Klaus Döring's Classical Music/Klaus Döring's Klassische Musik

by Georg Predota, Interlude Niccolò Paganini Niccolò Paganini was born in Genoa, then capital of the Republic of Genoa, on 27 October 1782. His father, Antonio Paganini was a dockworker and unsuccessful trader who supplemented his meager income by playing the mandolin for social occasions. Unsurprisingly, under the tutelage of his father, young Niccolò started studying the mandolin at the age of 5. Two years later, he started lessons on the violin, and Paganini recalls, “When I attained my seventh year, my father, whose ear was unmusical but who was nevertheless passionately fond of music, gave me my elementary lessons on the violin; in a very few months, I was able to play all manner of compositions at sight.” Antoine Watteau:  Guitar Technique In due course Paganini became the most famous violin virtuoso and one of the greatest musicians of all time. Not as well known is the fact, however, that Paganini composed a large number chamber works, mostly with or for guit...

By Georg Predotaby , Interlude Josef Strauss © Naxos Digital Services The musical Strauss family dynasty took full advantage of the pleasure-seeking and carefree spirit of Imperial Vienna. As members of the public piled into the great dance halls of the city, the Strauss family gleefully provided the musical background that gaily sent the Viennese population into throbbing gyrations. As leaders of the string section in the Strauss Orchestra, they fiddled their way into the hearts and beds of numerous young maidens. Johann Strauss I and Johann Strauss II—widely known as the Waltz King—became the darlings of the Viennese dance craze and the objects of female desire. Messy divorces, squabbles over illegitimate children and an occasional suicide attempt were all part of the Strauss musical empire. Josef Strauss (1827-1870), son of Johann I and brother of Johann II, however, wanted nothing to do with all that debauchery. He was a quiet and shy individual, who i...