| When Henry Charles Litolff was seventeen years old, he eloped with a lovely local girl and moved to Paris. Only a few years later, the young pianist decided that his marriage and his performing career were incompatible, and he moved to Brussels to become conductor of the National Theatre Orchestra. Mrs. Litolff returned to her native England, biding her time; when her husband returned home and filed for divorce, she arranged to have him sent to prison. Litolff, however, had not lost his touch: he seduced the jailer's daughter and escaped with her help. Settling in the Netherlands, he met the first of his many future wives. Today, Litolff's womanizing is largely forgotten; his superb concertos symphoniques for piano and orchestra, however, remain popular. |
