Music, the Mail, and Ephemera

[Szykneij]

*This Day in Music History*
March 5, 1807
First performance of Ludwig van Beethoven's 4th Symphony in B

[Szykneij]

*This Day in Music History*
March 6, 1853
Giuseppe Verdi's Opera "La Traviata" premieres in Venice

[Szykneij]

*This Day in Music History"
March 7, 1875
Maurice Ravel born in Ciboure, France (d. 1937)

[pjme]

*This Day in Music History*
March 6, 1853
Giuseppe Verdi's Opera "La Traviata" premieres in Venice

In was surprised to discover that Melba's carreer started at La Monnaie/ De Munt in Brussels. She sang in Rigoletto, La Traviata, Lucia di Lammermoor, Lakmé, Hamlet and Romeo et Juliette.

https://nelliemelbamuseum.com.au/belgium-dame-nellie-melba-museum/

As for Ravel:
https://www.touradour.com/towns/ciboure/cibravel.htm

[MusicTurner]

(...)

As for Ravel:
https://www.touradour.com/towns/ciboure/cibravel.htm

Nice, thank you. Didn't know about that Ravel idenfication.

[Szykneij]

As for Ravel:
https://www.touradour.com/towns/ciboure/cibravel.htm

The historic architecture of Europe is amazing. Because the United States is a much newer country in comparison to those on the European continent, I'm sure what is considered  "old" here is more commonplace in places like France.
  I live on what was formerly the grounds of the Sir Isaac Royall House, which I can see from my window as I type this. Nearby is a building known as the Craddock House, although the Peter Tufts House is a more accurate title. Buildings of this vintage here are few and far between. Both are operated as museums.

[pjme]

  Thanks!

[Szykneij]

*This Day in Music History"
March 8, 1902
1st performance of Jean Sibelius' 2nd Symphony, by the Helsinki Philharmonic Society

[Pohjolas Daughter]

*This Day in Music History"
March 8, 1902
1st performance of Jean Sibelius' 2nd Symphony, by the Helsinki Philharmonic Society

Cool! 

[Szykneij]

*This Day in Music History*
March 9, 1910
Samuel Barber, American composer, born in West Chester, Pennsylvania (d. 1981)

[Szykneij]

*This Day in Music History*
March 10, 1892
Arthur Honegger, Swiss composer, born in Le Havre, France (d. 1955)

[Papy Oli]

Thank you Tony for that for that interesting daily thread.

Until recently, my father had been collecting all the new stamps released by the French post for the last 25-30 odd years and older ones too. I could ask him to have a search in his collection for anything that relates to composers or (classical) music.

[Szykneij]

Thank you Tony for that for that interesting daily thread.

Until recently, my father had been collecting all the new stamps released by the French post for the last 25-30 odd years and older ones too. I could ask him to have a search in his collection for anything that relates to composers or (classical) music.

That would be great! Most of what I have is older material, so I'd be very interested in seeing more recent issues, especially from France.

[Szykneij]

*This Day in Music History*
March 11, 1829
Johann Sebastian Bach's "St Matthew Passion" is revived by Felix Mendelssohn, aged 20, conducting in Berlin

[Szykneij]

Elisabeth in Bavaria (1876–1965) was queen of the Belgians as the spouse of King Albert I, and a duchess in Bavaria by birth. As queen dowager, she became a patron of the arts and was known for her friendship with such notable scientists as Albert Einstein. While Belgium was under German occupation between 1940 and 1944, she used her influence as queen and German connections to assist in the rescue of hundreds of Jewish children from deportation by the Nazis. After the liberation of Brussels, she allowed her palace to be used by the British for headquarters and after the war, was awarded the title "Righteous Among the Nations" by the Israeli government.

Eugène Ysaÿe, (1858-1931, Brussels), was a Belgian violinist, conductor, and composer known as the foremost interpreter of the string works of French and Belgian composers of his time.

1937 stamps picturing Queen Elisabeth and commemorating her music foundation in conjunction with the Eugene Ysaye International Competition.

[pjme]

Queen Elisabeth was indeed quite a  character!
Late in her life she showed explicitly her admiration for "strong leaders" and traveled (privately) to Russia, China, Poland and Yugoslavia, she praised Mao and Khrushchev....Art - especially music - was her weapon and she claimed, of course, that art and intellectual cooperation would and should pave the way to peace and prosperity. She was driven by genuine curiosity: she wanted to see with her own eyes how life was in those strange and exotic countries. Of course, one can question the reality of the insight granted to her by the authorities. Nevertheless, it was quite a feat to visit China in 1958, a country  whose existence was almost ignored by the West.
Anyway, I like to think that she was some kind of rebel and enjoyed bullying her ultra conservative family...

Apart from that, Belgium can be grateful for the Queen Elisabeth Competition. The Competition was founded in 1937 at the instigation of Elisabeth and Ysaÿe. Originally called the Eugène Ysaÿe Competition, it adopted its current name in 1951, thus paying tribute to its Honorary President and initiator

This is a little fun video: https://youtu.be/giImmyUGAxk

At https://queenelisabethcompetition.be/en/home/ check "watch & listen" for concerts.

[Pohjolas Daughter]

Queen Elisabeth was indeed quite a  character!
Late in her life she showed explicitly her admiration for "strong leaders" and traveled (privately) to Russia, China, Poland and Yugoslavia, she praised Mao and Khrushchev....Art - especially music - was her weapon and she claimed, of course, that art and intellectual cooperation would and should pave the way to peace and prosperity. She was driven by genuine curiosity: she wanted to see with her own eyes how life was in those strange and exotic countries. Of course, one can question the reality of the insight granted to her by the authorities. Nevertheless, it was quite a feat to visit China in 1958, a country  whose existence was almost ignored by the West.
Anyway, I like to think that she was some kind of rebel and enjoyed bullying her ultra conservative family...

Apart from that, Belgium can be grateful for the Queen Elisabeth Competition. The Competition was founded in 1937 at the instigation of Elisabeth and Ysaÿe. Originally called the Eugène Ysaÿe Competition, it adopted its current name in 1951, thus paying tribute to its Honorary President and initiator

This is a little fun video: https://youtu.be/giImmyUGAxk

At https://queenelisabethcompetition.be/en/home/ check "watch & listen" for concerts.

Sounds like she was a fascinating and very brave and adventurous human being! 

[Szykneij]

This is a little fun video: https://youtu.be/giImmyUGAxk

At https://queenelisabethcompetition.be/en/home/ check "watch & listen" for concerts.

Very enjoyable! Especially regarding the early winners, victory in this competition seemed to be a pretty good indicator of future fame. The video started with one of my favorite violinists, David Oistrakh. I love the fact that someone who looked like he could be an offensive lineman in the NFL could produce such beautiful music.

[Pohjolas Daughter]

Boy, I'm embarrassed to admit that I don't recognize many of the winners! 

PD

[pjme]

Well, not all (the first prizes) became world stars.
Soprano Aga Winska teaches in a music school in Brussels, Ekaterina  Novitskaia married a Belgian, became a mother of 5 and performs very rarely, Cecile Ousset retired in 2006, due to health problems, Philip Hirschhorn died at age 50...Pierre Alain Volondat has a quiet life as a teacher in a small city (but does dream of recording very difficult concerti, Bartok 2 and Prokofiev 5)...la vie, quoi!

But many had and have brillant careers.