Category: Music

Stamp of the Month: July 2024

Felipe Pinglo Alva

The Peruvian poet and songwriter Felipe Pinglo Alva was born on July 18, 1899 in Lima. He died on May 13, 1936 at the age of 36 and was buried in the Presbítero Maestro, the “Cemetery of the Masters”. July 2024 will mark the 125th anniversary of his birthday.
 

Peru 7.5.2007

Felipe Pinglo Alva grew up in poverty. A natural musical talent, he earned money as a teenager by playing the songs of the military bands by ear in the central square. In 1917, at the age of 18, he composed his first vals, “Amelia”, which immediately became a popular song. Until his early death, he composed around 300 songs, many of which were unfortunately lost or only survive in fragments. The reason for this is his affection for the poorer classes of society, which led to Pinglo being vilified during several political periods and his songs being banned, for example during the dictatorship of Óscar R. Benavides.
Today Felipe Pinglo Alva is considered the father of Peruvian “Musica criolla”, a music in 3/4 time that is characterized by artistic guitar work. The lyrics are usually about lost love or the Lima of yesteryear. Felipe Pinglo Alva’s music is deeply rooted in the people and has been covered by numerous well-known Latin American artists.



The video shows soprano Silvia Vásquez performing the song “Recuerdo mío” by Felipe Pinglo Alva at a spontaneous meeting on International Women’s Day 2024.

Stamp of the Month: June 2024

Darius Milhaud

The French composer Darius Milhaud was born on September 4, 1892 in Marseille. He died on June 22, 1974 in Geneva. June 2024 will mark the 50th anniversary of his death.
 
Milhaud’s musical education began with violin lessons at the age of 7. From 1909 he studied the instrument at the conservatory in Paris. However, he gave up these studies three years later and studied composition and conducting with Vincent d’Indy, among others. While still a student, he composed several songs based on poems by contemporary French poets and his first opera, “La brebis égarée”. As an attaché to the French ambassador in Rio de Janeiro, he became acquainted with Brazilian folklore and popular music and after the First World War he joined the “Groupe des Six” in France.

France 27.4.1985
In 1940, Milhaud emigrated to the USA. From 1947 he was professor of composition at the Mills College in Oakland and from 1948 he also headed a composition class at the Conservatory in Paris. His students included Dave Brubeck, Burt Bacharach, Karlheinz Stockhausen and Iannis Xenakis.

Israel 25.4.1995

Milhaud’s catalogue of works as a composer contains more than 400 entries from all traditional musical genres such as opera, symphonic music, concertos, chamber and vocal music and songs. In addition, he composed several film scores and is considered the classical composer of his generation whose music came closest to the then emerging jazz.


The video shows the Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra under the direction of the young German-Japanese conductor Erina Yashima (*1986) with the ballet music “La Création du Monde” op. 81a by Darius Milhaud. The work is considered an early example of the influence of jazz on classical music.

Stamp of the Month: May 2024

Charles Aznavour

The Armenian-French chansonnier, songwriter, composer and film actor (real name Aznavourian) was born on May 22, 1924 in Paris. He died in Mouries on October 1, 2018, aged 94. May 2024 will be the 100th anniversary of his birthday.
 
Charles Aznavour began his career in the 1940s. In 1946 Edith Piaf became aware of him and took him on a tour of France and the USA. His international breakthrough as a soloist was the “Charles Aznavour Show” at the “Alhambra Maurice Chevalier” in Paris in the winter of 1960/61.

Frankreich 30.5.2024


Armenien 11.10.2018
During his long musical career he wrote more than 1,200 songs, which he presented on numerous tours and on albums that sold around two hundred million in five languages. As an actor, Charles Aznavour appeared in more than 90 films and as an author he published 14 books.
Charles Aznavour was one of the most famous French singers internationally. At the same time he was one of the most prominent Armenians in the world. Since the earthquake in 1988 he has been very committed to the country. In 2008 he was granted Armenian citizenship. He was Armenia’s representative to UNICEF, Armenia’s ambassador to Switzerland and the country’s representative to the United Nations in Geneva.


The video shows Charles Aznavour singing “La Mamma”, one of his most famous chansons.

200 years of the 9th Symphony by Ludwig van Beethoven

All People Become Brothers
1824 – 2024: 200th anniversary of the first performance of
Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony


Uruguay 27.10.2020: Kärntnertortheater in Vienna
and excerpt from the autograph for the 4th movement.

On May 7, 2024 we will celebrate the 200th anniversary of the first performance of Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony in the Kärntnertortheater in Vienna.
As early as mid-1792, shortly before his departure for Vienna, Beethoven confided to the Bonn university professor Fistenich that he wanted to set Schiller’s poem “An die Freude” to music. But it was not until 1815/1816 that the first sketches of the 9th Symphony were created. During the summer months of 1821, 1822 and 1823, Beethoven worked on the composition in the health resort of Baden near Vienna. Although the intention of setting Schiller’s hymn to music accompanied Beethoven throughout most of his life, it was not until 1822 that he decided to use the verses in the
finale of the 9th Symphony. In the late summer and autumn of 1823, the composer worked on the draft of the fourth and final movement of the symphony, the “Ode to Joy”. Beethoven completed the composition of the symphony in the winter of 1823/1824 in his apartment on Ungargasse in Vienna.
The premiere of the 9th Symphony took place on May 7, 1824 at a concert that Beethoven organized in the Kärntnertortheater in Vienna. The conductor Michael Runde conducts with the deaf Beethoven. The soloists are Henriette Sontag (soprano), Caroline Unger (alto), Anton Haizinger (tenor) and Joseph Seipelt (baritone).

Jersey 26.3.2020: Score from the first movement


Monaco 15.10.1970: “Ode to Joy” Baritone voice notes

That evening, Beethoven experienced one of the greatest triumphs of his career. After the second movement, the Scherzo, a storm of applause broke out. The composer, who is extremely focused and of course has his back to the audience, doesn’t notice anything because of his deafness until Caroline Unger makes him turn around. The concert continues, and the third movement and the exceptionally long finale also impress the listeners. The big final crescendo sends both performers and listeners into ecstasy. Then the room seems to explode. The audience goes wild with enthusiasm. Because they know, of course, that Beethoven is insensitive to even very loud statements, people wave hats and white handkerchiefs. Beethoven, who is called forward five times – even the imperial family is usually only called three times – stoically accepts the frenetic applause.
On January 19, 1972, the Council of Europe adopted the melody of “Ode to Joy” as its own anthem and commissioned the conductor Herbert von Karajan to arrange three versions: for piano, for wind instruments and for orchestra. In 1985, the instrumental version was adopted by the heads of state and government of the European Communities as the official anthem of the European Union. 
Didier Lachnitt (Quellen: Jan Caeyer „Beethoven, Der einsame Revolutionär“; Internet Recherche
 

9th Symphony performed by the Vienna Philharmonic under the direction of Leonard Bernstein.


“Ode to Joy” (European anthem) performed by the Saarland State Orchestra under General Music Director Sébastien Rouland.

Stamp of the Month: April 2024

Duke Ellington

The American pianist and influential jazz musician Edward Kennedy “Duke” Ellington was born on April 29, 1899 in Washington, D.C., he died on May 24, 1974 in New York City. April 2014 marks the 125th anniversary of his birthday.
 
The seven-year-old didn’t enjoy lessons from his mother, who wanted to teach him to play the piano. It wasn’t until he was fourteen that his interest in music awoke. At the age of 17 he began his career as a professional musician and soon made a name for himself as a piano accompanist and bandleader for his band “The Washingtonians”. When the famous King Oliver left the famous Cotton Club in New York City in 1927, Ellington was offered the job as house band in New York’s most renowned nightclub at the time. Gradually, the “Washingtonians” became the Duke Ellington

USA 29.4.1986

USA 16.7.2008
Orchestra, which achieved national fame through regular radio broadcasts from the Cotton Club.
With his role as bandleader, Ellington contributed significantly to the development of swing as a big band style. After leaving the Cotton Club in 1931, he worked for several record companies and film studios and went on numerous tours throughout the United States and Western Europe from 1933 to the 1960s.
Ellington experimented with his orchestra throughout his life. When he began composing and arranging specifically for the different voices of his orchestra in the 1940s, the band reached its creative peak. Ellington worked with several modern jazz musicians. Duke Ellington wrote almost 2,000 compositions, around a hundred of which are now considered jazz standards. As the popularity of swing declined, he composed longer pieces based on classical music.


The video features live performances by Duke Ellington & His Orchestra with some
of his most famous compositions.

Stamp of the Month: March 2024

Bedřich Smetana

The Czech composer Bedřich Smetana was born on March 2, 1824 in Litomyšl and died on May 12, 1884 in Prague. March 2024 will be the 200th anniversary of his birthday.
 
Smetana began taking violin and piano lessons at the age of four. After attending high school, he studied piano and composition in Prague from 1843 to 1847 and also worked as a music teacher. In 1848 he opened his own private music school with the help of his friend Franz Liszt.

Czechoslovakia 4.6.1949

Czech Republic 14.2.2024
Allegorical illustrations for the cycle “My Fatherland”

In 1856 Smetana left his homeland for political reasons and headed the Philharmonic Society in Gothenburg for five years. After his return he supported the Czech national movement and led the Hlahol patriotic singing society from 1863 to 1865. From 1865 to 1869 he conducted the Czech Philharmonic concerts, worked as a music critic for the newspaper Národní listy in 1864/1865 and was first conductor of the Czech interim theater České Prozatimní Divadlo from 1866 to 1874. When he fell ill in 1874, he retreated to the countryside to compose.
 
Bedřich Smetana composed eight operas, of which “The Bartered Bride” (1866) and the Czech national opera “Libussa” (1869–1872) are the most famous. In addition to the six-part cycle “My Fatherland,” he composed four other orchestral works, chamber music, piano music and three works for organ.

The video shows the symphony orchestra of the Kranj High School (Slovenia) under the direction of Nejc Avbelj with the symphonic poem “The Moldau” (Czech: Vltava) from the cycle “My Fatherland” (Má vlast) by Bedřich Smetana.

Stamp of the Month: February 2024

Oskar Merikanto


Finland 5.8.1968

The Finnish composer Frans Oskar Merikanto was born on August 5, 1868 in Helsinki and died on February 17, 1924 in Hausjärvi-Oitti. February 2024 will mark the 100th anniversary of his death.
 
After publishing his first organ and piano concerto in 1887, Oskar Merikanto studied organ, piano, music theory and composition in Leipzig and Berlin. In 1892 he became organist at what is now St. John’s Church in Helsinki, a position he held until his death.From 1911 to 1922 he was opera conductor at what is now the Finnish
National Opera. He also worked as an organ teacher at the Church Music School and the Helsinki Music Institute and was considered Finland’s leading organ expert throughout the country for many years.
Oskar Merikanto composed three operas, violin, piano and organ pieces, choral works and songs. His musical play “Pohjan neiti” from 1898 (“Miss of the North”) is considered the first opera in the Finnish language. His melodic and folk songs, which he composed to Finnish, Swedish and German texts, are also well known.

 

The video shows, among other dancers, the later French professional dancer Julien Conti with his partner Cassandra Cauvemberg at a junior dance competition in 2014/2015 with “Valse Lente” op. 33 by Oskar Merikanto.

Stamp of the Month: January 2024

Josef Suk


Czechoslovakia 12.5.1957
The Czech composer and violinist Josef Suk was born on January 4, 1874 in Křečovice near Prague and died on May 29, 1935 in Benešov near Prague. January 2024 will be the 150th anniversary of his birthday.
 
Being the son of a teacher and church musician, Josef Suk received lessons in violin, piano and organ from his father. From 1885 he studied violin, piano and composition at the Prague Conservatory, the latter with his future father-in-law Antonín Dvořák. In 1891, Suk took over as second violin in the new founded violin quartett of the Prague Conservatory. With this so-called “Czech Quartet”, one of the most important ensembles of his time, Josef Suk gave over 4,000 concerts throughout Europe in around 40 years. From 1922 he taught as a professor of violin and composition at the Prague Conservatory, of which he was also rector from 1930.
As a composer, Josef Suk created two symphonies, 16 other orchestral works, 30 piano works, chamber music, songs and choral works and two incidental music.
 
The video shows the Collegium Instrumentale Saarbrücken under the direction of Vilmantas Kaliunas with the 1st movement (Andante con moto) from the Serenade for String Orchestra in E flat major by Josef Suk. The recording was made in March 2013 at the spring concert at the University of Music in Saarbrücken.

Stamp of the Month: December 2023

Maria Callas


Griechenland 12.10.2023
The Greek soprano Maria Callas (real name Maria Anna Cecilia Sofia Kalogeropoulou) was born on December 2, 1923 in New York. She died on September 16, 1977 in Paris.
December 2023 will be the 100th anniversary of her birthday.
 
Read an article from our bulletin “Der Musikus”
 
Maria Callas – There can only be one
 
And listen to a historical recording with Maria Callas as Violetta and Enrico Caruso as Alfredo singing the aria “Libiam ne’ lieti calici” from the first act of the opera “La Traviata” by Giuseppe Verdi.

 

Stamp of the Month: November 2023

Lou Koster


Luxembourg 18.2.2003
The Luxembourgish composer Marie Louise “Lou” Koster was born on May 7, 1889 in Luxembourg and died on November 17, 1973 in her hometown. November 2023 will mark the 50th anniversary of her death.
 
Lou Koster received music lessons from her grandfather Franz Ferdinand Hoebich (1813–1900), the very first bandmaster of the Luxembourg military band. During the last years of the silent film era, Lou played piano and violin with
her sisters Lina and Laure in Luxembourg cinemas to accompany the films. In 1906, Lou Koster became one of the first students at the newly founded conservatory in Luxembourg. In 1908, just 19 years old, she became a lecturer in violin and piano at this university.
Lou Koster created an extensive oeuvre of 322 compositions. At first she mainly composed waltzes and marches, which were played by the Luxembourg Philharmonic Orchestra from 1933 and broadcast on the radio. Chamber music, piano and orchestral works, works for children’s choir, fairy tale plays, as well as operas and operettas followed later. After her retirement, from 1954 onwards, she devoted herself primarily to composing songs in the three languages spoken in the country. Her greatest success was the choral ballad “Der Geiger von Echternach” (The violinist from Echternach), which she worked on until shortly before her death.
 

The video shows the Luxembourgish soprano Noémie Sunnen (*1978), who suffers from ALS, accompanied by Annie Kraus, with the song “Akaziebléi” (Acacia Blossom) by Lou Koster. The recording was made on July 5, 2017 at a benefit concert at the Luxembourg Conservatory for patients with ALS (amyotrophic lateral sclerosis).