Article on Letter from Gottschalk

Letter sent by Gottschalk from New York, titled, “Un pianiste en voyage.”  Unlike another letter, which was hardly original (most of it was diverse quotations from Notes of a Pianist), published in 1863 in the same newspaper, this one seems to be more authentic and, perhaps, never published in book form.  Alternating irony and sarcasm with more serious reflection, he discusses many aspects of his national tours, as well as politics and some artistic and musical topics.  Gottschalk writes about a specific piano piece that he finds insufferable: “Prière d’une jeune fille” (“A Maiden’s Prayer”), by Polish composer Tekla Bardazewska.  The piece is immensely popular among amateur pianists (ladies) across the nation.  (There is at least one reference to the work in Notes of a Pianist, p. 181.)  Other similar pieces are briefly discussed.  There are also some comments on the brutality of the war (which he has witnessed).  The letter provides some insight into Gottschalk’s views on music and art aesthetics: according to him, the beauty in art and in music can only be fully appreciated after a careful study of the piece in question.