Great Musical Composers: German, French, and ItalianFerris, George T. (George Titus)
History
Great Musical Composers: German, French, and Italian
Ferris, George T. (George Titus)
Composers
Cherubini would gladly have written more for the Viennese, by whom he
had been so cordially treated; but the unsettled times and his
home-sickness for Paris conspired to take him back to the city of his
adoption. He exhausted many efforts to find Mozart's tomb in Vienna,
and desired to place a monument over his neglected remains, but failed
to locate the resting-place of one he loved so much. Haydn, Beethoven,
Hummel, Salieri, and the other leading composers reluctantly parted
with him, and on April 1, 1806, his return to Paris was celebrated by
a brilliant fête improvised for him at the Conservatory. Fate,
however, had not done with her persecutions, for fate in France took
the shape of Napoleon, whose hostility, easily aroused, was
implacable; who aspired to rule the arts and letters as he did armies
and state policy; who spared neither Cherubini nor Madame de Staël.
Cherubini was neglected and insulted by authority, while honours were
showered on Méhul, Grétry, Spontini, and Lesueur. He sank into a state
of profound depression, and it was even reported in Vienna that he was
dead. He forsook music and devoted himself to drawing and botany. Had
he not been a great musician, it is probable he would have excelled in
pictorial art. One day the great painter David entered the room where
he was working in crayon on a landscape of the Salvator Rosa style. So
pleased was the painter that he cried, "Truly admirable! Courage!" In
1808 Cherubini found complete rest in a visit to the country-seat of
the Prince de Chimay in Belgium, whither he was accompanied by his
friend and pupil, Auber.
VII.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Elsewhere in the archive
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account