the manner in which he was received, we refer to the following contemporaneous notices and criticisms:—
(From the Courrier de la Gironde, Bordeaux, 20 June, 1851.)
The last Wednesday of Mr. and Madme. was magnificent. Notwithstanding tropical heat and the seductions of the country, which retained all the élite of our society in their chateaux and villas, the salons of Mr. and Madme. were literally invaded.
Pradier, the great sculptor, the author of so many chefs d'œuvre, the Praxiteles of the nineteenth century, on his way through Bordeaux, was present at this delightful soirée, at which Mad. Laborde, the admirable cantatrice, and Gottschalk, the celebrated pianist, had very willingly lent their services.
As to Gottschalk everybody knows the immense effect which he always produces. At half-past two in the morning he was still at the piano; applauded, surrounded, fêted, they gave him no rest. After many of his new and unpublished compositions, they wished to hear again 'Mancenillier,' the 'Danse des Ombres,' 'God Save the Queen,' 'La Chasse du Jeune Henri,' 'Lucia,' the 'Carnaval de Venise,' the 'Mouvement perpetuel' of Weber, What more can I say? A pianist who can hold his audience for two hours breathless! What a miracle!
A. Boudin.
(From the Mémorial Bordelais, Bordeaux, 19 June, 1851.)
A grand concert for the benefit of the poor is announced soon to take place, in the hall of the Grand Théâtre, to be given before his departure for Spain, by our illustrious pianist, Gottschalk.
This noble idea will meet with the unanimous sympathy of our people. Mr. Gottschalk also has to go to Libourne next Monday, where a musical festival for the benefit of the poor has likewise been organized.
Honour to the great artist who knows how to combine a great heart with great talents!
(From L'Ami des Arts, Bordeaux, 15 June, 1851.)
In an article on Mr. Gottschalk, Mr. G. Barthélemon says: "As at first, we have found in Mr. Gottschalk a peculiar cachet; he does not imitate any one: his playing is neither that of Liszt nor of Thalberg; it is still better—that of Gottschalk."
In an article in 'L'Agent Dramatique,' of Toulouse, 8 June, 1851, Mr. Barthélemon, from Bordeaux, under date of 31 May, says:—
Enthusiasm carries us away. Figure to yourself a pale young man, with regular features, and such hands as are seldom made. It is Gottschalk. Gottschalk is one of those élite organizations who make their souls pass into a piano-case and then come out again by striking on the key-board. Talent more pure and more brilliant never charmed our ear; the audacity and thunder of Liszt are tempered in him with the melodious sentiments of the German masters. His elegant compositions acquire under his fingers a graca which cannot be described.
