O’Neal

    August  22,  2014  

Review:    Music  in  1853:    The  Biography  of  A  Year  by  Hugh  Macdonald.  Boydell  Press,  
2012.    Written  for  Choral  Journal,  American  Choral  Directors  Association.  
 

On  the  cover  of  this  book  are  reproductions  of  an  original  photograph,  

drawing,  watercolor  or  lithograph  of  the  star  players  in  this  superb  account  of  music  

in  and  around  1853:    Franz  Liszt,  Robert  Schumann,  Richard  Wagner,  Joseph  

Joachim,  Johannes  Brahms,  and  Hector  Berlioz.    For  all  who  are  interested  in  music,  

in  the  goings-­‐on  during  the  Romantic  era,  or  in  any  one  of  these  composer-­‐

performers,  this  book  is  an  absolute  must-­‐read.    While  five  of  the  six  (all  but  

Joachim)  wrote  brilliant  choral  music,  it  is  not  a  resource  for  locating  particular  

titles  to  perform.    Rather,  it  provides  fresh,  deep  insight  into  just  who  these  

composers  were.          

Their  lives  and  music  are  brought  into  vivid  focus  based  on  contemporary  

documents  and  subsequent  publications,  which  Hugh  Macdonald  has  brilliantly  

drawn  together  from  diaries,  letters,  memoirs,  newspapers,  journals,  and  

biographies  to  historical  accounts.    International  travel  was  requisite  for  artists  at  

this  time,  and  Macdonald  traces  their  journeys  in  fascinating  detail  across  Germanic  

lands  and  Switzerland,  and  to  Paris  and  London.    In  addition  to  various  vignettes  

and  dramas,  there  is  also  the  coincidental  intersecting  of  paths  of  these  six,  along  

with  some  near  misses.  

Essential  but  lesser-­‐known  individuals  ––  other  fellow  composers,  

conductors,  performers,  early  teachers  and  mentors,  a  critic,  writer-­‐librettist  or  

translator,  an  intimate,  an  aristocrat  host  or  acquaintance  ––  influence  choices  at  

critical  moments  and  alter  the  course  of  music  forever.    A  few  of  the  many  are  Clara  

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Schumann  for  Schumann,  Princess  Carolyn  von  Sayne-­‐Wittgenstein  for  both  Liszt  

and  Berlioz,  and  the  violinist  and  conductor  Joseph  Joachim  for  Brahms.  Perhaps  the  

most  influential  figure  interacting  with  nearly  all  is  conductor  Hans  von  Bülow,  who  

is  also  a  virtuoso  pianist  and  composer.    Von  Bülow  programmed,  conducted  or  

played  piano  in  concerts  of  music  by  Brahms  in  early  years  and  then  later  was  an  

important  proponent  of  Liszt  and  Wagner.    He  studied  piano  with  Clara  Schumann’s  

father,  then  later  with  Liszt,  and  married  Liszt’s  daughter  Cosima  (who  then  left  von  

Bülow  to  marry  Wagner).    

The  portraits  on  the  book  jacket  can  only  vaguely  suggest  their  respective  

ages.    In  1853,  Berlioz  is  the  oldest  at  50  and  resigned  to  never  being  fully  accepted  

as  a  composer  in  his  own  country;  he  has  decided  he  will  only  write  reviews  and  

conduct.    But  now,  after  a  three-­‐year  hiatus  from  composing,  he  is  writing  a  work  

that  will  become  the  most  popular  in  his  lifetime,  L’enfance  du  Christ.    He  perhaps  

was  persuaded  to  do  so  by  friends,  including  possibly  Brahms  via  Schumann,  

Joachim  and  Liszt  (p.  xiii).      

In  their  early  twenties  are  the  youngest  of  the  group,  Brahms  and  his  life-­‐

long  friend  Joachim,  a  topnotch  violinist  and  performing  partner.    Using  Brahms’  

diary,  Macdonald  retraces  the  charismatic  pianist  and  composer’s  route  on  a  10-­‐day  

hike  alone  down  the  Rhine  from  Mainz  to  Bonn  (this  book  is  generously  

supplemented  with  well-­‐placed  and  informative  illustrations,  including  a  detailed  

map  of  the  journey),  sorting  out  what  he  would  make  of  his  life  and,  while  at  

overnight  stays,  enthralling  important  people  by  playing  his  own  compositions.    The  

trip  yielded  essential,  influential  friends  and  provided  concert  connections  for  the  

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rest  of  his  life.    Astonishingly,  in  1853  Brahms  had  yet  to  hear  a  Beethoven  

symphony.  

Schumann,  Wagner  and  Liszt  are  in  their  early  forties.    Schumann’s  health  

will  soon  decline,  but  in  October  1853  he  focuses  an  international  spotlight  on  the  

twenty-­‐year  old  genius  Brahms  by  writing  “Neue  Bahnen”  (“New  Paths”)  published  

in  Germany’s  most  widely  read  music  journal.    (Schumann  had  done  similarly  for  

Berlioz  twenty  years  earlier  when  he  reviewed  Symphonie  fantastic  using  the  only  

score  available,  Liszt’s  transcription  for  piano  which  included  annotations  on  

instrumentation.)    Macdonald  provides  a  bracing  description  of  the  four  weeks  

Brahms  and  Schumann  spent  together,  and  he  lists  the  repertoire  they  played  for  

one  another  or  were  in  process  of  composing.    Their  frenzy  of  talks  and  music  

making  was  an  historic  occurrence  of  mutual  musical  inspiration.    Wagner  in  this  

same  year  set  forth  on  his  own  new  path  for  opera  as  music  and  drama,  writing  

extensively  of  his  philosophy  and  finally,  following  his  own  hiatus  from  composing  

(five  years  compared  to  Berlioz’s  three),  began  composition  of  the  most  massive  

music-­‐drama  venture  yet  in  history,  The  Ring.      

But  it  is  Liszt  who  is  the  startling  revelation  and  pivotal  star  in  this  group,  not  

because  of  his  pianistic  wizardry  or  his  most  famous  composition,  the  B  minor  Piano  

Sonata,  but  rather  for  his  character  and  generous  acts.  Not  only  does  he  champion  

Berlioz  by  organizing  and  producing  Berlioz  festivals  in  Weimar  where  he  is  

Kapellmeister,  he  is  also  an  incredibly  active  and  genuine  supporter  of  his  many  

friends  and  colleagues.    And  this  was  despite  the  evolving  divide  in  philosophies  that  

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distinguished  Schumann,  Brahms  and  Joachim  from  Liszt,  Wagner  and  the  sole  

Frenchman  in  the  group,  Berlioz:    programmatic  vs.  absolute  music.  

Information  about  programming  practices  is  among  the  many  hotspots  of  

interest  in  Music  in  1853.    A  wide  variety  of  genres  were  included  in  concerts,  and  

fortunately  Macdonald  provides  lists  and  images  of  printed  programs  throughout  

the  book.    Concert  customs  included:    performing  an  excerpt  of  a  symphony  or  

choral-­‐orchestral  work  rather  than  its  entirety;  the  inclusion  of  a  vocal  soloist  

performing  an  opera  excerpt  accompanied  by  piano  or  orchestra;  and  ending  rather  

than  beginning  a  concert  with  an  overture.    It  was  Wagner  who  discontinued  the  

practice  of  vocal  solo  novelty  items  and  put  the  complete  symphony  last,  as  is  done  

now.    He  and  Berlioz  determinedly  raised  the  standards  of  orchestral  playing  

considerably:    we  find  Wagner  firing  a  harpist  for  knitting  in  rehearsal  and  Berlioz  

turning  down  a  London  conducting  engagement  because  of  insufficient  rehearsal  

time.    

 Looking  at  concert  programs,  one  need  not  be  particularly  familiar  with  the  

variety  of  chamber,  vocal  solo,  choral  or  instrumental  repertoire  to  appreciate  how  

lengthy  these  concerts  must  have  been.    Much  of  it  was  anchored,  quite  like  today,  

on  Haydn,  Mozart,  Beethoven,  and  others.    But  rather  unlike  today,  much  of  it  was  

newly  composed.    At  this  time  artists  and  music  were  big  news,  and  attending  

concerts  was  not  as  much  about  hearing  the  standards  as  seeing  and  hearing  the  

new  news,  the  talk  of  the  town.    Regarding  concert  production,  Macdonald  gives  us  a  

clear  picture  of  how  limited  rehearsal  time  often  was  and  of  the  short  notice  the  

public  might  be  given  for  an  upcoming  performance.    On  some  occasions  a  concert  

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was  announced  only  by  the  time  preparation  was  nearly  done;  the  date  and  location  

was  published  as  close  as  only  a  week  prior.    For  us  today,  this  seems  inconceivable.      

We  are  afforded  an  excellent  picture  of  a  collegial  and  mutually  supportive  

community  of  musicians  and  the  continuing  importance  of  royalty  and  aristocracy  

(along  with  the  emerging  and  more  numerous  middle  class)  in  concert  sponsorship.    

Descriptions  of  the  varieties  of  artistic  pursuits  in  numerous  individual  towns  and  

cities,  which  are  part  of  different  semi-­‐independent  kingdoms,  duchies,  and  

principalities,  are  fascinating.    Artists  in  1853  have  various  jobs  in  these  courts,  

municipalities,  churches  and  theaters  on  a  scale  unrivalled  elsewhere  in  Europe,  and  

there  are  still  frequent  royal  and  civic  celebrations  requiring  festivals  and  occasional  

music  for  them.    In  short  we  see  at  close  hand  the  whir  and  buzz  of  these  composer-­‐

performers’  working  world.    They  travel,  write  copious  letters,  raise  money  and  pay  

bills,  copy  orchestra  parts,  plan  concert  repertoire,  engage  halls,  recruit  choruses,  

hire  players,  write  invitations  to  reviewers  and  influential  guests,  set  rehearsal  

schedules,  run  to  conduct  rehearsals  –  all  in  addition  to  composing.    Communication  

was  by  handwritten  letter  or  in  person,  and  local  mail  service  in  most  cities  was  

incredibly  efficient.    Often  delivery  was  within  a  day  and  in  some  cases  within  hours.    

Concert  announcements  were  posted  in  daily  newspapers,  as  were  reviews  of  

concerts.    

Our  international  artists  were  constant  trekkers  because  travel  was  

obligatory  to  make  a  living  as  a  musician.  They  most  often  made  their  journeys  via  

the  rapidly  developing  network  of  trains  and  traditional  “diligences”  (stage  

coaches).    We  learn  where  composers  lodged,  in  some  cases  how  the  hotel  looked  

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O’Neal     August  22,  2014  

then  and/or  today  (or  what  it  has  been  replaced  by,  e.g.  a  bank),  its  location,  how  

long  it  took  to  travel  there,  and  the  standard  of  accommodations.    Again,  maps  and  

images  are  provided  to  get  the  feel  for  the  proximities  of  the  cities  and  towns  where  

our  artists  composed,  concertized,  and  vacationed.    Aside  from  Paris  and  London,  

the  main  places  of  focus  are  Weimar,  Zurich,  Baden-­‐Baden,  Frankfurt,  Carlsbad,  St.  

Moritz  and  La  Spezia,  Karlsruhe,  Düsseldorf,  Hanover,  and  Leipzig.    We  learn  of  

Clara  and  Robert  Schumann’s  exhausting  Holland  concert  tour  in  late  1853,  to  

Utrecht,  The  Hague,  Rotterdam  and  Amsterdam,  presenting  thirteen  concerts  in  

twenty-­‐five  days,  with  Clara  doing  most  of  the  performing.    The  crisscrossing  of  

people,  compositions  and  performances  is  a  ballet  of  incredible  richness,  and  

Macdonald  chronicles  it  splendidly  and  concisely.    On  Saturday,  May  14,  for  

example,  Wagner  was  giving  a  public  reading  of  the  libretto  of  Lohengrin  

(composers  rarely  authored  their  own  librettos  and  none  before  had  given  public  

readings  of  them)  in  Zurich  as  Joachim  was  in  rehearsal  with  Schumann  in  

Düsseldorf  and  Berlioz  was  crossing  the  English  Channel  to  London  to  conduct  a  

series  of  concerts  (p.  50).  

Intriguing  personal  vignettes  include,  for  example,  a  depiction  of  Liszt’s  

boundless  energy  and  robust  health  and  of  his  family  unit,  which  at  the  time  

included  Princess  Carolyn  (his  mistress,  still  married  to  a  Russian  diplomat  

unwilling  to  agree  to  divorce),  her  daughter  and  mother  at  the  Carlsbad  spa.    We  

learn  what  Wagner  was  reading  while  he  was  ‘taking  the  cure’  in  St.  Moritz  and  

where,  at  over  7,000  feet,  he  found  the  spot  he  had  previously  imagined  for  the  

second  scene  of  Das  Rheingold  (where  Fricka  and  Wotan  contemplate  Valhalla  for  

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O’Neal     August  22,  2014  

the  first  time).    How  fascinating  to  read  in  detail  of  Brahms’s  piano  playing  through  

reports  of  those  present,  and  of  his  startled  discovery  of  Schumann’s  “New  Paths”  

article  while  in  Hanover  with  Joachim.    As  it  happens,  Berlioz  was  performing  then  

in  Hanover,  too.    We  even  learn  of  some  personal  intimacies,  such  as  the  importance  

to  Wagner  of  his  dog,  of  some  of  his  romances,  and  of  Schumann’s  coded  diary  

entries  about  his  nights  of  intimacy  with  Clara.      

It  is  fascinating  to  learn  from  the  evidence  what  these  composers  thought  of  

one  another.    Even  though  Brahms  and  Berlioz  were  in  Hanover  for  twelve  

simultaneous  days,  Brahms  never  made  his  opinion  of  Berlioz  known  other  than  his  

lukewarm  comments  on  Le  Repos,  an  excerpt  from  L’enfance  du  Christ.    Clara  

Schumann  distanced  herself  from  Liszt  and  she  disliked  Berlioz,  perhaps  because  

the  latter  had  written  an  unenthusiastic  review  of  a  concert  she  gave  in  Paris  in  

1839.    It  was  Liszt,  the  socialite  and  charismatic  teacher,  who  gathered  around  him  a  

large  bevy  of  students  and  disciples.    He  was  an  incredibly  loyal  friend,  an  

impresario  of  concerts  for  his  colleagues,  a  sizzling  performer,  and  an  immensely  

prolific  composer,  but  not,  by  Berlioz’s  measure,  a  good  conductor.    Brahms  

attended  some  of  Liszt’s  student  sessions  at  the  Altenburg  in  Weimar  (now  one  of  

the  nine  buildings  of  the  Liszt  School  of  Music),  but  Liszt  gravitated  more  to  the  

Hungarian  violinist  Reményi,  at  that  time  the  young  Brahms’  performing  partner.    

No  affinity  developed  between  Brahms  and  Liszt.    Wagner’s  comments  on  Berlioz’s  

music  and  personal  qualities  were  circumspect  at  best.      

In  terms  of  range  of  talent  and  skills,  all  of  our  six  were  conductors  of  varying  

expertise.    Berlioz,  Schumann,  and  Wagner  were  prolific  authors,  and  to  a  lesser  

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extent  Liszt.    Joachim  was  the  brilliant  violinist  and  long-­‐time  performing  partner  of  

Brahms.    Of  note  is  his  transfer  of  allegiance:    first  he  was  Liszt’s  concertmaster  in  

Weimar  and  disciple  of  the  programmatic  group,  but  he  later  switched  his  loyalty  to  

Brahms  and  Schumann.    As  for  being  the  star  of  the  party,  Berlioz  and  Wagner’s  

talents  were  by  force  of  personality  and  stature;  it  was  Brahms,  Schumann,  Joachim  

and  Liszt  who  could  provide  the  live  entertainment  at  social  gatherings  and  in  

concerts.    Most  certainly  Berlioz  was  the  best  conductor;  indeed  the  success  of  his  

own  compositions  depended  on  his  substantial  conducting  skill.    

In  sum  this  is  a  tale  of  one  year,  six  renowned  musicians  and  many  more,  the  

swirl  of  momentous  events  and  interactions,  and  the  travel  and  communications  

that  sparked  their  creativity  and  careers.    With  its  skillful  unfolding  of  events  and  

detail,  Macdonald’s  book  reads,  almost  simultaneously,  as  travel  log,  documentary,  

and  novel.    Addition  of  a  timeline  would  be  helpful,  including  composers’  birth  and  

death  dates,  respective  ages  in  1853,  and  their  major  intersections.    A  glossary  of  

brief  biographies  of  the  lesser-­‐known  personalities  who  play  such  important  roles  

would  add  significantly.    Even  though  we  might  miss  detailed  inclusion  of  other  

highly  prominent  composers  of  the  era,  such  as  Mendelssohn  (who  tragically  died  at  

age  38  in  1847),  Meyerbeer  and  Verdi,  these  six  star  players  are  plenty  for  us  to  

savor.  

Often  today  we  see  composers  in  silos  as  singular  entities  influenced  by  their  

predecessors.    They  in  turn  leave  their  legacies,  almost  as  simple  as  that.    Often  

historians  believe  the  imperative  is  to  focus  on  writing  about  the  evolution  of  

musical  styles.    In  Music  in  1853,  Macdonald  has  himself  led  us,  expertly  so,  on  a  

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O’Neal     August  22,  2014  

refreshingly  “new  path,”  guiding  us  more  horizontally  than  vertically.    Here,  as  he  

says,  his  “chief  concern  is  not  with  musical  style  but  with  the  musicians  who  formed  

it”  and  he  writes  with  “a  delight  in  the  details  which  themselves  may  have  little  to  do  

with  art.”  (p.  xi).    We  watch  with  fascination  as  these  particular  and  incredible  

musicians’  lives  unfold  in  context  of  each  other.    They  were  aware  of  one  another  to  

varying  degrees  and  at  different  stages  in  their  careers.    They  attended  each  other’s  

concerts  and/or  socialized,  corresponded,  wrote  reviews  of  one  another’s  work,  

documented  their  opinions  on  the  others,  and  shared  their  scores  as  gifts  and  for  

comment.    Schumann  and  Liszt  championed  the  music  of  Brahms  and  Berlioz  and  

changed  the  course  of  history.    Joachim  jumped  ship  from  the  programmatic  music  

group  of  Liszt,  Wagner  and  Berlioz  and  aligned  himself  with  the  absolute  music  

group  represented  by  Schumann  and  Brahms.      

Indeed,  the  six  headline  dramatis  personae  within  this  brilliant  book  were  the  

engine  for  fresh  new  ideas  and  spectacular  accomplishments  at  the  height  of  the  

Romantic  era.    By  casting  a  keenly  focused  lens  on  one  year,  Macdonald’s  eminently  

readable  and  vivid  narrative  brings  this  incredibly  momentous  time  truly  to  life.    We  

as  choral  musicians  have  the  opportunity  to  connect  these  giants  and  this  era  more  

closely  to  their  music  and  our  performances  of  it.    

          Melinda  O’Neal  
          August  2014  
 
 

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