How to Write an Overture: A Rossini Recipe

Author(s): Spike Hughes

Source: The Musical Times, Vol. 97, No. 1359 (May, 1956), pp. 247-249
Published by: Musical Times Publications Ltd.
Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/936459
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May 1956 THE MUSICAL TIMES 247

How to write an Overture

A Rossini recipe
By SPIKE HUGHES
W HEN I was in Naples last year I came 'First general and invariable rule: Wait for
across a piece of charmingly characteristicthe eve of the first performance before composing
Rossiniary which I do not think is at the all overture. Nothing is better for inspiration
widely known. It is an account, published in a than necessity, the presence of a copyist waiting
Neapolitan paper of 1848, of the correspondence for your work, sheet by sheet, and the sinister
between the composer and an unspecified gentle- spectacle of the impresario tearing his hair in des-
man whom II Folletto ('The Imp'), in its issue of peration. All true masterpieces in this form have
26 October 1848, introduces as one who, having always been written in this way. In Italy, in my
heard Rossini 'frequently spoken of', secretly time, all impresarios were as bald as the palm of
wrote to the illustre maestro in the following terms: your hand at thirty.
My dear sir, 'Second recipe: I wrote the overture to " Otello"
'You have the general reputation of being a in a small room in Barbaja's palace in Naples,
maestro who is great, obliging and an epicure. where the fiercest and baldest of all impresarios
To the epicure I send herewith a terrine of pate locked me in by force, with a plate of boiled
de foie gras de Strasbourg; to the great and oblig- macaroni swimming in water and with no season-
ing maestro I address the hope that he will be ing, threatening that I should not leave the room
alive until I had finished the last note of the over-
gracious enough to grant my request to help one
of his future rivals. I have a nephew who is a ture. You can try this recipe on your nephew, but,
musician and does not know how to write the whatever happens, don't let him smell the deli-
overture to the opera he has written. Would cious
you,smell of the pate de foie gras de Strasbourg
who have composed so much, please be so kind -thisaskind of delicacy is suitable only for com-
to let me know your recipe? If you were still posers who do nothing, and I thank you very much
concerned with the joys of applause my request for honouring me with the present you have sent
me.'
might perhaps be indiscreet, but now that you have
[The overture to ' Otello' which Rossini wrote
renounced all claims to glory, you should no longer
be jealous of anybody. in such depressing circumstances is one of the
' I am, dear Signor Rossini, yours, etc.' gayest-and, one must admit, least appropriate-of
his overtures; though it became less so, perhaps,
Rossini, living at that time in retirement in after the happy ending had been thoughtfully added
Bologna, was clearly touched by the present of a to the opera after the original Naples premiere.
terrine of the all-important constituent of the It is an overture which is unaccountably neglected,
tournedos Rossini and replied by return of post and an item enterprising conductors might well add
and in terms of almost equally florid formality: to their repertory without doing anybody any harm.]
' I consider myself greatly flattered, o signore, by 'Third recipe: I wrote the overture to " La gazza
the preference you show for my recipes over those ladra " not on the eve but on the very day of the
of my colleagues in your concern for the em- first performance, up under the roof of La Scala
barrassing position in which your nephew finds in Milan, where I was sent by an impresario just
himself. But first of all I must tell you that I have as bad and almost as bald as Barbaja, and watched
never written anything unless there was no possible over by four stagehands. This quartet of execu-
means of avoiding it. I do not understand what tioners had been ordered to throw my overture,
pleasure can be derived from giving oneself a phrase by phrase, out of the window to the copy-
headache, getting cramp in one's hand and devel- ists in the courtyard below, who then delivered the
oping a fever merely to amuse a public whose parts to the first violin to rehearse. In the event
greatest delight is to be bored stiff by every effort of there being no pages of music to throw into the
to entertain it. I am not and never have been in courtyard, the barbarians had orders to throw me
any way a champion of the right to work, to and
theI copyists. The loft of your house, dear sir,
find that the most beautiful and precious of could
all be used for the same purpose in the case of
human rights is that of doing nothing. I am your
ablenephew. God forbid that he should ever
to indulge in this since acquiring, not thanks suffer
to any bigger falls.'
my operas but to one or two happy financial [Rossini's little pun there was the use of the word
speculations to which (without my knowledge) I 'caduta ', which in Italian means 'fall' but also
was made a party, the incomparable privilege, the -in the theatrical sense-a ' flop '.]
right par excellence, the right above all rights: 'Fourth recipe: I did better with the overture
that of doing nothing. If, then, I have any really to " The Barber of Seville ". I did not write it
practical advice to offer your nephew, it is to specially to take the place of the one originally
emulate me in this rather than in anything else. written for this extremely buffa opera; instead, I
'If, however, he still persists in his bizarre and used another, composed for "Elisabetta, Regina
inconceivable idea of wanting to work, then I will d'Inghilterra ", an opera excessively seria. The
tell you the principal recipes which I had to use public was enchanted by this solution. Your
during the miserable period when I, too, was nephew, who has so far written no overture for
obliged to do something. Your nephew will be his new opera, might well try this and use an.
able to choose the one that suits him best. overture he has already composed.'

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248 THE MUSICAL TIMES May 1956

[There is no doubt that, for Rossini, the E minor

'Fifth recipe: I composed the overture, or
allegro vivo tune of the 'Barber' overture ratheristhevery
instrumental introduction, to " Le Comte
opera seria music indeed, and, of course, it hadwith a rod, with my feet in the
Ory" fishing
served for an opera even more seria-'water Aureliano
at Petit-Bourg in the company of M.
in Palmira '-before it was attached to' Elisabetta '. Aguado, who never ceased, the entire time I
What I find interesting about that fourth recipe, was fishing, to talk to me about Spanish finance,
however, is Rossini's reference to an overture which I found indescribably tedious. I do not
specially written for 'The Barber of Seville', but imagine for a moment, sir, that in similar circum-
not used. It is known that he did write one, and stances your conversation would have anything
there has always been a suspicion that, though it like the same unnerving effect on the imagination
was played at the first performance of the' Barber ', of your nephew.
what we now call the overture took its place 'Sixth recipe: I found myself in the same sort
almost immediately after that. But, from what of nerve-shattering situation when I wrote the
Rossini says about it in his letter, it seems that the overture to "William Tell" in an apartment I
original was never played at all.] occupied in the Boulevard Mont-Martre. Here,

[By kind permission of ' La Scala'

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May 1956 THE MUSICAL TIMES 249

night
night andand
day, day,
the queerest
the queerest the whole thing
characters incharacters thing of
in theofall.
all.
I am
I am
whole quite
quite
suresure
that that
your your
nephewnephew
of
ofParis
Paris
would
would
wanderwander
in and out,
insmoking,
and out, drink- could
coulduse
smoking, usethis
this
drink-final
final
recipe
recipe
withwith
greatgreat
success.
success.
It It
ing,
ing,chattering,
chattering,
shouting,
shouting,
bawling in my
bawling
ears while is
is roughly
in my roughly
earsthe thesame
while sameas that
as that
adopted
adopted
by my bygood
my good
II went
wenton composing
on composing
and tryingand
to hear
trying
as little friend
friend
toashear asMeyerbeer
Meyerbeer
little as in "inRobert
" Robert
le Diable
le Diable
" and " Les
and " Les
possible.
possible. I amI certain
am certain
that in spite
that in spiteHuguenots",
of cultural Huguenots",and
of cultural and
it appears
it appears
thatthat
he has
hefound
has found
it it
progress
progress in France
in France
you will you
nevertheless still succeed most
will nevertheless most satisfactory.
satisfactory.
still succeed I am
I am
assured
assured
that that
he hashemade
has made
in finding as many imbeciles in Paris capable use
use of
ofititinin" Le
" Le
Prophete"
Prophete"
as well
as well
and isand
fullisoffull of
of stimulating your nephew in the same way.' praise
praisefor
forthe
the
efficacy
efficacy
of this
of this
recipe.
recipe.
[On reflection, perhaps that picture of Rossini's 'With
'Withmy
mybest
bestwishes
wishes
forfor
the the
gloryglory
of your
of your
Paris apartment explains a little of how ' William nephew
nephewand andmy
my thanks
thanks
for for
the pate,
the pate,
whichwhich
I foundI found
Tell' came to be the loudest overture in history.] excellent,
excellent,believe
believe
meme
to be,
to be,
etc. etc.
'Seventh recipe: In the case of " Mos& " I com- Rossini,
posed no overture at all, and this is the easiest ex-composer.'

Beethoven's Autographs
By ADOLF ABER
T long last those engaged in Beethoven re- for his concertos are now dealt with under these
search have been given an up-to-date biblio- concertos, whereas Nottebohm had listed them
graphical basis for their studies. From theunder 'works without opus numbers'. The pub-
day of the master's death they were at a disadvan-lished works are carefully classified in Kinsky-
tage compared, for instance, with Mozart re- Halm in two sections: 'Original editions', i.e.
searchers, who had at their disposal a thematic works printed with the full authorization of the
list prepared by the composer himself and a con- composer by his publishers or their successors in
siderable amount of additional bibliographical title, and 'Reprints', comprising the very many
work done by Mozart's family, friends and pub- unauthorized publications of the works including
lishers. When Beethoven died, there was no the equally unauthorized arrangements for other
guide available to his autographs and published instruments. Beethoven's letters have now all been
works. Not until 1851, almost a quarter of a scrutinized for authentic information concerning
century after his death, did Breitkopf & Hartel the time of the composition and publication of
publish a thematic catalogue of all his works then his works and so has the vast body of Beethoven
available in print. This first effort was followed literature which has appeared during the last
up by Nottebohm in 1864 with his 'Thematisches century.
Verzeichnis der im Druck erschienenen Werke von Personal taste and interest will, of course, decide
Beethoven ', of which the second (and final) edition to which sections of this imposing new work the
was already necessary in 1868. It was this edition reader will turn. The present writer feels that no
which, in various reprints without alterations, had part of the book is more fascinating than the story
to serve us until quite recently, in spite of being of Beethoven's autographs given under the head-
hopelessly out of date. ings of the various works. This is, in fact, the first
No praise, therefore, can be high enough for time a that the musical world has been given all the
new work which incorporates all the results of relevant information available in our day; and
bibliographical Beethoven research obtained dur-this may be the place to give a concise survey
ing the last three generations.* There is little covering the fate of the manuscripts of the works
doubt that 'Kinsky-Halm' will occupy the same which are normally known to musicians and friends
place of honour in Beethoven bibliography as of music.
' K6chel-Einstein' for Mozart. During the time To deal first with the sad part of the story: a
that has passed between Nottebohm and Kinsky shockingly large proportion of Beethoven's auto-
well over a hundred works by Beethoven have graphs appear to be lost for ever. It can hardly
become known and almost all the autographs, matter that Kinsky-Halm divide this category
as far as they were at all traceable by Nottebohm, into two sections, one marked as ' lost',
have changed their whereabouts. There is a great 'vanished' (verschollen), the other as ' unknown'
improvement in the manner in which the themes (unbekannt). Unfortunately, they do not give any
are quoted. There is no more 'shorthand' quo- general reason why certain lost autographs are
tation, which sometimes left the themes hardly mentioned in the first section and others in the
recognizable (see, for instance, the scherzo and the second. There are, of course, quite a number of
last movement of the 'Eroica' in Nottebohm, remarks indicating that this or that autograph was
where the real beginning of the theme is not even at some time or other in the hands of a certain
reached). Kinsky-Halm quote all the first themes owner, but that fact gives us no guarantee that it
in full, no matter how many bars are needed. can be found again. To our generation all these
The sections following the themes give in all cases manuscripts are lost; and if by some stroke of luck
the complete bibliographical information referring a manuscript should come to light again, it might
to one work and combine everything that is known well belong to either the 'lost' category or the
under one title. To give one example for this 'unknown' one in Kinsky-Halm's catalogue. In
concise method: all cadenzas written by Beethovenno case do these authors commit themselves to a
statement that any autograph has been physically
* Thematisch-Bibliographisches Verzeichnis aller vollendeten destroyed and is thus irretrievably lost.
Werke Ludwig van Beethovens von Georg Kinsky. Nach dessen
Tod vollendet und herausgegeben von Hans Halm. G. Henle Verlag
It should be mentioned that in a good many
(Novello, 808 pp., ?7 7s.). cases where the autographs are lost or unknown,

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