“Anecdotes and maxims are rich treasures to the man of the world.”
Johann Wolfgang von Goethe
The universe of classical music is jam-packed with musical anecdotes. Frequently these short narratives delineate subtle stories that highlight specific traits of a classical composer or a performer. Often humorous, anecdotes of classical composers don’t simply provoke laughter but can reveal a more general and subtle truth. We find Sophia Corri escaping her inattentive husband in an empty harp case, Beethoven being thrown in jail for vagrancy, and Rossini and Pavarotti both cooking their favorite meals. Napoleon gave free reign to his infatuation with an opera singer, Bach was challenged to a duel, and Frederick the Great had not only a great passion for music but also for a handsome Lieutenant in the Royal Guard. A musical anecdote is part of the process of telling a story, but it means sharing an experience with someone and not simply supplying him or her with information. And don’t worry, embellishment, exaggeration or fictitious invention are all part of the process. Anecdotes of classical composers impart the sense of a lived experience, as they usually involve real people in recognizable places and locations. In fact, musical anecdotes exhibit a special kind of realism and an identifiable historical dimension. Check back with us for more insightful and delightful musical anecdotes.
Over the years, Anna Magdalena Bach fulfilled many different roles. Above all, she mothered a large and steadily increasing family. When she married the widower Bach, she took on four small children, and subsequently gave birth to thirteen children over
Carl Philipp Emanuel remembered the Bach household in Leipzig as a “pigeon coop,” with people swarming in and out all the time. Conversing with the Bach biographer Forkel, Carl Philipp recounts, “With his many activities Bach hardly had time for
The position of Kantor at the Thomasschule in Leipzig was one of the most esteemed musical positions in Germany. Bach’s duties were demanding and varied, and he was certainly the most important musician in town. In charge of music at
The great thing about being a practicing musician is all the music you have at your hands. As a 10-year-old travelling musician, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (1756–1791) found himself bored on a trip from London back to Salzburg. When they arrived
Joy and sorrow were everyday occurrences in the household of the Bach family. That was certainly true when it came to the son Ernestus Andreas Bach. The little boy was born premature and hardly lived long enough to be baptised
Early in 1726, for reasons essentially unknown, Johann Sebastian Bach interrupted his continuous production of cantatas. Between February and September 1726, he performed 18 cantatas by his cousin Johann Ludwig Bach, and he performed none of his own music at
We may reasonably call Johann Sebastian Bach a middle-of-the-road eighteenth-century father. He was not directly involved at all in the upbringing of his children but provided guidance by example. The Bach family arrived in Leipzig on 22 May 1723 and
After the death of his wife, Maria Barbara, Johann Sebastian continued his work at the Court at Cöthen. He wrote and performed cantatas for the birthday of the Prince and also for the New Year. In order to perform these
