The 10 Best Classical Music Tear-jerkers

What's the saddest piece of classical music? We've got some suggestions for the biggest classical tear-jerkers of all time... 

1. Giacomo Puccini - Sono andati? (from La Boheme)

Because this is an opera, someone has to die. Unfortunately for poor Mimi in Puccini's La Boheme, it's her. Not only is she separated from her true love, riven with consumption and hacking into her hanky like an audience member in Who Wants To Be A Millionaire?, she's also decided that Rodolfo is her one true love - here, the two of them reminisce as Mimi meets her tragic end…

2. Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart - Requiem Mass in D minor

It'd be nice to think that the rather more dramatic scene depicted in Amadeus , where Mozart on his death bed blurts out his last ever composition to an eagerly transcribing Salieri, was exactly how it happened. However, it's widely accepted now that it was a rather more sedate affair - Mozart slipped away in the night, and a fellow composer, Franz Sussmayr, assembled the broken fragments and finished it off (in fact, he actually did most of the work on the piece).

3. Samuel Barber - Adagio for Strings

You might know this one from some of the key scenes in Oliver Stone's less-than-cheery Vietnam epic Platoon . You might also know it from how it makes you want to curl up on the kitchen floor and sob into a dishcloth.

4. Tomaso Albinoni - Adagio in G minor

It's a staple here at Classic FM, but to do justice to Albinoni's Adagio you really do have to put your headphones in, imagine life in sepia and think back to that time the family pet was put down.

5. Johann Sebastian Bach - Come, Sweet Death

With a title like that, it's unlikely that you'll be skipping down the street with this pumping from your iPod. No, we recommend some dark clothing, a stiff drink and possibly some more gentle sobbing. Good luck, everybody.

6. Edward Elgar - 2nd Movement, Serenade for Strings

Even if it doesn't, this belter of a second movement is premium lip-wobbler material. Watch out for the tingly high strings in the middle. Hankies at the ready...

7. Henryk Gorecki - Symphony of Sorrowful Songs

If any piece deserves the label 'modern classic', it's this. Gorecki used the words etched into the walls of a Gestapo prison by an 18 year old girl during the Second World War as his inspiration, and the results are as chilling as they are moving.

8. Henry Purcell - Dido's Lament (When I Am Laid In Earth, from Dido and Aeneas)

No, it's not an account of the popular late-90s singer's descent into obscurity, it's actually one of Henry Purcell's most poignant compositions. Taken from his opera Dido and Aeneas, it comes as Dido (not that one) is preparing to face her imminent death.

9. Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky - Symphony No. 6, 4th movement

Almost everything Tchaikovsky wrote has an element of sadness to it, but this one really takes the biscuit. Dedicated to his nephew, with whom he was controversially in a secret relationship, it is shot through with regret, sadness and loneliness. Listen to the heart-wrenching 4th movement below the pic of Tchaikovsky and his nephew.

10. Giuseppe Verdi - V'ho ingannato (from Rigoletto)

Right - to bring you up to speed, Rigoletto's daughter has been stabbed and placed in a bag. Rigoletto has been given said sack thinking it contains the body of his nemesis, The Duke of Mantua. He opens the bag to discover his dying daughter dressed as a man (don't ask) instead, and they sing this heartbreaking duet together as she dies. Blimey.

(C) Classic FM Digital Radio 2013/2015

Emil Nikolaus von Reznicek - His Music and His Life

The Austrian Emil Nikolaus von Reznicek was born in Vienna on May 4, 1860 and came from an officer family. At first, von Reznicek studied jurisprudence, but later "music" in Graz/Austria and Leipzig/Germany.

He became theatre bandmaster, military conductor as well as royal court bandmaster in German towns such as Weimar and Mannheim.

In 1902, von Reznicek started his composer life in Berlin with five symphonies, several symphonic poems, uncounted orchestral works, eight operas and the operetta "Die Angst vor der Ehe" ("Marriage Fear"). Out of his operas "Donna Diana" (in a new arrangement from 1933) remainded as most successful - though the overture is really the best classical piece.

Emil Nikolaus von Reznicek passed away in Berlin on August 2, 1945.

Seven Staggering World Records in Classical Music

By Daniel Ross

World's smallest violin

Yeah, so it's impressive and we admire the 'no-vibrato' stance on  Baroque performance practice, but that intonation. It's all over the place. 

World's largest tuba

A man in lederhosen plays Flight of the Bumblebee on the world's largest tuba. Because Germany.

World's fastest violinist

There are loads of YouTube videos purporting to show the fastest performance of Flight Of The Bumblebee, and it's very tricky to know for sure who the current record-holder is. But we've got a soft spot for the electric-haired, omni-smiling, spangly-jacketed violin munchkin Ben Lee. Here he is smashing his own record in Hong Kong in front of a scarily silent audience. 

 

World's fastest pianist

In this bizarre, hypnotic video, pianist Bence Peter has the expression of a man who really wants to hit piano keys fast. Really fast. So how many times did he manage to play the same note in one minute? Watch to find out the exact figure, but the rough answer is 'chuffing loads'. 

 

World's fastest drummer

If pianos aren't doing it for you, then take a look at this surprisingly calm video of Tom Grosset tap-tapping away at an electric drum, rattling up an astonishing 1,208 hits in one minute, beating the previous world record by just 5. 

 

Most recorded conductor

Herbert von Karajan, the one and only, the inimitable and much-missed conductor of the Berlin Philharmonic, is officially the most recorded conductor of all time. And with performances like this heroic Brahms symphony, it's perfectly clear why. 

World's biggest orchestra

In 2013, a whopping gaggle of 7,224 musicians gathered in Brisbane's Suncorp Stadium to beat the world record for the largest ever orchestra. Unfortunately, they picked 'Waltzing Matilda' as one of their pieces, but still, impressive stuff. 

Jean-Baptiste Lully - His Music and His Life

His real name was Giovanni Battista Lulli, as mentioned in the "Ullstein Music Encyclopedia (Berlin/Frankfurt, 1965). Lully was born in Florenz/Italy on November 28, 1632.

In 1646, Lully started his carreer as kitchen helper in Paris. He was an outstanding violinist and has been promoted as one of the "music popes" - a member of the "violins du roi" (Royal Violinists). His new string techniques inspired the French violin play with an unbelievable precision.

As  nobleman, Lully became a royal dancer, actor and composer of King Louis XIV. All his compostions showed a royal but sometimes uncomfortable glorification.

In 1669, Lully "invented" the French National Opera with lyrics from the Greek and Roman mythology. Orchestral compositions with oboes soli remained with tonal glam and glory.

Lully passed away in Paris on March 22, 1687.

Anna Nicole Smith Returns to the Royal Opera

Mark Anthony Turnage's controversial opera based on the life of Anna Nicole Smith makes a return to the Royal Opera House, and we've got all the pictures. Watch out for Classic FM's very own Wynne Evans, reprising his role as the Mayor of Mexia.

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(C) 2014 by ClassicFM London.

Twelve Stages of Practising a Musical Instrument

By: Daniel Ross 

Musicians everywhere know the agony and ecstasy of practising. Rehearsal time is precious, useless, essential, wasteful and indispensable all at the same time - and we've documented the journey. 

1. Finding the right spot

Not too warm for brass and woodwind, not too cold for pianists' fingers, not too far from your house if you're a student, not too big so the acoustic ruins your sound, not too dry so you can hear all your mistakes, not too small so you feel cramped and stressed… so, yeah. Anyone know a room like that?

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2. Tentative success

Hey, looks like that hard work last time paid off! Those legato passages have finally gained some character! Those sfzorzandi are really popping! I AM AMAZING!

3. Actual progress

Even better, all the technical problems and pitfalls you seemed to trip over yesterday are miraculously missing today. Reward yourself. Take a break.

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4. Break-time

This section of practise can last anywhere between one minute and, if you're unlucky, several hours. It's imperative that you don't lose focus.

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5. Procrastinating

You know what procrastinating is, don't you? When you're supposed to be methodically learning the intricacies of a Kabalevsky concerto, making sure the runs are sounding just perf-GUYS THERE'S A DOG IN THE CAR PARK I HAVE TO GO.

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6. Shame-faced return to practising

OK. You were being silly. Time to knuckle down and make sure those tricky passages are consigned to oblivion. It's time for steely determination.


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7. More procrastinating

Yeah. Still not practising. Take a leaf out of this guy's book and just muck about with a pencil instead of doing any actual work. All together: "This is a very good pencil."

8. Food

All that practising can make you hungry. If you're practising away from home in a practice room, make sure you've either lined your instrument case with packets of nuts or you have a pizza delivery outlet in the vicinity.

9. Frustration

Returning once again to your doomed practice session can invoke feelings of annoyance. Try not to let this become a physical manifestation.

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10. Dulling realisation you've remembered nothing from your last practice
Nothing at all.

11. Abject defeat and despair
That's it. That whole session was futile. Anything you may have crammed into your head in the first few minutes has sadly been lost. Maybe crying will help.

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12. A lifeline! 
Seconds before you finally throw in the towel and pack your instrument away, you absolutely NAIL that passage you were struggling with. Justice, thy name is fluking a musical breakthrough. Practice! It's all worthwhile! Let's do it again tomorrow!

How Nigel Kennedy Changed Classical Music Forever

By John Brunning

If it wasn't for a spiky-haired Nigel Kennedy’s 1989 recording of Vivaldi’s The Four Seasons, you and I might not be listening to Classic FM today. Here's why I think one album changed the classical world forever. 

It's a bold statement, I know, but think about this: in 1989, the classical world was marking the end of an era with the death of Herbert von Karajan. Then Kennedy burst onto the scene and launched a new one. He was the polar opposite to every expectation we had of classical musicians: scruffy, cheeky, spiky-haired, foot-stamping, ‘Mockney’ speaking; he called us ‘cats’ and ‘monsters’!

Agreed, The Four Seasons  was the first time that a classical artist had been given the full pop marketing treatment. There was a promotional ‘single’, billboard posters, TV and radio commercials. But there was more to this phenomenon than marketing - Kennedy is a brilliant violinist and performer.

His full throttle version of Vivaldi sold more than three million copies worldwide, held onto the No.1 spot in the classical chart for more than a year, and entered the record books as the best-selling classical recording ever.

I'd spent my youth playing in bands and I vividly recall hearing Kennedy's album for the first time and thinking 'This guy knows how to let rip!' I'd never heard baroque that sounded like rock before - and Kennedy looked the part too. If you need a reminder, join me on Classic FM Drive  after 6pm to hear a track from the classic recording. 

And I'd say that Classic FM, launched three years later, probably would not have had such a phenomenal launch and success if it weren’t for Kennedy. He, along with the arrival of the Three Tenors the following year, demystified classical music, showing that it wasn’t just for a knowledgeable elite. He didn’t dumb it down and he didn’t ‘cross-over’, he just put it out there. And in doing so he laid the foundations for the next 25 years and a public who had been awakened to the joy of classical music.

(C) 2014 by ClassicFM

Claudio Monteverdi - His Music and His Life

The Italian Claudio Monteverdi has been born in Cremona on May 15, 1567.

In 1590, he became a violinist and singer at the Duke Mantua Castle. 1613, after the duke's death, Monteverdi joined the Venice Mark Cathedrale.

He dedicated his first opera to Duke Mantua, entitled "Favola d'Orfeo" (1607). "L'Arianne" (from 1608), according to tradition, "disappeared". Monteverdi's operas have been in general interest of many other classical composers regarding new arrangements. Carl Orff or Paul Hindemith are two - just to mention them among many others.

Ecclesiastical masterworks, i.e. the "Vespro della Beate Vergine" (1610) or "Scherzi musical a tre voci" (a funny musical for three voices from 1607) have been never forgotten.

Claudio Monteverdi passed away in Venice on November 29, 1643.