Francois Hunten (1793-1878)

<p>Volume 8 of the <strong>PIANO MUSIC <i>of the </i>PARI S IAN VIRTUOSOS 1810-1860 series. </strong>François [Franz] Hünten (1793-1878) owed his position as a Parisian virtuoso to his friend Henri Herz. Two interesting curiosities stand out in Hünten's <i>oeuvre. </i>The thematic subject matter of the <i>Virelay et rondeau martial sur l'opéra de G. Onslow Guise u Les États de Blois </i>casts intriguing light on the historicizing tendencies of 1830s French romanticism (the virelay in question was written by Onslow not Hünten). And the <i>Fantaisie arabe sur l'air Kradoudja </i>testifies to the Parisians' burgeoning fascination with musical orientalism a fascination that received its decisive impulse from the premiere of Félicien David's <i>Le désert in </i>1844.</p>