The ' was a weekly musical review founded in 1827 by the Belgian musicologist, teacher and composer François-Joseph Fétis, then working as professor of

counterpoint In music, counterpoint is the relationship between two or more musical lines (or voices) which are harmonically interdependent yet independent in rhythm and melodic contour. It has been most commonly identified in the European classical tradi ...

and

fugue In music, a fugue () is a contrapuntal compositional technique in two or more voices, built on a subject (a musical theme) that is introduced at the beginning in imitation (repetition at different pitches) and which recurs frequently in the c ...

at the

Conservatoire de Paris The Conservatoire de Paris (), also known as the Paris Conservatory, is a college of music and dance founded in 1795. Officially known as the Conservatoire National Supérieur de Musique et de Danse de Paris (CNSMDP), it is situated in the avenue ...

. It was the first French-language journal dedicated entirely to

classical music Classical music generally refers to the art music of the Western world, considered to be distinct from Western folk music or popular music traditions. It is sometimes distinguished as Western classical music, as the term "classical music" also ...

. In November 1835 it merged with

Maurice Schlesinger Moritz Adolf Schlesinger (30 October 1798 in Berlin – 25 February 1871 in Baden-Baden), generally known during his French career as Maurice Schlesinger, was a German music editor. He is perhaps best remembered for inspiring the character of M. Ar ...

's ''Gazette musicale de Paris'' (first published in January 1834) to form ''Revue et gazette musicale de Paris'', first published on 1 November 1835. It ceased publication in 1880.

History

By 1830 the ''Revue musicale'', written and published by Fétis, was on sale at

's music seller's premises.Vol 7 (Tome VIII, IV^me année) (1830) sold by Fétis, Alexandre Mesnier & Schlesinger. See review of Vol. 7 i
''Revue française'', Issues 13-14, p. 281-3
Schlesinger (whose father founded the ''Berliner allgemeine musikalische Zeitung'') was a German music editor who had moved to Paris in 1821. Schlesinger published editions of classical and modern music under his own name at a reasonable price, most notably works by

Mozart Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (27 January 17565 December 1791), baptised as Joannes Chrysostomus Wolfgangus Theophilus Mozart, was a prolific and influential composer of the Classical period (music), Classical period. Despite his short life, his ra ...

, Haydn,

Weber Weber (, or ; German: ) is a surname of German origin, derived from the noun meaning " weaver". In some cases, following migration to English-speaking countries, it has been anglicised to the English surname 'Webber' or even 'Weaver'. Notable pe ...

Beethoven Ludwig van Beethoven (baptised 17 December 177026 March 1827) was a German composer and pianist. Beethoven remains one of the most admired composers in the history of Western music; his works rank amongst the most performed of the classical ...

, Hummel and Berlioz. He also published '' Robert le diable'' and ''

Les Huguenots () is an opera by Giacomo Meyerbeer and is one of the most popular and spectacular examples of grand opera. In five acts, to a libretto A libretto (Italian for "booklet") is the text used in, or intended for, an extended musical work suc ...

'' by

Giacomo Meyerbeer Giacomo Meyerbeer (born Jakob Liebmann Beer; 5 September 1791 – 2 May 1864) was a German opera composer, "the most frequently performed opera composer during the nineteenth century, linking Mozart and Wagner". With his 1831 opera ''Robert le di ...

, as well as ''

La Juive ''La Juive'' () (''The Jewess'') is a grand opera in five acts by Fromental Halévy to an original French libretto by Eugène Scribe; it was first performed at the Opéra, Paris, on 23 February 1835. Composition history ''La Juive'' was one of t ...

'' by Fromental Halévy. Schlesinger founded his own rival publication, the ''Gazette Musicale de Paris'', which first appeared on 5 January 1834. Another music journal, ''

Le Ménestrel ''Le Ménestrel'' (The Minstrel) was an influential French music journal published weekly from 1833 until 1940. It was founded by Joseph-Hippolyte l'Henry and originally printed by Poussièlgue. In 1840 it was acquired by the music publishers Heu ...

'', had first appeared the previous month on 1 December 1833. Until ''La Revue et Gazette'' ceased publication in 1880, ''Le Ménestrel'' was to be its main rival in terms of influence and breadth of coverage. In 1835, Schlesinger bought the ''Revue musicale'' from Fétis and merged the two journals into the ''Revue et gazette musicale de Paris''. He widened the subject matter of the ' from music itself to also include literature about music – in 1837 he commissioned from Honoré de Balzac for the ''Gazette'' the

novella A novella is a narrative prose fiction whose length is shorter than most novels, but longer than most short stories. The English word ''novella'' derives from the Italian ''novella'' meaning a short story related to true (or apparently so) facts ...

Gambara Gambara (Brescian: ), not to be confused with Gambarana, is a town and ''comune'' in the province of Brescia, in Lombardy. Bordering communes are Asola (MN), Fiesse, Gottolengo, Isorella, Ostiano (CR), Pralboino, Remedello and Volongo (CR ...

'' (dealing with the new style of grand opera). The name ''Revue musicale'' returned for six months in 1839 as the ''Revue musicale, journal des artistes, des amateurs et des théatres'' while the journal was a bi-weekly publication. The list of contributors to the ''Revue et gazette musicale'' in 1840 included:

François Benoist François Benoist (10 September 1794 – 6 May 1878) was a French organist, composer, and pedagogue. Benoist was born in Nantes. He took his first music lessons under Georges Scheuermann. Benoist studied music at the Conservatoire de Paris and ...

Hector Berlioz In Greek mythology, Hector (; grc, Ἕκτωρ, Hektōr, label=none, ) is a character in Homer's Iliad. He was a Trojan prince and the greatest warrior for Troy during the Trojan War. Hector led the Trojans and their allies in the defense o ...

Castil-Blaze François-Henri-Joseph Blaze, known as Castil-Blaze (1 December 1784 – 11 December 1857), was a French musicologist, music critic, composer, and music editor. Biography Blaze was born and grew up in Cavaillon, Vaucluse. He went to Paris ...

Antoine Elwart Antoine Aimable Elie Elwart (19 September 1808 – 14 October 1877) was a French composer and musicologist. Biography Childhood Elwart was born in Paris in the family home. At the age of ten, he became a chorister at the mastery of the Saint-Eu ...

Stephen Heller Stephen Heller (15 May 1813 – 14 January 1888) was a Hungarian pianist, teacher, and composer whose career spanned the period from Schumann to Bizet. Heller was an influence for later Romantic composers. He outlived his reputation, and was a ...

Jules Janin Jules Gabriel Janin (16 February 1804 – 19 June 1874) was a French writer and critic. Life and career Born in Saint-Étienne (Loire), Janin's father was a lawyer, and he was educated first at St. Étienne, and then at the lycée Louis-le-Gra ...

, Jean-Georges Kastner, Léon Charles François Kreutzer,

Franz Liszt Franz Liszt, in modern usage ''Liszt Ferenc'' . Liszt's Hungarian passport spelled his given name as "Ferencz". An orthographic reform of the Hungarian language in 1922 (which was 36 years after Liszt's death) changed the letter "cz" to simpl ...

, Édouard Monnais (director of the

Paris Opera The Paris Opera (, ) is the primary opera and ballet company of France. It was founded in 1669 by Louis XIV as the , and shortly thereafter was placed under the leadership of Jean-Baptiste Lully and officially renamed the , but continued to be ...

from 1839 to 1847),

Joseph d'Ortigue Joseph Louis d'Ortigue (22 May 1802 – 20 November 1866) was a French musicologist and critic. A specialist in liturgical music and a conservative Catholic of ultramontane and royalist leanings, he was a close friend of both Berlioz and Liszt. Hi ...

Theodor Panofka Theodor Sigismund Panofka (25 February 1800, Breslau – 20 June 1858, Berlin) was a German archaeologist, art historian and philologist. He was one of the first scholars to make a systematic study of the pottery of Ancient Greece, and one of th ...

Ludwig Rellstab Heinrich Friedrich Ludwig Rellstab (13 April 179927 November 1860) was a German poet and music critic. He was born and died in Berlin. He was the son of the music publisher and composer Johann Carl Friedrich Rellstab. An able pianist, he publi ...

, Georges Sand,

Robert Schumann Robert Schumann (; 8 June 181029 July 1856) was a German composer, pianist, and influential music critic. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest composers of the Romantic era. Schumann left the study of law, intending to pursue a career a ...

and

Richard Wagner Wilhelm Richard Wagner ( ; ; 22 May 181313 February 1883) was a German composer, theatre director, polemicist, and conductor who is chiefly known for his operas (or, as some of his mature works were later known, "music dramas"). Unlike most op ...

. The French-language monthly magazine ''

Revue des deux Mondes The ''Revue des deux Mondes'' (, ''Review of the Two Worlds'') is a monthly French-language literary, cultural and current affairs magazine that has been published in Paris since 1829. According to its website, "it is today the place for debates a ...

'', founded in July 1829, also featured a section named "Revue musicale".

Publication chronology, 1827—1850

;''Revue musicale'' First series (6 volumes) - published monthly by Fétis.
Vol. 1 (1827-8)
Première année – Tome I
Vol. 2 (1828)
Première année – Tome II
Vol. 3 (1828)
Tome III
Vol. 4 (1829)
Deuxième année – Tome IV
Vol. 5 (1829)
Troisième année – Tome V
Vol. 6 (1830)
Quatrième année – Tome VI (ending January 1830) Second series (9 volumes) - published weekly on Saturdays by Fétis.
Vol. 7
(Deuxième serie, Tome premier) (6 February–1 May 1830)
Vol. 8
(Deuxième serie, Tome second) (8 May–7 August 1830)
Vol. 9
(Deuxième serie, Tome troisième) (14 August–6 November 1830)
Vol. 10
(13 November 1830 – 29 January 1831)
Vol. 11
(Tome XI - V^me année: 5 February 1831 – 28 January 1832)
Vol. 12
(Tome XII - VI^me année: 4 February 1832 – 26 January 1833) * Vol. 13 (1833) (Tome XIII - VII^me année) *
Issue No. 1, 2 February 1833
*
Issue No. 48, 28 December 1833
* Vol. 14 (Tome XIV - VIII^me année) *
Issue No. 1, 5 January 1834
*
Issue No. 52, 28 December 1834

Vol. 15
(IX^me année: 4 January 1835 – 27 December 1835) Published on Sundays ;''Gazette musicale de Paris'' Published weekly by Schlesinger on Sundays.
1834, Vol. 1
(First edition, 1^ère année, No. 1, Sunday 5 January 1834)
1834, Vol. 2
(1^ère année, No. 27, 6 July 1834)
1835, Vol. 1
(2^e année, No. 2, 11 January 1835). In issue 44, pp. 353–4 (the first edition of ''Revue et Gazette Musicale de Paris'') Schlesinger - comparing himself to a general of Ancient Greece - announced on 1 November 1835 in glowing terms that the struggle with Fétis had been won, and that ''La Revue Musicale'' would pass, with arms and baggage-train, ensigns flying and with all the honours of war, into the ''Gazette musicale''. Fétis announced that subscribers to his ''Revue'' would receive the Gazette under the Revue's masthead until 1 January 1836, and that he would continue to write exclusively for the Gazette.
1835, Vol. 2
(Nos. 45-52, November–December 1835, with supplements) ; ''Revue et gazette musicale de Paris'' Appeared on Sundays.
3rd year, 18364th year, 18375th year, 1838
* 6th year, 1839. From January 1839 until 11 April 1841 the journal appeared twice weekly, on Thursdays and Sundays. For the first six months, (January–June 1839), the Thursday edition appeared as *''Revue musicale, journal des artistes, des amateurs et des théatres'' with similar font and masthead design. The first edition appeared on Thursday, 3 January 1839, with consistent volume numbering, as 6^e année, No. 1.
''Revue musicale, journal des artistes etc.''
(Thursdays only: No. 1, Thursday, 3 January 1839 to No. 26, Thursday, 27 June 1839, as ''Revue Musicale'': plus No 27, Thursday, 4 July, and No. 28, Sunday, 7 July, as ''Revue et Gazette Musicale de Paris'') The Sunday edition continued as
''Revue et gazette musicale de Paris'', 6th year, 1839
(6^e année, No. 1). (Sundays only: No. 1, Sunday, 6 January until No. 26, Sunday, 30 June; then No 27, Thursday, 4 July, and No. 28, Sunday, 7 July as above; then both Thursday and Sunday editions until No. 72, Sunday 29 December.)NB The date of the first issue is misprinted 6 Janvier ''1838'' instead of 1839.
7th year, 1840
(Contains both Thursday and Sunday editions of ''Revue et Gazette Musicale de Paris'')
8th year, 1841
(bi-weekly until issue of 11 April 1841, p. 225, then Sundays only from 18 April)
9th year, 184210th year, 1843

1844
Changes to masthead design and layout. (supplement to 7 January issue contains facsimiles of hundreds of signatures of composers and musicians).
18451846
Schlesinger sold the journal in 1846 to a former employee, Louis Brandus.
1847
Reverts to old masthead & layout.
1848
(Google books)
18491850
*etc. until 1880 The journal was suspended from September 1870 to September 1871 during the Siege of Paris, bringing the Franco-Prussian War to an end.

References

;Notes

External links

''La Revue et gazette musicale de Paris''
review of the 13-volume edition by Doris Pyee-Cohen and Diane Cloutier, 1999; and its complet
Introduction
Répertoire international de la presse musicale (RIPM)
''Revue et gazette musicale'' from 1834 to 1880
at the

Internet Archive The Internet Archive is an American digital library with the stated mission of "universal access to all knowledge". It provides free public access to collections of digitized materials, including websites, software applications/games, music, ...

{{Authority control 1827 establishments in France 1880 disestablishments in France Classical music magazines Defunct magazines published in France French-language magazines Music magazines published in France Weekly magazines published in France Magazines established in 1827 Magazines disestablished in 1880 Magazines published in Paris Music criticism