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Episode details

Radio 3,16 Jan 2026,59 mins

Series Louis Moreau Gottschalk (1829-1869)

Exile

Composer of the Week

Available for 27 days

Donald Macleod discovers why Gottschalk lived out the final years of his life in a self-imposed exile from America This week, Donald Macleod 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 Amercia 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 Friday’s programme, Donald Macleod explains why Gottschalk fled America, and tracks his movements through South America, as he lives out the final years of his life in a self-imposed exile from his native country. Morte!! Op.60 Amiram Rigai, piano Ses Yeux, Op.66 Philip Martin, piano Caprice Elegiaque, Op.56 Philip Martin, piano Marguerite, Op.76 Leonard Pennario, piano Symphony no 2 “A Montevideo”, RO.257 Berlin Symphoniker Samuel Adler, conductor Grande Fantasie Bresiliene, Op.69 Steven Mayer, piano Producer: Sam Phillips

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Tracklist

  1. Track
    Artist
  2. 1.
    Morte!! Op 60
    Morte!! Op 60
    Louis Moreau Gottschalk
  3. 2.
    Ses yeux, Op 66
    Ses yeux, Op 66
    Louis Moreau Gottschalk
  4. 3.
    Caprice élégiaque, Op.56
    Caprice élégiaque, Op.56
    Louis Moreau Gottschalk
  5. 4.
    Marguerite, Op 76
    Marguerite, Op 76
    Louis Moreau Gottschalk
  6. 5.
    Symphony No 2 "A Montevideo"
    Symphony No 2 "A Montevideo"
    Louis Moreau Gottschalk
  7. 6.
    Grande fantasie Bresiliene, Op 69
    Grande fantasie Bresiliene, Op 69
    Louis Moreau Gottschalk
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