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Pasquinade. Caprice, op. 59 (c. 1863)
Louis Moreau Gottschalk's Pasquinade is associated with the time he lived in Havana, Cuba between 1859-1862. His first known performance of this lively burlesque was during a concert tour of the United States in 1863; the work would later become tremendously popular in both the US and Europe. Published posthumously, Pasquinade is often said to be a precursor to ragtime and jazz.
Louis Moreau Gottschalk (1829-1869) was a renowned composer and virtuoso pianist and a well-known musical figure throughout the Americas during the 19th century. He performed extensively in North America, South America, and the Caribbean, and composed over 100 works integrating a European Romantic style with musical traditions including his Haitian and Cuban heritage, the rhythms and harmonies of Spanish folk music, and sacred and popular songs of the US.
Born in New Orleans, Louisiana, Gottschalk was the oldest of eight children, with a German Jewish father who had emigrated from London and a French Catholic mother from Haiti. He began studying music at age five with organist and choirmaster François Letellier, and within a year was performing at St. Louis Cathedral in New Orleans. In 1841 Gottschalk was sent to Paris, France to further his musical education; there he studied piano with Charles Hallé and Camille-Marie Stamaty and composition with Pierre Maleden. At age 15 he performed in a concert at the Salle Pleyel where composer and pianist Frédéric Chopin complimented his talents. Gottschalk made his professional debut there four years later, playing his new 'Creole' compositions Bamboula (c. 1846-1848), La Savane (c. 1847-1849), and Le Bananier (c. 1848), which became extremely popular in Europe. He later toured Switzerland and Spain, where he became a sensation and performed for Queen Isabella II.
After 12 years away, Gottschalk returned to the United States in 1853 and debuted in New York City. His father died that year, whereupon Gottschalk assumed responsibility for supporting his large family who now lived in Paris. He performed for the next three years across the US and in Cuba, composing two of his most popular American works, The Last Hope (c. 1854) and Le Banjo (c. 1854-1855), during this period. In 1857 Gottschalk embarked on a tour of Cuba and the Caribbean with the young soprano Adelina Patti, which included two festivals in Ponce and San Juan, Puerto Rico. For the next five years Gottschalk lived in the Caribbean, devoting more time to composition and writing a number of articles for newspapers in France and the US. In Havana, Cuba he mounted a Grand Festival featuring his first symphony La Nuit des tropiques (c. 1858-1859), and briefly served as conductor of the Teatro Tacón opera.
In 1862 Gottschalk began another extensive tour of the United States, by his estimate giving 1,100 recitals and travelling over 95,000 miles by train in three years. He was an active supporter of the North during these Civil War years, and gave concerts for President Abraham Lincoln and General Ulysses S. Grant. In September 1865, while on tour in California, Gottschalk was accused of having an affair with a young schoolgirl, a scandal which forced him to flee the country. He spent his last four years performing throughout South America, a tour which culminated in 1869 with a series of concerts, benefits, and a Grand Festival in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Gottschalk had suffered from yellow fever earlier that year and died likely of a quinine overdose in Tijuca outside of Rio de Janeiro.
related websites
http://www.louismoreaugottschalk.com
Pianist Michael Lewin has performed worldwide as an orchestral soloist, chamber musician, and solo recitalist. A native of New York City, he studied at the Juilliard School of Music; his teachers included Leon Fleisher, Irwin and Lillian Freundlich, Yvonne Lefébure, and Adele Marcus. He won first prize in the 1982 William Kapell International Competition, received grants from the Rockefeller Foundation and National Endowment for the Arts, was featured in a PBS Television recital hosted by Victor Borge, and led the 150th Anniversary Steinway Artists Gala Concert at Symphony Hall in Boston, Massachusetts. Lewin is currently chair of the Piano Department at the Boston Conservatory in Massachusetts. He performs regularly with violinist Irina Muresanu in the new Lewin-Muresanu Duo. His recordings can be found on the Centaur, Marco Polo, and Naxos labels.
related websites
http://www.michaellewin.com
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