Born inSalzburg, Mozart quickly emerged as achild prodigy under the training of his fatherLeopold, a skilled pedagogue. At age five, he was already competent on keyboard and violin, had begun to compose, and had performed before European royalty. His father took him ona grand tour of Europe and thenthree trips to Italy. At 17 he was a musician at the Salzburg court but grew restless and travelled in search of a better position. A fruitless journey in search of employment (1777-1779) led him to Paris,Mannheim, Munich, and eventually back to Salzburg. During this time he wrote his five violin concertos, theSinfonia Concertante, variousmasses, and the operaIdomeneo. (Full article...)
TheSymphony No. 5 inC minor,Op. 67 (occasionally known as theFate Symphony, German:Schicksalssinfonie), is asymphony composed byLudwig van Beethoven between 1804 and 1808. It is one of the best-known compositions inclassical music and one of the most frequently played symphonies, and it is widely considered one ofthe cornerstones ofWestern music. First performed in Vienna'sTheater an der Wien in 1808, the work achieved its prodigious reputation soon afterward.E. T. A. Hoffmann described the symphony as "one of the most important works of the time". As is typical of symphonies during theClassical period, Beethoven's Fifth Symphony has fourmovements.
It begins with a distinctive four-note "short-short-short-long"motif, often characterized as "fate knocking at the door", theSchicksals-Motiv (fate motif): (Full article...)
In the past, the viola varied in size and style, as did its names. The wordviola originates from the Italian language. The Italians often used the termviola da braccio, meaning, literally, 'of the arm'. "Brazzo" was another Italian word for the viola, which the Germans adopted asBratsche. The French had their own names:cinquiesme was a small viola,haute contre was a large viola, andtaile was atenor. Today, the French use the termalto, a reference to its range. (Full article...)
TheMessa da Requiem is amusical setting of theCatholic funeral mass (Requiem) for four soloists, double choir and orchestra byGiuseppe Verdi. It was composed in memory ofAlessandro Manzoni, whom Verdi admired, and is therefore also referred to as theManzoni Requiem. The first performance, at theSan Marco church in Milan on 22 May 1874, conducted by the composer, marked the first anniversary of Manzoni's death. It was followed three days later by the same performers atLa Scala. Verdi conducted his work at major venues in Europe.
Portrait byAnton Depauly, of Schubert at the end of his life
Franz Schubert's last threepiano sonatas,D 958, 959 and 960, are his last major compositions for solo piano. They were written during the last months of his life, between the spring and autumn of 1828, but were not published until about ten years after his death, in 1838–39. Like the rest of Schubert's piano sonatas, they were mostly neglected in the 19th century. By the late 20th century, however, public and critical opinion had changed, and these sonatas are now considered among the most important of the composer's mature masterpieces. They are part of the core piano repertoire, appearing regularly on concert programs and recordings.
One of the reasons for the long period of neglect of Schubert's piano sonatas seems to be their dismissal as structurally and dramatically inferior to the sonatas ofBeethoven. In fact, the last sonatas contain distinct allusions and similarities to works by Beethoven, a composer Schubert venerated. Nevertheless,musicological analysis has shown that they maintain a mature, individual style. The last sonatas are now praised for that mature style, manifested in unique features such as a cyclical formal and tonal design, chamber music textures, and a rare depth of emotional expression. (Full article...)
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Puccini; uncertain date.
Giacomo Antonio Domenico Michele Secondo Maria Puccini (22 December 1858 – 29 November 1924) was an Italian composer known primarily forhis operas. Regarded as the greatest and most successful proponent ofItalian opera afterVerdi, he was descended from a long line of composers, stemming from the lateBaroque era. Though his early work was firmly rooted in traditional late-nineteenth-century Romantic Italian opera, it later developed in the realisticverismo style, of which he became one of the leading exponents.
TheSymphony No. 2 inC minor byGustav Mahler, known as theResurrection Symphony, was written between 1888 and 1894, and first performed in 1895. Thissymphony was one of Mahler's most popular and successful works during his lifetime. It was his first major work to establish his lifelong view of the beauty ofafterlife andresurrection. In this large work, the composer further developed the creativity of "sound of the distance" and creating a "world of its own", aspects already seen in hisFirst Symphony. The work has a duration of 80 to 90 minutes, and is conventionally labelled as being in the key of C minor; theNew Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians labels the work'stonality as C minor–E♭ major. It was voted the fifth-greatest symphony of all time in a survey of conductors carried out by theBBC Music Magazine. (Full article...)
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Map showing the Grand Tour, 1763–1766. Black line shows outward journey to London, 1763–1764. Red line shows homeward journey toSalzburg, 1765–1766. Occluded line shows travel in each direction.
TheMozart family grand tour was a journey throughwestern Europe, undertaken byLeopold Mozart, his wifeAnna Maria, and their childrenMaria Anna (Nannerl) andWolfgang Theophilus (Wolferl) from 1763 to 1766. At the start of the tour the children were aged eleven and seven respectively. Their extraordinary skills had been demonstrated during a visit to Vienna in 1762, when they had played before the EmpressMaria Theresa at theImperial Court. Sensing the social and pecuniary opportunities that might accrue from a prolonged trip embracing the capitals and main cultural centres of Europe, Leopold obtained an extended leave of absence from his post as deputyKapellmeister to thePrince-Archbishopric of Salzburg. Throughout the subsequent tour, the children'sWunderkind status was confirmed as their precocious performances consistently amazed and gratified their audiences.
The first stage of the tour's itinerary took the family, via Munich andFrankfurt, to Brussels and then on to Paris where they stayed for five months. They then departed for London, where during a stay of more than a year Wolfgang made the acquaintance of some of the leading musicians of the day, heard much music, and composed his firstsymphonies. The family then moved on to the Netherlands, where the schedule of performances was interrupted by the illnesses of both children, although Wolfgang continued to compose prolifically. The homeward phase incorporated a second stop in Paris and a trip through Switzerland, before the family's return toSalzburg in November 1766. (Full article...)
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Theviolin, sometimes referred to as afiddle, is a woodenchordophone, and is the smallest, and thus highest-pitched instrument (soprano) in regular use in theviolin family. Smaller violin-type instruments exist, including theviolino piccolo and thepochette, but these are virtually unused. Most violins have a hollow wooden body, and commonly have fourstrings (sometimesfive), usually tuned inperfect fifths with notes G3, D4, A4, E5, and are most commonly played by drawing abow across the strings. The violin can also be played by plucking the strings with the fingers (pizzicato) and, in specialized cases, by striking the strings with the wooden side of the bow (col legno).
Don Giovanni (Italian pronunciation:[ˈdɔndʒoˈvanni];K. 527; full title:Il dissoluto punito, ossia il Don Giovanni, literally 'TheRake Punished, orDon Giovanni') is anopera in two acts with music byWolfgang Amadeus Mozart to an Italianlibretto byLorenzo Da Ponte. Its subject is a centuries-old Spanish legend about alibertine as told by playwrightTirso de Molina in his 1630 playEl burlador de Sevilla y convidado de piedra. It is adramma giocoso blending comedy, melodrama andsupernatural elements (although the composer entered it into his catalogue simply asopera buffa). It was premiered by the Prague Italian opera at the National Theatre (of Bohemia), now called theEstates Theatre, on 29 October 1787.Don Giovanni is regarded as one of the greatest operas of all time and has proved a fruitful subject for commentary in its own right; criticFiona Maddocks has described it as one of Mozart's "trio of masterpieces with librettos by Da Ponte". (Full article...)
Image 18Musicians from 'Procession in honour of Our Lady of Sablon in Brussels.' Early 17th-century Flemishalta cappella. From left to right: bassdulcian, altoshawm, treble cornett, soprano shawm, alto shawm, tenorsackbut. (fromRenaissance music)
Image 20Portion of Du Fay's setting ofAve maris stella, in fauxbourdon. The top line is a paraphrase of the chant; the middle line, designated "fauxbourdon", (not written) follows the top line but exactly a perfect fourth below. The bottom line is often, but not always, a sixth below the top line; it is embellished, and reaches cadences on the octave.Play (fromRenaissance music)
Image 24A modern string quartet. In the 2000s,string quartets from the Classical era are the core of the chamber music literature. From left to right: violin 1, violin 2, cello, viola (fromClassical period (music))
And when they encounter works of art which show that using new media can lead to new experiences and to new consciousness, and expand our senses, our perception, our intelligence, our sensibility, then they will become interested in this music.
Born and raised inTbilisi (now the capital ofGeorgia), he moved to Moscow in 1921 following theSovietization of theCaucasus. Without prior music training, he enrolled in theGnessin Musical Institute, and subsequently studied at theMoscow Conservatory in the class ofNikolai Myaskovsky, among others. His first major work, thePiano Concerto (1936), popularized his name within and outside the Soviet Union. It was followed by theViolin Concerto (1940) and theCello Concerto (1946). His other significant compositions include theMasquerade Suite (1941), theAnthem of the Armenian SSR (1944), three symphonies (1935, 1943,1947), and around 25 film scores. Khachaturian is best known for his ballet music:Gayane (1942) andSpartacus (1954). His most popular piece, the "Sabre Dance" fromGayane, has been used extensively in popular culture and has been performed by a number of musicians worldwide. His style is "characterized by colorful harmonies, captivating rhythms, virtuosity, improvisations, and sensuous melodies". (Full article...)
A graduate of theSaint Petersburg Conservatory, Prokofiev initially made his name as an iconoclastic composer-pianist, achieving notoriety with a series of ferociously dissonant and virtuosic works for his instrument, including his first two piano concertos. In 1915, Prokofiev made a decisive break from the standard composer-pianist category with his orchestralScythian Suite, compiled from music originally composed for a ballet commissioned bySergei Diaghilev of theBallets Russes. Diaghilev commissioned three further ballets from Prokofiev—Chout,Le pas d'acier andThe Prodigal Son—which, at the time of their original production, all caused a sensation among both critics and colleagues. But Prokofiev's greatest interest was opera, and he composed several works in that genre, includingThe Gambler andThe Fiery Angel. Prokofiev's one operatic success during his lifetime wasThe Love for Three Oranges, composed for theChicago Opera and performed over the following decade in Europe and Russia. (Full article...)
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Mitsuda in 2019
Yasunori Mitsuda (光田 康典,Mitsuda Yasunori; born January 21, 1972) is a Japanesecomposer. He is best known for his work invideo games, primarily for theChrono,Xeno,Shadow Hearts, andInazuma Eleven franchises, among various others. Mitsuda began composing music for his own games in high school, later attending a music college in Tokyo. While still a student, he was granted an intern position at the game development studioWolf Team.
Mitsuda joinedSquare upon graduation in 1992 and worked there as a sound effects designer for two years before telling Square's vice presidentHironobu Sakaguchi he would quit unless he could write music for their games. Shortly after, Sakaguchi assigned him to work on the soundtrack forChrono Trigger (1995), whosemusic has since been cited as among the best in video games. (Full article...)
In mid- to late-19th-century Russia,Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky and a group ofcomposers known asThe Five had differing opinions as to whetherRussian classical music should be composed following Western or native practices. Tchaikovsky wanted to write professional compositions of such quality that they would stand up to Western scrutiny and thus transcend national barriers, yet remain distinctively Russian in melody, rhythm and other compositional characteristics. The Five, made up of composersMily Balakirev,Alexander Borodin,César Cui,Modest Mussorgsky, andNikolai Rimsky-Korsakov, sought to produce a specifically Russian kind ofart music, rather than one that imitated older European music or relied on European-style conservatory training. While Tchaikovsky himself used folk songs in some of his works, for the most part he tried to follow Western practices of composition, especially in terms of tonality and tonal progression. Also, unlike Tchaikovsky, none of The Five were academically trained in composition; in fact, their leader, Balakirev, considered academicism a threat to musical imagination. Along with criticVladimir Stasov, who supported The Five, Balakirev attacked relentlessly both theSaint Petersburg Conservatory, from which Tchaikovsky had graduated, and its founderAnton Rubinstein, orally and in print.
As Tchaikovsky had become Rubinstein's best-known student, he was initially considered by association as a natural target for attack, especially as fodder for Cui's printed critical reviews. This attitude changed slightly when Rubinstein left the Saint Petersburg musical scene in 1867. In 1869 Tchaikovsky entered into a working relationship with Balakirev; the result was Tchaikovsky's first recognized masterpiece, the fantasy-overtureRomeo and Juliet, a work which The Five wholeheartedly embraced. When Tchaikovsky wrote a positive review of Rimsky-Korsakov'sFantasy on Serbian Themes he was welcomed into the circle, despite concerns about the academic nature of his musical background. The finale of hisSecond Symphony, nicknamed theLittle Russian, was also received enthusiastically by the group on its first performance in 1872. (Full article...)
During his youth, Lutosławski studied piano and composition inWarsaw. His early works were influenced byPolish folk music and demonstrated a wide range of rich atmospherictextures. His folk-inspired music includes the Concerto for Orchestra (1954)—which first brought him international renown—andDance Preludes (1955), which he described as a "farewell to folklore". From the late 1950s he began developing new, characteristic composition techniques. He introduced limitedaleatoric elements, while retaining tight control of his music's material, architecture, and performance. He also evolved his practice of buildingharmonies from small groups ofmusical intervals. (Full article...)
Ralph Vaughan WilliamsOM (/ˌreɪfvɔːnˈwɪljəmz/ⓘRAYF vawnWIL-yəmz; 12 October 1872– 26 August 1958) was an English composer. His works include operas, ballets, chamber music, secular and religious vocal pieces and orchestral compositions including nine symphonies, written over sixty years. Strongly influenced byTudor music andEnglish folk-song, his output marked a decisive break in British music from itsGerman-dominated style of the 19th century.
Vaughan Williams was born to a well-to-do family with strong moral views and a progressive social outlook. Throughout his life he sought to be of service to his fellow citizens, and believed in making music as available as possible to everybody. He wrote many works for amateur and student performance. He was musically a late developer, not finding his true voice until his late thirties; his studies in 1907–1908 with the French composerMaurice Ravel helped him clarify the textures of his music and free it fromTeutonic influences. (Full article...)
He is thought to have been a younger contemporary ofGuillaume de Machaut and based in southern France. Three of his works were included in theChantilly Codex, which is an important source ofars subtilior music. However, along withP. des Molins,Jehan Vaillant andF. Andrieu, Grimace was one of the post-Machaut generation whose music shows few distinctlyars subtilior features, leading scholars to recognize Grimace's work as closer to thears nova style of Machaut. (Full article...)
PanditRavi Shankar (Bengali pronunciation:[ˈrobiˈʃɔŋkor]; bornRobindro Shaunkor Chowdhury, sometimes spelled asRavindra Shankar Chowdhury; 7 April 1920 – 11 December 2012) was an Indiansitarist and composer. A sitarvirtuoso, he became the world's best-known exponent ofIndian classical music in the second half of the 20th century, and influenced many musicians in India and throughout the world. Shankar was awarded India's highest civilian honour, theBharat Ratna, in 1999. He is also the father of American singerNorah Jones and British-American musician andsitar playerAnoushka Shankar.
Shankar was born to aBengali family in India, and spent his youth as a dancer touring India and Europe with the dance group of his brotherUday Shankar. At age 18, he gave up dancing to pursue a career in music, studying the sitar for seven years under court musicianAllauddin Khan. After finishing his studies in 1944, Shankar worked as a composer, creating the music for theApu Trilogy bySatyajit Ray, and was music director ofAll India Radio, New Delhi, from 1949 to 1956. (Full article...)
In his youth, Prince Frederick was more interested in music and philosophy than war, which led to clashes with his authoritarian father,Frederick William I of Prussia. However, upon ascending to the throne, he attacked and annexed the richAustrian province ofSilesia in 1742, winning military acclaim. He became an influential military theorist, whose analyses emerged from his extensive personal battlefield experience and covered issues of strategy, tactics, mobility and logistics. (Full article...)
Edward Gibbons (bapt. 21 March 1568 – in or before July 1650) was an Englishchoirmaster and composer of the lateRenaissance and earlyBaroque periods. Born inCambridge, Gibbons's youth is completely unknown, but he later received degrees from theUniversities of Cambridge andOxford. From 1591/92 to 1598 he worked atKing's College, Cambridge, as alay clerk and choirmaster. During his tenure he married Jane, with whom he had six children. Gibbons's whereabouts the next few years remain uncertain; he may have lived inActon,Bristol orExeter, but by 1607 he was the choirmaster of theExeter Cathedral, where the choristers includedMatthew Locke. By 1609 Gibbons received a specialdispensation to become a priestvicar, becoming the head of the college of priest-vicars andsuccentor. Jane died in 1628, and Edward married Mary Bluet; the family was evicted from their home during theEnglish Civil War, but moved to their estate inDunsford.
A few compositions of Gibbons survive: anorganprelude, twoverse anthems, two works forviolconsorts, and somesacred music. Of these, commentators have mainly praised the verse anthems,How hath ye City sate solitary andWhat Strikes the Clocke?Musicologist John Harley called the former particularly moving, and it was likely written for the 1603 Londonplague outburst to which Gibbons's brotherEllis may have succumbed to. Edward is the elder brother of the better-knownOrlando; after the early deaths of Orlando and his wife, Edward cared for their son,Christopher, who also became a noted composer. (Full article...)
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Ravel in 1925
Joseph Maurice Ravel (7 March 1875 – 28 December 1937) was a French composer, pianist and conductor. He is often associated withImpressionism along with his elder contemporaryClaude Debussy, although both composers rejected the term. In the 1920s and 1930s Ravel was internationally regarded as France's greatest living composer.
Born to a music-loving family, Ravel attended France's premier music college, theParis Conservatoire; he was not well regarded by its conservative establishment, whose biased treatment of him caused a scandal. After leaving the conservatoire, Ravel found his own way as a composer, developing a style of great clarity and incorporating elements ofmodernism,baroque,neoclassicism and, in his later works,jazz. He liked to experiment with musical form, as in his best-known work,Boléro (1928), in which repetition takes the place of development. Renowned for his abilities inorchestration, Ravel made some orchestral arrangements of other composers' piano music, of which his 1922 version ofMussorgsky'sPictures at an Exhibition is the best known. (Full article...)
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Gustaf Allan Pettersson (19 September 1911 – 20 June 1980) was a Swedish composer andviolist. He is considered one of the 20th century's most important Swedish composers and was described as one of the last great symphonists, often compared toGustav Mahler. Pettersson's music has a very distinctive sound and can hardly be confused with that of any other 20th-century composer. In the final decade of his life, hissymphonies (typically one-movement works) developed an international following, particularly in Germany and Sweden. Of these, his best known work is Symphony No. 7. His music later found success in the United States. The conductorsAntal Doráti andSergiu Comissiona premiered and recorded several of his symphonies. Pettersson's song cycleBarefoot Songs influenced many of his compositions. Doráti arranged eight of theBarefoot Songs.Birgit Cullberg produced three ballets based on Pettersson's music.
Gabriel Urbain Fauré (12 May 1845 – 4 November 1924) was a French composer, organist, pianist and teacher. He was one of the foremost French composers of his generation, and his musical style influenced many 20th-century composers. Among his best-known works are hisPavane,Requiem,Sicilienne,nocturnes for piano and the songs "Après un rêve" and "Clair de lune". Although his best-known and most accessible compositions are generally his earlier ones, Fauré composed many of his most highly regarded works in his later years, in a moreharmonically andmelodically complex style.
Fauré was born into a cultured but not especially musical family. His talent became clear when he was a young boy. At the age of nine, he was sent to theÉcole Niedermeyer music college in Paris, where he was trained to be a church organist and choirmaster. Among his teachers wasCamille Saint-Saëns, who became a lifelong friend. After graduating from the college in 1865, Fauré earned a modest living as an organist and teacher, leaving him little time for composition. When he became successful in his middle age, holding the important posts of organist of theÉglise de la Madeleine and director of theParis Conservatoire, he still lacked time for composing; he retreated to the countryside in the summer holidays to concentrate on composition. By his last years, he was recognised in France as the leading French composer of his day. An unprecedented national musical tribute was held for him in Paris in 1922, headed by the president of theFrench Republic. Outside France, Fauré's music took decades to become widely accepted, except in Britain, where he had many admirers during his lifetime. (Full article...)
... thatWFMT classical music radio hostDon Tait owned such a large collection of recordings that he had to buy a house and have its floor reinforced to accommodate the weight?
... that opera singerCharles Holland spent much of his career in Europe as opportunities in classical music for African Americans were limited?
Jules Massenet (12 May 1842 – 13 August 1912) was a French composer of theRomantic era, best known for his operas. Between 1867 and his death, he wrote more than forty stage works in a wide variety of styles, fromopéra comique to grand depictions of classical myths, romantic comedies and lyric dramas, as well as oratorios, cantatas and ballets. Massenet had a good sense of the theatre and of what would succeed with the Parisian public. Despite some miscalculations, he produced a series of successes that made him the leading opera composer in France in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. By the time of his death, he was regarded as old-fashioned; his works, however, began to be favourably reassessed during the mid-20th century, and many have since been staged and recorded. This photograph of Massenet was taken by French photographerEugène Pirou in 1875.
Johann Christian Bach (5 September 1735 – 1 January 1782) was a composer of the Classical era, the eighteenth child ofJohann Sebastian Bach, and the youngest of his eleven sons. Bach was taught by his father and then, after the latter's death, by his half-brotherC. P. E. Bach. Bach moved to Italy in 1754, and then to London in 1762, where he became known as the "London Bach". Bach's compositions include eleven operas, as well as chamber music, orchestral music and compositions for keyboard music. In 1764 Bach metWolfgang Amadeus Mozart, who was eight at the time, and spent five months teaching him composition. He had considerable influence on Mozart, and was later described by scholars as his "only, true teacher".
Sheet music for thePolonaise in A-flat major, Op. 53, a solopiano piece written byFrédéric Chopin in 1842. This work is one of Chopin's most admired compositions and has long been a favorite of the classical piano repertoire. The piece, which is very difficult, requires exceptional pianistic skills and greatvirtuosity to be interpreted. A typical performance of thepolonaise lasts seven minutes.
Billy Strayhorn (November 29, 1915 – May 31, 1967) was an Americanjazz composer, pianist, lyricist, and arranger, best remembered for his long-time collaboration with bandleader and composerDuke Ellington that lasted nearly three decades. Though classical music was Strayhorn's first love, his ambition to become a classical composer went unrealized because of the harsh reality of a black man trying to make his way in the world of classical music, which at that time was almost completely white. He was introduced to the music of pianists likeArt Tatum andTeddy Wilson at age 19, and the artistic influence of these musicians guided him into the realm of jazz, where he remained for the rest of his life. This photograph of Strayhorn was taken byWilliam P. Gottlieb in the 1940s.
The anatomy of a Périnetpiston valve, this one taken from aB♭trumpet. When depressed, the valve diverts the air stream through additional tubing, thus lengthening the instrument and lowering theharmonic series on which the instrument is vibrating (i.e., it lowers thepitch). Trumpets generally use three valves, with some variations, such as apiccolo trumpet, having four. When used singly or in combination, the valves make the instrument fullychromatic, or capable of playing all twelve pitches ofclassical music. Trumpets may also userotary valves instead.
TheRoyal Albert Hall is a concert hall, seating a maximum of 5,272, on the northern edge of South Kensington, London. Constructed beginning in 1867, the hall was inaugurated on 29 March 1871. Since 1941 it has heldThe Proms, an eight-week summer season of daily orchestral classical music concerts and other events.
Stradivarius is one of the violins, violas, cellos and other string instruments built by members of the ItalianStradivari family, particularlyAntonio Stradivari.
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