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Home , Anton Reicha, Aristide Farrenc, Ignaz Moscheles, Johann Nepomuk Hummel, Louise Farrenc

Farrenc, Louise

are able to tread, then we admire all the more the strict studies, objective principles and choice sagacity that ha- ve been able to lead her there." (Thérèse Wartel in: Revue et Gazette musicale de Paris, 31.3.1850, p. 108 (Reviews of the world premiere of the Nonet, Op. 38) (author's translation).

Profile

Louise Farrenc is notable for her versatility, on the one hand, and also for a high degree of independence. In al- most all of her various areas of activity, especially as a composer and researcher, she followed paths that were independent from the general current of Parisian musi- cal life in the context of which she worked.

Cities an countries

Louise Farrenc lived and worked in Paris, France. In 1832, she embarked on a concert tour to England; se- veral of her works were also published in England and . Beyond these, no activities outside of Paris are known. Louise Farrenc. Portrait von Luigi Rubio (1835) Biography

Louise Farrenc Jeanne-Louise Dumont was born on 31 May 1804 in Pa- Birth name: Jeanne-Louise Dumont ris. She received her first instruction in and solfège beginning in 1810; from 1819 she took lessons in harm- * 31 May 1804 in Paris, Frankreich ony from , most likely privately. In 1821 she † 15 September 1875 in Paris, Frankreich married the flutist and music publisher ; after an interruption, Louise Farrenc resumed her stu- Composer, , piano teacher, piano professor, dies with Reicha and extended her subjects to include researcher. harmony, and as well as orchestrati- on. The first numbered works of Louise Farrenc were "L’apparition d’une œuvre sérieuse excite certainement printed by her husband's publishing house in 1822 and toujours un intérêt puissant; mais lorsque son auteur se 1825. She occasionally took lessons from Hummel and trouve être une femme qui, dédaignant les succès faciles Moscheles. Victorine Farrenc was born in 1826; she recei- prodigués à des compositions frivoles, regarde comme ved musical instruction from her mother and became a une sainte mission de demeurer l’apôtre de la vraie pianist. In 1842 Louise Farrenc became professor of pia- croyance du bon goût, et marche le pied ferme et la tête no at the Paris Conservatoire; she held this position for haute dans le sentier difficile que peu d’hommes savent 30 years. In 1861 and 1869 she was awarded the "Prix Ch- parcourir aujourd’hui, nous admirons autant la sévérité artier", the prize awarded by the Acadé- d’études, l’austérité de principes que l’intelligence d’élite mie des Beaux-Arts. During the years 1861-1872 the editi- qui a pu la conduire jusque là." on "Trésor des pianistes" was published; this was a 23-vo- lume anthology containing piano music ranging from "A new serious work surely always attracts a great deal of Frescobaldi to Bartholdy. When Aris- attention; but when its author proves to be a woman who tide Farrenc died in 1865, Louise Farrenc continued wor- spurns the easy successes of superficial compositions king on the edition alone. She died on 15 August 1875 in and who regards it as a sacred mission to act as an apost- Paris. le of true faith and good taste, walking, with firm steps More on Biography and head held high, the difficult path that few men today

– 1 – Farrenc, Louise

Jeanne-Louise Dumont was born on 31 May 1804 as the "Trente Etudes dans tous les tons majeurs et mineurs" second of three children in Paris. Her parents were Ma- (Op. 26) is remarkable. Whereas contemporary women rie Louise Elisabeth Curton and Jacques-Edme Dumont, composers composed mostly songs with piano accompa- sculptor and winner of the Rome Prize. The family, niment, choral music and piano works suitable for the sa- which had brought forth prominent painters and sculp- lon, Louise Farrenc soon placed orchestral compositions tors for generations, lived in the artists' housing estate at and chamber works for larger ensembles (two , the Sorbonne, where approximately 30 artists working a sextet, a nonet) at the central focus of her work. At the for the government lived with their families. Louise Du- age of 30, she composed her two concert ; se- mont grew up in a liberal environment there, enjoying al- ven years later, she composed the first of a total of three ready in her childhood a vital cultural life with wide-ran- . ging educational offerings and possibilities for develop- Having become better known through the growing num- ment. At the age of six she received lessons in piano and ber of public performances during the course of the solfège from the Clementi pupil Anne Elisabeth Cécile So- 1830s as pianist, composer and pedagogue, she became ria. At age fifteen she received instruction in harmony professor of piano at the Paris Conservatoire in 1842, tea- from Anton Reicha, professor of the subjects of counter- ching in this capacity for 30 years. A number of her fema- point and fugue at the Paris Conservatoire. Her marriage le pupils later made names for themselves as to the flutist and music publisher Aristide Farrenc and piano teachers. During the 1840s there followed per- (1794-1865) in 1821 at the age of 17 in no way signified formances of her symphonies, for which she was depen- the end of her education. Following an interruption due dent on the cooperation of and conductors. to a journey undertaken by the couple within France toge- Twice, in 1861 and 1869, Louise Farrenc was awarded ther, she resumed her lessons with Reicha, extending the "Prix Chartier" by the Académie des Beaux-Arts for them to include the subjects of counterpoint, fugue and her chamber music oeuvre. She had ended her composi- instrumentation. It is not unequivocally clear from the tional activity towards the end of the 1850s, however, sources, but Louise Farrenc was apparently a private pu- possibly after the death of her daughter Victorine. From pil of Reicha: there is no proof that she studied at the 1861 until 1872, Louise Farrenc published (with her hus- Conservatoire and, according to the study regulations in band until his death) the "Trésor des pianistes", a 23-vo- the nineteenth century, women were only permitted to ta- lume comprehensive anthology of piano music of the kes courses in harmony (" et accompagnement 16th to 19th centuries that proved groundbreaking for pratique"), not the subjects belonging to an actual study the revival and performance practice of Early Music. programme in composition. Farrenc's education, howe- Louise Farrenc taught at the Conservatoire until 1872 ver, did correspond to the structure and level of require- and died on 15 September 1875 in Paris. ments of the institutional study programme in compositi- Appreciation on at the Conservatoire. Moreover, Louise Farrenc also took piano lessons from and Louise Farrenc was compositionally productive and ver- , two virtuoso composers who were very satile, continuously nurtured her technique and style, popular in Paris. Nothing is known, however, of the preci- and had a decidedly professional self-conception as a se extent and period of this instruction. Hummel was composer. She is one of the few women composers who well acquainted with the Farrencs, and Aristide Farrenc composed chamber music for large ensembles and or- accepted several of his compositions in his publisher's ca- chestral works, and this not merely contrary to the fema- talogue from 1825 onwards. The Farrencs' only daughter, le understanding of one's role, but also against the domi- Victorine Farrenc, was born in 1826; instructed by her nating preferences of Parisian musical life. mother, she became an outstanding pianist and also com- More on Appreciation posed. She fell ill in 1849, however, and died already in 1859. Louise Farrenc was compositionally productive and ver- The pianist Louise Farrenc began her compositional de- satile, continuously nurtured her technique and style, velopment with works for her own instrument, the pia- and had - unlike other women musicians of her time - a no: primarily variation cycles, rondos and character pie- decidedly professional self-conception as a composer. As ces. Alongside these, four collections of etudes were writ- a contemporary of the Mendelssohn siblings and of Clara ten. The first of these, composed in 1838 and entitled and , Chopin and Liszt, Louise Farrenc

– 2 – Farrenc, Louise represented, together with few other composers in Fran- Reception ce (e.g. Félicien David, Henri Reber, Charles Dancla and Adolphe Blanc) a classical-romantic musical direction Louise Farrenc's printed works were not only issued in connected with the German compositional tradition; in France, but also in Germany and England in many cases. Paris, orientated as it was on and salon music, she Her symphonies and overtures remained unpublished. moved in a direction apart from that of the mainstream Nonetheless, in some cases, several contemporary perfor- of musical life with her instrumental works. Unlike in mances of the orchestral compositions can be verified, al- Germany, where instrumental music had earned consi- so in European countries outside France. In Paris, Loui- derably greater respect compared with vocal music since se Farrenc was highly esteemed by the critics both as a Viennese and the symphonies of Beethoven, pianist and as a composer. In the Parisian specialist and had set new standards for the following generation press, one regularly finds several concert reviews per ye- of composers, in Paris it was still opera that was the sole ar during the 1840s and 1850s. medium in which a composer could achieve fame and in Louise Farrenc was almost completely forgotten for which a composer had to prove himself. The genre traditi- about 100 years after her death. Her rediscovery during on of , sonata, , etc. had been in- the 1980s was primarily initiated by the dissertation of terrupted here since the French Revolution, leaving a Bea Friedland, and encouraged through two new areas of lack of models for composers in their own country. The research: musicological research on gender and women's numerous, mostly privately organised orchestral and issues and the scholarly confrontation with French or- chamber music societies allowed unlimited precedence chestral and chamber music between 1800 and 1870. To- to German-Austrian composers. The Conservatoire or- day, the compositional production of Louise Farrenc is chestra, too, the famous Société des concerts du Conser- accessible to a large extent, in printed editions and CD re- vatoire, had expressly dedicated itself to the cultivation cordings. of the Beethoven symphonies. Georges Onslow, Louise More on Reception Farrenc and a few other composers ensured that so-cal- led "musique sérieuse" continued to exist at all in France The distribution of the works of Louise Farrenc was con- before Camille Saint-Saëns founded the Société nationa- siderable during her lifetime. Of the 49 known works wi- le de musique in 1871. Going hand in hand with the need th opus numbers, 41 were printed (piano and chamber for demarcation resulting from the Franco-Prussian works); in many cases, a parallel edition in England or War, the efforts towards the formation of national music Germany was also published alongside the original Fren- styles and the equation of mentality and musical aest- ch edition. In addition, several works without opus num- hetics, a specific French instrumental music was encoura- bers and adaptations of works by other composers appea- ged and propagated by the composers who joined forces red in print. Numerous works were reprinted shortly af- here. This kind of thinking was still foreign to Louise Far- ter Farrenc's death, in 1876, by Leduc in Paris. Perfor- renc. As a composition pupil of Anton Reicha, who hai- mances of the (unprinted) symphonies and overtures are led from Bohemia and was trained in and , verifiable in France, and also sporadically in Denmark, and as an outstanding expert on Beethoven, Mozart and Belgium and Switzerland. Haydn, she stood entirely in the spirit of a universal Eu- Contemporary reviewers continually recognised and app- ropean musical language. Thus Farrenc's style is indeb- reciated the compositions of Louise Farrenc. Her piano ted to Viennese classicism on the one hand, and reveals works were praised as individual and substantial alongsi- itself to be completely independent of the currents and de the mass production of variation cycles and music for fashions of Parisian musical life, of her immediate envi- virtuosos. Robert Schumann wrote about the "Air russe ronment (at least in the orchestral and chamber music) varié" Op. 17 as follows: on the other hand. Also, it should be taken into conside- ration that important works of the German classical re- "These are small, neat, sharp studies, perhaps still comp- ception must have been unknown to the composer: the leted under her teacher's watchful eye, but so certain in symphonies of Felix Mendelssohn were played in Paris their outline, so judicious in their realisation, so finished, from 1842 onwards, but 's and Robert in a word, that one must become fond of them - all the Schumann's orchestral and chamber music was unk- more so because a very gentle romantic fragrance wafts nown in Paris until the 1850s. over them." (In: Neue Zeitschrift für Musik, Vol. 5, No.

– 3 – Farrenc, Louise

16, 23 August 1836). in two regards. On the one hand, women had a difficult ti- me of things in regard to institutions in France as well: The Etudes, Op. 26, most interesting from today's per- for example, women in the were not allo- spective, were extensively discussed in the specialist wed to participate in the competition for the "Prix de Ro- press and elevated to the status of official teaching mate- me", the most important French composition competiti- rial in the conservatories of Paris, Brussels and Bologna. on (Lili Boulanger was the first woman to win the prize The orchestral and chamber music of Louise Farrenc was in 1913). The decision to award Louise Farrenc the "Prix greeted and highly esteemed as "musique sérieuse" by Chartier", however, was twice to the detriment of several many critics. Her particular successes included the world male competitors. On the other hand, Louise Farrenc premiere of the Symphony No. 3, Op. 36 in 1849 in one had composed no more chamber music since 1857; the of the subscription concerts of the legendary Société des last compositions (Opp. 44, 45 and 46) had appeared in concerts du Conservatoire and, in 1850, the world pre- print in 1861 and 1863. Nonetheless, her works were still miere of the Nonet, Op. 38 with the participation of the so visible to the jury in 1869 that she received the "Prix then nineteen-year-old "miracle" violinist Joseph Joa- Chartier" a second time. chim. Together with the Flute Trio, Op. 45, these were From her final years, only sporadic performances of Far- amongst the most frequently performed works of Far- renc's works are known; after her death, the Trio, Op. 45 renc during her lifetime. The special status of Louise Far- was played once again in Paris, and the music publisher renc as a composer of orchestral works and chamber mu- Alphonse Leduc issued reprints of a number of original sic not merely in 19th-century France, but also as a wo- editions around 1876, especially chamber music and the man, was constantly perceived in the press and repeated- piano etudes. Farrenc was almost completely forgotten, ly mentioned explicitly (see below, “Zeitgenössische Lite- however: she had no descendents who cultivated her me- ratur”). In France, too, it was by no means self-evident mory, and her name was not linked to that of any other that women composed orchestral works, but it was tho- famous musician. The main reason for the disappearan- roughly respected and apparently regarded with a cer- ce of Farrenc from public consciousness, however, must tain pride, as the correspondent of the "Allgemeine Musi- have been that French orchestral and chamber music of kalische Zeitung" reported from Paris: the first half of the 19th century attracted little interest in musical life and in scholarship. It was only the publicati- "Madame Farrenc, about whose ingenious compositions on of the dissertation on Farrenc by Bea Friedland in I have already often had the opportunity to report, comp- 1980, as well as two monographs on Parisian concert life leted a second large symphony some time ago, which she and chamber music between 1820 and 1870 (by Jeffrey had performed at a concert on 3 May. There was a very Cooper in 1983 and Joël-Marie Fauquet in 1986, see “Li- substantial success once again, and the French like very teratur”) that set in motion a new reception of the works much to imagine that they have, alongside their famous of Louise Farrenc. Sand, a woman composer as well whose artistic value is Numerous printed editions have appeared since then, in- in no way inferior to that of the authoress.“ (Allgemeine cluding a scholarly edition in several volumes of the or- Musikalische Zeitung, Vol. 48, 12 August 1846, column chestral and chamber music as well as selected piano 547). works. Some of the most important compositions have been recorded on CD several times. Despite numerous The patronising (if not suspicion or even malice) towards performances of the chamber music and also of the or- women composers or concertising women instrumenta- chestral works of Louise Farrenc in Germany, Switzer- lists often fostered in German music journals cannot be land and sporadically in France, it cannot yet be said that found in the French press. Nonetheless, upon closer ob- the composer occupies a permanent place in the concert servation of many reviews, a gender-specific considerati- repertoire. on of Louise Farrenc becomes visible, for example in the Repertoire timidity of the authors to utter objective criticism wi- thout gallant mitigation and beating about the bush. As a pianist, Louise Farrenc primarily performed her The distinction of the "Prix Chartier" on two occasions own chamber works in public. Her piano works, on the (1861 and 1869), the chamber music prize of the Acadé- other hand, are found less frequently in concert program- mie des Beaux-Arts, is to be regarded as a special success mes. During the course of her work on the piano antholo-

– 4 – Farrenc, Louise

gy "Le Trésor des pianistes", she occupied herself intensi- ces will be found on a larger scale. All the more desirable, vely with the ornamentation practice of composers for therefore, would be further analyses of her works, also the and organised concert programmes at compared to other compositions that may have served as the so-called "Séances historiques" with piano music ran- models or which were composed under similar conditi- ging from Frescobaldi to Mendelssohn Bartholdy. ons. The role of Louise Farrenc in Parisian musical life and the classification of her compositional oeuvre in the More on Repertoire context of the history of composition would thus be more Concert reviews in the contemporary press show that precisely recorded. Louise Farrenc performed works of Beethoven, Hummel, Authority control Dussek (Piano ) and Hieronymus Payer (the tea- cher of Leopoldine Blahetka, with whom Louise Farrenc Virtual International Authority File (VIAF): performed) in concerts alongside her own works. In 1855 http://viaf.org/viaf/49421779 she played figured bass at a concert with arias of Georg Deutsche Nationalbibliothek (GND): Friedrich Händel and Leonardo Leo. http://d-nb.info/gnd/116410132 No more comprehensive repertoire is verifiable beyond Library of Congress (LCCN): that, but it is highly probable. Not only the catalogue of http://lccn.loc.gov/n83005081 the private library of Aristide Farrenc, but also his publis- Author(s) her's catalogue accounts for extensive collections of sco- res (see”Quellen” and “Literatur”), and we know from let- Christin Heitmann, Die Grundseite wurde im Februar ters that Louise Farrenc played a major role in her hus- 2004 verfasst. band's publishing transactions by playing the works to Editing status be edited, for example. Finally, she was involved in the editorial work of the extensive piano anthology "Le Tré- Editorial staff: Sophie Fetthauer sor des pianistes", and after the death of her husband, First edit 26/05/2004 she was the sole editor of the still missing volumes from Last edit 27/11/2018 1865 until 1872. In the so-called "Séances historiques", which were organised from 1861 onwards to accompany mugi.hfmt-.de the appearance of the “Trésor” volumes, Louise Farrenc Forschungsprojekt an der no longer participated as pianist but had her pupils per- Hochschule für Musik und Theater Hamburg form. The piano literature from Frescobaldi, Bach, the Projektleitung: Prof. Dr. Beatrix Borchard Bach sons and , Haydn, Mozart and Harvestehuder Weg 12 Beethoven to Mendelssohn Bartholdy is contained in bo- D – 20148 Hamburg th the edition and in the accompanying concerts.

Research

The current status of research on Louise Farrenc is repre- sented in the dissertation (2004) and the catalogue of works (2005) by Christin Heitmann.

Need for Research

Regarded in light of their time and place of composition, the compositions of Louise Farrenc reveal an astonishing mixture of orientation on classical models and creative vi- tality and independence, together with an independence, no less astonishing, from her immediate musical environ- ment. The few existing biographical sources unfortunate- ly provide little information about Farrenc's self-concepti- on as a composer or about her creative compositional processes, and it is highly improbable that further sour-

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