Leo Delibes

Leo Delibes was a French composer renowned for his operas and ballets. He was born in 1836 at St-Germain-du-Val in northwest France and studied in Paris under Adolphe Adam and others, becoming an accompanist at the Théâtre-Lyriques in 1853, for whom he composed his first opera, Maître Griffard, in 1857.

In 1863 he became an accompanist, and later second chorus-master, at the Paris Opéra. His attention turned to ballet and he won fame with his ballets Sylvia and Coppélia.

However, opera drew him back and he wrote three for the Opéra-Comique, the most famous of them being Lakmé in 1883.

This opera was in keeping with the current vogue for the “mysterious east”, which was also an Opéra-Comique tradition. Delibes embellished his tale of a love affair between an English lieutenant and the title character, an Indian girl, with a wealth of mock-Oriental melody.

One admirer of Delibes’s tunefulness and decorative scoring, both in his operas and ballets, was Tchaikovsky, who preferred his music of that of both Brahms and Wagner.

Leo Delibes died in Paris in 1891 at the age of 54.

© John Welford

Mozart and billiards

 

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart was born in 1756 and died in 1791 at the age of only 35. During his short life he composed a huge number of musical works, many of which are still performed today. However, he also found time for recreation and two of his chief delights were billiards and bowls. Both these games are played today by many people, although the game of billiards is less common than snooker. In Mozart’s day, he would have played by propelling the balls with a pusher rod rather than the modern snooker cue.

There is little doubt that he pursued these games not just their own sake but because he found in the movement and control of a rolling ball congenial accompaniment to the movement within his own copious and productive mind.

There are recorded instances of him stopping in the middle of a game of billiards to make notes, or of him humming, as he played, a theme which was later found in one of his works. It is known that he was particularly fond of playing billiards alone while keeping his notebook handy – although the notes he made were always only the briefest indication of an idea, for he did his actual composing in his head.

The ever-flowing rhythms in his mind induced him incessantly to tap away at the table, a chair-back, or anything to hand, and there is no doubt that he spent some of his most fruitful hours alone at the billiard table.

© John Welford

 

The 10 symphonies that everyone should own

Anyone who wants to feel that they are really “up” in classical music cannot ignore the symphony, which has inspired so many of the world’s greatest composers to give of their best. The experience of sitting in a concert hall as a hundred musicians play their hearts out, guided by an expert conductor, is second to none, and modern technology gives the music lover the chance to bring the concert hall to his or her own home.

But which symphonies to choose? I suggest that you approach the problem by selecting composers first, and then going for symphonies that are typical of their work. If you like what you hear, then you are probably going to want to find other works by them, not only symphonies but also concertos, choral works, operas, chamber music or whatever.

So here is my list of ten great composers and one symphony from each of them:

1. Mozart. Symphony No 38 (The Prague). Mozart has to be on the list as the greatest of all composers in so many branches of music. I have chosen the Prague because I like it, because it has all the hallmarks of Mozart at his best, and also for one very special reason. One theme from the symphony has been suggested as the genesis of the mysterious “enigma” of Elgar’s Enigma Variations. It is known that Elgar was very fond of this symphony, and it is worth listening very carefully to it to catch the tune. I am sure it is there, but only fleetingly. Mozart wrote three more symphonies after this one, which number among his greatest works, all composed within a three-month period in 1788, after which he abandoned the symphony altogether. 

2. Beethoven. Symphony No 7. So why not No 6 (The Pastoral) or No 9 (The Choral)?  For me, the 2^nd movement allegretto is the most sublime of all of Beethoven’s slow movements, and no collection would be complete without it.

3. Schubert. Symphony No 8. (The Unfinished). Only two movements, but two that can be listened to over and over again. Many theories have been advanced as to why there are no more, but perhaps Schubert felt that he simply could not equal the perfection of what he had already written. For a very different experience, also listen to the 9^th Symphony, the “Great C Major”, which is equally unforgettable.

4. Berlioz. Symphonie Fantastique. A five-movement symphony that is also an example of a programme symphony, telling the story of a doomed love affair.  An eccentric symphony by an eccentric composer, with distinct gothic overtones including portrayals of an execution by guillotine and a witches’ sabbath. Berlioz only wrote one other symphony, which is almost a viola concerto, entitled “Harold in Italy”.

5. Brahms. Symphony No 1. Unlike many first symphonies, this is the work of a composer at the height of his maturity and powers, having taken him 14 years to complete. It is sometimes referred to as “Beethoven’s 10^th”, the comparisons being made from the time of its first performance. Having broken the log-jam, Brahms wrote three more symphonies in relatively quick succession.

6. Tchaikovsky. Symphony No 5. For me, this is most sublime piece of music, let alone symphony, ever written. All the movements share the quality of being utterly absorbing, so that it is impossible to do anything other than listen intently! Next, listen to the 6^th Symphony (the “Pathetique”) and then the 4^th.

7. Dvorak. Symphony No 9 (From the New World). The old world meets the new. Dvorak wrote it during his three years in New York and denied that he had actually used any American folk or spiritual themes in it, although the influence of this music is clearly very strong. You can then work your way back through his symphonies, all of which are delightful.

8. Mahler. Symphony No 5. A five-movement symphony, of which the 4^th, the Adagietto, is by far the best known, mainly because of its use in the film ‘Death in Venice.’ It is usually played as though it were a funeral march, but some conductors have speeded it up to a degree, which changes its character to that of a piece written as a tribute to a loved one, which is probably what the composer had in mind. Mahler’s 1^st Symphony is probably his most approachable, but most of the others are an acquired taste, being extremely long and complicated. His 8^th Symphony, for example, is known as the “Symphony of a Thousand” because of the huge chorus and orchestra originally used to perform it.

9. Sibelius. Symphony No 5. Written as a 50^th birthday present to himself, this three-movement symphony is notable for its rich orchestral colours, beautiful sustained melodies, and the finale that rolls on to its climax of six chords, punctuated by silence. Sibelius made many experiments with symphonic form, but after writing his single-movement 7^th Symphony in 1924 he wrote virtually no large-scale works for the remaining 33 years of his life.

10. Shostakovich. Symphony No 7. (Leningrad). The composer fought a life-long battle to preserve his artistic integrity against the frequently conflicting demands of the Soviet state. In this symphony written (at least in part) whilst living in a city under siege by the Nazis, he seems to have satisfied both criteria. It is immensely long and full of every emotion from the celebration of heroism to mourning for death and destruction. Shostakovich wrote 15 symphonies in all, many of them being massive in scope and full of emotion.

This selection clearly leaves many gaps, and many great symphonic composers are not included on a list that is a purely personal choice. There are probably 100 symphonies that every collector should own, but these should do for a start!

© John Welford

What - or who - killed Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart?

The who question is probably easier to answer than the what. The legend that Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart was murdered by his arch-rival Antonio Salieri was born soon after Mozart’s death in December 1791. However, the evidence for this is extremely thin and is countered by the fact that Mozart’s widow Constanze, a few years later, sent their son Franz to Salieri for tutoring, which would surely be highly unlikely if she thought that this was the man who had murdered the boy’s father.

The idea that Mozart was poisoned started doing the rounds very early on, due in part to the sudden decline in his health in November 1791, and also to his having said to Constanze that he feared that he had been given a dose of a poison called Aqua Tofana.

Although Salieri almost certainly had nothing to do with Mozart’s death, there was certainly a keen rivalry between the German and Italian groups of musicians then resident in Vienna. Aqua Tofana was reputed to be a tasteless and colourless blend of arsenic, lead and belladonna that had been invented in Palermo, Italy, by a certain Guilia Tofana. However, there is no evidence that such a thing ever existed other than as an urban myth.

Another form of poisoning could have been straight arsenic, but there is a problem there in that a single lethal dose would have led to a rapid as opposed to a lingering death, and a succession of smaller doses would have required the poisoner to have regular access to the victim. In Mozart’s case, that would have meant either Constanze or his doctor. Neither of them seem likely candidates for wanting Mozart to die.

Mozart’s final days were certainly unpleasant. He had suffered from a variety of ailments during his later years, including syphilis, typhoid, bronchitis, rheumatic fever and pneumonia. His symptoms towards the end included a high fever, sweating, nausea and incontinence. After two weeks of getting weaker he lapsed into a coma before dying.

What could have brought on this collapse if not poison? Maybe it was a less sensational form of poisoning, namely food poisoning. Mozart was fond of eating pork and he could easily have eaten a piece of badly cooked pork that harboured the trichinella worm. This can cause an infection called trichinosis, the symptoms of which are very similar to those suffered by Mozart.

Whatever the cause, the world was robbed of one of the greatest musical geniuses who ever lived, at the age of only 35. Who can tell what he might have produced had his life been considerably longer?

 © John Welford

William Crotch: Britain's answer to Mozart

William Crotch was a musical genius who might have become a British version of Mozart, had his talents for composition matched his undoubted ability as a performer. One thing the two certainly had in common was early promise.

William Crotch was born in Norwich, Norfolk, in 1775. His father was a carpenter who was keen on music and who built himself a pipe organ. Young William showed an interest in this instrument from as young as 18 months. At two years old he was able to play “God Save the King” and from the age of four he gave regular organ recitals in London. By the age of seven he was also a proficient violinist.

At eleven he was pupil-assistant to the organist of King’s and Trinity Colleges, Cambridge and at 14 he had an oratorio of his performed in the city. At 15 he was the organist of Christ Church, Oxford and at 22 he was the Professor of Music. He later became Principal of the Royal Academy of Music in London.

But his prodigious early talents did not extend to originality in terms of his compositions, which were no better nor worse than those of his contemporaries. Although he wrote a considerable amount that was popular at the time, particularly oratorios and other church music, none of it was of a standard that would secure immortality.

William Crotch had a much longer life than that of Mozart, who died at the age of 35. Crotch died in 1847 at the age of 72, fated to be forgotten by everyone except the music-lovers of his own generation.

© John Welford

François André Philidor: chess master and composer

 

François André Philidor had an unusual claim to fame in that he was both a chess master and a musician and composer. He lived during the 18^th century.

The Philidor family

There were three generations of musical Philidors, covering the period from around 1600 to 1800. They were largely instrumentalists at the courts of the French kings Louis XIV and XV, with their favourite instruments being the cromorne (a sort of oboe) and the tromba marina (a large single-stringed bowed instrument), although it is known that there were Philidor drummers, violinists and fife players.

As many as 14 Philidors have been identified by name, but it is probable that several others had musical talents.

François André Philidor

François André Philidor was the most renowned member of the family. He was born at Dreux (in the Eure-et-Loire region west of Paris) in 1726.  

He first came to public attention as a highly talented chess player, and toured as a virtuoso at the game before he was 20. As a young man he once played a game against the American ambassador to France, one Benjamin Franklin.

He often visited London, where the Chess Club eventually gave him a regular pension. He took on all sorts of challenges, including simultaneous matches against three opponents, Philidor being blindfolded.

His musical ability was not inconsiderable, and for a time he earned a living as a music teacher and copyist. When in London he heard the oratorios of Handel and began to compose similar works of his own.

He later turned to comic opera and produced a series of highly successful works in Paris. His place in the history of opera stems from his innovative use of dramatic ensembles. 

The French Revolution forced Philidor to flee Paris for London, which is where he died in 1795.

© John Welford

Thomas Arne, English composer

Thomas Arne was at one time regarded as second only to Handel among English composers (if Handel’s German birth is disregarded). However, he is only remembered today for one relatively short piece that was the finale of a much longer work that is now ignored.

Thomas Augustine Arne was born on 12^th March 1710, the son of a successful upholsterer in London’s Covent Garden. Thomas was educated at Eton and intended by his father for a career in law. However, Thomas was far more interested in music and the theatre, and secretly practiced on the spinet (a variety of harpsichord) in his bedroom, muffling the strings to escape parental detection when he should have been concentrating on his law books.

He also became proficient on the violin and led a small chamber band, again without his father’s knowledge. When his father eventually found out he was forgiven because he played so well.

Thomas must have been disconcerted by the fact that his sister Susanna was able to have a stage career as a noted contralto. However, this was the key to opening his own association with the theatre because he felt inspired to compose music for the stage after Susanna’s success in an opera in 1732.

His first operas were clearly well received, because he went on to write music to accompany a performance of Milton’s masque “Comus” in 1740. This was followed in the same year by “Alfred”, a masque written to celebrate the Royal House of Hanover and performed for the Prince of Wales at Cliveden, the Prince’s country residence. Frederick Prince of Wales was the eldest son of King George II and the father of the future King George III. He was a noted patron of the arts and Thomas Arne became his favourite composer.

The best remembered part of “Alfred” was the finale, which set the words of “Rule Britannia” (by James Thomson) to the tune that is still sung to this day every year at the Last Night of the Proms. Indeed, were it not for that particular piece of patriotic enthusiasm it is probable that the name of Thomas Arne would not be remembered at all.

Arne spent some time in Dublin during the 1750s and 1760s, a period that is notable for the oratorio “Abel” and the fact that he returned from his second visit after separating from his second wife, whom he left behind in Ireland.

One of Arne’s innovations was to present operas in the Italian style, with sung recitative instead of spoken dialogue. This proved to be a success, but his experiment of presenting operas in the original Italian of their source texts did not prove popular.

Apart from operas and oratorios, Arne wrote a large amount of incidental music, including noted settings of Shakespeare songs, catches, glees and instrumental pieces.

Thomas Arne died on 8th March 1778 at the age of nearly 68.

© John Welford

Famous composers of the Romantic Era

The Romantic era in music is generally taken to mean the period from about 1820 to 1920, which was a century during which a massive amount of music in all genres was produced, and it must also represent the greatest concentration of “famous” composers, if by that is meant those whose works are performed regularly today and which are instantly recognisable.

This was an age when composers wrote music that spoke to the heart and used it to express deep feelings and emotions. They were happy to break the rules and to experiment with new forms that might shock but might also strike a chord with their audiences. The audience was also an important factor, in that Romantic music was largely intended to be heard by the general public as opposed to private patrons and small elite audiences.

It is convenient to divide this era into sub-eras, each of which featured a large number of composers, but some stand out more than others.

The classification below relates to the birth dates of the composers rather than their active periods.


Classical/Romantic Transition

Ludwig van Beethoven (1770-1827, German). He is often regarded as the first Romantic composer, with his 9th Symphony (first performed in 1825) fitting the “Romantic” bill as a huge emotional outburst that crossed the boundary between symphony and opera with its 4th movement setting of Schiller’s Ode to Joy for soloists and chorus.

Carl Maria von Weber (1786-1826, German). He is known mostly for his operas, including “Der Freischütz” (first performed in1821) which belongs squarely in the Gothic tradition.

Gioachino Rossini (1792-1868, Italian). He was a prolific writer of operas (including The Barber of Seville) in his youth, but later retired from composing.

Franz Schubert (1797-1828, Austrian). He composed more than 600 songs as well as nine symphonies and a huge amount of chamber and sacred music.

Early Romantic Era

Hector Berlioz (1803-69, French). He ticked all the “Romantic” boxes by writing music for huge orchestral and choral forces, and his programmatic symphonies such as the Symphonie Fantastique, as well as his love of all things Gothic and his turbulent love life.

Felix Mendelssohn (1809-47, German). He is known for his highly expressive symphonies, concertos and overtures, plus a wealth of songs and music for chamber ensembles and solo piano. His “Hebrides Overture” of 1830 (otherwise known as “Fingal’s Cave”) is an early example of a tone poem or symphonic poem.

Frederic Chopin (1810-49, Polish). He never wrote anything that was not intended for the piano, played either as a solo instrument or with other instruments, including two piano concertos. He developed a number of musical forms, including the polonaise, prelude, nocturne and mazurka.

Robert Schumann (1810-56, German). At first he wrote little apart from piano music but later became a prolific composer of songs and other music, including four symphonies. The change was inspired by his love affair with Clara Wieck. He suffered from mental illness later in his life.

Franz Liszt (1811-86, Hungarian). He is best known for his piano works, included transcriptions of orchestral works by other composers. He also wrote symphonic poems, dances (such as his “Hungarian Rhapsodies”) and songs.

Richard Wagner (1813-83, German). He composed little apart from operas, some of which were based on German folklore. Many of these, such as the four-opera Ring Cycle, were large-scale works that demand a great deal from their audiences, hence the comment by Rossini that Wagner had “wonderful moments but dreadful quarters of an hour”.

Giuseppe Verdi (1813-1901, Italian). One of opera’s greatest exponents, his works included many that are performed today, including La Traviata, Rigoletto and Aida. His “Requiem” of 1874 is notable for its highly operatic scoring and orchestration.


Middle Romantic Era

Anton Bruckner (1824-96, Austrian). He is best known for his nine symphonies (plus his “Symphony No. 0”) which are massive in scope and construction. He also wrote some major sacred choral works.

Johann Strauss II (1825-99, Austrian). Known as the “Waltz King”, he was the chief composer of waltzes, polkas and other dance music during the heyday of Vienna as the entertainment capital of Europe. He also composed light operas including Die Fledermaus.

Johannes Brahms (1833-97, German). He was seen at first as the natural successor to Beethoven, with his long-awaited First Symphony being dubbed “Beethoven’s 10th”. His orchestral works included four symphonies and two piano concertos, and he also wrote many songs, much chamber music, and choral masterpieces such as “A German Requiem”.

Camille Saint-Saëns (1835-1921, French). A composer of symphonies, concertos, operas and chamber music who is best known for a piece he suppressed during his lifetime, namely the humorous and satirical “Carnival of the Animals”.

Max Bruch (1838-1920, German). He is best known for his ever-popular 1st Violin Concerto, which is highly melodic and typifies the Romantic style. He also wrote several other concertos plus four symphonies, songs, chamber music and his often heard “Scottish Fantasy” for violin and orchestra.


Late Romantic Era

Pyotr Tchaikovsky (1840-93, Russian). One of the most melodic of all composers, he wrote six symphonies, three piano concertos, a violin concerto, ten operas, three ballets, and a number of other orchestral works including the “1812 Overture” with cannon fire and church bells.

Antonin Dvořák (1841-1904, Czech). He was greatly influenced by the folk music of his native country, as evidenced by his “Slavonic Dances” of 1878 and 1886. The best known of his nine symphonies was his last, “From the New World”, in which he incorporated American themes and idioms gathered during a three-year stay in the United States.

Edvard Grieg (1843-1907, Norwegian). He is renowned for his Piano Concerto but also for his incidental music to Ibsen’s “Peer Gynt” and his “Holberg Suite”. Folk tunes from Norway pervade his music.

Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov (1844-1908, Russian). He wrote operas and orchestral works, such as the lushly romantic Scheherazade, and edited and completed the works of other Russian composers.

Edward Elgar (1857-1934, British). He could write music that was either lyrical and light, as in most of the “Enigma Variations”, or directly nationalistic, as in his “Pomp and Circumstance Marches”. His best-loved works include the passionate Violin Concerto of 1910 and the elegiac Cello Concerto of 1919.

Giacomo Puccini (1858-1924, Italian). He wrote some of the best-loved operas of all time that are regularly performed worldwide, including Tosca, La Bohème, Madame Butterfly and Turandot.


Transition to the 20th Century

Gustav Mahler (1860-1911, Austrian). He wrote nine completed symphonies, some of which were of large compass and highly experimental, using soloists and choruses as well as unusual orchestrations. He also excelled in song cycles, including the early “Lieder eines fahrenden Gesellen” and the late “Das Lied von der Erde”.

Claude Debussy (1862-1918, French). He has been termed an “impressionist” composer, who used both piano and orchestra to evoke mood and colour. Typical pieces are "Prélude à l'après-midi d'un faune", and “La Mer”.

Frederick Delius (1862-1934, British). Although he wrote several operas and much chamber music, he is best known for his evocative orchestral tone poems such as “On Hearing the First Cuckoo in Spring” and “A Song of Summer”.

Jean Sibelius (1865-1957, Finnish). Much of his music was deeply nationalistic in tone, particularly his orchestral overture “Finlandia” and his more lyrical “Karelia Suite”. He wrote seven symphonies and an often-played violin concerto.

Sergei Rachmaninov (1873-1943, Russian). Often dubbed the last Romantic, two of his four piano concertos (the second and third) are among the most popular ever played. He also composed three symphonies, a set of “Symphonic Dances” and his “Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini” that is a set of variations for piano and orchestra.

Maurice Ravel (1875-1937, French). Like Debussy, he was a musical impressionist, best known for his “Bolero” which consists of an extended theme that is repeated time after time with added orchestration and volume. Other works that are heard regularly include his “Piano Concerto in G”, his “Daphnis and Chloe” ballet suite and his orchestration of Modest Mussorgsky’s “Pictures at an Exhibition”.

As mentioned above, this is only a selection of composers who deserve to be termed “famous” and who fit into the Romantic mould. It would be quite possible to double the number and still leave out some important contributors to the era! It should be safe to say that some 70% of the music played on a popular “classical” music radio station, such as Classic FM in the United Kingdom, was composed during the 100-year period specified above, such is the enduring appeal of the music of the Romantic composers.

© John Welford

Nicolai Rimsky-Korsakov, Russian composer

Nicolai Rimsky-Korsakov was born on 6^th March 1844 at Tikhvin which is some 120 miles east of St Petersburg in Russia. His father was a retired civil governor who owned a considerable amount of land. His family was musical and Nicolai was soon discovered to have musical ability and perfect pitch, but he had no early ambition to devote himself to music.

At the age of 12 he entered the St Petersburg Naval College, his sole wish being to follow his older brother into the Russian Navy. He was taken to the opera by friends and was enchanted by the Persian music in Glinka’s “Ruslan and Ludmilla”. He continued to study the piano and produced a few small compositions but still with no plans to make a career from music.

He was introduced to the composer Mily Balakirev who in turn brought him into contact with Alexander Borodin and Modest Mussorgsky. Together with the lesser-known Cesar Cui, these composers (known to posterity as “The Five” or “The Mighty Handful”) devoted themselves to developing a specifically Russian style of musical composition. At the time of the group’s formation, Balakirev was the only professional musician among them.

Under pressure from Balakirev, who was the driving force behind The Five, Rimsky-Korsakov began work on a symphony but interrupted this to do what he had always wanted to do, namely set off on board a Navy ship, the Almaz, to pursue his seafaring career. He was away for three years, during which time he was able to see orchestral and operatic performances in London and New York.

On his return to St Petersburg in 1865, now aged 21, Rimsky-Korsakov felt free to go his own way in career terms, although he was now back under the influence of Balakirev, who was both a help and a hindrance. Balakirev had founded the Free School of Music in 1862 and, in order to raise funds for it, mounted a series a concerts for which The Five were pressured to write music. One such piece was Rimsky-Korsakov’s completed First Symphony.

He became firm friends with Mussorgsky, who encouraged him to write his “Sadko” tone poem. He also spent time working alongside Borodin while completing his opera “The Maid of Pskov”, which was inspired by the peasant dances he heard on the country estate where the two composers were staying.

In 1871, at the age of 27, he was surprised to be offered the post of Professor of Composition and Instrumentation at the St Petersburg Conservatory, and he was happy to accept it despite still being officially employed by the Navy, who in 1873 appointed him as Inspector of Military Bands. These posts enabled his full-time devotion to composition and the study of technique and orchestration. As an orchestrator he was eventually to become one of the greatest in Europe.

The themes that dominated the rest of Rimsky-Korsakov’s career as a composer were nationalism, orientalism and an interest in magic and fairy tales. These themes are apparent in such works as his collection of “A Hundred Russian Folk Songs”, the “Russian Easter Festival Overture”, and perhaps his best-known work today, “Scheherazade”, which is a set of symphonic poems based on the stories of the “Arabian Nights”.

During his lifetime, and for some time afterwards, Rimsky-Korsakov was probably better known as a composer of operas, although only a few are well-known today. These include “Sadko” (1896), which he developed from his earlier tone poem, “The Tale of Tsar Saltan” (1900) and “The Golden Cockerel” (1907). He also produced two revised versions of his friend Mussorgsky’s “Boris Godunov” (in 1896 and 1908) but modern preferences are for the original.

In his later life Rimsky-Korsakov was regarded as the leading figure of the musical world of St Petersburg, taking over this position from Balakirev (who in fact outlived him). He was instrumental, for example, in encouraging the early career of Igor Stravinsky, and other pupils at the Conservatory included Alexander Glazunov and Ottorino Respighi.

Despite being an “establishment” figure Rimsky-Korsakov took the side of the students in 1905 when they rebelled against the conservatism of the academic authorities. This was the year of the first Russian Revolution when the Tsar’s troops had massacred hundreds of peaceful protestors on 22^nd January, so showing dissent was a brave thing to do. For taking this stand Rimsky-Korsakov was dismissed from his post, but it made him a popular hero and he was later re-instated when his former pupil Glazunov was appointed Director and insisted on Rimsky-Korsakov’s return.

This incident was doubtless behind Rimsky-Korsakov’s choice of subject for his last opera, “The Golden Cockerel”, which features the stupidities of a Tsar and his officials. Not surprisingly the opera was banned by the censor and the composer never saw it performed.

Rimsky-Korsakov died on 21^st June 1908 from heart disease, at the age of 63. A number of his works are regularly performed to this day and are universally popular. However, apart from “Scheherazde” they tend to be shorter pieces such as the lively “Capriccio Espagnol” and the ever-popular “Flight of the Bumble Bee” (which is a short orchestral interlude from his opera “The Tale of Tsar Saltan”). Rimsky-Korsakov is justly renowned for these works, for his masterly orchestration, and for his work in furthering the careers of many other composers.

© John Welford

The Enigma Variations, by Sir Edward Elgar

The Enigma Variations is one of the most popular orchestral works written by the English composer Sir Edward Elgar (1857-1934). It comprises a theme and 14 variations, the last one also doubling as the work’s finale. It was composed in 1898-9 and was first performed in London on 19^th June 1899 when it was an immediate success.

Elgar was something of a late developer, and, at the age of 42, had produced plenty of chamber and choral music, but nothing that had really grabbed the public’s attention, and certainly no major works for full orchestra. By contrast, Mozart had clocked up 41 symphonies by the age of 32. After “Enigma”, Elgar was to go on to compose his Pomp and Circumstance Marches, two completed symphonies, his famous concertos for violin and for cello, and much more besides, all within a 20-year period that took him into his 60s.

The genesis of the work

The story of how the Enigma Variations came about is an interesting one. Elgar had had a tiring day giving violin lessons and he sat down after dinner in the evening at his piano, lit a cigar, and began doodling on the keys. His wife Alice remarked that she liked the tune he had played and Edward began to play around with it. He turned to Alice and asked her who it reminded her of. She replied that it sounded just like how their friend Billy Baker left the room, slamming the door behind him.

Elgar then had the idea of writing a whole series of musical portraits of people they knew, and the end result, entitled “Variations on an Original Theme”, was dedicated “To my friends pictured within”. The variations vary in length from under a minute (Variation IV is usually played in less than 30 seconds) to over four minutes (the majestic “Nimrod”). The finale, which is also Elgar’s self-portrait, runs to about five and a half minutes. Performances of the whole work normally stretch to about 33 minutes.

Portraits in music

Each variation was inscribed with the name, nickname or initials of the friend in question, and it has been possible to identify who each person was, with the exception of Variation XIII which was inscribed “Romanza: *** ”. It was long thought that this was Lady Mary Lygon, who was sailing to Australia at the time of composition, but another theory is that the subject was Helen Jessie Weaver, who was Elgar’s first love as a young man, but who had broken their engagement and emigrated to New Zealand. As it is, this wistful piece, coming just before the finale, quotes Mendelssohn’s Calm Sea and Prosperous Voyage on a solo clarinet above a repeated drum beat that represents the throb of a ship’s engines. Elgar would have kept the name hidden out of respect for his wife.

The variations provide a wide range of moods and orchestral colours, from the light and airy “Dorabella” to the swelling and solemn “big tune” of “Nimrod”. The subject of the latter was Elgar’s publisher and loyal supporter August Jaeger, to whom Elgar felt he owed a huge debt of gratitude for helping him through the hard times. The name is a pun on Jaeger’s name, which means “hunter” in German, with Nimrod being a character from Genesis who is described as “a mighty hunter”.

Elgar explained to Jaeger that he liked to imagine what each subject of the variation would have written “if they were asses enough to compose”. He therefore tried to get inside the person in question, so that the variation is not so much his view of them as their view of themselves. He also incorporated musical references to certain personal characteristics such as a laugh (in Variation VIII) or a stutter (in Variation X). In Variation XI the subject’s dog falls into the river and scrambles out with a bark. In Variation VI, representing a viola player, Elgar makes the viola players in the orchestra cross straight from the fourth to the second string, which is difficult to do without catching the third, which is presumably what the unfortunate “Ysobel” tended to do!

In the case of the Nimrod variation, one wonders how true it might be that these are largely imagined self-portraits, because if this is how August Jaeger regarded August Jaeger, he must have been a very conceited man! Variation IX stands out as the “star” of the Enigma Variations, often being played out of context, such as at the annual Remembrance Day ceremony at the Cenotaph in London’s Whitehall and many places besides. It is an adagio that brings to mind a Beethoven slow movement, which is a deliberate reference to Jaeger’s supposed encouragement of Elgar to the effect that the latter could do what Beethoven did and triumph above adversity.

What is the theme?

One feature of the Enigma Variations that has intrigued people ever since is what the theme actually is, hence the name “Enigma” which the piece soon acquired. Elgar called it “an original theme” and never divulged if there was more to it than that. In the program notes for the first performance he wrote:

“The Enigma I will not explain, its ‘dark saying’ must be left unguessed. Furthermore, through and over the whole set another larger theme goes, but is not played”.

As far as the heard theme was concerned, Elgar implied that it was obvious, uttering statements such that it was “so well-known that it is extraordinary that no-one has spotted it”. This has led people into all sorts of directions, including everything from “Rule Britannia” to “Pop goes the weasel” as suggestions for the origin of the theme, not quoted directly but written upside-down, or as a counterpoint to the actual theme.

In more recent times the musicologist Joseph Cooper suggested that the theme came from Mozart’s Prague Symphony, which was a particular favourite of Elgar’s and was included on the bill at the concert when the Enigma Variations were premiered.

Another theory is that the first four notes of the theme can be represented by the numbers 3, 1, 4, 2, which are the first four numbers of “Pi”. Could it be that the “dark saying” was “four and twenty blackbirds baked in a pi(e)”?

However, an even more intriguing suggestion was made in 1985 by Marshall Portnoy, who referred back to Elgar’s contention that the “larger theme” is never actually played, and that what should be sought is not an actual musical theme but a motif.

Portnoy’s theory is based on Elgar’s love of puzzles and numbers and his veneration of J. S. Bach. It is well known that Bach himself used the letters of his name as a musical theme, given that, in German notation, BACH can be represented as the notes B flat, A, C and B natural. Portnoy claimed that the Enigma theme used these same notes in that order.

However, Portnoy went further by suggesting that, if numbers are assigned to letters (A=1, B=2, etc), the values of ELGAR and JSBACH both come to 43, and there are exactly 43 notes in the initial violin statement of the Enigma theme. Added to that, the Nimrod variation dedicated to Elgar’s greatest friend contains exactly 43 bars. The letters BACH “add up” to 14, and there are 14 variations. Read as numerals, BCH is 238, and there are 238 bars in the final variation, in which Elgar portrayed himself.

Elgar wrote a quotation from the 16^th-century Italian poet Tasso at the end of the score of the Enigma Variations. This was “Bramo Assai, Poco Spero, Nulla Chiego”. This translates as “I long for much, I hope for little, I ask for nothing”, which are sentiments that were very appropriate for Elgar at this point in his life. The initial letters of the first two words, plus the first two letters of the final word, spell Bach! A coincidence? Maybe!

Whatever the solution to the enigma may be, the Enigma Variations still comprise a highly enjoyable and evocative musical work by England’s greatest composer, just coming to the height of his powers. It is a standard work played by many orchestras across the world, and will doubtless continue to be so. Attempting to solve the riddle only adds another dimension of interest!

© John Welford

Franz Liszt, composer and virtuoso pianist

Franz Liszt (1811-86) was one of the major composers of the 19th century and certainly its greatest pianist. As no recordings exist of Liszt at the keyboard it is not possible to say whether his skills have ever been exceeded, but contemporary accounts of his performances suggest that he should rank highly on any list (pardon the pun) of all-time greats.

Franz (or Ferencz to use his Hungarian name) Liszt was born at Raiding near Sopron in Hungary on 22nd October 1811. His father Adam was in the service of Prince Nicholas Esterhazy, who until 1790 had been the patron of Joseph Haydn. One of Adam’s functions was to play the cello in the court orchestra at the Prince’s Hungarian palace at Esterhaza.

Adam recognised Franz’s musical ability very early and gave him piano lessons from the age of seven. Only two years later Franz was giving public concerts, after which (in 1821) a group of wealthy Hungarians sponsored him to go to Vienna, with his whole family, and receive a proper musical education in both performance and composition. While in Vienna Franz gave more concerts and met Beethoven and Schubert.

In 1823, the Liszt family moved to Paris, but Franz was refused admission to the Conservatoire because he was not French. Instead, he was given private tuition and in turn gave many concerts, including on visits to England where he was hailed as “the next Mozart”. His early compositions included a one-act opera that was performed at the Paris Opera in 1825.

Franz found the constant touring and adulation as an “infant prodigy” to be a considerable strain and he decided to cut back, giving serious thought to training as a priest. However, his father died suddenly in 1827 and Franz, without Adam’s continual support, had to earn a living by giving piano lessons in Paris.

After an unfortunate love affair with one of his pupils, which ended when the girl’s father insisted on the attachment being ended, Franz went through a period of self-doubt and did virtually nothing for two years until the revolution of 1830 gave him fresh impetus to compose and he started work on his “Revolutionary Symphony”. He came under the influence of Berlioz, Chopin and Paganini, all of whom he admired greatly.

In 1834, he met the already married Comtesse Marie d’Agoult, with whom he began a long-running affair which produced three children. They lived together for four years, mainly in Switzerland and Italy, although their relationship later broke down. His “Transcendental Studies” belong to this period.

In 1839, Liszt resumed his life as a travelling virtuoso pianist, inspired by the need to raise funds to build a monument to Beethoven in Bonn, Germany. It was while he giving a series of concerts in Vienna that he visited his native Hungary for the first time since his childhood and was inspired by the gypsy music that he heard. This was later to lead to his “Hungarian Rhapsodies”, which are among his most popular works today.

Liszt toured widely until 1847, being lionised wherever he went. He still found time to compose, producing many songs and choral works as well as pieces for the piano. However, his peripatetic life put too much strain on his relationship with the Comtesse and they finally separated in 1844.

In 1847, when performing in Kiev, Liszt met Princess Carolyne Sayn-Wittgenstein, with whom he would be associated for the rest of his life. She persuaded him to give up his career as a virtuoso and concentrate on composing. After settling at Weimar in eastern Germany in 1848, where he stayed until 1861 as “Director of Music Extraordinary” to the Grand Duchess, Liszt began his most productive period as a composer, his works including twelve symphonic poems, his “Faust” and “Dante” symphonies, two piano concertos, his “Totentanz” for piano and orchestra, and other major works for solo piano.

He also conducted the works of other composers, including Wagner, Schumann and Berlioz. His promotion of their works, and those of composers from the past such as Bach and Beethoven, did much to popularise them and create a fresh audience for music that might otherwise have been lost.

His relationship with Wagner suffered a setback when Liszt’s married daughter Cosima began an affair with the German composer, and it was not until 1872 that Liszt and Wagner were reconciled.

Liszt moved to Rome in 1861, where he was unsuccessful in gaining permission to marry the Princess due to the Pope’s refusal to sanction her divorce. While at Rome Liszt wrote mainly religious music and he also took the four minor orders of the Catholic Church. Although he was often referred to as the “Abbé Liszt”, and wore clerical dress, he never became a priest.

In 1869, he was invited to return to Weimar, where he gave master classes in piano playing, and from 1871 he did the same at Budapest. For the rest of his life he made regular journeys between his three bases of Weimar, Budapest and Rome. He gave advice to many younger composers, including Borodin, Saint-Saens and Debussy.

In 1886, he made a final tour that included London and Paris, and in July visited the festival at Bayreuth, where he fell ill and died on 31st July at the age of 74.

As well as being a piano virtuoso, and the first pianist to give complete recitals that lasted for a whole evening, Liszt made a permanent contribution to the world of music by revolutionising keyboard technique. As a composer he invented the musical form of the one-movement symphonic poem and he expanded the musical language of his time, both in terms of harmony and in his concept of the “transformation of themes” by which all the motifs in a work derive from a single basic idea.

Many of his works have proved to be enduringly popular and his solo works for the piano have been essential elements of the repertoire of most concert pianists down to the present day.

© John Welford

Famous composers of the Classical era in music

The term “classical” is often used to mean what might otherwise be called “serious” music, to distinguish it from pop, rock, folk, jazz or any other classification. These terms are never satisfactory, however, and often give rise to confusion.

That said, the term “Classical era in music”, properly defined, only applies to the relatively brief period between the end of the Baroque period (conveniently marked by the death of J S Bach in 1850) and the rise of Romanticism around 1820. Its beginning corresponded with the general rejection of Baroque and Rococo taste throughout Europe and a conscious looking back to the classical models of Ancient Greece and Rome, or at least to how they were imagined to be. This trend could be seen in visual art, furniture design, architecture, literature and much else. In music there were no classical parallels to look back to, so classical music was something quite new and original, although built on what had gone before.

It would also be a mistake to assume that every composer who had been writing in the Baroque style suddenly decided to become “classical”. These things happen gradually, and there were many cases of “overlap”, as there were at the other end of the period when Romanticism started to take hold.

That said, there are three well-known composers who fall squarely within this period and whose works largely typify the classical era in terms of style. These three also qualify for the “famous” label, their names being easily recognisable by most people. They are Joseph Haydn, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart and Ludwig van Beethoven.

Joseph Haydn (1732-1809)

An Austrian, Haydn was for many years court composer to the Esterhazy family, one of the richest and most powerful families of central Europe. He was required to run the musical establishment of the court, which included producing a constant stream of new compositions for the orchestra to play. As such, Haydn developed the symphony into the form that it has had ever since, writing a total of 106 during his lifetime. He also wrote more than 70 string quartets, more than 60 piano sonatas, and more than 40 piano trios, plus concertos, masses, operas and oratorios.

Not all the above works were composed during his employment with the Esterhazys, because he eventually “escaped” when Prince Nikolaus died in 1790 and his successor, the far less musical Prince Anton, had no need for Haydn’s services. Haydn was then free to travel widely and accept commissions from orchestras all over Europe.

However, the 30 years of isolation that Haydn spent as a court composer on a remote estate meant that, in his own words, he was “forced to be original”. Haydn was able to experiment with forms and ensembles without undue influence from outside, and his later “freedom” enabled him to pass on his knowledge and be a huge influence on his friend Mozart and his pupil Beethoven.

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (1756-1791)

Mozart (pictured above) was the greatest composer of the Classical era, and many would say of any musical era. Although he died at the age of 35 he produced more than 600 compositions, including 41 numbered symphonies, 27 piano concertos, 22 operas, and a host of string quartets, piano sonatas, sacred music, and much else besides.

He started composing at a very young age, with the earliest works credited to him having been written at the age of five or six, and his first symphony when he was only eight. However, these early works are clearly derivative and not of any great quality. That said, it did not take him long to get into his stride, with the exquisite motet “Exsultate, Jubilate” being written in 1773 at the age of 17 (with 164 other compositions already under his belt, according to the Köchel catalogue!). From this point on, Mozart was clearly a fully mature composer with his own distinct and original style.

One of the most important things to note about Mozart is that his originality, and his dominance of the Classical era, makes it very difficult to state what it is that constitutes “Classicism” without reference to Mozart. If we look at other art forms of this era we can distinguish elements that set a particular work in the classical mould, such as a certain formalism or even stiffness of mood. We can see this in the “Augustan” poetry of Alexander Pope or the neo-classical paintings of Jacques-Louis David.

However, there is little sense of looking back, or of reliance on formality, in the works of Mozart, or even of Haydn. Instead there is enormous energy, coupled with great beauty and even humour, in musical classicism.

One of Mozart’s works that makes this point very clearly is his “A Musical Joke” (K.522) written for two horns and string quartet. This piece is most famous for the final three chords that are often played ad lib but are written as deliberate discords, as though the performers are incompetent. However, the whole piece is a satire on the repetitive formalism apparent in the works of contemporary composers who were clearly way below Mozart and Haydn in terms of writing skill. Many of those works are now lost to us, and their composers forgotten, which is why we do not have a complete view today of what the classical era in music was actually like.

Ludwig van Beethoven (1770-1827)

Beethoven counts as the third classical “great” because he provided the bridge between the Classical and Romantic eras. However, he was another truly original composer who cannot be said to typify either Classicism or Romanticism.

Beethoven was a German (of Dutch descent) who spent much of his life in Vienna. He arrived there in 1792 to study under Haydn, shortly after Mozart had died. The influences of these two composers was therefore considerable, although Beethoven did not start to compose as his main occupation until a year or two later.

His early works, such as the first two symphonies (1800 and 1802) and first six string quartets (1798-1800) clearly show the influence of Haydn and Mozart, but he was soon able to develop a style of his own, as is evident from the major change in direction that is usually described as his “middle period”, from 1803 to 1814.

This largely coincided with the beginning of Beethoven’s deafness, which became progressively worse during the rest of his life, and his coming to terms with this condition. He expressed dissatisfaction with his life and work to date and determined to strike out in new ways. For one thing, he now composed more large-scale works that required much larger orchestral forces than had been gathered to date. This was not only because he needed them to make a louder noise that he could hear, but also because he wanted to say new things through his music that spoke of struggle and the overcoming of forces that kept the human spirit in chains.

It is famously recorded that Beethoven originally intended to dedicate his Third Symphony to Napoleon Bonaparte, whom he regarded at first as a liberating force in Europe, but he changed his mind when Napoleon declared himself to be an Emperor and was therefore only interested in personal power. The symphony itself is regarded as both the ultimate mature expression of Classicism and the first example of Romanticism. As his music developed, it became increasingly used as a vehicle for the expression of emotion and feeling. This purpose was not entirely absent from the Classical tradition, particularly in the works of Mozart, but it is the feature that most clearly demonstrates the difference between the two eras.

Beethoven’s later development was very much away from Classicism, and his legacy, to composers such as Brahms and Schubert, was therefore a Romantic one.

Other Composers of the Classical Era

Franz Schubert (1797-1828) shares with Beethoven the accolade of being one of the fathers of Romanticism, although his early works are classical in nature. He was taught composition by Antonio Salieri, a near contemporary of Mozart’s, and was thus imbued with classical forms to which his natural gift for melody was added.

The sons of Johann Sebastian Bach, particularly Carl Philipp Emanuel (1714-88) and Johann Christian (1735-82) were important links between the Baroque and Classical eras.

Christoph Willibald Gluck (1714-87) was a notable composer of operas and ballets during the early Classical period.

Muzio Clementi (1752-1832) wrote many piano sonatas in the Classical style but his work looked forward to the Romantic period, as did that of his Irish pupil John Field (1782-1837).

William Boyce (1711-79) is the only English composer of note during this period, although his music harks back to the Baroque style.

© John Welford

John Taverner, Tudor composer

There are two English composers with the name John Taverner or Tavener. The latter, who died in 2013, claimed to be (indirectly) descended from the former. It is the pre-Elizabethan forebear who is the subject of this article.

John Taverner’s origins are obscure, although it seems likely that he was born in Lincolnshire, probably Boston, in about 1490. He was apparently a boy chorister of exceptional talent, although it is not known where, and it is not until 1524 that his name appears on any official record, when he is known to have been an adult member of the choir of Tattershall College in Lincolnshire. The reference is to “Master Taverner”, which suggests that he was highly regarded as a singer.

It would appear that he was producing music of his own during his time at Tattershall College, before he left to go to Oxford in 1526. The choir comprised sixteen men and ten boys, and Taverner composed a number of masses and antiphons for them.

Taverner’s reputation was such that he was invited to become the Master of Choristers at Cardinal College, Oxford, which was being founded by Thomas Wolsey, the Cardinal Archbishop of York and Chancellor of England. The college has been known as Christ Church College since 1546. Taverner was initially reluctant to make the move and he had to be persuaded to do so.

Taverner was able to recruit one of the largest choirs in the country, comprising 26 men and 16 boys, for which he composed works that fully exploited the resources under his command. He made excellent use of melody and counterpoint in his masses and other works which were sung in the college chapel that was later to become Oxford Cathedral.

Among the choristers that John Taverner had brought with him from Lincolnshire were two men who were members of a covert cell of Lutherans. They were appointed as lay clerk and chaplain of the new choir. Taverner’s involvement in the cell was minimal, but he did later admit to hiding heretical books under the floorboards of the choirboys’ practice room, to protect another member of the cell, John Clerk, who was a senior canon of the college.

In February 1528 the cell was exposed and Taverner was one of those taken in for questioning. However, Thomas Wolsey was prepared to be lenient towards non-clerical heretics and Taverner escaped any punishment. The experience clearly scared him and he was careful to avoid any contact with Lutherans or other unapproved sects in future.

Despite this adventure, Taverner was well regarded by Wolsey for his work with the choir and he was invited to take a quartet of choirboys to sing for the Chancellor at Hampton Court later in 1528.

However, Cardinal Wolsey’s fall from power in November 1529 was followed by a decline in status for Cardinal College, and John Taverner decided to leave in April 1530 as he was not getting the same level of support for the choir that he had enjoyed formerly.

His immediate movements on leaving Oxford are uncertain, but he was clearly back in Boston by 1538 and had probably been there for a number of years before he is recorded as having been a tenant of a property owned by the Guild of St Mary, which was established at St Botolph’s Church in the town.

The Guild supported a choir of up to twenty men and up to ten boys, and it is probable that Taverner had been running this choir since leaving Oxford. The choir became highly regarded under Taverner’s leadership, and it was probably for this choir that he wrote what many think of as his masterpiece, the mass “Corona Spinea” (“Crown of Thorns”).

However, in 1534 King Henry VIII broke with Rome and the Guild was no longer able to earn an income from selling masses and indulgences. John Taverner had been highly paid for his services, but by around 1536 or 1537 it is clear that they could no longer afford to employ him and he left their service. In 1538 he decided to give up writing church music to order.

He was now a wealthy man and could afford to step back and follow his own interests. It is not known when he married, but his wife Rose could possibly have brought a reasonable dowry with her. The couple took a large property in the town of Boston and appear to have lived in considerable comfort.

Taverner had known the King’s new chief minister, Thomas Cromwell, from his time at Oxford, and he now took steps to cultivate the latter’s favour. He used this advantage on behalf of the Boston friars whose friaries had been suppressed and who were now without a home. Taverner wrote to Cromwell on their behalf and he and another local businessman were given permission to buy the friaries from the crown.

Taverner was closely involved in local affairs and was highly regarded by his fellow townsfolk, being personally generous and acting on behalf of several people who called on him for help. He later served as an alderman when Boston was granted its first municipal charter in May 1545.

Despite his retirement from leading the St Botolph’s choir he continued to compose occasional pieces for them, although it appears that the choir had lost its boys’ section so that Taverner’s final works were for men’s voices only.  He also composed some secular songs.

In August 1545 his health started to fail, and he died on 18^th October, being buried beneath the tower (the “Stump”) of St Botolph’s Church.

John Taverner is remembered as a pioneering and innovative writer of church music as it moved away from plainchant and towards polyphony. He had a considerable influence on the composers and musicians who followed him, and some of his works are performed down to the present day.

In 1972 Sir Peter Maxwell Davies completed a two-act opera, “Taverner”, that was loosely based on the life of John Taverner, but which cannot be relied upon for biographical accuracy.

© John Welford