ABSTRACT
Hans Christian Andersen's entree into Europe's professional music culture began like many of his fictional works did – with a journey. Hans Andersen departed Odense in 1812 and headed south, but he got no further than Holstein when his health failed him. The promised payment for his services was withdrawn, and he soon returned home ill and spiritually defeated. He died several years later, in 1816. Andersen was intent on moving to the capital, but he knew he would need a letter of introduction if he hoped to make it at the Royal Theater. Andersen was dismissed from Siboni's studio, and another young singer, Ida Wulff, soon took his place. Despite this setback, Andersen was not discouraged. Andersen wrote A Walking Tour in the winter of 1828, and it displays, perhaps better than any other source, the breadth of his general education and the depth of his knowledge of contemporary literature.
