Sir Arthur Sullivan His Life And Music
Purchase of this book includes free trial access to www.million-books.com where you can read more than a million books for free. This is an OCR edition with typos. Excerpt from book: CHAPTER III LIFE AT LEIPZIG Sullivan bade farewell to the Royal Academy and its happy associations in the autumn of 1858, and went to Leipzig well provided with letters of introduction. The mere fact, however, that he was the first Mendelssohn scholar was in itself a matter of interest, and sufficient to secure him a very friendly welcome, although in musical circles there was a certain prejudice against Mendelssohn and his works, even as there is to-day among those who see with only one eye. At Leipzig Sullivan found himself in a new world of art. Composers practically unknown in this country were attracting to themselves the ardent admiration of the musical enthusiasts of Germany. The theories of Wagner had made themselves felt in the land; Schumann was influencing the younger generation as much by his w
...ritings as his compositions; and the genius of Schubert was looming large on the horizon. Such a quick and appreciative mind as Sullivan possessed would instinctively recognise the great gap that had to be bridged between the musical thought he had left behind him and the new phase of art which confronted him at the Conservatorium. It will be seen in the letters which we reproduce that he quickly identified himself with the spirit of the new movement, and that, unconsciously, he adopted a tone of boyish conceit when speaking of the position and attitude of musical MENDELSSOHN SCHOLAR 27 England. But such flights are pardonable in the young, and as a rule are due to enthusiasm rather than priggish- ness. There is no doubt that musical thought at Leipzig was much superior to that of London. The heads of our one important teaching institution were insensible to the influences which were making themselves felt on the Continent For half a century we had stood still. ...
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