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.

Things you didn't know about Johann Sebastian Bach

Bach-ing mad: the great composer summed up in dog gifs

By Kyle Macdonald 

The history of one of the world's greatest composers, illustrated by cute dogs. 

 

Born 1685 in Eisenach

Johann Sebastian was born into a musical dynasty. Uncles, cousins, fathers, cats, dogs; you name it, the Bachs were legendary in musical circles. 

The child prodigy 

By age 10, Bach's mother and father had both died, he moved to the nearby town of Ohrdruf with his elder brother, Johann Christoph Bach. His brother taught him music, but wasn't too keen on Johann Sebastian copying out his scores. The younger Bach had to sneak peaks at Johann Christoph's music library under cover of darkness. This 10-year-old was getting good, and nobody could hold him back.

The amazing organist

Bach took a choral scholarship at St. Michael's School in Lüneburg. The surname on the CV probably helped. He met all sorts of people, and heard a whole heap of new musical styles. He sang and played the organ; he was very good at the organ - leaps and bounds ahead of anyone else.

Off to see his hero

Bach had an idol, and it was Dieterich Buxtehude. He decided that Buxtehude's famously extravagant Abendmusiken concerts in Lübeck had to be experienced, so the young composer famously made the 250-mile journey on foot. Let's hope he enjoyed the gig.

Getting into fights

The maestro apparently called one of his students a "nanny-goat bassoonist" - and it sparked a marketplace brawl. Boys will be boys.

Doing what he did best: church music

Bach took another church job in Weimar, and soon became known as one of Germany's greatest composers and virtuosos, taking on organ pupils from far and wide. He also married Maria Barbara – so happy times all round (for the time being at least).

A bit of aristocratic chamber music

Either he'd had enough of the church, or he just fancied a bit of extra shut-eye on a Sunday morning, but Bach soon moved on to pastures new: Prince Leopold's court in Cöthen . Here, he pumped out huge amounts of chamber music. And a good thing too.

And heading to Leipzig

Bach's first wife died suddenly, and the composer got married for a second time - to singer Anna Magdalena Wilcke. Prince Leopold had married too, but his wife wasn't too fond of music. It was time for the Bach family to move on again, and Leipzig it was.

A big family

He wasn't just prolific in music - his family was flourishing (he had 20 children in all). His wife Anna Magdalena helped in the music copying, and several of his sons were making big names for themselves as composers and musicians.

His inner geek released

Bach grew increasingly frustrated and disillusioned with the authorities at St. Thomas's Church - so he amused himself in creating large scale, and quite geeky, compositional projects. 

So enigmatic...

Bach loved numbers, and musical riddles. Many of his great works contain encoded numerological messages and complex things like mirrored sections. 

All sorts of puzzles and fugues

The Musical Offering was a collection of musical puzzles on a single melodic theme - and included something termed the 'Crab Fugue'.

Bach, and the future

When Bach died in 1750 his style of composition was considered old-fashioned and rather out-of-date. His sons. composing in new styles, were now considered the hottest things in town. But over the following decades and centuries Bach's music was rediscovered and he became regarded as one of the finest composers in musical history. Many have since tried to imitate, but there's only one.

Classical Composers' Handwriting

What did the great composers' handwriting look like?

What does Bach's writing look like? How does Beethoven draw a treble clef? And which composer has the messiest scrawl? Discover this most personal of insights into these great musicians - from their own hand.

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Composer treble clefs

These composers' treble clefs are almost as different as the way their music sounds. Bach's treble clef is verging on artistic, whereas Beethoven's and Verdi's are almost unrecognisable. Photo: Thinkstock/Mel Spencer 

(C) 2014 by ClassicFM

 

Classical Composers at Leisure

Ever wanted to see composers doing normal stuff? Leonard Bernstein up a tree? Prokofiev playing chess? Schoenberg playing tennis? Now's your chance - here's what the great composers and classical music artists got up to when they weren't doing their day-jobs.

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(C) 2014 ClassicFM

Music in Conflict:21 Iconic Images

Simply the most stunning, moving images of how music can change the world – this is the power of music. In the face of adversity and in the toughest of circumstances, music can lift the human spirit and bring people together like no other force on the planet.

 

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(C) Classic FM 2014 

The Best of The Best ...

Bringing you the best of the best of all classical masters from the last centuries - from generation to generation on 104.3 FM "Edge Radio Davao or via www.myradiostream.com/edgedavao Sundays from 9 to 11 AM and 7 to 9 PM (Philippine Standard Time).

Ottorino Respighi - His Music and His Life

The Italian Ottorino Respighi was born in Bologna on July 9, 1879.

Respighi studied in Italy with Guiseppe Martucci (1856-1909), in Russia with Nikolai Rimski-Korssakoff, and in Germany with Max Bruch.

He transferred the impressionism from France to Italy. The Italian instrumental music acquired standing because of Respighi.

In "Fontane di Roma" (1916), Respighi described his feelings and sentimentality at first sight of four Roman fountains. "Pini de Roma" (1924) went for the old pine tree groupings in Rome, and in "Feste Romane", Respighi tried to catch up fiesta joys in Rome.

Chamber music, mimic dramas and nine operas (i.e. "La Fiamme" - "The Flame") belong to an outstanding composition repertory.

Ottorino Respighi passed away in Rome on April 18, 1936.

Hugo Wolf - His Music and His Life

The Austrian-Slovenian Hugo Wolf was born in Windischgraetz on March 13, 1860 and started music studies at the Viennese conservatory.

He was a "difficult student" because of his egoistic spoils. He became the person he was just out of his strength and powerful will. Wolf was one of the outstanding European composers, who sounded literary works of great poets such as Heinrich Heine or Johann Wolfgang von Goethe.

His first accepted composition "Das Mausefallenspruechlein" came out in 1882. The symphonic poem "Phentesilia" followed one year later.

From 1884 till 1887, Hugo Wolf became a music critic with many write-ups in different publications. His several unprofessional criticisms resulted in uncounted figures of enemies, mostly respected and known composers during that time.

This hindered Wolf to celebrate his own "great" compositions. Suddenly musical ideas locked. His friends tried to support him, but mostly without success. Operas like "Michelangelo" (1897) flopped.

A melancholy man who never knew how to smile, passed away in Vienna on February 22, 1903.

Max Reger - His Music and His Life

The German Max Reger was born in Brand, Fichtelgebirge on March 19, 1873.

Reger experienced an incredible career up to becoming Court Conducter in Meiningen/Germany. The daily contact with a proficient orchestra trained Reger's sense, mind and meaning for colorful instrumentation.

As piano virtuoso, Reger sent his listeners into raptures because of a wonderful fine and delicate finger touch. 

In my opinion Reger is the most unterrated piano composer ever. "Varations and Fugue on a theme by Bach" is probably his most famous piano work. "Thinking in fugues" - that's why his organ compositions belong to German music treasures. But also his chamber music repertory remained as unsurpassable rich. Even being a devote Catholic, Reger enriched also other creeds with varied church and organ music works.

Max Reger's lifestyle has been described as "full of deeply moral earnestness". He passed away in Leipzig on May 11, 1916.

Henry Purcell - His Music and His Life

The British Henry Purcell was born 1659 in London. He became a Westminster Abbey organist, joined the Royal Orchestra and started as Royal Court Composer in 1683.

Purcell's compositions showed "early English classic music's apex". He composed more then 50 drama plays - among them were Shakespeare's "Richard II", "Storm" or "A midnight's summer dream".

The opera "Dido and Aeneas" (1689) was a simple casual job for a girls boarding school but became a real "great opera" with an overture in French style, a prologue and three acts. "Dido and Aeneas" was his summit and also the end of the so-called Early English Opera.

His "King Arthur" (written in 1691) and "Fairy Queen" (written one year later) premiered only 1964 (!) in Germany.

Purcell's composition work contains welcome songs, anthems, suites for strings and much more. Purcell passed away in London on November 21, 1695.

The Best Conductor Insults

They're refined and sensible on the podium, but these musicians are responsible for some pretty brutal put-downs. Uncover the greatest catty remarks and withering comments from some of the best musical minds in the world. 

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Arturo Toscanini

(C) ClassicFM 2014