15 Incredible Classic Music Facts

How many pieces of wood in a violin? What's the most expensive opera costume of all time? Which orchestra was booked to sail on the Titanic? Discover these random, bizarre and thoroughly interesting facts from the world of classical music.

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Titanic

The London Symphony Orchestra was booked to travel on the Titanic's maiden voyage, but they changed boats at the last minute.

(C) ClassicFM London

Learning a Musical Instrument?

12 things they didn't tell you about learning a musical instrument

Thinking of taking up an instrument? Great! But be warned - it's not as easy as you might think... 

1. You will not be able to play perfectly immediately
You're better off starting with the basics, one step at a time. Like this guy.


2. Everyone will expect you to be able to play perfectly immediately
No matter how much you protest, everyone you know will assume that just because you've started learning you'll be a prodigy from the start. In the eyes of everyone else, you are one of the Von Trapp children.



        3. No matter how young you start, there's always someone more prodigious than you
You really think you're making progress, you're mastering the scales and arpeggios, maybe even a few little Grade 1 pieces under your belt... and then you see something like this:

4. There are lots of rules to learn
Just because Jimmy Page uses a violin bow on a guitar doesn't mean you can too. And don't think you can get away with a bare chest on stage either.




  
5.  Your practising will sound terrible at first Everyone wants to sound amazing from the moment they pick up a new instrument, but don't get too excited. Practise is hard. It takes a lot of effort and dedication. Most of the time, especially at the beginning, it sounds bad. It makes Britney Spears do this:

(via reactiongifs.com)

6. Learning the guitar? Maybe the violin? Strings in general?
Your fingertips will never be able to feel anything ever again. Except pain.

(via Reddit)

7. Oh, you've taken up the trombone?
What a chance to show your friends just how versatile an instrument the trombone is! It's not all about comedy noises and the theme tune from Jonny Briggs, right? Wrong. All people want from you is this sound:

8. Learning an instrument can alter your appearance
Is that a love-bite on your neck? No, you've started learning the violin.


            
9. You will never be able to do this:
No matter how much you want it to happen, MI5 have absolutely no use for your cello case. See also: tommy guns in violin cases. Never happens.

10. You will suddenly find yourself with extra luggage
Any dreams of cycling home or taking the scenic walking route will be quashed the moment you strap that tuba or double bass to your back. Oh, and if you're of schooling age, you might want to think about preparing some witty answers to the question, "What's THAT?"




             
11. Eventually you will join an ensemble of some kind, and that's when the fun really starts

"Want to come for a drink tonight?"
"Can't. Rehearsal."


12. It's easy to give up
But really, you shouldn't. Harness your sticktoitiveness. Keep going up and down those scales and doing those exercises. Like anything, practise makes perfect, and the joy you give to others with your playing will ultimately make the whole endeavour completely worthwhile.

15 Iconic Ballet Photos From History

Spectacular pictures of the masters of ballet, from Margot Fonteyn to Carlos Acosta - these beautiful photos are the most iconic moments from the history of dance. 

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Margot Fonteyn in Swan Lake

This September 1943 photo shows British ballet legend Margot Fonteyn during a performance of 'Swan Lake' at the New Theatre, with Australian ballet dancer Robert Helpmann. Photo: Getty 

(C) 2014 by ClassicFM London

What You're like When you Listen to These Composers

By Kyle Macdonald 

...these are your reactions. We know they are.

Listening to Wagner

Listening to Handel

Listening to Paganini

Listening to Offenbach

Listening to Schubert 

Listening to Johann Strauss



Listening to Brahms

Listening to Tchaikovsky

Listening to John Cage

Listening to Mahler

Listening to Bach

Listening to Beethoven
Listening to Verdi

Listening to Mozart

(C) 2014 by ClassicFM London.

Abel Family - Music and Life

 

Portrait of the Abel family 

(Ch. F. Abel is on the left)

 

 

Christian Ferdinand Abel (July or August 1682, Hanover/Germany – buried 3 April 1761 (or 1737?), Koethen, Germany) was one of the most famous German Baroque violinists, cellists and especially viola virtuosos.

His father was the composer, violinist and organist Clamor Heinrich Abel, who was born in the German county Westphalia around 1640. 

 For some time Christian served in the Swedish army of Carles during the occupation of northern Germany. There he married the Swede Anna Christina Holm.

Then he went to Berlin, where he was a prominent member of the Hofkapelle of King Frederick I of Prussia. He remained there until its dissolution by Frederick William in 1713. With several of his colleagues he moved to Köthen to work at the court there as a violinist and gambist under Augustin Reinhard Stricker. Abel also worked with Stricker's successor Johann Sebastian Bach. Bach was godfather of his daughter Sophie-Charlotte born on 6 January 1720 in Köthen. In the same year, Abel and Bach accompanied the Prince Leopold on his trip to Carlsbad. It is believed that Bach composed his three sonatas for viola da gamba and harpsichord BWV 1027-1029 probably for Abel to teach Leopold to play the viol.

In 1723, Bach left Köthen to accept a post as cantor at the St. Thomas Church in Leipzig, thus leaving his post in the municipal orchestra free. Abel succeeded him as Premier-Musicus of the Hofkapelle. Abel spent the rest of his life in Köthen, where he was also buried.

Abel's son Carl Friedrich Abgel born in December 22, 1723 in Köthen was also a productive and known composer and gamba virtuoso. But he was most known for founding the London Bach-Abel concerts in collaboration with Johann Christian Bach, the first subscription concerts in England. His oldest son Leopold August Abel, born March 24, 1718, buried August 25, 1794 was also a composer and violinist and became Royal Conductor at Ludwigslust Castle.

16 Haunting Pictures of Broken Abandoned Pianos

These pianos once made music. Now they're abandoned, broken and incapable of producing a tune. But as these stunning pictures show, they are still completely beautiful instruments. 

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(C) 2014 by ClassicFM London

Ludwig van Beethoven - His Music and His Life

Ludwig van Beethoven was born in Bonn/Germany probably on December 16, 1770 (same data state that it's on the 17th), and passed away on March 26, 1827 in Vienna/Austria. His family had its roots in Holland as well as in North Rhine Westphalia/Germany.

Signs of his early music talents had been reported. Beethoven was presented to the public on in Cologne/Germany and in 1778 and 1781 in Holland. He should become a "second Mozart" - but the presentations remained without effective and sweeping success.

Beethoven's ever first composition "Variations pour le clavecin sur un Marche de Monsieur Dresler" had been published in 1782. In 1787, Beethoven travelled to Vienna to fulfil his dream in becoming a student of the great idol Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, but Beethoven's mother got seriously sick and passed away the same year. Beethoven interrupted his stay in Vienna. But misunderstandings between the 60-years-old maestro Haydn and his 20-years-old student Beethoven let also that academic try ended without success. Beethoven chose different and other teachers, i.e. J. Schenk, J.A. Albrechtsberger as well as A. Salieri.

Beethoven lived as a free-lance-artist. He stayed together with dilettantes in Vienna nobility families. He dedicated his music works to his mentors, while at the same time he admired his mentor's wife. An ear-illness disabled his up to that time lucky life. Taking a cure, medicines and hearing ads became only provisional help. Beethoven tried to ignore his deafness - means to say, his last compositions became more and more unplayable and unsingable. The  eccentric composer neglected his appearance and let him become restless and fidgety. He insulted his closest friends with crude jokes. Beethoven's greatest wish, to get married, had never become true.

Beethoven's remarks and expressions about nature showed his deep faith in God. He was a devote fan of German Classic Idealism. In his compositions one can find mostly personal experiences, but because of Beethoven's philosophical basic ideas, his "musical comments" remained on a level of  general validity.

Beethoven started early with piano fantasies. His 32 piano sonatas are described as the "New Testament of Piano Literature". Opus 27, the "Moonlight Sonata" was entitled as "Sonata quasi una Fantasia" by Beethoven himself. His five piano concerts are classical treasures. The 5th concert was from 1809. Beethoven loved to play violin and viola. We can feel the effects in his chamber music compositions or in his one and only fantastic-fanatic violin concerto opus 61, in d-major from 1806.

His nine symphonies are the highlights of Beethoven's works. Nevertheless, his vocal works and stage plays shouldn't be forgotten: "Missa Solemnis opus 123" or his only opera "Fidelio".

The 9th symphony premiere on May 7, 1824 had been the last real highlight in Beethoven's life.