Max Bruch - His Music and His Life

 

The German Max Burch was born on January 5, 1838 in Cologne. His mother was his first emotional music teacher.

At the age of 11, Bruch composed his first classical piece, simple entitled as OPUS 1. When he became 14, his first symphony premiered in Cologne. 

After his father's death, Bruch got an insatiable thirst to travel around the whole world, which facilitated him many important and fruitful meetings with society personalities from politic, culture and clergy.

His ever best stage play, the opera "Lorely", premiered 1863 in Mannheim, Germany. Melodic and tuneful folksong atmosphere and E. Geibel's soft-emotional script are the reasons of this never forgotten highlight of Max Bruch.

Bruch's most valid orchestral works have been his "First violin Concerto in g-minor" from 1868; "The Scottish Fantasy" and -one of my favourites- "Variations Kol Nidrei for cello and orchestra".

He received innumerabe honors, praises and musical awards. Even being very contrapuntally, Bruch remains as a very special classic composer in the hearts of real music lovers.

Bruch passed away in Berlin on October 2, 1920.

Francois Adrien Boildieu - His Music and His Life

Born on December 16, 1775 in Rouen, the Frenchman Francois Adrien Boildieu was a son of an Archdiocesan secretary. At the age of 18, he started composing cheerful and amusing lyrical dramas and operas.

In Paris, the piano constructor Sebastian Erard (1752-1831) became Boildieu's mentor. Etienne Nicolas Mehul (1763-1817) and Luigi Cherubini (1760-1842) were Boildieu's very closed friends.

He composed 38 operas, which remained as pearls of the so-called Opera Comique. I like to mention just only a few such as "Der Kalif von Bagdad" from 1800 (a kalif was an Arabian governor and Mohammed's follower), "Johann von Paris" (1812), and, especially "La Dame Blanche" (The White Lady, 1825) - just aired in my show last Sunday.

Boildieu's piano compositions amuse through wonderful but superficial gleam.

The great composer passed away in Paris on October 8, 1834.

Leo Blech - His Music and His Life

The German Leo Blech was born in Aachen on April 21, 1871. He was a real great opera composer and conductor, who is perhaps most famous at his works from 1893-1899, when be became a conductor in his home town Aachen. Later he moved to Prague in the former CSSR. In 1906, Blech became First Conductor of Berlin's Royal Opera House (Koenigliches Schauspielhaus) - later the Berlin State Opera (Staatsoper Unter den Linden).

In 1925 in Vienna State Opera, then in Berlin 1936-1941, Riga in Lativa, then Stockholm in Sweden - what a career and what a fulfilled life for Leo Blech, who was known for his reliable, dear and elegant performances and for his sensitivity as an accompanist.

Besides apt and practical children's songs, Blech's comic operas deserved sympathy: "Das war ich" (That was me, 1902) and "Versiegelt" (Sealed, 1908).

Leo Blech passed away in Berlin on August 24, 1958.

The Magic of the Stradivarius

What makes Stradivarius violins so special? Made by Antonio Stradivari and his family, these instruments are among the most valuable violins in the world, highly regarded by performers and audiences. Take a look at pictures from the Stradivarius exhibition at Oxford's Ashmolean museum, uncovering the beauty of these musical works of art.

The Alard Stradivarius

Antonio Stradivari is one of the most famous makers of stringed instruments (otherwise known as luthiers) of all time. His instruments are highly regarded and often sell for six figure sums at auction thanks to their unique sound and esteemed history. Created in 1715, in Stradivari's 'golden period' this violin takes its name from French violinist Jean-Delphin Alard, its most famed owner. The instrument sold at auction in 1981 to a collector in Singapore for $1.2 million. Look at the ornate carving on the tailpiece.

Eugen d'Albert - His Music and Life

Eugen d'Albert was born on April 10, 1864 in Glasgow/Scotland. His father was the very known dance composer Charles d'Albert (1809-1886), an Italian grand duke's descendant.

D'Albert studied in London, then in Vienna with Hans Richter (1843-1916) and in Weimar with the unforgettable Franz Liszt. As a blessed pianist, he went on several concert tours. D'Albert admired very much Ludwig van Beethoven (by the way: me too!), whom he gave the real monstrous pathos, which Beethoven really deserves.

Johannes Brahms became an intimate friend.

From his compositions are still known and part of stage performances such as "The Concerto for Cello in c-major" from 1899 and
"The Concerto for Piano in e-major" from 1893. Out of 21 operas the following pieces are more then remarkable: "Die Abreise" (The departure, 1898), "Die toten Augen" (The dead eyes, 1916), and most especially "Tiefland" (The Plain, 1903).

Eugen d'Albert passed away on March 3, 1932 in Riga, the capital of Lativa.

Paul Lincke - His Music and Life

Born on November 7, 1866 in Berlin, the German Paul Lincke has become a popular composer.

Lincke's father was a known and successful municipal authorities civil servant. In Wittenberg's Piper College in Eastern Germany, Paul Lincke studied violin and bassoon play.

Then, Linncke became the Director General of the Berlin Apollo Theater.

1897 marked Lincke's first big stage success with a during those times so called "equipment revue" entitled "Venus on Earth". National traditions mixed with a unique and real "Berlinian operetta sound" has been the reasons of Lincke's entire success: "Frau Luna" (Madame Luna, 1899), "Lysistrata" (1902, with the evergreen "The glimmering glow-warm", one of my late grandmother's favourites), or "Casanova" (1914, badly on stage, because World War I just started).

"Berliner Luft" (Air from Berlin) remained as unofficial anthem of Berlin till today.

Paul Lincke passed away in Clausthal-Zellerfeld on September 3, 1946.

10 OMG Moments in Classical Music

What are the greatest moments in classical music history? The bits that make you immediately rewind and play them again? Simply, the most surprising, shocking, beautiful or weird bits in classical music? Here are 10 moments that will make you say 'OMG'… 

1. The top C in Allegri's Miserere

There you are, just chilling out with a bit of 17th century choral music like any self-respecting person would do, and then all of a sudden, BAM! High C! Emotional overload! Skip straight to it by pressing play below…

2. The climax of Beethoven's 9th Symphony

Everyone sing along! "Freude, schöner Götterfunken, Tochter aus Elysium!" This is such a fist-pumping moment. How fist-pumping? Well, it's supposed to encapsulate the joy of humanity, of being alive, Germanic might, the brotherhood of man and basically all worldly positivity, which is a pretty tall order. Does Beethoven manage it? Take a listen… (the answer's 'yes', by the way.)

3. The opening chords of Elgar's Cello Concerto, played by Jacqueline Du Pré

Few pieces are so iconic that they can be defined by a few chords alone, and few musicians are so iconic that they can be defined by one piece. In a word, 'whoompf'.
Watch the performance here .

4. The Tristan Chord

How can one chord redefine the way we think about music? Well, it's simple. All Wagner did when he plonked this gorgeous little progression into the opening of his opera Tristan und Isolde was use an augmented fourth, an augmented sixth and an augmented ninth above the root to imply a completely different harmonic relation. Easy, yeah? Oh, just listen to it…

5. Don Giovanni is dragged to hell

Much of Mozart's Don Giovanni is actually quite humorous, with amorous japes and farce aplenty, but things take an incredibly sinister turn right at the end when the Don himself (think of him as a folkloric version of Russell Brand with comparable dress-sense) is finally forced to atone for his sins. There's a slow knock at the door, Giovanni opens it and is confronted with a stone state of the Commendatore, who drags the screaming Don into the fiery netherworld. Yikes!
Watch the whole scene here .

6. When all 40 voices come together in Spem in alium

Spem In Alium is a choral classic given a new audience thanks to a certain E.L. James, but we prefer to think of Thomas Tallis' piece as it was intended - a whacking great 40-part motet with one of the most breathtaking ensemble entries in the whole repertoire. Press play below to hear those 40 parts suddenly arrive all at once…

7. "Zaaadoook The Prieeest!"

You know how it is. You're just bumbling along, minding your own business, maybe there's some baroque music in the background… KAPOW! Mass choral entry! Something about a priest! Make sure you're sitting down for this one.

8. The Rite Of Spring causes a riot


Imagine being so maddened and confused by a piece of music that you start a riot. A bit like how parents of Justin Bieber fans must feel, maybe. Anyway, Igor Stravinsky's Rite Of Spring was the original authority-botherer, with its rhythmic and textural originality causing the audience at its premiere to turn into a gibbering rabble, 40 of whom were ejected from the theatre. Give the Augurs Of Spring section a listen and try to resist the urge to flip a table.

9. When Ride Of The Valkyries turns up in Apocalypse Now
When he was composing Die Walküre , it's probable that Richard Wagner didn't have the Vietnam war in mind. However, since Francis Ford Coppola's Apocalypse Now, this exhilarating music has become associated with exactly that. And helicopters. And explosions.


10. The high notes in the Queen Of The Night aria

As well as being an OMG moment, this is a "did I just hear that correctly?" moment. Actually, it's more like an "is that an alien singing, and why has my champagne flute exploded?" moment. Just listen.