George
Bizet
Bizet
has been described as having been a lively, energetic man, with a sense
of humor, and a temper – but not a very reflective or philosophical
character.
This can be seen in his music, which is always full of color and
rhythm,
beautifully orchestrated, dramatic even, but not often moving or
thoughtful.
Until Carmen.
|
| . |
Alexander
Borodin
Born in
1833 in St Petesburg,
Alexander Borodin was the illegitimate son of the Russian Prince
Gedianov
and his 24 year old mistress Madame Antonova, and although a very
talented
child, he was not, it seems, a musical prodigy. |
| . |
Johannes
Brahms
The young
Johannes was
expected to pay his way, and so, at the age of thirteen, he was sent to
earn money by playing the piano late at night in Hamburg's dockside
taverns
and brothels. |
| . |
Frederic
Chopin
Many
composers of the
period, Beethoven, Schumann, Mendelssohn and Liszt, regarded the
piano as their favourite instrument. But nobody understood it better
than
Chopin. He could make the piano sound more truly romantic and poetic
than
anybody else. |
| . |
Claude
Debussy
Music has
this over painting
Debussy is said to have declared in 1906, it can bring together all
manner
of variations of colour and light, and of course is always in motion as
opposed to static as a painting can only be. |
| . |
Edward
Elgar
Elgar's
father ran a
music shop in Worcester, and eventually the whole family moved to live
above it. Elgar later recalled the experience as giving him the chance
to ‘read everything, play everything, hear everything'. |
| . |
Edvard
Grieg
Listening
to Grieg's
famous ‘Piano Concerto in A minor' as I am now, I have to agree with
those
who say that it is deservedly recognized as one of the finest specimens
of the piano concerto repertoire. |
| . |
Franz
Joseph Haydn
‘The
Emperor's Hymn' became the theme of the German National anthem, which
was
to become one of his most popular songs, and certainly the composer's
favourite.
|
| . |
Franz
Lehar
Lehar's
operettas cleverly
tuned in to the traditional Viennese spirit of sweetness and charm,
which
was by then increasingly tempered with a nostalgia for a happier past
following
its collapse in 1918 at the end of the First World War. |
| . |
Franz
Liszt
Many of his
compositions
reflect his phenomenal technique, and still tax the best of pianists.
His
contemporary, Anton Rubenstein, also a virtuoso pianist, observed that,
compared with Liszt all other pianists were 'children'. |
| . |
Gustav
Mahler
In Vienna
of 1897, most
government and other important public posts were open only to Roman
Catholics.
Mahler was born a Jew, so in order to secure the coveted post he became
a convert. |
| . |
| Felix
Mendelssohn
The
sound of the sea has intrigued many composers with its wide variety of
orchestral possibilities. It is a recurring theme in several overtures
composed by Mendelssohn, even before his visit to Scotland in 1829.
|
| . |
Wolfgang
Amadeus Mozart
His work
belongs to the
Classical period which came about in the latter half of the 18th
century.
It was a time of order, simplicity, and refinement, and in marked
contrast
to the extravagant Baroque era that went before it. |
| . |
Jacques
Offenbach
Offenbach
was the main
founder of 'operetta' (light opera with dialogue). This was a genre
which
led toward the musical theatre of the 20th century, and a distinctly
separate
world of popular music. |
| . |
Niccolo
Paganini
Listening
to Paganin's
violin concertos, I can see his ecstatic glee in the music he produced
from his instrument, the blazing eyes, and the demonic energy which
audiences
the world over found so hypnotic. |
| . |
Sergei
Prokofiev
From the
din and dissonance
of a work such as ‘The Steel Step', and the drama and excitement of
‘Romeo
and Juliet' (both ballets) to the innocent charm of the fairy
tale
‘Peter and the Wolf', Prokofiev has emerged as one of the most powerful
and popular composers of the 20th century. |
| . |
Giacomo
Puccini
In the
realm of opera,
few composers can compare with Puccini in his ability to match a
theme to a dramatic situation and touch the hearts of his listeners. |
| . |
Maurice
Ravel
With its
relentless,
pulsating rhythm, 'Bolero' a bravura piece for orchestra, is probably
Maurice
Ravel's best known work. |
| . |
|
In
July 1871, although still a naval lieutenant and without formal
training
in composition, he accepted a post at the St. Petersburg Conservatory,
teaching himself in secret to stay ahead of his pupils.
|
| . |
Camille
Saint-Saens
In his
lifetime Saint-Saens
composed over three hundred works, including 13 operas, and was the
first
major composer to write music specifically for the cinema. |
| . |
Robert
Schumann
Robert
Schumann's ‘Opus 54, Third Movement' starts off in what I can only
describe
as a blaze of color with a solo piano taking center stage. |
| . |
Johann
Strauss II
Johann's
success was
immediate as he was able to develop his father's dance forms, including
not only waltzes, but gallops, quadrilles, and polkas with richer
harmonies
and more ambitious structures. |
| . |
| Peter
Tchaikovsky
Many
who would not claim to be fond of classical music would nevertheless be
familiar with Tchaikovsky's most famous of overtures - the 1812 - which
recalls Napoleon's invasion of Russia and his defeat in 1812.
|
| . |
Ludwig
van Beethoven
Gifted
or goaded? When his son began to show signs of exceptional
musical
talent, Johann van Beethoven sought to exploit it in the way Mozart's
father had done so successfully twenty years earlier. |
| . |
Giuseppe
Verdi
The
Italians liked the
common touch Verdi never lost, and the way many of his operas echoed
the
patriotic feelings of his day, so that for them he became a
national
hero. |
| . |
Antonio
Vivaldi
For many
years Vivaldi's
work was largely forgotten, but in the mid 20th century the discovery
of
a large number of manuscripts, combined with the revival of interest in
the Baroque period, produced a Vivaldi renaissance. |
