Berlioz in London
Hanover Square Rooms
Berlioz conducted two concerts in Hanover Square Rooms, in 1848 and in 1853; he also attended concerts given by others there.
The first concert took place on 29 June 1848, at 2pm; it was suggested by the musicians of Her Majesty’s Theatre and the Royal Italian Opera (located then at the Covent Garden Opera House) in response to the financial hardship that Berlioz had suffered thanks to Jullien’s months of mismanagement of the Drury Lane Theatre (see also Theatre Royal Drury Lane page). The musicians offered their services for free. The programme consisted almost entirely of Berlioz’s own works: Le Carnaval romain, three movements of Harold en Italie, Zaïde, the Chœur et Ballet des Sylphes from La Damnation de Faust, and a few pieces by other composers.
The second concert, in which Berlioz conducted the old Philharmonic Society’s orchestra, took place on 30 May 1853. Two days later he wrote to his Paris publisher Brandus about it (Correspondance générale no. 1601, 1 June):
The day before yesterday I appeared again before the English public in the 4th [in fact the 6th] concert of the Philharmonic Society of Hanover Square. It was risky. All the cohorts of the Classical School had turned up in force. The performance of Harold had astonishing verve and precision, and I could say the same about the Carnaval romain. I received huge applause despite the fury of four or five intimate enemies who, I was told, were writhing in their corner. My new piece in an antique style (Le repos de la Sainte famille), delightfully sung by Gardoni, made an extraordinary impression, and had to be repeated. I had never heard it, even on the piano; I can assure you it is very nice.
The second half of the concert, which did not include any of Berlioz’s works, was conducted by Michael Costa. On 21 June George Hogarth, the Secretary of the Society, thanked Berlioz on behalf of the Philharmonic Society and offered him a paltry £10 as a reward for the concert.
The first image below shows the reproduction of a painting of Hanover Square by Edward Dayes (1763-1804), the original of which is in the British Museum. The following two photos show the Square as it is now. The second engraving shows Hanover Square Rooms as depicted in the London Illustrated News in 1843.
All the modern photos reproduced on this page were taken by
Michel Austin; other pictures have been scanned from engravings and newspapers in our own collection.
© Monir Tayeb and Michel Austin.
All rights of reproduction reserved.
Hanover Square in 1787
Hanover Square now
Hanover Square Rooms in 1843
Hanover Square Rooms in 1843
Hanover Square Rooms in 1856
This engraving was published in the Illustrated Times on 12 July 1856.
© 2002-2008 Michel Austin and Monir Tayeb for all the pictures and information on this page.
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