In this article we discover who was Jérôme Bonaparte, why did he invite Beethoven to his court and how the composer used this offer as bargaining chip for advancing his positions in Vienna. Who was Jérôme Bonaparte? The youngest brother of Napoleon Bonaparte, Jérôme Bonaparte (15 November 1784 – 24 June 1860) was born in Ajaccio, Corsica, as Girolamo Buonaparte. He was the eighth – surviving – child of …
The question we try to answer in this article is about the role of the soloist player in a keyboard concerto. Should this musician conduct the performance as well or just play the part? Who does what and how the traditions changed during the history of music? The genre of the keyboard concerto was relatively new by the time Beethoven …
From childhood Beethoven always had a sketchbook in his pocket. He used them to pen down musical ideas right as they came to him. Even though the handwriting is messy and sometimes indecipherable these books became the holy grail to his admirers. Especially the famous Landsberg 6! In 1803 Beethoven realized his old sketchbook is getting full and went …
The Mannheim school The expression Mannheim school refers both to an orchestra, which was based in the southwest German city of Mannheim, and to their musical innovations in instrumental music. The orchestra was under the patronage of art loving Elector Duke Karl Theodor (reigned 1743–99). Many contemporary visitors to Mannheim were amazed by the excellence of the local orchestra, which …
No other city has such rich history in music like Vienna does! What was the city like when Beethoven arrived as a young man? How could a musician make a living? Let’s find out! At the end of the 18th century opera was the main attraction in Vienna. After the death of Joseph II. who was a great …
In this article we take a short journey in the history of opera discovering the roots and the development of this art form. Opera in Italy The word opera comes from the Italian phrase opera in musica – work in music. The name represents all the efforts that build up an opera. The text (libretto, booklet), the music itself, …