Giacomo Puccini’s Early Years: Struggles with School & Musical Growth I was born in Lucca, Italy, on December 22, 1858, to a musically gifted family. My father, Michele Puccini, was well established in Lucca as part of a ‘musical dynasty’ founded by my great-great-grandfather, the first maestro di cappella at the Cattedrale do San Martino. …
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 …
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 …
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 …
The Early Life of the Prodigy, Franz Liszt After the Pressburg concert, aristocrats, amazed by my talent, offered to sponsor my education in Vienna. I was nine years old at the time and already creating a fan base that would follow me for the rest of my life. I debuted in Vienna on December 1, …
Early Life: A Young Prodigy I was born in Paris on October 9, 1835. From a very young age, I displayed inordinate musical talent, debuting at only ten years old at the Salle Pleyel in Paris. My father died of consumption [tuberculosis] when I was very young, and I was sent away to live with …
Early Life and Family I was born in Paris on 25 October 1838, and was originally registered as Alexandre César Léopold. I was baptised ‘Georges’ on March 16, 1840, a name gifted to me by my godfather which stuck better than my original name. My father had been a hairdresser and wigmaker, but turned to …
Growing Up and the Beginning of a Musical Life I was born March 8, 1875, in the Basque town of Ciboure in France, near Biarritz, into a talented family. My father, Pierre-Joseph Ravel, was a clever engineer and manufacturer and while my mother did not work, his fruitful career provided for us all. Their marriage …
Early Childhood and Musical Inclination I was born in Bergen, Norway, in June, 1843. My family was rather musically inclined, with my mother being a music teacher and the daughter of Edvard Hagerup, for whom I was named after. My father worked as a merchant and consul in Bergen, but he, too, enjoyed music although …