Forgotten Pianists: Aldo Ciccolini

By: Anson Yeung 

Aldo Ciccolini © WRTI

A celebrated interpreter of Erik Satie’s music, Aldo Ciccolini (1925 – 2015) was born and raised in Naples, Italy. Enrolled at the Naples Conservatory at the age of 9 as an exceptional case, he studied with Paolo Denza, a pupil of Ferruccio Busoni, and became the youngest professor at the Conservatory at 22. Despite his aristocratic roots, he had to support his family by performing in bars after World War II.

His victory in Marguerite Long-Jacques Thibaud Competition in 1949 (first prize shared with the Bulgarian pianist Ventsislav Yankov) opened the international performing stage to him. Subsequently settled in Paris, Ciccolini studied with masters of the French school (if such generalisation is allowed), including Marguerite Long, Alfred Cortot and Yves Nat. He also proved himself to be an outstanding pedagogue, having taught students like Jean-Yves Thibaudet, Antonio Pompa-Baldi, Akiko Ebi and Fabio Luisi at the Conservatoire de Paris.

© Wikipedia

Although he spent the earlier part of his life in Italy, he considered himself to possess a “French soul”. This could also be seen through his fondness for French music amongst his vast repertoire, including Satie, Debussy, Saint-Saëns and the lesser-known composers Déodat de Séverac and Alexis de Castillon.

His choice of repertoire, together with his understated style (a combination of non-flashy demeanour and emotional restraint), probably explained why he didn’t receive the acclaim of some of his peers. That said, he was of course capable of handling the “warhorse” repertoire, including piano concerti by Tchaikovsky, Prokofiev and Rachmaninoff and complete Beethoven piano sonatas. Always noble and lyrical, his playing possessed a rare quality that countless pianists aspire to achieve – that is, to deceive listeners into perceiving piano not as a percussive instrument but instead a human voice with nuances and intonations.

He continued to actively concertise until the very end of his life, with no discernible decline in technical command and perhaps even greater authority. In this extravagant Tarantella, he revealed his virtuosic temperament with his electrifying reading. It’s hard to imagine how an 85-year-old could pull off such an unfailingly impressive performance. It had everything – exuberance, brilliance and elegance. The underlying pulse was steady with spontaneous rubato, while passagework was tackled with clarity and filigree.

Erik Satie: 3 Gnossiennes (Aldo Ciccolini, piano)

Abstract music like this requires a kind of musical instinct to make sense of it. Ciccolini, having championed Satie’s works like no other pianist, certainly had that. It can easily sound bland and uninspired in the wrong hands, but he brought out the nonchalance characteristic of Satie’s music so finely without over-interpretation.

This article wouldn’t be complete without visiting this timeless rendition of Elgar’s Salut d’Amour.

This is not youthful love, but an aged man reminiscing about the bittersweet memories – full of affectation, remembrance and yearning. The first few seconds could give goosebumps and reduce one to tears with its purity and serenity. It’s unbelievable how Ciccolini gently stroke the keys and conjured up not only a plethora of colours but also memories and emotions from the bottom of our hearts. It’s so simple yet at the same time so sophisticated – in its richness of tonal colours, suppleness of phrasing and wealth of emotions – distilling the complex facets of love into this ethereal performance, from which his artistry truly emanated.

Aldo Ciccolini, what a legendary pianist!

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Best pieces of minimalist classical music for ultimate relaxation

10 best pieces of minimalist classical music for ultimate relaxation. Picture: Getty

By Rosie Pentreath, ClassicFM London

@rosiepentreath

From Michael Nyman to Meredith Monk, we bliss out in some of the most mesmerising, hypnotic and calming minimalist music ever written.

The guiding principle of minimalist music, said founding father of the genre Terry Riley, is producing simple, repeated patterns of notes.

“Essentially,” he said, “my contribution was to introduce repetition into Western music as the main ingredient without any melody over it, without anything... just repeated patterns, musical patterns.”

Repetitive patterns can make for a mesmerising and ultimately hypnotising listening experience, perfect for unwinding and taking some time to reflect.

We’ve dug through the minimalist music canon to find some of the very best and most relaxing pieces written in the genre.

1. Terry Riley: In C (1964)

   Want the most simple, happy and hypnotic minimalist music there is? Head to American composer Terry Riley and try his repetitive and relentless minimalist work, In C.

   Composed in 1964, it’s scored for an undefined number of performers – although Riley suggests a group of 35 is about right – and consists of 53 short, numbered musical phrases that may be repeated by each musician in the ensemble as many times as they like, at their discretion. It sounds like it shouldn’t work but somehow does.

2. Julius Eastman: Femenine No. 1, Prime (1974)

   Eastman was an American composer, pianist, vocalist, and dancer, and his music is characterised by repeating that slowly evolve and eventually dissolve. ‘Prime’ from Femenine is poised and unhurried, a beautiful example of what he called his “organic music” style.

3. Arvo Pärt: Für Alina (1976)

   Arvo Pärt is an Estonian minimalist composer who invented the ‘tintinnabulum’ style of music – ‘tintinnabuli’ meaning ‘bell-like’.

   Für Alina makes minimal use of the notes of the piano to portray an evocative and sublime moment of calm.

   “Tintinnabulation is an area I sometimes wander into when I am searching for answers, in my life, my music, my work,” the composer says. “In my dark hours, I have the certain feeling that everything outside this one thing has no meaning. The complex and many-faceted only confuses me, and I must search for unity.”

4. Meredith Monk: Ellis Island (1981)

   Meredith Monk is an American composer, singer and multimedia creator. She composed Ellis Island, a work for two pianists, for her own film of the same name, in 1981. The film is a series of meditative, thought-provoking scenes that explore the experience of immigrants entering America at the turn of the century.

5. Philip Glass: Glassworks No. 1, Opening (1982)

   One of the fathers of modern minimalism, Glass has composed numerous works for piano, orchestra and film in the genre. His 1982 collection for piano and chamber group, Glassworks, includes textbook examples of the Glass minimalist style, and ‘Opening’ is beautifully graceful and contemplative.

6. Steve Reich, Different Trains (1988)

   American composer Steve Reich composed Different Trains for string quartet and recorded tape – notably tape featuring human voices, produced to form melodies. The three-movement experimental work traces contrasting train journeys in America and Europe around the time of the Second World War – Reich confronting poignantly that, as a Jewish man, his own train journeys during the war would have been very different had he been in Europe at the time.

7. Michael Nyman: The Heart Asks Pleasure First (1993)

8. Michael Nyman wrote a melody-led minimalist soundtrack for the 1993 film, The Piano. The melody of the theme music, ‘The Heart Asks Pleasure First’, is simple, ravishing and reflective, and the repetitive music underneath swirls and churns underneath to create a profound sense of wonderment and hope.

   Ludovico Einaudi: I Giorni (2006) 

9. Italian composer and pianist Ludovico Einaudi studied in the European modernist tradition with the likes of Luciano Berio and Karlheinz Stockhausen, but when he discovered the work of American minimalists, he brought a simplicity and clarity into his composing style. His piano works like ‘I Giorni’ are understated, but powerfully reflective in their simplicity.

10. 
    

12. John Luther Adams: Become Ocean (2014)

    American composer John Luther Adams’ 2014 work, Become Ocean, was awarded that year’s music Pulitzer Prize. The composer, who regularly writes music inspired by nature, was commissioned by the Seattle Symphony to compose a work that reflected the stunning waters of the Pacific Northwest.

    The work unfurls and expands with a sensation evocative of a solo swim through vast, open water. “My hope,” the composer said, “is that the music creates a strange, beautiful, overwhelming – sometimes even frightening – landscape, and invites you to get lost in it.” Listening, it’s almost as we if we ourselves do become ocean.

13. Max Richter: Sleep (2015)

    German-British composer Richter’s Sleep is an eight-and-a-half-hour-long piece inspired by the very essence of slumber. His beautiful minimalist music aims to push back against our increasingly mechanised, fast-paced and ‘switched-on’ modern society, and he gave the beautiful music glacially-paced melodies that slide in and out of focus – just like sleep. Sublime.

Andrea Bocelli’s ‘Ich Liebe Dich’ father-daughter duet is too much for our hearts

Andrea Bocelli’s ‘Ich Liebe Dich’ father-daughter duet is too much for our hearts. Picture: Instagram / @andreabocelliofficial

By Sian Moore, ClassicFM London

 

Andrea Bocelli sang beside daughter Virginia as she played the Beethoven love song on the piano, for their first ever duet.

It was a special moment for Andrea Bocelli when he joined his youngest child for a heartwarming father-daughter duet.

After spending many days together in their home last year, Bocelli and then eight-year-old Virginia had been practizing Beethoven’s ‘Ich liebe dich’ (‘Tender Love’), and the young pianist was ready to play it in its entirety.

As Bocelli sang the opening line to Karl Friedrich Wilhelm Herrosee’s poem, his daughter seamlessly began to play Beethoven’s love song on the piano beside him.

The result is a tender, heartwarming collaboration between a world-famous tenor and his child...

The clip was first shared by the Italian singer on 3 May, 2020.

“Little Virginia has been working hard over the past few weeks to honor her obligations,” he captioned the video.

“We now present our first duet, a jewel created long ago but which remains wonderfully current, a lied which speaks of love with an infinite tenderness.”

Bocelli goes on to reveal that, after hours of practice together at the piano, the piece had become the pair’s song.

He added: “Thanks to the great Beethoven who, with his setting of an amateur’s poem (Karl Friedrich Herrosee), built a mountain out two blades of grass.”

The tenor is no stranger to performing alongside his children.

21 of the greatest women composers in classical music

 By ClassicFM London

From Hildegard in the 12th century through to the present day, women have made a significant contribution to classical music which has often been overlooked...

1. 

   1. Hildegard von Bingen (1098-1179)

   Not only a composer of some 70 works, Hildegard was a writer, mystic and visionary. As a Benedictine Abbess, she founded two monasteries. One of her compositions, the Ordo Virtutum, is the oldest surviving morality play. It features melodies for the human soul and 16 virtues, but the Devil for once doesn't get any of the best tunes – he has a speaking role.

2. 

   2. Francesca Caccini (1587-1640)

   Singer, lutenist, poet and teacher, Caccini was the daughter of the great Renaissance composer, Giulio Caccini. She became one of the most influential female European composers but very little of her music survives. Her stage work, 'La liberazione di Ruggiero', is considered to be the first opera by a woman.

3. 

   3. Barbara Strozzi (1619-1677)

   Barbara Strozzi was said to be 'the most prolific composer – man or woman – of printed secular vocal music in Venice' in the middle of the 17th century. Her unique output only contains secular vocal music, with the exception of just one volume of sacred songs. The large majority of her works were written for soprano.

4. 

   4. Isabella Leonarda (1620-1704)

   At 16, Leonarda entered a convent where she stayed for the rest of her life. She was one of the most productive woman composers of her time, as well as a teacher for the other nuns. Her 'Sonate da chiesa' was historic in that it was an instrumental composition rather than vocal. She is one of only two Italian women known to have written instrumental music.

5. 

   5. Louise Farrenc (1804-1875)

   Louise Farrenc received piano lessons from masters such as Ignaz Moscheles and Johann Nepomuk Hummel. Following her marriage, she interrupted her studies to play concerts with her husband, the flautist Aristide Farrenc. Despite her brilliance as a performer and composer, she was paid less than her male counterparts for nearly a decade. Only after the triumphant premiere of her Nonet for wind and strings - in which the violinist Joseph Joachim took part -did she demand and receive equal pay.

6. 6. Fanny Mendelssohn (1805-1847)

   Sister of the composer Felix Mendelssohn, Fanny composed more than 460 works, including a piano trio and several books of piano pieces and songs. A number of her works were originally published under Felix's name. Her piano works are often in the style of songs and carry the title, ‘Song without Words.’ This style of piece was successfully developed by Felix, though some assert that Fanny preceded him in the genre.

7. 

   7. Clara Schumann (1819-1896)

   The wife of Robert Schumann and herself one of the most distinguished pianists of her time, Clara enjoyed a 61-year concert career. Her father Friedrich Wieck taught her to compose and she wrote her Piano Concerto at the age of 14. She largely lost confidence in her composing in her mid-30s. ‘I once believed that I possessed creative talent, but I have given up this idea;’ 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?’

8. 

   8. Teresa Carreño (1853-1917)

   This Venezuelan pianist, singer and composer performed for Abraham Lincoln at the White House in 1863 and at several of Henry Wood's promenade concerts. She composed at least 40 works for piano, two for voice and piano, two for choir and orchestra, and two pieces of chamber music. Her song 'Tendeur' was a hit in her time. Remarkably, a crater on Venus is named after her.

9. 

   9. Cécile Chaminade (1857-1944)

   Chaminade was composing from an early age, even playing some of her music to Georges Bizet when she was eight. She wrote mostly pieces for piano and salon songs, which were hugely popular in America. She composed a Konzertstück for piano, the ballet music to 'Callirhoé' and other orchestral works. The composer Ambroise Thomas once said of her, 'This is not a woman who composes, but a composer who is a woman.'

10. 

    10. Amy Beach (1867-1944)

    America's first successful woman composer, Amy Beach was an accomplished pianist who agreed, after her marriage, to limit her piano performances to one charity recital a year. After her husband died, she toured Europe as a pianist, playing her own compositions to great acclaim. Her music is mainly Romantic, although in her later works she experimented with more exotic harmonies and techniques. Her most famous works include the Mass in E-flat major and the Gaelic Symphony. Picture: Getty

12. 

    11. Rebecca Clarke (1886-1979)

    Harrow-born Clarke is best known for her chamber music for the viola, which she wrote for herself and the all-female chamber ensembles she played in. Her works - including a Viola Sonata - were strongly influenced by several trends in 20th century classical music, particularly the impressionism of Claude Debussy. Clarke knew many leading composers of the day, including Ravel, with whom her work has been compared.

13. 

    12. Germaine Tailleferre (1892-1983)

    Tailleferre was the only woman in the group of French composers, Les Six. Encouraged and inspired by her friends – including Poulenc and Ravel – she wrote many of her most important works during the 1920s, including her first Piano Concerto, the Harp Concertino, the ballets 'Le marchand d'oiseaux' and 'La nouvelle Cythère'. She was composing and playing piano right up until her death at the age of 91.

14. 

    13. Lili Boulanger (1893-1918)

    Boulanger's talent was evident at the age of two, when Gabriel Fauré discovered she had perfect pitch. Her parents encouraged her musical education. At the age of 19 she won the Prix de Rome composition prize for her 'Faust et Hélène', becoming the first woman composer to win the prize. She died tragically young. The asteroid 1181 Lilith was named in her honour.

15. 

    14. Ethel Smyth (1858-1944)

    Composer and active campaigner, Smyth’s 'March of the Women' became the anthem of the suffragetes. She even served two months in Holloway Prison for breaking a window. When conductor Thomas Beecham went to visit her, he found suffragettes singing in the quad, as Smyth leaned out of a window conducting with her toothbrush.

16. 

    15. Judith Weir (b.1954)

    Judith Weir trained with John Tavener. Her music often draws on sources from medieval history, as well as the traditional stories and music of her native Scotland. She is best known for her operas - including 'Blond Eckbert' and 'Armida' - and theatrical works, although she has also achieved international recognition for her orchestral and chamber works.

18. 

    16. Anne Dudley (b.1956)

    Dudley is best known as one of the core members of the band Art of Noise and as a film composer. In 1998, she won an Academy Award for Best Original Musical or Comedy Score for ‘The Full Monty.’ In addition to more than 20 other film scores. She recently served as music producer for the film version of ‘Les Misérables’, also acting as arranger and composing some new additional music.

19. 

    17. Jocelyn Pook (b.1960)

    As a viola player, Pook played with many pop acts including The Communards and Massive Attack. Her career as a film composer took off when music from her album 'Flood' were used in Stanley Kubrick’s film, 'Eyes Wide Shut' with Tom Cruise (pictured). Pook has since worked on the 2004 film version of 'The Merchant of Venice' and a short opera, 'Ingerland', for the Royal Opera.

20. 

    18. Rachel Portman (b.1960)

    Portman’s career began with TV films such as 'Oranges Are Not the Only Fruit'. She has since written the scores for dozens of films, including 'Chocolat' and 'The Cider House Rules.' She was the first female composer to win an Academy Award in the category of Best Musical or Comedy Score - for 'Emma' in 1996.

21. 

    19. Debbie Wiseman (b.1963)

    Film and TV composer, Debbie Wiseman is best known for her score to 'Wilde' (pictured), nominated for Best Original Film Score in the 1997 Ivor Novello Awards. Wiseman is a Visiting Professor at the Royal College of Music, and regularly gives lectures to schools and colleges about the art of composing music for films and television.

22. 

    20. Roxanna Panufnik (b.1968)

    Daughter of the Polish composer Andrzej Panufnik, Roxanna has written a wide range of pieces including opera, ballet, music theatre, choral works, chamber compositions and music for film and TV which are regularly performed all over the world. Among her most widely performed works is 'Westminster Mass', commissioned for Westminster Cathedral Choir on the occasion of Cardinal Hume's 75th birthday.

24. 

    21. Phamie Gow (b.1980)

    The composer and multi-instrumentalist studied at the Royal Scottish Academy of Music and Drama in Glasgow and, by the age of 19, had released two albums - 'Winged Spirit ' and 'Lammermuir' where her compositional skills came to the fore. Her composition 'War Song' has appeared on a number of best-selling compilations.

Explore the world’s forgotten women composers in this incredible interactive map

Forgotten female composers feature in interactive map. Picture: svmusicology.com/mapa

By Rosie Pentreath, ClassicFM London

@rosiepentreath

Discover and celebrate over 500 great figures from classical music, thanks to this ingenious interactive tool that honors women past and present.

A new interactive tool has been created to shine a light on brilliant female composers around the world who, throughout the ages, have been neglected to a large extent by classical music.

Pushing back on the prejudice, societal norms and troubling taboos that have cast women under an almost impenetrable shadow for centuries, music teacher Sakira Ventura has created an online map that plots hundreds of women composers living today, and from history, in their respective countries.

The effect is an instant visual of just how many women and their music are ripe for discovery.

The 28-year-old music teacher was inspired by the fact that she doesn’t remember learning about many, if any, female composers during her own music education. Something she wanted to rectify in her own student’s journey.

“They don’t appear in musical history books, their works aren’t played at concerts and their music isn’t recorded,” Ventura says of the majority of the women on the map.

Speaking to The Guardian, she continues: “I’m 28 years old and nobody ever spoke to me about female composers. I want to do what hasn’t been done for me.

“I want my students to know that Mozart and Beethoven existed but also that there were also all these female composers.”

Ventura’s fascinating map features living British composers such as Rachel Portman and Alma Deutscher, but also less well known historical and living figures – such as the Ethiopian nun Emahoy Tsegué-Maryam Guèbrou, who is known for her piano playing and compositions, and the song composer, Queen Liliʻuokalani, who was Haiwaii’s last monarch and the composer of over 160 songs.

Every woman’s plot is accompanied by a short bio and links to discover more. It’s a rich, fascinating and inspiring tool, which Ventura has told The Guardian she’s continuing to build, with a list of another 500 women being collated as we speak.

“I had always talked about putting these composers on the map,” she says. “So it occurred to me to do it literally.”

Visit svmusicology.com/mapa to explore now.

2021's Top 5 Music Films to See this Summer

 

String students, you've worked hard this academic year as you continued to balance distance learning with academic responsibilities and keeping up with your music instruction. While we do hope you'll make an effort to keep up with your music practice over the summer break, we also encourage you to take plenty of time off to relax and unwind.

To that end, we've put together a list of recent top five music films. We chose some of them because of their music scores, which should inspire those seeking to become music composers as you learn more about the careers and avenues available to you as an adult. We chose others because the music or musicians were central to the movie's theme.

1. The United States vs. Billie Holiday

Billie Holiday is undeniably a jazz legend, a female phenom, and an icon of her time. She was also a Black woman who led a complex life that included battling an addiction to alcohol and drugs and a string of abusive relationships. One of the latter was with black Federal Agent Jimmy Fletcher. As a result of the tumultuous angst of that affair, Holiday became the subject of a targeted undercover sting operation by the Federal Department of Narcotics.

Andra Day plays the lead in The United States vs. Billie Holiday, and, as you can imagine, the soundtrack is as extraordinary as both Ms. Holiday and Ms. Day are themselves. This movie is currently streaming on Hulu. Are you a string musician who loves jazz? Read our post, Jazz: It's Not Just for Upright Bass Musicians. 

2. Soul

The Pixar movie, Soul won the 2021 Academy Awards for both Best Animated Feature, Best Original Score, and Best Sound, making it a trifecta for those who love spectacular animation and music. This family-friendly movie has a resonance similar to that of Coco, as it follows a jazz pianist's journey between the gig of a lifetime in NYC to the afterlife.

Joe (Jamie Foxx) is a middle-school band teacher whose life hasn't entirely gone the way he expected. His true passion is jazz, and he's good. However, when he travels to another realm to help someone find their passion, he soon discovers what it means to have soul.

3. Raya and the Last Dragon

Another animated film from Disney Studios, Raya and the Last Dragon takes place in a realm known as Kumandra. It's a re-imagined Earth inhabited by an ancient civilization, where a warrior named Raya (Kellie Marie Tran) is determined to find the last dragon. 

Five long centuries after the selfless sacrifice of the magical dragons, the once-peaceful land of Kumandra, where humans lived harmoniously alongside the mystical creatures, is in disarray, divided into five nations. Our heroine, Raya, is determined to find the last dragon and heal the land.

Besides its notable 94% approval rating from the Rotten Tomatoes crowd, Raya and the Last Dragon also has a highly acclaimed score (James Newton Howard) that blends contemporary pop with traditional Southeast Asian music and instruments.

4. Clouds

We're particularly fond of the movie Clouds (also from Disney), which follows the life of teen musician Zach Sobiech, based on a true story. After learning that his cancer is spreading and he only has six months left to live, Senior Zach (Fin Argus) and his best friend decide to pursue their dream of collaborating on an album and recording it.

Once they post the album on YouTube, it goes viral. As with anyone who experiences true fame, "...Zach is confronted with the reality that no matter how he spends his time, he is going to hurt the people he loves the most...and he is left to make difficult decisions about how to spend his time and more importantly with whom." Even musicians who aren't facing life-ending diagnoses struggle with their rise to fame, making the messages in this movie doubly poignant.

5. A Biography/Documentary Free-for-All

We mentioned the Billie Holiday film above, but these past few years have been a bit of a documentary- and biography-style movie free-for-all. It feels like just about anyone famous in the contemporary music world is filming themselves — or having films made about them — these days. 

All of the films listed below offer interesting, compelling, and educational insights into the music industry and what it takes to rise to the top, and the struggles that arise when you want to stay there. Examples include:

Linda Ronstadt: The Sound of My Voice

Tina (Turner)

Billie Eilish: The World's a Little Blurry

Beastie Boys Story

Song Exploder (contemporary composers)

No Direction Home (Bob Dylan)

Miss Americana (Taylor Swift)

Hip-Hop Evolution (contemporary MCs, DJs, and moguls)

Published by StringOvation Team on June 24, 2021

17 Amazing Facts About Vivaldi

Most violinists and musicians are familiar with the beautiful series of violin concertos, The Four Seasons, crafted by the master baroque composer Antonio Vivaldi. However, not everyone is familiar with some of the most interesting aspects of his life. One of which is that this musical genius narrowly missed being buried in oblivion more than once.

Vivaldi must have been destined for greatness by virtue of his ground shaking birth and the fortune of being rediscovered by a caring patron of music history years after his death. Indeed, there’s more to Vivaldi’s life than simply his most recognized violin and orchestral compositions. The following Vivaldi facts and trivia have been gleaned from various historical biographies and similar sources.

On the day of his birth, March 4, 1678, a large earthquake occurred in Venice.

Young Antonio was taught to play the violin by his father, a professional violinist who was also a barber. Father and son toured Venice playing violin together.

At age 15, he began studies to become a priest and was nicknamed Il prêt Rosso, or The Red Priest. It is speculated that this was due to his red hair, which was a family trait.

Vivaldi suffered from a form of asthma which limited his duties administering Mass but gave him more time to spend writing music.

He produced many of his major works while employed for approximately 30 years as a master violinist at the Ospedale della Pieta, a home for abandoned children. The boys were taught a trade. The female orphans received expert musical instruction and became members of the choir and orchestra. Their performances were well respected all around the region.

His famous set of 4 violin concertos, The Four Seasons, (1723) is considered to be an outstanding example of program music. Each concerto depicts a scene appropriate for each season and is accompanied by a written description.

J.S. Bach was a huge fan of Vivaldi’s music. He transcribed several of Vivaldi’s concerti for keyboard, strings, organ and harpsichord.

The musical compositions of Vivaldi total 500 concertos, 90 sonatas, 46 operas and a large body of sacred choral works and chamber music.

Vivaldi was commissioned to create music for European nobility and royalty. The well recognized Cantata; Gloria, was written for the celebration of the marriage of Louis XV in 1725. Additional pieces were written for the birth of the French royal princesses and Vivaldi was given the title of knight from Emperor Charles VI of Vienna.

Vivaldi relocated to Vienna at the invitation of Charles VI who died shortly after, leaving Vivaldi with no one to support him. However, because his music had not kept up with the times, he was forced to sell off his compositions in order to live.

Unfortunately, Vivaldi died a pauper and was given a simple burial. The master musician was not even afforded music at his own funeral, only the peeling of bells at St. Stephen’s Cathedral noted his passing.

Interestingly, the young composer Joseph Haydn, employed at the cathedral, had nothing to do with this burial since no music was performed.

His complete catalogue of music was not fully realized until 1926. A large collection of manuscripts were discovered in a boarding school in the Piedmont, diligently researched and procured by Dr. Alberto Gentili, a music historian at the University of Turin.

World War II stopped the momentum of the Vivaldi renaissance with burned out warehouses and printing presses. Little by little, though, newly discovered Vivaldi items began to appear and spread across Europe.

By 1951, London hosted the great postwar Festival of Britain presenting a concert season devoted mostly to the baroque master and firmly secured his place in music history.

2006 was the most recent discovery of a lost piece, Vivaldi’s opera, Argippo, which had last been performed in 1730.

His life and times have been documented in a 2005 movie, Vivaldi, A Prince in Venice, and a radio play for ABC Radio that same year. It was later adapted into a stage play entitled The Angel and the Red Priest.

Vivaldi was an innovator in Baroque music and he was influential across Europe during his lifetime. As a composer, virtuoso violinist, pedagogue, and priest, his life and genius influenced a number of notable artists. However, because of struggles later in life, his music was nearly lost to obscurity. Thankfully, the meticulous efforts of diligent researchers have ensured that his great body of music will be available to inspire countless, future generations of musicians.

Check out these two examples of Vivaldi’s most celebrated compositions, Vivaldi Four Seasons performed by I Musici, in 1988, and Musica Intima & Pacific Baroque Orchestra performing Gloria.

Published by Revelle Team on May 24, 2016

A level music in schools could ‘disappear’ in little more than a decade

 

Research finds A level music in schools could ‘disappear’ in little more than a decade. Picture: Alamy

By Maddy Shaw Roberts, ClassicFM London

 

“The opportunity to study A-level music seems likely to end first for those children who are at a disadvantage,” researchers claim.

A level music in schools is at risk of disappearing in just over a decade, researchers have warned.

Alarming new research by Birmingham City University revealed the qualification could have zero entries by 2033, following years of cuts to local and central government funding.

In the report, it was confirmed that a rapid decline in access to A level music in state schools, means the subject is increasingly available only to pupils with an independent school education.

Lead researchers Dr Adam Whittaker and Professor Martin Fautley’s study is now galvanising music academics and industry bodies to call for urgent action and improved policy and funding, to support music provisions in state schools.

Dr Whittaker said: “We know from trends in A-level uptake over the last few years that the number of pupils taking A-level music has fallen to a very concerning level.

“We are now in a position where there are parts of the country with very limited access to A-level music or, in some cases, no access at all.

He continued: “Children can’t choose a qualification that isn’t offered to them. What is the child who wants to take A-level music to do if the nearest school offering it is 30 miles away? We need A-level music, and other specialist subjects, to be offered in a range of schools right across a local authority area.

“This is important as A-level music can support young musicians to pursue music in higher education and their future careers, including as the next generation of music educators.”

Whittaker and Fautley warned that looking at the current rates of decline, A level music is likely to have zero entries by 2033.

“Those who lack the means to support private instrumental study are unlikely to have sufficient income to pay for independent school fees, even if a bursary supports them to a greater or lesser extent,” they added.

The report also revealed that independent schools have a much higher number of A level music entries, narrowing the potential pool of young music talent.

In the Midlands, the proportion of students in the Midlands studying music has dropped to one percent, due to schools and colleges no longer offering the subject at all.

In an interview last year for Black Lives in Music, star cellist Sheku Kanneh-Mason, who went to a state school in Nottingham, warned opportunities for ethnically diverse young musicians are worsening because of state arts education cuts.

“The cuts that have been [made] to music at my primary school have been devastating – and as a result, there are few children who are able to have this music education,” he said

“You create this two-class thing where those able to pay for music lessons are able to become musicians and be enriched by these wonderful experiences. There’s a massive divide in this country in opportunities. It highlights a really big problem in this country.UK- Music chief executive Jamie Njoku-Goodwin said: “There has been a worrying decline in the number of young people studying music at A-level in recent years. Unless action is taken to reverse that trend, there is a real risk of serious damage to the talent pipeline on which the music industry relies.

“Music education enriches the lives of countless children and young people, but it also brings huge cultural, economic and social benefits to the UK.

“At UK Music, we are continuing to talk to the government and education leaders about how we can ensure that children from every background get the best possible chance to study music which is one of our great national assets.”

In a separate report by the Department for Education, ‘Music education: call for evidence’, it was found that many young people, despite holding an interest in pursuing music as a career, are feeling pressure to choose other subjects because GCSE or A level music are not options in their schools.

A Tchaikovsky piano concerto is being played at the Olympics ...

...  instead of the Russian National Anthem. Here’s why.

By Kyle Macdonald, ClassicFM London

The nation of Russia is officially banned from the Olympics. So, Russian athletes are hearing Tchaikovsky’s piano concerto when they win.

Have you been catching a great Russian symphonic epic at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics? It would appear that Tchaikovsky is the latest musical star of the world’s biggest sporting event.

In 2019, Russia was banned by the World Anti-Doping Agency from all international sporting competitions, including the Olympics. The ban lasts four years and will remain in place throughout the 2022 Winter Olympics in Beijing.

After the ban, and so as not to punish individuals, the International Olympic Committee is allowing the Russian athletes to take part in Tokyo in a different way. Together they compete under the banner of the ‘Russian Olympic Committee’.

Though athletes still wear the Russian colours of white, blue and red, they are prohibited from other displays of national representation. And this includes Russia’s national anthem, ‘Rossiya – svyashchennaya nasha derzhava’.

So, with the thunderous Russian national anthem not an option for medal ceremonies, organizers have called in assistance from the greatest Russian composer of all, Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky.

When those athletes win gold at Toyko, like the women’s 10m air pistol’s Vitalina Batsarashkina and the ROC women’s team gymnastics, the epic opening to Tchaikovsky’s Piano Concerto No. 1 proudly scores the podium ceremony.

And it’s fair to say that gold-standard Tchaikovsky is going down well with the punters at home...

Tchokyo 2020, anyone?