1.

Record Nr.

UNINA9911009245603321

Autore

Metzner Paul

Titolo

Crescendo of the Virtuoso : Spectacle, Skill, and Self-Promotion in Paris During the Age of Revolution

Pubbl/distr/stampa

Berkeley : , : University of California Press, , 2018

©1999

ISBN

9780520377400

0520377400

Edizione

[1st ed.]

Descrizione fisica

1 online resource (403 pages)

Collana

Studies on the History of Society and Culture Series ; ; v.30

Disciplina

944/.36

Soggetti

Arts and revolutions - France - Paris - History - 19th century

Democracy - France - History - 19th century

Public spaces - France - Paris

Revolutions - France - History - 19th century

Social change - France - Paris - History - 19th century

Technological innovations - France - Paris

HISTORY / Europe / General

Lingua di pubblicazione

Inglese

Formato

Materiale a stampa

Livello bibliografico

Monografia

Nota di contenuto

Frontmatter -- Contents -- List of Illustrations -- Acknowledgments -- Introduction: The Historical Background -- PART ONE SOME MODELS OF EXCELLENCE -- Chapter 1. Philidor and the Cafe de la Regence Chess Masters -- Chapter 2. Careme, Chef de Cuisine: Marie-Antoine Careme l1783-1833) -- Chapter 3. Vidocq, Detective: Eugene-Fran\x27ois Vidocq (1775-1857) -- Chapter 4. Paganini and Liszt, Musicians -- Chapter 5. Robert-Houdin and the Vogue of the Automaton-Builders -- PART TWO SOME MODES OF EXCELLING -- Chapter 6. Mounting Spectacles -- Chapter 7. Exalting Technical Skill -- Chapter 8. Ballooning the Self -- Conclusion: Revolving Values -- Notes -- Index

Sommario/riassunto

During the Age of Revolution, Paris came alive with wildly popular virtuoso performances. Whether the performers were musicians or chefs, chess players or detectives, these virtuosos transformed their



technical skills into dramatic spectacles, presenting the marvelous and the outré for spellbound audiences. Who these characters were, how they attained their fame, and why Paris became the focal point of their activities is the subject of Paul Metzner's absorbing study. Covering the years 1775 to 1850, Metzner describes the careers of a handful of virtuosos: chess masters who played several games at once; a chef who sculpted hundreds of four-foot-tall architectural fantasies in sugar; the first police detective, whose memoirs inspired the invention of the detective story; a violinist who played whole pieces on a single string. He examines these virtuosos as a group in the context of the society that was then the capital of Western civilization.    This title is part of UC Press's Voices Revived program, which commemorates University of California Press's mission to seek out and cultivate the brightest minds and give them voice, reach, and impact. Drawing on a backlist dating to 1893, Voices Revived makes high-quality, peer-reviewed scholarship accessible once again using print-on-demand technology. This title was originally published in 1999.