Jenny Lind, Harriet Grote and Elite Music Patronage in Early Victorian London

Abstract

ABSTRACTThis article explores the patronage relationship between Harriet Grote and Jenny Lind during the latter's visits to London in 1847, 1848 and 1849. Aiming to highlight the often neglected affective dimensions of individual music patronage in this period, it discusses Grote's activities as Lind's agent and chaperone as well as her efforts to support Lind in more personal ways and to create a home-like environment for her. It is argued that Grote's varied roles as Lind's patron should be interpreted in the context of an intense personal interest in the singer, and are characterized by a complex combination of public and private types of support. These, in turn, correspond to public and private music practice as settings for patronage, revealing the interdependence of these two modes of music-making in the period, especially in the case of elite music culture.