Choron at the Hôtel de Ville 26. CONCERT SOCIETY OF THE CONSERVATOIRE: Fourth Concert, Beethoven's "Pastoral" Symphony 27. SIXTH CONSERVATOIRE CONCERT: Analysis of Beethoven's Fifth Symphony 28. CONCERT BY M. LISZT 29. REQUIEM at the Invalides 30. ON THE SCORE OF ZAMPA 31. MUSIC REVIEW: Bellini's I Puritani at the Théâtre-Italien, Cherubini's Treatise on Counterpoint-or a volume of poetry by Chaudesaigues 32. MOZART'S DON JUAN 33. Religious Music: M. Lesueur: Rachel, Noémie, Ruth et Booz, oratorios; M. Urhan: Auditions 34. OPÉRA-Comique. Concerts. Virtuosos and composers 35. First concert [of the season] at the Conservatoire: scene from Mozart's Idomeneo eclipses Beethoven's Seventh Symphony 36. LES HUGUENOTS: Acts 4 and 5 37. Concerts at the Conservatoire: The Magic Flute and The Mysteries of Isis 38. LISZT 39. ANTOINE REICHA 40. MUSICAL ENTERTAINMENTS: Le Siège de Corinthe at the Opéra; M. Ole Bull; M. Labarre and his harp school; Music of public festivals 41. PROGRESS OF MUSICAL EDUCATION IN FRANCE: M. Joseph Mainzer and M. Aubéry du Boulley 42. Polytechnical Society: Awards ceremony 43. OPéra: William Tell. Debut of Duprez 44. Royal Academy of Music: Premiere of La Chatte métamorphosée en femme, ballet