French critic and writer (1834-1921). Autograph letter signed. Paris. 07.02.1882. 4to. 2½ pp. With autograph envelope pasted underneath the signature.
90 €
(45074/BN31146)
Content-rich letter to the journalist and music critic Charles Vincens, written in response to several requests. Pougin gives his opinion on the Belgian violin virtuoso Martin Pierre Marsick (1847-1924), whom he considers a "very distinguished artist", although "generally uneven and incomplete". Secondly, Pougin informs Vincens that the "two burlesque verses in question" are not from Étienne Méhul's opera "Ariodant" but Henri Montan Berton's "Montano et Stéphanie". He announces to send Vincens the first 17 issues of his journal "La Musique Populaire" and asks him to give his excuses to Alexis Rostand as he did not find the time to write him personally due to his workload.
- On stationery with lithographed letterhead of "La Musique Populaire". Minor tears due to former mounting..
French critic and writer (1834-1921). 2 autograph letters signed. Paris. 15.02.1882. 12mo. Together 4½ pp. on bifolia.
125 €
(45075/BN31147)
Both to a fellow journalist, probably Charles Vincens in Marseille, answering a request on the composer Prosper Sain d'Arod who had been named director of the Conservatory of Marseille. In the more personal longer letter, Pougin explains his belated response with the illness of one of his daughters and his financial difficulties following the theft of 5000 francs from his journal La Musique Populaire. Pougin informs the recipient that he finally went to the Paris Conservatory to talk to the secretary of Ambroise Thomas to seek out information on Sain d'Arod.
However, there was a "terrible obscurity" surrounding this name in Paris and it was only thanks to a note by a Mr. Domergue that he could gather the information provided in the second letter, some of which Pougin had also published in article on Sain d'Arod for François-Joseph Fétis's Bibliographie universelle des musiciens. - According to the second letter, Sain d'Arod was "almost entirely unknown in the musical world of Paris". Pougin answers specific questions, claiming that Sain d'Arod never won a price of the Paris Conservatory, and while it is even unclear if he ever attended the famous institution, he certainly did not work as a "subsitute" for Froméntal Halévy and was not a member of the Institut de France. - Minimally stained..
French critic and writer (1834-1921). Autograph letter signed. Paris. 09.10.1887. 8vo. 2 pp. on bifolium.
75 €
(45076/BN31148)
Interesting letter to an unnamed friend with information on the composer Claudius Blanc and concerning the financial difficulties of Pougin's journal L'Estafette. Pougin provides a brief biography of Blanc (1854-1900) who had been a student of Jules Massenet and won the 1st price of the Paris Conservatory in 1875 and the Prix de Rome in 1881. Considering these achievements, Pougin has to assert that "of all our Prix de Rome-winners, he is the one who gets the least talked about". He also mentions two of Blanc's compositions that were performed during a concert organized by Pougin, a "Marche Écossaise" and a "Prélude mystique", as well as some publications of his.
- In the second part of the letter, Pougin mentions an affair, possibly embezzlement, that brought L'Estafette to the brink of bankruptcy, in which case Pougin would lose 3.000 francs, lamenting: "ce qui n'est pas gai". - On stationery with lithographed letterhead of L'Estafette. Some browning and insignificant tears to the margins..
French critic and writer (1834-1921). Autograph letter signed. Paris. 12.05.1878. 12mo. 1½ pp.
80 €
(45078/BN31150)
To thank the unnamed recipient, probably the journalist Charles Vincens of the Journal musical and the Gazette du Midi, for favourable reviews: "J'ai a vous remercier de nouveau, et je suis bien aise que les hasards de ma vie tourmentée me permettent de le faire promptement. J'avais prié Rostand, il y a quelques semaines, de nous temoigner tout le plaisir que m'avait causé votre excellent compte-rendu, dans le Journal musical, du 1er Volume de la Biographie, compte-rendu très étudié, très bien fait au point de vue d'une feuille spéciale, et où ma modestie seule aurait pu trouver à reprendre, car vous la faisiez passer à une rude épreuve.
Aujourd'hui, vous me consacrez dans la Gazette du Midi une part tout aussi élogieuse de votre feuilleton, et vous avez l'obligéance de m'envoyer le No. du journal [...]". The mutual friend mentioned was the banker and amateur composer Alexis Rostand (1844-1919). - With traces of former mounting..