Johannes Brahms was born in Hamburg in 1833, the son of a double bass player. The boy was fortunate in being born into a loving and understanding family; fortunate also in the choice of teachers who were able to develop his early musical gifts. To supplement the family’s income, at the age of 13 the … Read more
Composed as the 18th Century drew to a close, Beethoven’s first two piano concertos and his first two symphonies show the influence of Mozart and Haydn. His 1st Symphony was first performed in Vienna in the spring of 1800, and No2 under the composer’s direction in the same city on the 5th April, 1803. It … Read more
Beethoven scholars provide evidence that the gestation period of the D minor Symphony was a long one, dating back at least to 1799. Notes in the composer’s sketchbooks refer to the poem “Ode to Joy” by the German poet and dramatist Friedrich von Schiller (1759-1805). In 1817 the newly-inaugurated Philharmonic Society of London invited Beethoven … Read more
Borodin was a highly respected professor of chemistry at the Imperial Medical-Surgical Academy in St Petersburg, then the Russian capital. We know him better as a Russian romantic composer. He had received piano lessons as a boy but only began taking composition lessons at the age of 29. His composition teacher was Mily Balakirev, with … Read more
