La Revue musicale

La Revue musicale
Title	La Revue musicale
Editor	Henry Prunières
Frequency	Monthly
Firstdate	1920
Finaldate	1970
Country	France
Language	French language

La Revue musicale was a Paris-based monthly periodical devoted to classical music and related arts, founded in 1920 and noted for its synthesis of music criticism, scholarship, and visual arts. Under the editorship of Henry Prunières it became a central forum for composers, performers, critics, and artists from France, Germany, Russia, United Kingdom, United States, and Italy. The journal published essays, musical scores, portraits, and reviews that engaged figures such as Igor Stravinsky, Maurice Ravel, Claude Debussy, Sergei Prokofiev, Béla Bartók, Arnold Schoenberg, and Paul Hindemith.

History

La Revue musicale emerged in the aftermath of World War I amid cultural reconstruction in Paris and wider Europe. The periodical intersected with movements including Neoclassicism, Modernism, and the activities of institutions such as the Société Nationale de Musique and the Concerts Colonne. It navigated interwar debates that involved figures from the Paris Opéra circle, émigré communities from Russia, and contemporary currents in Berlin and Vienna. During the 1920s and 1930s it reflected exchanges between proponents of Les Six, supporters of Richard Wagner-influenced traditions, and advocates for new music tied to Ballets Russes productions. World events including the Great Depression and World War II affected publication schedules, contributor demographics, and editorial priorities.

Founding and Editorial Direction

The periodical was founded by Henry Prunières, who shaped editorial policy drawing on models from the Mercure de France and the scholarly approach of journals like The Musical Quarterly. Prunières sought to bridge the worlds of composition and criticism, commissioning articles from composers such as Igor Stravinsky and Sergei Prokofiev, and from critics linked to Le Figaro and Le Monde Musical. Editorial choices engaged with institutions such as the Conservatoire de Paris, the Paris Conservatory, and venues like the Théâtre des Champs-Élysées, while negotiating relationships with impresarios such as Sergei Diaghilev. The magazine cultivated an international advisory network including scholars from Berlin, Vienna, Milan, and New York City.

Contributors and Collaborators

Contributors encompassed composers, performers, and critics: Maurice Ravel, Claude Debussy-linked analysts, Arthur Honegger, Darius Milhaud, Francis Poulenc of Les Six, and émigrés like Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov-influenced writers and Sergei Prokofiev. Performers and conductors such as Pierre Monteux, Arturo Toscanini, Wilhelm Furtwängler, Erich Kleiber, and Igor Markevitch featured in interviews and essays. Musicologists and critics included names associated with Oxford University and Harvard University music departments, alongside journalists from Le Figaro and Le Temps. Visual collaborators ranged from painters and graphic artists tied to Cubism and Surrealism—including Pablo Picasso, Georges Braque, Salvador Dalí, and Fernand Léger—to typographers and illustrators affiliated with the École de Paris.

Content and Thematic Coverage

The journal published new scores, analytical essays, polemical reviews, and documentation of premieres at venues like the Salle Pleyel and festivals such as the Wagner Festival and regional French festivals. Coverage embraced repertory from Baroque music revivals to contemporary works by Arnold Schoenberg and Alban Berg, and featured articles on opera premieres at the Opéra-Comique and the Metropolitan Opera. Thematic issues addressed topics including orchestration practices exemplified by Hector Berlioz and Richard Strauss, ballet collaborations with Sergei Diaghilev and choreographers linked to Vaslav Nijinsky, and national schools exemplified by Hungarian music via Béla Bartók and Zoltán Kodály. Debates about authenticity, performance practice, and music publishing tied to houses like Éditions Durand and Boosey & Hawkes were recurrent.

Design, Illustrations, and Musicology

La Revue musicale was notable for high production values: typographic experiments related to Bauhaus aesthetics, covers designed by modern artists associated with Cubism and Fauvism, and engraved portraits of musicians like Jean Cocteau and Erik Satie. The magazine combined scholarly musicology—articles reflecting methodologies from Heinrich Schenker-influenced analysis and comparative studies inspired by Guido Adler—with accessible criticism aimed at subscribers linked to conservatories and salons in Paris, London, and New York City. Scores and facsimiles reproduced autograph manuscripts by composers such as Franz Liszt, Johann Sebastian Bach, and contemporary autograph fragments by Olga Rudge-associated composers.

Reception and Influence

Critical reception spanned acclaim from proponents of modern composition to resistance from conservative critics tied to institutions like the Conservatoire de Paris and music societies in Vienna and Munich. The periodical influenced programming at concert societies including the Groupe Musical Moderne and informed prefaces to new editions from publishers such as Éditions Salabert and Universal Edition. Its debates paralleled discussions in journals like Die Musik and The Musical Times, shaping tastes among patrons in Monte Carlo salons, industrialist patrons of the arts, and cultural policymakers in interwar Europe.

Legacy and Successors

After disruptions during World War II the magazine's legacy persisted through successor publications and repertory projects in postwar France and internationally. Institutions such as the Bibliothèque nationale de France and university music departments preserve its issues; scholars at King's College London, University of Oxford, Harvard University, and University of Paris continue archival research. The journal's model influenced later periodicals including Tempo, The Musical Times, and specialized musicological reviews published by houses like Cambridge University Press and Oxford University Press.

Category:Music magazines Category:French-language magazines Category:1920 establishments in France