Salon music was a popular music genre in Europe during the 19th century. It was usually written for solo piano in the romantic style, and often performed by the composer at events known as "Salons". Salon compositions are usually fairly short and often focus on virtuoso pianistic display or emotional expression of a sentimental character. Common subgenres of salon music are the operatic paraphrase or fantasia, in which multiple themes from a popular opera are the basis of the composition, and the musical character-piece, which portrays in music a particular situation or narrative.
Video Salon music
Salon composers
Many popular composers wrote at least a few pieces which fall into the category of salon music. Some pianists composed only salon music, but many of these specialists have become highly obscure.
- Sigismond Thalberg specialized in operatic paraphrases, often featuring a "three-hand technique" that was his trademark. Often regarded as the greatest of the "salon only" pianists.
- John Field composed a series of nocturnes that greatly influenced Chopin.
- Frédéric Chopin was influenced by Field and elements of salon style appear in some of his works (some early Waltzes and Nocturnes, Impromptus).
- Franz Liszt, like Chopin, transcends the genre. Only a few of his compositions (the Valse-Impromptu, the Galop Chromatique, or some of the operatic fantasies) can be said to lie entirely within the salon tradition.
- Louis Moreau Gottschalk is notable as the first American pianist to achieve success in Europe.
- Henri Herz
- Gustav Lange
- Cécile Chaminade
- Moritz Moszkowski
- Ignaz Moscheles
- Benjamin Godard
- Emmanuel Chabrier
- Giselle Galos, until 2010 known only by the pseudonym "C. Galos" and originally believed to be male, composed two pieces of popular salon music in the form of easy nocturnes.
- Désiré Magnus
- Jules Massenet
- Théodore Lack
- Juventino Rosas, composer of Sobre las olas (Over the Waves)
- Gioachino Rossini compiled his salon music into thirteen volumes, which he called Péchés de vieillesse ("Sins of Old Age").
- Julius Schulhoff
- Al Sherman
- Sidney Smith
- Óscar de la Cinna
- Martinus Sieveking
- Erik Satie
- Francesco Paolo Tosti
- Georges Boulanger (violinist)
- Franz Behr
- Paul Wachs
- Mélanie Bonis
- Adolfo de Quesada
- Maria Szymanowska Her Nocturne in A flat major 'Le Murmure' is one such piece that falls under the salon category of music.
- Tekla B?darzewska-Baranowska She is most known for her composition 'The Maiden's Prayer'
- Teresa Carreño
- Ernesto Nazareth
- Ignacio Cervantes
- Isaac Albéniz
- Johann Friedrich Theodor Gänsehals (Pseudonyms: Carl Gänschals, Theodor Espen, Elise Zernikow), has various albums of Salon-only music, titled Gänschals-Album, published by Fr. Portius, Leipzig.
Maps Salon music
Well known performers
- Adolf Busch
- Fritz Busch
- Jacques Thibaud
- Rudolf Serkin
- Jascha Heifetz
- Fritz Kreisler
- Emanuel Feuermann
- Pablo Casals
- Paul Hindemith
References
Source of the article : Wikipedia