The Overture to Les Huguenots is built almost entirely from the melody of the famous Lutheran chorale, Ein’ feste Burg, which in the opera itself served as the musical symbol for militant Protestantism. The outstanding individual excerpts from the opera include Raoul’s beautiful romance from Act 1 describing the woman he has saved, “Plus blanche que la blanche hermine”; the rhapsodic description in the second act of the Touraine countryside by Marguerite de Valois, betrothed to Henry IV of Navarre, “O beau pays de la Touraine”; and in the fourth act the stirring “Benediction of the Swords,” (“Gloire au grand Dieu vengeur”) with which the Catholics are blessed by three monks on the eve of their holy war against the Huguenots.
The exciting Torch Dance, No. 1, in B-flat is not from one of Meyerbeer’s operas. It was written in 1846 for the wedding of the King of Bavaria, and originally was scored for brass band. It is now most frequently heard in orchestral adaptations. Meyerbeer subsequently wrote two other Torch Dances: the second in 1850 for the wedding of Princess Charlotte of Prussia, and the third in 1853 for the wedding of Princess Anne of Prussia.
Karl Milloecker
Karl Milloecker was born in Vienna, Austria, on May 29, 1842. His father, a jeweler, wanted him to enter the family business, but from his childhood on, Karl was drawn to music. After studying music with private teachers, he attended the Conservatory of the Gesellschaft der Musikfreunde. Meanwhile, in his sixteenth year, he supported himself by playing the flute in a theater orchestra. When his music study ended, he became conductor of a theater in Graz in 1864; there his first operetta was produced one year later. In 1866 he was back in Vienna, and from 1869 to 1883 he was principal conductor at the Theater-an-der-Wien where most of his famous operettas were produced including Countess Du Barry (Graefin DuBarry) in 1879, The Beggar Student (Der Bettelstudent) in 1882, Gasparone in 1884, and Poor Jonathan (Der arme Jonathan) in 1890. Milloecker died in Baden, near Vienna, on December 31, 1899.
Milloecker’s most famous operetta is The Beggar Student (Der Bettelstudent), which was first produced at the Theater-an-der-Wien in Vienna on December 6, 1882, and after that enjoyed highly successful performances at the Casino Theater in New York in 1883, and the Alhambra in London in 1884. The scene is Cracow, Poland; the time, 1704. General Ollendorf, spurned by Laura, evolves an elaborate plot to avenge himself. He finances the impoverished student, Symon, dresses him up as a lord, and sends him off to woo and win Laura. Only after the wedding does the General reveal the fact that Symon is a beggar. Just as disgrace faces the young man, he becomes involved in a successful maneuver to restore the rejected Polish king to his throne. Thus he acquires wealth and a title, and is welcomed with pride and love by Laura and her mother. Potpourris and selections from this tuneful operetta always include the principal waltz melody which comes as a first act finale, “Ach ich hab’ sie ja nur auf die Schulter gekuesst.” Other delightful excerpts include Symon’s mazurka, “Ich knuepfte manche zarte Bande,” his lament “Ich hab’ kein Geld,” and the second act duet of Symon and Laura, “Ich setz den Fall.”
Moritz Moszkowski
Moritz Moszkowski was born in Breslau, Germany, on August 23, 1854. He received his musical training at three leading German Conservatories: the Dresden Conservatory, the Stern Conservatory and Kullak Academy in Berlin. He began a career as pianist in 1873, touring Europe with outstanding success. He also achieved recognition as a teacher of the piano at the Kullak Academy. In 1897, he went into retirement in Paris where he lived for the remainder of his life. In 1899 he was elected a member of the Berlin Academy. Towards the end of his life his financial resources were completely depleted, and his fame as composer, pianist, and teacher had long been eclipsed. He died in poverty and obscurity in Paris on March 4, 1925.
Though he wrote operas, ballets, suites, concertos and a symphony, Moszkowski was at his best—and is most famous today—for his lighter music in a Spanish idiom. Typical of his music in this style were the rhythmic Bolero, op. 12, no. 5, for piano solo; the languorous and haunting Guitarre, op. 45, no. 2, for piano solo (transcribed by Pablo de Sarasate for violin and piano); and the dashing Malagueña, from the opera Boabdil.
But his most celebrated compositions are the delightful Spanish Dances, opp. 12, and 65, two books of pieces for piano solo or piano duo, which have been arranged for orchestra. The most popular are the first in C major, the second in G minor, and the fifth (a bolero) in D major. While none of these dances can be accepted as authentic Spanish music—actually they are only a German Romantic’s conception of what Spanish music is—they make most effective use of Spanish dance rhythms.