Berlioz in Paris
Le Palais de l’Industrie
On 15 and 16 November 1855 Berlioz, at the request of
Prince Napoleon, the son of the emperor’s youngest brother, organised and
conducted here two ‘colossal’ concerts to mark the closing of the Exposition
Universelle. The programme included among other works the first performance of his cantata in
honour of Napoleon III, L’Impériale. On this occasion he used an
electric metronome to maintain the ensemble
with several sub-conductors. The device had been newly created by the Belgian
inventor Verbrugghen, who had come from Brussels
to Paris at Berlioz’s request to install the
equipment (the story is told in detail in the Postface of the Memoirs).
Inauguration ceremony of the Exposition Universelle in the Palais de l’Industrie – 15 May 1855
(Full screen view) (Full screen view)
These engravings appeared in a contemporary issue of L’Illustration, a copy of which is in our collection.
Closure of the Exposition Universelle
at the Palais de l’Industrie
Giving out prizes to the Exhibitors – 15 November 1855
This engraving, which appeared in Paris dans sa Splendeur (1861),
is in our collection.
Interior of the annex-gallery of the Exposition
This engraving appeared in a contemporary issue of L’Illustration, a copy of which is in our collection.
Loysel’s coffee machine
This engraving appeared in a contemporary issue of L’Illustration, a copy of which is in our collection.
Palais de l’Industrie in 1856
This 1856 engraving is from our own collection.
Palais de l’Industrie circa 1898
This picture was originally published in John L. Stoddards Lectures, Volume V – Paris La Belle France and Spain, by John L. Stoddard (Balch Brothers, 1898), in our own collection.
© 2000-2008 (unless otherwise stated) Michel Austin and Monir Tayeb for all the photos, engravings and information on this and other Berlioz in Paris pages
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