Louis Moreau Gottschalk, John Sullivan Dwight, and the Development of Musical Culture in the United States, 1853-1865 Laura Moore Pruett
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Florida State University Libraries Electronic Theses, Treatises and Dissertations The Graduate School 2007 Louis Moreau Gottschalk, John Sullivan Dwight, and the Development of Musical Culture in the United States, 1853-1865 Laura Moore Pruett Follow this and additional works at the FSU Digital Library. For more information, please contact [email protected] THE FLORIDA STATE UNIVERSITY COLLEGE OF MUSIC LOUIS MOREAU GOTTSCHALK, JOHN SULLIVAN DWIGHT, AND THE DEVELOPMENT OF MUSICAL CULTURE IN THE UNITED STATES, 1853-1865 by LAURA MOORE PRUETT A Dissertation submitted to the College of Music in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy Degree Awarded: Fall Semester, 2007 Copyright © 2007 Laura Moore Pruett All Rights Reserved The members of the Committee approve the dissertation of Laura Moore Pruett defended on 26 October 2007. ______________________________ Denise Von Glahn Professor Directing Dissertation ______________________________ Matthew Shaftel Outside Committee Member ______________________________ Douglass Seaton Committee Member The Office of Graduate Studies has verified and approved the above named committee members. ii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS This work would never have been fully realized without the help and support of many individuals. My gratitude goes to the Presser Foundation, who awarded me a grant to conduct research in New Orleans, Massachusetts, New York, and Washington, D.C., in summer 2004. The research staff in the following libraries and archives were central to locating primary source materials: the Historic New Orleans Collection, the American Antiquarian Society in Worcester, MA, the Boston Public Library, the Harvard University Archives, the Harvard Musical Association Library, the New York Public Library for Performing Arts, the New-York Historical Society, and the Library of Congress. Special thanks go to Stephanie Poxon at the Library of Congress, George Boziwick at the NYPL for Performing Arts, and Natalie Palme at the HMA Library for their exceptional assistance. Grover Baker at the Center for Popular Music at Middle Tennessee State University in Murfreesboro, Tennessee, enthusiastically helped me with some early-morning hymn research. My colleagues at the Florida State University and Middle Tennessee State University have provided support and wise words in times of great need. Fellow students James Grymes, Sarah Meredith, Sara Balduf Adams, and Stephanie Stallings were there with empathy and chocolate. I must especially acknowledge the support and words of wisdom from Jeffery and Helga Kite-Powell in Tallahassee and Stephen and Deborah Shearon, Felicia Miyakawa, and George Riordan in Murfreesboro. Thanks to Allen Lott, Michael Broyles, Dale Cockrell, Adrienne Fried Block, and in particular Katherine K. Preston for welcoming me into the small but growing group of nineteenth-century American music scholars. The members of my dissertation committee have proven their infinite patience and wisdom through the many months of slow progress and intermittent bursts of inspiration. Matthew Shaftel demonstrated a great deal of understanding about my goals and work as well as a fascinating perspective on the music of Stephen Foster. Douglass iii Seaton continually pressed me to see the larger picture of nineteenth-century music and history. Blackface minstrelsy scholar W. T. “Rip” Lhamon did me the great honor of agreeing to serve on my committee; it is my deep regret that this project was not completed until after his retirement. Denise Von Glahn has been not only my dissertation advisor but a guide and model in many ways. My respect for her scholarship and scrupulousness is equal to my admiration for her tenacity and confidence. She has helped me to recognize my motivations and ambitions, and I thank her for years of encouragement and support as a teacher and a friend. Finally, I express my deepest thanks to my family. My parents Stephen and Linda Moore have provided me with unconditional love and support throughout this challenging journey. My sisters Sherry, Allison, and Lisa have also encouraged me even when it seemed like I would never decide on a graduation date. It was especially difficult to return to work on Gottschalk in the wake of Hurricane Katrina, which affected my family in a very personal way. New Orleans has always played a significant role in my life and I would like to acknowledge all the inspiration it has given me throughout this process, especially the gastronomic type. My husband David has been my rock, my cheerleader, my therapist, and my best friend since we met as master’s students. Without him, this chapter of our story might have remained unfinished. This work is dedicated to him, to the memory of our grandparents, and to the children in our future. iv TABLE OF CONTENTS List of Musical Examples ................................................................................................. vii List of Figures......................................................................................................................x List of Tables ..................................................................................................................... xi Abstract............................................................................................................................. xii INTRODUCTION ...............................................................................................................1 1. BACKGROUND: A YEAR OF BEGINNINGS.........................................................13 10 April 1852 .........................................................................................................14 John Sullivan Dwight, 1813-1893 .........................................................................18 The Harvard Musical Association and Dwight’s Journal of Music.......................23 10 January 1853 .....................................................................................................28 Louis Moreau Gottschalk, 1829-1869 ...................................................................29 Gottschalk’s American Debut................................................................................32 2. THE CULT OF VIRTUOSITY IN AMERICA: ITALIAN OPERA AS PIANO TRANSCRIPTION ..........................................36 European Roots......................................................................................................37 Virtuosi in Europe..................................................................................38 European Pianists in America................................................................44 Gottschalk’s Bravura Works..................................................................................46 Jerusalem, op. 13 ...................................................................................49 Il Trovatore, Grand Duo di Bravura, and Miserere du Trovatore.........58 Summary ................................................................................................................67 3. FROM THE PLAYHOUSE TO THE PARLOR: THE BANJO AND BUNKER HILL.....................................................................70 Race and Class in Gottschalk’s New Orleans........................................................70 The Minstrel Show and Stephen Foster.................................................................74 Gottschalk’s Compositions ....................................................................................78 Banjo, op. 82 (Second Banjo)................................................................81 The Banjo, op. 15...................................................................................86 Bunker Hill.............................................................................................96 The Banjo Crosses Social Strata............................................................................99 Critical Perceptions..............................................................................102 Summary ..............................................................................................................107 v 4. EXOTICISM IN THE UNITED STATES AND BEYOND.....................................110 Gottschalk’s Tours in Central America ...............................................................110 The Character Piece in the Nineteenth Century...................................................112 Chopin’s Mazurkas ..............................................................................113 Gottschalk’s Exotic Compositions.......................................................................116 Souvenir de Porto Rico, Marche des gibaros, op. 31...........................116 Souvenir de la Havane, grande caprice de concert, op. 39..................123 Souvenir de Cuba, op. 75.....................................................................129 Souvenir de Lima, op. 74 .....................................................................132 The Reception of Exoticism.................................................................................138 5. NORTH VERSUS SOUTH: L’UNION AND “DIXIE’S LAND”............................145 The Civil War: Effects.........................................................................................145 Wartime Performances.........................................................................................148 “Dixie’s Land”.....................................................................................153 L’Union, op. 48....................................................................................156