Feuds Comer
With Richard Baker.
"Towards the end of the first act of Cherubini's Ali Baba , I could not help exclaiming loudly, 'Twenty francs for an idea!' In the middle of the second act, I raised my bid. 'Forty francs for an idea!' The finale began. 'Eighty francs!' The finale reached its appointed end. 'I give up! I'm not rich enough!'" (Berlioz, Memoirs)
The hostility between Berlioz and his former teacher had its roots in the struggle between originality and rigid orthodoxy. Music includes:
Cherubini Overture: AH Baba
NBCSO, conductor Arturo Toscanini
Berlioz Villanelle ; Absence (Nuits d'Ete) Susan Graham (soprano). Orchestra of the Royal Opera House, conductor John Nelson
Cherubini Coronation Mass for Louis
XVIII (Agnus Dei; Marche Religieuse) Philharmonia Chorus and Orchestra, conductor Riccardo Muti
Berlioz Adieu, Fiere Cite (Les Troyens) Susan Graham (soprano),
Orchestra of the Royal Opera House, conductor John Nelson