Swan Lake: Waltz, Schwanensee Walzer: Peter I. Tschaikowsky

Niccolo Paganini - His Life and Music

Niccolo Paganini was born in October 27, 1782 in Genoa/Italy and passed away in Nice/France on May 27, 1840. His strict father, a sales manager, expected him a daily eight-hours-training on a violin and mandolin.

In 1798, the father escaped because of the begotten mother. It's difficult to decide, while reading different encyclopedias and a published biography of Paganini, which are reality and legend regarding his life. 

The decline of the tradition of instrumental music in Italy during the 19th century, the first signs of which had appeared late in the previous century, resulted from a number of related and complex events: the dispersion of Italy's leading composers throughout Europe, the gradual and unrelenting decline of Italian orchestras and, most importantly, the evolution and spread of the operatic style. 

Whereas instrumental music on German Romanticism assumed a completely autonomous and dominant position, Italian composers felt more and more captive to the wiles of opera, gradually abandoning  thematic elaboration and a classical sense of form for a dramatic stage style.

The nature of the 19th century concerto is inseparable from the idea of virtuosity. The new audiences and institutions that promoted popular concerts contributed to the transformation of the musician into an actor. It is within the framework that one must consider the violin concertos by Niccolo Paganini, the violin virtuoso who mesmerized such as Franz Liszt, Robert Schumann and Johannes Brahms.

Paganini elevated the dying tradition of improvisation to a transcendental level with his dazzling performances,a and, he gave rise to a star worship comparable to that which vocalists enjoyed, colored, however, by a "demonic" aspect unique to instrumental music. In fact, Paganini's concertos for violin show strong ties to operatic tradition in the form of numerous Rossini-like cadenzas - something in common to most Italian instrumental music of that time.

The "Concerto or Violin in d-major", composed in 1817-18 (an earlier concerto was dated 1815), gives wonderful expression to the musical charm of this epoch. From a convential and rather superficial point of view, it anticipates the 19th century tradition. The central "Adagio espressivo" transforms operatic elements of an aria to a moving and personal romance, modest, yet dignified. 

The "Concerto for Violin No. 4 in d-minor", composed in 1829-30 and first performed in Frankfurt/Main on the 16th April 1830 (and revived by Gallini in Paris in 1954!), displays a pronounced balance between melody and virtuosity.

Pagaini's play, many times, was described as "devil's play". He composed many pieces for the g-string, maybe, because during many performances his violin strings have been cut because of this "devil's play"... .

His sonatas and compositions for guitars have been forgotten since long, even wonderful to be listening. I am glad, I still have some pieces in my music library... .

Edvard Grieg - His Life and Music

 

Edvard Hagerup Grieg was born on June 15, 1843 and passed away on September 4, 1907 in Bergen/Norway. His mother became his first music teacher. The Norwegian violinist O. Bull advised him to study music in Leipzig/Germany. Nevertheless Grieg couldn't develop a good relationship to German classical music.

He was more impressed with Danish music, especially when he moved to Copenhagen at the age of 20.

Grieg loved Norwegian folksongs and took plenty themes and variations into his compositions. With the "Holberg Suite", composed in 1884, Grieg made his contribution with which Scandinavians commemorated the 200th anniversary of the birth of Ludwig Holberg, the Norwegian writer, who with his 32 brilliant comedies had earned the name of a "Moliere of the North". For the commemorative address delivered on December 3 in Bergen, his birthplace, and the unveiling of a statue on the market place, Grieg composed an (unpublished) cantata for male chorus and conducted this "in furs and furlined boots, with a cap of the same", so Grieg.

Subsequently he wrote a "Suite in the olden style" for piano, and, in the following year, arranged it for string orchestra (with multiple division of the single instrument parts). With this "wigged piece", as Grieg described it. he took on the light-hearted pre-classical style of the French rococo, combined old dances types with a Scandinavian accent, so to speak, and thereby created a conscious anachronism of special charm.

The "Peer Gynt Suites" made Grieg wellknown all over the world. I really love them too. Many piano virtuosos have appreciated his piano concerto a-minor opus 16 up tp now. Grieg succeeded in squaring the musical circle. He took the elements of Norwegian music with its minor dominant, pentatonic scale or falling lead-note, as well as its dance rhythms, and would thereby really be counted merely among the little-valued "dialect artists". But over and above his Scandinavian accent grieg showed a mastery of refined orchestral timbres and so became one of the forerunners of impressionism.

Of his 144 songs in all, 124 are on texts by Scandinavian poets; the others are composed by German poems. To a great extent, his wife, Nina Hagerup, who, as a trained singer, propagated her husband's art with impressive creative power, inspired Grieg very much.

 

Anton Vivaldi - His Life and His Music

 

Antonio Vivaldi was born 1678 in Venice (the exact date is unknown) and passed away on July 28, 1741 in Vienna/Austria. He was an Italian composer and violinist and became a violinist pupil of the great Giovanni Legrenzi (1626-1690).

In 1703, Vivaldi was ordained as priest and has been nick-named as the "red haired priest" (Il prete rosso). 1716, he became principal of the music school for girls in Venice. He loved to travel extensively and became one of the first composers of his time. He was one of the first composers, using clarinets and composed fantastic chamber music, secular cantatas, church music, oratorio, and operas.

Despite tremendous output, he was by no means a conventional composer, and much of instrumental works show a lively and fertile imagination. As with Bach, Vivaldi's music was unfashionable and unpopular or many years; however, since the 1950s, there has been enormous revival of interest in Vivaldi's music especially in Europe, and later followed also in the USA. Especially his cincerts, among which four works for violin, collectively known as "The Four Seasons", have become particularly popular.

Appreciating Vivaldi's originality and diversity is to get beyond the form, and to listen to his fresh and melodic writings. Vivaldi invented a a structure for his conciertos that served him very we. No two pieces are exactly the same, and the combination of structural discipline and melody freedom is the hallmark of musical greatness from any period.

Vivaldi composed 49 operas, 22 pieces only for the town of Venice. Johann Sebastian Bach admired Vivaldi so much, that he rearranged some compositions of Vivaldi and felt very much inspired for more wonderful compositions.

Vivaldi died in Vienna in totally poverty.

 

Johann Strauss - His Life and Music

 

Johann Strauss, Jr., was born on October 25, 1825 in Vienna and passed away also there on June 3, 1899. He was the eldest son of Johann Strauss and is deservedly known as the "King of Waltz". His father didn't want his ten children to choose music at their career. Johann Strauss, Jr. worked as a bank clerk, but learned violin play secretly and studied composing.

In 1844, Strauss engaged to direct summer concerts in Petropaulovsky Park in Saint Petersburg in Russia for ten years. As a conductor o Austrian court bals from 1863-1872, he composed nearly 400 waltzes, which have come to epitomize Viennese gaiety and sentiment. Some of his well-known waltzes are "The Blue Danube", "Roses from the South", the great "Emperor Waltz" or "Tales from the Vienna Woods". It's beloved, wherever music is played, as well as Strauss' polkas and other dances.

Very late Strauss came in contact with the operetta, but a certain dramatic lyric mostly lacked. Only his third operetta "The Bat" (1874) became a world success.

Strauss was friend and admirer of Richard Wagner, who like Johannes Brahms and other composers including Arnold Schoenberg, were what we should now call "fans" of Strauss, recognizing a supreme master of a genre who composes with style, elegance and taste.

Beethoven's 5th Symphony - Beethoven's 5. Sinfonie

Ludwig Van Beethoven's Ninth SymphonyNeunte Sinfonie

Béla Bartók - Music for Strings

Bela Bartok

Bela Bartok was born on March 25, 1881 in Southern Hungary and passed away on September 26, 1945 as migrant in New York. His father had been a very enthusiastic music fan and cellist. Bartok's mother ha been an elementary school teacher and took care of him and educated him alone, because his father passed away already in 1889.

Bartok couldn't develop close ties to his home country. National pride could never grow up. Political confusions between Hungary, the CSSR, Romania and the former Yugoslavia during that time let Bartok become a permanent refugee.

At the age of 9 he started composing. With 10 he was introduced to the world public. From 1899-1903, Bartok studied at the Hungarian Music Academy Budapest. Bartok had been mostly two personalities in one: the simple folk song research scientist and on the other hand the great classical composer, who also loved to travel as a gifted virtuoso, who played his own compositions.

In 1907, Bartok has been appointed as music professor at the Hungarian Music Academy Budapest. When he met the composer Claude Debussy ("Claire de Lune"), Bartok met also the impressionism with its strange Fareast elements. Serious and momentous occurrences in Bartok's life reflected in his music. Best examples are his three piano concertos from 1926, 1930, and 1945. From hammering and pounding rhythms Bartok changed into a choral type "Adagio religioso" in his third piano concerto - already while being deadly sick and terrible lonely.

His world known instrumental works are Music for Strings, Drums and Celesta (1936), Divertimento for Strings (1939), and the Concerto for Orchestra (1943). The two Rhapsodies for Violin and Orchestra (1928) grip more.

 

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart - His Music and His Life

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (his complete name was Joannes Chrysostomus Wolfgangus Theophilus; Theophilus became Amadeus later) was born on January 27, 1756 in Salzburg/Austria and passed away on December 5, 1791 in Vienna.

At the age of four, Mozart showed already an unbelievable musical talent. He "drew notes' and played the violin without have ever learned it. His first compositions have been printed, when he became only six years old: sonatas for violin and piano. Up to his 22nd birthday Mozart has been on tour most of the time. The monstrous and outrageous strains resulted in terrible unhealthy conditions. Up to now, it's more or less impossible or very difficult to assess Mozart's life and personality.

His music let us experience mostly the bright and cheerful grace of rococo. The German Romanticism poet E.T.A. Hoffmann subscribed Mozart during that time as "demonic and theatrical contemporary".

Mozart had been always open-minded to all earthly pleasures, but he kept on writing to his father about his permanent thoughts how to face the death in a proper way. Mozart smiled always, but mostly with tears in his eyes... .

Mozart belongs to the great Vienna Classics with out doubts. A whole human life would never be enough to explain what Mozart achieved within his short life of 35 years only. More than 600 music works have been noted. Some of them are:

The children opera "Bastian and Bastienne" (17680, "Haffner Serenade and Symphony' (1782), the operas "Figaro's Marriage" (1786), "Don Giovanni" (1787), "Cosi Fan Tutte" (1790) as well as "The Magic Flute" (1791) or "Eine kleine Nachtmusik" (A little Nightmusic).

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart - Symphony 40 (best version) - Beste Version

Friedrich Smetana : "Die Moldau" / Karajan / Vienna Philharmonic

Friedrich Smetana -His Music and His Life

 

Friedrich Smetana was born on March 2, 1824 in Leitomischl, Austria and passed away on May 12, 1884 in Prague/CSSR. Smetana was the son of a Bohemian brewer. In Smetana's fatherland once could hear music from any corner. Nevertheless,only at the age of 18, Smetana decided to become a musician. He studied piano lessons at the Prague College of Music. In 1848, he opened his own private music school together with the generous supporter, the German classical composer Franz Liszt (1811-1886).

In 1856, Smetana moved to Goteborg/Sweden, where be became Head of the Philharmonic Association. This has been the first time Smetana started composition experiments, i.e. "Richard III." (1858).

But Smetana moved back to his native land and became a music-critic, columnist and conductor at the national State Opera Prague.

His first opera in 1863 ("The Brandenburgs in Bohemia") became a flop. his second opera "The Bartered Bride"" (1866) was one of Smetana's masterpieces. This opera shows the whole illustrated broadsheet of Bohemian country life together with a deceitful life from the Bohemian folk dance, the Polka, and the musical fury.

Smetana's following operas, i.e. "Libussa" (1872), or "The Kiss" (1876) have been only mediocrity and can be found seldom on stage nowadays.

In 1874, first signs of Smetana's deafness have been reported - mentally illness followed like a lingering fever. Almost unbelievable, that Smetana was able to compose during the following five years his outstanding master piece; a six-symphonies cycle, also known as "classical sound poetry", entitled "Mein Vaterland" (My fatherland). The probably most well known part "The Moldavian River' (Die Moldau) came into being in 1874.

(Stage set for the 1882 production of Smetana's opera "The Bartered Bride").

Jacques Offenbach - his music and his life

Jacques Offenbach was born on June 20, 1819 in Cologne, Germany and passed away on October 5, 1880 in Paris, France.

As a son of a Jewish synagogue ore-singer, Offenbach moved to Paris early during his childhood. He left Paris very seldom. He studied to play violin cello in the Paristian College of Music (Conservatoire de Paris). He played this instrument in the Orchestra of Comical Opera (Orchestre de Opera Comique).

In 1849, Offenbach became bandmaster and conductor of the French Theatre and in 1855 he opened his own theatre.

Offenbach composed more than 100 plays: French chansons, musicals, and chanting operettas. His most successful music works among plenty other have been: 

"The Island Tulipatan", "The Engagement Under the Lantern", "Orpheus in Underworld", "The Beautiful Helena" (1864), "Parisian Life" (1866) or "La Perichole" (1868).

Offenbach mocked the so-called socially acceptable life of the second emperor-empire during that time. This happened without insulting elements, because his stinging and cutting remarks have always been become mild through charming, cheerfulness and amusement. His compositions, timeless up to now, contain bold, pert and saucy melodic surprises with wit, satire, mockery and high spirits.

In his last composition Offenbach showed himself as being a "terribly romantic person". His opera "Hoffmann's Tales" (Hoffmanns Erzaehlungen) belong to his most successful and known compositions. Singe songs, as for example "The Barcarole' are timeless classic oldies up to today. Offenbach unfortunately didn't live to see and hear this opera's first night performance anymore.