Category: Stamps

Stamp of the Month: August 2017




Umberto Giordano
Italy 28.8.1967
 
The Italian composer Umberto Menotti Maria Giordano was born in Foggia on August 28, 1867, he died in Milan on November 12, 1948. August 2017 marks the 150th anniversary of his birth.
Umberto Giordano studied piano, orchestration, conducting and scenic composition at the Conservatory of Naples. In 1888 he caused a sensation with his first opera “Mariana”, when he finished as the youngest participant in a competition among 73 candidates the 6th Place. With his second opera “Mala vita” he created in 1891/92 one of the first operas in the style of verismo. Although Giordano also composed lyrical and romantic operas, his verismo operas were especially successful. With his striking operas Giordano therefore applies in addition to Pietro Mascagni and Ruggiero Leoncavallo as the leading exponent of verismo.
 



 
 
The video shows Anna Netrebko performing the aria “La mamma morta” from Umberto Giordano’s opera “Andrea Chenier”.

Stamp of the Month: July 2017

Astor Piazzolla
Argentina 9.8.1997 / 11.11.2000






The Argentine composer Astor Pantaleón Piazzolla was born in Mar del Plata on March 11, 1921. He died in Buenos Aires on July 4, 1992. This year, his death marks the 25th time.
 
In 1939, Astor Piazzolla became a member of a tango orchestra. He started composition lessons in 1940. In the early 50s he received several national awards for his orchestral and chamber music. With a scholarship he studied with Nadia Boulanger in Paris. He then founded his own orchestra and began to reinterpret the tango. In total he composed more than 300 tangos and music for nearly 50 films. Many of his tangos are not danceable in the traditional sense, but music for listening. His “Tango Nuevo” maintains the harmony of the tango, but combines it with elements from jazz and classical music.
 



 
 
The video shows a performance of Piazzolla’s composition “Libertango” (1973) with the “Russian Philharmonic” in Moscow on September 30, 2010.

Fête de la Musique 2017


The “Fête de la Musique”, first conducted in France in 1982, has evolved into a global music festival. Musicians, choirs, orchestras, bands and all organizations that have something to do with music, are called to get involved with any action to that day.







Already in 1998 France issued a stamp for the Fête de la Musique
 

Since stamp collectors hardly can go out on the street with their stamps, members of Motivgruppe Musik have compiled a colorful bouquet of stamps to which you can listen to the associated music.
Enjoy stamps & music !
 
Classic Music Opera Dance Popular Music Rock  Stamps & Music

Stamp of the Month: June 2017


Johann Wenzel Stamitz

Czechoslovakia 12.5.1957


The Bohemian composer and violinist Johann Wenzel Stamitz was born in Deutschbrod on 17 June 1717th He died on 30 March 1757 at the age of only 39 years in Mannheim. 2017 the 300th anniversary of his birthday.
 
Johann Wenzel Stamitz studied in Jihlava and Prague. In 1741 he came as a traveling violinist virtuoso to Mannheim. Elector Carl Theodor von der Pfalz hired him for his court orchestra and appointed him in 1743 concertmaster of the Mannheim court orchestra. In 1750 he became director of the court music. Already in 1747 Stamitz builded the violin class at the Mannheim court orchestra. Until today, he is considered to be the founder of the famous Mannheim School which had great influence on the development of the concert symphony and the orchestral culture in Europe.



 



 
The video shows the Chamber Orchestra Seoul under the direction of Charles Neidich performing the Clarinet Concerto in B flat Major by Johann Stamitz. Soloist: Jaehee Choi.

Stamp of the Month: May 2017


Ella Fitzgerald
Bulgaria April 2017

Ella Fitzgerald was born on April 25, 1917 in Newport News, Virginia. She died on June 15, 1996 in Beverly Hills, California. This year she would have been 100 years old.
 
Ella Fitzgerald made her debut as a singer with seventeen in a talent contest at the Apollo Theater in Harlem. In 1935, Chick Webb hired her for his big band. In 1941 she began her solo career and became one of the greatest jazz singers.


Her repertoire ranged from swing to bebop, blues, bossa nova, samba, gospel and hip-hop to jazzy Christmas songs. Her trademark was scat singing, which was co-developed by her. To date, none has the lightness of phrasing and her remarkable vocal range of three octaves: both allowed her to improvise with her voice just like a jazz instrumentalist. Fitzgerald’s best recordings include their songbooks of the most important American composers, with which she made monuments. Another important recording is the complete recording of the opera “Porgy and Bess”, which she recorded with Louis Armstrong. Ella Fitzgerald won 13 Grammys and was awarded the National Medal of Arts in 1987.
 



 
 
The video shows excerpts of a studio recording of German ZDF TV for the program “Ella Fitzgerald – The First Lady of Jazz” (1974).

Stamp of the Month: April 2017


Scott Joplin
USA 9.7.1983

Scott Joplin was born between June 1867 and January 1868 in Linden, Texas. He died on April 1, 1917 in New York City. 2017 marks his 100th memorial anniversary.
 
 
The American composer Scott Joplin played violin as a child and received piano lessons from the age of seven. Already in the age of fifteen he was traveling as a pub pianist in Texas and Louisiana. For a time he lived in St. Louis, where he played in honky-tonks and saloons.


From 1895 he composed numerous pieces, mainly for his own use as well as for his vocal group “The Texas Medley Quartet”. In addition to around 80 Rags he composed some works for the stage. Scott Joplin is considered the “Finisher of Ragtime”, a jazz style, which connects elements of the romantic piano music with African-American folklore.
 



 
The video shows the jazz band “Tuba Skinny” from New Orleans with Scott Joplin’s “Maple Leaf Rag”. Formed in in 2009, Tuba Skinny has steadily evolved from a loose collection of street musicians into a solid ensemble dedicated to bringing the traditional New Orleans sound to audiences around the world.

Stamp of the Month: March 2017


Zoltán Kodály
Hungary 16.7.2007

Zoltán Kodály was born on 16 December 1882 in Kecskemét. He died on 6 March 1967 in Budapest. 2017 is the 50th anniversary of his death.



The Hungarian composer, music teacher and ethnomusicologist Zoltán Kodály learned early to play the violin and studied composition at the Franz Liszt Academy of Music in Budapest from 1900 onwards. From 1907 he taught music theory and composition there. Kodály dealt with fundamental questions of music education and has authored numerous books. Together with his friend Béla Bartók he collected more than 3500 Hungarian folk songs, which he examined scientifically. Since 1963 Zoltán Kodály was President of the International Folk Music Council (IFMC) and 1961-1967 editor of the journal “Studia musicologica Academiae Scientiarum Hungaricae”.
 



 
 
The video shows the Rajkó Orchestra performing at the Synagogue in Budapest. The composition “Dances of Galánta” is influenced by the music of Sinti and Roma.

Stamp of the Month: February 2017




Gioachino Rossini
San Marino 12.2.1999

Gioachino Rossini was born on 29 February 1792 in Pesaro. He died on 13 November 1868 in Passy near Paris. 2017 his birthday comes up for the 225th time.

The Italian composer Gioachino Rossini is one of the world’s most important opera composers. In addition to around 50 operas he composed instrumental music, a number of cantatas, hymns and choruses and spiritual works. His operas “The Barber of Seville” and “Cinderella” are part of the standard repertoire of almost all opera houses.
 

 
 
The video shows the Tonkünstler Orchestra of Lower Austria under the direction of Andrés Orozco-Estrada with the overture to Rossini’s “The Barber of Seville” at the Summer Night Gala 2012 in Grafenegg.


British Music Icon: David Bowie

The series “British music icons” of Royal Mail will continue on March 14 with a set of stamps commemorating David Bowie.
 

The six stamps show the covers from following albums: Hunky Dory (1971), Aladdin Sane (1973), Heroes (1977), Let’s Dance (1983), Earthling (1997) and Blackstar (2016).
 

The sheet of four is showing pictures of live concerts from various tours: “Ziggy Stardust Tour” (1973), “The Stage Tour” (1978), “Serious Moonlight Tour” (1983), “A Reality Tour” (2004) and “Glass Spider Tour” (1987 / sheet margin).
 
The stamps can be pre-ordered from the Royal Mail Online Shop.