“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.
Nursery Rhymes have always been popular with children and adults alike. These rhymes come from a variety of sources, including traditional riddles, proverbs, ballads, drinking songs and historical events. There has been much debate whether these innocent sounding rhymes have
A good many nursery rhymes have acquired various historical explanations. Although it is much debated whether such explanations are grounded in fact or simply a matter of urban lore, it is clear that these innocent sounding rhymes support multiple levels
One of the most dramatic scenes in an opera is the announcement of the hero or heroine’s death. It’s a striking point where histrionics come to the fore and emotions run rampant. These scenes were present even in the earliest
Not to be confused with Leonardo da Vinci, Leonardo Vinci (1690-1730) was an influential Italian composer, best known for his operas. In fact, his music had a direct influence on a number of composers of the next generation, most notably
In 1932, Kurt Weill was commissioned to write a ballet. But, this was a ballet with a difference. Commissioned by the Englishman Edward James for his ballerina wife, Tilly Losch, James specified that Lotte Lenya would sing it and his
We associate ragtime music with performers and composers such as Scott Joplin, confined by their poverty and marginality to the US. What we may not realize is how international this turn of the 20th century-style was and how influential it
Sergei Prokofiev (1891-1953) started experimenting with a number of short piano works in 1915, completed them in 1917, and gave them their first public performance on 15 April 1918 in Petrograd/St. Petersburg. At a private performance some months before, the
To prepare for the birth of her sixth child, Constanze Mozart visited a local spa in 1791. Located near Vienna, the small town of Baden had since medieval times provided relaxation and cures for Austria’s ruling families. Constanze certainly needed