pass over one incident of his life which is greatly to his honor, and
which suffices to show the deep and true brotherly affection which united
him to his unhappy friend Franco Faccio. In 1890, when the death of
Bottesini made it necessary to select a successor to this great artist as
Director of the Conservatory at Parma, Verdi was extremely anxious that
Boito should accept the office, which he persisted in declining. Then
Franco Faccio was proposed and accepted. But Faccio, whose health had
begun to fail, was, before he could go and take possession of his post,
seized with a mental aberration at Graetz, where he had gone for rest.
At the first news of the event, Boito left for Graetz, lavished upon his
friend the most devoted care, and with some members of his family, took
him back to Milan, then to Monza, where the unfortunate man died at the
end of about eighteen months. Until the last they were hoping against
hope for a recovery; but meantime the Parma Conservatory was without
a director, a thing prejudicial to the labors and the studies of the
pupils. At this juncture Boito generously volunteered to go to Parma as
a substitute for his friend at the Conservatory until his health should
permit him to fulfill its functions. He was named "honorary" director,
as is stated in the following despatch addressed from Rome at that time
by Dr. Giovanni Mariotti, syndic of Parma, to the Vice-director of the
Conservatory of that city:--"Arrigo Boito, to whom, before all others,
and on several occasions, Verdi has vainly offered the directorship of
our Conservatory, consents to day, through a very noble sentiment, to
become our director in place of his afflicted friend. Yesterday was
signed the royal decree which names Boito honorary director of our
Conservatory, confiding to him the supreme authority during the absence
of the real director. He is a precious acquisition, of which Parma will,
no doubt, be proud." Boito, indeed, went to Parma and assumed temporary
charge of the Conservatory. Then, when poor Faccio died, he resigned the
duties which he had accepted only as a service to his friend, and resumed
the simple course of his private occupation and labors. Is it not very
true that this fact does honor to Boito's character?
Boito is certainly a distinguished artist, but one who carries boldness
almost to the point of temerity, and the desire to be original to the
point of eccentricity; and this applies to the poet as well as to
the musician. Thus his own countrymen find fault with certain daring
peculiarities in his _Mephistopheles_, for instance, from a scenic point
of view, his prologue with the chorus of angels, which has nothing to
do with the subject; and from a poetic point of view, the use of odd
and affected metres, as well as the use he makes from time to time of
verse written in Milanese dialect, which has nothing to do with the
true Italian language. As a musician also, he is criticised for having
broken so radically with the ancient Italian melodic forms, without
daring, however, to accept frankly the Wagnerian theories, but permitting
whimsicalities and eccentricities which seem useless and appear only
calculated to offend sensitive ears. Notwithstanding all that, he is
very talented and remarkably clever. In a letter which Rossini wrote
to Tito Ricordi, the famous music publisher of Milan, on the 21st of
April, 1868, that is to say some weeks after the appearance and fall of
_Mephistopheles_ at the Scala theatre, I find these interesting lines:
"I desire to be remembered to Boito, whose great talent I appreciate
infinitely; he has sent me his libretto of _Mephistopheles_, by which
I see that he is too precocious in desiring to be an innovator. Do not
fancy that I would make war on innovators! I simply prefer that people
should not claim to do in a day that which can only be accomplished in
several years. Let the dear Giulio (Tito Ricordi's son, an excellent
musician and composer) read _benignly_ my first work, _Demetrio e
Polibio_, and _William Tell_; he will see that I was not a crab! * * * *
*" Rossini meant by this to indicate the artistic progress which he had
made between his first and his last opera; he had gone steadily forward.
Boito had wished to go too quickly, and had broken too openly with all
the traditions. Hence the sad reception which the public gave to his
_Mephistopheles_ in its first form. Profiting by this warning of the
public, Boito took his work in hand, modified it without destroying its
character, by smoothing the rough places, made the desirable concessions
and saw himself recompensed for his pains by a success as complete as had
been its previous failure.
It is very difficult, however, to judge an artist and estimate fairly his
talent on the strength of a single work. The score of _Mephistopheles_
can only give an idea of the author's tendencies, only serve to indicate
his temperament and his artistic nature. It is insufficient to permit of
classifying him, and of fixing his place among contemporary composers. If
Boito continues to preserve the obstinate silence which he has preserved
now for quarter of a century, his fugitive dramatic passage can only
be regarded as an accident in the musical history of this century.
If he decides at length to shake off his idle inclination and break
that silence by offering to the public that _Nerone_ which has been so
long talked about, and at which he works so slowly, perhaps it will be
possible to form a rational opinion of his worth and of his personality.
Until then, criticism will be very difficult and will run a great risk of
going astray.
[Illustration: Arthur Pougin]
[Illustration: GIOVANNI SGAMBATI
_Reproduction of a photograph from life by A. Manfredi & Co., Turin._]
[Illustration]
GIOVANNI SGAMBATI
For what he has done as composer, pianist, and conductor, and because of
the strong and wholesome influence that he has exerted upon the musical
life of his countrymen, the name of Giovanni Sgambati will be an honored
one in the history of Italy for the last half of this century. His
influence has been not less potent from the fact that his writings and
concert performances have been unconnected with the stage. Italy is no
longer what it was, essentially the greatest land of opera; its glory
has largely departed, the mighty music-dramas of Richard Wagner and,
in a lesser degree, the works of Meyerbeer, Gounod, Bizet, Massenet,
Tschaïkowsky, Goldmark and others, having over-shadowed all of the
Italian operas excepting one or two by Bellini and Rossini, the later
and greater works of Verdi, and the "Mefistofele" of Boito, and it is
to-day much more natural than formerly for an Italian who is called
to high musical work to turn to that kind of composition in which the
fame of the greatest masters has been made. While a strong liking, and
even preference, for opera will always characterize the Italians, it
is certain that a taste for symphonic and chamber-music is gradually
being acquired, as the knowledge of these forms becomes more common. As
forwarding this work, the names of Bazzini and Martucci should also be
mentioned.
Sgambati has been obliged in a fashion to make his public, but it is
at any rate a very different one from that of years gone by, to which
the Herz variations and the Thalberg and early Liszt operatic fantasias
represented the highest form of pianoforte music, and for which the
Mercadante, Bellini, Donizetti and the first Verdi operas were composed.
In his success in accomplishing this educational result is to be found a
lesson for all artists who, from lack of conviction or of courage, are
tempted to let mediocrity have its way, and not to strive for the higher
cultivation of music, wherever their lot may place them.
Giovanni Sgambati was born in Rome, May 28th, 1843, his mother being
English, the daughter of Joseph Gott, a sculptor who had for many years
lived in Rome, and his father an advocate. It was intended that he should
pursue his father's profession, but his strong and evident talent for
music determined it otherwise. He studied, as a boy, pianoforte playing
and harmony with Natalucci, a pupil of Zingarelli, and from an early
age we find him singing in church, playing in public, conducting small
orchestras and composing to a certain extent. In 1860 he settled in Rome,
quickly becoming known for his pianoforte playing, and especially for
the solid and classical character of his programmes; for Italian taste
and music had not at that time begun to show their later divergence from
the old ideals. Rossini was still living and productive; Bellini and
Donizetti had so far shown no signs of becoming old-fashioned.
Beethoven, Chopin, Schumann and, best of all, Bach and Handel were
Sgambati's favorite authors, by means of whom he sought to purify and
educate the taste of his audiences. Shortly afterwards, just when he was
on the point of going to Germany to continue his studies, Liszt came to
Rome. His plans were changed, for from this time Liszt was his teacher,
and he was able to work long and well under that wise, authoritative and
suggestive guidance, to which, doubtless, is owing much of the consummate
mastery in pianoforte playing for which he is famous, although his style
of composition seems to have been little affected by Liszt's influence.
Sgambati is well-known to be one of the greatest exponents of the Liszt
school, and from all accounts, in his playing there is also present that
same feeling for formal and sensuous beauty which is to be found in his
compositions; a most interesting account of him as a pianist and teacher
is to be found in Bettina Walker's "My musical experiences"; the story
is told in such a charming and personal way as to give a capital idea,
both of the man and the musician.
Besides his other concerts, we find him also at this time giving
orchestral ones, at which some of the great symphonies were heard for
the first time in Rome. In 1869 he and Liszt made a visit to Germany
together, Sgambati making his first acquaintance with Wagner's music
at Munich: it was some years later, in 1877, that through Wagner's
recommendation his pianoforte quintets were published by Schott of
Mayence. It is interesting to read, in this connection, a part of a
letter which Wagner wrote in November, 1876, to Dr. Strecker, the head of
the firm of Schott. It has been published, with Sgambati's permission, in
Miss Walker's book, and is here taken from it.
"But, to say the truth, my letter of to-day has another end in view,
namely, to commend to you most earnestly for publication two quintets
(pianoforte and stringed instruments) composed by Signor Sgambati, of
Rome. Liszt had already, and in a most especial and emphatic manner,
called my attention to this distinguished composer and pianist. I
recently had the genuine and extreme pleasure of, for once, coming into
contact with the possessor of a truly great and original talent--a talent
which, as he is in Rome [?!], and therefore possibly a little out of
place, I would gladly be the means of introducing to the wider musical
circle of the world at large."
In 1886 he was made one of the five corresponding members of the French
Institute to fill the place vacated by the death of Liszt.
As a pianoforte teacher, he has been from the first one of the leading
men, being a professor at the Academy of St. Cecilia at Rome, and has
had a multitude of pupils, among them not a few Americans. To show the
high standard that is maintained at the Academy, the requirements for a
diploma are here quoted. The pupil must be prepared with the twenty-four
preludes and fugues of the first book of the "Well-tempered Clavichord,"
with twenty-four studies from Clementi's "Gradus ad Parnassum," and must
play some large modern piece by heart, read a manuscript composition at
sight, and answer _vivâ voce_ questions in harmony and composition.
* * * * *
In his pianoforte compositions two features are salient: a remarkable
feeling for melodic and harmonic refinement, with a clear and beautiful
formal structure, and as a complement to these, an abhorrence of
everything trite and common; this last trait, however, does not
degenerate into affectation and ugliness.
Sgambati has published but little, probably partly on account of the
severe self-criticism that is evident in his work, the result of which is
seen in the qualities above mentioned. But this is not by any means to
imply that his music is lacking in freshness or force; on the contrary,
his best work has, which is not too common, a distinction of its own,
and there is great vigor and strength in the pianoforte concerto and the
symphony, his two works written in the largest form. As every musician,
however, in thinking of Dvořák, Brahms, Tschaïkowsky, St. Saëns, etc.,
has always unconsciously in his mind certain characteristics that he
associates with their music, without which it would not be theirs, so
in Sgambati are we attracted by his great polish and refinement, as well
as by a certain personal charm of manner that is always present (perhaps
that is the Italian side of him).
Of vocal music, there have been published three sets of songs (Op. 1, 2,
19) and a cantata for one voice with orchestral accompaniment; of chamber
music, there are two quintets for piano and strings (Op. 4 and 5) and a
quartet for strings in the unusual key of D-flat major. Of these last,
the first quintet, in F minor, is generally considered the most striking,
but although it and its companion and the string quartet have made their
way, it is by his pianoforte works that he is best known. They are: a
Notturno (Op. 3); a strong and characteristic Prelude and Fugue (Op. 6);
two Etudes (Op. 10); the "Fogli volanti" (Op. 12), several of which are
peculiarly charming; the well-known and truly original Gavotte (Op. 14);
four pieces; "Preludio," "Vecchio Minuetto," "Nenia," "Toccata" (Op. 18);
"Three Nocturnes" (Op. 20); Suite (Op. 21); "Pièces Lyriques" (Op. 23),
and the Concerto in G minor (Op. 15).
[Illustration: Fac-simile autograph and musical manuscript written by
Sgambati.]
These pianoforte pieces do not cover a great number of pages, but in
them we often feel something that is none too common, and that it is to
be highly prized: we find a personality. It is easy now-a-days to be
personal by being vulgar and obtrusive, but it is not so usual to find
that quality combined with the reticence and knowledge that mark the
finest work, and it is perhaps Sgambati's best trait that we do find that
in his music. Most of the pieces are under the disadvantage of being less
easy to play than they sound, and the opposite feature is so much liked
by players that it is surprising that they have obtained popularity. The
Gavotte is not run in the common mould, which has been so much employed
for the turning out of numberless pieces of the old dance forms, but is
piquant and interesting, and with its appropriate drone-like Musette,
is as well-known as any; the "Fogli Volanti" has made many admirers for
its author, while the "Vecchio Minuetto" and the "Toccata" from Op. 18,
and the first of the Nocturnes (Op. 20) in especial are much played.
The first study of Op. 10, in F-sharp minor, has especial interest to
pianists in that a clever application is made in it of the system of
pedal notation proposed by Hans Schmitt; in this desire to set down
exactly what he wishes to express at the pianoforte, Sgambati exhibits a
certain likeness to Sterndale Bennett, and indeed the two are somewhat
akin in their musical way of thought.
The pianoforte concerto is written in a large style, especially the
first movement, and has several portions that are striking and unusual;
it is grateful for the player, and sure of success. The fact that three
trombones are in the score would lead one to fear a certain over-doing
of effect, but the brass is so judiciously used as to justify its
presence; and in the symphony also the orchestration is skilful and well
contrasted, good effects being often obtained by the use of but few
instruments. The symphony has had varying fortunes, being received with
great warmth in Italy and in London, but having the opposite fate when
performed in New York; it was produced at a concert in the Quirinal,
March 28, 1881, the King and Queen of Italy being in the audience, and
the King conferred upon the composer the order of the Crown of Italy upon
that occasion.
To sum up the characteristics of Sgambati's work: in him is found all the
old respect for form and style that was once supreme, but that now is not
so universally accepted; he is not fond of making dabs of contrasting
colors and calling the result a picture, but everything with him must
be well-drawn, and the values must be right. His melodies are clearly
cut, their harmonization interesting, and with all his adherence to the
classic models, there is so much individuality that his music is his own.
It is interesting to find a leading composer of Italy so distinguished
for sobriety and reticence, while for extravagance of expression we look
to the new men of Germany, France and Russia. And, as Sgambati is still
in the prime of life, with ripened powers, even more is to be hoped and
expected from him than in the past.
Here follows a list of his published compositions:
Op. 1. Album of songs.
Op. 2. Album of songs.
Op. 3. Notturno for piano.
Op. 4. Quintet for piano and strings in F minor.
Op. 5. Quintet for piano and strings in G minor.
Op. 6. Prelude and Fugue for piano in E flat minor.
Op. 10. Two Etudes for piano.
Op. 12. "Fogli Volanti" (pieces for piano).
Op. 14. Gavotte for piano in A flat minor.
Op. 15. Concerto for piano and orchestra in G minor.
Op. 16. Symphony for orchestra in D major.
Op. 17. String quartet in D flat major.
Op. 18. Four pieces for piano: Preludio; Vecchio Minuetto;
Nenia; Toccata.
Op. 19. Songs.
Op. 20. Three Nocturnes for piano.
Op. 21. Suite for piano.
Op. 23. Pièces Lyriques.
A second symphony is written, but not yet published.
[Illustration: Arthur Foote]
[Illustration: GIUSEPPE VERDI
_Reproduction of a photograph from life, by Bengue & Co., Paris._]
[Illustration: VERDI]
[Illustration]
GIUSEPPE VERDI
Giuseppe Verdi, the last representative of the long line of Italian opera
composers of the old school, was born Oct. 10, 1813, at Roncole, a little
group of dwellings about three miles distant from Busseto, and occupied
by some two hundred impoverished and ignorant laborers. His origin was
very humble, his parents being poor and the keepers of an insignificant
inn and also of a small shop where were dispensed sugar, coffee, pipes,
tobacco and liquor. Of Verdi's earliest infancy little is known. His
surroundings were miserable enough, and the atmosphere in which he lived
was not of a nature to foster art aspirations. As a child he was sad and
taciturn, and showed no inclination to indulge in those amusements that
are so eagerly enjoyed by youngsters generally. He manifested at a tender
age that fondness for music which has been so often chronicled in this
work of the youth of those who afterwards became famous as composers. His
only enthusiasm was when an organ-grinder passed through the village,
for then he could not be kept at home, but would follow the ambulant
music-maker from place to place. This is almost all that is current
regarding his earliest musical taste, and it is by no means an evidence
of any abnormal partiality for music, since it is not rare in children
to be attracted by street music even when the player is not a pied piper
of Hamelin to draw them after him by a magic spell. However, the child
Verdi must have borne other testimony to his instinctive love of music,
for when we next hear of him it is as the owner of a spinet, which, by
the way, is still in the composer's possession. He was then seven years
old. That a poor innkeeper should have squeezed from his scanty earnings
sufficient to buy his son such an instrument must be received, in absence
of other proof, as evidence that his musical gifts were of a precocious
order that caused them to be considered worthy encouragement. An old
friend of Verdi's father has placed on record the earnestness with which
the lad practised on this spinet. We are told that he was at first
content with his ability to play the first five notes of the scale, and
then busied himself in trying to combine the notes in chords, falling
into a rapture of delight when he by chance sounded the major third and
the fifth of C. We read, furthermore, that when he could not find the
same chord again the next day he lost his temper, and seizing a hammer
began to break the spinet to pieces, for which foreshadowing of a certain
school of pianoforte playing that has since then come into vogue, he
received an exemplary blow on the ear from his angry father. The next we
hear of him is as a pupil of one Baistrocchi, the organist of the little
church of Roncole, who had been engaged by Verdi's father to give the
boy music lessons. At the end of a year the old story so often told of
the youth of great artists was repeated. Baistrocchi confessed that the
pupil had learned all that the teacher had to impart, and therefore young
Verdi's connection with him ceased. As the boy was then only eight years
old, the question is rather one regarding the extent of the pedagogue's
knowledge than of the pupil's capacity. Be this as it may, two years
later Verdi, at the age of ten, replaced Baistrocchi as organist of the
church. His salary the first year was about $7.20 of our money. The
second year it was increased by eighty cents and consequently amounted to
$8.00, or a trifle over two cents a day!--certainly far from munificent.
In the mean while Verdi had received no schooling, and his father
thought it time to look after the lad's education. A cobbler who lived
at Busseto and by name Pugnatta, agreed to give young Verdi board and
lodging and to send him to the principal school in the town, in return
for six cents a day to be paid by the elder Verdi. Extortionate charges
were not the rule in and about the birthplace of the future composer of
"Aïda," the "Manzoni Requiem" and "Falstaff." At school the boy studied
industriously, and walked the three miles between Busseto and Roncole
twice every Sunday and feast-day to play the organ at his church in the
latter place. His wretched income was increased annually by some ten or
twelve dollars, received from christenings, weddings and funerals; and at
the annual harvest festival, when it was customary for the organist of
the place to go about from door to door with a sack over his shoulder to
make a collection for himself, he added a trifle to his finances. Such
experiences were severe for a sensitive boy.
In two years at Busseto, while under the protection of the cobbler, whose
lodger and ward he was, Verdi learned to read, write and cipher. About
this time he made the acquaintance of a Signor Barezzi, who took a deep
interest in him, gave him employment, and aided him in enlarging his
musical knowledge. In the house of Barezzi the rehearsals and concerts
of the Philharmonic Society of Busseto took place. Here, for the first
time, Verdi had an opportunity to study music seriously. He attended
all the rehearsals, and seemed so absorbed in his love for the art that
Signor Ferdinando Provesi, who was the conductor of the concerts as
well as chapel master and organist of the cathedral, took a fancy to
him, and under his excellent guidance Verdi was led into a more serious
course of study. Under Provesi, who was a good contrapuntist, a composer
of numerous operas of which he was the author of both words and music,
and who was, in addition, a man of wide reading, Verdi studied until
he was sixteen years old. In the mean while he had improved rapidly,
and he frequently replaced his master as organist at the cathedral and
as conductor of the Philharmonic concerts. He likewise wrote numerous
works, which he copied, taught and conducted himself. Nevertheless, as a
composer he manifested no very brilliant precocity and no special genius.
His talent for music was clearly indicated, but nothing has appeared to
show that his early artistic development was akin to that of a Mozart, a
Schubert, or a Mendelssohn.