39 Facts About Philippe Musard

Philippe Musard was a French composer who was crucial to the development and popularity of the promenade concert.

Philippe Musard has been largely forgotten subsequent to his retirement in the early 1850s.

Philippe Musard joined a unit of the Imperial Guards as a cornet player.

Philippe Musard moved back to Paris following the July Revolution on 1830 and established a series of concerts at Cours-la-Reine.

Philippe Musard attended the Conservatoire de Paris and obtained first prize in harmony in 1831.

Philippe Musard acquired further substantial wealth as a result of these concerts, where he not only conducted, but created and managed the orchestras.

Philippe Musard composed music specifically for these concerts in prolific fashion, and his ability as a conductor was noted.

Philippe Musard experienced some health issues within his chest in 1836 and became a patient of Samuel and Melanie Hahnemann.

The summer of 1837 saw Philippe Musard performing at a large facility on Champs-Elysees, and in the winter moving back to the Salle Valentino.

Strauss would conduct the first half of the concert, whereupon Philippe Musard would take over for the second part.

Philippe Musard's popularity was eclipsed for a time in the late 1830s by his friend Louis-Antoine Jullien, who tried to out-Musard Musard by using such devices as artillery where Musard merely used a pistol.

However, Philippe Musard was restored to Parisian prominence upon Jullien's sudden departure from Paris on account of Jullien's great debts.

In 1838 the first concerts "a la Philippe Musard" were held in London, held in numerous locations and led by conductors ranging in prestige from Strauss to Pilati.

Philippe Musard's reputation preceding him in England, Musard was expected to bring his concerts to Exeter Hall in October 1839, but these events never occurred as the shareholders disallowed them, feeling the comportment would violate the intended religious purpose of the building.

Philippe Musard did arrive October, 1840 in London for a series of concerts at Drury Lane Theatre.

In September 1851 Philippe Musard suffered a stroke which left him befuddled and paralyzed on the right side.

Philippe Musard was scheduled to conduct a series of winter concerts as usual, and Lethiere and his son Alfred proceeded to assemble the accustomed large orchestra, with Alfred conducting.

Lethiere relates that upon arrival, Philippe Musard appeared completely oblivious to either his friends, or to the enthusiastic acclimations of the crowd.

However, when the music started, Philippe Musard "began to tremble violently" and "his eyes grew bright" and he snatched the baton from his son and began conducting with great vigor.

Philippe Musard went on to conduct every one of his Paris concerts that season.

Philippe Musard retired in 1852, still considered the "doyen of dance composers" in France, and proceeded to live quietly off of his savings.

Philippe Musard's life ended as one of great material wealth, but of great physical and mental difficulty.

Philippe Musard died in Auteuil on 31 March 1859, almost completely forgotten in a short time; even the musical press barely noticed.

Concerts in London were advertised as "a la Philippe Musard", as were those in the United States.

Cheaper than more formal concert settings, Philippe Musard's music was attended by the lower middle class and the working class, thereby introducing classical music to a broader audience, those who had never previously attended concerts and who viewed music purely as entertainment.

Philippe Musard's concerts were described in 1837 as "a musical paradise" in "a spacious hall furnished with mirrors, couches, ottomans, statues, fountains, and floral decorations, and at one end a cafe attended by a troupe of 'perfumed waiters'".

Philippe Musard's orchestras were very large, containing as many as 48 violins, fourteen cornets, and a dozen trombones.

Audiences attended his concerts not only for the music, but to see the man himself in the act of leading the orchestra, regardless of the music being performed At climactic moments, Philippe Musard would dispose of his baton, throwing it into the audience, and rise to a standing position to display his dominance over the happenings.

Philippe Musard employed wild gestures including the hands, feet, arms, knees, and not the least grotesque facial expressions when leading.

Philippe Musard was not considered attractive physically, having acquired significant scarring from smallpox, a yellow complexion, and had an unkempt appearance, always dressing in a black suit that was not measured properly.

Philippe Musard became one of the top celebrities in Paris, to the point that effigies made of chocolate, marzipan, and gingerbread were made of his "grotesque" figure and sold and consumed in great quantities throughout Paris.

Philippe Musard used handbills and newspaper advertisers for promotional purposes.

Philippe Musard initiated his compositional career in a serious vein, writing three string quartets, as well as an academic paper on composition.

Not to let an opportunity for greater spectacle pass, Philippe Musard immediately incorporated this as a regular part of his act.

Philippe Musard became the first composer to assign trombones the principal melody.

Philippe Musard borrowed heavily from compositions his listeners would recognize, which engendered some measure of criticism and legal action against his publishers.

Philippe Musard's output totaled more than 150 polkas, quadrilles, and waltzes.

In spite of the size of his orchestra, Philippe Musard was known to hire the best musicians, and to pay them wages far above the going rate.

Philippe Musard relied on his personality, not his physical attractiveness, to hold his audience.