Zoltan Kodaly - His Music and His Life

The Hungarian Zoltan Kodaly was born in Kecskemet on December 16, 1882. Kodaly's way of living was very similar to his best friend Bela Bartok. Together with Bartok, Kodaly collected folksongs in Hungary, the whole Balkan and North Africa.

Kodal's biography shows an incredible career: Professor for music theory, vice conductor, music critic and writer for several local and international publications as well as university editor... .

His most popular compositions have been "Psalmus Hungaricus" (1923), "Dances from Galanta" (1931), the symphonic play "The Spinning Room" (1932) or the hymn praise song ""The Budapest Tedeum" (1936). - His last work was a beautiful symphony, which premiered in 1962 with Kodaly's student Ferenc Fricsay (1924-1963).

Zoltan Kodaly passed away in 1972.

Zoltán Kodály-Dances of Galánta (Rajkó orchestra)

Joseph Lanner - His Music and His Life

The Austrian Joseph Lanner, Godfather of Waltz, was  born in Vienna on April 12, 1801. As a self-educated person, Lanner joined a string quintet together with viola player Johann Strauss, Kind of Waltz ("Blue Danube" and many more).

Langer enlarged this quintet formation gradually up to a wellknown orchestra.

Lanner started to compose dances - all-in-all 200 (!) waltzes! Beethoven and Schubert also used this composition format already in their so-called German dances.

In Lanner's waltzes swing the cozy sound of Vienna's conventional life.

Joseph Lanner passed away in Oberdoebling nearby Vienna on April 14, 1843.

Joseph Lanner - Hoffnungsstrahlen (Waltz)

Joseph Joachim - His Music and His Life

Joseph Joachim was born June 28, 1831 in Kittsee nearby Pressburg (Slovak capital Bratislava) and attracted publicity as child prodigy at the age of 7.

The friendship with Felix Mendelsohn-Bartholdy (1809-1847) supported Joachim's inspiration. In 1844, Joachim toured London. In 1849, he became Concert Master in Weimar, Germany, where he also met the genius Franz Liszt.

In 1866, Joachim became Director of the new "Hochschule fuer Musik" (University of Music) in Berlin. Among the more than  400 students have been Henri Petri, Jenoe Hubay and Karl Klinger - all blessed and popular composers and music creators.

The "Joachim String Quartet" was among the most popular quartets during that time. Joachim's violin play has been described as "blooming sound with godly stylistic purity".

Joachim composed three violin concertos, the "Hungarian Tunes" and overtures for classical poetries such as "Hamlet" or "Demetrius". His cadenzas of violin compositions by Mozart, Viotti or Beethoven are still performed nowadays.

Joseph Joachim passed away in Berlin on August 15, 1907.

Niccolo Isouard - His Music and His Life

Niccolo Isouard was born December 6, 1775 on the Island of Malta. Billet de Loterie

Who do I like to feature this almost unknown composer? It's very easy to explain: Niccolo Isouard has been one of the history writers of the so-called "Opera Comique". His challenger Francois Adrien Boildieu inspired Isouard to compose more than 50 operas. Nevertheless, critics described them as "fear winged his steps". Well, I am in another opinion.

1802, "Michel Ange" came out; 1810 premiered "Cendrillon", "Aschenbroedel" ("Cinderella") and "Le Billet de Loterie" ("The Lottery Ticket").

Niccolo Isouard passed away in France on March 23, 1818.

Felix Mendelsohn-Bartholdy - His Music and His Life

The German Felix Mendelsohn-Bartholdy was born in Hamburg on February 3,1809. His grandfather Moses Mendelsohn (1729-1786) was a great German philosopher. Felix's father, the banker Abraham Mendelsohn, added his brother-in-law's family name, Bartholdy. A very rich family clan made a many-sided and all-round music education possible, including studies with Ludwig Berger, an art historian and director, and Karl-Friedrich Zelter, a musician and composer.

In 1818, Mendelsohn-Bartholdy, at the age of 9, performed already as a great piano virtuoso. In 1820, he premiered his first two youth operas "Soldier's Love" and "The Two Educationalists". After meeting the great Luigi Cherubini in 1826, Mendelsohn-Bartholdy composed the overture to Shakespeare's "One Summer Night's Dream", which became his real highlight. The other compositions of this stage play have been finished 15 years later.

In 1827, the one and only opera "Camacho's Wedding came out - and flopped.

Mendelsohn-Bartholdy loved traveling. We can notice it very well while listening i.e. the "Hebrides Overture" (Scotland) or the "Italian Symphony". During that time, his "Songs without Words" came into being: Piano pieces, sometimes arranged for violine and viola, which was the ideal house music for people in the 19th century.

Chamber music compositions ("Fine Art Quartets") and two incredible piano concerts in g-minor and d-minor, the "Scottish Symphony", the "Reformation Symphony" and the dramatic tuneful violin concert in e-minor are brilliant achievements of one of the most outstanding German classical composers.

Felix Mendelsohn-Bartholdy passed away in Leipzig on November 4, 1847.

Hochzeitsmarsch Wedding March (Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy) Ein Sommerna...

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.