Abstract
ABSTRACTThe ways in which biographers mythologize their subjects’ lives (and the way they mythologize their own lives) have long been a topic of research in life-writing. Even though several musicologists have identified mythologizing “motifs,” the mythologizing function of “death” and “resurrection” remains under-theorized in relation to musical biography. Such motifs appear in biographies of Berlioz and Liszt written during their lifetimes, beginning with the earliest biographies of the composers, which were written by a friend, the music critic Joseph d’Ortigue. The meanings of these episodes changed when they appeared in auto/biographies written towards the end of their lives: Berlioz’s Mémoires and Lina Ramann’s Franz Liszt als Künstler und Mensch (the first “official” biography of Liszt, written partly under his guidance). In both of d’Ortigue’s biographical sketches, “resurrection” is associated with the broader social regeneration taking place in Paris in the wake of the July 1830 Revolution, thereby magnifying the composers’ importance. The ability to understand and conquer death is also positioned as an integral part of the composers’ apprenticeships, further inflating and mythologizing their status as artists.
Highlights
In Autumn 1828, several French newspapers incorrectly reported the tragic news that the remarkably gifted pianist, Franz Liszt, was dead
It begins by examining the earliest biographies of the composers, written by a friend: the music critic, Joseph d’Ortigue
It considers how the meanings of these episodes had changed when they appeared in auto/biographies written towards the end of their lives: Berlioz’s Mémoires6 and Lina Ramann’s Franz Liszt als Künstler und Mensch
Summary
Death and Resurrection Motifs in Narratives of Berlioz’s and Liszt’s Lives: D’Ortigue, Ramann, and Berlioz’s Mémoires. It begins by examining the earliest biographies of the composers, written by a friend: the music critic, Joseph d’Ortigue It considers how the meanings of these episodes had changed when they appeared in auto/biographies written towards the end of their lives: Berlioz’s Mémoires and Lina Ramann’s Franz Liszt als Künstler und Mensch (the first “official” biography of Liszt, written partly under his guidance).. It considers how the meanings of these episodes had changed when they appeared in auto/biographies written towards the end of their lives: Berlioz’s Mémoires and Lina Ramann’s Franz Liszt als Künstler und Mensch (the first “official” biography of Liszt, written partly under his guidance).7 In both cases, “resurrection” is associated with the broader social regeneration taking place in Paris in the wake of the July Revolution of 1830, thereby magnifying the composers’ importance. The ability to understand and conquer death is positioned as part of the composers’ apprenticeships, further inflating and mythologizing their status as artists
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