Archives: Anekdote

After years of hardship wandering the theatre world with his ill‑tempered father, Carl von Weber eventually found steadier work as private secretary to Duke Ludwig of Württemberg, the brother of King Frederic. The Duke was a notable spendthrift. Whenever he was ‘hard up,’ Weber’s job was to go to the King and beg for yet…

Musical composition takes not only imagination but a lot of practical, almost mechanical work. Yet a composer who writes often can learn to get ideas onto paper with startling speed—especially when a deadline or a little pride is involved. Mendelssohn once expected to provide a romance and an overture for a charity performance of ‘Ruy…

Piccinni, the composer who would later come close to beating Gluck in the battle for musical Paris, had a lucky break at the very start of his career. Fresh from the Naples Conservatoire, he offered his first opera to a manager. Like many first attempts, it was refused. Prince Vintimilla heard about the rejection and…

Jenny Lind received plenty of compliments, and few singers deserved them more. Some admirers, however, praised her so extravagantly that she loved to tease them when she got the chance. Luigi Lablache, the famous bass, heard her for the first time and, in search of the strongest compliment he could find, declared that ‘every note…

An English writer once went after the kind of listener who demands encores everywhere, all the time—and noted that the species isn’t limited to Britain. There are, he said, at least two ways to show admiration: one pleasant and one unpleasant. Sadly, the unpleasant kind has far more followers. In their eagerness to show respect,…

Early in his career, Handel heard that the post of organist in Lübeck was vacant. He walked there to apply—only to discover a remarkable condition attached to the job. Whoever won the position was required to marry the deceased organist’s daughter. Handel turned around and walked straight back without even submitting his application. Had the…

A grand welcome was once planned for Adelina Patti—one that never quite happened. She was expected to arrive in New York on a particular ocean steamer, and her manager decided to make sure the whole city knew it. He chartered sixteen huge tugboats, draped them in bunting, and arranged for them to form up on…

For centuries the flute had a reputation: brilliant in some keys, nearly unusable in others. Before about 1835, certain scales, trills, and rapid runs were so awkward that sensible composers simply avoided writing them. Then came Theobald Boehm. By redesigning the instrument and inventing a new system of keys and fingerings, he made every scale…

Beethoven never had an easy time with landladies or servants. While he was working on his Mass in D—begun in 1819 and intended for the celebration of his friend Archduke Rudolph’s appointment as Archbishop of Olmütz the following year—the piece kept growing as his fascination with it deepened. By the time he finally finished it,…

There are many ways to persuade a stubborn singer. John Abell—famous tenor in the time of Charles II—learned one of the more imaginative ones. A born spendthrift, Abell traveled through Europe trying to repair his finances. When he arrived in Warsaw, his reputation had already arrived ahead of him, and he was ordered to sing…