One of the most remarkable of the great piano-forte virtuosos was
unquestionably Sigismond Thalberg, an artist who made a profound
sensation in two hemispheres, and filled a large space in the musical
world for more than forty-five years. Originally a disciple of the
Viennese school of piano-forte playing, a pupil of Mosche-les, and a
rigid believer in making the instrument which was the medium of his
talent sufficient unto itself, wholly indifferent to the daring and
boundless ambition which made his great rival, Franz Liszt, pile Pelion
on Ossa in his grasp after new effects, Thalberg developed virtuoso-ism
to its extreme degree by a mechanical dexterity which was perhaps
unrivaled. But the fingers can not express more than rests in the heart
and brain to give to their skill, and Thalberg, with all his immense
talent, seems to have lacked the divine spark of genius. It goes without
saying, to those who are familiar with the current cant of criticism,
that the word genius is often applied in a very loose and misleading
manner. But, in all estimates of art and artists, where there are two
clearly defined factors, imagination or formative power and technical
dexterity, it would seem that there should not be any error in deciding
on the propriety of such a word as a measure of the quality of an
artist's gifts. The lack of the creative impulse could not be mistaken
in Thalberg's work, whether as player or composer. But the ability to
execute all that came within the scope of his sympathies or intelligence
was so prodigious that the world was easily dazzled into forgetting
his deficiencies in the loftier regions of art. Trifles are often very
significant. What, for example, could more vividly portray an artist's
tendencies than the description of Thalberg by Moscheles, who knew him
more thoroughly than any other contemporary, and felt a keener sympathy
with his _genre_ as an artist than with the more striking originality of
Chopin and Liszt. Moscheles writes:
"I find his introduction of harp effects on the piano quite original.
His theme, which lies in the middle part, is brought out clearly in
relief with an accompaniment of complicated arpeggios which reminds me
of a harp. The audience is amazed. He himself sits immovably calm;
his whole bearing as he sits at the piano is soldierlike; his lips are
tightly compressed and his coat buttoned closely. He told me he acquired
this attitude of self-control by smoking a Turkish pipe while practicing
his piano-forte exercises: the length of the tube was so calculated as
to keep him erect and motionless." This exact discipline and mechanism
were not merely matters of technical culture; they were the logical
outcome of the man and surely a part of himself. But within his limits,
fixed as these were, Thalberg was so great that he must be conceded to
be one of the most striking and brilliant figures of an age fecund in
fine artists.
Thalberg was born at Geneva, January 7,1812, and was the natural son of
Prince Dietrichstein, an Austrian nobleman, temporarily resident in that
city. His talent for music, inherited from both sides, for his mother
was an artist and his father an amateur of no inconsiderable skill,
became obvious at a very tender age, following the law which so
generally holds in music that superior gifts display themselves at an
early period. These indications of nature were not ignored, for the boy
was placed under instruction before he had completed his sixth year. It
is a little singular that his first teacher was not a pianist, though a
very superior musician. Mittag was one of the first bassoonists of
his times, and, in addition to his technical skill, a thoroughly
accomplished man in the science of his profession. Thalberg was
accustomed to attribute the wonderfully rich and mellow tone which
characterized his playing to the influence and training of Mittag. From
this instructor the future great pianist passed to the charge of the
distinguished Hummel, who was not only one of the greatest virtuosos of
the age, but ranked by his admirers as only a little less than Beethoven
himself in his genius for pianoforte compositions, though succeeding
generations have discredited his former fame by estimating him merely
a "dull classic." Contemporaneously with his pupilage under Hummel,
he studied the theory of music with Simon Sechter, an eminent
contrapuntist. Even at this early age, for Thalberg must have been
less than ten years old, he impressed all by the great precision of
his fingering and the instinctive ease with which he mastered the most
difficult mechanism of the art of playing. At the age of fourteen young
Thalberg went to London in the household of his father, who had been
appointed imperial ambassador to England, and the youth was then placed
under the instruction of the great pianist Moscheles. The latter speaks
of Thalberg as the most distinguished of his pupils, and as being, even
at that age, already an artist of distinction and mark. It was a source
of much pleasure to Moscheles that his brilliant scholar, who played
much at private soirées, was not only recognized by the _dilletante_
public generally, but by such veteran artists as Clementi and Cramer.
Moscheles, in his diary, speaks of the wonderful brilliancy of a grand
fancy dress ball given by Thalberg's princely father at Covent Garden
Theatre. Pit, stalls, and proscenium were formed into one grand room,
in which the crowd promenaded. The costumes were of every conceivable
variety, and many of the most gorgeous description. The spectators, in
full dress, sat in the boxes; on the stage was a court box, occupied by
the royal family; and bands played in rooms adjoining for small parties
of dancers. "You will have some idea," wrote Mme. Moscheles, in a
letter, "of the crowd at this ball, when I tell you that we left the
ballroom at two o'clock and did not get to the prince's carriage till
four." One of the interesting features of this ball was that the
boy Thalberg played in one of the smaller rooms before the most
distinguished people present, including the royal family, all crowding
in to hear the youthful virtuoso, whose tacit recognition by his father
had already opened to him the most brilliant drawing-rooms in London.
Thalberg did not immediately begin to perform in public, but, on
returning to Vienna in 1827, played continually at private soirées,
where he had the advantage of being heard and criticised by the foremost
amateurs and musicians of the Austrian capital. It had some time since
become obvious to the initiated that another great player was about to
be launched on his career. The following year the young artist tried his
hand at composition, for he published variations on themes from Weber's
"Euryanthe," which were well received. Thalberg in after-years spoke of
all his youthful productions with disdain, but his early works displayed
not a little of the brilliant style of treatment which subsequently gave
his fantasias a special place among compositions for the piano-forte.
It was not till 1830 that young Thalberg fairly began his career as
a traveling player. The cities of Germany received him with the most
_éclatant_ admiration, and his feats of skill as a performer were
trumpeted by the newspapers and musical journals as something
unprecedented in the art of pianism. From Germany Thalberg proceeded to
France and England, and his audiences were no less pronounced in their
recognition. Liszt had already been before him in Paris, and Chopin
arrived about the same time. Kalkbrenner, Ferdinand Hiller, and
Field were playing, but the splendid, calm beauty of Thalberg's style
instantly captivated the public, and elicited the most extravagant
and delighted applause not only from the public, but from enlightened
connoisseurs.
To follow the course of Thalberg's pianoforte achievements in his
musical travels through Europe would be merely to repeat a record of
uninterrupted successes. He disarmed envy and criticism everywhere, and
even those disposed to withhold a frank and generous acknowledgment of
his greatness did not dare to question powers of execution which
seemed without a technical flaw. During his travels Thalberg composed
a concerto for piano and orchestra, to play at his concerts. But this
species of composition was so obviously unsuited to his abilities that
he quickly forsook it, and thenceforward devoted his efforts exclusively
to the instrument of which he was such an eminent master. A more
extensive ambition had been rebuked in more ways than one. He composed
two operas, "Fiorinda" and "Christine," and of course easily yielded to
the entreaties of his admirers to have them produced. But it was clearly
evident that his musical idiosyncrasy, though magnificent of its kind,
was limited in range, and after the failure of his operas and attempts
at orchestral writing Thalberg calmly accepted the situation.
In the year 1834 Thalberg was appointed pianist of the Imperial Chamber
to the court of Austria, and accompanied the Emperor Ferdinand to
Toplitz, where a convocation of the European sovereigns took place. His
performances were warmly received by the assembled monarchs, and he was
overwhelmed with presents and congratulations. Thalberg's way throughout
the whole of his life was strewn with roses, and, though his career did
not present the same romantic incidents which make the life of Franz
Liszt so picturesque, it was attended by the same lavish favors of
fortune. From one patron he received the gift of a fine estate, from
another a magnificent city mansion in Vienna, and testimonials, like
snuff-boxes set with diamonds, jeweled court-swords, superbly set
portraits of his royal and imperial patrons, and costly jewelry, poured
in on him continually. Imperial orders from Austria and Russia were
bestowed on him, and hardly any mark of favor was denied him by that
good fortune which had been auspicious to him from his very birth. In
1845, while still in the service of the Austrian emperor, though he did
not intermit his musical tours through the principal European cities,
Thalberg married the charming widow, whom he had known and admired
before her marriage, the daughter of the great singer Lablache, Mme.
Bouchot, whose first husband had been the distinguished French painter
of that name. The marriage was a happy one, though scandal, which loves
to busy itself about the affairs of musical celebrities, did not fail
to associate Thalberg's name with several of the most beautiful women of
his time. Mile. Thalberg, a daughter of this marriage, made her _début_
with considerable success in London, in 1874.
Thalberg's first visit to America was in 1853, and he came again in
1857, to more than repeat the enthusiastic reception with which he was
greeted by music-loving Americans. Musical culture at that time had not
attained the refinement and knowledge which now make an audience in
one of our greater cities as fastidious and intelligent as can be found
anywhere in the world. But Thalberg's wonderful playing, though lacking
in the fire, glow, and impetuosity which would naturally most arouse the
less cultivated musical sense, created a _furore_, which has never been
matched since, among those who specially prided themselves on being good
judges. He extended both tours to Cuba, Mexico, and South America, and
it is said took away with him larger gains than he had ever made during
the same period in Europe.
During the latter years of Thalberg's life he spent much of his time
in elegant ease at his fine country estate near Naples, only giving
concerts at some few of the largest European capitals, like London and
Paris. He became an enthusiastic wine-grower, and wine from his estate
gained a medal at the Exposition Universelle of 1867. Many of his best
piano-forte compositions date from the period when he had given up the
active pursuit of virtuosoism. His works comprise a concerto, three
sonatas, many nocturnes, rondos, and études, about thirty fantasias, two
operas, and an instruction series, which latter has been adopted by many
of the best teachers, and has been the means of forming a number of able
pupils. This fine artist died at his Neapolitan estate, April 27, 1871.