Biography
Musicians held Cherubini in high regard, and Beethoven considered him the leading composer among his contemporaries. Beethoven and numerous peers especially valued the way Cherubini fused polyphonic mastery, refined Classical clarity, and an authentic Romantic dramatic force into works of striking emotional weight and theatrical impact. The opera Medée, drawn from Euripides’ intense tragedy, secured Cherubini’s standing as a dramatist of rare psychological insight. He likewise proved outstanding in sacred music; in his later liturgical pieces he united his deep contrapuntal command with the power to convey the overwhelming dimension of faith, moderating an ardent theatrical impulse through the restraint of devotional reflection.
Cherubini entered the world in Florence on September 14, 1760, began musical instruction with his father, and saw his first composition, a mass, performed in 1773. Five years afterward he studied under Giuseppe Sarti and wrote his initial opera, Il Quinto Fabio, while apprenticed to him. He returned to Florence in 1782 and kept producing operas. After a successful London sojourn in 1785 he moved to Paris and settled there permanently. His first opera for the French stage, Démophoon, reached the boards in 1788. The next year, at the outset of the French Revolution, he was appointed head of a newly founded opera company established under the patronage of King Louis XVI’s brother, who later reigned as Louis XVIII. Cherubini presented the opera Lodoïska to great acclaim in 1791. In 1792, however, revolutionaries dissolved the company as a royalist vestige, and the composer took shelter at a friend’s country residence in Normandy. He nevertheless reappeared in the capital in 1793, seeking to resume his career despite the hazardous political climate. After cultivating suitable political ties, Cherubini obtained a post at the Institut National de Musique. When that body became the Conservatoire National in 1795, he served as one of its inspectors. During these years he created short-lived works that celebrated the revolutionary regime.
The 1797 premiere of Medée marked a decisive shift in Cherubini’s trajectory. As Philip G. Downs has observed, Medée brilliantly unites the opéra comique with spoken dialogue, the tragédie lyrique with its mythological subject, Gluck’s operatic manner, and the allegorical operas of the French Revolution. Conventionally shown as a demonic figure, the mythological sorceress Medea, who murders her children, is presented by Cherubini in a manner that, while rendering the full horror of her deeds, highlights the cold, menacing, yet profoundly human character of her fury.
In 1805 Cherubini traveled to Vienna, where he encountered Haydn, Beethoven, and Napoleon, who had entered the city as conqueror. The French emperor, who never fully valued Cherubini’s music, pressed the composer to return to Paris. After his homecoming Cherubini sank into deep melancholy, lost interest in music, withdrew to the chateau of the Prince of Chimay, and devoted himself to painting and botany. A request to compose a mass for the church in Chimay fortunately drew him back to his art. With undiminished inspiration, Cherubini thereafter concentrated on sacred music. In 1822 he became director of the Paris Conservatory and acquired a reputation as a capable administrator. Though occupied with Conservatory duties, he continued composing, producing, among other pieces, his profound Requiem in D minor. First heard in 1836, the Requiem was also performed at Cherubini’s funeral in accordance with his wishes.
Cherubini entered the world in Florence on September 14, 1760, began musical instruction with his father, and saw his first composition, a mass, performed in 1773. Five years afterward he studied under Giuseppe Sarti and wrote his initial opera, Il Quinto Fabio, while apprenticed to him. He returned to Florence in 1782 and kept producing operas. After a successful London sojourn in 1785 he moved to Paris and settled there permanently. His first opera for the French stage, Démophoon, reached the boards in 1788. The next year, at the outset of the French Revolution, he was appointed head of a newly founded opera company established under the patronage of King Louis XVI’s brother, who later reigned as Louis XVIII. Cherubini presented the opera Lodoïska to great acclaim in 1791. In 1792, however, revolutionaries dissolved the company as a royalist vestige, and the composer took shelter at a friend’s country residence in Normandy. He nevertheless reappeared in the capital in 1793, seeking to resume his career despite the hazardous political climate. After cultivating suitable political ties, Cherubini obtained a post at the Institut National de Musique. When that body became the Conservatoire National in 1795, he served as one of its inspectors. During these years he created short-lived works that celebrated the revolutionary regime.
The 1797 premiere of Medée marked a decisive shift in Cherubini’s trajectory. As Philip G. Downs has observed, Medée brilliantly unites the opéra comique with spoken dialogue, the tragédie lyrique with its mythological subject, Gluck’s operatic manner, and the allegorical operas of the French Revolution. Conventionally shown as a demonic figure, the mythological sorceress Medea, who murders her children, is presented by Cherubini in a manner that, while rendering the full horror of her deeds, highlights the cold, menacing, yet profoundly human character of her fury.
In 1805 Cherubini traveled to Vienna, where he encountered Haydn, Beethoven, and Napoleon, who had entered the city as conqueror. The French emperor, who never fully valued Cherubini’s music, pressed the composer to return to Paris. After his homecoming Cherubini sank into deep melancholy, lost interest in music, withdrew to the chateau of the Prince of Chimay, and devoted himself to painting and botany. A request to compose a mass for the church in Chimay fortunately drew him back to his art. With undiminished inspiration, Cherubini thereafter concentrated on sacred music. In 1822 he became director of the Paris Conservatory and acquired a reputation as a capable administrator. Though occupied with Conservatory duties, he continued composing, producing, among other pieces, his profound Requiem in D minor. First heard in 1836, the Requiem was also performed at Cherubini’s funeral in accordance with his wishes.