Klaus Döring's Classical Music/Klaus Döring's Klassische Musik

The Austrian Emil Nikolaus von Reznicek was born in Vienna on May 4, 1860 and came from an officer family. At first, von Reznicek studied jurisprudence, but later "music" in Graz/Austria and Leipzig/Germany. He became theatre bandmaster, military conductor as well as royal court bandmaster in German towns such as Weimar and Mannheim. In 1902, von Reznicek started his composer life in Berlin with five symphonies, several symphonic poems, uncounted orchestral works, eight operas and the operetta "Die Angst vor der Ehe" ("Marriage Fear"). Out of his operas "Donna Diana" (in a new arrangement from 1933) remainded as most successful - though the overture is really the best classical piece. Emil Nikolaus von Reznicek passed away in Berlin on August 2, 1945.

By Daniel Ross World's smallest violin Yeah, so it's impressive and we admire the 'no-vibrato' stance on  Baroque performance practice, but that intonation. It's all over the place.  World's largest tuba A man in lederhosen plays Flight of the Bumblebee on the world's largest tuba. Because Germany. World's fastest violinist There are loads of YouTube videos purporting to show the fastest performance of Flight Of The Bumblebee, and it's very tricky to know for sure who the current record-holder is. But we've got a soft spot for the electric-haired, omni-smiling, spangly-jacketed violin munchkin Ben Lee. Here he is smashing his own record in Hong Kong in front of a scarily silent audience.    World's fastest pianist In this bizarre, hypnotic video, pianist Bence Peter has the expression of ...

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.

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. Next image   Picture 1 of 30 (C) 2014 by ClassicFM London.

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? (via wmich.edu ) 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. ...

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 commer...

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.