A European walk through Bordeaux 15
The Medal of Franz Liszt.
62,64 du cours de
l'Intendance.
Vauxhall of Bordeaux, built in 1770 on the land of the archbishop’s
palace, was supposed to be the most accurate
reproduction of Vauxhall in London. It occupied the
western corner of the Cours de l’Intendance, between what would
become Rue Vital-Carles and Rue de la Vieille Tour, where the entrance can be found. With
its famous “English garden,” once home to a ballroom, a concert hall and shady
alleys, Vauxhall was a very popular place during the Revolution, and especially the Directoire. It was
demolished in 1851.
At the beginning of the reign of Charles X, the Société musicale des amis des arts
[musical society of friends of the arts], which managed Vauxhall, organised exhibitions there and
the Société philomathique de Bordeaux [Philomathic
society of Bordeaux], founded in
1808, held concerts. It is here that Franz Liszt, who came twice to Bordeaux, performed on 25 January 1826. He was virtually a child at the time.
Franz Liszt, born 22 October 1811 in Raiding (then in Hungary and now in Austria), arrived in Paris with his parents in 1823. Cherubini is thought to have refused him admission to the
Conservatoire because he was not French. A year later, however, he was already
composing and conducting his only opera,
Don Sanche, or The Castle of Love. Of the approximately
200 concerts he gave at this
time, accompanied by his father, Liszt performed six in
Bordeaux, between Thursday 5 January
and Wednesday 25 January
1586. Obviously, the first three
times at the Grand Théâtre, then at the Académie, at
the Museum, and the last time at the concerts given
by the Société philomathique at Vauxhall. The young prodigy played Czerny’s variations there along with his
own compositions. He was fourteen years old. The Vauxhall concert was held as a special tribute by the
Société philomathique, which managed
to deceive its biographers for a long time. After
his concert at Vauxhall, on 25 January
1826, he was presented with a gold medal. It bears an inscription:
La Société philomathique de Bordeaux à François Liszt, XXV janvier 1826 [The Philomathic company of Bordeaux
to François Liszt, XXV January 1826]. It can still be
seen today in Liszt’s home in Weimar (Hofgärtnerei).
The society seems to have taken
in many musicologists who, bewildered by the esoteric connotation of the name
“philomathic society,” claimed
…. …
… …
… …
Le Waux-Hall.
Liszt / J. Philippe 1844.
Lithographie publié par le journal l'Homme Gris (Bordeaux)
Cross Cours
de l’Intendance and walk to number
54.
© Bertrand Favreau
and Tyché Editions 2014
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