Berlioz: Past, Present, Future: Bicentenary Essays (review)

Abstract

Berlioz. Past, Present, Future. Bicentenary Essays. Edited by Peter Bloom. (Eastman Studies in Music.) Rochester, NY: University of Rochester Press, 2003. [xviii, 212 p. ISBN 158046-047-X. $70.]. Music examples, illustrations, index. Hector Berliox's bicentennial in 2003 witnessed a large number of celebrations. Besides exhibitions, festivals, concert series, and opera productions around the world, official conferences-including those initiated by the Comite International Hector Herlioz-had already started by 2001, considering and reconsidering every topic imaginable, referring to the composer and context, music, personality, reception in different countries, relationships to other composers, artists, and writers. At the beginning of this series of conferences was the one at Smith College; its papers are presented in this volume, edited the highest scholarly accuracy by Peter Bloom. Among the myriad of publications emanating from this jubilee, the present tome is worth considering for some new and uncommon perspectives on research. It focuses foremost on historical context, starting and times, then looking at understanding of history and earlier music, as well as presence in the musical world around 1900 and even today. The authors that Bloom presents in this volume generally avoid the popular type of and . papers which discuss who influenced and who was influenced by him. Only one article refers to this type of topic, but does so in a very individual way. The title is Berlioz's Berlioz, and autobiographical writings in mind, one cannot negate the impression that this reflection upon and Berlioz may be the only appropriate approach to the composer. This article comes from the Sigmund Freud biographer and Yale historian Peter Gay. His article undertakes an investigation of personality as the composer himself defined it, focusing on attitude towards women, politics, and art. Gay's most striking thesis is obsessive pursuit of chosen artistic path. belief was fueled by an amazingly strong selfconsciousness and a love of music that can only be understood as a reflection of love for himself. Moreover, this love of music was erotic: Gay discovers that, according to descriptions in the memoirs, his appetite for composing came along physical passion when he was twelve (p. 8). The fight for art, as wanted to have this term understood, was a fight for own existence. In a letter, confessed that he would fight for success with teeth and through gates that refuse to open. And he concluded, bitter awareness of possibly useless undertaking, that it is possible that the day [of success] will come when I have no longer teeth and nails (p. 5). Gay points out that obsessive approach to the arts was nourished by opposition that came not only from the public, but also from family. Opposing father's insistence on becoming a physician was a critical challenge that seemed to leave no choice between abandoning ideals or dying of hunger. political and contemporary awareness of political altitudes interest a number of contributors. This topic is extremely complex and requires further basic research as Bloom appropriately states in foreword. It has even become a matter of current politics. When the French government declared in 2000 its intention to translate remains to the Pantheon, many expressed concern about seeming appreciation for Napoleonic imperialism. As a result, the year 2003 passed without accomplishing this overdue gesture of honor. This incident-as a matter of collective consciousness of historical and current political values and strategies-forms the background of Katherine Kolb's article. She extracts political views by analyzing some of major fictional stories and their autobiographical references. …