Berlioz as conservatoire librarian

Networking past and present Berlioz, librarian in a music teaching institution 1 Dominique Hausfater In 2003, while researching archival material for an exhibition at the Paris Conservatoire on Hector Berlioz’ relationships with this institution, I was... More

Networking past and present Berlioz, librarian in a music teaching institution 1 Dominique Hausfater In 2003, while researching archival material for an exhibition at the Paris Conservatoire on Hector Berlioz’ relationships with this institution, I was able to get a fairly accurate picture, not only of the composer’s activities as a librarian, but more important, of the way a conservatoire library worked in the 19th century. I was struck by the somehow “modern” concerns and worries, minus the technology of course, and by how these are in fact recurrent about 150 years later. I felt like this journey into the past would be of interest to all of us. The library of the Paris Conservatoire The library was created, along with the Conservatoire itself in 1795, by the law dated 16 thermidor, year III (or August 3rd , 1795), thus eight years before Berlioz’ birth. Article 10 stipulates: A national music library is created in the Conservatoire; it is comprised of a comple Less