Notes of a Pianist/Biographical Sketch/Chapter 5
CHAPTER V.
At this period a strong friendship sprung up between Gottschalk and the noble, intelligent, and good Mr. Pleyel, whose influence had greater value in the eyes of the young man than the applause of the most select audience. It was charming to see these two men, one of them just entering upon life, the other near the moment of leaving it, so closely united: the younger listening, with interest and admiration, to the elevated conversation of the man of genius, who had been so much afflicted. Mr. Erard had frequently proposed to Gottschalk the playing of his pianos. But although he admired the mechanism and brilliancy of the instruments made by this celebrated manufacturer, Gottschalk remained faithful to those of Pleyel, which had taken their sweetness and freedom, added to force of character, from him who had in some sort breathed into them the breath of life.
But it must not be supposed that the success of Gottschalk did not in some minds inspire envy and suggest adverse criticism. He was caricatured by 'Cham,' and one critic, who laboured under the misfortune of being blind, made more than one disagreeable remark on Gottschalk's givins; his compositions Creole names; he might as well, he said, "call them the melon and apple-tree, instead of 'Bananier' and 'Mancenillier,' for all that the public cared." He had even been so rude one day that Gottschalk's friends took it in hand, and wished to call him to account. This, however, Gottschalk would in no wise permit, and the matter dropped for some time. One evening, at a concert at the Hall Bonne Nouvelle, given by the wonderful little pianist Tito Mattei, Gottschalk, who had been to hear him, on coming out after the concert, was stopped by the crowd on the top of the stairs, and saw at his elbow his blind foe, who was vainly endeavouring to secure a footing to get down. Gottschalk, without being recognized, helped him down to the door, where the critic met with his assistant. Turning round, he asked to whom he was indebted for the kindness. Gottschalk simply uttered his name, and left. From that day he counted one more admirer, and, we may say, gained one more friend.
We may add another anecdote as further displaying his character. One evening, by invitation, he played at Lord Tudor's, in the Champs Elysées. Coming out from the party about two o'clock in the morning—it was a fine, balmy summer morning—he had proceeded but a short distance when he was stopped by a man who held a large club in his hand, with the sacramental words of French robbers, "La bourse ou la vie." Gottschalk turned round and said, "My good man, I have very little in my pocket, but you are welcome to it; I will ask you but one favour, however; it is to take me to a cab-stand." The man assented, but Gottschalk desired him to walk in front. The man turning round, and looking very sad, said, "You need not fear; you did not resist, and I am a novice in the trade, driven to it by hunger." "Why," said G., "do you mean to say that you are hungry?" "Hungry!" replied the man, "I should think so; I had nothing to eat yesterday, and I have a family at home like myself, for I could find no work yesterday, to enable me to purchase bread for them." Gottschalk, handing him his purse, said, "I am sorry, my good man, I have no more than this," and proceeded until he reached the cab-stand.
The following May found him ready to leave France for Switzerland. Many friends, among others a Creole family residing at Grandson, had for a long time invited him to come, but his numerous engagements had hitherto prevented him from accepting their invitation. Finally, in May, his mother represented to him how beneficial it would be for his health to absent himself for some time from Paris, and he yielded.
The day preceding his departure, Mr. Leon Escudier came to him for the purpose of purchasing a piece of his composition; but how to come to terms? for, as the proverb says, perhaps vulgarly when applied to this circumstance, "in order to cook your hare you must first catch it." Gottschalk had nothing ready. The publisher was not willing to take a refusal; he must have a piece. "I will give you 500 francs if you will compose me one." At last Gottschalk consented, and, between midnight and five o'clock the next morning, composed a reverie, a veritable bijou, on 'C'est un songe qui s'achève,' taken from the opera of Ambroise Thomas's 'Le songe d'une nuit d'été,' which was written and ready to be given to Mr. Escudier, who called punctually at ten o'clock in the morning to get it, two hours after Gottschalk had left.
This journey had almost proved fatal to the young artist, for, whether owing to fatigue or to the humidity of the place, he was seized with a putrid fever at Les Rousses, and was obliged to send for his friends, who came immediately, and it was not until six weeks afterwards that he was in a fit condition to be transported by them to Grandson. Miss M. D, on his arrival, bestowed upon him the care of a sister. After he had recovered sufficiently he set out for Geneva, from which place delegations had been sent to him, inviting him to play. Everywhere he was greeted with the greatest applause and admiration. Notwithstanding, however, the honours which awaited him, he never appears to have become vainglorious, or to have been carried away by the adulations which surrounded him on all sides. It was one of the most beautiful traits in his character that he never forgot the poor and the suffering; his hand was ever open to their wants, and his talents were always at their disposal. At Geneva, he gave concerts for the poor, and at Yverdon one for the benefit of a hospital for the aged, which enabled them to add another wing to the building, to which wing they gave the name of Gottschalk—which it still bears.
At the period of this visit, Gottschalk was only twenty-one. As displaying his progress in art, and the reputation which he had achieved, we prefer to give some contemporaneous criticisms which marked the appreciation of his style, talents, and genius as artist and composer. We select only those which were written by acknowledged authorities in musical science.
(From La France Musicale, 18 August, 1850.)
Gottschalk had no other reason for going to Switzerland than to seek rest, far from the world, and above all from Paris, that great city. He has arrived in the canton de Vaud, and will remain there for some days, silent and unknown, in the midst of a friend's family, happy to have him. But notwithstanding he had taken every possible precaution to escape from the cares of celebrity, his name quickly escaped from the valley in which he was resting on all its echoes, and deputation after deputation has been sent to him from Geneva inviting him to come there that he may he heard at least once. The celebrated pianist resisted as far as he could all the seductions of which he has been the object. For nearly a month he alleged the suffering state in which he found himself since his arrival; his strength was enfeebled; his chest, owing to the coolness of the climate, experienced a difficulty of respiration, in one word, he dragged himself along rather than walked. Thanks to God, and to the great care bestowed upon him, Gottschalk has regained his health and strength; but, as all is pain and misfortune in this world, it has not been possible for him to escape from the concert solicited from him by the thousand requests of the Genevese.
The grand duchess, sister-in-law of the Emperor Nicholas, as well as her daughter the Princess Weimar, and their suite, were present at the concert. They had forewarned Gottschalk, who had reserved for them in the first row of seats cushions and divans of red velvet. In the middle of the soirée, the grand duchess requested, through her chamberlain, Mr. le Baron de Vauthier, to felicitate him, and as the artist, whose modesty is equal to his talent, bowed his thanks, her imperial highness took him by the hand and made him promise to give a second concert at Geneva. From thence Gottschalk will go to Aix, in Savoy, and probably afterwards to Lyons, and will return from thence to Paris, to pass the winter season.
(From the Nouvelliste Vaudois, Geneva, 26 October, 1850.)
The gift of universality, such as is manifested among some chosen artists, is a rare gift. The domain of Art is so immense that to embrace it in its entirety, to be perfect in each of its branches, is a thing so phenomenal, that one can understand why men of talent take up a specialty.
Under this title, we must consider the talent of Mr. Gottschalk, the young and celebrated American pianist, as a musical event. Go see him before his Erard piano, which is, parenthetically, the grandest and most formidable which has issued from these famous workshops, and which Erard has presented to him! He will play for you the nocturne with its mysterious ways, the caprice with its eccentric bonds, the melody sadly insinuating, as Chopin or our friend Bovy-Lysberg might play it; ask him for the concert-stuck of Weber, the profound sonata in f minor of Beethoven, or a fugue of Bach, the metaphysician of Art, and he will play them in such a, manner that our learned and celebrated professor, Mr. Pierre Wollf, so competent a judge, shall salute him with the title of grand artist.
Grand artist truly, who knows no difficulty on his instrument, and whose playing recalls that of Liszt or Thalberg; who will touch you to tears in relating to you on his piano some dreamy legend of his distant country, the 'Bananier,' the 'Savane,' or in making you behold the African splendors of the 'Bamboula,' that negro dance.
En résumé, marvellous composer and pianist, the meteor of last winter's season at Paris, fondled and fêted everywhere. Mr. Gottschalk is twenty years of age.
(From La France Musicale, 27 October, 1850.)
GOTTSCHALK IN SWITZERLAND.
Gottschalk has not as yet left Switzerland. The sojourn of the celebrated artist in this country has been a series of triumphs and festivals. There is perhaps no example of a reception as enthusiastic as that which he has received in the different cities in which he has been heard. But it is particularly in Geneva that his admirable talent has found appreciation worthy of him. After his concert for the poor the Grand Duchess of Weimar had him called by her chamberlain to invite him to visit her the next day. At noon the carriage of the grand duchess was at the door of the hotel where the artist was, and at one he entered the salon of her Higliness. She was in great company, with her ladies of honour and the Princesses Wolkonsey and Soukoyanet. The grand duchess conversed a long time with Gottsclialk, a grand collation was afterwards served up. At the request of the grand duchess, Gottschalk placed himself at the piano, and all the pieces he played caused him to receive reiterated felicitations. The grand duchess afterwards presented him, with charming grace, a little jewel-case, saying to him, "This is not a testimony of my admiration, but simply a souvenir; let it sometimes recall to you a person whom you have inspired with the greatest interest!" The box inclosed a magnificent breast-pin, formed by an enormous pearl and diamonds from the jewel-box of her Highness.
A few days since, Gottschalk was presented to the Queen of Sardinia, who conversed at length with him.
(From the Feuilleton de la Gazette de Lausanne, 28 November, 1850.)
CONCERTS OF MR. GOTTSCHALK—AN ARTIST'S IMPRESSIONS.
To the Editor of the Gazette de Lausanne:
Many friends having manifested a desire to know the opinion of an artist grown gray under the harness, and being willing to acknowledge my old musical experience, will you, Mr. Editor, permit me to communicate to you the impression which the talent of our young and already so celebrated artist has produced upon me?
Behold this full hall! how many persons have not mentally exclaimed: "It is a piano, and he is nothing but a pianist!" that is true; but it is a piano from the manufactory of Erard, known in the musical world as the best manufacturer.
As for the pianist, Mr. Gottschalk oflfers an interesting study to physiognomists. When the crowd has assembled, restless and on the watch, they see a young man appear with an interesting countenance, a tournure rather gentlemanlike, very pale, his eyes oast down. His physiognomy expresses melancholy, and there is in all his features a trace of pain and sadness.
At the first sounds, even at the first piece, the audience remains undecided, and it is only the gens de l'art who from the first recognize a superior talent.
Have a moment's patience! these touches, so cold, so insensible, you are about to hear become animated, to weep, to sing, before you; there is the pianist who is about to realize this prodigy; you at first listen with doubt, but little by little your ear becomes habituated to this tender and plaintive accent; you cannot detach yourself from it, you are conjured unknown to yourself, you yield to a supernatural force; and the artist? behold how his look becomes animated, and how his pale tint becomes little by little coloured! how his features express the sufferings of his soul; how noble his head is and how all his body seems to grow larger; it is an attraction without example, you do not dream of analyzing your sensations; you ask if it is music, you applaud, you cry bravo with all your might, but without premeditation, for it is a spontaneous expression, instinctive of astonishment and admiration (we, personally, had not even the courage to applaud). One might essay in vain to express the marvellous facility with which Gottschalk makes his instrument vibrate, one can hardly follow his hands in their rapid course; the forte, the piano, the trills carried to the highest degree of perfection, all the shades, all the inflections of human sensations, he renders them all with precision and exquisite delicacy.
Play, light and graceful, variations, melody large; as for difficulties he is not aware of them; it is useless to add that he excels in classical music.
His instrument is always ready to express a tender and painful sentiment; in the high keys it has a metallic timbre between a bell and glass, but with much more sweetness and less shrillness; one could not imagine anything more delicious, more flexible, more penetrating, more incisive! touched, manié, effleuré with more art.
To analyze all the pieces which he has played to us would carry us too far; the only thing one could say would be, what Voltaire placed at the foot of every page of Racine.
But above all it is necessary to hear him when he plays for us his chants of the new world, chants which bring tears to our eyes, so much do they breathe of sadness and simplicity.
One transports us to forests, peopled with rare trees which invite us to pluck and taste their fruits; another represents faithfully the indolent Creole, swinging gently in his hammock, while listening to liis little one singing again his song of another hemisphere; and what shall we say of the third? does it not seem to be overwhelmed by that solemn silence and that solitude which one feels in traversing those vast prairies at the foot of the Rocky Mountains?
Gottschalk, full-handed, spends his life in animating and charming that public which remains in ecstasy at every piece, and while he is far from the eyes of this same public he must be seen as we have seen him, restless, disquieted, not able to be still for a moment, and when he returns to charm our ears anew, we see this young man tranquil as at first. And if we again reflect, that every sound which he pauses to vibrate tears one hour from his frail and nervous existence. . . . . He finds, it is true, his recompense in the consciousness of his talent and in that noble pride without which there can be no great artists.
But do not deem that ambition is alone his sole dream in this world; no, amidst the intoxication of bravos and of gold, his thoughts turn toward his family, and he thinks of his mother, his brothers, and his sisters, who are expecting and wishing for his return.
That God may watch over him for the numerous admirers of his talents (for every place where he has been and wherever he shall go, they will always be numerous and unanimous), for his friends who will be able to appreciate the amenity of his amiable character and the general knowledge which he possesses, and above all that He will watch over him for the sake of his mother and her young family, in which he takes the place of a father—this is the very sincere wish which his admirer and friend has for him.
The following is extracted from an article, dated Lausanne, 29 October, 1850, from Mr. Witterson, a correspondent of 'La France Musicale,' of Paris, which appeared in that journal under date of 10 November, 1850.
Three hours before the opening of the doors, the hall had been taken as if by assault. At half-past seven they were obliged to improvise seats on the orchestra, the hall not being sufficiently large to contain the crowd. At three o'clock the steamer had brought a great number of persons from Merges, Vevay, Nyon, and even from Rolles, ten leagues from Lausanne. The public conveyances which arrived in the morning were full of dilettanti from Iverdon and Grandson.
A t'entendre Gottschalk, on passerait la vie;
Par de puissants accords tu sais nous enchanter;
Dans un monde idéal, par ta douce magie,
En ravissant nos cœurs tu sais nous transporter;
Mais si le monde entier t'a decerné la gloire,
Et si ton jeune front a requ le laurier,
Un plus doux souvenir s'attache à ta mémoire
Tu sus ici te faire aimer.
(From the Courier Suisse, Lausanne, 20 December, 1850.)
Mr. Gottschalk gave at Yverdon, on the 17th inst., a second concert which was received with the same enthusiasm. As an artist, he leaves us a unique and ineffable remembrance; as a man, he has gained our hearts. No words are sufficiently powerful to express to him our profound sentiments of sympathy, gratitude, and admiration.
(From the Feuilleton du Siècle, Paris, 1 November, 1850.)
The American pianist, Gottsohalk, has very recently obtained in Switzerland one of those successes which one may, notwithstanding la banalité of the formula, qualify as difficult to describe. Jenny Lind has almost been surpassed, for we have never heard that she was carried off bodily. This accident has happened, it is said, to Gottschalk. A young, pretty, and robust Genevese girl waited for him at the coming out of the concert, where the pianist had been covered with flowers, and enveloping him all at once in a large mantle took him in her arms and carried him off, which the frail and delicate nature of her victim permitted her to do easily, to the general consternation. We do not know if this be true; we tell it as it was told. What is certain is, that the young pianist precipitately left Geneva after having been the delight of the elegant society there, by playing with charming grace his favorite compositions, 'Bamboula,' 'la Savane,' 'le Bananier,' and his caprice on 'le Songe d'une nuit d'été.'
At the conclusion of his concerts, his friends at Grandson being anxious to have him, he finally concluded to pass the rest of his time at the old chateau they inhabited, which was celebrated for a siege it had sustained, and at which 'Charles le Téméraire' was killed. His visit being completed, he returned to Paris, where shortly after his arrival he received an invitation from the Queen of Spain, who was desirous to hear him play 'Le Bamboula,' which he had dedicated to her.
On the 12th of January, 1851, Mr. L. Escudier, in an article in 'La France Musicale,' entitled 'Return of Gottschalk to Paris,' writes as follows:—
Gottschalk has given five concerts at Geneva, three at Lausanne, one at Vevay, two at Yverdon, two at Neufchâtel. He has played more than fifty times in concerts, and every time he has been, so to say, carried off in triumph. The poor have had their good portion in the proceeds of these brilliant fêtes. Gottschalk unites a generous soul to an imagination rich in poesy. At Yverdon, the proceeds of his concert, which were considerable, have served for the foundation of an asylum for the aged; one wing of this asylum bears to-day the name of Gottschalk. A banquet was also presented to him at Lausanne. At Neufchâtel, a ball was organized in his honour. Besides, at Yverdon, the students of the college presented to him a collection of the works of the celebrated writers of Switzerland. At Lausanne, they decreed to him in public session the medal of honorary corresponding member. I should never finish if I were to enumerate all the ovations which have marked in Switzerland the appearance of this eminent artist. He has carried away enough crowns, flowers, and wreaths to carpet a whole concert hall. You see that we had good reason for writing the first day we heard Gottschalk, that he was advancing at a rapid pace towards glory and fortune.
Gottschalk remains only a few days in Paris; he is expected in Spain.
His reputation as an artist and composer at this period may be judged of by the following criticism from the pen of Mr. H. Berlioz, the great composer and first critic of Europe, extracted from the 'Feuilleton du Journal des Débats,' Paris, 13 April, 1851.}}
Twenty years ago they said, "Who is there who does not play a little on the piano?" They now must say, "Who is there who does not play on it very well?" It thus requires, in order that a true artist on the piano should attract to-day upon him the attention of a public like that of Paris, for him to please, charm, move, and carry his audience along with him; and for him to have an audience it requires absolutely that he should join to exceptional musical qualities an elevated intelligence, an exquisite feeling for the subtleties of style and of expression, and a facility of mechanism carried to the highest extreme. If he possesses only this last merit, he astonishes for an instant, then they are tired of him. If, on the contrary, he possesses only the other merits, he is ranked in the category of commonplace artists whom one seeks and loves in a small company, but who remain powerless to excite the great public who frequent concerts.
Mr. Gottschalk is one of the very small number of those who possess all the different elements of the sovereign power of the pianist, all the attributes which environ him with an irresistible prestige. He is an accomplished musician. He knows how far one may carry fancy in expression, he knows the limit beyond which the liberties taken with rhythm lead only to disorder and confusion, and this limit he never transcends. He has a perfect grace in his manner of expressing sweet melodies and of scattering the light passages from the top of the key-board. As to prestesse, fugue, eclat, brio, originality, his playing strikes from the first, dazzles, astonishes; and the infantine simplicity of his smiling caprices, the charming ease with which he renders simple things, seem to belong to a second individuality, distinct from that which characterizes his thundering energies. The success, also, of Mr. Gottschalk when he is in the presence of a civilized musical audience, is immense. There is applause, transport, which, far from causing one to feel that vexatious irritation caused by factitious, exaggerated, or ridiculous enthusiasm, of which we so often have the spectacle, one is happy to see and hear. At the concert which he gave last month in the Hall Bonne Nouvelle, the greater part of his pieces were encored. Further, Mr. Gottschalk, on that evening, merited a eulogy superior to those which I have already given to him; he executed in the most masterly manner the sonata in a of Beethoven, the style and form of which do not approach in any way the style or familiar forms of real piano music. It is impossible to play better the andante, to give more relief to the thousand arabesques of the variations, and to better direct the last course of the finale without letting it lose anything of its continual and vertiginous ardour.
Besides, to appreciate, as they should be, talents of this nature requires special critics—as is done by Liszt in his admirable study just published in the journal 'La Musique,' on Chopin.
(From the Feuilleton de l'Assemblée Nationale, Paris, 29 April, 1851.)
Immediately after the solemnities of Easter, the series of mundane concerts recommenced with more fury than ever. Mr. Gottschalk has given at Pleyel's a soirée for the benefit of the workmen who had sustained losses owing to the fire. Never was the reputation and vogue of an artist so promptly and generally established as that which Mr. Gottschalk enjoys to-day. And, nevertheless, there have been neither pompous puffs nor any sort of charlatanism. Mr. Gottschalk was born at New Orleans, and came to Paris to finish his studies. He received lessons on the piano from that excellent professor, Mr. Stamaty, and studied harmony and composition with an able theorist, Mr. Maleden. All these labours were, however, only those of an amateur; but, unknown to himself, the amateur was already an artist, a great artist. The memories of childhood recalled to him the negro airs to which he had been nursed, he translated them upon his key-board, and we have the 'Bananier,' the 'Bamboula,' the 'Mancenillier,' and those charming and simple melodies which art and science extract in the most distinguished way. Mr. Gottschalk has become the man à la mode, the indispensable pianist. But the public who idolize him are unmerciful to him. When Mr. Gottschalk has played a piece, they cry bis; through excess of courtesy the young pianist plays a new one, the audience, more and more enchanted, again demand bis, the performer plays again a new piece, which they again wish to hear repeated, and it would not be right because their demand would not stop before the inexhaustible complaisance of the author. We have seen this, exchange take place four or five times in succession.
Mr. Gottschalk has all the grace and charm of Chopin, with more decided character; less magisterial than Thalberg, he has, perhaps, more warmth; less severe than Prudent, he has more grace and elegance. And then, all his pieces are very short, and a great way always to please is not to wish to play too long.
GOTTSCHALK'S SOIRÉE.
Were we not right a year ago in proclaiming the superior talent of Gottschalk; "A great artist is aboUt to reveal himself; he carries with him novelty in the art of composition and in execution. He will be, before long, one of the most brilliant stars in the modern school of the piano." And truly Gottschalk has marched with the step of a giant. In one year, his success in the salon and concert-room has gained him the sympathy and admiration of the public and of artists. To-day he stands in the first rank; his name has become popular, his works are awaited with impatience, and received with the greatest pleasure. What is wonderful to remark is, that as much through his character as his talent the young and already celebrated pianist exerts an influence over musicians, composers, and players, and that all jealousy vanishes before his incontestable superiority.
The other evening Gottschalk had carried the crowd to Erard's Hall (Salle Erard), all the French and foreign pianists accompanied them; those who did not yet know the new artist came to see if they had not beaten the base drum for a charlatan, as it unfortunately happens too often under the starry sky of music; these were perhaps the most enthusiastic.
Gottschalk afterwards played 'Bananier,' one of the most delicious pieces of imagination one could listen to; it might have been said that a shower of pearls escaped melodiously from the key-board. The effect of 'Bananier' was electrical, every one clapped his hands for five minutes, and Gottschalk was obliged to recommence his piece amid the most enthusiastic applause. Then he played his charming ballads, 'Ossian,' a Mazurka, 'la Savane,' 'le Bamboula,' and the 'Concerto of Weber.' I could not say which of these they most applauded, the most fêted. What I affirm is, that there was but one voice to render homage to the suppleness, the elegance, and the originality of his compositions. 'Le Bananier,' 'le Bamboula,' 'la Savane,' and 'Ossian' are pieces of a wholly new character, which hold you constantly under their charm. Gottschalk resembles no one; he is a pianist who has the prime merit of copying no other composer. His inspirations, simple, touching, and of exquisite distinction, strike you, and his playing dazzles you. Yes, it is an individuality which will leave its mark, we affirm it, in the art of the piano, by the form as by the structure. This soiree has been decisive, I will even say triumphal.
During the winter at Paris he gave several concerts, all of which seemed to increase his reputation as an artist and a man. We take the following—
(From the Feuilleton du Corsaire, Paris, 16 March, 1851.)
But Gottschalk was the great surprise and attraction of the evening. It would be impossible to tell you the enthusiasm which he excited at this reunion, formerly so icy and mute. Among other merits, Gottschalk's compositions have that of being very short. As soon as the pianist has finished they cry encore, and he begins again with perfect grace; or, if the inspiration commands him, instead of repeating the last melody, which flies away on light wings, he gives a new piece, more charming than the first. The audience again cry encore with all their power; they demand two pieces for one. Gottschalk plays a third for them. I shall not attempt to describe a talent so original, poetic, and marvellous. After Gottschalk il faut tirer l'échelle.
(From an article in La France Musicale, Paris, 23 March, 1851.)
Yes, Gottschalk was last Tuesday admirable, marvellous, immense. Since the silence of Liszt, I do not know a more worthy name than his to be triumphantly carried into the world of art. I pity those who were not present at this memorable soirée; to them one does not know how to give an idea of the unsurpassed talent of Gottschalk. Talent! I ought to say genius; for the young pianist brings into the world so encumbered with pianist composers a new form and ideas of which no one can contest the paternity with him. Gottschalk played eight pieces; five were encored in the midst of applause, which burst out after each phrase or each variation, with an electrifying effect.
Gottschalk is now upon a throne; to overthrow him would require more than a revolution to take place in the piano and among pianists.
(From an article in Le Charivari, Paris, March 22, 1851.)
Above all, it is the sentiment which seizes me, and carries me along with it in the wonderful execution of Mr. Gottschalk. The most intelligent and most inspired orchestra in the world (even if it was the Conservatoire's) could not interpret the rentrée of the 'Concerto' of Weber better than Gottschalk did. It would be equally difficult to render the great piece of Beethoven with more warmth and force than he.
The following is by Theophile Gautier, the celebrated French critic:—
(From Feuilleton de la Presse, Paris, 31 March, 1851.)
An originality, marked by good taste and a little eccentricity, devoid of charlatanism, have always appeared to us the two chief qualities in an artist of true talent; we have likewise submitted ourselves unreservedly to a sentiment of sympathy and of admiration for Mr. Gottschalk from the first time that we had the pleasure of hearing him. Among our popular pianists to-day there are but few who have known how to create for themselves an incontestable individuality. Liszt, Prudent, and Thalberg are the points of comparison ordinarily chosen by the public when it desires to measure the value of their imitators or of their followers without knowing it.
It is, then, more difficult than one might think to depart from the beaten track, and to have his own tent placed alongside those of the masters. If Mr. Gottschalk has been able, although still young, to acquire this individuality which escapes so many others, it is perhaps owing to the fact that, after having formed his talent by solid studies, he has left it to wander carelessly in the fragrant savannas of his country, from which he has brought back to us the colours and perfumes. What pleases us in music, as in all other things, is novelty; and we have also been as much charmed by the melodious ecrin of the American artist, as we already have been by the chants of the Muezzin, and the reveries under the palms which Felicien David and Ernest Reyer have noted with their souvenirs of the East.
At his last concert, Gottschalk had the applause of the whole hall. They often cried encore, and the young artist yielded himself without affectation, and with, the most perfect courtesy, to the demands of his audience.