March 5, 2018.From Gesualdo to Barber.This is another abundant week: Carlo Gesualdo, Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach, Josef Mysliveček, Pablo de Sarasate, Maurice RavelHeitor Villa-Lobos, Arthur Honegger and Samuel Barber all were born between March 5th and March 10th.Plus, Dame Kiri Te Kanawa, the wonderful soprano from New Zealand, was also born this week, on March 6th of 1944.Of this group, Ravel remains the most popular: by some counts, he is one of the most popular (not to be confused with the greatest) classical composers of all time.While it’s impossible not to love Ravel, our personal favorite is Gesualdo, Prince of Genosa, and not because of the incredible life story of this melancholic murderer and composer of genius, which was portrayed by dozens of poets and writers, from Torquato Tasso to Anatole France.Gesualdo appeals on a purely musical level; he’s one of the most interesting composers of the late Renaissance.The astonishing chromaticism of his madrigals sounds fresh even today.Listen, for example, to Moro, lasso, al mio duolo as performed by the Diller Consort.
We’ve written about Mysliveček, who was born on March 9th of 1737, just once and so far, our library had only one of his compositions, the Violin Concerto in A Major.Mysliveček, who for a while was a good friend of a much younger Mozart, deserves more attention.A miller’s son and a miller himself till the age of 24, Mysliveček abandoned the family business, leaving it to his twin brother, and devoted himself to music.After taking some music lessons in Prague, he went to Venice where his studied opera.The Italians couldn’t pronounce his name, so they called him “Il Boemo” – the Bohemian.His studies were fruitful: the first opera was premiered in Bergamo in 1765, and two years later his Il Bellerofonte achieved great success at its premier in Teatro San Carlo in Naples.That was a turning point in Mysliveček’s career: for the rest of his life he stayed in Italy, traveling from one city to another to fulfill commissions from major opera theaters.Here’s Argene’s aria Palesar vorrei col pianto from Il Bellerofonte.The role was premiered by one of the most famous sopranos of the time, Caterina Gabrielli.In this recording it is performed by the Argentinian soprano Gladys Mayo; the Prague Chamber Orchestra is conducted by Zoltán Peskó.Here’s another example, the aria Saro qual é il torrente from Mysliveček’s opera Antigona.Antigona was written 36 years after Il Bellerofonte, at the end of 1773.The aria, sung by Creonte, the ruler of Thebes, was written for a tenor.In this recording it’s sung by the wonderful Czech mezzo, Magdalena Kožená, otherwise known as Ms. Simon Rattle.
A brief note on Mysliveček’s relations with the Mozarts.He met Leopold and Wolfgang in Bologna in 1770 (Wolfgang was 14, and was on one of the trips Leopold organized to demonstrate his brilliant virtuosity as a harpsichordist).Mysliveček became good friends with both, and Wolfgang was especially taken with the Czech’s “fire, spirit and life,” as he put it in one of his letters.The friendship lasted for eight years and fell apart when Mysliveček couldn’t deliver on a promise to arrange a commission for Mozart from the Teatro San Carlo.Mysliveček influenced some of Mozart’s early compositions, for example his opera Mitridate, re di Ponto.
From Gesualdo to Barber, 2018
March 5, 2018. From Gesualdo to Barber. This is another abundant week: Carlo Gesualdo, Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach, Josef Mysliveček, Pablo de Sarasate, Maurice RavelHeitor Villa-Lobos, Arthur Honegger and Samuel Barber all were born between March 5th and March 10th. Plus, Dame Kiri Te Kanawa, the wonderful soprano from New Zealand, was also born this week, on March 6th of 1944. Of this group, Ravel remains the most popular: by some counts, he is one of the most popular (not to be confused with the greatest) classical composers of all time. While it’s impossible not to love Ravel, our personal favorite is Gesualdo, Prince of Genosa, and not because of the incredible life story of this melancholic murderer and composer of genius, which was portrayed by dozens of poets and writers, from Torquato Tasso to Anatole France. Gesualdo appeals on a purely musical level; he’s one of the most interesting composers of the late Renaissance. The astonishing chromaticism of his madrigals sounds fresh even today. Listen, for example, to Moro, lasso, al mio duolo as performed by the Diller Consort.
A brief note on Mysliveček’s relations with the Mozarts. He met Leopold and Wolfgang in Bologna in 1770 (Wolfgang was 14, and was on one of the trips Leopold organized to demonstrate his brilliant virtuosity as a harpsichordist). Mysliveček became good friends with both, and Wolfgang was especially taken with the Czech’s “fire, spirit and life,” as he put it in one of his letters. The friendship lasted for eight years and fell apart when Mysliveček couldn’t deliver on a promise to arrange a commission for Mozart from the Teatro San Carlo. Mysliveček influenced some of Mozart’s early compositions, for example his opera Mitridate, re di Ponto.