Wikipedia

Louis Moreau Gottschalk

Not to be confused withLouis F. Gottschalk.

Louis Moreau Gottschalk(May 8, 1829 – December 18, 1869) was an American composer,pianist,andvirtuosoperformer of his ownromanticpiano works.[1]He spent most of his working career outside theUnited States.

Louis Moreau Gottschalk
Photograph byMathew Brady
(late 1850s–early 1860s)
Born
Louis Moreau Gottschalk

(1829-05-08)May 8, 1829
New Orleans, Louisiana,US
DiedDecember 18, 1869(1869-12-18)(aged 40)
Rio de Janeiro,Brazil
Occupations
  • Composer
  • pianist

Life and career

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Gottschalk was born inNew Orleans, Louisiana,to Edward Gottschalk and Aimée Marie Bruslé. He had six brothers and sisters, five of whom were half-siblings by his father's biracial mistress.[2]His family lived for a time in a tiny cottage at Royal and Esplanade in theVieux Carré.Louis later moved in with relatives at 518 Conti Street; his maternal grandmother Bruslé and his nurse Sally were bothSaint Dominican Creoles.He was therefore exposed to a variety of musical traditions, and played thepianofrom an early age. He was soon recognized as aprodigyby the New Orleansbourgeoisestablishment, making his informal public debut in 1840 at the newSt. Charles Hotel.

Only two years later, at the age of 13, Gottschalk left the United States and sailed toEurope,as he and his father realized aclassicaltraining was required to fulfill his musical ambitions. TheParis Conservatoire,however, rejected his application without hearing him, on the grounds of his nationality;Pierre Zimmerman,head of the piano faculty, commented that "America is a country of steam engines". Gottschalk eventually gained access to the musical establishment through family friends, but important early compositions likeBamboula (Danse Des Nègres)andLa Savaneestablish him as a genuinely American composer, and not a mere imitator of the European written tradition; they were a major artistic statement as they carried a legacy of slave music in a romantic music context, and as such they were also precursors of jazz. They still stand as the first examples of Louisiana Creole music in classical music culture. After a concert at theSalle Pleyel,Frédéric Chopinremarked: "Give me your hand, my child; I predict that you will become the king of pianists."Franz LisztandCharles-Valentin Alkan,too, recognised Gottschalk's extreme talent.[3]

After Gottschalk returned to the United States in 1853, he traveled extensively; a sojourn inCubaduring 1854 was the beginning of a series of trips toCentralandSouth America.[4]Gottschalk also traveled toPuerto Ricoafter hisHavanadebut and at the start of hisWest Indianperiod. He was quite taken with themusiche heard on the island, so much so that he composed a work, probably in 1857, entitledSouvenir de Porto Rico; Marche des gibaros, Op. 31 (RO250)."Gibaros" refers to thejíbaros,or Puerto Rican peasantry, and is an antiquated way of writing this name. The theme of the composition is a march tune which may be based on a Puerto Ricanfolk songform.[5]

At the conclusion of that tour, he rested in New Jersey then returned toNew York City.There he continued to rest and took on a very youngVenezuelanstudent,Teresa Carreño.Gottschalk rarely took on students and was skeptical of prodigies, but Carreño was an exception and he was determined that she would succeed. With his busy schedule, Gottschalk was only able to give her a handful of lessons, yet she would remember him fondly and performed his music for the rest of her days. A year after meeting Gottschalk, she performed forAbraham Lincolnand would go on to become a renowned concert pianist earning the nickname "Valkyrie of the Piano".

Louis Moreau Gottschalk pictured on an 1864 Publication ofThe Dying Poetfor piano

In late 1855 and early 1856 Gottschalk made connections with several notable figures of the New York art world, including the sculptorErastus Dow Palmer,composer and musician George William Warren andHudson River Schoollandscape painterFrederic Edwin Church.[6]Like Gottschalk, Church had traveled extensively in Latin America (primarilyEcuadorandColombia) and produced a series of large-scale canvases of South American subject. Gottschalk dedicated aMazurka poétiqueto Church, who gave Gottschalk a small (now unidentified) landscape painting.[7]Gottschalk also possibly collaborated with Warren on his 1863The Andes, Marche di Bravoura,a solo piano piece inspired by Church's large-scale South American painting of 1859,The Heart of the Andes.[8]

By the 1860s, Gottschalk had established himself as the best known pianist in theNew World.Although born and reared in New Orleans, he was a supporter of theUnioncause during theAmerican Civil War.He returned to his native city only occasionally for concerts, but he always introduced himself as a New Orleans native. He composed the tarantella,Grande Tarantelle,Op. 67, subtitledCélèbre Tarentelle,during 1858–64.

L.M. Gottschalk's Farewell Concerts in America before departing for Havana and Mexico. January 26, 1865.[9]

In May 1865, he was mentioned in aSan Francisconewspaper as having "travelled 95,000 miles by rail and given 1,000 concerts". However, he was forced to leave the United States later that year because of an alleged affair with a student at theOakland Female SeminaryinOakland, California.Gottschalk denied any wrongdoing, but never returned to the United States.

Gottschalk chose to travel to South America, where he continued to give frequent concerts. During one of these concerts, at theTeatro Lyrico FluminenseinRio de Janeiro,Brazil,on November 24, 1869, he collapsed fromyellow fever.[10]Just before his collapse, he had finished playing his romantic pieceMorte!(translated from Portuguese as "Death" ), although the actual collapse occurred just as he started to play his celebrated pieceTremolo.Gottschalk never recovered from the collapse.

Three weeks later, on December 18, 1869, at the age of 40, he died at his hotel inTijuca,Rio de Janeiro, probably from an overdose ofquinine.(According to an essay byJeremy Nicholasfor the booklet accompanying the recording "Gottschalk Piano Music" performed by Philip Martin on the Hyperion label, "He died... ofempyema,the result of a ruptured abscess in the abdomen. ")

In 1870, his remains were returned to the United States and were interred at theGreen-Wood CemeteryinBrooklyn,New York City.[11]His burial spot was originally marked by a magnificent marble monument, topped by an "Angel of Music" statue, which was irreparably damaged by vandals in 1959.[12]In October 2012, after nearly fifteen years of fundraising by the Green-Wood Cemetery, a new "Angel of Music" statue, created by sculptors Giancarlo Biagi and Jill Burkee to replace the damaged one, was unveiled.[13]

Works

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"Tournament Galop"
Gottschalk's "Tournament Galop" transcribed forwoodwind quintetand performed by the Rampart Winds of the United States Air Force Academy Band
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Gottschalk's music was very popular during his lifetime and his earliest compositions created a sensation in Europe. Early pieces likeBamboula,La Savane,Le BananierandLe Mancenillierwere based on Gottschalk's memories of the music he heard during his youth inLouisianaand are widely regarded as the earliest existing pieces of creole music in classical culture. In this context, some of Gottschalk's work, such as the 13-minuteoperaEscenas campestres,retains value. Gottschalk also utilized theBamboulatheme as a melody in hisSymphony No. 1:A Night in the Tropics.A melody from Gottschalk'sSouvenirs d'Andalousie(Memories of Andalusia) forms the basis of a highly popular 20th century piece "Malagueña"byErnesto Lecuona.

Many of his compositions were destroyed after his death, or are lost. MusicologistRichard Jacksonserved as the editor of a 1973 published collection of Gottschalk’s piano music, and concurrently organized an exhibition of Gottschalk and his music at theNew York Public Library.[14]

Recordings

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Various pianists later recorded his piano music. The first important recordings of his orchestral music, including the symphonyA Night in the Tropics,were made forVanguard RecordsbyMaurice Abravaneland theUtah Symphony Orchestra.Vox Recordsissued a multi-disc collection of his music, which was later reissued on CD. This included world premiere recordings of the original orchestrations of both symphonies and other works, which were conducted byIgor BuketoffandSamuel Adler.

In 1984, Nimbus Records issuedThe Lady Fainted,a selection of piano fantasies, caprices, meditations and paraphrases played byAlan Marks.Lambert Orkisrecorded a selection of Gottschalk's music on an 1865 Chickering concert grand in 1988 as part of The Smithsonian Collection of Recordings.[15]The music of Gottschalk was used in the soundtrack for theMichel DevillefilmAux Petits Bonheurs [fr],which was played byNoël Leeon a Steinway piano and released by Erato Records in 1994. Beginning in the 1990s,Philip Martinrecorded most of Gottschalk's extant piano music forHyperion Records.[16]

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AuthorHoward Breslinwrote a historical novel about Gottschalk titledConcert Grandin 1963.[17] A version of Gottschalk'sBamboula,with added lyrics, was recorded in April 1934 by trumpet player Abel Beauregard's dance band, the Orchestre Créole Matou from the French Caribbean Guadeloupe island.[18]This is the first recording of this composition, as the first 'classical piano' recordings of Gottschalk's works were not recorded until 1956, by American pianistEugene List.[19]Other recordings related to the specific bamboula rhythm heard by Gottschalk in New Orleans' Congo Square and used on his famous 1845 compositionBamboulacan be found on a 1950 Haitian voodoo recordingBaboule Dance (three drums);[20]And on the 1962 Cuban folk tuneRezos Congos (Bamboula, Conga Music).[21]Comments by musicologistBruno Blumare included in each of the above releases. New Orleans singer and pianistDr. John's recording ofLitanie des SaintsfromGoin' Back to New Orleanswas inspired by Gottschalk'sSouvenir de Porto Rico.[22]

See also

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References

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Notes

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  1. ^"Theatre in Context Collection | Alexander Street, part of Clarivate".Search.alexanderstreet.Retrieved8 May2024.
  2. ^Starr, S. Frederick, 1995.Bamboula! The life and times of Louis Moreau Gottschalk.Oxford, NY, pp. 22 et seq.
  3. ^Gottschalk, Louis Moreau (11 June 2006).Notes of a Pianist.Princeton University Press.ISBN9780691127163.Retrieved22 April2018.
  4. ^"Louis Moreau Gottschalk Biography".
  5. ^Louis Moreau Gottschalk Piano Music. Edward Gold, piano (Bösendorfer). Liner notes by Edward Gold. The Musical Heritage Society Inc. MHS 1629.
  6. ^Starr, S. Frederick (1995).Bamboula!: The Life and Times of Louis Moreau Gottschalk.New York and Oxford: Oxford University Press. p. 215.ISBN0-19-507237-5.
  7. ^Starr, S. Frederick (1995).Bamboula!: The Life and Times of Louis Moreau Gottschalk.New York and Oxford: Oxford University Press. p. 216.
  8. ^Starr, S. Frederick (1995).Bamboula!: The Life and Times of Louis Moreau Gottschalk.Oxford and New York: Oxford University Press. pp. 355–356.
  9. ^"Gottschalk's positively farewell concerts in America".The Library Company of Philadelphia.1865.
  10. ^"Louis Moreau Gottschalk Facts".yourdictionary.Retrieved15 November2015.
  11. ^Wilson, Scott.Resting Places: The Burial Sites of More Than 14,000 Famous Persons,3d ed.: 2 (Kindle Locations 18177–18178). McFarland & Company, Inc., Publishers. Kindle Edition.
  12. ^Barron, James (3 May 2010)."A Brooklyn Mystery Solved: Vandals Did It, in 1959".
  13. ^"Welcome," Angel of Music "".green-wood.15 October 2012.Retrieved15 November2015.
  14. ^Paula Morgan (2001). "Jackson, Richard (Hammel)".Grove Music Online.Oxford Music Online.Oxford University Press.doi:10.1093/gmo/9781561592630.article.47105.
  15. ^"The Smithsonian Collection of Recordings | Smithsonian Chamber Music Society".Smithsonianchambermusic.org.Retrieved8 May2024.
  16. ^Philip Martin (piano)at Hyperion Records' official website. Retrieved 25 January 2023.
  17. ^Library Journal,vol. 88, 1963, p. 3691
  18. ^Bamboulaby Abel Beauregard's Orchestre Créole Matou is included onBiguine, Anthologie de la tradition musicale antillaise (1930-1954) Volume 4(Frémeaux et Associés).
  19. ^The first classical piano recording ofBamboula (Danse Des Nègres)can be found on theSlavery in America 1914-1972set with booklet notes by musicologistBruno Blum.
  20. ^Baboule Dance (three drums),a 1950 Haitian field recording by Harold Courlander, can be found onHaiti Vodou 1937-1962(Frémeaux et Associés).
  21. ^Rezos Congos (Bamboula, Conga Music)can be found onCuba - Santería 1939-1962(Frémeaux et Associés).
  22. ^"In memory of Dr. John: An archival interview with the New Orleans music legend".Jazz.fm.2019-06-07.Retrieved2021-01-15.

Sources

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  • Irving Lowens/S. Frederick Starr: "Louis Moreau Gottschalk", Grove Music Online, ed. L. Macy (Accessed June 28, 2007),(subscription required)
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Wikimedia Commons has media related toLouis Moreau Gottschalk.
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Louis Moreau Gottschalk
Wikisourcehas the text of a 1900Appletons' Cyclopædia of American Biographyarticle aboutLouis Moreau Gottschalk.

Listening

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