Page:A Dictionary of Music and Musicians vol 4.djvu/715

LEIPZIG. LEIPZIG. In the list of cantors given on p. 115, omit the name of Joh. Rosenmuller, and between those of Weinlig and Hauptmann, insert that of Christoph August Pohlenz, who held the post only from March to September 1842. At end of list add the name of Wilhelm Rust, who has been Cantor since 1879. Other additions to the article will be found under, vol. iv. p. 198.

LEITMOTIF. Among other instances of the use of what is practically a 'leading motive' apart from the advanced school of composers, should be mentioned 'La Clochette' of Hérold, in which the melody 'Me voilá' allotted to Lucifer, appears at every entrance of the character. See Rev. et Gazette Mus., for 1880, p. 227.

LEMMENS, N. J. Add date of death, Jan. 30, 1881. The work referred to on p. 120a, l. 18 from bottom, was edited by J. Duclos, after the author's death, and published at Ghent in 1886. Four volumes of 'Œuvres inédites' have lately been published by Breitkopf & Härtel. P. 120a, last line, correct date of Mme. Sherrington's first appearance on the English stage to 1860, and that of her début on the Italian stage to 1866.

LENEPVEU,, born at Rouen, Oct. 4, 1840. After finishing his classical studies at his native place, he came to Paris by his father's desire to study law, and at the same time he learnt solfeggio from Savard, a professor at the Conservatoire. His first essay as a composer was a cantata composed for the centenary of the Sociéte' d'Agriculture et de Commerce of Caen, which was crowned and performed July 29, 1862. After this success he resolved to follow the musical profession, and through the intervention of Savard he entered the Conservatoire and joined Ambroise Thomas's class. He carried off the Prix de Rome in 1865 as the first competitor, and his cantata, 'Renaud dans les jardins d'Armide,' was performed at the opening of the restored Salle du Conservatoire, Jan. 3, 1866. It was thought at the time that this work showed promise of a great future, but opinions have since undergone modification, for Lenepveu has never risen above the crowd of estimable musicians. When he was at Rome he took part in the competition instituted by the Minister of Fine Arts in 1867, and his score of 'Le Florentin,' written on a poem by St. Georges, was accepted from among 62 compositions, without hesitation on the part of the judges, or murmurs on the part of the rival competitors. The prize work was to have been given at the Opéra Comique, but political events and the war delayed the fulfilment of the promise, and Lenepveu, instead of composing for the Concerts Populaires, which were always ready to receive new works, made the mistake of holding aloof, resting on his laurels, while his companions, Massenet, Dubois, Guiraud, Bizet, etc., all of whom were waiting for admittance into the theatres, devoted themselves to symphonic music, and thereby acquired skill in orchestration, as well as the recognition of the public. Lenepveu, who on his return from Rome had resumed his contrapuntal studies with the celebrated organist Chauvet (born June 7, 1837, died Jan. 28, 1871), while waiting for the production of 'Le Florentin,' brought forward nothing except a funeral march for Henri Régnault, played under Pasdeloup, Jan. 21, 1872. In the preceding year he had produced a Requiem at Bordeaux for the benefit of the widows and orphans of those killed in the war, May 20, 1871; fragments of these works given at the Concerts du Conservatoire, March 29, 1872, and at the Concerts Populaires, April 11, 1873, showed an unfortunate tendency in the composer to obtain as much noise as possible. At length, after long delays and repeated applications, 'Le Florentin' was given at the Opéra Comique, Feb. 26, 1874, and was wholly unsuccessful. Since then Lenepveu has never been able to get any work represented in France. Having completed a grand opera, 'Velléda' (on the subject of Chateaubriand's 'Martyrs'), he determined to produce it in London, where it was performed in Italian, with Mme. Patti in the principal part (Covent Garden, July 4, 1882). The only portion of the work known in Paris is the scene of the conspiracy, which has been heard at various concerts. Besides a number of songs and pieces for the piano, Lenepveu has only produced one important work, a 'drame lyrique,' 'Jeanne d'Arc,' performed in the Cathedral at Rouen (June 1, 1886). His music, which is naturally noisy, is also wanting in originality, and his style is influenced by composers of the most opposite schools. He cannot be too much blamed for having avoided concerts in the attempt to prove that a man of his temperament ought at once to succeed on the stage. The artist is now entirely sunk in the professor. Since Nov. 1880 he has taken a harmony class for women at the Conservatoire in the place of Guiraud, now professor of advanced composition. In this capacity Lenepveu was decorated with the Légion d'Honneur on Aug. 4, 1887. [ A. J. ]

LENZ,. Add date of death, Feb. 1883.

LÉONARD,, famous violinist, born in 1819 at Bellaire in Belgium, entered the Paris Conservatoire in 1836, and studied under Habeneck. He established his reputation as a brilliant player by a tour through Germany in 1844, and was the first to play Mendelssohn's Violin Concerto in Berlin, under the immediate direction of the composer. In 1847 he succeeded de Bériot as first professor of the violin at the Brussels Conservatoire. Since 1870 he has lived in Paris. He is an eminently successful teacher, and counts among his pupils many of the best modern Belgian, German, and French violinists. Leonard is a brilliant virtuoso, excelling especially in arpeggios and staccatos.

Madame Léonard, one of the Garcia family, gained much distinction in concert singing, and is now a successful teacher of singing in Paris.