“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.
The Alex Cobbe collection outside Guildford, England, holds a unique piano created for a unique performer. During Franz Liszt’s trips to Florence after 1873, he was loaned a piano by its maker, Carlo Ducci. This isn’t a multi-foot grand piano
The Alec Cobbe collection, housed at Hatchlands Park, near Guildford, Surrey, England, holds pianos owned by a number of different composers, such as Haydn’s Longman & Brodrip piano; Mahler’s 1836 Graf piano; Elgar’s 1844 Broadwood piano; Chopin’s 1848 Pleyel, used
Now that your little grey cells are all warmed up, are you ready for a more complicated puzzle canon from Bach’s Musical Offering? If so, the 4th canon will probably give you a very good workout, indeed. Bach inscribed this
Although the brain is technically not a muscle, the old saying “use it or loose it” still applies. And when musicians and composers get together to exercise the little grey cells, they generally look towards puzzle canons for a brainy
In the great Chantilly Codex, written in the middle to late 14th century, there are two pieces of music tucked into the front, both by the composer Baude Cordier (ca. 1380 – 1440). The love song, ‘Belle, Bonne, Sage” (“Beautiful,
Joseph Haydn was famous for his pranks! When he was a choirboy at St. Stephen’s cathedral in Vienna in 1749, he decided to test the sharpness of a new pair of scissors by snipping off the pigtail of one of
In ancient Greece, the coming of the New Year was celebrated by presenting a newborn baby to Dionysus, the God of Wine. Used as a symbol of rebirth, the newborn child also featured prominently in early Christian practices, and today
Winter – Spring – Summer – Fall: It’s not only Vivaldi who has his four seasons; other composers took up the idea. In Argentina, we find Astor Piazzolla applying the idea to Buenos Aires in a set of tangos. Collectively
