Wake up! It's the symphony “with the kettledrum stroke”. Joseph Haydn’s Symphony No. 94 in G major “Surprise” is probably his most famous symphony. Here, it is performed by the Lucerne Festival Orchestra under the direction of Andris Nelsons. The concert took place on 19 August 2015 at the Lucerne Culture and Congress Centre.
(00:00) I. Adagio cantabile – Vivace assai
(08:55) II. Andante
(15:32) III. Menuetto: Allegro molto
(20:30) IV. Finale: Allegro molto
Joseph Haydn (1732 - 1809) composed the Symphony No. 94 in G major, Hob. I:94 “Surprise” in 1791 during his first visit to London. The premiere took place on March 23, 1792, in the Hanover Square Rooms and was an enormous success. Haydn himself conducted, leading the orchestra from the fortepiano.
The “Surprise Symphony” is the second of Haydn’s twelve London Symphonies and a model of the classical four-movement symphony. Its nickname derives from the famous moment at the beginning of the second movement (09:31), when, after 15 measures of a gentle melody, a sudden fortissimo chord with timpani stroke bursts forth.
Legend has it that Haydn wanted to wake up dozing London concertgoers with this jolt. More likely, however, he had another aim in mind. As he told his biographer Georg August Griesinger: “I was interested in surprising the public with something new.” The English gave the work the nickname “Surprise,” which captures the effect of this fortissimo chord more vividly than the German title “Symphonie mit dem Paukenschlag” (Symphony with the kettledrum stroke).
The shock in the second movement can easily overshadow the other qualities of the symphony, yet all four movements are masterfully crafted. The first movement, with its dance-like character, shifts gracefully between forte and piano and develops its two themes with elegance. The second movement delights with contrasting variations on a childlike tune. The third movement is deliberately simple—almost rustic—reminiscent of an Alpine Ländler. The finale recaptures the playfulness and drive of the opening movement and brings the work to a brilliant conclusion.
Born in Austria, Joseph Haydn played a decisive role in the history of the symphony. He wrote his first for Count Morzin of Bohemia, though he served him only briefly. In 1761 he became Kapellmeister to the Esterházy court in Hungary, where he composed numerous symphonies for its small orchestra. By the end of the 1760s Haydn had already written more than 40 symphonies, with another 25 following in the 1770s. By the 1780s he had reached full artistic maturity, and his works were performed throughout Europe—and even, by 1782, in America.
In his final creative period, encompassing the twelve so-called London Symphonies, Haydn’s mastery is most evident. He traveled to England for the first time in 1791 and enjoyed great success with his Symphonies Nos. 93–98. London boasted one of the finest orchestras of the day, offering Haydn—long accustomed to the modest resources of the Esterházy court—new possibilities that deeply influenced his writing. He composed the second set of London Symphonies (Nos. 99–104) during his second visit (1794–95).
Even today, Symphony No. 94 conveys the poise, elegance, and spirit of invention that characterize Haydn’s late style.
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Famous Quotes About Violins and Violinists
“I know that the most joy in my life has come to me from my violin” – Albert Einstein
Albert Einstein, 1921
Albert Einstein (1879-1955) is probably one of the greatest and most influential physicists of all time. His theory of relativity revolutionized the way we look at the Universe, but his emotional passion belonged to Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart and his violin sonatas. Einstein once said, “Mozart’s music is so pure that it seems to have been ever-present in the universe waiting to be discovered by the master.” Einstein started to take violin lessons at an early age and he became an accomplished amateur. As Einstein’s friend Janos Plesch wrote, “There are many musicians with much better technique, but none, I believe, who ever played with more sincerity or deeper feeling.” In another famous quote Einstein stated, “If I had not been a scientist, I would have been a musician. Life without playing music is inconceivable for me. I live my daydreams in music. I see my life in terms of music.”
“I wound up sticking with violin because it was the strongest current in my life.” – Hilary Hahn
Hilary Hahn
Three-time Grammy Award-winning violinist Hilary Hahn is famous for her “clear and brilliant musicality, expansive interpretations of an incredibly varied repertoire, and organic connections with her audience.” Hahn is without doubt, one of the greatest violinists on today’s concert stage. She showed remarkable musical ability as a toddler, but was equally interested in the visual arts, took gymnastics and rowing lessons, and freely admits that her biggest love was ballet. Her ballet lessons complemented instructions on violin technique and musical phrasing, as her teacher “always advised me to think about music as stories beyond the notes, and explained how to memorize and analyze the language of music.” Hahn remembers that after a good performance, “she was rewarded not with going somewhere, not with cakes or candies, but with a new book.” And as we learn from her famous quote, Hahn would have been successful in any field, but thankfully she stuck with the violin.
“A violinist should always be happy when he is playing. If he is playing well, he should be happy that he is playing well. If he is not playing well, then he should be happy because it will soon be over.” – Jascha Heifetz
Jascha Heifetz, 1907
The unique and singular Jascha Heifetz was nicknamed “God’s fiddler,” as he was hailed as a “transcendentally great violinist.” He was only 16 when he walked onto the stage of Carnegie Hall, and a critic writes, “Heifetz’s breadth, poise, and perfect regard for the turn of a phrase constantly left his hearers spellbound. Nothing that he undertook was without a finish so complete, so carefully considered and worked out, that its betterment did not seem possible…For the moment it is sufficient to say that he is supreme; a master, though only sixteen.” Heifetz was born in Vilnius, Lithuania, and he started violin lessons at the age of two. His public performances quickly created a sensation, and he would soon take Europe by storm. Heifetz was considered “the greatest violin virtuoso since Paganini,” but as his famous quote discloses, he remained a humble servant to music and his profession
“My father gave me my elementary lessons on the violin; in a very few months, I was able to play all manner of compositions at sight.” – Niccolo Paganini
Niccolo Paganini, 1836
Niccolò Paganini is probably the most famous violinist of all time. However, he never really spoke well of his father. As he reported, “It would be hard to conceive of a stricter father. If he didn’t think I was industrious enough, he compelled me to redouble my efforts by making me go without food.” Supposedly, Paganini was forced to practice the violin for up to 15 hours a day, and withholding food and water would certainly be considered child abuse today. The violinist writes, “I really didn’t require such harsh stimulus, because I was enthusiastic about my instrument and studied it unceasingly in order to discover new and hitherto unsuspected effects that would astound people.” The only thing his father really wanted was to make money from the boy’s musical talents. Nevertheless, Paganini almost single-handedly established a new brand of performing musician, the touring virtuoso, and his influence on violin performance is timeless.
“The violin—that most human of all instruments.” – Louisa May Alcott
Louisa May Alcott
Our next famous quote about violins and violinists comes from the novelist, short story writer, and poetess Louisa May Alcott (1832-1888). She is best known for her novel Little Women and its sequels Little Men and Jo’s Boy’s. Jo’s Boy’s follows the characters introduced in Little Men, and we learn much about the violinist “Nat.” The famous quotation originates in a scene when Nat, who had studied in Germany, is asked to play and surprises his family with his progress in music and the energy and self-possession, which had made him a new man. “By and by when the violin—that most human of all instruments—had sung to them the loveliest songs without words, he said, looking about him at these old friends with a feeling of happiness and content, ‘Now let me play something that you will all remember though you won’t love it as I do.’ Mrs Jo said, some of our boys are failures, but I think this one is going to be a success.”
“It is as absurd to say that a man can’t love one woman all the time as it is to say that a violinist needs several violins to play the same piece of music.” – Honoré de Balzac
Honoré de Balzac, 1842
For our next famous quote about violins and violinists let’s stay in the realm of literature. The French novelist and playwright Honoré de Balzac (1799-1850) was famous for his keen observation of detail and unfiltered representation of society. Critics called him “one of the founders of realism in European literature.” Balzac did not play any instruments, but music provided much inspiration for his works. Balzac was a close friend of George Sand, and part of an exciting artistic environment in 19th-century Paris. Some commentators have suggested that Balzac was thinking of Franz Liszt when he wrote “It is as absurd to say that a man can’t love one woman all the time as it is to say that a violinist needs several violins to play the same piece of music.” He did apparently qualify this initial assessment with another famous quote, “The majority of husbands remind me of an orangutan trying to play the violin.” I still don’t understand what that means.
“In the musician, there is a tendency to have a narrowness. It’s all compartmentalized. I am playing the violin; that’s all I know, nothing else, no education, no nothing.” – Itzhak Perlman
Itzhak Perlman
The great violinist Itzhak Perlman is one of the world’s most popular classical musicians. “Beloved for his charm and humanity as well as his talent, he is treasured by audiences throughout the world who respond not only to his remarkable artistry, but also to his irrepressible joy for making music.” Perlman has phenomenal talent and produces a big and radiant sound of great beauty and phrasing, with “immense breadth when the music demands it.” But what is even more, his outgoing and genial character and his generous temperament allow him to easily connect with the public, “and to call on deep reserves of emotion and humanity.” Perlman was stricken with polio at the age of four, and had to learn how to walk with crutches and how to play the violin in a seated position. As he said in another famous quote, “to be a child prodigy is a curse because you’ve got all those terrible possibilities.”
“When you play a violin piece, you are a storyteller, and you’re telling a story.” – Joshua Bell
Joshua Bell
Famed violinist Joshua Bell, who made his debut with Riccardo Muti and the Philadelphia Orchestra, has many stories to tell. He studied with the legendary Russian pedagogue Josef Gingold, and is currently in charge of the fantastic Academy of St. Martin in the Fields. Bell performs on the 1713 Huberman Stradivarius violin, an instrument dating from Stradivari’s “Golden Era.” Bell just loves to explore technology, and he has collaborated with artists across a multitude of genres. In the process, he has recorded well over 40 albums, been named a “Young Global Leader,” and been nominated for six Grammy Awards. In 2007, Bell performed incognito in a Washington, D.C. metro station, which inspired the children’s book and subsequently an animated film titled. “The Man with the Violin.” You can easily tell where his love for storytelling is coming from, can’t you
“Art begins where technique ends.” – Leopold Auer
Leopold Auer
Leopold Auer (1845-1930) might be the most iconic violin teacher the world has ever seen. Among his students were Jascha Heifetz, Nathan Milstein, Mischa Elman, Efrem Zimbalist, and numerous other great musicians. Jascha Heifetz wrote, “Auer is a wonderful and an incomparable teacher; I do not believe there is one in the world who can possibly approach him. A half-hour with Auer is always to me a great emotional and intellectual stimulus. ”Many commentators consider him as the founder of the “Russian Violin School,” and a decisive force in the development of modern violin pedagogy. The majority of his students came to him as finished technicians, so that he could develop their interpretative powers. And that is exactly what his famous quote refers to, which continues as follows: “There can be no real art development before one’s technique is firmly established. And a great deal of technical work has to be done before the great works of violin literature, the sonatas and concertos, may be approached.”
“The only downside to playing the violin is that you never know when you’re going to be asked to play.” – Charlie Siem
Charlie Siem
Charlie Siem is one of today’s foremost young violinists, with such a wide-ranging diversity of cross-cultural appeal as to “have played a large part in defining what it means to be a true artist of the 21st century.” And that means countless collaborations and endorsements from fashion brands including Armani, Chanel, Dior, Dunhill, and Hugo Boss. This kind of notoriety is expressed in his famous quote, “The only downside to playing the violin is that you never know when you’re going to be asked to play, I could be out to dinner or having a drink at a bar, and someone could just give me a violin, and I’ve got to be ready to play.” Above all, Siem is passionate about bringing classical music to new audiences, and it certainly appears that he is succeeding. There are literally hundreds of famous quotes about violins and violinists, so this top 10 is just a small and very personal sample. I hope you enjoyed my selections.
Schumann-Liszt Widmung
Robert Schumann and Clara Wieck © pages.stolaf.edu
Marked by its technical bravura, Widmung (or Dedication in English) has remained one of the most popular encore pieces in piano recital, allowing pianists to display their virtuosity. However, Widmung is much more than a mere showpiece – containing probably the most passionate music writing and most heartfelt feelings. Written by Robert Schumann in 1840 (this piece was from a set of Lieder called Myrthen, Op.25), this piece was later arranged for piano solo by Franz Liszt. Myrthen was dedicated to Clara Wieck as a wedding gift, as he finally married Clara in September, despite the opposition from Clara’s father (who was also Robert’s piano teacher).
Below is the text of Widmung, written by Friedrich Rückert, with English translation:
Original Text by Friedrich Rückert | English Translation (by Richard Stokes, author of The Book of Lieder (Faber, 2005)) |
Du meine Seele, du mein Herz, | You my soul, you my heart, |
The work starts with a flowing sense of pulse, while the first phrase (“Du meine Seele, du mein Herz”) already captures Schumann’s love for Clara and devotion to the relationship. Here, Schumann sincerely confesses to Clara, declaring how important she is to him. For him, Clara is his angel, his spiritual support, and his entire world. Nevertheless, there is still a sense of fear and insecurity in the music, due to separation and uncertainty about their future. This complex mixture of feelings, as a true and full-bodied representation of love, certainly strengthens the emotional power of the music.
Friedrich Rückert © www.britannica.com
Liszt lengthened the first section by repeating the first theme, but with the melodic line mostly embedded in left hand (with some intertwining) and accompaniment in higher register. Then, the music moves on to the chordal section in E major, which is unchanged in Liszt’s arrangement. The repeated chords convey warmth, tenderness and peace, especially when the text here is associated with death and heaven. Here, the love has changed into everlasting, eternal one – love that transcends space and time.
Franz Liszt © img.wikicharlie.cl
After the brief hand-crossing passage, the music reaches its most technically brilliant and rousing part with arpeggios on right hand and chords highlighting the melodic line on left hand, revealing Schumann’s most intimate feelings. It is the moment when Schumann’s love for Clara becomes so dramatic and uncontrollable, and eventually erupts – a perfect combination of rapture, passion, commitment and sense of elevation. The rich orchestral colours (such as the harp-like figurations, quasi-brass calls) in the music further heightens the emotional intensity. What an outpouring of love here.
In the extended coda, where there are some triumphant chords marked fff, the passion in the music remains, but this time presenting different moods. With ecstatic joy, the music transforms into a declaration, as if Schumann is announcing that he is determined to spend the rest of his lifetime with Clara and willing to make sacrifices in the face of adversity, for Clara is an indescribable miracle of his life.
Maria Curcio Was One of the Best Piano Teachers Ever. Here’s Why
by
Maria Curcio could easily have been one of the most famous pianists of the twentieth century.
So why do only a handful of classical music lovers know her name today? What kept her from the solo career she seems to have been born for?
Today, we’re looking at the remarkable story of Maria Curcio: her astonishing precocity, the story of how she escaped the Nazis, and how she came back from wartime health issues to become one of the most influential piano teachers of all time.
Maria Curcio’s Childhood
Maria Curcio
Maria Curcio was born in August 1918 near Naples, Italy.
Her father was a wealthy Italian businessman, and her mother was a Jewish Brazilian pianist who studied under a pupil of composer/pianist Ferruccio Busoni.
Maria began taking piano lessons from her mother when she was three years old.
She started giving public performances that same year, expressing delight at the toys that the appreciative audience handed her.
Curcio’s Unhappy Childhood
Curcio’s parents chose to homeschool her, so she’d have as much time as possible to pursue her musical studies and tour.
She didn’t go to school and didn’t play with other children. As an elderly woman, she described her childhood as “not a happy one.”
When she was seven, she was invited to perform for Mussolini. However, on the day of the performance, she threw a tantrum and hid underneath a tablecloth, refusing to come out. According to legend she claimed he was “ruining our country.”
Studying With Legendary Teachers
Maria Curcio
Despite that scandalous no-show, Italian artists took note of the prodigy.
Composer Ottorino Respighi invited her to perform at his home in Rome, and she studied for a time with composer and pianist Alfredo Casella.
Artur Schnabel
She also worked with pianist and conductor Carlo Zecchi, a student of legendary pianist and pedagogue Artur Schnabel.
Later, after her graduation from the Naples Conservatory at the age of fourteen, she spent a year in Paris studying with Nadia Boulanger, the most influential music teacher of the twentieth century.
Meeting Schnabel
Karl Ulrich Schnabel, 1940’s © schnabelmusicfoundation.org
When she returned to Italy, she played for pianist Karl Ulrich Schnabel, Artur’s son.
Karl knew his father didn’t like working with children, but Curcio was simply so dazzling that he urged his father to hear her play.
So Zecchi took Curcio to Lake Como, where the elder Schnabel was ensconced, teaching a series of masterclasses.
Schnabel was blown away by her, declaring her “one of the greatest talents I have ever met.” He quickly asked her to be his pupil.
Curcio would also work intensively with Schnabel’s wife, singer Therese Behr, providing accompaniments to her students. This training gave her important insights into vocalists’ approaches to music. She later said that she learned just as much from Behr as she did Schnabel.
Through Schnabel, she met conductor Fritz Busch, who offered to work with her while Schnabel was touring. This invaluable connection enabled her to hear legendary opera and orchestral performances.
“You can’t play Mozart if you don’t know the operas,” she later said in an interview. “Because Mozart was vocal.”
A Promising Career Interrupted by War
In 1939, when Curcio was nineteen, she made her London debut.
Unfortunately for Curcio, 1939 was one of the worst years of the century to launch a European career.
That September, Hitler invaded Poland, sparking World War II. Months later, in the spring of 1940, the Nazis made another push and invaded multiple other European countries, including Holland.
Staying in Amsterdam During the Occupation
Upon the outbreak of war, Schnabel’s Jewish secretary, Peter Diamand, moved back to his home in Amsterdam. Curcio joined him and continued her concert career there.
After the Nazis forbade Jews from playing music in public, she protested by refusing to concertize. “I wouldn’t accept to play in a country where not everybody had equal rights.”
Her parents begged her to return to Italy, even involving the Italian ambassador and consul to convince her. But she was deeply loyal to her colleague, and she wasn’t about to abandon him.
Saving Peter Diamand
Diamand ended up being arrested by the Nazis and interned in a Dutch concentration camp. It was only through Curcio’s intervention and string-pulling that he and his mother were kept from being sent to an extermination camp deeper in Nazi territory.
The Diamands were freed, but were told that they would be prime candidates for re-arrest in the near future. It became clear they had no other option but to go into hiding.
Curcio coordinated the dangerous work of securing food and forged identity papers for them. The trio hid in cramped conditions, suffering extensive physical and mental traumas from their ordeal.
During their time underground, Curcio developed tuberculosis and malnutrition. It would take years of work for her to regain use of her limbs and enough physical strength to play piano at a high level again.
While filming a 1980s documentary, Diamand remarked, “It was typical for Maria. I mean, as I said, there are no compromises, and when it means risking one’s life, she risked her life.”
“Would you say that part of the price she paid was her concert career?” the interviewer asked him.
“Indeed,” Diamand replied. “Indeed. She ruined her health.”
Despite the intensity and desperation of their circumstances, or maybe because of them, Curcio and Diamand fell in love. They married in 1947.
Recovering from the War
After the war, she entered a sanitarium to recover from her tuberculosis infection.
She later told a student that while she was bedbound, she spent a huge amount of time thinking about how to play the piano, working out technical and musical problems in her head.
(During this time, fellow patient, conductor Otto Klemperer, tried flirting with her, but only succeeded in spilling orange juice on her.)
She slowly returned to playing during the 1950s.
Although she had lost a huge amount of strength and time, she had also built up a reserve of inner strength and internal conviction that would serve her well as a teacher.
Making Musical Friends
She also had the benefit of being married to Diamand, who, in 1948, became director of the Holland Festival.
As she recovered, through her husband’s work, she was able to remain connected with the greatest musicians of the era.
During this second phase of her performing career, she worked with stars like Benjamin Britten and his partner Peter Pears, Otto Klemperer, Pierre Monteux, and Elisabeth Schwarzkopf.
Conductor Wilhelm Furtwängler also wanted to work with her, but, interestingly, she declined. Although she admired his music-making, she couldn’t justify working with someone whom she felt had legitimised the Nazis.
He sent her a bouquet of roses as a token of his admiration, and she returned the generous gesture by sending him a gift of oranges (a rare treat in late 1940s Europe), but she still refused to make music with him.
In 1963, the year she turned forty-five, she retired from public performance, choosing to focus on teaching instead.
Moving to Britain
In 1965, Peter Diamand was named the director of the Edinburgh International Festival, a position he would hold for thirteen years. The couple moved from Amsterdam to the United Kingdom.
This appointment helped to solidify the family’s connection with Benjamin Britten, who had several of his most important works premiered at the Edinburgh Festival in the 1950s and 1960s.
Curcio often played four-hand piano with him, and the two artists exchanged ideas and inspiration.
Britten helped her get a position teaching at the Royal Academy of Music in London. She also joined the jury of the prestigious Leeds International Piano Competition.
Her Teaching Career
Maria Curcio and Simone Dinnerstein
After she settled in Britain, her reputation as a teacher began to grow exponentially.
Many of the most beloved pianists of the last and current centuries visited her studio seeking advice, including:
- Martha Argerich
- Simone Dinnerstein
- Leon Fleisher
- Radu Lupu
- Yevgeny Sudbin
- Inon Barnatan
- Mitsuko Uchida
And those are only a few of many.
Later Life and Death
In 1971, when she was fifty-three, it came out that Diamand had an affair with actress Marlene Dietrich. He and Curcio divorced that year. However, he continued to speak positively of her and agreed to be interviewed for a documentary in the 1980s.
Through the personal turmoil, she continued teaching and redoubling her devotion to her career and her students.
In her eighties, she moved to the coastal city of Porto, Portugal, where she died in 2009. She was ninety years old.
The Legacy of Maria Curcio
Thankfully, before her death, a couple of priceless documentaries were made about her, featuring interviews with her, Diamand, and some of her students.
One BBC Scotland documentary from the 1980s begins with her telling a pupil who is playing the Chopin G-minor Ballade:
The sound that we need on the piano must always not express just notes; it must express feelings.
It must be immediately the transmission between your soul and the soul of the composer, which goes through your ear and your hands, must go immediately to us.
It’s the soul of Chopin which is crying, which is loving.
It’s not the notes.
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