Book contents
- Frontmatter
- Contents
- List of Illustrations
- Foreword
- Preface
- Acknowledgments
- Introduction: Tribute to Charles-Marie Widor
- Part One Studies, Early Performances, and Aristide Cavaillé-Coll (1844–69)
- Part Two La Belle Époque: The Franco-Prussian War to The Great War (1870–1914)
- Part Three The Great War and Important Initiatives (1914–37)
- Appendix 1 Birth record of Charles-Marie Widor, 1844
- Appendix 2 Widor’s Diplôme de Bachelier ès Lettres, 1863
- Appendix 3 Widor’s letter of appreciation to Jacques Lemmens, 1863
- Appendix 4 Brussels Ducal Palace organ specification, 1861
- Appendix 5 Widor’s certificate for Chevalier de l’Ordre du Christ, 1866
- Appendix 6 “To Budapest,” 1893
- Appendix 7 Widor’s travels to Russia and his 1903 passport
- Appendix 8 Widor’s list of his works in 1894
- Appendix 9 The Paris Conservatory organs, 1872
- Appendix 10 Chronique [Widor’s appeal for an organ hall at the Paris Conservatory, 1895]
- Appendix 11 Widor’s certificate for the Académie Royale, Brussels, 1908
- Appendix 12 “Debussy & Rodin,” 1927
- Appendix 13 The American Conservatory organ, Fontainebleau, 1925
- Appendix 14 Letters concerning the Trocadéro organ restoration, 1926
- Notes
- Bibliography
- Index
- Eastman Studies in Music
Appendix 10 - Chronique [Widor’s appeal for an organ hall at the Paris Conservatory, 1895]
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 09 May 2024
- Frontmatter
- Contents
- List of Illustrations
- Foreword
- Preface
- Acknowledgments
- Introduction: Tribute to Charles-Marie Widor
- Part One Studies, Early Performances, and Aristide Cavaillé-Coll (1844–69)
- Part Two La Belle Époque: The Franco-Prussian War to The Great War (1870–1914)
- Part Three The Great War and Important Initiatives (1914–37)
- Appendix 1 Birth record of Charles-Marie Widor, 1844
- Appendix 2 Widor’s Diplôme de Bachelier ès Lettres, 1863
- Appendix 3 Widor’s letter of appreciation to Jacques Lemmens, 1863
- Appendix 4 Brussels Ducal Palace organ specification, 1861
- Appendix 5 Widor’s certificate for Chevalier de l’Ordre du Christ, 1866
- Appendix 6 “To Budapest,” 1893
- Appendix 7 Widor’s travels to Russia and his 1903 passport
- Appendix 8 Widor’s list of his works in 1894
- Appendix 9 The Paris Conservatory organs, 1872
- Appendix 10 Chronique [Widor’s appeal for an organ hall at the Paris Conservatory, 1895]
- Appendix 11 Widor’s certificate for the Académie Royale, Brussels, 1908
- Appendix 12 “Debussy & Rodin,” 1927
- Appendix 13 The American Conservatory organ, Fontainebleau, 1925
- Appendix 14 Letters concerning the Trocadéro organ restoration, 1926
- Notes
- Bibliography
- Index
- Eastman Studies in Music
Summary
The other day, after lunch, I was strolling through the studio of my friend X__, the eminent sculptor. While I was admiring a bust completed from the day before, there was a knock on the door. A small, simple-minded fellow entered with a confident look, long hair, pale complexion, in a classic Abruzzo peasant outfit, and with a suburban accent:
—Excuse me, m’sieu, don't you need a model?
—No, not today!
—What about tomorrow?
—Not tomorrow, nor the day after, nor the following days.
—Bad luck!
And he left. Five minutes later, knock, knock on the door.
—Excuse me, m’sieu, I forgot to ask you if you could lend me a hundred sous?
—You’re bothering me, leave me alone.
—That's not very polite! Well, look, can't you give me just fifty cents to smoke a good cigar?
—Get out of here, I have nothing to give you.
—Oh well then, if you don't have anything to give me, of course I’ll get out of here, no need to insist. So tell me, anyway, your statues must not bring you much money, if you don't have anything to give me!
—Scoundrel!!!
—Okay! Okay! Don't get agitated like that, it could harm you. I’m leaving.
And we went back to talking quietly. Then, the third entry of the street urchin:
—Excuse me, m’sieu, would you happen to know a rich Kroumir1 who has some cake?
And without further ado, the urchin ran out, the door slamming behind him.
You’re wondering why I’m coming here to talk about a sculptor, a model, a Kroumir, a cigar, or a cake?
Well, here is the “why”: we, too, are looking for the rich Kroumir; we’re longing for the generous Maecenas who will grant us the freedom to work and the means to live.2 Do you know that we can no longer fit in the Conservatory? The place is too cramped—and I’m not talking about its dilapidated state—it's not only made up of rooms too small for the number of pupils in each class, but it doesn't even have the number of rooms necessary for the classes instituted by the new regulations. I asked one of my colleagues:
—How do you manage to escape suffocation in this limited space, with your twenty-five pupils or auditors?
- Type
- Chapter
- Information
- Autobiographical Recollections of Charles-Marie Widor , pp. 171 - 174Publisher: Boydell & BrewerPrint publication year: 2024