“Anecdotes and maxims are rich treasures to the man of the world.”
Johann Wolfgang von Goethe
The universe of classical music is jam-packed with musical anecdotes. Frequently these short narratives delineate subtle stories that highlight specific traits of a classical composer or a performer. Often humorous, anecdotes of classical composers don’t simply provoke laughter but can reveal a more general and subtle truth. We find Sophia Corri escaping her inattentive husband in an empty harp case, Beethoven being thrown in jail for vagrancy, and Rossini and Pavarotti both cooking their favorite meals. Napoleon gave free reign to his infatuation with an opera singer, Bach was challenged to a duel, and Frederick the Great had not only a great passion for music but also for a handsome Lieutenant in the Royal Guard. A musical anecdote is part of the process of telling a story, but it means sharing an experience with someone and not simply supplying him or her with information. And don’t worry, embellishment, exaggeration or fictitious invention are all part of the process. Anecdotes of classical composers impart the sense of a lived experience, as they usually involve real people in recognizable places and locations. In fact, musical anecdotes exhibit a special kind of realism and an identifiable historical dimension. Check back with us for more insightful and delightful musical anecdotes.
Sometimes, the course of musical history is utterly changed by the split decision of a single individual. When Ferdinando de’Medici, Grand Prince of the Duchy of Tuscany needed a caretaker for his roughly 75 musical instruments, he hired Bartolomeo Cristofori,
For most of us — and I have been down the aisles twice — weddings tend to be rather jolly affairs; amongst much food, drink and pageantry, a varying number of relatives and friends come together to witness the ritual
Giovanni Battista Sammartini: Symphony in A major, J-C 65 Franz Josef Haydn: String Quartet No. 31 in B minor, Op. 33, No. 1 Between 1715 and 1735, Alain-René Lesage published his 4-volume novel L’Histoire de Gil Blas de Santillane (The
Just like the rest of the world composers may or may not get along with each other; and they may or may not like each other’s music. In fact, insults sometimes fly. “He’d be better off shoveling snow,” said Richard
Gustav Mahler: Symphony 1, “Feierlich and gemessen” When Gustav Mahler (1860-1911) took up his conducting appointment in the city of Olmütz, located in the Moravian region of the Czech lands, everybody thought he was a rather odd duck. According to
In 1906, Gertrude Clarke of Belleview, Nebraska married Matthew John Whittall —roughly twenty-five years her senior — who had made his substantial fortune producing and dealing in carpets and rugs. While John was busy weaving another mat, Gertrude developed a
Today, we remember Gioachino Rossini (1792-1868) as the most prominent composer of Italian opera in the first half of the 19th century. But, when he was a young man growing up in Bologna he was simply known as “La Grassa,”
