By Benjamin—Nov. 1, 1838.
]
Thenceforward Meyerbeer, one of those rare musicians, be it said to his
honor, who feel a concern for other creations than their own, took a
lively and permanent interest in all that Berlioz produced. Wagner, on
his side, admitted to friends that he no sooner reached Paris than he
made a profound study of Berlioz’s instrumentation; that he had since
reread his scores many times, and that he had often profited by the
works of “that devilishly clever man.” Moreover, from 1841, he regarded
Berlioz as a musician filling a place of his own, mingling with none,
while loving, understanding, worshipping Beethoven; dreaming perhaps to
be German in the hours when his genius urged him to write in imitation
of this great master; but unable to assimilate French love of external
effect with Beethoven’s profound symphonic style; possessing a wonderful
fancy, an imagination of extraordinary energy; torn between his artistic
impulses and the tastes of his fellow countrymen, whom he wished to win;
incapable of asking or of receiving advice; possessed of that virtue,
rare even among Germans, of not wishing to write for money; turning his
back on all musical triviality; eminently fitted by reason of these
qualities and of these faults to create great works, popular or national
as in the _Symphonie de Juillet_, the best in his eyes, of Berlioz’s
works, and the only one which, to him, seemed destined to live.
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