Henry Theophilus Finck

Henry Theophilus Finck (September 22, 1854 - 1926) was an American musical critic, born at Bethel, Missouri, and raised in Portland, Oregon, where he was taught piano and violincello. He taught himself Latin and Greek so thoroughly that he was able to enter Harvard as a sophomore in 1872. At Harvard, he studied philosophy, the classics, and music.

He attended the Bayreuth Festival in 1876, of which he wrote accounts for newspapers and magazines. A subsequent fellowship from Harvard enabled him to spend three years in study in Berlin, Heidelberg, and Vienna.

He became musical editor of the "New York Evening Post" in 1881. His writings include:
* "Romantic Love and Personal Beauty" (1887)
* "Chopin, and Other Musical Essays" (1889)
* "Pacific Coast Scenic Tour" (1890)
* "Spain and Morocco" (1890)
* "Wagner and his Works" (1891)
* "Lotos Time in Japan" (1898)
* "Primitive Love and Love Stories" (1899)
* "Pictorial Wagner" (1899)
* "Anton Seidl" (1899)
* "Songs and Song Writers" (1900)
* "Edward Grieg" (1905)
* "Massenet and his Opera" (1910)

Influences

Dr. Avery Gilbert cites Finck's The Gastronomic Value of Odors as having influenced his own book, What the Nose Knows. Gilbert speaks about Finck's influence in a Podcast for the New York Academy of Sciences. That Podcast can be listened to [http://www.nyas.org/snc/podcastdetail.asp?id=1841 here]

External links

*
* [http://www.archive.org/details/successinmusicho00fincrich Success in music and how it is won] (1909) - with a [http://www.usc.edu/dept/polish_music/PMJ/issue/4.1.01/paderewskirubato.html Chapter On Tempo Rubato] by Ignace Jan Paderewski

* [http://www.nyas.org/snc/podcastdetail.asp?id=1841 New York Academy of Sciences Podcast]