Category: Stamps

Coro virtuale “Va pensiero”

For all “prisoners” – all over the world

The critical situation we are in has fundamentally changed the daily lives of all of us. We are forced to stay at home to counter the virological emergency. The world of theater and music is also affected: musicians, singers, conductors have to cancel performances and concerts. Although the situation is life-threatening for many of them, the International Opera Choir has ceased its activities and instead opens the doors to a virtual rehearsal room that each of us can reach with the means available to continue listening to and feeling music.


Stamp of the Month: March 2020

Oscar Straus

The Austrian composer Oscar Straus (actually Oscar Nathan Strauss) was born on March 6, 1870 in Vienna. He died on January 11, 1954 in Bad Ischl. In March 2020, his birthday turns 150.
 
Oscar Straus first studied piano and composition in Vienna and later continued his studies with Max Bruch in Berlin. As a young conductor, he had engagements in Brüx and Teplitz and then at the Stadttheater Mainz. In Berlin he wrote the music for several programs of the cabaret “Überbrettl”.

Austria 3.7.1970
His first operettas in the tradition of Jacques Offenbach were not very successful. The breakthrough came in 1907 when the operetta “A Waltz Dream” premiered in Vienna. This operetta at times even exceeded the performance figures of Franz Lehar’s operetta “The Merry Widow”. Until the early 1930s, almost 50 other stage works followed, including “The Brave Soldier”, “The Last Waltz” with Fritzi Massary in the lead role and the musical comedy “A Woman Who Knows What She Wants”. During the Third Reich Oscar Straus went to America, where he composed the music for several films. In 1950 he returned to Europe and composed the operettas “Her First Waltz” and “Bozena” as well as the music for the film “La Ronde” by Max Ophüls.
 

 
In the video, the Swiss journalist and amateur pianist Andy Faessler plays the waltz “Out there in the fragrant garden” from the operetta “A waltz dream”.


Stamp of the Month: February 2020

Henri Vieuxtemps

The Belgian violinist and composer Henri Vieuxtemps was born in Verviers on February 17, 1820, he died on June 6, 1881 in a sanatorium near Algiers. In February 2020, his birthday turns 200.
 
Henri Vieuxtemps received his first violin lessons from his father. From 1828 to 1831 he studied violin at the Conservatory in Brussels. His first trips took him to Paris and Germany, where he met Robert Schumann and Louis Spohr, among others. In

Belgium 6.4.1974
1835/1836 he studied counterpoint in Vienna and then composition in Paris. The performance of his Violin Concerto No. 1 in E major in St. Petersburg was a great success in 1837. Vieuxtemps then devoted himself to composing other works in Paris. In 1843/44 he went on a tour through North and Central America with his future wife, the pianist Josephine Eder. From 1846 to 1852 he worked as court musician of Tsar Nicholas I in St. Petersburg, then lived for several years near Frankfurt / Main, later in Paris, and finally again from 1871 he took up a professorship at the Brussels Conservatory. His most famous student there was Eugène Ysaÿe.
Henri Vieuxtemps is considered one of the most important violinists of the 19th century. His compositional work includes seven violin concerts, two cello concerts, several other works for violin and orchestra or piano and numerous salon music.
 

 
The video shows the Korean violinist Kristin Lee with Henri Vieuxtemps’ composition “Souvenir d’Amerique” op.17 with variations on “Yankee Doodle”. She is accompanied by the American pianist Michael Mizrahi.


Stamp of the month: January 2020

Guillaume Lekeu

The Belgian composer Guillaume Lekeu was born on January 20, 1870 in Heusy (Verviers). He died of typhoid on January 21, 1894 in Angers at the age of only 24. In January 2020, his birthday turns 150.
 
Guillaume Lekeu, the son of a Walloon wool trader, received his first music lessons at the Verviers Conservatory. After the family moved, he studied piano, violin and cello in addition to attending high school. He composed his first pieces at the age of 15, and his first orchestral work was written in 1887.

Belgium 13.8.1994
After a visit to the Bayreuth Festival, Lekeu became a private student with César Franck, and from 1889 he was taught by Vincent d’Indy.
Guillaume Lekeu created more than 50 works (orchestral, chamber and vocal music), which were initially influenced by César Franck, Ludwig van Beethoven and Richard Wagner. Later works then reveal his own style. Lekeu received the second Belgian Prix de Rome in 1891 for his cantata “Andromède”. Lekeu composed his best-known work, the sonata for violin and piano in G major, for the violin virtuoso Eugène Ysaÿe.
 
The video shows Sergey Beltsov (violin) and Alexcei Timonin (piano) with the 1st movement of the “Sonata for violin and piano” by Guillaume Lekeu.

In Memoriam: Marie Fredriksson


After years of cancer, the Swedish singer and musician Marie Fredriksson died at the age of 61 on December 9th. Marie Fredriksson was born on May 30, 1958 in Östra Ljungby. After studying at the conservatory in Svalov, she received a record deal with her band. In 1984 she started a solo career and gained great popularity in Sweden. Besides, she worked as a background singer and studio musician for the band of Per Gessle. Together with Gessle she founded the duo “Roxette” in 1986, which achieved its worldwide breakthrough in 1989 with the title “The Look”. With over 75 million records sold worldwide, Roxette is one of the most successful pop music bands of the 1980s and 1990s. Although she was diagnosed with a brain tumor in 2002, she released more solo albums, celebrated a comeback on stage with Roxette at the 2009 Night of the Proms in London, and completed two world tours in 2011 and 2015 with millions of listeners.


Sweden 5.10.1991


 

Stamp of the Month: December 2019

Antônio Carlos Jobim

The Brazilian singer, pianist, guitarist and composer Antônio Carlos Brasileiro de Almeida Jobim was born on January 25, 1927 in Rio de Janeiro, he died on December 8, 1994 in New York. December 2019 marks the 25th anniversary of his death.
 
As a child, Jobim learned guitar and piano and was taught in composition from 1941 onwards. He played in various night clubs and arranged works of various composers in the studio of the music label Continental. Jobim achieved his first success in 1954 with the composition “Teresa da Praia”. Until 1958 Jobim was Artistic Director of the record label Odeon. During this time, his friend Vinícius


Brazil 22.11.1999
de Moraes recorded many of his songs, which are now among the classics of Brazilian popular music. The final breakthrough as a composer Jobim achieved with the debut album of the hitherto unknown singer João Gilberto, which included the title song “Chega de saudade” and, among others, the compositions “Desafinado” and “Samba de uma nota só”. After that Jobim was finally considered as the most influential composer of Brazil of his time and as one of the founders of Bossa Nova.
His arrangements opened up new paths and possibilities for Brazil’s popular music. In his arrangements he mixed traditional Brazilian song forms, such as Choros and Samba with elements of jazz and classical music. Antônio Carlos Jobim partly performed and recorded his compositions together with international artists, among others with Stan Getz, Frank Sinatra and Ella Fitzgerald.
 
The video shows Antônio Carlos Jobim as a guest of a show by Andy Williams. Together, they sing Jobim’s most famous composition, “The Girl from Ipanema” from 1962. A recording of this song on March 19, 1963 in New York, with the American jazz tenor saxophonist Stan Getz, the Brazilian singer and guitarist João Gilberto and his wife Astrud Gilberto made the piece one of the world’s most famous songs of bossa nova.

Stamp of the Month: November 2019

Hans Sachs

The Nuremberg shoemaker, poet and master singer Hans Sachs was born on 5 November 1494 in Nuremberg. He died on January 19, 1576 in his native city. In November 2019 we commemorate his 525th birthday.
 
Hans Sachs made a shoemaker apprenticeship after attending a Latin school. During his five-year journeyman journey, he served temporarily at the court of Emperor Maximilian I in Innsbruck, where he decided to study the Masters’ Song. He took lessons from Master Lienhard in Munich and settled in Nuremberg in 1516. In 1520 he became a master shoemaker and active guild member of the Meistersinger.
Hans Sachs soon sided with the Reformation and spread the teachings of Martin Luther in his poems. With these popular representations, he achieved first fame. As a result, Hans Sachs wrote more than 6,000 works, many of them in doggerel. Already during his lifetime Hans Sachs was a well-read author and became one of the most famous poets of the 16th century.

Germany 13.10.1994
 
Of the compositions of Hans Sachs only a few remained. Above all, the “Silberweise” is known, which has also found its way into the Lutheran chorales “Awake, the voice is calling us” and “A Mighty Fortress Is Our God”. The strict rules and the almost artisanal production of poetry in the master song did not find much favor with later generations.
That Hans Sachs today is the best known Meistersinger, he owes partly to the work of Richard Wagner, who set him a memorial in the “Meistersinger of Nuremberg”.
 

 
The video shows the finale of the opera “Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg”. James Morris sings the role of Hans Sachs in a 2001 performance of the Metropolitan Opera New York.




In memoriam: Jessye Norman


St. Vincent & The Grenadines 5.11.1997

On September 30, 2019, the American opera singer Jessye Norman died at the age of 74 years. She studied music at Howard University in Washington D.C, which she graduated in 1967 with a bachelor. In 1968 she won the first prize in the international music competition of the ARD in Munich and then debuted in 1969 at the Deutsche Oper Berlin as Elisabeth in Richard Wagner Tannhäuser. After four years in Berlin, she appeared with various ensembles and has performed at the Milan Scala and at the Royal Opera House Covent Garden in London. Mid-1970s, she focused mainly on the classical song repertoire and gave recitals, including at the Salzburg Festival. In the 1980s and 1990s, she was heard at all major opera houses and concert halls. Although operas and songs of romance formed a focal point of her repertoire, Jessye Norman also made a name for herself as an interpreter of spirituals and jazz. She has received numerous international awards, including five Grammys.
 

The video shows Jessye Norman with the last of the “Five Rückert Songs” by Gustav Mahler: “Ich bin der Welt abhanden gekommen” (I am lost to the world). Recorded with the New York Philharmonic under the direction of Zubun Mehta 1989.

Stamp of the Month: October 2019

Johan Helmich Roman


Sweden 26.8.1994
 
The Swedish composer Johan Helmich Roman was born on October 26, 1694 in Stockholm. He died on November 20, 1758 near Kalmar. In October 2019, his birthday marks the 325th anniversary.
 
Johan Helmich Roman was 15 years old when he became a member of the Royal Swedish Court Orchestra. His father also played in this orchestra. Johan Helmich Roman was a virtuoso violinist and oboist. During a study trip to England, he met among others George Frideric Handel. In 1721 he became vice-Kapellmeister and from 1727 First Court Kapellmeister of the Swedish Court Orchestra. He did a great service on musical junior education and arranged the first public concerts in Stockholm.
As a composer, Roman preferred the style of light Italian Baroque music. His work includes suites, solo concerts, symphonies as well as chamber and church music. His most famous work is the “Drottningholmsmusic”, a suite in 24 movements, which he composed in 1744 on the occasion of the marriage of the Swedish Crownprince Adolf Fredrik with the Louise Ulrike, the sister of Frederick II of Prussia.
 
The video shows the movement 20 (Allegro) of the “Drottningholmsmusic”. It is performed by the Swedish “Nationalmusei Kammarorkester” under the direction of Claude Génetay in the Rikssalen of Drottningholm Palace.


Yehudi-Menuhin-Trophy 2019 – Most popular Music Stamp 2018

Winner: Regina Simon / Austria



Austrian stamps have long been renowned for their quality, not only for the printing but also for the expressivity of the topics presented. The latter quality was surely the decisive factor that made 99 collectors from 26 countries choose the Austrian issue for the 100th birth anniversary of Leonard Bernstein as the most popular music stamp of 2018 (Austria 6.7.2018, Michel 3418). The stamp was designed by Regina Simon on the basis of a photo of Paul de Hueck. Regina Simon, who has designed more than 30 stamps for Austrian Post since 2014, will now be awarded the 2019 Yehudi Menuhin Trophy for her Bernstein stamp.
For 2018, 66 stamps from 54 postal administrations were available. With this year’s award, Austrian Post can celebrate its sixth win in the annual competition for the “Most Popular Music Stamp”, which has been held since 1980.
 



Second place in the voting also went to a Leonard Bernstein stamp, the Hungarian issue designed by Péter Nagy, which was chosen by 83 collectors (Hungary 2.3.2018, Michel 5943).




Third place was for the stamp showing singer-songwriter John Lennon in the American ‘Music Icons’ series (USA 7.9.2018). This stamp, designed by Neal Ashby on the basis of a 1974 photo by Bob Gruen, received votes from 75 collectors.

Have a look to the candidates for the most popular music stamp 2018