Together with piano music, the sale of vocal scores, separate numbers, and arrangements of popular arias from current operas provided the major source of income for music publishers in nineteenth-century Paris. For any publishing house with its own journal, the criticism of such works was inextricably tied to the business's financial needs. The adulation of house composers and the denigration of those of rival firms became a priority. Despite initial claims to provide its readers with unbiased criticism, the Gazette was no exception to this phenomenon; contributors whose opinion ran counter to the party line were forced into ambiguity and evasion in order to avoid a censorious editorial footnote. Among the Schlesinger/Brandus composers, Meyerbeer and Halévy were by far the most revered; their antithesis from the Escudier camp was Verdi, against whom the Brandus brothers waged a critical war which made them worthy successors to the fearless Schlesinger, until critical opinion from within and public acceptance from without forced them to modify the journal's position. This chapter focuses primarily on composers – among them Meyerbeer, Halévy, Verdi, Offenbach and Lecocq – whose receptions best illuminate the problem of critical integrity compromised by commercial interest and rivalry.

Meyerbeer

The most lucrative house composer for Schlesinger and the Brandus brothers was Meyerbeer. Although the Gazette's reviews never degenerated into unsubstantiated eulogy, it is nevertheless clear that he could do no wrong; both Schlesinger and Brandus exploited every opportunity to promote his works, whether large- or small-scale.