First Nights: Five Musical Premiers

by Thomas Forrest Kelly

This lively book takes us back to the first performances of five famous musical compositions: Monteverdi’s Orfeo in 1607, Handel’s Messiah in 1742, Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony in 1824, Berlioz’s Symphonie fantastique in 1830, and Stravinsky’s Sacre du printemps in 1913. Thomas Forrest Kelly sets the scene for each of these premieres, describing the cities in which they took place, the concert halls, audiences, conductors, and musicians, the sound of the music when it was first performed (often with instruments now extinct), and the popular and critical responses. He explores how performance styles and conditions have changed over the centuries and what music can reveal about the societies that produce it.

Kelly tells us, for example, that Handel recruited musicians he didn’t know to perform Messiah in a newly built hall in Dublin; that Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony was performed with a mixture of professional and amateur musicians after only three rehearsals; and that Berlioz was still buying strings for the violas and mutes for the violins on the day his symphony was first played. Kelly’s narrative, which is enhanced by extracts from contemporary letters, press reports, account books, and other sources, as well as by a rich selection of illustrations, gives us a fresh appreciation of these five masterworks, encouraging us to sort out our own late twentieth-century expectations from what is inherent in the music.

Genres: Music, Nonfiction, History, Classical Music

416 pages, Paperback

First published May 1, 2000

About the author

An American musicologist, musician, and scholar. He is the Morton B. Knafel Professor of Music at Harvard University.

Reviews

[Carol · Rating 4 out of 5]

This engaging book looks at Western art music through the lens of the premieres of five significant pieces: Monteverdi's opera Orfeo, Handel's oratorio Messiah, Beethoven's 9th Symphony, Berlioz' Symphonie Fantastique, and Stravinsky's Le Sacre de Printemps. Kelly discusses the piece, the composer and where he was in his career, the conditions and circumstances surrounding the performance itself, and the reaction to the piece and its performance. He includes illustrations and extensive quotes from relevant primary sources.
The great strength of this book, in addition to the inherent interest of the subject matter, is the way Kelly balances the content and tone in such a way as to appeal and be useful to both the general public and the serious musician. His brief discussions of the musical features of each work and aspects of performance practice are illuminating without ever getting technical. There's plenty of detail, but the prose and the story never get bogged down. I also really appreciated his emphasis on the primary sources. Each part contains plenty of lengthy quotes from letters, diaries, reviews, etc. Plus, Kelly appends a longer excerpt of each source (including the quote used initially) to the end of each part. This really grounds the whole book in the times and places it is attempting to bring to the reader. Furthermore, First Nights has one of the hallmarks of success for any book about music: it made me want to go listen to each of the pieces covered.

[Bob · Rating 5 out of 5]

I enjoyed this one thoroughly! The premise: Reconstruct as closely as possible (in words) the first performances of five seminal pieces of Western music. The author is (was?) a Harvard music prof who writes like a journalist/historian (that's a good thing!). The premieres he describes: Monteverdi's Orfeo, Handel's Messiah, Beethoven's Ninth, Berlioz's Symphonie Fantastique, Stravinsky's The Rite of Spring. Worthy subjects all. Kelly gives as comprehensive a picture of each "first night" as possible, delving into biography, music history, performance practice, and the social, cultural, sometimes even the political milieux surrounding each performance. Masterfully done. He also provides a slew of germane contemporary documents, an appendix of appropriate recordings of each piece, and a useful annotated bibliography. The book is copiously illustrated. My only (very slight) complaint is Kelly's tendency to give the same quote multiple times in a performance's profile and then reproduce the document containing the quote in the Documents section following that profile. A bit redundant, but the quotes are all quite germane to the subject at hand. Bottom line: This is a terrific book. Every person interested in the history of Western music should give it a look.

[MH · Rating 4 out of 5]

Kelly's engaging performance reconstructions are more ground level history than musicology - he writes about changing orchestrations or musical notations, but he is much more interested in the performers, producers and audiences of each period. His five chapters are full of primary source material (when he can't find room for it in the text, he puts it in an off-set box - and when that doesn't fit, he includes it at the end of each chapter - he's clearly delighted by all of these letters, notes, and reviews); colorful, well-chosen anecdotes about the artists; and Kelly's friendly writing style and infectious enthusiasm. Really very enjoyable.

[Paul Foley · Rating 5 out of 5]

A brilliant music history! Thomas Kelly is an engaging, lucid writer. I bought this book after taking his (free) online course through edX. The course is very friendly and engaging, and the book brings more detail and depth. I like classical music but I don't know much about it; I can honestly say I know a lot more after taking the course and reading First Nights. This is a very worthwhile educational experience and it's both accessible and easy-- a rare combination indeed!

[Denise Gossow · Rating 4 out of 5]

An excellent book showcasing the premier of five musical pieces. Its really interesting to compare what the composers had to go through to have their works performed over the centuries and to see how that changes.

[Grace MacLaine · Rating 3 out of 5]

I read the last section of this book--the one on Stravinsky's The Rite of Spring--years ago for a school project, and I loved it. It sparked my interest in classical music and in the history of pop culture, and I still bring up the trivia and gossip I learned in regular conversation.

That section still holds up--it's fascinating and dishy and it proves that the #discourse (in which people yell about art that pretty much no one has seen while actually talking about tangentially related social issues and people rarely actually listen to each other) is over 100 years old, which is kind of nice.

But the other sections all assume a vast amount of musical background on the part of the reader, and just aren't that interesting if you don't have a preexisting interest in the pieces in question. So unless you have a really strong background and interest in classical music, maybe just read the last chapter.

[Lauren Hopkins · Rating 4 out of 5]

Excellent look at five musical premieres throughout history, making each incredibly interesting, as if you're living in each city/time period that's being portrayed. When available, primary source documents are used to give the reader a better feel of life in each place and time. I especially enjoyed reading the reactions to Stravinsky's "Rite of Spring"...everyone from the dancers, members of the orchestra, the conductor, the audience...they all thought he was nuts, and their written reactions are hilarious and so integral to understanding how the piece was received in fin-de-siècle Paris. It's wonderfully written as a whole and a must-read for anyone interested in the turning points of western music.

[Cammy Koch · Rating 4 out of 5]

A very good book for anyone interested in various music productions and how they faired on opening night. The book examined the premieres of an opera, an oratorio, two symphonies and a ballet from separate time periods and countries. The only thing lacking was an explanation as to why these five were premieres focused on. But this isn't for those who aren't interested in music history as my roommate simply moaned and got sleepy when I explained the book to him.

[Alan · Rating 5 out of 5]

A wonderful text highlighting the premier of 5 great musical works. This book avoids the stereotypical highbrow of some music history texts but is still intelligently written and intereting to those with musical training. "First Nights" makes the cultures and peoples involved with these premiers come alive!

[Alisha G · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was less an exploration of the cultural context of five musical premieres, and more an examination of the minutia surrounding the actual performance: how many bassoons? were the violinists on the right or left of the conductor? how many people were in the hall? I do not have the musical education to appreciate such a discussion.

[Carol · Rating 4 out of 5]

Really interesting discussion of what the times and details of the first performances were like. I realized after reading it once that I was not familiar enough with the music - and appreciate my brother-in-law getting me copies of the music so I could read it again with the music playing. Much stronger understanding that way!

[Larry · Rating 4 out of 5]

A great read for classical music lovers, it's a collection of backgrounds on the premiers of some of the western world's greatest pieces of classical music. Greats like Monteverdi's Orfeo, Handel's Messiah, Beethoven's 9th and others are presented in great detail.