The Salle des Concerts Herz, usually referred to simply as the Salle Herz, was a former concert hall in Paris, located at 48,
rue de la Victoire
The rue de la Victoire is a street in the 9th arrondissement of Paris.
The former name of the street was "rue Chantereine", which means "singing frogs", after the many frogs in the area as the quarter was swampy. The street took the name "rue de l ...
. It was built in 1838 by the French pianist-composer
Henri Herz
Henri Herz (6 January 1803 – 5 January 1888) was a virtuoso pianist, composer and piano manufacturer, Austrian by birth and French by nationality and domicile. He was a professor in the Paris Conservatoire for more than thirty years. Among his ...
.
[Hector Berlioz Website, accessed 23 February 2011]
/ref>
The hall was used for public performances. 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 ...
conducted the premières of two of his compositions there – the overture '' Le Carnaval romain'' on 3 February 1844 and ''L'enfance du Christ
''L'enfance du Christ'' (''The Childhood of Christ''), Opus 25, is an oratorio by the French composer Hector Berlioz, based on the Holy Family's flight into Egypt (see Gospel of Matthew 2:13). Berlioz wrote his own words for the piece. Most of it ...
'' on 10 December 1854.[ Offenbach's 'tableau villageois' ''Le trésor à Mathurin'' was performed there 'in concert' on 7 May 1853, and Offenbach himself performed there as a cellist.
The first public performance of the ]saxophone
The saxophone (often referred to colloquially as the sax) is a type of single-reed woodwind instrument with a conical body, usually made of brass. As with all single-reed instruments, sound is produced when a reed on a mouthpiece vibrates to pr ...
took place there on 3 February 1844.
Non-musical events were also held in the hall. An anti-slavery conference was held there on 27 August 1867 by the British and Foreign Anti-Slavery Society
British may refer to:
Peoples, culture, and language
* British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories, and Crown Dependencies.
** Britishness, the British identity and common culture
* British English, ...
.Special report of the Anti-slavery Conference, accessed 23 February 2011
/ref>
The Salle Herz was still being used to mount concerts by Jules Danbé
Jules Danbé (16 November 1840 – 30 October 1905) was a French violinist, composer and conductor, mainly of opera.
Biography
Danbé was born in Caen, Calvados. Trained as a violinist, he was a pupil of Narcisse Girard and Marie Gabriel Augu ...
in 1874 but was subsequently demolished.
References
Laure Schnapper, ''Henri Herz, magnat du piano'', Paris, EHESS, 2011.
External links
Hector Berlioz Website Salle Herz pages, accessed 23 February 2011
{{Coord, 48.8751, 2.3357, display=title
Music halls in Paris
Former theatres in Paris
Former music venues in France
Buildings and structures in the 9th arrondissement of Paris
Demolished buildings and structures in Paris
Music venues completed in 1838
1838 establishments in France
Buildings and structures demolished in 1885