Classical Fireworks

I’m guessing it’s rather common.  Lots of folks don’t readily recall all they learned in history classes.

But many people have associated popular songs with people and places in their own lives. And the moment they hear a particular song, it’s like opening to a chapter of their life story. 

So, why not let classical music help with history? The more you get to know and enjoy the music of various composers, it might be easier to align their works with historical events.

Some might argue that the more you know about history, the more you can appreciate where classical music fits in.  I agree. Nevertheless, since this is a blog for Classic Mornings listeners, we get to start from classical music. Simply said, if you like the music, you might want to know a bit more about what was happening at the time.   

Let’s try this: Imagine a day in early summer when Haydn was 44, Boccherini was 33, Mozart was 20, and Beethoven was 5. You’re probably more than familiar with all of those composers, right?  A little math will reveal that it was the summer of 1776. Yes, it was the summer of the signing of the Declaration of Independence! 

No, the composers’ signatures are not on the document. But they’re on the manuscripts of the scores they wrote. And some of those who did sign the document enjoyed the music written by some of those composers. There are plenty of articles online about Thomas Jefferson playing the violin, ordering keyboard instruments, and having a most impressive collection of music scores at Monticello, including works by Corelli, Vivaldi, Handel, Haydn, and Boccherini.  Benjamin Franklin dabbled in composition and invented the glass harmonica, for which Mozart would write, among other works, his lovely Adagio in C major, K. 356 in 1791. Francis Hopkinson, who played the harpsichord, was a Vivaldi enthusiast. According to Robert Kintzel, Hopkinson assembled a collection of Vivaldi works, which he arranged for the keyboard.

It may be that classical music listeners have a “closer seat” than many others at the nation’s semiquincentennial (the 250th). They know some of the music that was written back then, and which was being enjoyed at the time. 

With “250” on my mind, I noticed some “nearby” celebrations, including a 275th. In January 1751, the German-born English composer George Frideric Handel composed the last of his organ concertos (op. 7, no. 3). At the outset, Handel included one of his best-known tunes: that of the famous “Hallelujah” chorus from his oratorio Messiah. According to Handel scholar Donald Burrows, it was an afterthought to include it, forcing him to re-work the entire opening movement of the concerto. Nevertheless, it earned the nickname. “Hallelujah Concerto.”

And while we’re just about a week away from the nation’s semiquincentennial celebration, I’d like to mention a bicentennial that came to my attention. The oldest music conservatory in the Netherlands, the Royal Conservatory of the Hague, was established in 1826 by Willem I, the first King of the Netherlands. 

I learned about that when I was preparing to play a piece featuring one of the conservatory’s faculty members: Daniel Brüggen, Professor of Recorder. Yes, he’s related to a more famous Brüggen: Frans Brüggen, the recorder player and conductor. That was his uncle, who also was on the faculty, as was keyboard player and conductor Ton Koopman. 

Daniel Brüggen actually studied at the Royal Conservatory of Amsterdam, which was founded more than a half century later, in 1884. And it was while he was a student there that he and three other students formed what became the famous Amsterdam Loeki Stardust Quartet, a recorder quartet.

Back on January 27, we celebrated Mozart’s 270th. The next big celebration for the composer will be in 2031: his 275th. But in case you’re interested in what Mozart wrote in 1776, those works include the Serenata Notturna, K. 239, as well as a Divertimento and Serenade (K. 247 & K. 250). written in the month of June, and a Divertimento (K. 251) in July 1776.  We listen to selections from those works regularly on Classic Mornings. Mozart also wrote two pieces for violin and orchestra in 1776, both of which we’ve enjoyed over the years: the Adagio in E (K. 261) and the Rondo in B flat (K. 269)

A rondo is one of those pieces in which the tune at the outset keeps coming around, like Independence Day. And just before that, the end of our fiscal year comes around on June 30. This past year, listeners have been most generous in their support.  And in the remaining days before June 30, you can join them in helping us reach our fiscal year-end goal by making a contribution. Call 217-244-9455 or go online to willgive.org. Thank you very much!