“The only love affair I have ever had was with music.”
Maurice Ravel
The history of classical music, however, is full of fabulously gifted individuals with slightly more earthy ambitions. Love stories of classical composers are frequently retold within a romanticized narrative of sugarcoated fairy tales. To be sure, happily-ever-after stories do on rare occasions take place, but it is much more likely that classical romances lead to some rather unhappy endings. Johannes Brahms had an overriding fear of commitment, Claude Debussy drove his wife into an attempt at suicide, Francis Poulenc severely struggled with his sexual identity, and Percy Grainger was heavily into whips and bondage. And that’s only the beginning! The love life of classical composers will sometimes make you weep, or alternately shout out with joy or anguish. You might even cringe with embarrassment as we try to go beyond the usual headlines and niceties to discover the psychological makeup and the societal and cultural pressures driving these relationships. Classical composer’s love stories are not for the faint hearted; they are heightened reflections of humanity at its best and worst. Accompanying these stories of love and lust with the compositions they inspired, we are able to see composers and their relationships in a completely new light.
On 28 July 1894, Amparo gave birth to the first of their six children. With his family rapidly expanding, Enrique was desperately trying to secure a steady source of income. Various applications to conservatories in Barcelona and Madrid came to
When pianist Enrique Granados (1867-1916) first appeared on stage on 20 April 1890, critics were simply ecstatic! “Granados will be one of the great artists who always seek applause in pure art, without flashiness and cheap concessions.” Praising the young
For the Hungarian composer György Kurtág, who celebrates his 90th birthday in 2016, two women have played a pivotal and decisive role in his personal and professional life. During his studies at the Ferenc Liszt Academy of Music in Budapest
Throughout the turbulent and highly emotional times of courtship and early marriage, Max and Elsa Reger could steadfastly rely on the support of Auguste von Bagenski, Reger’s mother in law. Auguste had taken an immediate liking to Max, and even
Love, it is said, knows no boundaries! Too bad somebody forgot to tell the Catholic and Protestant Churches! You see, the German composer Max Reger was Catholic and the light of his eyes, Elsa von Bercken, was not only divorced
Tendonitis or related inflammations have ruined the aspiring careers of numerous young hopeful pianists. True to life, however, with one door of opportunity closing forever another door is just a likely to open up. Elsa Olivieri Sangiacomo grew up in
It is rather commonplace for children, even after they have all grown up, to keep assorted secrets from their parents. As long as it concerns the acquisition of a pet or a new plant, no harm done. However, when things
At age 22, Ferruccio Busoni (1866-1924) was appointed piano teacher at the conservatory of Helsingfors, then part of the Russian Empire, today known as the Finnish capital Helsinki. Stable employment and income aside, Busoni could not speak a word of
