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The Societe des Concerts du Conservatoire, 1828-1967.

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The Societe des Concerts du Conservatoire, 1828-1967. By D. Kern Holoman. Berkeley: University of California Press, 2004. [xvi, 620 p. ISBN 0-520-23664-5. $95.] Illustrations, facsimiles, bibliography, index.

Writing the biography of an orchestra that existed for nearly 140 years is no easy task, especially when the archival materials are as voluminous and rich as those of the celebrated Societe des concerts du Conservatoire, the forerunner of the Orchestre de Paris, and doyen of the capitol's Sunday afternoon concert scene. As D. Kern Holoman's extensive study shows, file upon file yields material of jaw-dropping fascination: an orchestra that threatens to strike at the slightest hint of either inappropriate government pressure or governmental concessions to rival enterprises; that punishes a perceived Nazi collaborator by leaving the stage as he is about to begin a piano concerto; that forces its chorus to agree to its own death by attrition (simply jettisoning its female chorus members, who were never real members of the society anyway); and whose internal power struggles come slowly to the boil before overflowing into slanging matches of vivid passion. Holoman's story is, quite simply, a gripping read.

Of the many organizational approaches open to him, Holoman has elected to write a chronicle. His conductor-by-conductor sequence of chapters is enriched, however, by short "Overview" sections drawing together the main features of three large slices of the Society's history (Part 2: 1828-72; Part 3: 1872-1919; Part 4: 1919-67). Preceding the first "Overview" is a substantial Part 1 explaining the structure, personnel, and traditions of the Society, particularly as established in its earliest years, but frequently including comparisons with twentieth-century practice. Holoman has also done...

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