Identifier: moderncomposerso00elso (find matches)
Title: Modern composers of Europe : being an account of the most recent musical progress in the various European nations, with some notes on their history, and critical and biographical sketches of the contemporary musical leaders in each country
Year: 1905 (1900s)
Authors: Elson, Arthur, 1873-1940
Subjects: Composers
Publisher: Boston : L.C. Page
Contributing Library: Harold B. Lee Library
Digitizing Sponsor: Brigham Young University

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ng too obtrusive. His is a true musical development, founded onrational lines. A warm admirer of Bach, Beethoven,Mozart, and other classicists, he can still under-stand and appreciate Liszt and other modern tone-poets. But he has not, like some of them, thrownover the older melodic simplicity to struggle fran-tically in the sea of tone that gushed forth at Bay-reuth and inundated the world. When comparedwith the meaningless ravings of some of the latter-day French harmony-jugglers, his works show themost exquisite shapeliness, like that of a finelycarved monument enriched by delicate artistictracery. Yet they are not bound by the formalfetters of the past, and their freedom of expressionis complete. Saint-Saens was brought up by his mother, ashis father died soon after the childs birth. Thelittle Camille received piano lessons from his great-aunt at the mature age of two years and a half. Atseven he was confided to the excellent teacherStamaty, and his later work with Maleden, Halevy,
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CHARLES -CAMILLE SAINT - SAENS THE ELDER FRENCHMEN WJ and Benoist gave him a start in harmony, compo-sition, and organ-playing. Two trials for the Prixde Rome resulted in two failures — a fact thatreminds one of the four attempts necessary forBerlioz. Great musicians are not always recog-nized in their youth, as witness the refusal of Basilyto admit the young Verdi to the Milan conserva-tory. His musical activity began in 1851, when he pro-duced his first symphony at the age of sixteen. Twoyears later he became organist at the church ofSt. Mery, where he served five years before takinga similar post at the Madeleine. In the latter posi-tion he won great renown by his remarkable im-provisations. He resigned in 1877, in favour ofDubois. He was for some time teacher of pianoat Niedermeyers ficole Religieuse, and he has de-voted his spare moments to writing and criticism,but the world knows him best as the most giftedcomposer of his native land. Like Meyerbeer,Goldmark, and Mendelssohn,

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