137-493: Jules Émile Frédéric Massenet ( French pronunciation: [ʒyl emil fʁedeʁik masnɛ] ; 12 May 1842 – 13 August 1912) was a French composer of the Romantic era best known for his operas, of which he wrote more than thirty. The two most frequently staged are Manon (1884) and Werther (1892). He also composed oratorios , ballets , orchestral works, incidental music , piano pieces, songs and other music. While still
274-501: A Requiem , which has not survived. In 1868 he met Georges Hartmann , who became his publisher and was his mentor for twenty-five years; Hartmann's journalistic contacts did much to promote his protégé's reputation. In October 1866 Massenet and Ninon were married; their only child, Juliette, was born in 1868. Massenet's musical career was briefly interrupted by the Franco-Prussian War of 1870–71, during which he served as
411-765: A " légende sacrée ". Massenet composed many other smaller-scale choral works, and more than two hundred songs. His early collections of songs were particularly popular and helped establish his reputation. His choice of lyrics ranged widely. Most were verses by poets such as Musset , Maupassant , Hugo , Gautier and many lesser-known French writers, with occasional poems from overseas, including Tennyson in English and Shelley in French translation. Grove comments that Massenet's songs, though pleasing and impeccable in craftsmanship, are less inventive than those of Bizet and less distinctive than those of Duparc and Fauré. Massenet
548-587: A "romantic" composer or not, the breadth and power of his work gave rise to a feeling that the classical sonata form and, indeed, the structure of the symphony, sonata and string quartet had been exhausted. Events and changes in society such as ideas, attitudes, discoveries, inventions, and historical events often affect music. For example, the Industrial Revolution was in full effect by the late 18th century and early 19th century. This event profoundly affected music: there were major improvements in
685-478: A colorful orchestral palette. The mystic Alexander Scriabin dreamed of a synthesis of colors, sound and scents. Sergei Rachmaninov wrote melancholic-pathetic piano pieces and concertos full of intoxicating virtuosity, while the piano works of Nikolai Medtner are more lyrical. In the Czech Republic, Leoš Janáček , deeply rooted in the music of his Moravian homeland, found new areas of expression with
822-541: A distinct flavour of its own. "He had a gift for melody of a suave, voluptuous and eminently singable kind, and the intelligence and dramatic sense to make the most of it." The writers called for revivals of Grisélidis , Le jongleur de Notre-Dame , Don Quichotte and Cendrillon , all then neglected. By the 1990s, Massenet's reputation had been considerably rehabilitated. In The Penguin Opera Guide (1993), Hugh Macdonald wrote that though Massenet's operas never equalled
959-524: A distinctly Russian national style of classical music . They were often at odds with Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky who favored a more Western approach to classical composition. Led by Mily Balakirev the group's main members also consisted of César Cui , Modest Mussorgsky , Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov and Alexander Borodin . The Belyayev circle was a society of Russian musicians who met in Saint Petersburg from 1885 and 1908 who sought to continue
1096-509: A few decades of neglect, his works began to be favourably reassessed during the mid-20th century, and many of them have since been staged and recorded. Although critics do not rank him among the handful of outstanding operatic geniuses such as Mozart , Verdi and Wagner , his operas are now widely accepted as well-crafted and intelligent products of the Belle Époque . Massenet was born on 12 May 1842 at Montaud , then an outlying hamlet and now
1233-473: A few of his works are quite close to the musical progress of the time. His successor include Walter Braunfels , who mainly emerged as an opera composer, and the symphonist Wilhelm Furtwängler . The opera stage was particularly suitable for increased emotions. The folk and fairy tale operas of Engelbert Humperdinck , Wilhelm Kienzl and Siegfried Wagner , the son of Richard Wagner, were still quite good. But even Eugen d'Albert and Max von Schillings irritated
1370-684: A flat in Saint-Germain-des-Prés . Massenet was educated at the Lycée Saint-Louis and, from either 1851 or 1853, the Paris Conservatoire . According to his colourful but unreliable memoirs, Massenet auditioned in October 1851, when he was nine, before a judging panel comprising Daniel Auber , Fromental Halévy , Ambroise Thomas and Michele Carafa , and was admitted at once. His biographer Demar Irvine dates
1507-545: A generally cynical view of art". With Grisélidis and Cendrillon complete, though still awaiting performance, Massenet began work on Sapho , based on a novel by Daudet about the love of an innocent young man from the country for a worldly-wise Parisienne. It was given at the Opéra-Comique in November 1897, with great success, though it has been neglected since the composer's death. His next work staged there
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#17327726471751644-444: A great deal for your prize." "The prize ," I cried, bewildered, my face shining with joy. "I have the prize!!!" I was deeply moved and I embraced Berlioz, then my master, and finally Monsieur Auber. Monsieur Auber comforted me. Did I need comforting? Then he said to Berlioz pointing to me, "He'll go far, the young rascal, when he's had less experience!" The prize brought a well-subsidised three-year period of study, two-thirds of which
1781-549: A great injustice". Saint-Saëns cabled back, "I quite agree." He was elected three years later, but his relations with Massenet remained cool. Massenet was a popular and respected teacher at the Conservatoire. His pupils included Bruneau , Charpentier , Chausson , Hahn , Leroux , Pierné , Rabaud and Vidal . He was known for the care he took in drawing out his pupils' ideas, never trying to impose his own. One of his last students, Charles Koechlin , recalled Massenet as
1918-520: A great number of locales depicted in the operas, from ancient Egypt, mythical Greece and biblical Galilee to Renaissance Spain, India and Revolutionary Paris. Massenet's practical experience in orchestra pits as a young man and his careful training at the Conservatoire equipped him to make such effects without much recourse to unusual instruments. He understood the capabilities of his singers, and composed with close, detailed regard for their voices. Massenet wrote more than thirty operas. Authorities differ on
2055-748: A light comedy about the later career of the sex-mad pageboy Cherubino from Mozart 's The Marriage of Figaro . Then came two serious operas, Ariane , on the Greek legend of Theseus and Ariadne , and Thérèse , a terse drama set in the French Revolution . His last major success was Don Quichotte (1910), which L'Etoile called "a very Parisian evening and, naturally, a very Parisian triumph". Even with his creative powers seemingly in decline he wrote four other operas in his later years – Bacchus , Roma , Panurge and Cléopâtre . The last two, like Amadis , which he had been unable to finish in
2192-576: A living by teaching the piano and publishing songs, piano pieces and orchestral suites, all in the popular style of the day. Prix de Rome winners were sometimes invited by the Opéra-Comique in Paris to compose a work for performance there. At Thomas's instigation, Massenet was commissioned to write a one-act opéra comique , La grand'tante , presented in April 1867. At around the same time he composed
2329-509: A loose collection of composers and critics informally led by Franz Liszt and Richard Wagner who strove for pushing the limits of chromatic harmony and program music as opposed to absolute music which they believed had reached its limit under Ludwig van Beethoven . This group also pushed for the development and innovation of the symphonic poem , thematic transformation in musical form , and radical changes in tonality and harmony . Other important members of this movement includes
2466-435: A manner suitable to the taste of impressionable Parisian ladies – utterly inadequate for the theme, at the same time very charming and effective." Of the four works categorised by Irvine and Grove as oratorios, only one, La terre promise (1900), was written for church performance. Massenet used the term "oratorio" for that work, but he called Marie-Magdeleine a " drame sacré ", Ève a " mystère ", and La Vierge (1880)
2603-483: A melodist of undoubted consistency and of remarkable inspiration." After these two triumphs, Massenet entered a period of mixed fortunes. He worked on Werther intermittently for several years, but it was rejected by the Opéra-Comique as too gloomy. In 1887 he met the American soprano Sibyl Sanderson . He developed passionate feelings for her, which remained platonic, although it was widely believed in Paris that she
2740-439: A muted response. The New York Times said of it, "If M. Massenet's opera does not have lasting success it will be because it has no genuine depth. Perhaps M. Massenet is not capable of achieving profound depths of tragic passion; but certainly he will never do so in a work like Werther ". It was not until a revival by the Opéra-Comique in 1903 that the work became an established favourite. Thaïs (1894), composed for Sanderson,
2877-494: A part of the city of Saint-Étienne , in the Loire . He was the youngest of the four children of Alexis Massenet (1788–1863) and his second wife Eléonore-Adelaïde née Royer de Marancour (1809–1875); the elder children were Julie, Léon and Edmond. Massenet senior was a prosperous ironmonger; his wife was a talented amateur musician who gave Jules his first piano lessons. By early 1848 the family had moved to Paris, where they settled in
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#17327726471753014-486: A path for M. Massenet, it is impossible to say whither he might have wandered, or how far he could have pushed his way. The 21st-century critic Anne Feeney comments, "Massenet rarely repeated musical phrases, let alone used recurrent themes, so the resemblance [to Wagner] lies solely in the declamatory lyricism and enthusiastic use of the brass and percussion." Massenet enjoyed introducing comedy into his serious works, and writing some mainly comic operas. In Macdonald's view of
3151-418: A piano accompaniment for the soprano Georgette Leblanc . It was recorded in 1903, and was not intended for publication. It has been released on compact disc (2008), together with contemporary recordings by Grieg , Saint-Saëns, Debussy and others. In Massenet's later years, and in the decade after his death, many of his songs and opera extracts were recorded. Some of the performers were the original creators of
3288-695: A prodigious success and was followed by productions at major opera houses in Europe and the United States. Together with Gounod's Faust and Bizet's Carmen it became, and has remained, one of the cornerstones of the French operatic repertoire. After the intimate drama of Manon , Massenet once more turned to opera on the grand scale with Le Cid in 1885, which marked his return to the Opéra. The Paris correspondent of The New York Times wrote that with this new work Massenet "has resolutely declared himself
3425-470: A schoolboy, Massenet was admitted to France's principal music college, the Paris Conservatoire . There he studied under Ambroise Thomas , whom he greatly admired. After winning the country's top musical prize, the Prix de Rome , in 1863, he composed prolifically in many genres, but quickly became best known for his operas. Between 1867 and his death forty-five years later he wrote more than forty stage works in
3562-511: A second offer of the directorship of the Conservatoire in 1905. Apart from composition, his main concern was his home life in the rue de Vaugirard , Paris, and at his country house in Égreville . He was uninterested in Parisian society, and so shunned the limelight that in later life he preferred not to attend his own first nights. He described himself as "a fireside man, a bourgeois artist". The main biographical detail of note of his latter years
3699-480: A statement repeated by his biographers Hugh Macdonald and Demar Irvine. Other writers on French music have written that Massenet was intensely ambitious to succeed Thomas, but resigned in pique after three months of manoeuvring, once the authorities finally rejected his insistence on being appointed director for life, as Thomas had been. He was succeeded as professor by Gabriel Fauré , who was doubtful of Massenet's credentials, considering his popular style to be "based on
3836-471: A style that reminded Brahms. Ralph Vaughan Williams , whose works were inspired by English folk songs and Renaissance music , became the most important symphonist of his country. Gustav Holst incorporated Greek mythology and Indian philosophy into his work. Very idiosyncratic composer personalities in the transition to modernity were also Havergal Brian and Frank Bridge . In Russia, Alexander Glazunov decorated his traditional composition technique with
3973-511: A success and he quickly abandoned the instrument. He gained some work as a piano accompanist, in the course of which he met Wagner who, along with Berlioz , was one of his two musical heroes. In 1861 Massenet's music was published for the first time, the Grande Fantasie de Concert sur le Pardon de Ploërmel de Meyerbeer , a virtuoso piano work in nine sections. Having graduated to the composition class under Ambroise Thomas, Massenet
4110-401: A symphonic poem, Visions (1891), an Ouverture de Concert (1863) and Ouverture de Phèdre (1873). After early attempts at chamber music as a student, he wrote little more in the genre. Most of his early chamber pieces are now lost; three pieces for cello and piano survive. The only known recording made by Massenet is an excerpt from Sapho , "Pendant un an je fus ta femme", in which he plays
4247-514: A voluble professor, dispensing "a teaching active, living, vibrant, and moreover comprehensive". According to some writers, Massenet's influence extended beyond his own students. In the view of the critic Rodney Milnes , "In word-setting alone, all French musicians profited from the freedom he won from earlier restrictions." Romain Rolland and Francis Poulenc have both considered Massenet an influence on Debussy 's Pelléas et Mélisande ; Debussy
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4384-695: A volunteer in the National Guard alongside his friend Bizet. He found the war so "utterly terrible" that he refused to write about it in his memoirs. He and his family were trapped in the siege of Paris but managed to get out before the Paris Commune began; the family stayed for some months in Bayonne , in southwestern France. After order was restored, Massenet returned to Paris where he completed his first large-scale stage work, an opéra comique in four acts, Don César de Bazan (Paris, 1872). It
4521-474: A way that many contemporary critics thought Wagnerian. Shaw was not among them: in 1885 he wrote of Manon : Of Wagnerism there is not the faintest suggestion. A phrase which occurs in the first love duet breaks out once or twice in subsequent amorous episodes, and has been seized on by a few unwary critics as a Wagnerian leit motif . But if Wagner had never existed, Manon would have been composed much as it stands now, whereas if Meyerbeer and Gounod had not made
4658-522: A wide variety of styles, from opéra-comique to grand-scale depictions of classical myths, romantic comedies, lyric dramas , as well as oratorios, cantatas and ballets. Massenet had a good sense of the theatre and of what would succeed with the Parisian public. Despite some miscalculations, he produced a series of successes that made him the leading composer of opera in France in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Like many prominent French composers of
4795-408: A young man, and sticking broadly with it for the rest of his career, Massenet does not, as some other composers do, lend himself to classification into clearly defined early, middle and late periods. Moreover, his versatility means that there is no plot or locale that can be regarded as typical Massenet. Another respect in which he differed from many opera composers is that he did not work regularly with
4932-462: Is Franz Schubert , with Erlkönig , however, many other romantic composers have devoted themselves to the lied genre such as Saint-Saëns , Duparc , Robert Schumann , Johannes Brahms , Hugo Wolf , Gustav Mahler , and Richard Strauss . It is Beethoven who inaugurates the romantic concerto, with his five piano concertos (especially the fifth ) and his violin concerto where many characteristics of classicism can still be recognized. His example
5069-492: Is a symphonic poem about the Moldau River in the modern-day Czech Republic , the second in a cycle of six nationalistic symphonic poems collectively titled Má vlast (My Homeland). Smetana also composed eight nationalist operas, all of which remain in the repertory. They established him as the first Czech nationalist composer as well as the most important Czech opera composer of the generation who came to prominence in
5206-531: Is a degree of overlap between his operatic style and his choral works for church or concert hall performance. Vincent d'Indy wrote that there was "a discreet and semi-religious eroticism" in Massenet's music. The religious element was a regular theme in his secular as well as sacred works: this derived not from any strong personal faith, but from his response to the dramatic aspects of Roman Catholic ritual. The mingling of operatic and religious elements in his works
5343-469: Is closely related to the broader concept of Romanticism —the intellectual, artistic, and literary movement that became prominent in Western culture from about 1798 until 1837. Romantic composers sought to create music that was individualistic, emotional, dramatic, and often programmatic ; reflecting broader trends within the movements of Romantic literature , poetry , art, and philosophy. Romantic music
5480-471: Is considered part of the 'Old Guard', a group of leading New York–based music critics who first established a uniquely American school of criticism. Finck was born at Bethel, Missouri , and raised in Portland, Oregon , where he was taught piano and violoncello . He taught himself Latin and Greek so thoroughly that he was able to enter Harvard as a sophomore in 1872. At Harvard, he studied philosophy,
5617-476: Is followed by many composers: the concerto rivals the symphony in the repertoire of major orchestral formations . Finally, the concerto will allow instrumentalist composers to reveal their virtuosity, such as Niccolò Paganini on the violin, and Frédéric Chopin , Robert Schumann , and Franz Liszt on the piano. The nocturne is presented as a short-lived confidential piece, which the Irish composer John Field
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5754-488: Is free of material or program, is the embodiment of the romantic art idea. Another one of the most important representatives of late classicism and early romanticism is Franz Schubert . Because only with him did romantic features come into the German-language opera with his chamber music works and later also symphonies . In this field, his work is supplemented by the ballads of Carl Loewe . Carl Maria von Weber
5891-577: Is important for the development of the German opera , especially with his popular Freischütz. In addition, there are fantastic-horrious materials by Heinrich Marschner and finally the cheerful opera by Albert Lortzing , while Louis Spohr became known mainly for his instrumental music. Still largely attached to classical music is the work of Johann Nepomuk Hummel , Ferdinand Ries , and the Frenchman George Onslow . Italy experienced
6028-406: Is possibly the best known non-vocal piece by Massenet, and appears on many recordings. Another popular stand-alone orchestral piece from the operas is Le dernier sommeil de la Vierge from La Vierge , which has featured on numerous discs since the middle of the 20th century. A Parisian critic, after seeing La grand' tante , declared that Massenet was a symphonist rather than a theatre composer. At
6165-594: Is prominent in the Mazurkas of Chopin". His mazurkas and polonaises are particularly notable for their use of nationalistic rhythms. Moreover, "During World War II the Nazis forbade the playing of ... Chopin's Polonaises in Warsaw because of the powerful symbolism residing in these works". Other composers, such as Bedřich Smetana , wrote pieces that musically described their homelands. In particular, Smetana's Vltava
6302-611: Is the position of the Finn Jean Sibelius , also a symphonist of melancholy expressiveness and clear line design. In Sweden, the works of Wilhelm Peterson-Berger , Wilhelm Stenhammar , and Hugo Alfvén show a typical Nordic conservatism, and the Norwegian Christian Sinding also composed traditionally. The music of Spain also increased in popularity again after a long time, first in the piano works of Isaac Albéniz and Enrique Granados , then in
6439-600: Is under the influence of Wagner's progressive ideas, among them, for example, Peter Cornelius . On the other hand, an opposition arose from numerous more conservative composers, to whom Johannes Brahms , who sought a logical continuation of classical music in symphony, chamber music and song, became a model of scale due to the depth of the sensation and a masterful composition technique . Among others, Robert Volkmann , Friedrich Kiel , Carl Reinecke , Max Bruch , Josef Gabriel Rheinberger , and Hermann Goetz are included in this party. In addition, some important loners came on
6576-404: Is where verism developed, an exaggerated realism that could easily turn into the striking and melodramatic on the opera stage. Despite their extensive work, Ruggero Leoncavallo , Pietro Mascagni , Francesco Cilea , and Umberto Giordano have only become known through one opera at a time. Only Giacomo Puccini 's work has been completely preserved in the repertoire of the opera houses, although he
6713-981: The Mahabharata , was a success and was quickly taken up by the opera houses of eight Italian cities. It was also performed at the Hungarian State Opera House , the Bavarian State Opera , the Semperoper in Dresden, the Teatro Real in Madrid, and the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden in London. After the first Covent Garden performance, The Times summed the piece up in a way that was frequently to be applied to
6850-470: The verismo style of such works as Mascagni 's Cavalleria rusticana to great effect. The audience clamoured for the composer to acknowledge the applause, but Massenet, always a shy man, declined to take even a single curtain call. The death of Ambroise Thomas in February 1896 made vacant the post of director of the Conservatoire. The French government announced on 6 May that Massenet had been offered
6987-450: The Industrial Revolution . In part, it was a revolt against social and political norms of the Age of Enlightenment and a reaction against the scientific rationalization of nature. It was embodied most strongly in the visual arts, music, literature, and education, and was in turn influenced by developments in natural history. One of the first significant applications of the term to music
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#17327726471757124-618: The Massenet Festival in Massenet's native Saint-Étienne have produced biennial performances to promote and celebrate his music. Rodney Milnes, in The New Grove Dictionary of Opera (1992), agrees that Manon and Werther have a secure place in the international repertoire; he counts three others as "re-establishing a toehold" ( Cendrillon , Thaïs and Don Quichotte ), with many more due for re-evaluation or rediscovery. He concludes that comparing Massenet with
7261-685: The Second Viennese School being its main promoters and Primitivism with Igor Stravinsky being its most influential composer. Carried to the highest degree by Ludwig van Beethoven , the symphony becomes the most prestigious form to which many composers devote themselves. The most conservative respect to the Beethovenian model includes composers such as Franz Schubert , Felix Mendelssohn , Robert Schumann , Camille Saint-Saëns , and Johannes Brahms . Others show an imagination that makes them go beyond this framework, in form or in
7398-534: The belle époque , one of the richest cultural periods in history". In France, Massenet's 20th-century eclipse was less complete than elsewhere, but his oeuvre has been revalued in recent years. In 2003 Piotr Kaminsky wrote in Mille et un opéras of Massenet's skill in translating French text into flexible melodic phrases, his exceptional orchestral virtuosity, combining sparkle and clarity, and his unerring theatrical instinct. Begun by Jean-Louis Pichon in November 1990,
7535-500: The symphony genre in the classical mold, though they would implement their own musical language. The most prominent members of this circle were Johannes Brahms , Joseph Joachim , Clara Schumann , and the Leipzig Conservatoire , which had been founded by Felix Mendelssohn . The Mighty Five were a group of Russian composers centered in Saint Petersburg who collaborated with each other from 1856 to 1870 to create
7672-414: The 1860s. The transition of Viennese classicism to Romanticism can be found in the work of Ludwig van Beethoven . Many typically romantic elements are encountered for the first time in his works. These works stand here in contrast to vocal music and are "purely" instrumental music. According to Hoffmann, the pure instrumental music of Viennese classical music, especially that of Beethoven , since it
7809-483: The 1890s, were premiered after the composer's death and then lapsed into oblivion. In August 1912 Massenet went to Paris from his house at Égreville to see his doctor. The composer had been suffering from abdominal cancer for some months, but his symptoms did not seem imminently life-threatening. Within a few days his condition deteriorated sharply. His wife and family hastened to Paris, and were with him when he died, aged seventy. By his own wish his funeral, with no music,
7946-654: The 1950s critics were reappraising Massenet's works. In 1951 Martin Cooper of The Daily Telegraph wrote that Massenet's detractors, including some fellow composers, were on the whole idealistic, even puritanical, "but few of them have in practice achieved anything so near perfection in any genre, however humble, as Massenet achieved in his best works." In 1955 Edward Sackville-West and Desmond Shawe-Taylor commented in The Record Guide that, although usually dismissed as an inferior Gounod, Massenet wrote music with
8083-501: The Brahms-oriented Hubert Parry and symphonist, as well as the comic operas of Arthur Sullivan . In late Romanticism, also called post-Romanticism, the traditional forms and elements of music are further dissolved. An increasingly colorful orchestral palette, an ever-increasing range of musical means, the spread of tonality to its limits, exaggerated emotions and an increasingly individual tonal language of
8220-518: The Conservatoire's top prize for pianists. The family's finances were no longer comfortable, and to support himself Massenet took private piano students and played as a percussionist in theatre orchestras. His work in the orchestra pit gave him a good working knowledge of the operas of Gounod and other composers, classic and contemporary. Traditionally, many students at the Conservatoire went on to substantial careers as church organists; with that in mind Massenet enrolled for organ classes, but they were not
8357-651: The Dane Niels Wilhelm Gade . In opera, the operas of Otto Nicolai and Friedrich von Flotow still dominated in Germany when Richard Wagner wrote his first romantic operas. The early works of Giuseppe Verdi were also still based on the Belcanto ideal of the older generation. In France, the Opéra lyrique was developed by Ambroise Thomas and Charles Gounod . Russian music found its own language in
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#17327726471758494-621: The Symphony poems oriented towards Liszt. The symphonies, concerts and chamber music works of Antonín Dvořák , on the other hand, have Brahms as a model. In Poland, Stanisław Moniuszko was the leading opera composer, in Hungary Ferenc Erkel . Norway produced its best-known composers with Edvard Grieg , creator of lyrical piano works, songs and orchestral works such as the Peer-Gynt Suite; England's voice resonated with
8631-691: The Vienna Hofoper asked for a new piece, following the enthusiastic reception of the Austrian premiere of Manon . Though in the view of some writers Werther is the composer's masterpiece, it was not immediately taken up with the same keenness as Manon . The first performance in Paris was in January 1893 by the Opéra-Comique company at the Théâtre Lyrique, and there were performances in the United States, Italy and Britain, but it met with
8768-406: The actual progress of musical art during the past forty years left Massenet unmoved ... he has taken no part in the evolution of modern music. Massenet was never entirely without supporters. In the 1930s Sir Thomas Beecham told the critic Neville Cardus , "I would give the whole of Bach's Brandenburg Concertos for Massenet's Manon , and would think I had vastly profited by the exchange." By
8905-544: The audition and admission as January 1853. Both sources agree that Massenet continued his general education at the lycée in tandem with his musical studies. At the Conservatoire Massenet studied solfège with Augustin Savard and the piano with François Laurent. He pursued his studies, with modest distinction, until the beginning of 1855, when family concerns disrupted his education. Alexis Massenet's health
9042-456: The ballet Le carillon , the piano concerto in E ♭ , the Fantaisie for cello and orchestra, and orchestral suites. Many individual mélodies by Massenet were included in mixed recitals on record during the 20th century, and more have been committed to disc since then, including, for the first time, a CD in 2012, exclusively devoted to his songs for soprano and piano. By the time of
9179-624: The best of his operas this sensual side "is balanced by strong dramatic tension (as in Werther ), theatrical action (as in Thérèse ), scenic diversion (as in Esclarmonde ), or humour (as in Le portrait de Manon )." Massenet's Parisian audiences were greatly attracted by the exotic in music, and Massenet willingly obliged, with musical evocations of far-flung places or times long past. Macdonald lists
9316-492: The center of musical Romanticism. The classical period often used short, even fragmentary, thematic material while the Romantic period tended to make greater use of longer, more fully defined and more emotionally evocative themes. Characteristics often attributed to Romanticism: In music, there is a relatively clear dividing line in musical structure and form following the death of Beethoven. Whether one counts Beethoven as
9453-595: The classics, and music. He graduated in 1876. He attended the Bayreuth Festival in 1876, of which he wrote accounts for newspapers and magazines. The Harris fellowship from Harvard being awarded to him, he spent three years (1878–1881) in the study of physiological psychology in Berlin , Heidelberg , and Vienna . He became musical editor of the New York Evening Post in 1881 and was on
9590-429: The comic works, Cendrillon and Don Quichotte succeed, but Don César de Bazan and Panurge are less satisfying than "the more delicately tuned operas such as Manon , Le portrait de Manon and Le jongleur de Notre-Dame , where comedy serves a more complex purpose." According to Operabase , analysis of productions around the world in 2012–13 shows Massenet as the twentieth most popular of all opera composers, and
9727-505: The composer's death in 1912 his reputation had declined, especially outside his native country. In the second edition (1907) of Grove , J A Fuller Maitland accused the composer of pandering to the fashionable Parisian taste of the moment, and disguising a uniformly "weak and sugary" style with superficial effects. Fuller Maitland contended that to discerning music lovers such as himself the operas of Massenet were "inexpressibly monotonous", and he predicted that they would all be forgotten after
9864-518: The composer's death. Similar views were expressed in an obituary in The Musical Times : His early scores are, for the greater part, his best ... Later, and for the plain reason that he never attempted to renovate his style, he sank into sheer mannerism. Indeed, one can but marvel that so gifted a musician, who lacked neither individuality nor skill, should have so utterly succeeded in throwing away his gifts. Success spoiled him ...
10001-471: The composer's operas: "M. Massenet's opera, although not a work of genius proper, is one of more than common merit, and contains all the elements of at least temporary success." This period was an early high point in Massenet's career. He had been made a chevalier of the Legion of Honour in 1876, and in 1878 he was appointed professor of counterpoint, fugue and composition at the Conservatoire under Thomas, who
10138-400: The critic Richard Pohl and composers Felix Draeseke , Julius Reubke , Karl Klindworth , William Mason , and Peter Cornelius . The conservatives were a broad group of musicians and critics who maintained the artistic legacy of Robert Schumann who adhered to composing and promoting absolute music . They believed in continuing along the footsteps of Ludwig van Beethoven of composing
10275-520: The development of the language melody in his operas. The local sounds are also unmistakable in the music of Zdeněk Fibich , Josef Bohuslav Foerster , Vítězslav Novák , and Josef Suk . On the other hand, there is a slightly morbid exoticism and later classicist measure in the work of the Polish Karol Szymanowski . The most important Danish composer is Carl Nielsen , known for symphonies and concerts. Even more dominant in his country
10412-632: The development of the national Russian style of classical music following in the footsteps of the Mighty Five although they were far more tolerant of the Western compositional style of Tchaikovsky . This group was founded by Russian music publisher philanthropist Mitrofan Belyayev . The two most important composers of this group were Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov and Alexander Glazunov . Members also included Vladimir Stasov , Anatoly Lyadov , Alexander Ossovsky , Witold Maliszewski , Nikolai Tcherepnin , Nikolay Sokolov , and Alexander Winkler . During
10549-527: The different subgenres of opera, from opérette ( L'adorable Bel'-Boul and L'écureuil du déshonneur – both early pieces, the latter lost) and opéra-comique such as Manon , to grand opera – Grove categorises Le roi de Lahore as "the last grand opera to have a great and widespread success". Many of the elements of traditional grand opera are written into later large-scale works such as Le mage and Hérodiade . Massenet's operas consist of anything from one to five acts, and although many of them are described on
10686-453: The earlier composer a richness of orchestration and a fluency in treatment of musical themes. Although when he chose, Massenet could write noisy and dissonant scenes – in 1885 Bernard Shaw called him "one of the loudest of modern composers" – much of his music is soft and delicate. Hostile critics have seized on this characteristic, but the article on Massenet in the 2001 edition of Grove's Dictionary of Music and Musicians observes that in
10823-407: The early 1870s, "What I have to say, musically, I have to say rapidly, forcefully, concisely; my discourse is tight and nervous, and if I wanted to express myself otherwise I would not be myself." His efforts in the concertante field made little mark, but his orchestral suites, colourful and picturesque according to Grove , have survived on the fringes of the repertoire. Other works for orchestra are
10960-528: The end of his life, represents in person as well as in music almost the prototype of the passionate romantic artist, shadowed by tragedy. His idiosyncratic piano pieces, chamber music works and symphonies should have a lasting influence on the following generation of musicians. Franz Liszt , who came from the German minority in Hungary, was on the one hand a swarmed piano virtuoso, but on the other hand also laid
11097-640: The exact total because some of the works, particularly from his early years, are lost and others were left incomplete. Still others, such as Don César de Bazan and Le roi de Lahore , were substantially recomposed after their first productions and exist in two or more versions. Grove's Dictionary of Music and Musicians lists forty Massenet operas in all, of which nine are shown as lost or destroyed. The "OperaGlass" website of Stanford University shows revised versions as premieres, and The New Grove Dictionary of Opera does not: their totals are forty-four and thirty-six respectively. Having honed his personal style as
11234-547: The foundation for the progressive " New German School " with his harmoniously bold symphonic poems . Also committed to program music was the technique of the Idée fixe (leitmotif) of the Frenchman Hector Berlioz , who also significantly expanded the orchestra. Felix Mendelssohn was again more oriented towards the classicist formal language and became a role model especially for Scandinavian composers such as
11371-513: The fourth most popular French one, after Bizet, Offenbach and Gounod. The most often performed of his operas in the period are shown as Werther (63 productions in all countries), followed by Manon (47), Don Quichotte (22), Thaïs (21), Cendrillon (17), La Navarraise (4), Cléopâtre (3), Thérèse (2), Le Cid (2), Hérodiade (2), Esclarmonde (2), Chérubin (2) and Le mage (1). Between 1862 and 1900 Massenet composed eight oratorios and cantatas , mostly on religious subjects. There
11508-485: The grandeur of Berlioz's Les Troyens , the genius of Bizet's Carmen or the profundity of Debussy's Pelléas et Mélisande , from the 1860s until the years before the First World War, the composer gave the French lyric stage a remarkable series of works, two of which – Manon and Werther – are "masterpieces that will always grace the repertoire". In Macdonald's view, Massenet "embodies many enduring aspects of
11645-509: The handful of composers of great genius, "It would be absurd to claim that he was anything more than a second-rate composer; he nevertheless deserves to be seen, like Richard Strauss , at least as a first-class second-rate one." Romantic music Romantic music is a stylistic movement in Western Classical music associated with the period of the 19th century commonly referred to as the Romantic era (or Romantic period). It
11782-430: The hero for example), it is to be compared to music with a symphonic program. This musical genre appeared with the evolution from pianoforte to piano during the romantic period. The lied is vocal music most often accompanied by this instrument. The singing is taken from romantic poems and this style makes it possible to bring the voice as close to feelings as possible. One of the first and most famous lieder composers
11919-494: The heyday of the Belcanto opera in early Romanticism, associated with the names of Gioachino Rossini , Gaetano Donizetti , and Vincenzo Bellini . While Rossini's comic operas are primarily known today, often only through their rousing overtures , Donizetti and Bellini predominate tragic content. The most important Italian instrumental composer of this time was the legendary "devil's violinist" Niccolò Paganini . In France , on
12056-582: The individual composer are typical features; the music is led to the threshold of modernity . Thus, the symphonies of Gustav Mahler reached previously unknown dimensions, partly give up the traditional four-sentence and often contain vocal proportions. But behind the monumental facade is the modern expressiveness of the Fin de siècle . This psychological expressiveness is also contained in the songs of Hugo Wolf , miniature dramas for voice and piano. More committed to tradition, particularly oriented towards Bruckner, are
12193-424: The individual" by being composed in ways that were often less restrictive and more often focused on the composer's skills as a person than prior means of writing music. During the Romantic period, music often took on a much more nationalistic purpose. Composers composed with a distinct sound that represented their home country and traditions. For example, Jean Sibelius' Finlandia has been interpreted to represent
12330-737: The later half of the 19th Century, some prominent composers began exploring the limits of the traditional tonal system. Important examples include Tristan und Isolde by Richard Wagner and Bagatelle sans tonalité by Franz Liszt . This limit was finally reached during the Late Romantic period where progressive tonality is demonstrated in the works of composers such as Gustav Mahler . With these developments, Romanticism finally began to break apart into several new parallel movements forming in response, bringing way to Modernism . Some notable movements to form in response to Romanticism's collapse include Expressionism with Arnold Schoenberg and
12467-402: The law courts, seeking to secure herself a monopoly of the leading roles in several of his late operas. A rare excursion from the opera house came in 1903 with Massenet's only piano concerto , on which he had begun work while still a student. The work was performed by Louis Diémer at the Conservatoire, but made little impression compared with his operas. In 1905 Massenet composed Chérubin ,
12604-488: The mechanical valves and keys that most woodwinds and brass instruments depend on. The new and innovative instruments could be played with greater ease and they were more reliable. Another development that affected music was the rise of the middle class. Composers before this period lived under the patronage of the aristocracy. Many times their audience was small, composed mostly of the upper class and individuals who were knowledgeable about music. The Romantic composers, on
12741-480: The morning until midday, a practice he maintained all his life. In general he worked fluently, seldom revising, although Le roi de Lahore , his nearest approach to a traditional grand opera , took him several years to complete to his own satisfaction. It was finished in 1877 and was one of the first new works to be staged at the Palais Garnier , opened two years previously. The opera, with a story taken from
12878-535: The nerves with a German variant of verism. Erotic symbolism can be found in the stage works of Alexander von Zemlinsky and Franz Schreker . Richard Strauss went even further to the limits of tonality with Salome and Elektra before he took more traditional paths with the Rosenkavalier. In the style related to the works of Strauss, the compositions Emil Nikolaus von Rezniceks and Paul Graeners are shown. In Italy, opera still dominated during this time. This
13015-468: The one hand, the light Opéra comique developed, its representatives are François-Adrien Boieldieu , Daniel-François-Esprit Auber , and Adolphe Adam , the latter also known for his ballets . One can also quote the famous eccentric composer and harpist Robert Nicolas-Charles Bochsa (seven operas). In addition, the Grand opéra came up with pompous stage sets, ballets and large choirs. Her first representative
13152-599: The operas of Mikhail Glinka and Alexander Dargomyschski . The second phase of high romanticism runs in parallel with the style of realism in literature and the visual arts. In the second half of his creation, Wagner now developed his leitmotif technique , with which he holds together the four-part ring of the Nibelungen , composed without arias ; the orchestra is treated symphonically, the chromaticism reaches its extreme in Tristan and Isolde . A whole crowd of disciples
13289-400: The operas, ballets and orchestral works of Manuel de Falla , influenced by Impressionism. Finally, the first important representatives of the United States also appeared with Edward MacDowell and Amy Beach . But even the work of Charles Ives belonged only partly to late Romanticism - much of it was already radically modern and pointed far into the 20th century. The New German School was
13426-473: The other hand, often wrote for public concerts and festivals, with large audiences of paying customers, who had not necessarily had any music lessons. Composers of the Romantic Era, like Elgar , showed the world that there should be "no segregation of musical tastes" and that the "purpose was to write music that was to be heard". "The music composed by Romantic [composers]" reflected "the importance of
13563-529: The parties in composition. Verdi also reached the way to a well-composed musical drama , albeit in a different way than Wagner. His immense charisma made all other composers fade in Italy, including Amilcare Ponchielli and Arrigo Boito , who was also the librettist of his late operas Otello and Falstaff. In France, on the other hand, the light muse triumphed first in the form of the socio-critical operettas of Jacques Offenbach . Lyrical opera found its climax in
13700-463: The period, Massenet became a professor at the Conservatoire. He taught composition there from 1878 until 1896, when he resigned after the death of the director, Ambroise Thomas. Among his students were Gustave Charpentier , Ernest Chausson , Reynaldo Hahn and Gabriel Pierné . By the time of his death, Massenet was regarded by many critics as old-fashioned and unadventurous although his two best-known operas remained popular in France and abroad. After
13837-426: The position and had refused it. The following day it was announced that another faculty member, Théodore Dubois , had been appointed director, and Massenet had resigned as professor of composition. Two explanations have been advanced for this sequence of events. Massenet wrote in 1910 that he had remained in his post as professor out of loyalty to Thomas, and was eager to abandon all academic work in favour of composing,
13974-460: The rising nation of Finland, which would someday gain independence from Russian control. Frédéric Chopin was one of the first composers to incorporate nationalistic elements into his compositions. Joseph Machlis states, "Poland's struggle for freedom from tsarist rule aroused the national poet in Poland. ... Examples of musical nationalism abound in the output of the romantic era. The folk idiom
14111-423: The roles, such as Ernest van Dyck ( Werther ), Emma Calvé ( Sapho ), Hector Dufranne ( Grisélidis ), and Vanni Marcoux ( Panurge ). Complete French recordings of Manon and Werther , conducted by Élie Cohen , were issued in 1932 and 1933 and have been republished on CD. The critic Alan Blyth comments that they embody the original, intimate Opéra-Comique style of performing Massenet. Of Massenet's operas,
14248-447: The same librettists: Grove lists more than thirty writers who provided him with librettos. The 1954 (fifth) edition of Grove said of Massenet, "to have heard Manon is to have heard the whole of him". In 1994 Andrew Porter called this view preposterous. He countered, "Who knows Manon , Werther and Don Quichotte knows the best of Massenet, but not his range from heroic romance to steamy verismo." Massenet's output covered most of
14385-510: The scene, among whom Anton Bruckner particularly stands out. Although a Wagner supporter, his clear-form style differs significantly from that of that composer. For example, the block-based instrumentation of Bruckner's symphonies is derived from the registers of the organ. In the ideological struggle against Wagner's adversaries, he was portrayed by his followers as a counterpart of Brahms. Felix Draeseke , who originally wrote "future music in classical form" starting from Liszt, also stands between
14522-521: The sopranos and mezzos are Dame Janet Baker , Victoria de los Ángeles , Natalie Dessay , Renée Fleming , Angela Gheorghiu and Dame Joan Sutherland . Leading men in recordings of Massenet operas include Roberto Alagna , Gabriel Bacquier , Plácido Domingo , Thomas Hampson , Jonas Kaufmann , José van Dam , Alain Vanzo , Tito Schipa and Rolando Villazón . In addition to the operas, recordings have been issued of several orchestral works, including
14659-399: The spirit: the most daring of them being Hector Berlioz . Finally, some will also tell a story throughout their symphonies; like Franz Liszt , they will create the symphonic poem , a new musical genre, usually composed of a single movement and inspired by a theme, character or literary text. Since the symphonic poem is articulated around a leitmotiv (musical motif to identify a character,
14796-504: The symphonies of Franz Schmidt and Richard Wetz , while Max Reger resorted to Bach's polyphony in his numerous instrumental works, but developed it harmoniously extremely boldly. Among the numerous composers of the Reger successor, Julius Weismann and Joseph Haas stand out. Among the outstanding late romantic sound creators is also the idiosyncratic Hans Pfitzner . Although a traditionalist and decisive opponent of modern currents, quite
14933-573: The time of the British premiere of Manon in 1885, the critic in The Manchester Guardian , reviewing the work enthusiastically, nevertheless echoed his French confrère's view that the composer was really a symphonist, whose music was at its best when purely orchestral. Massenet took a wholly opposite view of his talents. He was temperamentally unsuited to writing symphonically: the constraints of sonata form bored him. He wrote, in
15070-510: The title pages of their scores as "opéra" or "opéra comique", others have carefully nuanced descriptions such as "comédie chantée", "comédie lyrique", "comédie-héroïque", "conte de fées", "drame passionnel", "haulte farce musicale", "opéra légendaire", "opéra romanesque" and "opéra tragique". In some of his operas, such as Esclarmonde and Le mage , Massenet moved away from the traditional French pattern of free-standing arias and duets. Solos meld from declamatory passages into more melodic form, in
15207-573: The two best known, Manon and Werther , have been recorded many times, and studio or live recordings have been issued of many of the others, including Cendrillon , Le Cid , Don Quichotte , Esclarmonde , Hérodiade , Le jongleur de Notre-Dame , Le mage , La Navarraise and Thaïs . Conductors on these discs include Sir Thomas Beecham , Richard Bonynge , Riccardo Chailly , Sir Colin Davis , Patrick Fournillier , Sir Charles Mackerras , Pierre Monteux , Sir Antonio Pappano and Michel Plasson . Among
15344-512: The work, and its première, lavishly staged, was given in December 1881. It ran for fifty-five performances in Brussels, and had its Italian premiere two months later at La Scala . The work finally reached Paris in February 1884, by which time Massenet had established himself as the leading French opera composer of his generation. Manon , first given at the Opéra-Comique in January 1884, was
15481-680: The works of Claude Debussy , the structures dissolved into the finest nuances of rhythm, dynamics and timbre. This development was prepared in the work of Vincent d'Indy , Ernest Chausson and above all in the songs and chamber music of Gabriel Fauré . All subsequent French composers were more or less influenced by Impressionism. The most important among them was Maurice Ravel , a brilliant orchestral virtuoso. Albert Roussel first processed exotic topics before he anticipated Neoclassical tendencies like Ravel. Gabriel Pierné , Paul Dukas , Charles Koechlin , and Florent Schmitt also dealt with symbolic and exotic-oriental substances. The loner Erik Satie
15618-512: The works of Jules Massenet , while in the Carmen by Georges Bizet , realism came for the first time. Louis Théodore Gouvy built a stylistic bridge to German music. The operas, symphonies and chamber music works of the extremely versatile Camille Saint-Saëns were, as were the ballets of Léo Delibes , more tradition-oriented. New orchestra colors were found in the compositions of Édouard Lalo and Emmanuel Chabrier . The Belgian-born César Franck
15755-475: The works of the great German masters, from Handel and Bach to contemporary composers. During his time in Rome, Massenet met Franz Liszt , at whose request he gave piano lessons to Louise-Constance "Ninon" de Gressy, the daughter of one of Liszt's rich patrons. Massenet and Ninon fell in love, but marriage was out of the question while he was a student with modest means. Massenet returned to Paris in 1866. He made
15892-531: Was Cendrillon , his version of the Cinderella story, which was well received in May 1899. Macdonald comments that at the start of the 20th century Massenet was in the enviable position of having his works included in every season of the Opéra and the Opéra-Comique, and in opera houses around the world. From 1900 to his death he led a life of steady work and, generally, success. According to his memoirs, he declined
16029-738: Was Gaspare Spontini , her most important Giacomo Meyerbeer . Music development has now also taken an upswing in other European countries. The Irishman John Field composed the first Nocturnes for piano , Friedrich Kuhlau worked in Denmark and the Swede Franz Berwald wrote four very idiosyncratic symphonies . The high romanticism can be divided into two phases. In the first phase, the actual romantic music reaches its peak. The Polish composer Frédéric Chopin explored previously unknown depths of emotion in his character pieces and dances for piano. Robert Schumann , mentally immersed at
16166-464: Was Hoffmann's fusion of ideas already associated with the term "Romantic", used in opposition to the restraint and formality of Classical models, that elevated music, and especially instrumental music, to a position of pre-eminence in Romanticism as the art most suited to the expression of emotions. It was also through the writings of Hoffmann and other German authors that German music was brought to
16303-544: Was a failure, but in 1873 he succeeded with his incidental music to Leconte de Lisle 's tragedy Les Érinnyes and with the dramatic oratorio, Marie-Magdeleine , both of which were performed at the Théâtre de l'Odéon . His reputation as a composer was growing, but at this stage he earned most of his income from teaching, giving lessons for six hours a day. Massenet was a prolific composer; he put this down to his way of working, rising early and composing from four o'clock in
16440-436: Was a fluent and skilful orchestrator, and willingly provided ballet episodes for his operas, incidental music for plays, and a one-act stand-alone ballet for Vienna ( Le carillon , 1892). Macdonald remarks that Massenet's orchestral style resembled that of Delibes , "with its graceful movement and bewitching colour", which was highly suited to classical French ballet. The Méditation for solo violin and orchestra, from Thaïs ,
16577-518: Was a student at the Conservatoire during Massenet's professorship but did not study under him. Massenet's growing reputation did not prevent a contretemps with the Paris Opéra in 1879. Auguste Vaucorbeil , director of the Opéra, refused to stage the composer's new piece, Hérodiade , judging the libretto either improper or inadequate. Édouard-Fortuné Calabresi, joint director of the Théâtre de la Monnaie , Brussels, immediately offered to present
16714-674: Was accompanied by a revival of organ music, which was continued by Charles-Marie Widor , later Louis Vierne and Charles Tournemire . A specific national romanticism had by now emerged in almost all European countries. The national Russian current started by Glinka was continued in Russia by the " Group of Five ": Mily Balakirev , Alexander Borodin , Modest Mussorgsky , Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov , and César Cui . More western oriented were Anton Rubinstein and Pyotr Tchaikovsky , whose ballets and symphonies gained great popularity. Bedřich Smetana founded Czech national music with his operas and
16851-636: Was also often accused of sentimentality. Despite some veristic works, Ermanno Wolf-Ferrari was mainly considered a revival of the Opera buffa. Ferruccio Busoni , a temporarily defender of modern classicity living in Germany, left behind a rather conventional, little played work. Thus, instrumental music actually only found its place in Italian music again with Ottorino Respighi , who was influenced by Impressionism. The term Impressionism comes from painting, and like there, it also developed in music in France. In
16988-679: Was developed throughout the 19th century, especially by composers such as Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky in Russia and Léo Delibes in France. Henry Theophilus Finck Henry Theophilus Finck (22 September 1854 – 1 October 1926) was an American music critic and author. Among "the most prolific and influential critics of his day", he was chief classical music critic of both the New York Evening Post and The Nation from 1881 to 1924. He championed Romantic music , promoting composers such as Liszt , Wagner , Grieg and MacDowell . Along with his contemporaries Richard Aldrich , W.J. Henderson , James Huneker and Henry Edward Krehbiel , Finck
17125-566: Was entered for the Conservatoire's top musical honour, the Prix de Rome , previous winners of which included Berlioz, Thomas, Gounod and Bizet . The first two of these were on the judging panel for the 1863 competition. All the competitors had to set the same text by Gustave Chouquet , a cantata about David Rizzio ; after all the settings had been performed Massenet came face to face with the judges. He recalled: Ambroise Thomas, my beloved master, came towards me and said, "Embrace Berlioz, you owe him
17262-442: Was held privately at Égreville, where he is buried in the churchyard. In the view of his biographer Hugh Macdonald, Massenet's main influences were Gounod and Thomas, with Meyerbeer and Berlioz also important to his style. From beyond France he absorbed some traits from Verdi , and possibly Mascagni, and above all Wagner. Unlike some other French composers of the period, Massenet never fell fully under Wagner's spell, but he took from
17399-437: Was his mistress, as caricatures in the journals hinted with varying degrees of subtlety. For her, the composer revised Manon and wrote Esclarmonde (1889). The latter was a success, but it was followed by Le mage (1891), which failed. Massenet did not complete his next project, Amadis , and it was not until 1892 that he recovered his earlier successful form. Werther received its first performance in February 1892, when
17536-422: Was his second amitié amoureuse with one of his leading ladies, Lucy Arbell , who created roles in his last operas. Milnes describes Arbell as "gold-digging": her blatant exploitation of the composer's honourable affections caused his wife considerable distress and even strained Massenet's devotion (or infatuation as Milnes characterises it). After the composer's death Arbell pursued his widow and publishers through
17673-548: Was in 1789, in the Mémoires by the Frenchman André Grétry , but it was E. T. A. Hoffmann who established the principles of musical romanticism, in a lengthy review of Ludwig van Beethoven 's Fifth Symphony published in 1810, and an 1813 article on Beethoven's instrumental music. In the first of these essays Hoffmann traced the beginnings of musical Romanticism to the later works of Haydn and Mozart . It
17810-485: Was moderately received. Like Werther , it did not gain widespread popularity among French opera-goers until its first revival, which was four years after the premiere, by which time the composer's association with Sanderson was over. In the same year he had a modest success in Paris with the one-act Le portrait de Manon at the Opéra-Comique, and a much greater one in London with La Navarraise at Covent Garden. The Times commented that in this piece Massenet had adopted
17947-528: Was now the director. In the same year he was elected to the Institut de France , a prestigious honour, rare for a man in his thirties. Camille Saint-Saëns , whom Massenet beat in the election for the vacancy, was resentful at being passed over for a younger composer. When the result of the election was announced, Massenet sent Saint-Saëns a courteous telegram: "My dear colleague: the Institut has just committed
18084-428: Was often ostensibly inspired by (or else sought to evoke) non-musical stimuli, such as nature, literature, poetry, super-natural elements, or the fine arts. It included features such as increased chromaticism and moved away from traditional forms. The Romantic movement was an artistic, literary, and intellectual movement that originated in the second half of the 18th century in Europe and strengthened in reaction to
18221-549: Was one of the first to cultivate. Immersed in the climate of the night, an atmosphere privileged by romantics, it is often of ABA structure, with a very flexible and ornate melody , accompanied by a left hand with undulating arpeggios . The tempo is usually slow, and the central part is often more agitated. Frédéric Chopin has set the most famous form of the nocturnes. He wrote 21, from 1827 to 1846. First published in series of three (opus 9 and 15), they are then grouped in pairs (opus 27, 32, 37, 48, 55, 62). The Romantic ballet
18358-637: Was poor, and on medical advice he moved from Paris to Chambéry in the south of France; the family, including Massenet, moved with him. Again, Massenet's own memoirs and the researches of his biographers are at variance: the composer recalled his exile in Chambéry as lasting for two years; Henry Finck and Irvine record that the young man returned to Paris and the Conservatoire in October 1855. On his return he lodged with relations in Montmartre and resumed his studies; by 1859 he had progressed so far as to win
18495-538: Was spent at the French Academy in Rome , based at the Villa Medici . At that time the academy was dominated by painters rather than musicians; Massenet enjoyed his time there, and made lifelong friendships with, among others, the sculptor Alexandre Falguière and the painter Carolus-Duran , but the musical benefit he derived was largely self-taught. He absorbed the music at St Peter's , and closely studied
18632-494: Was such that one of his oratorios, Marie-Magdeleine , was staged as an opera during the composer's lifetime. Elements of the erotic and some implicit sympathy for sinners were controversial, and may have prevented his church works establishing themselves more securely. Arthur Hervey, a contemporary critic not unsympathetic to Massenet, commented that Marie-Magdeleine and the later oratorio Ève (1875) were "the Bible doctored up in
18769-777: Was the creator of spun piano pieces and idol of the next generation. Nevertheless, Impressionism is often attributed to the epoch of modernity, if not seen as its own epoch. Hubert Parry and the Irishman Charles Villiers Stanford initiated late Romanticism in England, which had its first important representative in Edward Elgar . While he revived the oratorio and wrote symphonies and concerts, Frederick Delius devoted himself to particularly small orchestral images with his own variant of Impressionism. Ethel Smyth wrote mainly operas and chamber music in
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