César Franck Pushed To Perform on Piano from His Childhood Did I work myself to death? Perhaps so. Since my childhood, I used my talents as a pianist and composer to line my parents’ pockets, ensuring financial stability in financially hard times. Like Beethoven, my father pushed my violinist brother to study music to generate …
Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov Quotes Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov was an outstanding composer of the late 1800s into the early 20th century. He is best known for his works Sheharazad and Symphonie Espaniol. His influence on composers of his time was significant. Throughout our present-day, he has been a considerable inspiration to Western music composers, mainly through his use of …
Peter Tchaikovsky Quotes Peter Tchaikovsky, the famous Russian composer of the 1800s, is best known in our times for his ballets, most significantly, the Nutcracker, which is performed annually by many ballet companies in the United States and Europe. His influence on Russian music in particular and Western classical music overall is immense. Tchaikovsky was …
The Early Life of Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky I was born on May 7, 1840, in Votkinsk, Russia, to a military family. My father worked as a mining engineer and served as a lieutenant colonel in the army. My mother leaned towards a career in the arts. She was French and German and had taught me …
Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov’s Early Life as a Musician I was born on March 6, 1844, in Tikhvin, Russia. Unlike other composers of my time, my family was not artistically inclined. Both of my parents played the piano. My mother was more accomplished than my father in that regard. All in all, we were a family that …
Ralph Vaughan Williams Quotes Ralph Vaughan Williams (1872 – 1958) was both a composer and a musicologist, who collected English folk music and songs, which he used liberally in his own compositions and in the work he did with English Hymnal.He wrote in most all genres of western music including symphonies, works for band, chamber …
Bob Dylan Quotes Originally from the Iron Range near Lake Superior, MN, Bob Dylan began as a Minnesota folk music artist and expanded his café and concert performances to many other cities, including New York City, where he became nationally known. His ability to continue to write and perform music for over five decades is …
George Bernard Shaw Quotes Image: George Bernard Shaw, playwright and political activist “There are some experiences in life that should not be demanded twice from any man, and one of them is listening to the Brahms Requiem.” “Beware of false knowledge; it is more dangerous than ignorance.” “The single biggest problem in communication is the …
Paul Simon Quotes The singer and songwriter, Paul Simon, won the Gershwin prize for popular song, in 2007. Image: Musician Paul Simon performing on stage “Being an artist doesn’t mean that you’re a good artist. That was the bargain I first made with myself: I’d say, ‘I’m an artist, but I’m not really very good’.” …
Bedrich Smetana’s Early Life as a Musical Prodigy I was the 3rd child born on March 2, 1824, into a large, musically inclined family. My father, a violinist in a string quartet, had been previously married twice before meeting my mother, a dancer. Before my birth, my father had been a brewer, and during the …