The ' () was a weekly musical review founded in 1827 by the Belgian

musicologist Musicology is the academic, research-based study of music, as opposed to musical composition or performance. Musicology research combines and intersects with many fields, including psychology, sociology, acoustics, neurology, natural sciences, f ...

, teacher and composer

François-Joseph Fétis François-Joseph Fétis (; 25 March 1784 – 26 March 1871) was a Belgian musicologist, critic, teacher and composer. He was among the most influential music intellectuals in continental Europe. His enormous compilation of biographical data in the ...

, then working as professor of counterpoint and

fugue In classical music, a fugue (, from Latin ''fuga'', meaning "flight" or "escape""Fugue, ''n''." ''The Concise Oxford English Dictionary'', eleventh edition, revised, ed. Catherine Soanes and Angus Stevenson (Oxford and New York: Oxford Universit ...

at the

Conservatoire de Paris The Conservatoire de Paris (), or 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 Jean Ja ...

. 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 #Relationship to other music traditions, distinct from Western folk music or popular music traditions. It is sometimes distinguished as Western classical mu ...

. In November 1835 it merged with Maurice Schlesinger'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 Maurice Schlesinger'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 1756 – 5 December 1791) was a prolific and influential composer of the Classical period (music), Classical period. Despite his short life, his rapid pace of composition and proficiency from an early age ...

Haydn Franz Joseph Haydn ( ; ; 31 March 173231 May 1809) was an Austrian composer of the Classical period (music), Classical period. He was instrumental in the development of chamber music such as the string quartet and piano trio. His contributions ...

, Weber,

Beethoven Ludwig van Beethoven (baptised 17 December 177026 March 1827) was a German composer and pianist. He is one of the most revered figures in the history of Western music; his works rank among the most performed of the classical music repertoire ...

, Hummel and Berlioz. He also published ''

Robert le diable ''Robert le diable'' (''Robert the Devil'') is an opera in five acts composed by Giacomo Meyerbeer between 1827 and 1831, to a libretto written in French by Eugène Scribe and Germain Delavigne. ''Robert le diable'' is regarded as one of the first ...

'' 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 by Eugène Scribe and Émile Deschamps, it premiered in Paris on 29 February 1836. Composition history '' ...

'' by

Giacomo Meyerbeer Giacomo Meyerbeer (born Jakob Liebmann Meyer Beer; 5 September 1791 – 2 May 1864) was a German opera composer, "the most frequently performed opera composer during the nineteenth century, linking Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, Mozart and Richard Wa ...

, as well as ''

La Juive ''La Juive'' (, ) 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 National de Paris, Opéra de Paris, on 23 February 1835. Composition history ''La Juive'' ...

'' 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'', 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 Honoré de Balzac ( , more commonly ; ; born Honoré Balzac; 20 May 1799 – 18 August 1850) was a French novelist and playwright. The novel sequence ''La Comédie humaine'', which presents a panorama of post-Napoleonic French life, is ...

for the ''Gazette'' the

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

'' Gambara'' (dealing with the new style of

grand opera Grand opera is a genre of 19th-century opera generally in four or five acts, characterized by large-scale casts and Orchestra, orchestras. The original productions consisted of spectacular design and stage effects with plots normally based on o ...

). 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,

Hector Berlioz Louis-Hector Berlioz (11 December 1803 – 8 March 1869) was a French Romantic music, Romantic composer and conductor. His output includes orchestral works such as the ''Symphonie fantastique'' and ''Harold en Italie, Harold in Italy'' ...

, Castil-Blaze, Antoine Elwart, Stephen Heller, Jules Janin, Jean-Georges Kastner, Léon Charles François Kreutzer,

Franz Liszt Franz Liszt (22 October 1811 – 31 July 1886) was a Hungarian composer, virtuoso pianist, conductor and teacher of the Romantic music, Romantic period. With a diverse List of compositions by Franz Liszt, body of work spanning more than six ...

, 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 kn ...

from 1839 to 1847), Joseph d'Ortigue, Theodor Panofka, Ludwig Rellstab,

George Sand Amantine Lucile Aurore Dupin de Francueil (; 1 July 1804 – 8 June 1876), best known by her pen name George Sand (), was a French novelist, memoirist and journalist. Being more renowned than either Victor Hugo or Honoré de Balz ...

Robert Schumann Robert Schumann (; ; 8 June 181029 July 1856) was a German composer, pianist, and music critic of the early Romantic music, Romantic era. He composed in all the main musical genres of the time, writing for solo piano, voice and piano, chamber ...

and

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

. The French-language monthly magazine '' Revue des Deux Mondes'', 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 The Franco-Prussian War or Franco-German War, often referred to in France as the War of 1870, was a conflict between the Second French Empire and the North German Confederation led by the Kingdom of Prussia. Lasting from 19 July 1870 to 28 Janua ...

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 501(c)(3) organization, non-profit organization founded in 1996 by Brewster Kahle that runs a digital library website, archive.org. It provides free access to collections of digitized media including web ...

{{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