The time real-life Maria Von Trapp taught Sound of Music’s Julie Andrews how to yodel

Real-life Maria Von Trapp teaches Julie Andrews how to yodel. Picture: The Julie Andrews Hour/The Sound of Music Blu-Ray/YouTube

By Maddy Shaw Roberts

 

How do you solve a problem like Maria? Well, how about a yodelling lesson, for starters…

In 1965, Julie Andrews yodelled her way into all our hearts with her portrayal of Maria Von Trapp, governess to the seven Von Trapp children in The Sound of Music.

And it turns out, Andrews really got to meet the real Maria Von Trapp whose family’s story – somewhat loosely – inspired the hit film.

In one scene, Maria helps the children put on a puppet show, and sings along to ‘The Lonely Goatherd’ (that’s the one that goes ‘High on a hill was a lonely goatherd, lay ee odl lay ee odl lay hee hoo’) as they perform.

But according to real-life Maria, well, “There is yodelling, and then there’s… yodelling.”

During an episode of The Julie Andrews Hour, a television variety series which ran for one season in 1972, the two Marias appeared on stage together to act out a yodelling skit.

In typical Julie Andrews style, she opened the dialogue with a classy, comic line: “You know I played you in the picture and you are you, and I am me, and since you are you and I was you, and since you’re here, and I’m here, and I was you, um…”

Watch: Real-life Von Trapp great grandchildren sing a breathtaking, impromptu ‘Edelweiss’ >

“What do you want to know?” real-life Maria prods her.

“I want to know… how was I?” Andrews smiles.

“You were absolutely wonderful,” Maria replies. “But,” she adds, Andrews’ yodelling could do with a little work.

Von Trapp offers to teach Andrews a “genuine Austrian yodel”, first demonstrating the melody that Andrews should sing underneath Von Trapp’s yodelling descant (watch above).

Once Andrews has got the two phrases nailed, Von Trapp bursts into a virtuosic display of yodelling, eager to show the world the real singing tradition of her home country, not the one portrayed in Hollywood.

For years, alpine yodelling was a rural tradition in Switzerland, Austria and southern Germany, but in the 1830s it also became a popular sound in theatres and music halls.

In real life, Maria Von Trapp joined the Von Trapp family as a tutor for just one of the ten children, who was recovering from scarlet fever. She married Georg, their father (played by Christopher Plummer in the film) a year later, in 1927.

The family, and all its 12 singing members, emigrated to the US when the Second World War hit, to escape the Nazi regime in Austria. There, they became well known as the ‘Trapp Family Singers’. And in the 21st-century, the Von Trapps are still going – here’s four of Maria and Georg’s great-grandchildren, singing a breathtaking ‘Edelweiss’:

West End’s Phantom of the Opera slices orchestra in half ...

... leaving musicians without a job

Phantom of the Opera orchestra halved when show returns to West End. Picture: Getty

By Maddy Shaw Roberts, ClassicFM London

 

Phantom of the Opera was celebrated for having the largest orchestra in the West End. Now, it’s being sliced in half.

Despite promises the original production would return after coronavirus restrictions are lifted, The Phantom of the Opera’s orchestra will be cut in half when it returns to the West End.

Andrew Lloyd Webber’s hit musical, once celebrated for having the largest orchestra in the West End, has reduced its players from 27 to just 14.

All 27 members were released from their contracts while Her Majesty’s Theatre was undergoing refurbishment, with hopes they might be rehired. Now, while 14 musicians can re-audition for the show’s return on 21 July, 13 of the jobs no longer exist.

Instruments including the oboe, harp, percussion, trumpets and horns have been cut, and there will be a trimmed-down violin section.

The production will replace traditional instrument sounds with keyboard effects. A statement says the “modern instrumentation… will give this timeless score the freshness of a new musical”.

Read more: Phantom orchestra records virtual ‘All I Ask of You’ response for Lloyd Webber >

The West End show has been closed since March 2020. Picture: Getty

Phantom producer Cameron Mackintosh, and the Really Useful Group, say this reduced orchestration, which is used for the UK touring production, has also already been “created for the international productions of the show”.

“These orchestrations are just as thrilling and rich as the original but would not have been possible with the technology available in 1986,” they added.

There are great concerns the move will leave musicians high and dry in what has already been a disastrous year for the arts.

Matt Dickinson, the percussionist for Phantom, was devastated to find out his job had been cut. “I sacrificed so much, willingly, to be a part of this wonderful show and yet I will leave with nothing more than the shirt on my back: no severance to speak of and my livelihood and that of my family in absolute tatters,” Dickinson tweeted.

“I don’t even have the opportunity to re-audition for my job and am unclear what the future holds.”

Horace Trubridge, general secretary of The Musicians’ Union, said the organisation was “sad and disappointed” by the move.

Read more: Musicians still ‘falling through the gaps’ as £400m promised to arts >

Phantom's producer, Cameron Mackintosh, and composer, Andrew Lloyd Webber. Picture: Getty

The Phantom of the Opera, London’s second-longest-running musical, closed its curtains on 16 March 2020 due to the coronavirus pandemic.

Last year, it was promised that “the brilliant original” production would return.

In August 2020, Lloyd Webber said: “Phantom will be back up there and even better than before. We’re going to have the original production and it will be fantastic.”

The composer and orchestra have historically enjoyed a close relationship. In April last year, the entire orchestra recorded a virtual ‘All I Ask of You’ to “show their support and respect for Andrew”. Lloyd Webber said he was “incredibly touched” by their creation. 

The move to cut the orchestra in half has been widely criticised by industry figures, including British composer Thomas Hewitt Jones, who tweeted: “This has been a rumour in our industry for a while, but here it is confirmed in plain sight. It is incredibly disappointing that theater mega-producers set this kind of example.”

Meanwhile on Broadway, Phantom’s producers have committed to return with a full pit and have condemned the “downsizing of musicians” in the West End.

Adam Krauthamer, president of the New York City musicians’ union, told Playbill: “Producers who take advantage of a worldwide pandemic in order to cut live music are cheapening their productions and robbing the audience of the full experience of musical theater.”

‘It’s genius’ – classical music stars on why we love The Lark Ascending so much

By Rosie Pentreath, ClassicFM London

@rosiepentreath

 

As ‘The Lark Ascending’ tops the Classic FM Hall of Fame a record eleventh time, a new film has been released featuring classical musicians sharing their personal experiences of the popular piece.

The enduringly popular Lark Ascending has topped the Classic FM Hall of Fame for another year.

But why do we love it so much? Inspired by the piece’s enduring place at the top of our Hall of Fame, the Royal Philharmonic (RPS) has created a film exploring just this.

The RPS asked famous musicians and dedicated music lovers to talk about what the piece means to them, in a beautiful new film.

We see several personalities from different corners of the music profession – including violinist Tasmin Little OBE and composer Sally Beamish OBE – each sharing, from lockdown, their own impressions of Vaughan Williams’ beloved masterpiece, telling us about what it means to them.

“I’ve played The Lark Ascending more than 60 times and each time has been a unique experience. I feel there’s something else at work in this music,” Little says in the film. “The idea of this little bird in this huge sky, soaring closer and closer to heaven… I think there’s something very spiritual about this concept, and such peace and tranquillity in the music that it helps us to find our own sense of peace inside.”

Violinist Elena Urioste says she experiences “a sense of inhalation and exhalation” throughout different phrases of the piece.

Conductor Ben Gernon shares what it’s like to face the orchestra from the podium, during a performance of the piece. “I always look forward to conducting The Lark Ascending. I find in performance it has this amazing ability to reach absolutely everyone. It’s a beguiling and mesmerising piece, but it’s actually quite simple – and its success lies in how it brings the outside world inside the concert hall.”

Meanwhile, composer Sally Beamish OBE describes Vaughan Williams’ music as “genius”, pointing out how innovative it would have been at that time to write something so descriptive and free for the violin.

“The violin writing is just stunning,” Beamish adds.

Pianist Tom Poster also features, introducing his thoughts on the original violin-piano arrangement of the piece. And cultural historian Gavin Plumley is on hand to round the story off, with where it fits in a wider historical and social context.

It makes for an inspiring watch – and beautiful too, with George Meredith’s poem that originally inspired the work woven throughout the film.

Read more: How to become a member of Royal Philharmonic Society >

To watch, sign up to RPS’s membership here. RPS Membership is designed for music lovers to further their curiosity in classical music and get the chance to attend exclusive in-person and online events, and nominate artists for the prestigious annual RPS Awards.

Watch the film The Lark Ascending in full on the Royal Philharmonic Society’s website by becoming a member today. Visit: royalphilharmonicsociety.org.uk/lark to find out more.

Clara Schumann - Her Music and Her Life

 

Clara Schumann née Clara Wieck (1819 – 1896)

Biography

Clara Schumann née Clara Wieck (1819 – 1896) was a German composer-pianist and wife to Robert Schumann. They formed a beautiful musical business partnership until his untimely death.

From an early age Clara's prodigious talent at the piano was esteemed throughout Europe. Her talent at the keyboard attracted fellow composer Robert Schumann, and the pair married in 1840. Clara also shared many years of close friendship with Brahms, who said she inspired all his best melodies.

Clara continued to perform throughout her life, championing many works by her husband and Brahms, but her skills as a composer were never fully realized. Balancing her husband's mental instability, the pressures of a solo career, and a family of eight children put pressure on her time, but she still managed to create many important works: her Piano Concerto, Piano Trio and songs set her apart as one of the most talented - if not one of the most overlooked - composers of the era.

Did you know?

Clara was unsure if she should continue to write music because she was a woman. She said: "A woman must not desire to compose — there has never yet been one able to do it. Should I expect to be the one?"

The time a Russian icebreaker played classical music...

... and saved thousands of Beluga whales

The time a Russian icebreaker played classical music, and saved thousands of Beluga whales. Picture: Getty

By Sian Moore, ClassicFM London

 

By playing classical music through a loud speaker, the ice-breaking ship Moskva was able to guide 2,000 beluga whales to safety.

In 1985, a herd of beluga whales found themselves in a life-threatening predicament: they were trapped by a wall of ice and were at risk of suffocating or starving to death as breathing pools began to shrink.

Facing a race against the clock, a ship called Moskva – the world’s toughest icebreaker at the time – was called in to help the mammals by breaking through the thick ice.

But when the 13,000-tonne vessel reached the whales, they were too frightened by the roar of its engine and deafening propellers to follow it to their freedom.

The ship’s crew members were at a loss for what to do, until someone made a wild suggestion... to play classical music.

Beautiful music soon echoed from the Moskva’s top deck from a loud speaker, and sure enough, the whales began to follow.

By playing classical music, the ice-breaking ship Moskva was able to encourage 2,000 beluga whales to follow the vessel to safety. Picture: Getty

Writing about the incredible feat at the time, The New York Times shared some of the details published by Russian newspaper Izvestia.

“This operation was truly experimental,” the Times wrote.

“At last someone recalled that dolphins react acutely to music. And so music began to pour off the top deck. Popular, martial, classical.”

The broadsheet continued: “The classical proved most to the taste of the belugas. The herd began to slowly follow the ship.”

In the end, it was estimated that around 2,000 whales managed to escape an untimely death.

The rescue mission later became known as ‘Operation Beluga’, and cost the Soviet government about $80,000 (£58,302).

Beluga whales routinely hunt and hide beneath thick ice, but they must surface every twenty minutes or so to inhale air.

A wonderful marriage of music and nature. We wonder what they were played – ‘Deeply wailing’, perhaps?