Dedication

pp v-vi

Contents

pp vii-x

Illustrations

pp xi-xii

Introduction

pp xiii-xx

Translator’s Note

pp xxi-xxiv

Prologue

Letter from the Chorus of the Opéra to the Author

pp 1-3

The Author’s Reply to the Chorus of the Opéra

pp 3-6

Dedication

pp 7-8

The Musical Madhouse

pp 9-10

The right to play a symphony in the wrong key

pp 11-11

A crowned virtuoso

pp 11-13

A new musical instrument

pp 13-13

The regiment of colonels

pp 13-14

A cantata

pp 14-16

A programme of grotesque music

pp 16-18

Is it a joke?

pp 18-19

The evangelist of the drum

pp 19-20

The apostle of the flageolet

pp 20-21

The prophet of the trombone

pp 21-21

Conductors

pp 21-22

Appreciators of Beethoven

pp 22-22

The Sontag version

pp 22-23

You can’t dance in E

pp 23-23

Kissed by Rossini

pp 23-23

A clarinet concerto

pp 24-25

Musical instruments at the Universal Exhibition

pp 25-34

A rival to Érard

pp 34-36

Diplomatic Correspondence: Letter addressed to H.M. Aïmata Pomaré, Queen of Tahiti

pp 37-39