Journal

would have attended concerts there seems quite likely given the talent and
interest she had shown for music in the provincial isolation of Haworth.
Beethoven’s pre-eminent position is easily demonstrated by the symphony
concerts presented by the Conservatoire in 1842. The first concert of the year
began with Beethoven’s Second Symphony and concluded with his Egmont
Overture. The second concert began with the Leonore Overture and concluded
with the Eroica Symphony. Included in the same programme was a Fantasie
by Servais entitled Homage à Beethoven. The third concert of the spring season
concluded with Beethoven’s Seventh Symphony.
In addition to the Conservatoire concert, there were regular symphony
concerts at the Salles or the Societe Philharmonique and of the Societe Royale
de la Grande-Harmonie, a series of eight violin concerts by the sisters
Milanollo, numerous piano recitals and chamber music concerts, plus opera at
the Theatre Royale (Norma, Lucia de Lammermoor, The Barber of Seville). In the
summer there were outdoor concerts in the park that the Brontë sisters
apparently could hear from their dormitory.
On July 26 1842 a gala concert was held to celebrate the tenth anniversary of
Belgium’s independence and of the accession of King Leopold the First to
the throne. By all contemporary accounts it was the most celebrated musical
event in the history of Brussels. The programme opened with Beethoven’s
Seventh Symphony and closed with Mendelssohn’s oratorio, The Conversion of
St. Paul. One of the many works in between was Liszt’s Don Juan Fantasy, with
Liszt himself, then the world’s greatest pianist, at the keyboard. In September
and October the person and the music of Hector Berlioz arrived in Brussels
for the first time. Berlioz conducted two gala concerts, mostly of his own
work. Berlioz and his music were a hot topic of dialogue in the newspapers,
which throughout the time of Emily Brontë’s stay were occupied mostly in
connection with Beethoven, with the issue of the expression of non-musical
ideas through the medium of music.
There can be little doubt that her musical experience not only in Brussels but
following her return to Haworth intensified her experience of great art and
the better prepared her to produce it herself. In addition, her assimilation of
Beethoven’s music in particular, may well have actually influenced the creation
of Wuthering Heights.
To celebrate the return of the piano to the Haworth Parsonage, after
extensive repairs, a concert was held in the Parsonage on Friday 4th June
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