Music criticism as cultural mediator in the introduction of musical idealism in Spain: Francisco de Asís Gil and the tour of Oscar de la Cinna (1855-1856)

Abstract

Between 1855 and 1885, the Hungarian pianist Oscar de la Cinna (1830-1906) toured the Iberian Peninsula, where he programmed works by “Classical” composers like Beethoven, Mozart and Mendelssohn. That was the very first time a performer played this type of repertory in the Spanish public sphere, which attracted the attention of musical critics like Francisco Francisco de Asís Gil (1829-1861) –his articles being published in the the newspaper Gaceta musical de Madrid. In his texts, Asís Gil used Cinna’s concerts as a starting point to reflect on issues that can be related to the “musical idealism”, a philosophical and aesthetic referent originated in Central Europe which until then had had little repercussion in Spain. This paper analyzes Asís Gil’s role as a mediating agent in a process of cultural transfer aimed at introducing the “musical idealism” into Spanish culture. The first part of the article contextualizes Cinna's concert tour in order to explain its relevance in the Isabelino musical context. In addition to examining the editorial policy followed by the Gaceta musical de Madrid and the international models that were followed by this publication, it studies the main discoursive lines followed by Asís Gil before the arrival of Cinna. The second part of the text analyzes the discourse deployed by Asís Gil in his critiques of Cinna’s recitals, as well as the referents handled by the critic. In this way, it becomes evident that the transfer of the “musical idealism” to the mid-nineteenth-century Spanish culture took place through the interpretation of authors settled in France such as Reicha, Cousin, Fétis and Scudo.