Berlioz and the Piano at the Great Exhibition: the Challenge of Impartiality

In April 1851, in a letter to his brother-in-law Camille Pal, Berlioz dryly describes his invitation to join the French commission for the London Great Exhibition as a member of the Musical Instrument Jury: ‘I learned about my appointment in the newspaper; it is an honourable distinction and all my English friends are delighted by it’. ¹