From Paris to Peoria: How European Piano Virtuosos Brought Classical Music to the American Heartland
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Author Description
It's difficult to imagine Franz Liszt performing in Peoria, but his contemporary and foremost rival, Sigismund Thalberg, did just that. During the mid-nineteenth century, Americans in more than a hundred cities--from Portland, Maine to Dubuque, Iowa to Mobile, Alabama--were treated to performances by some of Europe's most celebrated pianists. From Paris to Peoria deftly chronicles the visits of five of these pianists to the America of Mark Twain. Whether performing in small railroad towns throughout the Midwest or in gold-rush era California, these five charismatic pianists--Leopold de Meyer, Henri Herz, Sigismund Thalberg, Anton Rubinstein, and Hans von Bülow--introduced many Americans to the delights of the concert hall. With humor and insight, R. Allen Lott describes the glamour and the drudgery of the touring life, the transformation of American audiences from boisterous to reverent, and the establishment of the piano recital as a viable artistic and financial enterprise. Lott also explores the creative and sometimes outlandish publicity techniques of managers seeking to capitalize on prosperous but uncharted American markets. The result of extensive archival research, From Paris to Peoria is richly illustrated with concert programs, handbills, caricatures, and maps. A companion website, www.rallenlott.info, includes a comprehensive list of repertoires and itineraries, audio music examples, and transcriptions of selected primary sources. Certain to delight pianists, musicologists, and historians, From Paris to Peoria is an engaging, thoroughly researched, and often funny account of music and culture in nineteenth-century America.
Menrva's Summary
THE THESIS
This book investigates how European piano virtuosos during the mid-nineteenth century successfully introduced classical music to the American heartland and transformed the nation's concert culture. R. Allen Lott, a musicologist, utilizes extensive archival research to document the tours of five prominent pianists across the United States. He argues that these performers not only established the piano recital as a viable business model but also fundamentally altered the behavior and expectations of American audiences through innovative publicity and performance strategies.
THE SCOPE MAP
What You Will Find
- Detailed accounts of the touring lives of Leopold de Meyer, Henri Herz, Sigismund Thalberg, Anton Rubinstein, and Hans von Bülow.
- Analysis of nineteenth-century American concert venues, ranging from small railroad towns to gold-rush era cities.
- Examination of marketing and publicity techniques used by managers to penetrate uncharted American markets.
Scope Limits
- The study focuses specifically on the experiences of these five selected pianists rather than a comprehensive survey of all touring musicians of the era.
THE AUTHORITY PERSPECTIVE
Experts and music historians highlight this work as a meticulously researched contribution to the study of American cultural development. Readers frequently note that the prose remains accessible while providing a dense, scholarly examination of the intersection between European artistry and American frontier expansion.
Page Count:
384
Publication Date:
2003-01-01
Publisher:
Oxford University Press
ISBN-10:
0190287551
ISBN-13:
9780190287559
Biography
United States
Humanities
Pianists
Cultural History
19th Century
Music History
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