Great Violinists and PianistsFerris, George T. (George Titus)
History
Great Violinists and Pianists
Ferris, George T. (George Titus)
Pianists -- Biography; Violinists -- Biography
queue of carriages, wearied me, and at last I got out and walked.
There, too, I found little pleasure." On the other hand, he praises the
performance of Gluck's opera at the house of the Erards. The "concerts
spirituels" delight him. "Who would not," he says, "envy me this
enjoyment? These concerts justly enjoy a world-wide celebrity. There I
listen with the most solemn earnestness." On the other hand, there are
cheerful episodes, and jovial dinners with Carl Blum and Schlesinger, at
the Restaurant Lemelle. "Yesterday," he writes, "Schlesinger quizzed me
about my slowness in eating, and went so far as to make the stupid bet
with me, that he would demolish three dozen oysters while I ate one
dozen, and he was quite right. On perceiving, however, that he was on
the point of winning, I took to making faces, made him laugh so heartily
that he couldn't go on eating; thus I won my bet." We find the
following notice on the 20th of March: "I spent the evening at Ciceri's,
son-in-law of Isabey, the famous painter, where I was introduced to
one of the most interesting circles of artists. In the first room were
assembled the most famous painters, engaged in drawing several things
for their own amusement. In the midst of these was Cherubini, also
drawing. I had the honor, like every one newly introduced, of having
my portrait taken in caricature. Begasse took me in hand, and succeeded
well. In an adjoining room were musicians and actors, among them
Ponchard, Le-vasseur, Dugazon, Panseron, Mlle, de Munck, and Mme.
Livere, of the Theatre Francais. The most interesting of their
performances, which I attended merely as a listener, was a vocal quartet
by Cherubini, performed under his direction. Later in the evening, the
whole party armed itself with larger or smaller 'mirlitons' (reed-pipe
whistles), and on these small monotonous instruments, sometimes made
of sugar, they played, after the fashion of Russian horn music, the
overture to 'Demophon,' two frying-pans representing the drums." On the
27th of March this "mirliton" concert was repeated at Ciceri's, and on
this occasion Cherubini took an active part. Moscheles relates: "Horace
Vernet entertained us with his ventriloquizing powers, M. Salmon with
his imitation of a horn, and Dugazon actually with a 'mirliton' solo.
Lafont and I represented the classical music, which, after all, held,
its own." It was hard to tear himself from these gayeties; but he
had not visited London, and he was anxious to make himself known at a
musical capital inferior to none in Europe. He little thought that in
London he was destined to find his second home. He plunged into the
gayeties and enjoyments of the English capital with no less zest than he
had already experienced in Paris. He found such great players as J. B.
Cramer, Ferdinand Ries, Kalkbrenner, and Clementi in the field; but
our young artist did not altogether lose by comparison. Among other
distinguished musicians, Moscheles also met Kiesewetter, the violinist,
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