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Phone: 212-860-5541 * Fax: 917-677-8247
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Price: $400.00 |
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MINT CONDITION |
ANTOINE FRANCOIS MARMONTEL - PIANIST |
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Scarce four page letter by the Grandfather of the French piano school, no place, 1887. The legendary teacher (1816-1898) writes to a female colleague about the recent changes at the Conservatoire in his department and alludes to his own retirement. Dear Madame: I will be revolutionary and travel by the 7:30 train to spend a few moments more in your affectionate company. I thought you might be unaware of the strange and indescribable process which the administration of the Conservatory of the beautiful arts reward the reliable and exceptional successes in my class. They awarded five premier prizes in the last two years. Three of my old first prizes have been named as replacements for the teachers Couppey, Mathias and Madame Massart. The applicants wish for a 4th vacancy and that will be my retirement. I do not want to think of it anymore as it gives me bad thoughts and tears at the heart of this artist….. Marmontel was a legend in the piano World, more specifically in Paris. A pupil of Zimmermann; in 1832, he took the premier place in piano at the Conservatoire. After a touring career, he settled as a professor of solfeggio at the Conservatoire in 1837, taking over Zimmermann’s position as head of the piano department there in 1848. This came as a great blow to Charles-Valentin Alkan, with whom Marmontel had spent some time as a pupils, as he desperately wanted the position and had implored George Sand to even interject herself into the conversation. Auber chose Marmontel, with Alkan third in line for the position. Marmontel held court at the Conservatoire until 1848 teaching and influencing an amazing group of composers and pianists including, Albéniz, Bizet, Debussy, Diemer, D’Indy, Dubois, Ducharme, Fissot, Gagnon, Guiraud, MacDowell, Niemann, Paladilhe, Pierné, Planté and Joszef Wieniawski to name a few. A friend of Chopin’s, he never studied with him but had many opportunities to watch him play and some of the best writings on Chopin’s technique comes from Marmontel’s seminal work, Les Pianistes Célèbres. He also edited 4 volumes of Chopin’s works among his many books. Marmontel wrote extensive solo works for piano, as well as exercises and was reputed to work a minimum of 11 hours per day well into his later years. Marmontel discusses the retirements of pianists Félix le Couppey (1811-1887) who retired from the Conservatoire in 1886, Georges Mathias (1826-1910) who actually retired in 1893 but cut his responsibilities in 1887 and Louise Anglaë Massart (1827-1887) who died while still on staff of the Conservatoire. It would then make sense that this letter was written in 1887 at the time of Marmontel’s retirement. His pupil Louis Diémer would take over for him and become the Father of the French school of pianism. A rare letter, unusual for Marmontel, as it has great content!
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