Portraits et souvenirs

Format:

• Book

Author/Creator:

• Saint-Saëns, Camille, 1835-1921

Language:

French

Physical Description:

1 online resource : multiple file formats

Place of Publication:

Salt Lake City, UT : Project Gutenberg,

Summary:

"Portraits et souvenirs" by Camille Saint-Saëns is a collection of reminiscences and musical critiques written in the late 19th century. The work provides insights into the lives and works of notable musicians and composers from Saint-Saëns's perspective, exploring their legacies and contributions to music. Through anecdotes, he reflects on figures like Berlioz and Liszt, blending personal narratives with broader commentary on artistic trends of his time. The opening of "Portraits et souvenirs" introduces the reader to Saint-Saëns's views on the changing landscape of music appreciation, contrasting his earlier work, "Harmonie et Mélodie," with current tastes for complexity over melody. He begins with a preface that outlines his intention to share diverse anecdotes and memories about esteemed musicians he has known, while downplaying the notion of writing a memoir. The first sections provide a detailed look at Hector Berlioz's distinctive style and revolutionary influence, praising his orchestration while critiquing contemporary misunderstandings of his works. This segment sets the stage for Saint-Saëns's reflective and analytical approach to the rich tapestry of musical figures he intends to explore throughout the book. (This is an automatically generated summary.)

Contents:

• Portraits: Hector Berlioz. Franz Liszt. Charles Gounod. Victor Massé. Antoine Rubinstein
• Souvenirs: Une traversée en Bretagne. Un engagement d'artiste. Georges Bizet. Louis Gallet. Docteur à Cambridge. "Orphée." Don Giovanni
• Variétés: La défense de l'opéra-comique. Drame lyrique et drame musical. Le théâtre au concert. L'illusion wagnérienne. Le mouvement musical. Lettre des Las Palmas.

Credits:

Produced by Chuck Greif and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team at DP Europe (http://dp.rastko.net)

Notes:

• Reading ease score: 60.6 (8th & 9th grade). Neither easy nor difficult to read.
• Release date is 2010-06-24