A Dictionary of Music and Musicians/Pougin, Arthur
POUGIN, Arthur, born Aug. 6, 1834, at Chateauroux, where he is registered as François Auguste Arthur Paroisse-Pougin. As the son of an itinerant actor he had few educational advantages, and his literary attainments are therefore due to his own exertions alone; his knowledge of music was partly obtained at the Paris Conservatoire, where he passed through the violin-class and harmony with Henri Reber. From the age of 13 he played the violin at a theatre; and at 21 became conductor of the Théâtre Beaumarchais, which however he soon quitted for Musard's orchestra. From 1856 to 59 he was vice-conductor and répititeur (or conductor of rehearsals) at the Folies Nouvelles. Pougin soon turned his attention to musical literature, beginning with biographical articles on French musicians of the 18th century in the 'Revue et Gazette Musicale.' Musical biography remains his favourite study, but he has been an extensive writer on many other subjects. At an early period of his career he gave up teaching, and resigned his post among the violins at the Opéra Comique (1860 to 63) in order the better to carry out his literary projects. Besides his frequent contributions to the 'Ménestrel,' 'La France musicale,' 'L'Art musical,' and other periodicals specially devoted to music, he edited the musical articles in the 'Dictionnaire universel' of Larousse, and has been successively musical feuilletoniste to the 'Soir,' the 'Tribune,' 'L'Evènement,' and, since 1878, to the 'Journal Officiel' where he succeeded Eugène Gautier.
Among his numerous works, the following may be specified:—'Meyerbeer, notes biographiques' (1864, 12mo); 'F. Halévy, écrivain' (1865, 8vo); 'W. Vincent Wallace, étude biographique et critique' (1866, 8vo); 'Bellini, sa vie, ses œuvres' (1868, 12mo); 'Albert Grisar, étude artistique' (1870, 12mo); 'Rossini, notes, impressions, etc.' (1871, 8vo); 'Boieldieu,sa vie, etc' (1875, 12mo); 'Figures d'opéra-comique: Elleviou; Mme. Dugazon; la tribu de Gavaudan' (1875, 8vo); 'Rameau, sa vie et ses œuvres' (1876, 16mo); 'Adolphe Adam, sa vie, etc.' (1876, 12mo),—all published in Paris; and finally the 'Supplement et Complément' to the 'Biographie Universelle des Musiciens' of Fétis, a work of great extent and industry, and containing a mass of new names and information (2 vols. 8vo, Paris 1878–80). [App. p.751 "Add the most important of his later works, a 'Life of Verdi,' published first in Italian, 1881, and translated by J. E. Matthew, 1887."]