May 14, 2018.Monteverdi, Curzon, François. On May 15th of last year we celebrated the 450th anniversary of the great Italian composer Claudio Monteverdi.We’ve also written about him on many previous occasions, for example here and here.Even though he’s famous as the “father of the opera,” Monteverdi worked in practically all musical genres popular at the end of the 16th – early 17th centuries.He wrote sacred music (vespers and motets), but his madrigals are especially beautiful.The seventh book of madrigals (altogether he wrote nine “books” or collections) was written in Venice, where Monteverdi moved in 1613 after a long and highly productive period at the Mantuan court.In Venice he held a prestigious position of the maestro di cappella at San Marco. The seventh book was published in 1619 and contains 28 madrigals.Within the book, the music varies significantly.Compare, for example, Ohimè dov'è il mio ben, dov'è il mio core? (Alas! Where is my beloved, where is my heart?) with its beautiful duet of two sopranos (here), with Sinfonia – Tempro la cetra (I tune my lyre), which opens the book (here) orChiome d’oro (Golden hair), here.Monteverdi continued composing for many years, publishing two more books of madrigals and several operas, most of them lost.He died in 1643 at the ripe age of 76.
Two prominent pianists were born on May 18th: Clifford Curzon in 1907 and Samson François in 1924.Curzon, one of the finest British pianists of the 20th century, was born Clifford Siegenberg; his Jewish father changed the family name at the outbreak of the Great War.Clifford studied at the Royal Academy of Music and in 1928 went to Berlin to study with Arthur Schnabel.He also studied with Nadia Boulanger and Wanda Landowska.Curzon’s career flourished in the 1930s, when he toured Europe and the United States.The war affected Curzon as it did so many musicians, but he resumed concert playing at the end of the war.In 1952, together with Joseph Szigeti, William Primrose and Pierre Fournier he formed a highly successful Edinburgh Festival Piano Quartet.Curzon suffered from stage fright and almost always played from the score.He was also highly critical of his own studio recordings.Here, for example, is a recording of Mozart’s Piano Concertos No. 20, K. 466 made in 1970, with the English Chamber Orchestra under the direction of Benjamin Britten.Curzon didn’t approve of it and it was issued only after his death in 1982.
Samson François was a French pianist and composer.His family moved from one country to another: Samson was born in Frankfurt, where his father worked at the consulate, and by the age of six he was living in Italy, where Pietro Mascagni gave him several lessons.Eventually François settled in Paris where he studied with Alfred Cortot, Marguerite Long and Yvonne Lefebure.In 1943 he won the first Marguerite Long - Jacques Thibaud Competition.François was famous for his (often idiosyncratic) performances of the music of Debussy, Fauré and Ravel, and also the 19th century Romantics.Here’s his recording of Maurice Ravel’s Gaspard de la nuit.It was made in 1958.
Monteverdi, Curzon, François, 2018
May 14, 2018. Monteverdi, Curzon, François. On May 15th of last year we celebrated the 450th anniversary of the great Italian composer Claudio Monteverdi. We’ve also written about him on many previous occasions, for example here and here. Even though he’s famous as the “father of the opera,” Monteverdi worked in practically all musical genres popular at the end of
the 16th – early 17th centuries. He wrote sacred music (vespers and motets), but his madrigals are especially beautiful. The seventh book of madrigals (altogether he wrote nine “books” or collections) was written in Venice, where Monteverdi moved in 1613 after a long and highly productive period at the Mantuan court. In Venice he held a prestigious position of the maestro di cappella at San Marco. The seventh book was published in 1619 and contains 28 madrigals. Within the book, the music varies significantly. Compare, for example, Ohimè dov'è il mio ben, dov'è il mio core? (Alas! Where is my beloved, where is my heart?) with its beautiful duet of two sopranos (here), with Sinfonia – Tempro la cetra (I tune my lyre), which opens the book (here) orChiome d’oro (Golden hair), here. Monteverdi continued composing for many years, publishing two more books of madrigals and several operas, most of them lost. He died in 1643 at the ripe age of 76.
Two prominent pianists were born on May 18th: Clifford Curzon in 1907 and Samson François in 1924. Curzon, one of the finest British pianists of the 20th century, was born Clifford Siegenberg; his Jewish father changed the family name at the outbreak of the Great War. Clifford studied at the Royal Academy of Music and in 1928 went to Berlin to study with Arthur Schnabel. He also studied with Nadia Boulanger and Wanda Landowska. Curzon’s career flourished in the 1930s, when he toured Europe and the United States. The war affected Curzon as it did so many musicians, but he resumed concert playing at the end of the war. In 1952, together with Joseph Szigeti, William Primrose and Pierre Fournier he formed a highly successful Edinburgh Festival Piano Quartet. Curzon suffered from stage fright and almost always played from the score. He was also highly critical of his own studio recordings. Here, for example, is a recording of Mozart’s Piano Concertos No. 20, K. 466 made in 1970, with the English Chamber Orchestra under the direction of Benjamin Britten. Curzon didn’t approve of it and it was issued only after his death in 1982.
Samson François was a French pianist and composer. His family moved from one country to another: Samson was born in Frankfurt, where his father worked at the consulate, and by the age of six he was living in Italy, where Pietro Mascagni gave him several lessons. Eventually François settled in Paris where he studied with Alfred Cortot, Marguerite Long and Yvonne Lefebure. In 1943 he won the first Marguerite Long - Jacques Thibaud Competition. François was famous for his (often idiosyncratic) performances of the music of Debussy, Fauré and Ravel, and also the 19th century Romantics. Here’s his recording of Maurice Ravel’s Gaspard de la nuit. It was made in 1958.