Music in 1853

This book is a close chronicle of an important year in the history of music. Why 1853? Because for many leading composers of the nineteenth century this year brought far-reaching changes in their lives, and whether or not they were connected they happened within a few months of each other. Brahms emerged from obscurity to celebrity, Schumann ceased to be an active composer, and both Berlioz and Wagner became active composers again after long silences. By limiting the perspective to a single year, the narrative is able to follow the lives and actions of these composers in much greater detail than a standard biography of any individual; and by extending it to a group of musicians, their constant interconnections become the central motif of the historical process. Brahms meets Berlioz and Liszt as well as Schumann; Liszt is a constant link in every chain; Joachim is close to all of them. No one composer is at the centre of the story, but a network of musicians, all friends or at least acquaintances one of another, spread across the map of Europe from London and Paris to Leipzig and Zurich. Music in 1853 shows how musicians were now more closely connected than ever, from the constant exchange of letters (which are mostly preserved) and from the rapidly expanding railway network. The book ties geography and day-to-day events to show how international the European musical scene had become, and how the celebrities of the day were seen and perceived by audiences and critics. A larger picture emerges of a shift in musical scenery, from the world of the innocent Romanticism of Berlioz and Schumann to the more potent musical politics of Wagner, and of his antidote (as many saw him), Brahms. HUGH MACDONALD is Distinguished Professor of Music at Washington University, St Louis. He has authored books on Skryabin and Berlioz and has previously published Beethoven's Century: Essays on Composers and Themes with Boydell/URP.