February 9, 2015.Berg, Cavalli.Alban Berg was born on this day in 1885 in Vienna.His father was a well-to-do merchant; in addition to a house in the very center of Vienna, next to the St. Stephen cathedral, the family owned an estate in Carinthia and other property.Alban was taught piano by one of the governesses, started composing songs at the age of 16, but was just a music-loving amateur when in 1904 he became a student of Arnold Schoenberg.Berg studied with Schoenberg for seven years.He admired his teacher, while Schoenberg considered Berg “an extraordinarily gifted composer.”Berg developed into one of the most influential composers of the 20th century: he, his fellow pupil Anton Webern, and of course their teacher Schoenberg formed what is known as “the Second Viennese School.”Together, they were enormously important in developing the atonal and later 12-note music.Berg’s most significant compositions are two operas, Wozzeck and Lulu.Wozzeck, the first atonal opera of the 20th century, is based on a drama of the playwright Georg Büchner.Berg composed it between 1914 and 1922.The music is admittedly difficult but utterly fascinating (and short – it runs for about an hour and 20 minutes); one can still hear Mahlerian influences in much of it.Here’s part of Act 3 of Wozzeck, in the 1987 live performance from Vienna.Part of it takes place in a tavern, you can hear a clanking piano.Franz Grundheber is Wozzeck, a soldier, Hildegard Behrens is Marie, the mother of his child, and Anna Gonda is Margret, their neighbor.Claudio Abbado conducts the Vienna Philharmonic.
Francesco Cavalli was also an opera composer.We suspect that neither he nor Berg would recognize each other as such.Cavalli was born Pietro Francesco Caletti-Bruni in Crema, Lombardy, on February 14, 1602.He adopted the name of his patron, Frederico Cavalli, later in his life.The young Pietro had a wonderful voice, and Frederico, who was the Venetian Governor of Crema, noticed the boy.In 1616 Cavalli brought him to Venice, where Pietro joined the choir of the San Marco. At that time, the great Claudio Monteverdi was the music director of the cathedral.Documents show that Cavalli helped Monteverdi to edit some of the master’s work.He left San Marco to become an organist at the church of SS Giovanni e Paolo and worked there till about 1630.Around that time he adopted the name of his patron and started signing his work as Francesco Cavalli.Monteverdi is acknowledged as the father of Italian opera but for a quarter of the century following Monteverdi’s death Cavalli was the leading, and most popular practitioner of the art.Cavalli’s first opera, Le nozze di Teti e di Peleo, was premiered in 1639 in Teatro San Cassiano, the first public opera house in Venice, and by extension in the world (the theater was demolished in 1812).His last operas were composed in the 1670s.La Calisto was written in the middle of Cavalli’s career, in 1651.Here’s the first scene of the second act, with Sara Mingardo, contralto, the Concerto Italiano under the direction of Rinaldo Alessandrini.In the early 1660s Cavalli spent two years in Paris.In 1661 Cardinal Mazarin commissioned him an opera to celebrate the marriage of King Luis XIV and Maria Theresa of Spain.This commission led to Ercole amante (Hercules in love), which had its premier in February of 1662.Jean-Baptiste Lully was then the superintendent of royal music.Either he was jealous of the competition or genuinely wanted to improve the opera, but he decided to add several ballet pieces to the opera.The entire production became a six hours affair; the king, the queen and the court danced to the ballet music, and it received all the praise.Cavalli left Paris soon after.Ercole is a fine opera, as you can judge by this aria.Anna Bonitatibus, an Italian mezzo-soprano, sings Giunone (Juno).The production is by the Dutch National Opera with Concerto Köln, Ivor Bolton conducting.
Berg, Cavalli 2015
February 9, 2015. Berg, Cavalli. Alban Berg was born on this day in 1885 in Vienna. His father was a well-to-do merchant; in addition to a house in the very center of Vienna, next to the St. Stephen cathedral, the family owned an estate in Carinthia and other property. Alban was taught piano by one of the governesses, started composing songs at the age of 16, but was just a music-loving amateur when in 1904 he became a student of Arnold Schoenberg. Berg studied with Schoenberg for seven years. He admired his teacher, while Schoenberg considered Berg “an extraordinarily gifted composer.” Berg developed into one of the most influential composers of the 20th century: he, his fellow pupil Anton Webern, and of course their teacher Schoenberg formed what is known as “the Second Viennese School.” Together, they were enormously important in developing the atonal and later 12-note music. Berg’s most significant compositions are two operas, Wozzeck and Lulu. Wozzeck, the first atonal opera of the 20th century, is based on a drama of the playwright Georg Büchner. Berg composed it between 1914 and 1922. The music is admittedly difficult but utterly fascinating (and short – it runs for about an hour and 20 minutes); one can still hear Mahlerian influences in much of it. Here’s part of Act 3 of Wozzeck, in the 1987 live performance from Vienna. Part of it takes place in a tavern, you can hear a clanking piano. Franz Grundheber is Wozzeck, a soldier, Hildegard Behrens is Marie, the mother of his child, and Anna Gonda is Margret, their neighbor. Claudio Abbado conducts the Vienna Philharmonic.
Francesco Cavalli was also an opera composer. We suspect that neither he nor Berg would recognize each other as such. Cavalli was born Pietro Francesco Caletti-Bruni in Crema, Lombardy, on February 14, 1602. He adopted the name of his patron, Frederico Cavalli, later in his life.
The young Pietro had a wonderful voice, and Frederico, who was the Venetian Governor of Crema, noticed the boy. In 1616 Cavalli brought him to Venice, where Pietro joined the choir of the San Marco. At that time, the great Claudio Monteverdi was the music director of the cathedral. Documents show that Cavalli helped Monteverdi to edit some of the master’s work. He left San Marco to become an organist at the church of SS Giovanni e Paolo and worked there till about 1630. Around that time he adopted the name of his patron and started signing his work as Francesco Cavalli. Monteverdi is acknowledged as the father of Italian opera but for a quarter of the century following Monteverdi’s death Cavalli was the leading, and most popular practitioner of the art. Cavalli’s first opera, Le nozze di Teti e di Peleo, was premiered in 1639 in Teatro San Cassiano, the first public opera house in Venice, and by extension in the world (the theater was demolished in 1812). His last operas were composed in the 1670s. La Calisto was written in the middle of Cavalli’s career, in 1651. Here’s the first scene of the second act, with Sara Mingardo, contralto, the Concerto Italiano under the direction of Rinaldo Alessandrini. In the early 1660s Cavalli spent two years in Paris. In 1661 Cardinal Mazarin commissioned him an opera to celebrate the marriage of King Luis XIV and Maria Theresa of Spain. This commission led to Ercole amante (Hercules in love), which had its premier in February of 1662. Jean-Baptiste Lully was then the superintendent of royal music. Either he was jealous of the competition or genuinely wanted to improve the opera, but he decided to add several ballet pieces to the opera. The entire production became a six hours affair; the king, the queen and the court danced to the ballet music, and it received all the praise. Cavalli left Paris soon after. Ercole is a fine opera, as you can judge by this aria. Anna Bonitatibus, an Italian mezzo-soprano, sings Giunone (Juno). The production is by the Dutch National Opera with Concerto Köln, Ivor Bolton conducting.