Books › Voice and violin, 1898 › scan 104
Scan 104
Voice and violin, 1898
12 lines. Read by computer on 3 September 2026. Printed page 84. See the scan on archive.org.
1both as regards the sum mentioned and the donor. Thanks to Hallé, the true facts have at last come to light.
3The money that was presented to Berlioz at the time in question was not 10,000 francs, but 20,000 (£800); and the actual donor was certainly Paganini, but the money was that of another man who induced the great violinist to hand it over to Berlioz as if it were a gift from himself.
5Why all this mystery? We shall see.
7Berlioz, the well-known composer and conductor, was, about 1834 to 1837, in very poor circumstances; his compositions did not please the public; his engagements were few and far between. Like many other men of his class, he found it, no doubt, very difficult to keep money in his pocket, when he happened to have any, and he was eking out a precarious living by writing musical articles for the Journal des Débats.
9The proprietor of that influential newspaper was M. Armand Bertin, a very wealthy man, and, it appears, not devoid of generosity. He had a high regard for Berlioz, and knew of all his struggles, which he, Bertin, was anxious to lighten, and he resolved to make him a present of 20,000 francs. In order to enhance the moral effect of this gift, according to Charles Hallé, he persuaded Paganini to appear as the donor of the money.
11That Bertin had judged well was proved immedi-
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