Classical Guitar Blog

John Williams performances

2011-06-22T00:20:00.000-07:00

John Christopher Williams (born 24 April 1941) is a Grammy Award-winning Australian classical guitarist, widely regarded as one of the finest guitarists of his generation. He is a long-term resident of the United Kingdom.

John Williams was born in Melbourne, Australia to an English father, Len Williams, who was later the founder of the London Guitar School and Malaan, an Australian-Chinese mother (a daughter of well known Melbourne barrister William Ah Ket). In 1952, the family returned to England. Williams was taught initially by his father, and educated at the Friern Barnet Grammar School, London.^[1] From the age of eleven he attended summer courses with Andrés Segovia at the Academia Musicale Chigiana in Siena, Italy. Later, he attended the Royal College of Music in London from 1956 to 1959, studying piano because the school did not have a guitar department at the time. Upon graduation, he was offered the opportunity to create such a department. Being such a lover of the instrument, he seized the opportunity and ran it for the first two years. Williams has maintained links with the College (and with the Royal Northern College of Music^{[citation needed]} in Manchester) ever since.

Williams's first professional performance was at the Wigmore Hall in London on 6 November 1958. Since then, he has been performing throughout the world and has made regular appearances on radio and TV. He has recorded almost the entire repertoire for the guitar and has extended it by commissioning guitar concertos from composers such as Stephen Dodgson, André Previn, Patrick Gowers, Richard Harvey and Steve Gray. He has recorded albums of duets with fellow guitarists, Julian Bream and Paco Peña.
John Williams was instrumental in bringing the works of Agustín Barrios back to popularity. Williams has often spoken highly of Barrios' work, even stating that he believes Barrios is the greatest composer of guitar music.^{[citation needed]} He has also worked with contemporary composers from his native Australia, including Phillip Houghton, Peter Sculthorpe, Ross Edwards and Nigel Westlake, to produce guitar works that capture the spirit of his homeland. However he has also the music by the Japanese composer Toru Takemitsu, Cuban composer Leo Brouwer and music from many African countries.
John Williams is a visiting professor and honorary member of the Royal Academy of Music^[2] in London.

John Williams has expressed his frustration and concern with guitar education and teaching,^[3] if it is too one-sided, e.g. focusing only on solo playing, instead of giving guitar students a better education including ensemble playing, sight-reading and a focus on phrasing and tone production/variation. Williams notes that "students [are] preoccupied with fingerings and not notes, much less sounds"; some are able "to play [...] difficult solo works from memory", but "have a very poor sense of ensemble [playing] or timing". He notes that students play works from the solo repertoire that is often still too difficult, so that the teachers often put more "emphasis [...] on getting through the notes rather than playing the real substance of each note". To encourage phrasing, tone production and all-round musicianship, Williams arranges for students to play together in ensembles, choosing works from the existing classical-music repertoire, such as the "easier Haydn String Quartets".

Williams and his third wife Kathy reside in London and Australia. He has a daughter Kate, now an established jazz pianist, from his first marriage (to Lindy); and a son, Charlie Williams, from his second marriage (to broadcaster Sue Cook). He is a patron of the Palestine Solidarity Campaign

(sources: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Williams )

Classic guitar history

2011-04-09T00:07:00.000-07:00

The classical guitar — (also called the "Spanish guitar" or "nylon string guitar") — is a 6-stringed plucked string instrument from the family of instruments called chordophones. The classical guitar is well known for its comprehensive right hand technique, which allows the soloist to perform complex melodic and polyphonic material, in much the same manner as the piano.

the instrumental technique — the individual strings are usually plucked with the fingernails or rarely without nails.
its historic repertoire, though this is of lesser importance, since any repertoire can be (and is) played on the classical guitar (additionally: classical guitarists are known to borrow from the repertoires of a wide variety of instruments)
its shape, construction and material — modern classical guitar shape, or historic classical guitar shapes (e.g. early romantic guitars from France and Italy). A guitar family tree can be identified.^{[unreliable source?]} (The flamenco guitar is derived from the modern classical, but has differences in material, construction and sound^[2]^{[unreliable source?]}^[3].^{[unreliable source?]})

The name classical guitar does not mean that only classical repertoire is performed on it, although classical music is a part of the instrument's core repertoire (due to the guitar's long history); instead all kinds of music (folk, jazz, flamenco, etc.) are performed on it.
The term modern classical guitar is sometimes used to distinguish the classical guitar from older forms of guitar, which are in their broadest sense also called classical, or more descriptively: early guitars. Examples of early guitars include the 6-string early romantic guitar (ca. 1790 - 1880), and the earlier baroque guitars with 5 courses.
The classical guitar has a long history and one is able to distinguish various:

instruments
repertoire (composers and their compositions, arrangements, improvisations)

Both instrument and repertoire can be viewed from a combination of various contexts:

historical (chronological period of time)
- baroque guitar — 17th to mid 18th century
- early romantic guitars — 19th century (for music from the Classical and Romantic periods)
- modern classical guitars
geographical
- e.g. in the 19th century: Spanish guitars (Torres), and French guitars (René Lacôte, ...), etc.
cultural/stylistic and social aspects
- e.g. baroque court music, 19th century opera and its influences, 19th century folk songs, Latin American music, etc.

Brief examples using the above classifications (historical, cultural/stylistic, social etc.), to show the colourful diversity of the classical guitar:

Robert de Visée (ca. 1650–1725) with French Court music for baroque guitar and lute. He was the guitar player (maître de guitare du Roy) of Louis XIV of France at the court of Versailles. His works are influenced by hearing Jean-Baptiste de Lully (1632–1687) who was also engaged at the court of Louis XIV.
Mauro Giuliani (1781–1829) with Italian/Viennese classical music for the 19th century so-called early romantic guitar. He was chamber-virtuoso of Archduchess Marie Louise of Austria . Some of his works include strong influences from his visits to 19th century opera performances.
Francisco Tárrega (1852–1909) of Spain. His intimate salon-style music is both romantic in character and includes charming character pieces such as polkas and waltzes. He even played for the Queen of Spain, Isabel II. From 1869, Tárrega used a guitar by Antonio de Torres (1817–1892).
Agustín Barrios (1885–1944) from Paraguay, towards the end of his life using a modern classical guitar (his last instrument was a gift from Queen Eugenia of Spain in 1935). His music is romantic in style, with some works showing strong folkloric Paraguayan influences, shaped from his cultural background.
Sergei Orekhov (Сергей Орехов) (1935–1998) with music for the Russian 7-string guitar. In his compositions and arrangements, he draws inspiration from his intimate knowledge of traditional Russian folk music and folk songs.

Interpreting works of a specific composer in a specific style requires an understanding of the historical cultural/stylistic and social aspects/influences, considering music an expressive art. This is often called the study of performance practice, with attempts at historically informed performance (sometimes abbreviated HIP).

The classical guitar as an instrument today has access to repertoire that spans numerous chronological periods:

renaissance
baroque
classical
romantic
modern (neo-classical, avant garde...)

Instrument Aesthetics (Early guitars)

Baroque Guitars from the Museum Cité de la Musique in Paris (which houses almost 200 classical guitars^[6])

Guitars from the Museum Cité de la Musique in Paris (which houses almost 200 classical guitars)

While "classical guitar" is today mainly associated with the modern classical guitar design, there is an increasing interest in early guitars; and understanding the link between historical repertoire and the particular period guitar that was originally used to perform this repertoire.

Nowadays it is customary to play this repertoire on reproductions of instruments authentically modelled on concepts of musicological research with appropriate adjustments to techniques and overall interpretation. Thus over recent decades we have become accustomed to specialist artists with expertise in the art of vihuela (a 16th-century type of guitar popular in Spain), lute, Baroque guitar, 19th-century guitar, etc.

Different types of guitars have different sound aesthetics, e.g. different colour-spectrum characteristics (the way the sound energy is spread in the fundamental frequency and the overtones), different response, etc. These differences are due to differences in construction, for example modern Spanish guitars usually use a different bracing (fan-bracing), than was used in earlier guitars (they had ladder-bracing); and a different voicing was used by the luthier. See Classical guitar making for more information.

Classical and early romantic period

During the period from approximately 1780 to 1850 the guitar was an extremely popular instrument with numerous composers and performers such as

Filippo Gragnani (1767–1820)
Antoine de Lhoyer (1768–1852)
Ferdinando Carulli (1770–1841)
Francesco Molino (1774–1847)
Fernando Sor (1778–1839)
Luigi Moretti (c. 1780-1850)
Mauro Giuliani (1781–1829)
Matteo Carcassi (1792–1853)
Napoléon Coste (1805–1883)
Johann Kaspar Mertz (1806–1856)

Modern Period
In the 20th century numerous different styles of music (using a classical guitar) emerged:
At the beginning of the 20th century (esp in the 1920s) Andrés Segovia began to popularize the modern Spanish classical guitar with a particular style of romantic-modern and neo-romantic works which were composed by Federico Moreno Torroba, Manuel Ponce, Mario Castelnuovo-Tedesco, Alexandre Tansman and often dedicated to Segovia. This music can be called Segovia-repertoire, since it would not exist without Segovia.
In the middle of the century Luiz Bonfá popularized Brazilian musical styles such as the newly created Bossa Nova, which was successfully received by audiences in the USA.

Instruments similar to what we know as the guitar have been popular for at least 5,000 years. The ancestry of the modern guitar appears to trace back through many instruments and thousands of years to ancient central Asia. Guitar like instruments appear in ancient carvings and statues recovered from the old Iranian capital of Susa. This means that the contemporary Iranian instruments such as the tanbur and setar are distantly related to the European guitar, as they all derive ultimately from the same ancient origins, but by very different historical routes and influences.

Overview of the classical guitar's history

During the Middle Ages, guitars with three, four, and five strings were already in use. The Guitarra Latina had curved sides and is thought to have come to Spain from elsewhere in Europe. The so-called Guitarra Morisca, brought to Spain by the Moors, had an oval soundbox and many sound holes on its soundboard. By the 15th century, a four course double-string guitar called the vihuela de mano, half way between the lute and the guitar, appeared and became popular in Spain and spread to Italy; and by the 16th century, a fifth double-string had been added. During this time, composers wrote mostly in tablature notation. In the 17th century, influences from the vihuela and the renaissance five string guitar were combined in the baroque guitar. The baroque guitar quickly superseded the vihuela in popularity and Italy became the center of the guitar world. Leadership in guitar developments switched to Spain from the late 18th century, when the six string guitar quickly became popular at the expense of the five string guitars. During the 19th century, improved communication and transportation enabled performers to travel widely and the guitar gained greater popularity outside its old strongholds in Iberia, Italy and Latin America. During the 19th century the Spaniard, Antonio de Torres, gave the modern classical guitar its definitive form, with a broadened body, increased waist curve, thinned belly, improved internal bracing, single string courses replacing double courses, and a machined head replacing wooden tuning pegs. The modern classical guitar replaced older form for the accompaniment of song and dance called flamenco, and a modified version, known as the flamenco guitar, was created.
(source: wikipedia.org)

The Master Pieces of Mauro Giuliani

2010-10-23T22:36:00.000-07:00

Mauro Giuseppe Sergio Pantaleo Giuliani (July 27, 1781 – May 8, 1829) was an Italian guitarist and composer, and is considered by many to be one of the leading guitar virtuosi of the early 19th century.

Although born in Bisceglie, Giuliani's center of study was in Barletta where he moved with his brother Nicola in the first years of his life. His first instrumental training was on the cello—an instrument which he never completely abandoned—and he probably also studied the violin. Subsequently he devoted himself to the guitar, becoming a very skilled performer on it in a short time. The names of his teachers are unknown, and we cannot be sure of his exact movements in Italy.
He married Maria Giuseppe del Monaco, and they had a child, Michael, born in Barletta in 1801. After that he was probably in Bologna and Trieste for a brief stay; by the summer of 1806, fresh from his studies of counterpoint, cello and guitar in Italy, he had moved to Vienna without his family. Here he began a relationship with a certain Fräulein Willmuth, with whom he had a daughter, Maria, in 1807.
In Vienna he became acquainted with the classical instrumental style. In 1807 Giuliani began to publish compositions in the classical style. His concert tours took him all over Europe. Everywhere he went he was acclaimed for his virtuosity and musical taste. He achieved great success and became a musical celebrity, equal to the best of the many instrumentalists and composers who were active in the Austrian capital city at the beginning of the 19th century.

Giuliani defined a new role for the guitar in the context of European music. He was acquainted with the highest figures of Austrian society and with notable composers such as Rossini and Beethoven, and cooperated with the best active concert musicians in Vienna. In 1815 he appeared with the pianist Johann Nepomuk Hummel (followed later by Ignaz Moscheles), the violinist Joseph Mayseder and the cellist Joseph Merk, in a series of chamber concerts in the botanical gardens of Schönbrunn Palace, concerts that were called the "Dukaten Concerte"^[1], after the price of the ticket, which was a ducat. This exposure gave Giuliani prominence in the musical environment of the city. Also in 1815, he was the official concert artist for the celebrations of the Congress in Vienna. Two years earlier, on the 8th of December, 1813, he had played (probably cello) in an orchestra for the first performance of Beethoven's Seventh Symphony.
In Vienna, Giuliani had minor success as a composer. He worked mostly with the publisher Artaria, who published the large part of his works for guitar, but he had dealings with all the other local publishers, who spread his compositions all over Europe. He developed here a teaching reputation as well; among his numerous students were Bobrowicz and Horetzky.
In 1819 Giuliani left Vienna, mainly for financial reasons: his property and bank accounts were confiscated to pay his debtors. He returned to Italy, spending time in Trieste and Venice, and finally settling in Rome. He brought with him his daughter Emilia, who was born in 1813. She was educated at the nunnery L'adorazione del Gesù from 1821 to 1826, together with Giuliani's illegitimate daughter Maria. In Rome he did not have much success; he published a few compositions and gave only one concert.
In July 1823 he began a series of frequent trips to Naples to be with his father, who was seriously ill. In the Bourbon city of Naples Giuliani would find a better reception to his guitar artistry, and there he was able to publish other works for guitar with local publishers.
In 1826 he performed in Portici before Francesco I and the Bourbon court. In this time, which we could call Giuliani's Neapolitan period, he appeared frequently in duo concert with his daughter Emilia, who had become a skilled performer on the guitar. Toward the end of 1827 the health of the musician began to fail; he died in Naples on 8 May 1829. The news of his death did not create much of a stir in the Neapolitan musical environment. (www.wikipedia.org 's source)

Download: Classical guitar sheet.'s M. Giuliani

Grande Overture Op.61
Grand Sonata Eroika
Etude Op.1
Composionise Op. 111
24 Etudes
Andatino
Allegro Op. 50
12 Walzes Op. 57
Fugheta
24 Etudes Op. 48
Rossiniana 2
Hande Variation
Pieces from Op.30
Seis Grandes Op.113
RamiletteDes Mis Flores Preferidas Op. 46
Rondo Letto Op. 4
Sonate
Scherso
Rossiniana 3
Rondo Op. 14
Two Fantasy
Variazioni Per Chitarra
Sonatine Op. 71
Sonate Op. 15
Variations On Folies Despagne Op 45
Variations Op. 105
Three Preludes
Theme And Variations Op. 20

The master pieces of classical guitar

2010-10-09T20:34:00.000-07:00

Johann Sebastian Bach (German pronunciation: [joˈhan] or [ˈjoːhan zeˈbastjan ˈbax]) (31 March 1685 [O.S. 21 March] – 28 July 1750) was a German composer, organist, harpsichordist, violist, and violinist whose ecclesiastical and secular works for choir, orchestra, and solo instruments drew together the strands of the Baroque period and brought it to its ultimate maturity. Although he did not introduce new forms, he enriched the prevailing German style with a robust contrapuntal technique, an unrivalled control of harmonic and motivic organisation, and the adaptation of rhythms, forms and textures from abroad, particularly from Italy and France.
Revered for their intellectual depth, technical command and artistic beauty, Bach's works include the Brandenburg concertos, the Goldberg Variations, the Partitas, The Well-Tempered Clavier, the Mass in B Minor, the St Matthew Passion, the St John Passion, the Magnificat, The Musical Offering, The Art of Fugue, the English and French Suites, the Sonatas and Partitas for solo violin, the Cello Suites, more than 200 surviving cantatas, and a similar number of organ works, including the celebrated Toccata and Fugue in D minor and Passacaglia and Fugue in C minor.
Bach's abilities as an organist were highly respected throughout Europe during his lifetime, although he was not widely recognised as a great composer until a revival of interest and performances of his music in the first half of the 19th century. He is now generally regarded as the supreme composer of the Baroque style, and as one of the greatest composers of all time.

Download J.S. Bach's sheet music:

cello suite no.1
chaconne in D minor
fuque in G minor
fuga
lute suite no. 1
lute suite no. 2
lute suite no. 3
lute suite no. 4
prelude
prelude fuga allegro

Born in Camprodon, province of Girona, to Ángel Albéniz (a customs official) and his wife Dolors Pascual, Albéniz was a child prodigy who first performed at the age of four. At age seven, after apparently taking lessons from Antoine Marmontel, he passed the entrance examination for piano at the Paris Conservatoire, but he was refused admission because he was believed to be too young.
His concert career began at the young age of nine when his father toured both Isaac and his sister, Clementina, throughout northern Spain. By the time he had reached 12, he had made many attempts to run away from home. A popular myth is that at the age of 12 Albeniz stowed away in a ship bound for Buenos Aires. He then made his way via Cuba to the United States, giving concerts in New York and San Francisco and then travelled to Liverpool, London and Leipzig.^[2] By age 15, he had already given concerts worldwide. This over dramatized story is not entirely true. Albeniz did travel the world as a performer, however he was accompanied by his father. As a customs agent he was required to travel frequently. After a juxtaposition of Isaac's concert dates, on his alleged adventure, and his fathers travel itinerary it is apparent that they were traveling together. After a short stay at the Leipzig Conservatory, in 1876 he went to study in Brussels. In 1880, he went to Budapest to study with Franz Liszt, only to find out that Liszt was in Weimar, Germany.
In 1883, he met the teacher and composer Felip Pedrell, who inspired him to write Spanish music such as the Chants d'Espagne. The first movement (Prelude) of that suite, later retitled after the composer's death as Asturias (Leyenda), is probably most famous today as part of the classical guitar repertoire, even though it was originally composed for piano and only later transcribed. (Many of Albéniz's other compositions were also transcribed for guitar, notably by Francisco Tárrega — Albéniz once declared that he preferred Tárrega's guitar transcriptions to his original piano works). At the 1888 Universal Exposition in Barcelona, the piano manufacturer Erard sponsored a series of 20 concerts featuring Albéniz's music.
(source: www.wikipedia.org)

Download Isaac Albeniz's song:

granada

torre bermeja
danza espanola                     cuba
mallorca                               zambra
tango Op.165 no. 2              cataluna
adagio                                  sevilla
cuba
cadiz
puerta da tierra
asturias
malaguena Op163 no 3
cataluna
cordoba

Antonio Lucio Vivaldi

2010-09-27T00:11:00.000-07:00

Antonio Lucio Vivaldi (March 4, 1678 – July 28, 1741), nicknamed il Prete Rosso ("The Red Priest") was an Italian Baroque composer, priest, and virtuoso violinist, born in Venice. Vivaldi is recognized as one of the greatest Baroque composers, and his influence during his lifetime was widespread over Europe. Vivaldi is known mainly for composing instrumental concertos, especially for the violin, as well as sacred choral works and over 40 operas. His best known work is a series of violin concertos known as The Four Seasons.

Many of his compositions were written for the female music ensemble of the Ospedale della Pietà, an orphanage for poor and illegitimate children where Vivaldi worked between 1703 and 1740. Vivaldi also had some success with stagings of his operas in Venice, Mantua and Vienna. After meeting the Emperor Charles VI, Vivaldi moved to Vienna hoping for preferment. The Emperor died soon after Vivaldi's arrival, and the composer died a pauper, without a steady source of income.

Though Vivaldi's music was well received during his lifetime, it later declined in popularity until its vigorous revival in the first half of the 20th century. Today, Vivaldi ranks among the most popular and widely recorded Baroque composers.

Childhood

Antonio Lucio Vivaldi was born in Venice, the capital of the Republic of Venice in 1678. He was baptized immediately after his birth at his home by the midwife, which led to the belief that his life was somehow in danger. Though not known for certain, the immediate baptism was most likely due either to his poor health or to an earthquake that shook the city that day. In the trauma of the earthquake, Vivaldi's mother may have dedicated him to the priesthood. Vivaldi's official church baptism (the rites that remained other than the baptism itself) did not take place until two months later.

Vivaldi's parents were Giovanni Battista Vivaldi and Camilla Calicchio, as recorded in the register of San Giovanni in Bragora. Vivaldi had five siblings: Margarita Gabriela, Cecilia Maria, Bonaventura Tomaso, Zanetta Anna, and Francesco Gaetano. Giovanni Battista, a barber before becoming a professional violinist, taught Antonio to play the violin, and then toured Venice playing the violin with his young son. He probably taught him at an early age, judging by Vivaldi's extensive musical knowledge at the age of 24 when he started working at the Ospedale della Pietà. Giovanni Battista was one of the founders of the Sovvegno dei musicisti di Santa Cecilia, an association of musicians. The president of the Sovvegno was Giovanni Legrenzi, a composer of the early Baroque and maestro di cappella at St. Mark's Basilica. It is possible that Legrenzi gave the young Antonio his first lessons in composition. The Luxembourg scholar Walter Kolneder has discerned in the early liturgical work Laetatus sum (RV Anh 31, written in 1691 at the age of 13) the influence of Legrenzi's style. Vivaldi's father may have been a composer himself: in 1689, an opera titled La Fedeltà sfortunata was composed by a Giovanni Battista Rossi, and this was the name under which Vivaldi's father had joined the Sovvegno di Santa Cecilia: "Rossi" is Italian for "Red", and would have referred to the colour of his hair, a family trait.

Vivaldi's health was problematic. His symptoms, strettezza di petto ("tightness of the chest"), have been interpreted as a form of asthma. This did not prevent him from learning to play the violin, composing or taking part in musical activities, although it did stop him from playing wind instruments. In 1693, at the age of 15, he began studying to become a priest. He was ordained in 1703, aged 25. He was soon nicknamed il Prete Rosso, "The Red Priest", because of his red hair. Not long after his ordination, in 1704, he was given a reprieve from celebrating the Holy Mass because of his ill health. Vivaldi only said mass as a priest a few times. He appears to have withdrawn from priestly duties, but he remained a priest

Life and Death

During the height of his career, Vivaldi received commissions from European nobility and royalty. The wedding cantata Gloria e Imeneo (RV 687) was written for the marriage of Louis XV. Vivaldi's Opus 9, La Cetra, was dedicated to Emperor Charles VI. In 1728, Vivaldi met the emperor while he was visiting Trieste to oversee the construction of a new port. Charles admired the music of the Red Priest so much that he is said to have spoken more with the composer during their one meeting than he spoke to his ministers in over two years. He gave Vivaldi the title of knight, a gold medal and an invitation to Vienna. Vivaldi gave Charles a manuscript copy of La Cetra, a set of concerti almost completely different from the set of the same title published as Opus 9. The printing was probably delayed, forcing Vivaldi to gather an improvised collection for the emperor.

Posthumous reputation

During his lifetime, Vivaldi's popularity quickly made him famous in other countries, including France where musical taste was less dictated by fashion than elsewhere This popularity dwindled. After the Baroque period, Vivaldi's published concerti were relatively unknown, and largely ignored, even after Felix Mendelssohn rekindled interest in Bach. Even Vivaldi's most famous work, The Four Seasons, was unknown in its original edition.
In the early 20th century, Fritz Kreisler's Vivaldi-styled concerto (which he passed off as an original Vivaldi work) helped revive Vivaldi's reputation. This impelled the French scholar Marc Pincherle to begin an academic study of Vivaldi's oeuvre. Many Vivaldi manuscripts were rediscovered, and were acquired by the National University of Turin Library with generous sponsorship of Turinese businessmen Roberto Foa and Filippo Giordano, in memory of their sons. This led to renewed interest in Vivaldi by, among others, Mario Rinaldi, Alfredo Casella, Ezra Pound, Olga Rudge, Desmond Chute, Arturo Toscanini, Arnold Schering, and Louis Kaufman. These figures were instrumental in the Vivaldi revival of the 20th century.
In 1926, in a monastery in Piedmont, researchers discovered 14 folios of Vivaldi's work, previously thought lost during the Napoleonic wars. Some volumes in the numbered set were missing; these turned up in the collections of the descendants of the Grand Duke Durazzo who had acquired the monastery complex in the 18th century. The volumes contained 300 concertos, 19 operas and over 100 vocal-instrumental works.
The resurrection of Vivaldi's unpublished works in the 20th century is mostly due to the efforts of Alfredo Casella, who in 1939 organised the historic Vivaldi Week, in which the rediscovered Gloria (RV 589) and l'Olimpiade were first revived. Since World War II, Vivaldi's compositions have enjoyed wide success. In 1947, the Venetian businessman Antonio Fanna founded the Istituto Italiano Antonio Vivaldi, with the composer Gian Francesco Malipiero as its artistic director, having the purpose of promoting Vivaldi's music and publishing new editions of his works. Historically informed performances seem to have increased Vivaldi's fame further. Unlike many of his contemporaries, whose music is rarely heard outside an academic or special-interest context, Vivaldi is popular among modern audiences.
Recent rediscoveries of works by Vivaldi include two psalm settings of Nisi Dominus (RV 803, in eight movements) and Dixit Dominus (RV 807, in eleven movements), identified in 2003 and 2005, respectively, by the Australian scholar Janice Stockigt. Vivaldi scholar Michael Talbot called RV 803 "arguably the best nonoperatic work from Vivaldi's pen to come to light since... the 1920s". Vivaldi's lost 1730 opera Argippo (RV 697) was re-discovered in 2006 by harpsichordist and conductor Ondřej Macek, whose Hofmusici orchestra performed the work at Prague Castle on May 3, 2008, its first performance since 1730.
A movie titled Vivaldi, a Prince in Venice was completed in 2005 as an Italian-French co-production under the direction of Jean-Louis Guillermou, featuring Stefano Dionisi in the title role and Michel Serrault as the bishop of Venice. Another film inspired by the life of the composer was in a preproduction state for several years and has the working title Vivaldi. Filming was scheduled to begin in 2007, but was canceled and tentatively rescheduled for 2009.
The music of Vivaldi, Mozart, Tchaikovsky, and Corelli, has been included in the theories of Alfred Tomatis on the effects of music on human behaviour and used in music therapy.

Ludwig van Beethoven

2010-09-11T19:59:00.000-07:00

Ludwig van Beethoven German: 17 December 1770 – 26 March 1827) was a German composer and pianist. He is considered to have been the most crucial figure in the transitional period between the Classical and Romantic eras in Western classical music, and remains one of the most famous and influential composers of all time.
Born in Bonn, then the capital of the Electorate of Cologne and a part of the Holy Roman Empire of the German Nation in present-day Germany, he moved to Vienna in his early twenties and settled there, studying with Joseph Haydn and quickly gaining a reputation as a virtuoso pianist. His hearing began to deteriorate in the late 1790s, yet he continued to compose, conduct, and perform, even after becoming completely deaf.

Background and early life

Beethoven was the grandson of a musician of Flemish origin named Lodewijk van Beethoven (1712–1773). Beethoven was named after his grandfather, as Lodewijk is the Dutch cognate of Ludwig. Beethoven's grandfather was employed as a bass singer at the court of the Elector of Cologne, rising to become Kapellmeister (music director). He had one son, Johann van Beethoven (1740–1792), who worked as a tenor in the same musical establishment, also giving lessons on piano and violin to supplement his income. Johann married Maria Magdalena Keverich in 1767; she was the daughter of Johann Heinrich Keverich, who had been the head chef at the court of the Archbishopric of Trier.

Beethoven was born of this marriage in Bonn; he was baptized in a Roman Catholic service on 17 December 1770, and was probably born the previous day, 16 December. Children of that era were usually baptized the day after birth, and it is known that Beethoven's family and his teacher Johann Albrechtsberger celebrated his birthday on 16 December. While this evidence supports the case for 16 December 1770 as Beethoven's date of birth, it cannot be stated with certainty, as there is no documentary evidence of it (only his baptismal record survives). Of the seven children born to Johann van Beethoven, only the second-born, Ludwig, and two younger brothers survived infancy. Caspar Anton Carl was born on 8 April 1774, and Nikolaus Johann, the youngest, was born on 2 October 1776.
Beethoven's first music teacher was his father. A traditional belief concerning Johann van Beethoven is that he was a harsh instructor, and that the child Beethoven, "made to stand at the keyboard, was often in tears". However, the New Grove indicates that there is no solid documentation to support it, and asserts that "speculation and myth-making have both been productive." Beethoven had other local teachers as well: the court organist Gilles van den Eeden (d. 1782), Tobias Friedrich Pfeiffer (a family friend, who taught Beethoven piano), and a relative, Franz Rovantini (violin and viola).^[2] His musical talent manifested itself early. Johann, aware of Leopold Mozart's successes in this area (with son Wolfgang and daughter Nannerl), attempted to exploit his son as a child prodigy, claiming that Beethoven was six (he was seven) on the posters for Beethoven's first public performance in March 1778.
Some time after 1779, Beethoven began his studies with his most important teacher in Bonn, Christian Gottlob Neefe, who was appointed the Court's Organist in that year. Neefe taught Beethoven composition, and by March 1783 had helped him write his first published composition: a set of keyboard variations (WoO 63).^[7] Beethoven soon began working with Neefe as assistant organist, first on an unpaid basis (1781), and then as paid employee (1784) of the court chapel conducted by the Kapellmeister Andrea Luchesi. His first three piano sonatas, named "Kurfürst" ("Elector") for their dedication to the Elector Maximilian Frederick, were published in 1783. Maximilian Frederick, who died in 1784, not long after Beethoven's appointment as assistant organist, had noticed Beethoven's talent early, and had subsidized and encouraged the young Beethoven's musical studies.

Maximilian Frederick's successor as the Elector of Bonn was Maximilian Franz, the youngest son of Empress Maria Theresa of Austria, and he brought notable changes to Bonn. Echoing changes made in Vienna by his brother Joseph, he introduced reforms based on Enlightenment philosophy, with increased support for education and the arts. The teenage Beethoven was almost certainly influenced by these changes. He may also have been strongly influenced at this time by ideas prominent in freemasonry, as Neefe and others around Beethoven were members of the local chapter of the Order of the Illuminati.

In March 1787 Beethoven traveled to Vienna (it is unknown at whose expense) for the first time, apparently in the hope of studying with Wolfgang Mozart. The details of their relationship are uncertain, including whether or not they actually met. After just two weeks there Beethoven learned that his mother was severely ill, and he was forced to return home. His mother died shortly thereafter, and the father lapsed deeper into alcoholism. As a result, Beethoven became responsible for the care of his two younger brothers, and he spent the next five years in Bonn.

Beethoven was introduced to a number of people who became important in his life in these years. Franz Wegeler, a young medical student, introduced him to the von Breuning family (one of whose daughters Wegeler eventually married). Beethoven was often at the von Breuning household, where he was exposed to German and classical literature, and where he also gave piano instruction to some of the children. The von Breuning family environment was also less stressful than his own, which was increasingly dominated by his father's strict control and descent into alcoholism. It is also in these years that Beethoven came to the attention of Count Ferdinand von Waldstein, who became a lifelong friend and financial supporter.
In 1789 he obtained a legal order by which half of his father's salary was paid directly to him for support of the family. He also contributed further to the family's income by playing viola in the court orchestra. This familiarized Beethoven with a variety of operas, including three of Mozart's operas performed at court in this period. He also befriended Anton Reicha, a flautist and violinist of about his own age who was the conductor's nephew.

Establishing his career in Vienna

With the Elector's help, Beethoven moved to Vienna in 1792. He was probably first introduced to Joseph Haydn in late 1790, when the latter was traveling to London and stopped in Bonn around Christmas time. They met in Bonn on Haydn's return trip from London to Vienna in July 1792, and it is likely that arrangements were made at that time for Beethoven to study with the old master. In the intervening years, Beethoven composed a significant number of works (none were published at the time, and most are now listed as works without opus) that demonstrated a growing range and maturity of style. Musicologists have identified a theme similar to those of his third symphony in a set of variations written in 1791. Beethoven left Bonn for Vienna in November 1792, amid rumors of war spilling out of France, and learned shortly after his arrival that his father had died. Count Waldstein in his farewell note to Beethoven wrote: "Through uninterrupted diligence you will receive Mozart's spirit through Haydn's hands." Beethoven responded to the widespread feeling that he was a successor to the recently deceased Mozart over the next few years by studying that master's work and writing works with a distinctly Mozartean flavor.

Beethoven did not immediately set out to establish himself as a composer, but rather devoted himself to study and to playing the piano. Working under Haydn's direction, he sought to master counterpoint. He also took violin lessons from Ignaz Schuppanzigh. Early in this period, he also began receiving occasional instruction from Antonio Salieri, primarily in Italian vocal composition style; this relationship persisted until at least 1802, and possibly 1809. With Haydn's departure for England in 1794, Beethoven was expected by the Elector to return home. He chose instead to remain in Vienna, continuing his instruction in counterpoint with Johann Albrechtsberger and other teachers. Although his stipend from the Elector expired, a number of Viennese noblemen had already recognized his ability and offered him financial support, among them Prince Joseph Franz Lobkowitz, Prince Karl Lichnowsky, and Baron Gottfried van Swieten.
By 1793, Beethoven established a reputation as an improviser in the salons of the nobility, often playing the preludes and fugues of J. S. Bach's Well-Tempered Clavier. His friend Nikolaus Simrock had also begun publishing his compositions; the first are believed to be a set of variations (WoO 66)^. Beethoven spent much of 1794 composing. By 1793, he had established a reputation in Vienna as a piano virtuoso, but he apparently withheld works from publication so that their publication in 1795 would have greater impact. Beethoven's first public performance in Vienna was in March 1795, a concert in which he debuted a piano concerto. It is uncertain whether this was the First or Second, as documentary evidence is unclear, and both concertos were in a similar state of near-completion (neither was completed or published for several years).^[31]^[32] Shortly after this performance, he arranged for the publication of the first of his compositions to which he assigned an opus number, the piano trios of Opus 1. These works were dedicated to his patron Prince Lichnowsky,^[31] and were a financial success; Beethoven's profits were nearly sufficient to cover his living expenses for a year.^[33]

Musical maturity

Between 1798 and 1802 Beethoven tackled what he considered the pinnacles of composition: the string quartet and the symphony. With the composition of his first six string quartets (Op. 18) between 1798 and 1800 (written on commission for, and dedicated to, Prince Lobkowitz), and their publication in 1801, along with premieres of the First and Second Symphonies in 1800 and 1802, Beethoven was justifiably considered one of the most important of a generation of young composers following after Haydn and Mozart. He continued to write in other forms, turning out widely known piano sonatas like the "Pathétique" sonata (Op. 13), which Cooper describes as "surpass[ing] any of his previous compositions, in strength of character, depth of emotion, level of originality, and ingenuity of motivic and tonal manipulation".^[34] He also completed his Septet (Op. 20) in 1799, which was one of his most popular works during his lifetime.

For the premiere of his First Symphony, Beethoven hired the Burgtheater on 2 April 1800, and staged an extensive program of music, including works by Haydn and Mozart, as well as the Septet, the First Symphony, and one of his piano concertos (the latter three works all then unpublished). The concert, which the Allgemeine musikalische Zeitung described as "the most interesting concert in a long time", was not without difficulties; among other criticisms was that "the players did not bother to pay any attention to the soloist".
While Mozart and Haydn were undeniable influences (for example, Beethoven's quintet for piano and winds is said to bear a strong resemblance to Mozart's work for the same configuration, albeit with his own distinctive touches), other composers like Muzio Clementi were also stylistic influences^{[citation needed]}. Beethoven's melodies, musical development, use of modulation and texture, and characterization of emotion all set him apart from his influences, and heightened the impact some of his early works made when they were first published. By the end of 1800 Beethoven and his music were already much in demand from patrons and publishers.

For the premiere of his First Symphony, Beethoven hired the Burgtheater on 2 April 1800, and staged an extensive program of music, including works by Haydn and Mozart, as well as the Septet, the First Symphony, and one of his piano concertos (the latter three works all then unpublished). The concert, which the Allgemeine musikalische Zeitung described as "the most interesting concert in a long time", was not without difficulties; among other criticisms was that "the players did not bother to pay any attention to the soloist".
While Mozart and Haydn were undeniable influences (for example, Beethoven's quintet for piano and winds is said to bear a strong resemblance to Mozart's work for the same configuration, albeit with his own distinctive touches), other composers like Muzio Clementi were also stylistic influences^{[citation needed]}. Beethoven's melodies, musical development, use of modulation and texture, and characterization of emotion all set him apart from his influences, and heightened the impact some of his early works made when they were first published. By the end of 1800 Beethoven and his music were already much in demand from patrons and publishers.

For the premiere of his First Symphony, Beethoven hired the Burgtheater on 2 April 1800, and staged an extensive program of music, including works by Haydn and Mozart, as well as the Septet, the First Symphony, and one of his piano concertos (the latter three works all then unpublished). The concert, which the Allgemeine musikalische Zeitung described as "the most interesting concert in a long time", was not without difficulties; among other criticisms was that "the players did not bother to pay any attention to the soloist".
While Mozart and Haydn were undeniable influences (for example, Beethoven's quintet for piano and winds is said to bear a strong resemblance to Mozart's work for the same configuration, albeit with his own distinctive touches), other composers like Muzio Clementi were also stylistic influences^{[citation needed]}. Beethoven's melodies, musical development, use of modulation and texture, and characterization of emotion all set him apart from his influences, and heightened the impact some of his early works made when they were first published.By the end of 1800 Beethoven and his music were already much in demand from patrons and publishers.
^{(Source:directed from: www.wikipedia.org)}

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^{medallion antiguo}^{reis d eterna saudade}
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Isaac Albeniz Biography

2010-08-06T20:21:00.000-07:00

Isaac Manuel Francisco Albeniz (1860 - 1909) Born in Camprodon, province of Girona, to Ángel Albéniz (a customs official) and his wife Dolors Pascual, Albéniz was a child prodigy who first performed at the age of four. At age seven, after apparently taking lessons from Antoine Marmontel, he passed the entrance examination for piano at the Paris Conservatoire, but he was refused admission because he was believed to be too young.^[1]
His concert career began at the young age of nine when his father toured both Isaac and his sister, Clementina, throughout northern Spain. By the time he had reached 12, he had made many attempts to run away from home. At the age of 12 he stowed away in a ship bound for Buenos Aires. He then made his way via Cuba to the United States, giving concerts in New York and San Francisco and then travelled to Liverpool, London and Leipzig.^[2] By age 15, he had already given concerts worldwide. After a short stay at the Leipzig Conservatory, in 1876 he went to study in Brussels. In 1880, he went to Budapest to study with Franz Liszt, only to find out that Liszt was in Weimar, Germany.
In 1883, he met the teacher and composer Felip Pedrell, who inspired him to write Spanish music such as the Chants d'Espagne. The first movement (Prelude) of that suite, later retitled after the composer's death as Asturias (Leyenda), is probably most famous today as part of the classical guitar repertoire, even though it was originally composed for piano and only later transcribed. (Many of Albéniz's other compositions were also transcribed for guitar, notably by Francisco Tárrega — Albéniz once declared that he preferred Tárrega's guitar transcriptions to his original piano works).^{[citation needed]} At the 1888 Universal Exposition in Barcelona, the piano manufacturer Erard sponsored a series of 20 concerts featuring Albéniz's music.^[3]
The apex of his concert career is considered to be 1889 to 1892 when he had concert tours throughout Europe. During the 1890s Albéniz lived in London and Paris. For London he wrote some musical comedies which brought him to the attention of the wealthy Francis Money-Coutts, 5th Baron Latymer. Money-Coutts commissioned and provided him with librettos for the opera Henry Clifford and for a projected trilogy of Arthurian operas. The first of these, Merlin (1898–1902) was thought to have been lost, but has recently been reconstructed and successfully performed;^[4]. Albéniz never completed Lancelot (only the first act is finished, as a vocal and piano score), and he never began Guinevere, the final part.^[5].
In 1900 he started to suffer from Bright's disease and returned to writing piano music. Between 1905 and 1908 he composed his final masterpiece, Iberia (1908), a suite of twelve piano "impressions".
In 1883, the composer married his student Rosina Jordana. They had three children, Blanca (who died in 1886), Laura (a painter), and Alfonso (who played for Real Madrid in the early 1900s before embarking on a career as a diplomat). Two other children died in infancy.
Albéniz died on 18 May 1909 at age 48 in Cambo-les-Bains of Bright's disease, and is buried in the Cementiri del Sudoest at Monjuïc, Barcelona.
Alberto Ruiz-Gallardón, current mayor of Madrid, and Cécilia Sarkozy, the former wife of French president Nicolas Sarkozy, are two of Isaac Albéniz's great-grandchildren.

Born in Camprodon, province of Girona, to Ángel Albéniz (a customs official) and his wife Dolors Pascual, Albéniz was a child prodigy who first performed at the age of four. At age seven, after apparently taking lessons from Antoine Marmontel, he passed the entrance examination for piano at the Paris Conservatoire, but he was refused admission because he was believed to be too young.^[1]
His concert career began at the young age of nine when his father toured both Isaac and his sister, Clementina, throughout northern Spain. By the time he had reached 12, he had made many attempts to run away from home. At the age of 12 he stowed away in a ship bound for Buenos Aires. He then made his way via Cuba to the United States, giving concerts in New York and San Francisco and then travelled to Liverpool, London and Leipzig.^[2] By age 15, he had already given concerts worldwide. After a short stay at the Leipzig Conservatory, in 1876 he went to study in Brussels. In 1880, he went to Budapest to study with Franz Liszt, only to find out that Liszt was in Weimar, Germany.
In 1883, he met the teacher and composer Felip Pedrell, who inspired him to write Spanish music such as the Chants d'Espagne. The first movement (Prelude) of that suite, later retitled after the composer's death as Asturias (Leyenda), is probably most famous today as part of the classical guitar repertoire, even though it was originally composed for piano and only later transcribed. (Many of Albéniz's other compositions were also transcribed for guitar, notably by Francisco Tárrega — Albéniz once declared that he preferred Tárrega's guitar transcriptions to his original piano works).^{[citation needed]} At the 1888 Universal Exposition in Barcelona, the piano manufacturer Erard sponsored a series of 20 concerts featuring Albéniz's music.^[3]
The apex of his concert career is considered to be 1889 to 1892 when he had concert tours throughout Europe. During the 1890s Albéniz lived in London and Paris. For London he wrote some musical comedies which brought him to the attention of the wealthy Francis Money-Coutts, 5th Baron Latymer. Money-Coutts commissioned and provided him with librettos for the opera Henry Clifford and for a projected trilogy of Arthurian operas. The first of these, Merlin (1898–1902) was thought to have been lost, but has recently been reconstructed and successfully performed;^[4]. Albéniz never completed Lancelot (only the first act is finished, as a vocal and piano score), and he never began Guinevere, the final part.^[5].
In 1900 he started to suffer from Bright's disease and returned to writing piano music. Between 1905 and 1908 he composed his final masterpiece, Iberia (1908), a suite of twelve piano "impressions".
In 1883, the composer married his student Rosina Jordana. They had three children, Blanca (who died in 1886), Laura (a painter), and Alfonso (who played for Real Madrid in the early 1900s before embarking on a career as a diplomat). Two other children died in infancy.
Albéniz died on 18 May 1909 at age 48 in Cambo-les-Bains of Bright's disease, and is buried in the Cementiri del Sudoest at Monjuïc, Barcelona.
Alberto Ruiz-Gallardón, current mayor of Madrid, and Cécilia Sarkozy, the former wife of French president Nicolas Sarkozy, are two of Isaac Albéniz's great-grandchildren.

Born in Camprodon, province of Girona, to Ángel Albéniz (a customs official) and his wife Dolors Pascual, Albéniz was a child prodigy who first performed at the age of four. At age seven, after apparently taking lessons from Antoine Marmontel, he passed the entrance examination for piano at the Paris Conservatoire, but he was refused admission because he was believed to be too young.^[1]
His concert career began at the young age of nine when his father toured both Isaac and his sister, Clementina, throughout northern Spain. By the time he had reached 12, he had made many attempts to run away from home. At the age of 12 he stowed away in a ship bound for Buenos Aires. He then made his way via Cuba to the United States, giving concerts in New York and San Francisco and then travelled to Liverpool, London and Leipzig.^[2] By age 15, he had already given concerts worldwide. After a short stay at the Leipzig Conservatory, in 1876 he went to study in Brussels. In 1880, he went to Budapest to study with Franz Liszt, only to find out that Liszt was in Weimar, Germany.
In 1883, he met the teacher and composer Felip Pedrell, who inspired him to write Spanish music such as the Chants d'Espagne. The first movement (Prelude) of that suite, later retitled after the composer's death as Asturias (Leyenda), is probably most famous today as part of the classical guitar repertoire, even though it was originally composed for piano and only later transcribed. (Many of Albéniz's other compositions were also transcribed for guitar, notably by Francisco Tárrega — Albéniz once declared that he preferred Tárrega's guitar transcriptions to his original piano works).^{[citation needed]} At the 1888 Universal Exposition in Barcelona, the piano manufacturer Erard sponsored a series of 20 concerts featuring Albéniz's music.^[3]
The apex of his concert career is considered to be 1889 to 1892 when he had concert tours throughout Europe. During the 1890s Albéniz lived in London and Paris. For London he wrote some musical comedies which brought him to the attention of the wealthy Francis Money-Coutts, 5th Baron Latymer. Money-Coutts commissioned and provided him with librettos for the opera Henry Clifford and for a projected trilogy of Arthurian operas. The first of these, Merlin (1898–1902) was thought to have been lost, but has recently been reconstructed and successfully performed;^[4]. Albéniz never completed Lancelot (only the first act is finished, as a vocal and piano score), and he never began Guinevere, the final part.^[5].
In 1900 he started to suffer from Bright's disease and returned to writing piano music. Between 1905 and 1908 he composed his final masterpiece, Iberia (1908), a suite of twelve piano "impressions".
In 1883, the composer married his student Rosina Jordana. They had three children, Blanca (who died in 1886), Laura (a painter), and Alfonso (who played for Real Madrid in the early 1900s before embarking on a career as a diplomat). Two other children died in infancy.
Albéniz died on 18 May 1909 at age 48 in Cambo-les-Bains of Bright's disease, and is buried in the Cementiri del Sudoest at Monjuïc, Barcelona.
Alberto Ruiz-Gallardón, current mayor of Madrid, and Cécilia Sarkozy, the former wife of French president Nicolas Sarkozy, are two of Isaac Albéniz's great-grandchildren.
Born in Camprodon, province of Girona, to Ángel Albéniz (a customs official) and his wife Dolors Pascual, Albéniz was a child prodigy who first performed at the age of four. At age seven, after apparently taking lessons from Antoine Marmontel, he passed the entrance examination for piano at the Paris Conservatoire, but he was refused admission because he was believed to be too young.^[1]
His concert career began at the young age of nine when his father toured both Isaac and his sister, Clementina, throughout northern Spain. By the time he had reached 12, he had made many attempts to run away from home. At the age of 12 he stowed away in a ship bound for Buenos Aires. He then made his way via Cuba to the United States, giving concerts in New York and San Francisco and then travelled to Liverpool, London and Leipzig.^[2] By age 15, he had already given concerts worldwide. After a short stay at the Leipzig Conservatory, in 1876 he went to study in Brussels. In 1880, he went to Budapest to study with Franz Liszt, only to find out that Liszt was in Weimar, Germany.
In 1883, he met the teacher and composer Felip Pedrell, who inspired him to write Spanish music such as the Chants d'Espagne. The first movement (Prelude) of that suite, later retitled after the composer's death as Asturias (Leyenda), is probably most famous today as part of the classical guitar repertoire, even though it was originally composed for piano and only later transcribed. (Many of Albéniz's other compositions were also transcribed for guitar, notably by Francisco Tárrega — Albéniz once declared that he preferred Tárrega's guitar transcriptions to his original piano works).^{[citation needed]} At the 1888 Universal Exposition in Barcelona, the piano manufacturer Erard sponsored a series of 20 concerts featuring Albéniz's music.^[3]
The apex of his concert career is considered to be 1889 to 1892 when he had concert tours throughout Europe. During the 1890s Albéniz lived in London and Paris. For London he wrote some musical comedies which brought him to the attention of the wealthy Francis Money-Coutts, 5th Baron Latymer. Money-Coutts commissioned and provided him with librettos for the opera Henry Clifford and for a projected trilogy of Arthurian operas. The first of these, Merlin (1898–1902) was thought to have been lost, but has recently been reconstructed and successfully performed;^[4]. Albéniz never completed Lancelot (only the first act is finished, as a vocal and piano score), and he never began Guinevere, the final part.^[5].
In 1900 he started to suffer from Bright's disease and returned to writing piano music. Between 1905 and 1908 he composed his final masterpiece, Iberia (1908), a suite of twelve piano "impressions".
In 1883, the composer married his student Rosina Jordana. They had three children, Blanca (who died in 1886), Laura (a painter), and Alfonso (who played for Real Madrid in the early 1900s before embarking on a career as a diplomat). Two other children died in infancy.
Albéniz died on 18 May 1909 at age 48 in Cambo-les-Bains of Bright's disease, and is buried in the Cementiri del Sudoest at Monjuïc, Barcelona.
Alberto Ruiz-Gallardón, current mayor of Madrid, and Cécilia Sarkozy, the former wife of French president Nicolas Sarkozy, are two of Isaac Albéniz's great-grandchildren.
Born in Camprodon, province of Girona, to Ángel Albéniz (a customs official) and his wife Dolors Pascual, Albéniz was a child prodigy who first performed at the age of four. At age seven, after apparently taking lessons from Antoine Marmontel, he passed the entrance examination for piano at the Paris Conservatoire, but he was refused admission because he was believed to be too young.^[1]
His concert career began at the young age of nine when his father toured both Isaac and his sister, Clementina, throughout northern Spain. By the time he had reached 12, he had made many attempts to run away from home. At the age of 12 he stowed away in a ship bound for Buenos Aires. He then made his way via Cuba to the United States, giving concerts in New York and San Francisco and then travelled to Liverpool, London and Leipzig.^[2] By age 15, he had already given concerts worldwide. After a short stay at the Leipzig Conservatory, in 1876 he went to study in Brussels. In 1880, he went to Budapest to study with Franz Liszt, only to find out that Liszt was in Weimar, Germany.
In 1883, he met the teacher and composer Felip Pedrell, who inspired him to write Spanish music such as the Chants d'Espagne. The first movement (Prelude) of that suite, later retitled after the composer's death as Asturias (Leyenda), is probably most famous today as part of the classical guitar repertoire, even though it was originally composed for piano and only later transcribed. (Many of Albéniz's other compositions were also transcribed for guitar, notably by Francisco Tárrega — Albéniz once declared that he preferred Tárrega's guitar transcriptions to his original piano works).^{[citation needed]} At the 1888 Universal Exposition in Barcelona, the piano manufacturer Erard sponsored a series of 20 concerts featuring Albéniz's music.^[3]
The apex of his concert career is considered to be 1889 to 1892 when he had concert tours throughout Europe. During the 1890s Albéniz lived in London and Paris. For London he wrote some musical comedies which brought him to the attention of the wealthy Francis Money-Coutts, 5th Baron Latymer. Money-Coutts commissioned and provided him with librettos for the opera Henry Clifford and for a projected trilogy of Arthurian operas. The first of these, Merlin (1898–1902) was thought to have been lost, but has recently been reconstructed and successfully performed;^[4]. Albéniz never completed Lancelot (only the first act is finished, as a vocal and piano score), and he never began Guinevere, the final part.^[5].
In 1900 he started to suffer from Bright's disease and returned to writing piano music. Between 1905 and 1908 he composed his final masterpiece, Iberia (1908), a suite of twelve piano "impressions".
In 1883, the composer married his student Rosina Jordana. They had three children, Blanca (who died in 1886), Laura (a painter), and Alfonso (who played for Real Madrid in the early 1900s before embarking on a career as a diplomat). Two other children died in infancy.
Albéniz died on 18 May 1909 at age 48 in Cambo-les-Bains of Bright's disease, and is buried in the Cementiri del Sudoest at Monjuïc, Barcelona.
Alberto Ruiz-Gallardón, current mayor of Madrid, and Cécilia Sarkozy, the former wife of French president Nicolas Sarkozy, are two of Isaac Albéniz's great-grandchildren.
Born in Camprodon, province of Girona, to Ángel Albéniz (a customs official) and his wife Dolors Pascual, Albéniz was a child prodigy who first performed at the age of four. At age seven, after apparently taking lessons from Antoine Marmontel, he passed the entrance examination for piano at the Paris Conservatoire, but he was refused admission because he was believed to be too young.
His concert career began at the young age of nine when his father toured both Isaac and his sister, Clementina, throughout northern Spain. By the time he had reached 12, he had made many attempts to run away from home. At the age of 12 he stowed away in a ship bound for Buenos Aires. He then made his way via Cuba to the United States, giving concerts in New York and San Francisco and then travelled to Liverpool, London and Leipzig.^[2] By age 15, he had already given concerts worldwide. After a short stay at the Leipzig Conservatory, in 1876 he went to study in Brussels. In 1880, he went to Budapest to study with Franz Liszt, only to find out that Liszt was in Weimar, Germany.
In 1883, he met the teacher and composer Felip Pedrell, who inspired him to write Spanish music such as the Chants d'Espagne. The first movement (Prelude) of that suite, later retitled after the composer's death as Asturias (Leyenda), is probably most famous today as part of the classical guitar repertoire, even though it was originally composed for piano and only later transcribed. (Many of Albéniz's other compositions were also transcribed for guitar, notably by Francisco Tárrega — Albéniz once declared that he preferred Tárrega's guitar transcriptions to his original piano works). At the 1888 Universal Exposition in Barcelona, the piano manufacturer Erard sponsored a series of 20 concerts featuring Albéniz's music.
The apex of his concert career is considered to be 1889 to 1892 when he had concert tours throughout Europe. During the 1890s Albéniz lived in London and Paris. For London he wrote some musical comedies which brought him to the attention of the wealthy Francis Money-Coutts, 5th Baron Latymer. Money-Coutts commissioned and provided him with librettos for the opera Henry Clifford and for a projected trilogy of Arthurian operas. The first of these, Merlin (1898–1902) was thought to have been lost, but has recently been reconstructed and successfully performed;. Albéniz never completed Lancelot (only the first act is finished, as a vocal and piano score), and he never began Guinevere, the final part..
In 1900 he started to suffer from Bright's disease and returned to writing piano music. Between 1905 and 1908 he composed his final masterpiece, Iberia (1908), a suite of twelve piano "impressions".
In 1883, the composer married his student Rosina Jordana. They had three children, Blanca (who died in 1886), Laura (a painter), and Alfonso (who played for Real Madrid in the early 1900s before embarking on a career as a diplomat). Two other children died in infancy.
Albéniz died on 18 May 1909 at age 48 in Cambo-les-Bains of Bright's disease, and is buried in the Cementiri del Sudoest at Monjuïc, Barcelona.
Alberto Ruiz-Gallardón, current mayor of Madrid, and Cécilia Sarkozy, the former wife of French president Nicolas Sarkozy, are two of Isaac Albéniz's great-grandchildren.

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Fernando Sor biography

2010-06-29T20:34:00.000-07:00

Fernando Sor: Born in Barcelona to a fairly well-off family, Sor was descended from a long line of career soldiers, and intended to continue that legacy, but was distracted from this when his father introduced him to Italian opera. He fell in love with music and abandoned his military career goals. Along with opera, Sor's father also introduced him to the guitar, which, at the time, was little more than an instrument played in taverns, thought to be inferior to orchestral instruments.

At a young age, Sor’s parents were cautious to give his musical abilities too much special attention, because his father was afraid that it would distract from his Latin studies. Therefore, the very young Sor (less than 11 years old) began to write songs to words in Latin to impress his parents. He even invented his own system for notating music, given that he had not yet received formal training.

When he reached the age of 11 or 12, the leader of the Barcelona Cathedral took attention to him as a young talent. In a very unfortunate stroke of fate, however, not long after Sor was enrolled in the school his father died, leaving his mother without the funds to continue Sor’s education at the Cathedral. However, at around the same time, the new abbot of Montserrat, Joseph Arredondo, heard of his talent as well, and provided funds for him to attend the “Escolanía” (Choir School) at the famous monastery in Montserrat. Sor reveals in writings, mainly from the last ten years of his life, that he was greatly attached to this place, and had fond, nostalgic memories of his childhood there. Unfortunately, his mother began to see that Sor was becoming greatly distracted from his “chosen” path in the military or administration, and following the advice of friends took him out of the monastery and placed him in military school for four years. It was not a terrible turn of events, as he had much free time to play and compose music in the army as well.

In 1808, when Napoleon Bonaparte invaded Spain, he began to write nationalistic music for the guitar, often accompanied by patriotic lyrics. Sor was even part of traveling military bands that would play protest music on the streets. He was also promoted to captain in Córdoba and may have fought battles against the French at this time. After the defeat of the Spanish army, however, Sor accepted an administrative post in the occupying government. Here he was to be officially labeled an afrancesado along with the other Spaniards who abandoned their defense of Spain to embrace the French Revolutionary ideas. After the Spanish repelled the French in 1813, Sor and the other afrancesados left Spain for fear of retribution. He went to Paris, and never returned to his home country again.

Having completely abandoned his family’s ideal of a military or administrative post, Sor could finally give music a serious try in France. He gained renown at first as a virtuosic guitarist and composer for the instrument. When he attempted composing for operas, however, he was rejected by the French as a composer. His Op. 7 was a large and strange piece, strangely notated in three clefs, and no guitarist at the time could play it. Since France was no longer supportive of his music, Sor decided to try his talents elsewhere.

In 1815, he went to London, England, to attempt to build a stronger music career there. Again, he started to gain considerable fame as a guitarist, and even gave guitar and voice lessons. Since ballet in London was a more popular genre than opera, Sor decided to try his hand at this new area of music. He began to have considerable success this time, especially with his ballet Cendrillon, the most successful of his works in its own day.

By 1823 once he had acquired a level of fame in London, Sor again wandered away, this time with the ballerina Fèlicitè Hullen to Moscow in her quest to become a prima ballerina. Not much is known about his time in Russia, however, though much has been exaggerated about his romantic and professional life there. After three years in Moscow, he traveled around Europe giving concerts, getting into music circles everywhere he went.

In 1827, due partly to his advancing age, he settled down and decided to live out the rest of his life in Paris. It was during this retirement that he composed the majority of his guitar works. He had to comply with the demands of the public, though, and most guitarists wanted simple, nice-sounding pieces to practice that didn't require any special technical ability. It was in these last ten or so years of his life that his writings reveal his bitterness towards his career for the instrument. For example, Op, 43 is entitled Mes Ennuis (“My Annoyances”), and six of his ballets are dedicated to “whoever wants them.” These and other caustic remarks did not help his sales in the least. The foreword to Op.45 goes even further than sarcasm: “Let’s see if that’s that. Six short and easy pieces in stages which aim to lead to what has generally been agreed are difficulties. Composed and dedicated to the person with the least patience, by Fernando Sor. Opus 45.”

His last work was a mass in honor of his daughter, who died in 1837. Her death sent the already sickly Sor into serious depression, and he died in 1839, of tongue and throat cancer

Download:
Method for Classic Guitar
Etude Opus 31 in D mp3
Etude Opus 35 in C mp3

3 SocietyPieces Op36
6 Studies7-12O p6.pdf
6 Short Pieces Op32. pdf
12 Etudes Op29.pdf
3 Society Pieces Op33.pdf
8 Small Pieces Op 24.pdf
6 Studies Op6.pdf
6 Waltzes Op18.pdf.
Fantasy Variations OnScotch Ai rOp40.pdf
12 Etudes Op 29.pdf
Fantaisie Op 12.pdf
Fantasie Op7.pdf
24 exercises Op35.pdf
Fantasies Op10.pdf
8 Small Pieces Op24.pdf
Fantasia Op4.pdf
Fantasy Variations Op30.pdf
Grand Sonata Op22.pdf
GrandSolo Op 14.pdf
Intro Variations Op 28.pdf
Fantasia Op 4.pdf
Mozart Magic Flute Op 19.pdf
Intro Variation Op 26.pdf
Fantasie Op 7.pdf
Grande Sonate Op25.pdf
Les Folies Despagne Op 15.pdf

Agustin Barrios Mangore Biography

2010-04-13T21:20:00.000-07:00

Agustin Barrios International Guitar Competition
Agustín Pío Barrios (also known as Agustín Barrios Mangoré. May 5, 1885 - Aug 7 1944), an eminent Paraguayan guitarist and composer, was born May 5, 1885, in the department of Misiones, Paraguay and died August 7, 1944 in San Salvador, El Salvador. It has been generally accepted that the guitarist was born in San Juan Bautista in Misiones, however, there is no definitive proof of this as his baptismal document found in the book of registries in the cathedral in San Juan Bautista does not state his precise place of birth. Also, several biographers and authorities present convincing documented evidence that Barrios was born, instead, in the nearby town of Villa Florida, Misiones, situated on the Tebicuary River some 30 km north of San Juan Bautista.
When he was a child, Barrios began to develop a love for music and literature, two areas that were very important to his family. Barrios would eventually speak two languages (Spanish and Guarani), and read three more (English, French and German).
Barrios began to show an interest in musical instruments, particularly the guitar, before he reached his teens. He went to Asunción in 1901, at the age of fifteen, to attend a university (Universidad Nacional de Asunción) with a scholarship in music, thus becoming one of the youngest university students in Paraguayan history. Apart from his studies in the college's music department, Barrios was also well appreciated by members of the college's mathematics, journalism and literature departments.
After leaving college, Barrios dedicated his life to music and writing poems. He composed more than 300 songs for which he would first write the lyrics and then the guitar accompaniment^{[citation needed]}. Barrios made several friends during his multiple trips across South America. He was known for giving his friends and fans signed copies of his poems. Because of that, there are several different versions of his poetical works which have surfaced across South America, other areas of Latin America and the United States. Many current collectors warn potential buyers to be careful when they come across a poem reportedly autographed by Barrios.

Barrios was famed for his phenomenal performances, both live and on gramophone recordings — although Barrios is usually credited as the first classical guitarist to make recordings in 1909/10, a myth perpetuated by the guitarist John Williams, the first guitarist to record was the Mexican guitarist Octaviano Yanes performing his "Mexican Dance" (Habanera). The record, Victor 05662, is dated August 25, 1908. Another version of this piece exists on Edison Foreign Series cylinder (catalogue number 20204). For some years, it was Barrios's habit to perform in concert in traditional Paraguayan dress (he was partly of Guarani origin), assuming the persona of Nitsuga Mangoré ('Nitsuga' being Agustín spelled backwards, and 'Mangoré' being the name of a cacique of the South American indigenous group Timbú).
His works were largely late-Romantic in character, despite his having lived well into the twentieth century. Many of them are also adaptations of, or are influenced by, South American and Central American folk music. Very many of them are of a virtuosic nature.
The Bach-inspired La Catedral (1921) is often considered to be his most impressive work, even winning the approval of Andrés Segovia, who said "In 1921 in Buenos Aires, I played at the hall La Argentina noted for its good acoustics for guitar, where Barrios had concertized just weeks before me. He was presented to me by his secretary Elbio Trapani. At my invitation Barrios visited me at the hotel and played for me upon my very own guitar several of his compositions among which the one that really impressed me was a magnificent concert piece The Cathedral whose first movement is an andante, like an introduction and prelude, and a second very virtuosic piece which is ideal for the repertory of any concert guitarist. Barrios had promised to send me immediately a copy of the work (I had ten days remaining before continuing my journey) but I never received a copy.

The folk music of Paraguay (including the polca paraguaya and vals) provided the young Barrios with his first introduction to music. In 1898, Barrios was formally introduced to the classical guitar repertoire by Gustavo Sosa Escalada. At that time, Barrios had already composed works for the guitar, and also performed pieces written by his former teacher Alias, such as La Chinita and La Perezosa. Under the influence of his new teacher, Barrios went on to perform and study the works of Tárrega, Vinas, Sor and Aguado. Sosa Escalada was so impressed with his new pupil that he convinced Barrios's parents to let him move to Asunción to continue his education. Having already surpassed the technical and performing abilities of most guitarists, Barrios began seriously to compose around 1905.
Among the folkloric influences, Barrios is known to have played such popular paraguayan works as "Campamento Cerro León", "Londón Carapé", "Guyrá campana", "Mamá Cumandá" . As an example, "Guyrá campana" is very interesting, since some of the material can be heard in parts of Barrios' recording of "Caazapá — Aire Popular Paraguayo"... Though "Guyrá campana" is traditional music, many maintain that it is very closely related to guitarist Carlos Talavera 1 (from Caazapá), whom Barrios knew. There are various versions of "Guyrá campana" (it is also known as "Pájaro campana") e.g. for Paraguayan Harp (Félix Pérez Cardozo), etc.; and in some versions, the birdsong imitations can be very clearly heard

Barrios's compositions can be divided into three basic categories: folkloric, imitative and religious. Barrios paid tribute to the music and people of his native land by composing pieces modeled after folk songs from South America and Central America. Imitating the compositional style and techniques of the Baroque and Romantic periods was another side to his craftsmanship. La Catedral may be viewed as Barrios' tribute to Bach. It is believed that La Catedral was inspired by a religious experience for Barrios; therefore, the piece may also be categorized under religion. Religious beliefs and experiences also played an important role in Barrios' compositional process. Una Limosna por el Amor de Dios (Alms for the Love of God) is another example of a religiously-inspired work. Breaking down the works of Barrios into these three categories helps the guitar enthusiast to understand Barrios's musical intent.

Barrios died and was buried in the Cementerio de Los Ilustres in San Salvador, El Salvador on August 7, 1944.
Barrios is still revered in Paraguay, where he is seen as one of the greatest musicians of all time by many. John Williams has said of Barrios: "As a guitarist/composer, Barrios is the best of the lot, regardless of era. His music is better formed, it's more poetic, it's more everything! And it's more of all those things in a timeless way.

Download:
Aconguija.pdf
A-mi-madre.pdf
Vals no. 3.pdf
Aires Andaluces.pdf
Arabescos.pdf
Allegro Sinfonica .pdf
Arabesque.pdf
Armoniasamerica.pdf
Abejas.pdf
Ayayay.pdf
Aconguija from suite andina.pdf
Abri la puerta mi china.pdf
Allegro sinfonico.pdf
Caazape.pdf
Cancion de la hilandera.pdf
Diana Guarani.pdf
Cancion Cuna.pdf
Danza Paraguaya.pdf
Contemplation.pdf
Cordoba.pdf
Capricho Espanol.pdf
Danza.pdf
Cueca.pdf
T-y-yo
Tarantella
Minuetto-in-C
Choro de Saudade
Gavota Estilo Antiguo
Oracion
Oracion por Todos
12 Studies op. 48
4 Waltzes
Tarantella mp3
Minuetto-in-C mp3
T-y-yo mp3
Oracion por Todos mp3

Frederic Chopin

2010-01-31T20:31:00.000-08:00

Frédéric Chopin (1810-49)

Written when he was only seventeen years old, Frédéric Chopin’s Variations on “Là ci darem” from Mozart’s Don Giovanni, Op. 2, for piano and orchestra, is not considered one of his most interesting works. Nevertheless, when Chopin’s eminent contemporary Robert Schumann heard it, he was in no doubt as to Chopin’s talent. In his first published essay of music criticism (1831), Schumann hailed Chopin with the famous remark, “Hats off, gentlemen, a genius!” and Chopin’s career was launched.

Childhood in Warsaw

Fryderyk Franciszek Chopin was born near Warsaw in Zelazowa Wola, Poland on  March 1, 1810. He later adopted the French variant of his name, Frédéric-François, when he moved to Paris. He was the second of four children and the only boy born to Mikolaj Chopin and Tekla Justyna Kryzanowska. His father had moved to Poland in 1802 in order to teach French to the son of Countess Justyna Skarbek, which is where he met Chopin’s mother, who was the companion and assistant to the countess. In 1810, when Chopin was just seven months old, the family moved to Warsaw, where his father had secured a position in the recently established high school.

Because of his father’s position at the academy, the Chopin family began to mingle with elite circles of Warsaw society. The family mixed easily with members of the intelligentsia, the middle gentry (many of whose children were students at the high school), as well as a few members of the wealthy aristocracy.

Did You Know...?

Chopin's Funeral March (from Sonata 2, Third Movement) has become part of our collective consciousness as a musical metaphor for death. It has been used in a number of films including Fanny and Alexander (1982); Angel Heart (1987); A Prayer for the Dying (1987); Beetlejuice (1988); and Space Jam (1996) .

From the ages of six to eleven, Chopin received piano lessons from Wojciech Zywny, whose main instrument, interestingly, was violin. Zywny gave the boy a firm grounding in Bach and the music of the Classical period, but it soon became apparent that the gifted young boy had outgrown the abilities of his teacher. When Chopin entered the High School of Music in 1826, he continued his piano instruction with the school’s rector, Jozef Elsner, and started organ lessons with Wilhelm Würfel. When it came to technique, his teachers left him to his own devices, since Chopin had a natural aptitude for it, but he still received rigorous training in composition during his high school years.

It was clear to all of his teachers that Chopin had exceptional talent and was a musical genius. There was little left in Poland for the young virtuoso to learn. Following his graduation, he traveled to Vienna and gave two very well-received concerts. Upon his return to Warsaw, he began performing regularly in salons and occasionally gave bigger concerts. In December of 1829 he gave the first performance of the Piano Concerto in F minor and in March of the following year premiered the Piano Concerto in E minor, both of which met with great success. Since he was uncomfortable with the idea of pursuing a concert career, Chopin questioned his available career options. Young and in pursuit of new adventures, on November 1, 1830, Chopin and a high school friend, Tytus Wojciechowski, journeyed to Vienna to begin what was meant to be a grand tour of Europe.

One week after arriving in Vienna, the two young men heard news of an uprising in Warsaw, sparked by a failed attempt to assassinate the Grand Duke Constantin of Russia, ruler of Poland. Russia’s superior forces quickly subdued the revolt. In light of these events, feeling that he might be needed, Tytus decided to return to Poland, leaving Chopin alone in Vienna.

While in Vienna, Chopin traveled in a small circle of friends, attended various concerts and wrote the first nine mazurkas, opus 6 and opus 7. Though active as a musician, he was still unclear about what this future might hold and suffered bouts of depression. Eight months later, in July of 1831, Chopin left Vienna and headed for Paris.

Within two months, Chopin was feeling quite at home in Paris’s vibrant cultural life. His music and his performances soon came to be regarded highly, even among the elite of Parisian performers. He became friends with an extraordinary group of young artists, including the pianist-composer Franz Liszt and composer Hector Berlioz.

By the end of 1832, Chopin’s various social connections opened up another career path for him. Although he had been earning some income from private performances and sales of his published music, there was also a great demand for him as a teacher. His reputation as a performer grew as well, despite his eschewing of public concert halls. Both his delicately crafted music and his sensitive, nuanced playing style seemed more suited to the salon than to the concert hall. As a composer his fame was also increasing, and, by 1833, his music was being published in France, Germany, and England.

The following year, Chopin eased into a consistent routine of teaching, composing, and private salon performances. In the 1834-35 season, Chopin performed two major concerts of his works, which were very well received. Nevertheless, for the next several years he refused many invitations for public concerts, preferring to view himself as a composer.

With his life and career going so well, Chopin did not have much desire to return to Poland, but he did miss his family, so in 1835 he met up with them and spent the summer in Karlsbad. On his way home, he made a stop in Dresden to visit with friends of his family. While there, he fell in love with the sixteen-year-old daughter of the family, Maria Wodzinski. During the following summer of 1836, he spent five weeks on holiday with the Wodzinski family in Marienbad. On his last night with the family, he proposed to Maria. Though he was not given the family’s outright consent, Maria’s mother implied that the marriage would likely take place. However, the next year, 1837, he received a letter from the Wodzinski family that dashed his hopes of marrying Maria.

In April 1838 Chopin became reacquainted with the writer George Sand, whom he had met once before. This time, however, there was a mutual attraction, and the two became lovers by summer. That winter Chopin, Sand, and her two children traveled to Majorca in order to get away from the city and to avoid some unpleasantness with Sand’s previous lover. The cold, damp winter months wreaked havoc on Chopin’s health. He was diagnosed with tuberculosis, which left Sand in the position of caregiver.

In spite of the difficulties, both Chopin and Sand remained productive with their respective writing. By late January, however, Chopin’s deteriorating health prompted them to leave the island. From Majorca they traveled to Marseilles for an extended period of convalescence. By May of 1839, Chopin had recuperated enough that they could spend the summer months at Sand’s home in Nohant, France.

The End of Chopin and Sand's Relationship

After the summer of 1839 Chopin began to miss the atmosphere of the city, so by October Sand and Chopin had moved back to Paris. By renting adjacent flats in the Pigalle, the pair was able to maintain their relationship, as well as a degree of independence. Their relationship was not without its problems, largely caused by the differences between their respective circles of friends. Chopin had many “society” friends, while Sand associated with a more bohemian, artistic, and political crowd. The two felt uncomfortable in one another’s circles. Nevertheless, their relationship provided Chopin with a sense of stability. He remained productive, continuing to teach and to compose.

It was in this period that he refocused on composition and produced music of an even higher quality. Chopin and Sand spent every summer together in Nohant, during which time Chopin arduously composed. His music became increasingly rich and complex, but the compositional process became tedious and slow.

Chopin’s health started to deteriorate again in 1844. This ill health, coupled with his personal frustrations over his lack of fluency as a composer and growing tensions with Sand and her children, brought their relationship to an end. Sand’s novel Lucrezia Floriani, published in 1846, depicts the breakup of a couple’s relationship and is thought to be largely autobiographical. By 1847 Chopin and Sand’s relationship was over.

Death at an Early Age

Chopin continued to give lessons and the occasional private performance, but his health was getting worse. When the 1848 Revolution broke out in Paris that February, Chopin deemed it a good time to leave the country. With his Scottish pupil Jane Stirling helping him financially, he embarked on a tour of England and Scotland. Chopin gave concerts and made the rounds of high society, but these activities began to wear on his already delicate health. At the same time, it became apparent that Stirling was hoping to fill the space left by Sand, but Chopin felt “closer to the coffin, than the marriage bed,” as he put it.

Returning to London from a trip to Scotland, Chopin weighed less than 100 pounds. His doctors urged him to return to Paris as soon as possible. After performing a few more concerts in London, he did so. It was clear that Chopin was in the final stages of tuberculosis. His many friends visited him often and Stirling offered financial assistance, but he was most pleased that his sister Ludwika and her family came to live with him, providing the family atmosphere that he craved. Chopin passed away in the Place Vendôme on October 17, 1849

References:

Baker, Theodore. The Concise Baker’s Biographical Dictionary of Musicians. 8th ed. Rev. Nicolas Slonimsky. New York: Schirmer Books, 1994.
Goulding, Philip. Classical Music: The 50 Greatest Composers and Their 1,000 Greatest Works. New York: Fawcett Books, 1992.
Schonberg, Harold. The Lives of the Great Composers. 3rd ed. Rev. Nicolas Slonimsky. New York: W.W. Norton, 1997.
Michalowski, Kornel and Jim Samson: ‘Chopin, Fryderyk Franciszek’, Grove Music Online ed. L. Macy (Accessed 8 February 2006), http://www.grovemusic.com

Download:

Isaac Albeniz: Capricho Catalan
Isaac Albeniz: Castilla
Beethoven: Moonlight Sonata
Matteo Carcassi: Airs Suisse Varies
Matteo Carcassi: Allegretto from 12
Matteo Carcassi: Skole Allegreto
Fernando Carulli: Andante
Fernando Carulli: Study in C
Fernando Carulli: Walz in C Mayor

2009-11-29T17:01:00.001-08:00

2009-10-31T21:21:00.001-07:00

2009-10-31T21:20:00.001-07:00

History Classical Guitar Composer

2009-10-02T23:00:00.000-07:00

Tarega, Francisco
Francisco Tárrega (Francisto Tarrega y Eixea) (November 21, 1852 - December 15, 1909) was a Spanish composer and guitarist.
Born in Villarreal, Spain, he fell into an irrigation channel when he was young, which rendered him nearly blind. Partially due to this accident, the family moved to Castellon and enrolled him in music classes. Both his first music teachers, Eugeni Ruiz and Manuel Gonzalez, were blind. In 1862, guitarist Julián Arcas heard the young prodigy and encouraged him to journey to Barcelona, a hub for musicians. However, Tarrega was soon brought back by his father. [1],

He entered the Madrid Conservatory in 1874, under the sponsorship of a wealthy merchant named Antonio Canesa, where he studied composition under Emilio Arrieta. By the end of the 1870s, he was teaching the guitar (Emilio Pujol and Miguel Llobet were pupils of his) and giving regular concerts. A virtuoso on his instrument, he was known as the 'Sarasate of the guitar'. He later settled in Barcelona, and died there in 1909.

As well as his original works for the guitar, which include Recuerdos de la Alhambra, Capricho Árabe and Danza Mora, he arranged pieces by others for the instrument, including works by Ludwig van Beethoven, Frédéric Chopin and Felix Mendelssohn. As with several of his Spanish contemporaries, such as his friend Isaac Albéniz, he had an interest in combining the prevailing Romantic trend in classical music with Spanish folk elements, and transcribed several of Albeniz's piano pieces (notably the fiery Asturias (Leyenda)) for guitar. The noted contemporary guitarist and composer Angelo Gilardino has written that Tárrega's 9 Preludios are '... the deepest musical thought of Tárrega in the most concentrated form.'

Tárrega is considered to have laid the foundations for 20th-century classical guitar and for increased interest in the guitar as a recital instrument. The great Andrés Segovia used much of Tarrega's work on technique and many of his compositions to take the classical guitar into concert halls of Europe. He is also the composer of what has been claimed to be 'probably the world's most heard tune': the Nokia ringtone Nokia tune or simply Nokia, also used in their advertising spots, is based on Tárrega's Gran Vals. His music also inspired Mike Oldfield, whose Etude (The Killing Fields) is based on Tárrega's piece for solo classical guitar Recuerdos de la Alhambra (Memories of the Alhambra).
Download Tarega's song:
adelita, andalusian dance, endecha, recudeos alhambra, estodio enform minueto, lagrima, minueto

Johann Sebastian Bach

Johann Sebastian Bach (pronounced [joˈhan/ˈjoːhan seˈbastjan ˈbax]) (31 March 1685 [O.S. 21 March] – 28 July 1750) was a German composer and organist whose sacred and secular works for choir, orchestra, and solo instruments drew together the strands of the Baroque period and brought it to its ultimate maturity.[1] Although he introduced no new forms, he enriched the prevailing German style with a robust contrapuntal technique, an unrivalled control of harmonic and motivic organisation in composition for diverse instrumentation, and the adaptation of rhythms and textures from abroad, particularly Italy and France.

Revered for their intellectual depth, technical command and artistic beauty, Bach's works include the Brandenburg concertos, the Goldberg Variations, the Partitas, the Well-Tempered Clavier, the Mass in B Minor, the St. Matthew Passion, the St. John Passion, the Magnificat, The Musical Offering, The Art of Fugue, the English Suites, the French Suites, the Sonatas and Partitas for violin solo, the Cello Suites, more than 200 surviving cantatas, and a similar number of organ works, including the celebrated Toccata and Fugue in D Minor.

While Bach's abilities as an organist were recognized and highly respected throughout Europe during his lifetime, he was not particularly well-known as a composer. His adherence to Baroque forms and contrapuntal style was considered 'old-fashioned' by his contemporaries, especially late in his career when the musical fashion tended towards Rococo and later Classical styles. A revival of interest and performances of his music began early in the 19th century, and he is now widely considered to be one of the greatest composers in the Western tradition.
Download Classic guitar MP3

gardel-carlos-por-un a-cabeza.mp3,

mozart-wolfgang-amad eus-rondo-alla-turka

coste-napoleon-les-C loches

Fernando Sor

Fernando Sor was born in Barcelona and was destined to play a pivotal role in overturning the perception that the guitar was not a serious instrument. His education was designed to prepare him to follow the family tradition into a military career, but it also gave him some scope to further his obvious passion for music. His father introduced the young Fernando to opera which he loved, and also helped to indulge his fascination for the guitar. He studied for a period at a monastery in Montserrat, where he took courses in music, sang in the choir and first started to compose. However when his father died he had to leave his studies and return home. In his brief military career there were further opportunities to compose and when Napoleon invaded Spain, Sor composed a number of nationalistic songs and instrumental music in support of his native country. When the French took over the running of the country his patriotism took a questionable turn when he accepted an administrative post with the occupying forces. So when the French were finally driven out of Spain, Sor felt compelled to flee and he settled in Paris.

In Paris Sor was able to concentrate on his music career and he soon built up a reputation which spread throughout Europe. That career had a number of facets as a composer, a performer and a teacher of the guitar. He toured a number of countries, spending a number of years in London before returning to Paris where he died in 1839 not long after the death of his daughter. His legacy is as a prolific composer and proponent of music for the guitar, and though the popularity of the instrument may have waned a little during the 19th century, its position today owes much to the life and work of Fernando Sor. As a guitar teacher Sor had many willing students, and he wrote a tutor for the instrument covering all aspects of playing styles and techniques which became a standard for future guitar players.
Download Fernando Sor mp3
etude Op. 31 no. 6 in Em Etude Op.35 No. 1 in C, Etude Op.35 No.2 in C,

The History of Matteo Carcassi

2009-09-29T19:46:00.001-07:00

Matteo Carcassi (Florence, Italy, 1792 - Paris, France, January 16, 1853), was a famous Italian guitarist and composer.

Carcassi began with the piano, but learned guitar when still a child. He quickly gained a reputation as a virtuoso concert guitarist.

He moved to Germany in 1810, gaining almost immediate success. In 1815, he was living in Paris, earning his living as a teacher of both the piano and the guitar. On a concert tour in Germany in 1819, he met his friend Antoine Meissonnier for the first time. Also a famous guitarist, Meissonnier published many of Carcassi's works in his Paris publishing house.

From 1820 on, Carcassi spent the majority of his time in Paris. In 1822, he performed an extremely successful series of concerts in London that earned him great fame, both as a performing artist and as a teacher. However, in Paris, a long time passed before his talents were truly recognised, partly because of the presence of Fernando Carulli, 'adored' by his audience.
Carcassi was in Germany again during the fall of 1824. Afterwards he performed in London, where his reputation now gave him access to more prestigious concert halls. Finally he returned to Paris. For several years, he made concert trips from here to the most important cultural towns of Europe, including London. After a short return to performing in 1836, he quit his concert practice around 1840 and died in the French capital in 1853.
Carcassi wrote a method for guitar (op. 59) that remains valuable, relevant and interesting. His most famous works are collected in his 25 Etudes op. 60. In these, he managed to blend technical skills and brilliant romantic music. This is the reason his music is still played by so many classical guitarists today.
His works have been published and recorded by numerous well known guitarists.

(Download)
Mozart: Turkish March mp3
Turkish March Sheet PDF

cene rentola

Downlio

2009-08-19T23:52:00.000-07:00

2009-08-19T23:47:00.001-07:00

2009-08-19T23:29:00.000-07:00

The music you're playing today

2009-08-19T23:00:00.000-07:00

What is music?

Dictionaries and encyclopedias define music as "an artistic form of auditory communication incorporating instrumental or vocal tones in a structured and continuous manner." It is also defined as "any pleasing and harmonious sound" and "the sounds produced by singers or musical instruments." (Source: wordnet.princeton.edu)

There are a lot of definitions for music and it will take a whole book to explore the subject of music. If there is one true definition of music it is this; music is universal and yet it is also relative and subjective. What may be music to one may not be so to another.

For me music is the singing of the birds, the whistling of my husband as he takes a shower, the soft humming of my little girl as she quietly plays, the beautiful sounds a pianist produces as he touches the keys of a piano...

Take a moment to ponder what the meaning of music is for you.

Origin and History of Music

There are many theories regarding when and where music originated. Many agree that music began even before man existed. Historiographers point out that there are six periods of music and each period has a particular style of music that greatly contributed to what music is today. Here are some resources for you to better understand the history of music. Links are arranged chronologically and is a great primer to learn more about every stage of music development.

Classic Guitar Sheet Download:
Fernando Sor :Study in E Flat
Encouragement , Ave Maria, divertissments, Andantino, Six-divertissements-pour-la-guitare, Study-in-C
Grandsolo, Petit-duo, Waltz-C-major,