ABSTRACT
In the early 1840s, Berlioz entered a fallow period and wrote nothing of importance for five years. He was depressed about the general state of French music, few of his works were being performed in Paris, and he had been turned down for several positions. Yet he heard several reports of his music succeeding abroad, and read of the ecstatic reception that Ernst was achieving in Germany, Austria and the Low Countries. Emboldened by his new violin, Ernst set off for a tour of Belgium, Holland and Germany in the late autumn of 1842. He was already on friendly terms and had appeared on stage with three great composers – Felix Mendelssohn, Frederic Chopin and Franz Liszt – and the early stages of this tour were notable because he gave a concert with Berlioz. Before Ernst arrived in Copenhagen in April, Bull had already given two concerts at low prices in the enormous Royal Riding School.
