Document Type
Other
Rights
Available under a Creative Commons Attribution Non-Commercial Share Alike 4.0 International Licence
Disciplines
Performing arts studies, Musicology, 6.5 OTHER HUMANITIES
Abstract
William Vincent Wallace Bicentenary Recitals Wexford Festival Opera, Oct.-Nov. 2012. These unique recitals of drawing-room music and opera excerpts celebrate the bicentenary of the birth of Irish composer, William Vincent Wallace (1812–1865) and focus particularly on his unknown songs and piano music. Wallace was one of the most extraordinary musical personalities of the nineteenth century – not only a composer, but a virtuoso on two instruments (piano and violin) and a global traveller. He visited parts of the world that no other Irish musician had set foot in and widened his sphere of influence by establishing a music school in Sydney, Australia where he is still regarded as the first great instrumentalist to visit that continent. From here he blazed a trail through South America where he was maestro to a season of Italian opera in Mexico City. A new career began as impresario before his return to London where his own first opera, Maritana, was an outstanding success. Tales of his adventures and escapades certainly helped to promote the popularity of his publications, particularly of his salon music. He was then just thirty-three years old and had already had enough experiences to fill several lifetimes.
DOI
10.21427/D7QX82
Recommended Citation
William Vincent Wallace Bicentenary Recitals Programme (Wexford Festival Opera, October-November 2012)