Archives: Anekdote

Before he settled in England, Handel served as Kapellmeister to the Elector of Hanover. Then he grew dissatisfied and quit his royal patron without leave or ceremony. Not long afterward Handel was firmly established in London, enjoying the favor of court and aristocracy. Then politics turned: the Elector of Hanover became King George I of…

The great singer Luigi Lablache was famous not only for his voice but for his comedy. He had a habit of telling stories that made his friends roar with laughter. One day he was waiting to be received by the King of Naples. A chill draft came through the open doors, and Lablache asked permission…

Paganini is often painted as a musical miser, but this story shows him in a kinder light. One morning in Paris his maid came to him in tears: her lover had been conscripted and sent to war, and she was too poor to buy a substitute for him. Paganini decided to help—and did it in…

Wagner’s music has been mocked for its thick harmonies and enormous combinations of tones. Yet even in the last couple of decades ridicule began to fade and a grudging appreciation took its place—an encouraging sign for musical education. Some listeners call Wagner “tuneless.” The problem is often the opposite: in places there are simply too…

Watching a great conductor drill an orchestra can be thrilling—especially when the leader is an exacting taskmaster. Add a thousand quirks and a fiery temper, and the rehearsal becomes a show in itself. Hans von Bülow was exactly that kind of conductor, and despite his eccentricities he was among the finest orchestral leaders of his…

“Music hath charms,” the saying goes, “to soothe the savage breast.” One famous example is David calming King Saul with his playing. Another is the effect of Farinelli, the celebrated tenor, on Philip V of Spain. Philip had fallen into a mild kind of madness. He refused to be properly dressed or shaved, and he…

Maria Garcia—better known as Madame Malibran—didn’t have an easy start. Her father, a fiery teacher, pushed her hard, and she spent years on stage with him as they toured America. When a man calling himself a wealthy banker, M. Malibran, offered marriage, she took it as a way out. It wasn’t: he had little money…

It’s easy to criticize—especially to criticize harshly. A reviewer can shred in ten minutes a score that cost a composer ten years of thought, and many “musical critics” have far less learning or natural ability than the people they ridicule. Some composers could fight back with words as well as with notes. Hector Berlioz and…

Paganini’s fierce perseverance and practice in youth gave him such command of the violin later on that he needed little practice beyond his frequent concerts. His musical knowledge and quick perception were so great that people claimed he could sight‑read anything written for his instrument. In Parina there was once an artist who doubted those…

Like Beethoven, Franz Schubert carried a small notebook so he could jot down musical ideas the moment they appeared. Many beautiful themes would have vanished without that habit. When inspiration ran dry, the notebook could wake the sleeping muse with sparks from better days. Wherever he was—in the city or the fields, in a tavern…