Berlioz on Beethoven

Music Lane

It's all about the music, dude! Sit down, relax and listen to some tunes.

I was reading an excerpt of the memoirs of Hector Berlioz, in which he describes in harshly critical terms the refusal of the French musical establishment, including his own teacher, to acknowledge the greatness of Beethoven. Interestingly, he analyzes the causes of their failure, variously attributing it to ignorance, fear, jealousy, or innate conservatism. He also draws parallels or distinguishes earlier failures to acknowledge genius, such as Handel's failure to acknowledge Gluck or Rossini's failure to acknowledge Weber. (He refers to Handel and Rossini as the "pot bellies".)
This was apparently a pivotal factor in Berlioz' own development, as it spurred him to abandon his own teacher's conservatism. I definitely need to read the rest of these memoirs.

Edits: 10/28/11

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Topic - Berlioz on Beethoven - rbolaw 06:28:05 10/28/11 (7)

G. B. Shaw and Beethoven - gd 09:00:33 10/30/11 (0)

Berlioz Memoirs - Chris from Lafayette 13:18:13 10/28/11 (3)

RE: Berlioz Memoirs - rbolaw 13:19:54 10/28/11 (2)

RE: Berlioz Memoirs - Chris from Lafayette 13:38:50 10/28/11 (1)

RE: Berlioz Memoirs - goldenthal 15:16:08 11/26/11 (0)

Even Schubert - Mike Porper 07:45:35 10/28/11 (1)

RE: Even Schubert - TGT 14:57:43 10/29/11 (0)

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