Category: Music

Stamp of the Month: October 2024

Charles Ives


USA 12.9.1997
The American composer Charles Edward Ives was born on October 20, 1874 in Danbury, Connecticut. He died on May 19, 1954 in New York City. October 2024 will mark the 150th anniversary of his birth.
 
As the son of an army bandmaster, Charles Ives was interested in the works of Johann Sebastian Bach from an early age and in 1889 he was the youngest paid organist in Connecticut. In organ concerts he organized himself, he played opera arrangements and works by Bach and Mendelssohn.
In 1894 he began studying composition at Yale University in New Haven. After completing his studies, however, he decided to learn a conventional profession because he believed he had to make musical compromises if he wanted to make a living from music. He became an insurance salesman and founded his own insurance company in 1907. This enabled him to amass a considerable fortune, which he used to finance concerts, publications and recordings by composer friends.
Charles Ives composed music in his free time. However, his penchant for musical experimentation and the use of dissonance was largely ignored throughout his life. As a result, many of his works remained unperformed for a long time. Only after his death did interest in his music gradually grow. Today he is considered one of America’s most important composers.
Although Charles Ives wrote many songs with piano accompaniment, his instrumental music is best known today. The most famous piece is probably the “Variations on ‘America'”. The most striking example of his love of experimentation is “The Unanswered Question” from 1906, which was used several times in the 1990s as film music for death scenes. Another characteristic feature of his music is the inclusion of functional music (marches, dances, church hymns, etc.) and the use of quotations from music history, especially from the work of Ludwig van Beethoven.
 

The video features the University of Michigan Symphony Band conducted by Michael Haithcock performing “Variations on ‘America'” by Charles Ives, composed in 1892.

Stamp of the Month: September 2024

Richard Strauss

The German composer and conductor Richard Strauss was born on June 11, 1864 in Munich. He died on September 8, 1949 in Garmisch-Partenkirchen. September 2024 will mark the 75th anniversary of his death.
 
As the son of a musician, Richard Strauss began composing at the age of six. He took composition lessons at high school and by his 18th birthday had already composed 140 works, a number of which had already been performed. On the recommendation of the conductor Hans von Bülow, he was appointed court music director in Meiningen in 1885, and a year later he was appointed third conductor at the Munich Court Opera. From 1889 to 1894 he was second conductor in Weimar, where his importance as a composer grew with the premieres of “Don Juan”, “Death and Transfiguration” and “Macbeth”.

Berlin 18.9.1954


Austria 23.5.1969
After his marriage to the soprano Pauline de Ahna, he became first conductor at the Court Opera in Munich in 1894, where he finally established his world fame as a composer with his tone poems such as “Thus Spoke Zarathustra”. In 1898 Strauss went to Berlin, where his operas “Salome” and “Elektra” (in collaboration with the poet Hugo von Hofmannsthal) became the epitome of “modern” opera. The director Max Reinhardt ensured effective productions of his works and in 1911 Richard Strauss achieved an absolute success with the public with “Rosenkavalier”, the popularity of which continues to this day. In 1919 Strauss was hired as director of the Vienna State Opera and with new, major productions prevented – in his own words – the venerable opera house from becoming an “opera museum”.
In 1920, Strauss, Hofmannsthal and Reinhardt founded the Salzburg Festival as a cultural contrast to the consequences of the First World War. In the 1920s, Strauss worked on lighter material such as the musical comedies “The Egyptian Helen” and “Arabella”. After the death of Hugo von Hofmannsthal in 1929, Richard Strauss found a new lyricist for his opera “The Silent Woman” in the Jewish poet Stefan Zweig, a decision that had a decisive influence on his career. As the most famous German musician of his time, Strauss was appointed President of the Reich Music Chamber by the Nazis in 1933. The fact that Strauss, whose daughter-in-law was Jewish, opposed the “Aryan paragraph”, however, led to his forced resignation in 1935. He spent most of the Second World War in seclusion in Vienna and later fled to Switzerland with his wife. Shortly before his death, Richard Strauss received recognition once again: Thomas Beecham organized a Strauss festival in London in 1948, and in Munich he received numerous honors on his 85th birthday in 1949.
 

The video shows the suite from “Der Rosenkavalier” op. 59 by Richard Strauss, which was performed on January 17, 2020 by the WDR Symphony Orchestra under the direction of its chief conductor Cristian Măcelaru in the Cologne Philharmonic Hall.
 

Austria 1.6.1989

Austria 11.6.2014

Germany 16.9.1999

Debussy in Jersey

Debussy in Jersey

Click on the image to watch a video about the creation of the “Debussy in Jersey” stamp series. Young stamp designer Will Bertram explains his approach to illustrating the La Corbiere stamp from the new “Debussy in Jersey” stamp series. The stamp series shows six places that the French composer Claude Debussy visited with his lover during his visit to the island of Jersey in 1904. The shape of the wave on the 98 pence stamp is inspired by the painting “Under the Wave of Kanagawa” (also known as “The Great Wave”) by the Japanese painter Hokusai. Debussy had a print of the “Great Wave” hanging on the wall of his studio.
 

Stamp of the Month: August 2024

Dinah Washington


USA 16.6.1993
The American jazz singer Dinah Washington was born on August 29, 1924 in Tuscaloosa, Alabama. She died on December 14, 1963 in Detroit. August 2024 will mark the 100th anniversary of her birthday.
 
When Dinah Washington (actually Ruth Lee Jones) was three years old, the family moved to Chicago. There she sang in a church choir as a child. At the age of 15 she won an amateur competition that launched her professional career. At first Dinah led a church choir and played piano in clubs.
From 1943 to 1946 she sang in Lionel Hampton’s band, with whom she had her first hits. In 1947 she recorded her first R&B records for Mercury Records and in 1950 she landed her first hit in the Billboard pop charts with the song “I Wanna Be Loved”. In 1957 she performed at the Newport Jazz Festival. Her international breakthrough came in 1959 with the song “What a Diff’rence a Day Makes”, for which she was awarded a Grammy for best R&B performance.
 

The video shows a live TV appearance by Dinah Washington on the West Coast Television Show “Bandstand Revue” in 1955. The song “That’s all I want from you” was written by the Austrian composer Fritz Rotter (1900-1984), who emigrated to the USA in 1933 and worked there under the pseudonym M. Rotha.

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.