Audiences are always fascinated by composer love stories, especially when there’s an element of tragedy to them.
Today, we’re looking at ten of the shortest marriages in classical music history, and all of them have that element of tragedy.
Despite the short lengths of these marriages (or maybe because of the short lengths of these marriages), many of these relationships have been romanticised. All of them are fascinating.
We’re starting with one of the most famous marriages in music history:
10. Wolfgang and Constanze Mozart
1782-91 – 9 years
The Mozarts, Art from 1910s
Wolfgang Mozart and Constanze Weber met in 1777, when Wolfgang gave voice lessons to her older sister, Aloysia.
Wolfgang and Constanze met again in 1781, when the Webers opened their home to boarders and Wolfgang moved in. When his and Constanze’s relationship turned romantic, he left the house for propriety’s sake.
After a brief spat in the spring of 1782, they reconciled, and they were married in August of that year.
Over the following nine years, Wolfgang and Constanze would have six children, four of whom died as infants.
Their marriage came to an early end when Wolfgang died in 1791. Constanze was only twenty-nine years old.
Although their marriage had been a relatively short one, Constanze spent the rest of her long life solidifying her husband’s legacy. She even worked on a biography of Wolfgang with her second husband.
Mozart and Constanze: A Viennese Love Story
9. Gustav and Alma Mahler
1902-1911 – 9 years
The Mahlers
When they married in March 1902, Gustav Mahler was 42 years old and Alma Schindler 22. They had only been dating a few months, and Alma was already pregnant.
Before their marriage, Gustav wrote to her that he expected her to give up her musical pursuits like composition, because in his view, there couldn’t be two composers in a family.
Cate Blanchett reads Mahler’s letter to Alma
Not surprisingly, given their many differences, tensions grew in their marriage.
They had two daughters, Maria in 1902 and Anna in 1904. Tragically, Maria died in 1907 of scarlet fever.
Both parents were devastated. Mahler’s health deteriorated, and Alma embarked on an affair with architect Walter Gropius, who was much closer to Alma in age.
Gustav and Alma were working on repairing their marriage (a process that included Gustav editing some of Alma’s compositions for publication) when he fell ill and died in 1911.
Their marriage may have been short, but it was hugely impactful to music history. For decades after Gustav’s death, she controlled the public narrative surrounding him.
8. Claudio and Claudia Monteverdi
1599-1607 – 8 years
Claudio Monteverdi
In 1599, Mantua-based composer Claudio Monteverdi married court singer Claudia de Cattaneis.
They had three children together: a son in 1601, a short-lived infant daughter in 1603, and a second son in 1604.
In 1606, he composed L’Orfeo, the earliest opera that is still regularly performed today.
But tragedy struck his family in September 1607 when his wife died. The stress of his work life combined with the losses in his personal life led him to travel to Cremona to try to regain his emotional and spiritual equilibrium.
After he finished raising his sons, he entered the priesthood.
Read more about Claudio Monteverdi and Claudia Cattaneo.
7. Claude and Lilly Debussy
1899-1905 – 6 years
The Debussys
Claude Debussy could never resist a beautiful woman…even if he was already in a relationship.
In the spring of 1899, he met a model named Lilly Texier. She was known to be quiet, simple, and humble, and was extremely beautiful. Debussy was 37 and she was 25. They quickly embarked on a passionate physical relationship.
After some drama over the summer (during which Debussy admitted he’d already cheated on her, and also threatened to kill himself), they married in October.
In 1904, Debussy met a beautiful, brilliant, married woman – and talented singer – named Emma Bardac. He fell in love with Emma, was evasive with Lilly about why his affection had cooled, and, in August of that year, announced that their marriage was over.
A distraught Lilly attempted suicide by pistol, but she survived the shot to her stomach. A massive scandal ensued, but Debussy would not return to her. The marriage ended in divorce in 1905, and Debussy married Emma.
Learn more about Debussy’s wives.
6. Ralph and Ursula Vaughan Williams
1953-1958 – 5 years
The Vaughan Williams
Ursula Lock Wood was a 26-year-old writer who, in 1937, made contact with 63-year-old composer Ralph Vaughan Williams to discuss the possibility of her writing a ballet scenario for him to use.
The ballet never materialised, but a friendship did. Despite the age gap and the fact that both were married, a romantic relationship developed between them.
Ralph was uninterested in leaving his long-time wife Adeline, who suffered from severe arthritis and chronic pain. So they conducted their love affair in secret for many years.
Ursula even became good friends with Adeline. During air raids in World War II, all three lay in their beds and held hands to comfort each other.
In 1941, Ursula’s husband died suddenly. In 1951, Adeline died too, freeing Ralph and Ursula to marry, which they did two years later.
Unfortunately, the age gap meant that Ralph was nearing the end of his own life, and that they wouldn’t have much time together as a married couple. He died in 1958.
Ursula devoted the rest of her life to promoting her husband’s legacy.
5. Sergei and Mira Prokofiev
1948-1953 – 5 years
The Prokofievs
In the summer of 1938, composer Sergei Prokofiev, then approaching his late forties, was vacationing with his family when he met Mira Mendelson, a 23-year-old writer and translator.
The two began taking walks together and soon embarked on a romantic relationship.
Sergei initially denied rumours about their relationship. But by the next year, they were appearing in public together. His wife Lina told him he could do what he wanted, as long as he didn’t move in with her.
Their relationship evolved and deepened. They began working on libretti together, and Prokofiev dedicated his eighth piano sonata to Mira.
Evgeny Kissin Plays Prokofiev’s Piano Sonata No. 8 in B flat major, Op. 84
In 1941, Prokofiev told Lina that the marriage was over and that he was going to move in with Mira. As World War II escalated, the new couple escaped from Moscow. (Meanwhile, in the coming years, Lina would suffer a horrifying fate. Read more about Sergei Prokofiev and Lina Codina).
Sergei and Mira got married in 1948 and enjoyed a happy life together. She took care of him until his death in 1953. “It was good that we were together,” he told her shortly before he passed.
4. Karlheinz and Mary Stockhausen
1967-1972 – 5 years
Karlheinz Stockhausen
In 1957, composer Karlheinz Stockhausen met artist Mary Burmeister. In 1961, she took a composition course from him at the avant-garde Darmstädter Ferienkurse in Darmstadt, Germany. Later that same year, they collaborated on a theater project together called Originale (Originals).
In 1962, she moved to New York City to pursue her career. Five years later, she married Stockhausen. They had two children together in 1966 and 1967.
They had an open marriage and were in more than one menage-a-trois over the course of their relationship. She would later comment upon her dual feelings of jealousy and deep love for him.
In the end, they decided to part ways. Both went on to become leaders in their respective fields.
3. Carlo and Donna Maria Gesualdo
1586-1590 – 4 years
Carlo Gesualdo
In 1586, 20-year-old Italian nobleman Carlo Gesualdo da Venosa married his cousin, 30-year-old Donna Maria d’Avalos.
Carlo’s older brother had recently died, meaning that he was now next in line to become the next Prince of Venosa. He needed an heir, and fortunately, Donna Maria soon delivered a son named Don Emmanuele.
Any happiness the little family may have had was short-lived. In October 1590, Carlo discovered Donna Maria in bed with a duke named Fabrizio Carafa, and Carlo immediately killed them both. First, he used his gun, then he returned to the scene of the crime to mutilate their corpses with knives.
Due to Carlo’s wealth and influence, the authorities chose not to prosecute.
Read more about Carlo Gesualdo and Donna Maria d’Avalos
2. Giuseppe and Margherita Verdi
1836-1840 – 4 years
The Verdis
When he was eighteen years old, composer Giuseppe Verdi began rooming with a grocer/wine merchant (as well as the president of the local Philharmonic Society), Antonio Barezzi in present-day Busseto, Italy.
Giuseppe began teaching music to Barezzi’s eldest daughter, Margherita, and soon they fell in love with each other.
To avoid scandal and protect his daughter’s reputation, Barezzi paid for Verdi to study in Milan. Verdi did so, then came back in 1833 with a new girlfriend: his professor’s daughter.
Not surprisingly, a ruckus ensued, especially after Verdi applied for the job of Busseto maestro di musica.
At some point, however, the professor’s daughter left town, and Verdi was awarded the position. In the end, he married Margherita in 1836.
They had two children together in 1837 and 1838. Then came a series of unimaginable tragedies. By the fall of 1839, both children were dead. Then, in 1840, Margherita fell ill with encephalitis. She died at the age of 27.
Verdi was grief-stricken beyond belief. He later described the tragedies: “A third coffin goes out of my house. I was alone! Alone!”
1. Dmitri and Margarita Shostakovich
1956-1959 – 3 years
The Shostakoviches
In December 1954, Nina, the physicist wife of Dmitri Shostakovich, died unexpectedly.
The loss was unbearable. The couple had endured incredible stress and danger during the Great Terror, and they had two teenage children whom Shostakovich suddenly had to parent himself.
Not to mention the impact on his professional life: Nina had always been his secretary and buffer against the world. When Dmitri had to work, she would answer the telephone and lie to callers that Shostakovich was unavailable to talk, and was away for two months.
Early in the summer of 1956, Shostakovich saw a woman in her early thirties at the World Festival of Youth, a competition run by the Komsomol, the youth division of the Communist Party in the Soviet Union. Her name was Margarita. Unsurprisingly, she bore a certain resemblance to Nina.
Shostakovich, a very shy man, had some trouble making his intentions known. When he finally invited her over for the first time, he proposed marriage. She accepted. They were married in secret.
His friends and family were bewildered by the choice. Nobody seemed to like Margarita, and she was constantly falling short in comparison to everyone’s memories of Nina.
To make matters worse, Margarita didn’t share Dmitri’s dark sense of humour or – even worse – appreciate his music. The marriage was doomed. They divorced after a few years, and their marriage became one of the shortest in classical music history.
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