A Few Brief Biographies of Master Musicians PDF Download

Author: Harriette Brower
Publisher:
ISBN: 9781463669584
Category :
Languages : en
Pages : 174

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Book Description
The preparation of this volume began with a period of delightful research work in a great musical library. The compiler of such stories as these must gather facts from many sources-from biography, letters, journals and musical history. Then, impressed with the personality and individual achievement of each composer, the author has endeavored to present his life story.While the aim has been to make the story-sketches interesting to young people, the author hopes that they may prove valuable to musical readers of all ages. Students of piano, violin or other instruments need to know how the great composers lived their lives. In every musical career described in this book, there is a wealth of inspiration and practical guidance for the artist in any field. Through their struggles, sorrows and triumphs, divine melody and harmony came into being, which will bless the world for all time to come.Contents:PalestrinaJohann Sebastian BachGeorge Frederick HandelChristoph Willibald GluckJosef HaydnWolfgang MozartLudwig Van BeethovenCarl Maria Von WeberFranz SchubertFelix MendelssohnRobert SchumannFrederic ChopinHector BerliozFranz LisztGiuseppe VerdiRichard WagnerCesar FranckJohannes BrahmsEdward GriegPeter Ilyich TchaikovskySample text:VIILudwig Van BeethovenThe Shakespeare of the realm of music, as he has been called, first saw the light on December 16, 1770, in the little University town of Bonn, on the Rhine. His father, Johann Beethoven, belonged to the court band of the Elector of Cologne. The family were extremely poor. The little room, where the future great master was born, was so low, that a good-sized man could barely stand upright in it. Very small it was too, and not very light either, as it was at the back of the building and looked out on a walled garden.The fame of young Mozart, who was acclaimed everywhere as a marvelous prodigy, had naturally reached the father's ears. He decided to train the little Ludwig as a pianist, so that he should also be hailed as a prodigy and win fame and best of all money for the poverty-stricken family. So the tiny child was made to practice scales and finger exercises for hours together. He was a musically gifted child, but how he hated those everlasting tasks of finger technic, when he longed to join his little companions, who could run and play in the sunshine. If he stopped his practice to rest and dream a bit, the stern face of his father would appear at the doorway, and a harsh voice would call out, "Ludwig! what are you doing? Go on with your exercises at once. There will be no soup for you till they are finished..."N.B. "A Few Brief Biographies Of Master Musicians" was originally published as "Story-Lives of Master Musicians."