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What could possibly have happened in Paris to cause such a long drought? We're talking about almost a century in which keyboard music was of no concern. The French seem to have hardly participated in the Classical or Romantic periods. At least the Italians had Clementi.
Here's a listing of French composers who lived during the Classical and early Romantic eras - some of whom "may" have written music for piano. Not too many household names here. One can understand why Chopin and Liszt were such influential figures in the Paris musical scene in the 1830s and 40s.
Of course, there were French composers of keyboard music prior to this (Couperin, Rameau). In the latter part of the 19th century Saint-Saens, Faure and Franck wrote many important keyboard works (solo, chamber, etc.), and Debussy and Ravel put Impressionism on the musical map in the late 19th/early 20th centuries.
What happened in France to cause such a long drought in keyboard writing? Who knows.
Conversely, I've often wondered wondered how Germany was able to produce the likes of Bach, Haydn, Mozart, Beethoven, Schumann and Brahms during the same period of time.
One of the things might have been the French Revolution, when the harpsichords were gathered up and either sent to the Conservatory or burned. The ones that made it to the Conservatory were burned later. That probably included the early pianos, and the instruments that would have been turned into pianos, but either way, there was a dearth of keyboard instruments available.
Two composers missing from the list who were very significant because they also made pianos and important in their development were Pleyel and Herz.
One of the things might have been the French Revolution, when the harpsichords were gathered up and either sent to the Conservatory or burned. The ones that made it to the Conservatory were burned later. That probably included the early pianos, and the instruments that would have been turned into pianos, but either way, there was a dearth of keyboard instruments available.
Two composers missing from the list who were very significant because they also made pianos and important in their development were Pleyel and Herz.
I was not aware of Henri Herz - but apparently he was very prolific !!!
Why would you "need" any locals if Chopin and Liszt were already there most of the time? Not even Chopin s most important pupils seemed to be french ...
* Jean-François Le Sueur (1760-1837) * Luigi Cherubini (1760-1842)
Le Sueur taught Berlioz at the Paris Conservatoire. Cherubini was Italian, but settled in France for the most important part of his career, and became director of the Conservatoire. However, it seems that neither wrote for the piano.
* Jean-François Le Sueur (1760-1837) * Luigi Cherubini (1760-1842)
Le Sueur taught Berlioz at the Paris Conservatoire. Cherubini was Italian, but settled in France for the most important part of his career, and became director of the Conservatoire. However, it seems that neither wrote for the piano.
Thanks David !! (I'm a fan of Cherubini's C minor Requiem )