Ludwig Spohr - His Music and His Life

The German Ludwig Spohr was born in Braunschweig on April 5, 1784. Many times, Spohr appeared with the French version of hirst name as Louis.

Spohr's parents were great musicians: his father, a doctor, played the flute while his mother enjoyed the piano play and sung. Spohr studied violine play and joined the Duchess Band Braunschwweig already at the age of 15.

During a period of 20 years, he was fulfilled with anthusiasm while residing in Leipzig. He loved travelling with his wife, who was a blessed harpist. After 25 years in Kassel, Spohr became General Music Director.

Among more or less 150 compositions, we can find ten operas. Very much impressing had been "Faust" (1816) and "Jessonda" (1823) - typical romantic operas. Fire and chivalrous emotions together with lyrical tenderness and conventialism characterized Spohr's compositions.

Nevertheless, Spohr remainded powwerless and feeble. He wasn't able to reach composers like Mozart, Wagner or Brahms. His symphonies are forgotten: only the 4th "Sounds Solemnity" can be listened from time to time in concert houses or classic music radio stations.

Spohr passed away in Kassel on October 22, 1859.

Ludwig Spohr (1784 - 1859) - Fantaisie Op. 35

Engelbert Humperdinck - His Music and His Life

German composer Engelbert Humperdinck was born on September 1, 1854 bin Siegburg/Rheinland. He has - of course! - nothing to do with the identical pop singer. Humperdinck received innumerable awards from the Collee of Music Cologne and the Mozart Award from the Munich Academy of Tone Arts.

During the Bayreuth Festival in 1882, Humperdinck became the assistant of Richard Wagner. Humperdinck's career went on as Professor of Composition in Barcelona (1885-1887) and 1890 in Frankfurt/Germany. In 1900, Humperdinck took over the master director form of the Berlin Academy of Arts.

Humperdinck's compositions started with chorus ballads, simple songs, a humorous orchestral work and a tonal, fine sounding string quartet.

His first opera "Hansel and Gretel" (1893) showed very well that the new generation lacks very much Richard Wagner's pathos. "Hansel and Gretel" became an utterly impossible folksong melodic "Christmas"-opera with the lyrics of Humperdinck's sister Adelheid Wette.

The melodramatic opera "The King's Children" (1897) premiered 1910 in New York, but -admittedly - became never home and familiar. "The Marriage with Reluctance" (1905) flopped because of naive awkwardness and ornate orchestral composition.

The keenness Engelbert Humperdinck passed away in Neustrelitz on September 27, 1921.

"Hansel und Gretel" - "The Overture" by Engelbert Humperdinck

Classical Music at the Sochi 2014 Opening Ceremony

8th February 2014, 00:29

The Winter Olympics opened with a celebration of classical music and ballet, with a performance from star opera singer Anna Netrebko. 

Tchaikovsky made an appearance at the very start in a Russian ABC video, detailing key figures and events in Russian history for each of the 33 letters in the Cyrillic alphabet, alongside Nabukov, Chekov, Russian Space travel and the Periodic Table. Tchaikovsky's Swan Lake also featured later on in the ceremony.

Borodin's Polovtsian dances from his opera Prince Igor opened the games as Liza Temnikova flew through a winter dreamscape, representing the diversity of Russia, accompanied by chanting and choral singing. Music by Russian masters Khachaturian and Stravinsky also featured during the two-hour, £31billion spectacular, with the famous Firebird Suite being played as the Olympic cauldron was lit.

The Russian national anthem was performed by Moscow Sretensky Monastery Choir, with the Olympic Anthem performed by opera star Anna Netrebko with a choral accompaniment. The musicians were conducted by esteemed conductor Valery Gergiev.

(C) ClassicFM 2014

Nocturne by Alexander Scriabin

Alexander N. Skriabin - His Music and His Life

The Russian Alexander Nikolajewitsch Skriabin was born in Moscow on January 10, 1872 and got his education at the Cadets Corps in Moscow. At the Moscow Conversatory, Skriabin studied piano play and composition together with Sergey Tanejeff (1856-1915) and Anton St. Arenski (1861-1906).

Skriabin toured whole Europe as dazzling and fascinating virtuoso with nervous brilliancy. In his compositions Skriabin tried to link and united himself with Frederic Chopin and Richard Wagner, while he criticized Peter Tschaikowsk's music as "disagreeable"!

Skriabin's composition dreams contented of "selected art", an art with its own regularity; an "art-for-art-standpoint",which has been very unbelievable and unique. A new complete art of work was his first symphony composed within five years from 1895 - 1900.

In 1908 follwed "Le Poeme de l'Extase"; in 1911 "Promoetheus". More and more ecstasy and satanic traits became parts in Skriabin's compositions. Sometimes his exaltations appeared shocking and dis-pleasing. Some dances and sonatas can be found on some very rare records.

Alexander Skriabin passed away in Moscow on April 14, 1915.

Christian Sinding - His Music and His Life

The Norwegian Christian Sinding was born in Kongsberg on January 11, 1856. He became a pupil of L.M. Lindeman, the great Norwegian folksong collector. Through him Sinding came in touch while the whole Skandinavian folk art.

For continuing studies Sinding moved to Leipzig, where he met Carl Reinicke (1824-1910), one of his very important teachers.

Sinding composed a lot of chamber music, some symphonies and concertos. During his really long life (he passed away in Oslo at age 85 on Decdember 3, 1941), Sinding created more than 200 songs and innnumerable piano pieces, like the most well-known "Rustle of Spring" with grandiose and pompous elements.

"Rustle of Spring" by Christian Sinding