Archives: Anekdote

People say history repeats itself—and musical anecdotes are a perfect example. Of course, that would mean nobody ever recycled old stories and pinned them onto new celebrities… which is a comforting thought. Still, the parallels can be uncanny. Munsey’s Magazine (December 1893) recorded a “touching incident” from the experiences of Madame Melba, who was “now…

The composer of The Bohemian Girl, Balfe, once had an experience he never wanted to repeat. He and several other musicians were hired for a short run of musical work on the outskirts of London. Rather than commute back and forth every day, they decided to rent rooms nearby. But vacancies were scarce, and Balfe…

Berlioz wasn’t unusual among composers in one respect: money was always tight. Keeping himself afloat was a constant struggle, and he often had to rely on his writing to pay the bills. But his genius—and his need—didn’t go unnoticed. He once gave a concert in which he conducted his “Childe Harold” Symphony, and it was…

Cherubini had a reputation for being gruff—an old bear of a man. But now and then a flash of warmth or humor would break through and show there was more to him. One day at the Paris Conservatoire, where he was director, a father arrived with his talented young son and asked for admission. Cherubini…

Back in 1827, in an almshouse in old Stockholm, there lived a six-year-old orphan girl named Johanne. An old woman had charge of her—an old woman who wasn’t particularly kind. When the guardian went out to earn her small daily income, she locked the child inside so she couldn’t wander. That meant the little girl…

Most people agree singing isn’t only for entertainment—it’s good for you physically, too. You can find long, scholarly essays arguing the point. But it’s hard to beat the charm and blunt practicality of the “Reasons briefly set down… to persuade everyone to learn to sing,” published by William Byrd in 1588 in his Psalmes, Sonets,…

Music feuds are nothing new. They’ve cropped up in every era, and it’s not just musicians who get involved—sometimes the Church and the State jump in too. But few disputes had an arbitrator as sharp as the one that flared up when Charlemagne visited Rome to celebrate Holy Week, around 803 A.D. The Emperor brought…

When Mendelssohn was young, one of his closest friends was Edward Devrient—a serious musician and an excellent singer. The two of them loved digging through the music of “Old Bach,” amazed at the craft and learning packed into it. One day they decided to tackle Bach’s “Passion Music”—a work that hadn’t been heard publicly for…