Unconscious bursts of creativity that engender significant artistic endeavors are not necessarily inspired by passionate romantic love alone. Greek mythology believed that this kind of stimulus came from nine muses, the inspirational goddesses of literature, science, and the arts. Muses were long considered the source of knowledge embodied in poetry, lyric songs and ancient myths. Throughout the history of Western art, artists, writers and musicians have prayed to the muses, or alternately, drawn inspiration from personified muses that conceptually reside beyond the borders of earthly love. True to life, however, composer inspiration has emerged from the entire spectrums of existence and being. Nature has always played a decidedly important role in the inspiration of various classical composers, as did exotic cities, landscapes or rituals. Composer inspiration is also found in poetry, the visual arts, and mythological stories and tales. Artistic, historical or cultural expressions of the past are just as inspirational as is the everyday: the third Punic War or the contrapuntal mastery of Bach is inspirationally just as relevant as are the virulent bat and camel. Composer inspiration is delightfully drawn from heroes and villains, scientific advances, a pet, or something as mundane as a hangover. Discover what fires the imagination of people who never stop asking questions.
The Stabat Mater, a Medieval hymn which portrays Mary’s suffering as Christ’s mother during his Crucifixion, has been set to music by numerous composers, most notably Pergolesi, Schubert, Dvořák, Arvo Pärt and James Macmillan. In Pietà, a new setting by
As a composer, Benjamin Britten (1913-1976) showed his skills early, composing his first works at age 5. He started piano lessons 2 years later and the viola when he was 10. In his prep school, South Lodge, Lowestoft, he wrote
All too frequently, women composers in history have been made invisible by societal conventions and by unspoken gender bias. Barred from key opportunities and educational chances, female composers have firmly remained in the shadows of their male counterparts. In the
Clara Wieck-Schumann (1819-1896) is considered one of the most talented and distinguished composer-pianists of the 19th Century. In an era when women, apart from singers, almost never performed in public or composed music, Clara did both. Although blessed with outstanding
The turn of the 20th century saw a surprising number of Moon songs. It also saw the first amusement park devoted to the moon: Luna Park in Coney Island, New York. That original Luna Park, which opened in 1905, was
Vincent d’Indy (1851-1931) was considered by Gabriel Fauré as ‘The Samson of Music,’ not only for his work as a composer and conductor but also for his work as an educator and propagandist for French music. He followed his teacher
The Scottish author Sir Walter Scott is second only to Shakespeare for the number of musical pieces that his works, both plays and poetry, have inspired. Some of the operas he inspired are still standard on the opera stage today
A fair number of composers are primarily known for only one piece of music. And such is certainly the case with the Italian opera composer and librettist Ruggero Leoncavallo (1857-1919). His single lasting contribution, Pagliacci (Clowns), is still one of
