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Scan 125
Grove's dictionary of music and musicians;, 1904
21 lines. Read by computer on 10 September 2026. Printed page 117. See the scan on archive.org.
1achieved his greatest success in the French capital. In 1803 he went with Boieldieu to St. Petersburg. Spohr heard him on his passage through Brunswick, and was so impressed that for a considerable time he made it his one aim to imitate his style and manner as closely as possible. Arrived at the Russian capital, Rode met with a most enthusiastic reception, and was at once attached to the private music of the Emperor with a salary of 5000 roubles (about £750). But the fatigues of life in Russia were so excessive that from this period a decline of his powers appears to have set in. On his return to Paris in 1808 his reception was less enthusiastic than in former times, and even his warmest friends and admirers could not but feel that he had lost considerably in certainty and vigour. From 1811 we find him again travelling in Germany. Spohr, who heard him in 1813 at Vienna, tells in his Autobiography (i. 178) of the disappointment he felt at Rode's playing, which he now found mannered, and deficient in execution and style.
3In Vienna Rode came into contact with Beethoven, who finished the great Sonata in G, op. 96, expressly for him. It was played by Rode and the Archduke Rudolph, Beethoven's pupil, at a private concert, but as far as the violin part was concerned, not much to the composer's satisfaction. Soon afterwards, at any rate, Beethoven requested the Archduke to send the violin part to Rode that he might play it over before a second performance, and he adds: 'He will not take it amiss; certainly not! would to God there were reason to beg his pardon for doing so.'1 Fétis's statement that Beethoven wrote a Romance for Rode, probably rests on a confusion of the G major Sonata with the Romanza in the same key.
5In 1814 Rode went to Berlin, married, and remained for some time. He then retired to his native place. At a later date he made an ill-advised attempt to resume a public career. But his appearance at Paris proved a complete failure, and Mendelssohn, writing from thence in April 1825, says that he was fixed in his resolution never again to take a fiddle in hand.2 This failure he took so much to heart that his health began to give way, and he died at Bordeaux, Nov. 25, 1830.
7Rode was one of the greatest of all violinists. During the earlier part of his career he displayed all the best qualities of a grand, noble, pure, and thoroughly musical style. His intonation was perfect; his tone large and pure; boldness and vigour, deep and tender feeling, characterised his performances. In fact he was no mere virtuoso, but a true artist. His truly musical nature shows itself equally in his compositions. Although his general
91 Thayer, Life of Beethoven, iii. p. 223.
102 Die Familie Mendelssohn, i. p. 149.
12musical education appears to have been, like that of most French violinists, deficient (we have already mentioned that Boccherini added the simple orchestration to his earlier concertos), yet his works, especially his concertos, have a noble dignified character and considerable charm of melody, while, it need hardly be added, they are thoroughly suited to the nature of the violin. On the other hand, they hardly show high creative power; of thematic treatment there is very little, the form, though not unsymmetrical, is somewhat loose, and the instrumentation poor.
14He published ten concertos (three more were issued after his death); five sets of quartets; seven sets of variations; three books of duos for two violins, and the well-known twenty-four caprices.
16Of his concertos, the 7th in A minor is still in the repertory of some eminent violinists. The variations in G major—the same which the famous singer Catalani and other celebrated vocalists after her have made their cheval de bataille—are occasionally heard. But above all, his '24 caprices or études' will always, along with Kreutzer's famous forty caprices, hold their place as indispensable for a sound study of the violin.
18Although, owing to his life of travel, he had but few direct pupils, his influence through his example and compositions on the violinists of France, and more especially of Germany, was very great indeed. Böhm, the master of Joachim, and Eduard Rietz, the friend of Mendelssohn, both studied under him for some time. P. D.
20RODWELL, GEORGE HERBERT BONAPARTE, born Nov. 15, 1800, brother of J. T. G. Rodwell, part proprietor and manager of the Adelphi Theatre, London, and author of several dramatic pieces, was for many years music-director of the Adelphi. On the death of his brother, in March 1825, he succeeded to his share in the theatre. He was a pupil of Vincent Novello and Henry Bishop, and became in 1828 professor of harmony and composition at the Royal Academy of Music. He was the composer of very many operettas and other dramatic pieces, of which the following are the principal: 'The Flying Dutchman' (Adelphi, 1826); 'The Cornish Miners' (English Opera-House, 1827); 'The Bottle Imp' and 'The Mason of Buda' (partly adapted from Auber's 'Le Maçon'), 1828; 'The Spring Lock,' 'The Earthquake,' and 'The Devil's Elixir,' 1829; 'The Black Vulture,' 1830; 'My Own Lover,' and 'The Evil Eye,' 1832; 'The Lord of the Isles,' 1834; 'Paul Clifford' (with Blewitt), 1835; 'The Spirit of the Bell' (Lyceum, 1835); 'The Sexton of Cologne,' 1836; 'Jack Sheppard,' 1839; and 'The Seven Sisters of Munich,' 1847. In 1836 he was director of the music at Covent Garden, where he brought out many adaptations of operas, etc., 'anticipating the
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