“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.
Alessandro Stradella’s life ended tragically at the age of 42 when a shadowy assassin stabbed him to death for reasons unknown. Allegedly, a certain Giovanni Battista Lomellino organized the murder. Lomellino, it has been said, became jealous when he realized
George Frideric Handel’s first season at the Royal Academy of Music was a huge success. By staging Rinaldo, Teseo, Amadigi, and Radamisto, he had quickly reached the commanding position he sought. In fact, Handel considered the aria “Ombra cara” from
The spa town Baden-Baden is located in the German state of Baden Württemberg, at the border of the Black Forest and within ten kilometers of the Rhine River. The Romans knew the curing springs at Baden-Baden, and in the 19th
When the Austrian Emperor Joseph II declared war on Turkey in 1788, a new tax mechanism was put into place to fund the war machinery. Citizens had to prepare an official tax declaration and hand the paperwork to the relevant
The Austro-Turkish (1788-91) gave rise to one of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart’s most obscure works. On 11 August 1788, one day Mozart recorded the completion of his 41st symphony, he entered the song “Beim Auszug in das Felde,” (Going to War)
By the time Gioachino Rossini (1792-1868) had penned his final opera at the tender age of 37, he had become one of the wealthiest and most influential musicians in Europe. Coming from very humble beginnings indeed, he composed up to
Dr. J. Clarence Chambers (1910–2006), in his studies at Amherst College, became the rehearsal pianist for the music department’s operetta performances. He graduated in 1934 from Columbia University’s College of Physicians and Surgeons and did his internship at Harlem Hospital.
George Frideric Handel (1685-1759) was one of the all-time great composers. Restless and resourceful, Handel was a workaholic musician of great charisma with a genius for invention. For most of his life—at least during his time in London—Handel operated as
