Rags to Riches

Donald Macleod finds Louis Moreau Gottschalk hitting a new low before he eventually finds fame in America.

This week’s story takes us on a whirlwind journey through some of the most cataclysmic historical events of the 19th century. It’s the incredible story of America’s first international composing star - Louis Moreau Gottschalk - who was in Paris during the French Revolution, returned to America where he played on the front lines of the Civil War and may have been the originator of 'Monster Concerts' during his time in South America where he dodged some of the bloodiest conflicts in Latin American history. On top of all this extraordinary historical backdrop, Donald finds a child prodigy who would go on to play for Chopin, be championed by Camille Pleyel and praised to the skies by Hector Berlioz, be honoured with a knighthood of the Order of Isabel Católica by the Queen of Spain, and would perform for Abraham Lincoln and General Ulysses S. Grant.

In Wednesday’s episode, Donald discovers Louis Moreau Gottschalk touring South America in an attempt to help his ailing financial situation, before returning to the United States where he eventually, and unexpectedly, finds fame – uniting for a series of concerts with his old friend Sigismund Thalberg, and taking to the sky, while playing a new composition, in a hot air balloon!

Reflets du passé, Op.28
Steven Mayer, piano

El Cocoyé, Op.80
Antonio Iturrioz, piano

Pensee poetique, Op.62
Alan Mandel, piano

Printemps d’amour, Op.40
Philip Martin, piano

Murmures eoliens, Op.46
Philip Martin, piano

Radieuse, Op.72 (version for piano 4 hands)
Cary Lewis, Eugen List, piano

Symphonie romantique “La nuit des tropiques”, RO.255 - I. Noche en los Tropicos
Hot Springs Festival Symphony Orchestra
Richard Rosenberg, conductor

Producer: Sam Phillips