The history of
art often repeats itself in this way. First comes the genius burning
with celestial fire. He sweeps away the time-worn formulas, and founds
his new art upon their ruins. Then follows the crowd of disciples, men
of talent and imagination, though without the crowning impulse that
moves the world. They repeat and amplify their leader's maxims, until
the world, which at first had stood aghast at teaching so novel, in time
grows accustomed to it, and finally accepts it without question. Next
comes the final stage, when what has been caviare to one generation is
become the daily bread of the next. The innovations of the master,
caught up and reproduced by his disciples, in the third generation
become the conventional formulas of the art, and the world is ripe once
more for a revolution!
Deeply as Gluck's work affected the history of music, his immediate
disciples were few. Salieri (1750-1825), an Italian by birth, was
chiefly associated with the Viennese court, but wrote his best work,
'Les Danaides,' for Paris. He caught the trick of Gluck's grand style
cleverly, but was hardly more than an imitator. Sacchini (1734-1786) had
a more original vein, though he too was essentially a composer of the
second class. He was not actually a pupil of Gluck, though his later
works, written for the Paris stage, show the influence of the composer
of 'Alceste' very strongly.
Pages:
75
76
77
78
79
80
81
82
83
84
85
86
87
88
89
90
91
92
93
94
95
96
97
98
99