![Friedrich Melchior von Grimm](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/0/05/Friedrich_Melchior_von_Grimm.jpg)
Friedrich Melchior, Baron von Grimm (26 September 172319 December 1807) was a German-born French-language journalist,
art critic
An art critic is a person who is specialized in analyzing, interpreting, and evaluating art. Their written critiques or reviews contribute to art criticism and they are published in newspapers, magazines, books, exhibition brochures, and catalogue ...
, diplomat and contributor to the ''
Encyclopédie ou Dictionnaire raisonné des sciences, des arts et des métiers''. In 1765 Grimm wrote ''Poème lyrique'', an influential article for the Encyclopédie on
lyric and opera
libretto
A libretto (Italian for "booklet") is the text used in, or intended for, an extended musical work such as an opera, operetta, masque, oratorio, cantata or Musical theatre, musical. The term ''libretto'' is also sometimes used to refer to the t ...
s. Like
Christoph Willibald Gluck
Christoph Willibald (Ritter von) Gluck (; 2 July 1714 – 15 November 1787) was a composer of Italian and French opera in the early classical period. Born in the Upper Palatinate and raised in Bohemia, both part of the Holy Roman Empire, he g ...
and
Ranieri de' Calzabigi Ranieri de' Calzabigi (; 23 December 1714 – July 1795) was an Italian poet and librettist, most famous for his collaboration with the composer Christoph Willibald Gluck on his "reform" operas.
Born in Livorno, Calzabigi spent the 1750s in Paris ...
, Grimm became interested in
opera reform. According to Martin Fontius, a German literary theorist, "sooner or later a book entitled ''The Aesthetic Ideas of Grimm'' will have to be written."
Early years
Grimm was born at
Regensburg
Regensburg or is a city in eastern Bavaria, at the confluence of the Danube, Naab and Regen rivers. It is capital of the Upper Palatinate subregion of the state in the south of Germany. With more than 150,000 inhabitants, Regensburg is the f ...
, the son of Johann Melchior Grimm (1682–1749), a pastor, and Sibylle Margarete Grimm, (''née'' Koch) (1684–1774). He studied at the
University of Leipzig
Leipzig University (german: Universität Leipzig), in Leipzig in Saxony, Germany, is one of the world's oldest universities and the second-oldest university (by consecutive years of existence) in Germany. The university was founded on 2 Decemb ...
, where he came under the influence of
Johann Christian Gottsched and of
Johann August Ernesti, to whom he was largely indebted for his critical appreciation of classical literature. When nineteen, he produced a tragedy, ''Banise'', which met with some success. After two years of studying literature and philosophy, he returned to his hometown, where he was attached to the household of
Count Schönborn. In 1749, he accompanied his pupil, the young Schönborn, to Paris. There, appointed him as his secretary.
Jean-Jacques Rousseau
Jean-Jacques Rousseau (, ; 28 June 1712 – 2 July 1778) was a Genevan philosopher, writer, and composer. His political philosophy influenced the progress of the Age of Enlightenment throughout Europe, as well as aspects of the French Revolu ...
wrote in his
''Confessions'' that Grimm played a
cembalo and acted also as reader to the eldest son of
Frederick III, Duke of Saxe-Gotha-Altenburg, the young hereditary prince of
Saxe-Gotha.
![Grimm&Diderot](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/0/09/Grimm%26Diderot.jpg)
His acquaintance with Rousseau soon ripened into warm friendship, through a mutual sympathy in regard to music and theater, and led to a close association with the
Encyclopaedists Diderot,
Baron d'Holbach
Paul-Henri Thiry, Baron d'Holbach (; 8 December 1723 – 21 January 1789), was a French-German philosopher, encyclopedist, writer, and prominent figure in the French Enlightenment. He was born Paul Heinrich Dietrich in Edesheim, near Land ...
,
d'Alembert,
Marmontel,
Morellet and
Helvétius, who were meeting at the salon of
Marie-Charlotte Hippolyte de Campet de Saujon
Marie-Charlotte Hippolyte de Campet de Saujon, by marriage Countess of Boufflers (6 September 1725- 1800), was a French femme de lettres and salon hostess. Nicknamed "''l'idole''" by Madame du Deffand, she was a lady in waiting to the Duchesse de ...
. He rapidly obtained a thorough knowledge of the French language and acquired so perfectly the tone and sentiments of the society in which he moved that all marks of his foreign origin and training seemed effaced. In 1750, he started to write for the ''
Mercure de France
The was originally a French gazette and literary magazine first published in the 17th century, but after several incarnations has evolved as a publisher, and is now part of the Éditions Gallimard publishing group.
The gazette was published f ...
'' on German literature and the ideas of Gottsched. In 1752, at the beginning of the ''
Querelle des Bouffons'', he wrote ''Lettre de M. Grimm sur
Omphale''. Grimm complained that the text of the libretto had no connection with the music. Grimm and Rousseau became the enemy of
Élie Catherine Fréron
Élie Catherine Fréron (20 January 1718 – 10 March 1776) was a French literary critic and controversialist whose career focused on countering the influence of the ''philosophes'' of the French Enlightenment, partly through his vehicle, the '' ...
. In 1753, he wrote a witty pamphlet entitled ''Le petit prophète de Boehmischbroda'', "a
parable
A parable is a succinct, didactic story, in prose or verse, that illustrates one or more instructive lessons or principles. It differs from a fable in that fables employ animals, plants, inanimate objects, or forces of nature as characters, w ...
about a Bohemian boy being sent to Paris to see the lamentable state into which the
French opera
French opera is one of Europe's most important operatic traditions, containing works by composers of the stature of Rameau, Berlioz, Gounod, Bizet, Massenet, Debussy, Ravel, Poulenc and Messiaen. Many foreign-born composers have played a part i ...
has descended". This defence of
Italian opera
Italian opera is both the art of opera in Italy and opera in the Italian language. Opera was born in Italy around the year 1600 and Italian opera has continued to play a dominant role in the history of the form until the present day. Many famous ...
established his literary reputation. It is possible that the origin of the pamphlet is partly to be accounted for by his vehement passion for
Marie Fel
Marie Fel (24 October 1713 – 2 February 1794) was a French opera singer and a daughter of the organist Henri Fel.
Marie Fel was born at Bordeaux. She made her debut at the Paris Opera in 1733 and sang regularly at the Concert Spirituel. In a ...
, the ''prima donna'' of the
Paris Opéra, who was one of the few French singers capable of performing Italian arias. When she refused him (and stayed in relation with
Louis de Cahusac
Louis de Cahusac (6 April 1706 – 22 June 1759) was an 18th-century French playwright and librettist, and Freemason, most famous for his work with the composer Jean-Philippe Rameau. He provided the libretti for several of Rameau's operas, name ...
), Grimm fell into
lethargy
Lethargy is a state of tiredness, sleepiness, weariness, fatigue, sluggishness or lack of energy. It can be accompanied by depression, decreased motivation, or apathy. Lethargy can be a normal response to inadequate sleep, overexertion, overwo ...
. Rousseau and abbé Raynal took care of him.
'
![Louise d'Epinay Liotard](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/e/e3/Louise_d%27Epinay_Liotard.jpg)
In 1753, following the example of the
abbé Raynal
''Abbé'' (from Latin ''abbas'', in turn from Greek language, Greek , ''abbas'', from Aramaic ''abba'', a title of honour, literally meaning "the father, my father", emphatic state of ''abh'', "father") is the French word for an abbot. It is th ...
, and with the latter's encouragement, Grimm began a literary
newsletter
A newsletter is a printed or electronic report containing news concerning the activities of a business or an organization that is sent to its members, customers, employees or other subscribers. Newsletters generally contain one main topic of int ...
with various German sovereigns. The first number of the ' was dated 15 May 1753. With the aid of friends, especially of
Diderot
Denis Diderot (; ; 5 October 171331 July 1784) was a French philosopher, art critic, and writer, best known for serving as co-founder, chief editor, and contributor to the ''Encyclopédie'' along with Jean le Rond d'Alembert. He was a prominen ...
and
Mme. d'Épinay, who reviewed many plays, always anonymously, during his temporary absences from France, Grimm himself carried on the ', which consisted of two letters a month that were painstakingly copied in manuscript by amanuenses safely apart from the French censor in
Zweibrücken
Zweibrücken (; french: Deux-Ponts, ; Palatinate German: ''Zweebrigge'', ; literally translated as "Two Bridges") is a town in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany, on the Schwarzbach river.
Name
The name ''Zweibrücken'' means 'two bridges'; olde ...
, just over the border in the
Palatinate.
![Duplessis - Suzanne Curchod, Madame Necker](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/7/7b/Duplessis_-_Suzanne_Curchod%2C_Madame_Necker.jpg)
Eventually, Grimm counted among his 16 (or 25) subscribers:
Princess Luise Dorothea of Saxe-Meiningen,
Landgravine Caroline Louise of Hesse-Darmstadt,
Louisa Ulrika of Prussia
Louisa Ulrika of Prussia ( sv, Lovisa Ulrika; german: Luise Ulrike) (24 July 1720 – 16 July 1782) was Queen of Sweden from 1751 to 1771 as the wife of King Adolf Frederick. She was queen mother during the reign of King Gustav III.
Backgr ...
,
Henry of Prussia,
Catherine II of Russia
, en, Catherine Alexeievna Romanova, link=yes
, house =
, father = Christian August, Prince of Anhalt-Zerbst
, mother = Joanna Elisabeth of Holstein-Gottorp
, birth_date =
, birth_name = Princess Sophie of Anhal ...
,
Leopold II, Holy Roman Emperor
, house =Habsburg-Lorraine
, father = Francis I, Holy Roman Emperor
, mother = Maria Theresa of Hungary and Bohemia
, religion =Roman Catholicism
, succession1 =Grand Duke of Tuscany
, reign1 =18 A ...
,
Gustav III of Sweden
Gustav III (29 March 1792), also called ''Gustavus III'', was King of Sweden from 1771 until his assassination in 1792. He was the eldest son of Adolf Frederick of Sweden and Queen Louisa Ulrika of Prussia.
Gustav was a vocal opponent of what ...
, and many princes of the smaller German states, as
Charles Frederick, Grand Duke of Baden,
Karl August, Grand Duke of Saxe-Weimar-Eisenach,
Charles Alexander, Margrave of Brandenburg-Ansbach
Christian Friedrich Carl Alexander (german: Christian Friedrich Karl Alexander; 24 February 1736 – 5 January 1806) was the last margrave of the two Franconian principalities, Bayreuth and Ansbach, which he sold to the King of Prussia, a fello ...
,
William Henry, Prince of Nassau-Saarbrücken
William Henry, Prince of Nassau-Saarbrücken (6 March 1718 – 24 July 1768), was Prince of Nassau-Saarbrücken from 1741 until his death.
Life
William Henry was born in Usingen, the fifth son of William Henry of Nassau-Usingen Born and Pr ...
, and
Frederick Michael, Count Palatine of Zweibrücken
Frederick Michael, Count Palatine of Zweibrücken-Birkenfeld (Ribeauvillé, Alsace, 27 February 1724 – 15 August 1767 in Schwetzingen) was a member of the Wittelsbach dynasty. He was the son of Christian III of Palatinate-Zweibrücken and Ca ...
. Between 1763 and 1766, Grimm attempted to recruit
Frederick the Great
Frederick II (german: Friedrich II.; 24 January 171217 August 1786) was King in Prussia from 1740 until 1772, and King of Prussia from 1772 until his death in 1786. His most significant accomplishments include his military successes in the Sil ...
as a subscriber.
Mme Geoffrin, whose
Paris salon
The Salon (french: Salon), or rarely Paris Salon (French: ''Salon de Paris'' ), beginning in 1667 was the official art exhibition of the Académie des Beaux-Arts in Paris. Between 1748 and 1890 it was arguably the greatest annual or biennial art ...
Grimm frequented, enrolled
Stanislas Poniatowski as a subscriber, writing him: "Here is your first number, together with Grimm's accompanying letter. Your Majesty will see that it is important that no copies be made. The German courts are very loyal to Grimm in this particular. I may even say to Your Majesty that negligence on this point could have serious consequences for me, the matter having passed through my hands."
The correspondence of Grimm was strictly confidential and was not divulged during his lifetime. It embraces nearly the whole period from 1750 to 1790, but the later volumes, 1773 to 1790, were chiefly the work of his secretary, the Swiss , with whom he made acquaintance in the salon of
Suzanne Curchod Suzanne Curchod (1737 – 6 May 1794) was a French-Swiss salonist and writer. She hosted one of the most celebrated salons of the Ancien Régime. She also led the development of the Hospice de Charité, a model small hospital in Paris that still ...
, the wife of Jacques Necker. At first he contented himself with enumerating the chief current views in literature and art and indicating very slightly the contents of the principal new books, but gradually his criticisms became more extended and trenchant, and he touched on nearly every subject — political, literary, artistic, social and religious — that interested the Parisian society of the time. His notices of contemporaries are somewhat severe, and he exhibits the foibles and selfishness of the society in which he moved; but he was unbiased in his literary judgments, and time has only served to confirm his criticisms. In style and manner of expression, he is thoroughly French. He is generally somewhat cold in his appreciation, but his literary taste is delicate and subtle, and it was the opinion of
Sainte-Beuve
Charles Augustin Sainte-Beuve (; 23 December 1804 – 13 October 1869) was a French literary critic.
Early life
He was born in Boulogne, educated there, and studied medicine at the Collège Charlemagne in Paris (1824–27). In 1828, he se ...
that the quality of his thought in his best moments will compare not unfavourably even with that of
Voltaire
François-Marie Arouet (; 21 November 169430 May 1778) was a French Age of Enlightenment, Enlightenment writer, historian, and philosopher. Known by his ''Pen name, nom de plume'' M. de Voltaire (; also ; ), he was famous for his wit, and his ...
. His religious and philosophical opinions were entirely sceptical.
Content of the '
![Grimm Diderot Correspondance littéraire 1813](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/ac/Grimm_Diderot_Correspondance_litt%C3%A9raire_1813.jpg)
For several years, Grimm reported on the painters and paintings in the
Salon de Paris
The Salon (french: Salon), or rarely Paris Salon (French: ''Salon de Paris'' ), beginning in 1667 was the official art exhibition of the Académie des Beaux-Arts in Paris. Between 1748 and 1890 it was arguably the greatest annual or biennial art ...
, and was successfully succeeded by Diderot; he appreciated the architects
Jacques-Germain Soufflot
Jacques-Germain Soufflot (, 22 July 1713 – 29 August 1780) was a French architect in the international circle that introduced neoclassicism. His most famous work is the Panthéon in Paris, built from 1755 onwards, originally as a church de ...
, and
Claude-Nicolas Ledoux, the naturalist and mathematician
Buffon, the mathematician
Leonhard Euler
Leonhard Euler ( , ; 15 April 170718 September 1783) was a Swiss mathematician, physicist, astronomer, geographer, logician and engineer who founded the studies of graph theory and topology and made pioneering and influential discoveries in ma ...
, and the political scientist
Condorcet
Marie Jean Antoine Nicolas de Caritat, Marquis of Condorcet (; 17 September 1743 – 29 March 1794), known as Nicolas de Condorcet, was a French philosopher and mathematician. His ideas, including support for a liberal economy, free and equal pu ...
. Grimm asked Diderot to review ''Voyage autour du monde'' ("A Voyage Round the World") by
Louis Antoine de Bougainville. Grimm had paid attention to the case
Jean Calas
Jean Calas (1698 – 10 March 1762) was a merchant living in Toulouse, France, who was tried, tortured and executed for the murder of his son, despite his protestations of innocence. Calas was a Protestant in an officially Catholic society. Dou ...
, the problems between Rousseau and
David Hume
David Hume (; born David Home; 7 May 1711 NS (26 April 1711 OS) – 25 August 1776) Cranston, Maurice, and Thomas Edmund Jessop. 2020 999br>David Hume" ''Encyclopædia Britannica''. Retrieved 18 May 2020. was a Scottish Enlightenment philo ...
, the
Montgolfier brothers
The Montgolfier brothers – Joseph-Michel Montgolfier (; 26 August 1740 – 26 June 1810) and Jacques-Étienne Montgolfier (; 6 January 1745 – 2 August 1799) – were aviation pioneers, balloonists and paper manufacturers from the commune A ...
, and
Madame de Staël Madame may refer to:
* Madam, civility title or form of address for women, derived from the French
* Madam (prostitution), a term for a woman who is engaged in the business of procuring prostitutes, usually the manager of a brothel
* ''Madame'' ...
when she published her ''Letters on the works and character of J.J. Rousseau''. The ' became one of the influential media to spread malicious and false information on Rousseau.
Grimm did not appreciate Mondonville's ''
Daphnis et Alcimadure
(in Occitan classical norm, ''Dafnís e Alcimadura'', or according to the original libretto spelling, ''Daphnis e Alcimaduro'') is an opera by the Baroque violinist, conductor and composer Jean-Joseph Cassanéa de Mondonville to a libretto in ...
'', though he approved the use of the
Occitan Occitan may refer to:
* Something of, from, or related to the Occitania territory in parts of France, Italy, Monaco and Spain.
* Something of, from, or related to the Occitania administrative region of France.
* Occitan language
Occitan (; o ...
language, as being closer to Italian; according to Grimm "In
Zoroastre it is day and night alternately but as the poet ... cannot count up to five he has got so muddled in his reckoning that he has been compelled to make it be day and night two or three times in each act so that it might be day at the end of the play". He wrote about
Caffarelli Caffarelli may be
*Caffarelli (castrato), stage name of the castrato Gaetano Majorano (1710-1783)Carmela Cafarelli(1889-1979) was proprietor of Cleveland Ohio's Cafarelli Opera Company
*Luis Caffarelli (born 1948), American-Argentine mathematician
* ...
; about
Pierre de Beaumarchais
Pierre-Augustin Caron de Beaumarchais (; 24 January 1732 – 18 May 1799) was a French polymath. At various times in his life, he was a watchmaker, inventor, playwright, musician, diplomat, spy, publisher, horticulturist, arms dealer, satirist ...
. Grimm didn't think much of
Antoine de Léris
Antoine de Léris (Mont-Louis, Roussillon, 28 February 1723 — 1795) was a French journalist and drama critic of the 18th century and a historian of the French theatre, author of the ''Dictionnaire portatif historique et littéraire des théâtres ...
: "The author claims that the public received his work with indulgence. If perfect oblivion may so be called, the author is right to be grateful"; The diminished ' continued without Grimm until the revolutionary year 1790.
Connections
In 1755, after the death of Count von Friesen (1727–1755), who was a nephew of
Marshal Maurice de Saxe and an officer in the French army, Grimm secured a
sinecure
A sinecure ( or ; from the Latin , 'without', and , 'care') is an office, carrying a salary or otherwise generating income, that requires or involves little or no responsibility, labour, or active service. The term originated in the medieval chu ...
worth 2000 ''livres'' a year as ''secrétaire des commandements'' to
Marshal d'Estrées on the Westphalia campaign of 1756–57 during the
Seven Years' War
The Seven Years' War (1756–1763) was a global conflict that involved most of the European Great Powers, and was fought primarily in Europe, the Americas, and Asia-Pacific. Other concurrent conflicts include the French and Indian War (1754 ...
. In 1759, he was named envoy of the town of
Frankfurt
Frankfurt, officially Frankfurt am Main (; Hessian: , "Frank ford on the Main"), is the most populous city in the German state of Hesse. Its 791,000 inhabitants as of 2022 make it the fifth-most populous city in Germany. Located on its na ...
am Main to the French court, but was deprived of his office for criticizing the
comte de Broglie
The House of Broglie (, also ; french: Maison de Broglie, or ) is a French noble family, originally Piedmontese, who migrated to France in the year 1643.
History
() was the name of an old Piedmontese noble family, from which were descended t ...
in a dispatch intercepted by
Louis XV
Louis XV (15 February 1710 – 10 May 1774), known as Louis the Beloved (french: le Bien-Aimé), was King of France from 1 September 1715 until his death in 1774. He succeeded his great-grandfather Louis XIV at the age of five. Until he reache ...
's
secret service
A secret service is a government agency, intelligence agency, or the activities of a government agency, concerned with the gathering of intelligence data. The tasks and powers of a secret service can vary greatly from one country to another. For ...
.
J.-J. Rousseau
In 1751, Grimm was introduced by Rousseau to
Madame d'Épinay, with whom he began a 30-year liaison two years later, which led after four years to an irreconcilable rupture between him, Diderot and Rousseau.
Grimm and d'Holbach supported financially the mother of
Thérèse Levasseur. Instead of Rousseau, Grimm accompanied Mme. d'Épinay to
Geneva
Geneva ( ; french: Genève ) frp, Genèva ; german: link=no, Genf ; it, Ginevra ; rm, Genevra is the List of cities in Switzerland, second-most populous city in Switzerland (after Zürich) and the most populous city of Romandy, the French-speaki ...
to visit doctor
Théodore Tronchin. Rousseau believed Grimm had made her pregnant.
Grimm criticized Rousseau's ''
Julie, or the New Heloise'' and ''
Emile, or On Education
''Emile, or On Education'' (french: Émile, ou De l’éducation) is a treatise on the nature of education and on the nature of man written by Jean-Jacques Rousseau, who considered it to be the "best and most important" of all his writings. Due t ...
''. Rousseau was induced by his resentment to give in his ''
Confessions'' a malicious portrait of Grimm's character. Grimm's betrayals of his closest friend, Diderot, finally led Diderot to bitter denunciations of him too in his ''Lettre apologétique de l'abbé Raynal à M. Grimm'' in 1781.
In 1783, Grimm lost Mme. Épinay, his most intimate friend, and the following year Diderot.
Not long after, he showed
Prince Henry of Prussia
Prince Henry of Prussia can refer to:
*Prince Henry of Prussia (1726–1802)
*Prince Henry of Prussia (1747–1767)
*Prince Henry of Prussia (1781–1846)
*Prince Henry of Prussia (1862–1929)
*Prince Henry of Prussia (1900–1904)
Prince Henry ...
, on a diplomatic trip, in Paris.
Mozart's three visits to Paris
Leopold Mozart
Johann Georg Leopold Mozart (November 14, 1719 – May 28, 1787) was a German composer, violinist and theorist. He is best known today as the father and teacher of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, and for his violin textbook ''Versuch einer gründlichen ...
decided to take his two child prodigies, the seven-year-old boy,
Wolfgang
Wolfgang is a German male given name traditionally popular in Germany, Austria and Switzerland. The name is a combination of the Old High German words ''wolf'', meaning "wolf", and ''gang'', meaning "path", "journey", "travel". Besides the regula ...
(born 27 January 1756), and the 12-year-old girl,
Nannerl (Maria Anna, born 30 July 1751), on their "
Grand Tour
The Grand Tour was the principally 17th- to early 19th-century custom of a traditional trip through Europe, with Italy as a key destination, undertaken by upper-class young European men of sufficient means and rank (typically accompanied by a tuto ...
" in June 1763. Mozart's first visit to Paris lasted from 18 November 1763 to 10 April 1764, when the family departed for London. All the many letters of recommendation carried by Leopold proved ineffectual, except the one to Melchior Grimm, which led to an effective connection. Grimm was a German who had moved to Paris at age 25 and was an advanced amateur of music and opera, which he covered as a Paris-based journalist for the aristocracy of Europe. He was persuaded "to take the German prodigies under his wing." Grimm published a highly supportive article on the Mozart children in his ''Correspondance littéraire'' of December 1763, to facilitate Leopold's entrée into Parisian high society and musical circles.
Louis Philippe II, Duke of Orléans
Louis Philippe II, Duke of Orléans (Louis Philippe Joseph; 13 April 17476 November 1793), was a major French noble who supported the French Revolution.
Louis Philippe II was born at the Château de Saint-Cloud to Louis Philippe I, Duke of Char ...
, the son of Grimm's employer, helped the Mozarts perform in Versailles, where they stayed for two weeks over Christmas and New Year.
Hermann Abert
Hermann Abert (; 25 March 1871 – 13 August 1927) was a German historian of music.
Life
Abert was born in Stuttgart, the son of Johann Josef Abert (1832–1915), the ''Hofkapellmeister'' of that city.
From 1890 to 1896 he studied classical ...
explains that "only when they had performed at Versailles were they admitted to, and admired by, aristocratic circles." Grimm recounted with pride the impressive improvisations produced by young Mozart in private and public concerts. Leopold had four of his sonatas for keyboard and violin engraved and dedicated to King Louis XV's daughter,
''Madame Victoire'', and the
Dauphine's lady-in-waiting, by "THEOPH:W:MOZART Compositeur, et Maitre de Musique, agé de 7 ans". In 1766,
Carmontelle produced a group portrait of the family performing, engraved at Grimm's instigation. In 1777,
Michel-Barthélémy Ollivier painted Wolfgang playing the pianoforte in the Prince of Conti's salon at the
Temple
A temple (from the Latin ) is a building reserved for spiritual rituals and activities such as prayer and sacrifice. Religions which erect temples include Christianity (whose temples are typically called churches), Hinduism (whose temples ...
, a painting now in the Louvre Museum.
![Arolsen Klebeband 14 013](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/e/e4/Arolsen_Klebeband_14_013.jpg)
After their long stay in London (15 months) and Holland (8 months), the Mozarts closed their "Grand Tour", which lasted three years and a half, by stopping over in Paris from 10 May to 9 July 1766, for Mozart's second visit to the French capital. Again, they were helped, guided, and mentored by Grimm. The children were by then 10 and 15 and had lost some of their public appeal as young prodigies on the now somewhat ''blasés'' Parisians. Grimm wrote a very flattering letter about the Mozart children dated 15 July 1766 in his ''Correspondance littéraire''. Commenting on Mozart's remarkable progress in all areas of music-making, Grimm predicted the future operatic success of the young composer: "He has even written several Italian arias, and I have little doubt that before he has reached the age of twelve, he will already have had an opera performed at some Italian theatre."
However, Abert warns that the reason why Grimm's Journal "nonetheless needs to be treated with caution is due to the personality of its principal contributor, for Grimm was not sufficiently well trained as a musician to do justice to the art that he was describing, nor was he the man to let slip the opportunity for a flash of wit or eloquent turn of phrase, even if it meant violating the truth in the process." Grimm's second prediction at the end of the same letter didn't turn out as prescient as the first one: "If these children live, they will not remain at Salzburg. Before long monarchs will vie for their possession." In fact, Mozart was unable to obtain employment as an opera composer from a European court and remained a free-lance opera writer all his life.
![Anna Maria Mozart](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/7/78/Anna_Maria_Mozart.jpg)
Leopold sent Mozart, then aged 22, to Paris for his third and last visit, from 23 March to 26 September 1778. But this time Mozart went only with his mother,
Anna Maria Mozart
Anna Maria Walburga Mozart (née Pertl; 25 December 1720 – 3 July 1778) was the mother of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (1756–1791) and Maria Anna Mozart (1751–1829).
Life Youth
She was born in St. Gilgen, Archbishopric of Salzburg, to Eva ...
, while Leopold remained in Salzburg, in order to save his employment. Grimm helped, guided, and advised Mozart and his mother again, acting as a proud manager. But Mozart mostly encountered a series of disappointments, while tragedy struck when Anna Maria fell ill with
typhoid fever
Typhoid fever, also known as typhoid, is a disease caused by '' Salmonella'' serotype Typhi bacteria. Symptoms vary from mild to severe, and usually begin six to 30 days after exposure. Often there is a gradual onset of a high fever over several ...
and died on 3 July 1778. After the death of his mother, Mozart moved in with Grimm who was living with Mme d'Épinay, at 5,
rue de la Chaussée-d'Antin
This "quartier" of Paris got its name from the rue de la Chaussée-d'Antin in the 9th arrondissement of Paris. It runs north-northwest from the Boulevard des Italiens to the Église de la Sainte-Trinité.
In the 17th century the ''chemin des Po ...
. For the first time in his life, Mozart was on his own.
Grimm, a man with strong opinions, nicknamed
"Tyran le Blanc", and Mozart did not get along very well. Mozart found himself disappointed in Paris. The city was "indescribably dirty"; Grimm complained he was "not running around enough" to get pupils, as he found that calling on his introductions was tiring, too expensive, and unproductive: "People pay their respects, and that's it. They arrange for me to come on such and such a day; I then play for them, and they say ''Oh, c'est un prodige, c'est inconcevable, c'est étonnant.'' And, with that, ''adieu''." He never got paid for his ''Concerto for flute and harp in C'', K. 299, written for the Duke of Guines and his daughter, nor for his ballet ''Les petits riens'' K. 299b.
Mozart was recruited by the director of the "
Concert Spirituel", Joseph Legros, to write some choruses, K. 297a, which were played without giving credit to Mozart. Then Mozart wrote a ''Sinfonia concertante in E flat major'' K. 297b, for a group of four wind players from Mannheim, which he sold to Legros without keeping a copy. Legros never had it copied for performance, and the work became considered "lost". Mozart at last enjoyed one great success at the ''Concert Spirituel'' as a composer with his ''Symphony No. 31 in D'', K. 297 (''
Paris Symphony
The Symphony No. 31 in D major, Köchel-Verzeichnis, K. 297/300a, better known as the Paris Symphony, is one of the most famous Symphony, symphonies by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. It may have been first of his symphonies to be published when Seiber ...
''), performed on 18 June 1778 "to unanimous acclaim".
Mozart kept finding Paris "totally at odds" with his "genius, inclinations, knowledge, and sympathies". He kept expressing his deep dislike of the French, their character, their rudeness, their being "frightfully arrogant", and he was "appalled by their general immorality". Like Jean-Jacques Rousseau, Mozart found the French language inherently unmusical and "so damned impossible where music is concerned", ironizing that "the devil himself must have invented the language of these people". He felt that French music was worthless: "They understand nothing about music", echoing what Leopold had declared during their first visit to Paris: "The whole of French music is not worth a sou". He judged their singers inept. "I'm surrounded by nothing but beasts and animals. But how can it be otherwise, for they're just the same in all their actions, emotions, and passions."
Suspicious by nature, Mozart ended up distrusting Grimm, while "Grimm himself was bound to find Mozart increasingly baffling as a person — with his curious mixture of self-confidence and dreaminess". Mozart found himself obliged to borrow "as much as fifteen louis d'or" from Grimm. Voltaire's death on 30 May 1778 made clear "the full extent of the yawning void between them". Grimm warned Leopold that the need for continual and intense networking in Paris was too demanding for Wolfgang, "for it is a very tiring thing to run to the four corners of Paris and exhaust oneself in explanations. And then this profession will not please him, because it will keep him from writing, which is what he likes above all things." Their dealings "ended on a note of the deepest disharmony." Leopold agreed that Mozart should leave Paris: "You don't like Paris, and on the whole I don't blame you ... My next letter will tell you that you are to leave Paris." Grimm organized for Mozart's trip to Strasbourg, promising a diligence to cover the trip in five days, but forced Mozart to travel by stagecoach, a journey that took twelve days. Mozart "himself left the city on 26 September, as ill-tempered and disgruntled as when he had arrived there." Mozart broke the journey in Nancy on 3 October, finally arriving in Strasbourg on 14 October 1778.
In the course of his three visits, Mozart spent a total of 13 months in Paris, all of them under the guidance and assistance of Grimm.
Catherine II of Russia
![Catherine II with her family (engraving)](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/dd/Catherine_II_with_her_family_%28engraving%29.jpg)
Grimm's introduction to
Catherine II of Russia
, en, Catherine Alexeievna Romanova, link=yes
, house =
, father = Christian August, Prince of Anhalt-Zerbst
, mother = Joanna Elisabeth of Holstein-Gottorp
, birth_date =
, birth_name = Princess Sophie of Anhal ...
took place at
Saint Petersburg
Saint Petersburg ( rus, links=no, Санкт-Петербург, a=Ru-Sankt Peterburg Leningrad Petrograd Piter.ogg, r=Sankt-Peterburg, p=ˈsankt pʲɪtʲɪrˈburk), formerly known as Petrograd (1914–1924) and later Leningrad (1924–1991), i ...
in 1773, when he was in the suite of
Wilhelmina of Hesse-Darmstadt on the occasion of her marriage to the
Tsarevitch Paul. A few weeks later Diderot arrived. On 1 November they both became members of the
Russian Academy of Sciences
The Russian Academy of Sciences (RAS; russian: Росси́йская акаде́мия нау́к (РАН) ''Rossíyskaya akadémiya naúk'') consists of the national academy of Russia; a network of scientific research institutes from across t ...
. Because of his
atheism
Atheism, in the broadest sense, is an absence of belief in the existence of deities. Less broadly, atheism is a rejection of the belief that any deities exist. In an even narrower sense, atheism is specifically the position that there no d ...
, Diderot had little success in the imperial capital, and when he criticized Catharine's style of governing, Grimm moved away from him. According to
Jonathan Israel, Grimm was a representative of the
Enlightened Absolutism
Enlightened absolutism (also called enlightened despotism) refers to the conduct and policies of European absolute monarchs during the 18th and early 19th centuries who were influenced by the ideas of the Enlightenment, espousing them to enhance ...
. Grimm introduced
Ferdinando Galiani and
Cesare Beccaria
Cesare Bonesana di Beccaria, Marquis of Gualdrasco and Villareggio (; 15 March 173828 November 1794) was an Italian criminologist, jurist, philosopher, economist and politician, who is widely considered one of the greatest thinkers of the Age ...
, and promoted
Jean Huber
Jean Huber (13 February 1721 – 21 August 1786) was a Swiss painter, silhouette, silhouettiste, soldier and author, who was a citizen of the Republic of Geneva#Republic of Geneva (1541-1798 and 1813-1815), Republic of Geneva.
Biography
Huber was ...
and
Johann Friedrich Reiffenstein in the
Russian Empire
The Russian Empire was an empire and the final period of the Russian monarchy from 1721 to 1917, ruling across large parts of Eurasia. It succeeded the Tsardom of Russia following the Treaty of Nystad, which ended the Great Northern War. ...
. He became minister of Saxe-Gotha at the French court in 1776. In 1777, he again visited Saint Petersburg, where he remained for nearly a year.
Grimm loved to play chess and cards with the empress. According to Simon Dixon, he influenced Catherine with his ideas on Rousseau. He acted as Paris agent for the empress in the purchase of works of art, and executed many confidential commissions for her. With his help, the libraries of Diderot (in 1766) and
Voltaire
François-Marie Arouet (; 21 November 169430 May 1778) was a French Age of Enlightenment, Enlightenment writer, historian, and philosopher. Known by his ''Pen name, nom de plume'' M. de Voltaire (; also ; ), he was famous for his wit, and his ...
(in 1778) were bought and sent to the Russian capital. In 1779, he introduced
Giacomo Quarenghi as an architect and
Clodion
Claude Michel (20 December 1738 – 29 March 1814), known as Clodion, was a French sculptor in the Rococo style, especially noted for his works in marble, bronze, & terracotta.
Life
He was born in Nancy to Anne Adam and Thomas Michel, an un ...
as a sculptor, when
Étienne Maurice Falconet came back to Paris. In 1787, Catherine asked Grimm to burn her letters to him, "or else put them in safekeeping, so that no one can unearth them for a century."
Chevalier de Saint-Georges
![Armide Lully by Saint-Aubin](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/f/f6/Armide_Lully_by_Saint-Aubin.jpg)
Like
Christoph Willibald Gluck
Christoph Willibald (Ritter von) Gluck (; 2 July 1714 – 15 November 1787) was a composer of Italian and French opera in the early classical period. Born in the Upper Palatinate and raised in Bohemia, both part of the Holy Roman Empire, he g ...
and
Ranieri de' Calzabigi Ranieri de' Calzabigi (; 23 December 1714 – July 1795) was an Italian poet and librettist, most famous for his collaboration with the composer Christoph Willibald Gluck on his "reform" operas.
Born in Livorno, Calzabigi spent the 1750s in Paris ...
, Grimm was occupied with
operatic reform. Grimm loved theatre, criticized the
Comédie Française and praised the private theatre of
Madame de Montesson
''Charlotte''-Jeanne Béraud de La Haye de Riou (4 October 1738 – 6 February 1806) was a mistress to Louis Philippe d'Orléans, Duke of Orléans, and ultimately, his wife; however, Louis XV would not allow her to become the Duchess. She wrot ...
, the wife of his employer.
In 1776, the ' (the
Paris Opéra) was once again in dire straits. A "consortium of capitalists", to quote the critic Baron Grimm, proposed
Chevalier de Saint-Georges
Joseph Bologne, Chevalier de Saint-Georges (25 December 1745 – 10 June 1799), was a French Creole (people), Creole virtuoso violinist and composer, who was conductor of the leading symphony orchestra in Paris.
Saint-Georges was born in the ...
as the next director of the opera. He helped Saint-Georges, living in the adjacent mansion with Madame de Montesson. Mozart spent over two months next to Saint-Georges. The two mansions had a communal garden, a chapel and a theater.
Les Lotissements de la Chaussée d'Antin
/ref>
Retirement
From ''Erinnerungen einer Urgrossmutter'', it becomes clear that, in 1792, he left Rue du Mont-Blanc (in 1792, during the French Revolution, ''rue de la Chaussée d'Antin'' was renamed ''rue du Mont-Blanc'', after the department
Department may refer to:
* Departmentalization, division of a larger organization into parts with specific responsibility
Government and military
*Department (administrative division), a geographical and administrative division within a country, ...
of that name. It regained its original name in 1815), and settled in Gotha, living in the ducal palace Friedenstein Castle
Friedenstein Palace (german: Schloss Friedenstein) is an early Baroque palace built in the mid-17th century by Ernest I, Duke of Saxe-Gotha at Gotha, Thuringia, Germany. In Germany, ''Friedenstein'' was one of the largest palaces of its time and o ...
. His poverty was relieved by Catherine, who shortly before her death appointed him minister of Russia at Hamburg
(male), (female) en, Hamburger(s),
Hamburgian(s)
, timezone1 = Central (CET)
, utc_offset1 = +1
, timezone1_DST = Central (CEST)
, utc_offset1_DST = +2
, postal ...
. Although not very thrilled, he travelled with Émilie de Belsunce, Mme. d'Épinay's granddaughter, later Comtesse de Bueil. When he suddenly became blind on 17 January 1797, he gave up his new post. (Grimm had problems with his eyesight since 1762.) He and the young Émilie stayed a few weeks in Altona. They travelled to Braunschweig
Braunschweig () or Brunswick ( , from Low German ''Brunswiek'' , Braunschweig dialect: ''Bronswiek'') is a city in Lower Saxony, Germany, north of the Harz Mountains at the farthest navigable point of the river Oker, which connects it to the Nor ...
, where they stayed from the summer of 1797 until June 1800, and where Émilie was tutored by Willem Bilderdijk. Grimm was then invited again by Ernest II, Duke of Saxe-Gotha-Altenburg. He died at Gotha on 19 December 1807.
The main-belt asteroid 6912 Grimm was named after him.
Works
Grimm's ', was edited, with many excisions, by Jean-Baptiste-Antoine Suard
Jean-Baptiste-Antoine Suard (15 January 1732 – 20 July 1817) was a French journalist, translator and man of letters during the Age of Enlightenment. He was born in Besançon and died in Paris.
Biography
Suard was incarcerated in the ''Royal F ...
and published at Paris in 1812, in 6 vols. 8vo; ', in 1812 in 5 vols. 8vo; and ', in 1813 in 5 vols. 8vo. A supplementary volume appeared in 1814; the whole correspondence was collected and published by , with the assistance of A. Chaudé, in a ' (Paris, 1829, 15 vols. 8vo); and the ' was published in 1829. The standard edition was that of Jean Maurice Tourneux
Maurice Tourneux (12 July 184913 January 1917) was a French man of letters and bibliographer.
Life
The son of the artist and author J.F.E. Tourneux, he was born in Paris.
He began his career as a bibliographer by collaborating in new editions ...
(16 vols., 1877–1882). It is now being replaced by the new edition published by Ulla Kölving at the , Ferney-Voltaire.
Grimm's ', and ''Catherine's correspondence with Grimm'' (1774–1796) were published by J. Grot in 1880, in the collection of the Russian Imperial Historical Society. She treats him very familiarly and calls him Heraclite, Georges Dandin, etc. At the time of the Revolution, she begged him to destroy her letters, but he refused, and after his death, they were returned to Saint Petersburg. Grimm's side of the correspondence, however, is only partially preserved. He signs himself "Pleureur". Some of Grimm's letters, besides the official correspondence, are included in the edition of Tourneux; others are contained in the ''Erinnerungen einer Urgrossmutter'' of Katharina von Bechtolsheim, edited (Berlin, 1902) by Count C. Oberndorff.
Notes
References
Sources
*
*
*
* This turn cites:
** Mme d'Épinay, ''Mémoires''
** Rousseau, ''Confessions''
** E. Scherer, ''Melchior Grimm'' (1887)
**Charles Augustin Sainte-Beuve
Charles Augustin Sainte-Beuve (; 23 December 1804 – 13 October 1869) was a French literary critic.
Early life
He was born in Boulogne, educated there, and studied medicine at the Collège Charlemagne in Paris (1824–27). In 1828, he se ...
, ''Causeries du lundi'', vol. vii
**K. A. Georges, ''Friedrich Melchior Grimm'' (Hanover and Leipzig, 1904).
*
*
*
*
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Grimm, Friedrich Melchior, Baron Von
1723 births
1807 deaths
Writers from Regensburg
German essayists
Honorary members of the Saint Petersburg Academy of Sciences
Barons of the Holy Roman Empire
German writers in French
18th-century German writers
18th-century German male writers
19th-century German writers
19th-century German male writers
Contributors to the Encyclopédie (1751–1772)
Denis Diderot
Jean-Jacques Rousseau
German male essayists