Book Description

Notes of a Pianist chronicles the life of one of the most remarkable musical minds of the American experience, the great nineteenth-century New Orleans-born composer and pianist Louis Moreau Gottschalk (1829-1869). An important cultural and historical work, the book recounts Gottschalk's experiences as he traveled and performed throughout the last decade of his life.

Born to an English-Jewish father and a Haitian mother, Gottschalk is remembered as one of the great New Orleans musicians and composers, his music a combination of the classical tradition in which he was trained, and the New Orleans tradition into which he was born. His art form took him far outside the boundaries of Louisiana, however. While still a child, he studied piano in Paris and gave a concert at the Salle Pleyel, after which Frédéric Chopin is said to have remarked: "Give me your hand, my child; I predict that you will become the king of pianists." Gottschalk returned to the United States in 1853, and later lived in Cuba, Puerto Rico, Panama, and South America, during which time he kept-sometimes sporadically, sometimes daily--the notebooks that formed the basis of Notes of a Pianist.

Published for the first time in 1881, the book continues to resonate with American cultural and musical life. Notes of a Pianist demonstrates Gottschalk's importance not only as a reporter of the musical life and tastes of Americans during the Civil War, but also as a forefather of Louisiana's rich musical culture.

Customer Reviews (1)

Notes of an American Original
Louis Moreau Gottschalk was sometimes called the American Chopin, or the Chopin of the Creoles.He wasn't.His music, mostly piano pieces, is by turns jovial, stormy, sentimental, or lachrymose, and is a surprising blend of European, African-American, and Latin music, with plenty of quotations from American national ballads thrown in.It isn't superficial, but its appeal is frank and obvious, which is perhaps why he isn't heard often these days.If his works are absent from concert performances now, they can easily be found in recordings, and they are worth listening to.His pieces were enormously popular at the time around the Civil War.People bought his sheet music if they could not hear him.To hear him, they often did not have to go far out of their way, because Gottschalk traveled all over to give solo concerts or to organize concerts by others (sometimes Monster Concerts of 650 musicians).He was wildly popular, mostly because he worked hard to be, but he caught on as a matinee idol.It would be wonderful to hear him play; even those who objected to his compositions were amazed by his proficiency at the piano, and caricatures of him playing show hundreds of fingers flying over the keys.We can't hear him play, but we can read what he had to say about playing and about the life of a nineteenth century musical superstar in his collection of notes, diary entries, and articles that was first published eleven years after his death in 1869 and is now back in print._Notes of a Pianist: The Chronicles of a New Orleans Music Legend_ (Princeton University Press) is a delightful book.Gottschalk was masterful with words as well as with musical notes.

Gottschalk has given a funny and lively account of the travails of being an artist on the road (or rail or sea) even during war years; there are happy and frustrating encounters with the public, and stories of pleasure in performing well or doing good.He is a great complainer, often about people he sees or performs for.Another target is the pianos he has to put up with; in Panama, "The audience appears to be charmed, while I am playing on a cottage piano that I suspect was the product of an illicit union between a jew's-harp and a large kettle."But this is not the account of a peevish man; more than once he says of an annoyance something like "These things are amusing and break the monotony of our existence."He also has many times to report that in a certain concert every piece was encored, that the crowd was enthusiastic, that he has been given jeweled laurels, or a bouquet "not less than four feet in circumference."He is amused by misprints on his own playbills, and by newspaper reports of his death."I wish to speak of my death.This sad event took place at Santiago three months ago.I was carried off in three days by a frightful attack of black vomit; it is the newspaper _Savana la Grande_ that tells it; but the _Revue de Villa Clara_, without doubt better informed, makes me succumb to an aneurism of the heart, which I much prefer, the aneurism being much more poetical than the black vomit."

A journal is a perfect place for an author to record the foibles of others and of himself, but readers will find here remarkable descriptions of such problems as using the train during a time of war and having to share it with Union soldiers who are wounded or who are boisterously rude.Embarking for Norfolk, he has to pledge an oath of allegiance to the government.He was at sea off Acapulco when the captain of another steamer boarded with news, "... words like thunderbolts: 'Richmond is taken,' 'Lee has surrendered,''Lincoln has been assassinated'."He had personally played for the president years before, noting, "Lincoln is remarkably ugly, but has an intelligent air, and his eyes have a remarkable expression of goodness and mildness."He reports from the middle of a battle for Lima in a revolt in 1865.Gottschalk had an amazing life, generously shared here in one amusing and surprising page after another.He possessed enormous talents to entertain, within the concert hall and on the printed page.If you don't know his music, read his book, and then listen to, say, the merry and moving symphonic _A Night in the Tropics_.I think you'll be hooked. ... Read more

Book Description

Customer Reviews (3)

"American Chopin"
Gottschalk is a name few mention when talking about great composers, but he is equal to many who have much more name recognition.His virtuosity at the piano over-shadowed how good a composer he was.Calling him the "American Chopin" is not an exagerration.The book has some great works, but is missing a few of his masterpieces, namely "Radieuse', "La Scintilla" and the "Battle Cry of Freedom".

Ah, Gottschalk...
I sigh only because I wish I could obtain his music somehow. Unfortunately, it is not very readily available to me. I have found it here, but it's either special order or out of print, and neither is too accessible. Briefly I was able to borrow the music of this charming composer, and I enjoyed it for the short time I was able to see it. I hope can someday become reacquainted.

The FIrst American Composer
What has happened to American music patriotism?

Louis Moreau Gottschalk was probably the first American Pop Star !In the 1850's women swooned. If it were permissal to hurl their nickers on stage they would have donedo! The story goes that he was the musical Brad Pitt of the age.

This isa music book for pianists! It contains a wealth of information about thispop star in the form of notes to the music as well as the music itself (forthose who play the piano).

Dover Publications are often more userfriendly than some of the others. This publicationcontains anecdotes andcopies of the original binder covers from some of the music books firstpublished.

For pianists this is a delightful and well presented editionof an important part of American history.

There are a number ofbeautifully played CD's available. Get the book and read along with the CD.Now that is something you never thought of! ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

Precurser of Jazz Rediscovered
Here, for the first time, is a full biography of America's first great composer who, in the 1850s, anticipated ragtime and jazz by half a century. Meticulously researched and written in a lively and accessible style,the biography details the colorful life of an American original and the trail-blazing father of music in New Orleans. Of interest to anyone interested in Civil War era America or the cultural environment that gave rise to one of America's most original and authentic musics. ... Read more

Book Description
Being an American Romantic composer, Gottschalk was one of the first classically trained pianists to incorporate examples of Creole, Latin American, and Afro American dance rhythms within European musical forms. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

Famous American Creole composer
This is a fine edition of the tuneful music of Louis Moreau Gottschalk. The Banjo Player and other famous concert pieces are here. The edition stays well on the piano, compared to a thicker book by Dover, so if I am playing Gottschalk, I prefer the Schirmer. It is also easier to read the notes. ... Read more

Book Description
In a review of books on Latin American music published in 1947 the musicologist and historian Gilbert Chase wrote that Cuba was a country ?whose musical influence has been in indirect ratio to its size.?[1] From the nineteenth century, and indeed even since 1947 when Chase wrote those words, Cuban music, with its almost countless unique rhythms, instruments, melodies and forms, has become a worldwide phenomenon. It has influenced classical music, jazz, film music, Broadway, popular and dance music, and has inspired legions of fans in countries around the world as far-flung as Japan. In great measure the beginning of the world?s fascination with Cuban music can be traced to one very talented young man who went to the island as pianist and composer almost one hundred fifty years ago: Louis Moreau Gottschalk. (Read more...) ... Read more

Book Description
Louis Gottschalk (1829-1869) was the first American pianist and composer to win international fame. His creative use of the colorful and exotic musical idioms of his native New Orleans foreshadowed by some fifty years the appearance of these same influences in early jazz. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

The Facts and Some Embellishments -
On the whole this is a "good" book on an intriguing character.Loggins obviously has access to Gottschalk's personal writings, has done his homework and gives a very credible biography on a too-little appreciated American.This book will give you a fairly detailed summary of Gottschalk's life in a straight-forward, plainly written style.There are some embellishments here and there but it is pretty obvious when Loggins is giving his own spin to things (e.g. Gottschalk's Spanish venture and the subsequent damage to his hand).

If you are interested in a readable introduction to a pianist whose life and reputation are as varied and interesting as his music then this is a good place to start.

Gottschalk and his music are very representative of his time.The exuberance of life lived, in the face of ever present threat of disease (yellow fever in particular), shows forth in the passions of nationalistic pride, the charm of social courtesy in a highly stratified culture, the elegance of sophisticated conversation and cultured interaction, which never-the-less was not out of touch with the lower classes, both slave and peasant.Gottschalk's life makes plain that culture can and must recognize social stratification in the context of mutual respect.It argues for the possibility of degrees of sophistication without elitism.We hear that in his music, as the complexity of rhythm and velocity demand the highest levels of virtuosity, yet the melodies are rooted in the common and even elemental strands in the social fabric.His was a life of liberty and his music is democratic to its roots.

In its own way, this book communicates some notion of these things, yet, it could have risen a bit higher than it does.The facts are there but helpful analysis and insights would have broadened its impact.The simplicity of the language and diction somewhat even argue against what Gottschalk's life and music contributed.It lacks elegance and if there is anything we can say about Gottschalk, it must be that in him and his music, elegance was not lacking.

It's a good book. ... Read more

Book Description

Book Description
Louis Moreau Gottschalk was an American original. A spellbinding piano virtuoso, he was America's first internationally recognized composer, whose "classical" works received accolades from Hector Berlioz and Victor Hugo, and whose arch-romantic melodies became for Americans the standard expressions of common emotions.Perhaps most important, his immensely popular Louisiana and Caribbean pieces--such as Danza, Pasquinade, or Bamboula--anticipated ragtime by fifty years. Indeed, the colorful and exotic textures of Gottschalk's music establish him at the head of what is today the mainstream of popular American culture.In Bamboula!, S. Frederick Starr presents an authoritatively researched, engagingly written biography of America's first authentic musical voice. Starr paints for us a striking portrait of Gottschalk's childhood in 1830s New Orleans, a city madly devoted to music, where opera companies, music halls, fiddlers and banjo-pickers, church choirs, and Army bands all contributed to what Starr calls "the most stunning manifestation of Jacksonian democracy in the realm of culture to be found anywhere in America." We meet Gottschalk's African-American nurse Sally, who regaled him with the creole songs, legends, and lore of her native Haiti, which would inform some of his finest music. We travel with Gottschalk to Paris, where he was a sensation, playing in fashionable salons for the likes of Lamartine, Gautier, and Dumas; and we join his flight from the Revolution of 1848 to a town north of Paris, where he composed his first great works--Bamboula, La Savane, Le Bananier, and Le Mancenillier--all published over the name "Gottschalk of Louisiana." Starr describes Gottschalk's successful return to New York City in the early 1850s, where he enjoyed a degree of popularity never before accorded to an American performer or composer, becoming our first homegrown concert idol. But Starr also examines the life-long struggle between the Catholic Gottschalk and earnest Protestant champions of "serious" music, a battle that pitted the austere values of northern Europe against the brighter sensibilities of Paris, Louisiana, and the West Indies.Based on extensive research, including hundreds of letters written by Gottschalk (in French, Spanish, and English) which are used here for the first time, Bamboula! illuminates an exotic but tragic life, as well as one of the most democratic phases of American cultural life, a world of bustling impresarios and America's first bohemian circle. A major biography in every sense, it will help reestablish Gottschalk's place in American musical history. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (4)

Fine work, couple of negatives
Starr's research as other reviewers have mentioned was done well.Starr gives fine historical background to the many places Gottschalk lived.Details of the composer's life also are explained in specifics.My fault with this work-from a pianist point of view, is the author gives no insight to how Gottschalk became one of the five greatest pianists of the 19th century, in same ranks with Chopin, Listz, Thalberg.Starr makes no effort to show how Gottschalk practiced, and how he could keep up his incredible technique stills while traveling so much.He descibes Gottschalk's early training in Paris, but after that barely mentions how Gottschalk took his piano skills to the highest in world.Another problem I had is the author often went into little depth on how Gottschalk composed.Some of his great works are given a passing sentence and left at that, with little, and often no musical analysis of any piece. In fact, one won't find a musical staff in the whole book.One of his finest little caprices "Suis Moi" ("Follow Me"), isn't even listed in the book.I understand the composer wrote over 100 pieces, depth cannot be given to too many, but essentially there was none of this for any piece-say for except a couple.
Some of this might stem from the biographer himself not being a pianist, and not a composer (at least one of any distinction). Perhaps Starr lacked the neccessary insight for more musical opinions, or perhaps too much of Gottschalk's life is still relatively unknown.I'll perhaps give a pass to author on the latter point, and give book 4 stars because it is the best biography on him yet written.

Bamboozelled!
While I must agree with the other reviews, that Starr certainly does include a lot of references, just 40 pages into this tome - that's less than 10% - I am painfully aware of two things:

1. The constant stretch toEXPLAIN everything (hisfather's family's roots came via Germany and England - THEREFORE, LMG never played there).

2. A great deal of FACT is"debunked" in thiseffort.For instance, one instance, hesaysCongo Square never held slave dances duringGottschalk's time. Well, Benjamin Latrobevisited in 1819 and specifically sought out this attraction (for it was an attraction eventhen), he even goes togreat length to describethe instruments, the drumming, dancing, singing and "savagry" (see "Louisiana Sojourns" and"Congo Square in New Orleans").

Let us not lose history in aneffort to explain.Use all the facts, not just those which serve yourpurpose.

Unfortunately - I now do not believe every conclusion and"fact" in the entire 450+ page tome!

This is very unfortunate. I loved Starr's "Southern Comfort" and use it often.My adviceis unless you have years to sort out all the half-truths here, you shouldskip Bamboula!

Facinating examination of a most underrated composer
If you've listened to just ONE Gottschalk composition, then you're ready to travel to the 19th century Louisana Bayou and follow young Louis Moreau to Europe and South America.This book is a detailed and engaging look atone of the world's most underrated composers and performers; one whoundertood the importance of getting into communication with the audience.BOBMAKAROWSKI@HOTMAIL.COM

Interesting, well-researched, insightful.Read it.
One doesn't have to read far into S. Frederic Starr's biography of Louis Moreau Gottschalk to learn three things.First, that the author pursued more leads and sifted through more material than anyone else thus far inthe search for information about this musical legend.Second, that Mr.Starr just adores Gottschalk's music and wishes you would, too.And third,that it's a darn shame there aren't more editors in the publishing businessthese days.Overall an illuminating and enjoyable book, Bamboula! coversmore details about Gottschalk's concert programs and love for his motherthan is perhaps necessary, but one can only admire the biographer'spersistance in researching and writing this book.His descriptions of themusical institutions and leaders of the middle of the last century,particularly, reveal much about our musical tastes today.The materialmight perhaps have been conveyed more effectively with fewer adjectives,but that's a stylistic quibble.A major flaw, though, is the lack of adiscography.Mr. Starr refers to several compositions of Gottschalk's,noting that certain performances of them are inadequate.But how is thereader to judge - or to enjoy any of this marvelous music -if there is noguide to what is available on recordings?Readers of this type ofsemi-scholarly book are more likely to buy a CD than to order a score andanalyze it, aren't they?Anyway, I recommend this book to anyone whowishes to learn more about music and culture in 19th-century America. ... Read more

Book Description
This digital document is an article from Notes, published by Music Library Association, Inc. on December 1, 1995. The length of the article is 841 words. The page length shown above is based on a typical 300-word page. The article is delivered in HTML format and is available in your Amazon.com Digital Locker immediately after purchase. You can view it with any web browser.

Citation Details
Title: Bamboula! The Life and Times of Louis Moreau Gottschalk.
Author: D.W. Krummel
Publication: Notes (Refereed)
Date: December 1, 1995
Publisher: Music Library Association, Inc.
Volume: v52Issue: n2Page: p476(2)

Article Type: Book Review

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Book Description
A native of New Orleans, Louis Moreau Gottschalk (1829-1869) is widely acknowledged as the leading American piano virtuoso of the 19th century and as a composer of major significance, particularly in his ability to capture his contemporary public's taste while incorporating European, African-American, Caribbean, and South American influences. His recitals and "monster concerts" took this fusion of styles to hundreds of thousands of audience members internationally. Containing well over 500 annotated bibliographic citations and detailed information about Gottschalk's 300 compositions, this bio-bibliography represents the first major reference work on America's leading composer and concert artist of the 1800s. The volume presents a brief biography containing an assessment of his contributions to American music, as well as complete information on publication, dedications, notable performances, and sound recordings for each of Gottschalk's compositions, followed by comprehensive bibliographic material useful for student, scholar, and musician alike. ... Read more

Book Description
This digital document is an article from Notes, published by Music Library Association, Inc. on June 1, 1994. The length of the article is 1211 words. The page length shown above is based on a typical 300-word page. The article is delivered in HTML format and is available in your Amazon.com Digital Locker immediately after purchase. You can view it with any web browser.

Citation Details
Title: The Complete Published Songs of Louis Moreau Gottschalk with a Selection of Other Songs of Mid-Nineteenth-Century America.
Author: Nicholas E. Tawa
Publication: Notes (Refereed)
Date: June 1, 1994
Publisher: Music Library Association, Inc.
Volume: v50Issue: n4Page: p1579(2)

Article Type: Book Review

Distributed by Thomson Gale ... Read more

Book Description
This scarce antiquarian book is included in our special Legacy Reprint Series. In the interest of creating a more extensive selection of rare historical book reprints, we have chosen to reproduce this title even though it may possibly have occasional imperfections such as missing and blurred pages, missing text, poor pictures, markings, dark backgrounds and other reproduction issues beyond our control. Because this work is culturally important, we have made it available as a part of our commitment to protecting, preserving and promoting the world's literature. ... Read more

Product Description
17 pp. ... Read more