Jacques Offenbach, of France (b. June 21, 1819; d. October 4, 1880), was the chief creator of the opera bouffe, and was an astonishingly prolific composer. He stands for the clever, tactful musician, shrewd to perceive and quick to seize what catches the public ear for the time being.
Franz Liszt, of Hungary (b. October 22, 1811; d. July 31, 1886), ranks as one of the world’s phenomenal pianists. His strength and technique were prodigious, his magnetism irresistible, and his power over audiences unequaled. By his free, fantastic compositions he created a new school of composers. He gave extraordinary aid and inspiration to other musicians, and in reality brought Richard Wagner into prominence before the musical world.
Richard Wagner, of Germany (b. May 22, 1813; d. February 13, 1883), early abandoned Beethoven as an operatic model, and felt that a new era in music was about to dawn. His musical theories first found full swing in his famous opera of the “Nibelungen Ring,” with which, and kindred productions, he practically created the modern music-drama. In his operas he was sole author of their wonderful wealth of true poetry, stage effects, dramatic action, and endless melody. No musician has ever made such bitter foes and warm friends, and none ever had to fight his way so stubbornly to recognition.
Giuseppe Verdi, of Italy (b. October 9, 1813), is one of the most remarkable musical composers of the century, in the respect that his talent has not failed with age, but has kept pace with the great changes which have affected the dramatic stage since his youth. In the beauty of his melodies and the intensity of his dramatic powers he is unsurpassed. Very few, indeed, of his numerous productions have failed to hold exalted place in public estimation. His best-known works are “Il Trovatore,” “La Traviata,” “Rigoletto,” “Ballo in Maschera,” “Aïda,” “Otello,” and “Falstaff,” the latter written in 1893, when the author had reached the age of eighty.
Sovereigns.—William I., King of Prussia and Emperor of Germany, was the epoch-maker of the 19th century for his realm. He was son of Frederick William III., and born March 22, 1797. In 1849 he was made commander-in-chief of the Prussian army. He succeeded to the throne of Prussia in 1861, and immediately under the guidance of Bismarck set about those measures which were to end in the unification of the German states. These involved the war of 1866 with Austria, after which, in 1867 he became head of the powerful North German confederation, comprising 22 states, and a population of 29,000,000. Then followed the successful war with France, in 1871, which resulted in the complete realization of his idea of a united Germany, and on January 28, 1871, King William of Prussia was proclaimed Emperor of Germany, in the palace of the French kings, at Marseilles. He died March 9, 1888.
Victor Emmanuel. At the birth of Victor Emmanuel in 1820, Italy was a segregation of states or provinces, owned and played against one another by the chess-players of Europe. The policy of ambitious sovereigns to the north was to keep it divided and discordant. Victor Emmanuel became king of Sardinia at a time when Austria’s power was well-nigh supreme in the belligerent Italian states. His plea with Austria that the Sardinian constitution should be protected, and its success, aroused for him the confidence of the Italian people, and paved his way to the Italian crown. In 1852 he secured the services of the masterly Count Cavour, the Bismarck and Gladstone of Italy, for his premier and guide. Through Cavour’s influence France united with Sardinia against Austria. The war which followed and the peace of Villafranca completed Emmanuel’s task, and made him king of a united Italy, over which he reigned successfully for eight years, dying on January 9, 1878.
Czar Alexander II. The epoch-maker of Russia during the 19th century was Alexander II., born April 29, 1818. Of the many important events of his reign, which began in 1855, the most illustrious was the abolition of serfdom in his dominions, which gave freedom to 23,000,000 subjects. He was killed by anarchists in 1881.
Francis Joseph. This emperor of Austria-Hungary was born August 18, 1830, and succeeded to the throne of Austria in 1848, and of Hungary in 1867. Though defeated in wars with France, by which he lost Italian provinces, and with Germany by which he lost Schleswig-Holstein, he managed through an unprecedently long reign, in some part of which he was both emperor and legislature, to hold together an empire composed of heterogeneous Germans and Slavs, a task that would have proved impossible with a less wise and respected ruler. He survived the century, and the question also lived, what of the empire after his death?
Victoria, Queen and Empress. Alexandrina Victoria Guelph, whose reign was the longest in English annals, and covered the epoch-making time of Great Britain during the nineteenth century, was born in London, May 24, 1819. She was the daughter of the Duke of Kent, fourth son of George III. She became next in succession to the throne on the death of her uncle, King William IV., which occurred June 20, 1837. Her ancestry dated back to Egbert, A. D. 827. To the wisdom of her mother she owed a well-ordered, peaceful, and happy childhood, with a view to the possibility of the English throne. Special teachers were employed as her instructors, and she became proficient in music and drawing, as well as in the classic and modern languages. She became equally proficient in the English constitution and general history. In 1831, when, at the age of twelve, it was deemed necessary to acquaint her with the fact that she was heir presumptive to the throne, the genealogical table of the royal family was placed in her book of history. After a study of it, she remarked that she was nearer the throne than she had thought, and that the reasons for her course of mental training had become obvious.
About this time the young princess made her first appearance at court, and Parliament voted her an additional appropriation of $50,000 a year for her expenses. But as a rule her mother made use of the fast vanishing possibility of the birth of other heirs who would take precedence of her, to keep the child, as long as propriety would permit, out of the whirl of court life, and to allow her education to proceed without interruption. The consequence of this maternal discretion was that Victoria came to the throne in excellent physical and mental health.