#classical composers

[greekabooo]

Alright let's settle this.

I have no regrets.

#polls #mozart #chopin #tchaikovsky #shostakovich #felix mendelssohn #not gonna put all of them in the tags cos I'm lazy #classical music #classical composers

[antynous]

Save me choliszt

#franz liszt #fryderyk chopin #frederic chopin #classical composers #art

[sixty-silver-wishes]

Dmitri Shostakovich at Sergei Prokofiev's funeral, 1953.

For context, Prokofiev and Stalin died on the same day- March 5, 1953. Because Stalin's funeral was such a major event in the Soviet Union, Prokofiev's was largely overlooked, despite the fact he was one of the leading Soviet composers of his day. Relatively few people attended his funeral, Shostakovich among them.

Shostakovich and Prokofiev were not particularly close, and had a thorny professional relationship- much of the correspondence between them that I've been able to find appears to be formal criticism of each other's works. As Prokofiev was from an older generation- he was born in 1891, while Shostakovich was born in 1906- they did not always see eye-to-eye musically; Shostakovich experimented with the avant-garde when possible, perhaps in part due to his musical maturation during the socially-liberal NEP era, while Prokofiev's style tended to be more conservative and neoclassical- picking up more influence from Imperial-age composers and fellow emigres to the west (he lived in France and the United States before returning to the Soviet Union in 1936). Their generational difference also partially accounted for how they responded to harsh government criticism- Shostakovich was impacted by the consequences of his 1936 denunciation all his life and, while he suffered greatly during his second denunciation in 1948, was able to develop public and private personas, in both the musical and ideological spheres, to preserve himself and his artistry. However devastating as it was for Shostakovich, the 1948 denunciations took a greater toll on many other composers, Prokofiev included. As Prokofiev did not believe he would be harshly denounced as Shostakovich had been in 1936, he was far less prepared for the censorship and attacks he faced in 1948. As a result of the denunciations, combined with his declining health, his artistic productivity decreased, and he largely regulated himself to writing basic ideological works towards the end of his life.

This is a letter Shostakovich wrote to Prokofiev on the subject of his Seventh (and last) Symphony:

There's speculation as to whether or not Shostakovich was actually impressed by Prokofiev's Seventh Symphony. As Prokofiev was in decline at the time of writing it, the symphony has been criticized for being banal and not being particularly innovative; Rostropovich even claimed that Prokofiev added in its final flourish not for artistic purposes, but to have the piece nominated for a Stalin Prize, which would have meant money and a boost to his reputation after it suffered in 1948. (The Stalin Prize has its own complicated history in its role in Soviet music, and although it was the highest award a Soviet composer could earn, it could sometimes be awarded as a sort of backhanded punishment- an encouragement for composers to write the "right" sort of music, especially after they had been criticized for "formalism." Nonetheless, winning it after suffering a denunciation could mean financial and political security.) Did Shostakovich- who had often traded criticisms with Prokofiev over music- actually like this piece, or was this an effort to encourage a fellow artist to keep composing after suffering mental and physical ailments? This was a private letter and not a public statement, and Shostakovich was typically very straightforward about critiques, so if the entirely positive sentiment for the piece wasn't genuine (the only critique here is that Shostakovich says he wishes the entire symphony was encored!), the letter may have come from a place of concern.

Perhaps the most striking thing about this letter is the line, "I wish you another hundred years to live and create. Listening to such works as your Seventh Symphony makes it much easier and more joyful to live." Maybe by telling Prokofiev that he wished him another hundred years to live and create, Shostakovich was not simply praising the symphony, but encouraging Prokofiev- a composer whom he was often on icy terms with- that he needed to keep living and creating, during a time when it was becoming more and more difficult for him to do so.

#shostakovich #dmitri shostakovich #prokofiev #sergei prokofiev #music history #composers #classical composers #history #soviet history #classical music #music #cw dead body

[emilia-chopin]

together even on a postage stamp

#frederic chopin #franz liszt #chopin #liszt #classical composers #classical composer #classical music #classic composers #fryderyk chopin #art

[chipchopinnnnnn]

@chopinski-official

#frederic chopin #chopin #classical composers #classical music #felix mendelssohn #classical composer #bach #chopinonymous

[honey-flwrs]

A story about child liszt unintentionally blowing up the kitchen stove 😭

thought this was funny n wanted to share :3

#classical music #franz liszt #classical composers

[shiii-is-tired]

pianist vs his gf’s puppy

#marquis mentioned #chopin #frédéric chopin #classical composers #fryderyk chopin #chopins only son and it’s sand’s lil puppy

[cadenzaclassical-zine]

Finally, after a month or so of hard work, we present to you...

CADENZA ZINE!

You can enjoy this Zine in two ways (original):

- PDF

- Web

For our classical music fans who aren't comfortable with shipping content, we have a version where the ship content is completely removed:

- Pdf

- web

We want to thank all our amazing artists and writers who participated in the making of this Zine and our wonderful readers who continuously supported us.

Thus, this project has come to a smashing conclusion. Thank you for being a part of our journey!

#cadenza zine #classical music #zine #fanzine #classical composers #classical composer

[not-from-amazon]

Making memes is my talent 🥰/j

#classical composer #classical composer memes #beethoven #ludwig van beethoven #classical music memes #classical composers #mozart #antonio salieri #wolfgang amadeus mozart #bach #haydn #franz schubert #schubert #joseph haydn #memes #capcut #School holidays so kool but my exam is on January 😔💔 #Can't relax at all *cries*

[airplanemoded]

are you?

#the son is me btw #i should be practicing #i saw the image of chopin and liszt with a gun and had to make this meme #lol #my stuff #chopin #liszt #frederic chopin #franz liszt #classical music #classical composers #composers #composer memes #classical music memes

[tinyicis]

We need this as an actual souvenir you can buy in Hungary

#classical music meme #classical composers #franz liszt

[antynous]

Happy birthday gayboy

#fryderyk chopin #frederic chopin #franz liszt #classical composers #Liszt is the bus driver of this post #Whenever I draw Chopin I feel obligated by a supernatural force to also draw Liszt #art #illustration

[sixty-silver-wishes]

#classical music #music #composers #classical composers #if you vote shost you will make me very sad. but I’m still curious #mozart #beethoven #liszt #chopin #shostakovich #paganini #tchaikovsky #mendelssohn

[redgrasshopper]

hi guyz

I kind of forgot to post anything, but I put together an image with some composers that I know of/like.

Guess who's my favorite :)

#classical composers #franz liszt #johann sebastian bach #bach #js bach #pyotr ilyich tchaikovsky #igor stravinsky #stravinsky #paganini #vivaldi #dmitri shostakovitch #shostakovich #beethoven #sibelius #jean sibelius #antonio salieri #salieri #wolfgang amadeus mozart #mozart #wow that's a lot of tags #i really just drew like ten composers huh

[frodogla]

I CANT TAKE A GOOD PHOTO MY HANDS ARE SHAKING SORY

#frederic chopin #chopin #fryderyk chopin #franz liszt #art #artwork #sketch #classical composers

[emilia-chopin]

Although Chopin was usually described as an endearingly polite person, many of his students recalled that he also had worse moments. This was felt, among others, by Zofia Rosengardt, who in 1843 came to Paris specifically to study with the Polish pianist:

"He has a lot of wit, a lot of natural intelligence, and he often has wild, unpleasant, bad, angry moments in which he breaks chairs and stamps his feet," she recalled. Rosengardt noticed that the chimerical disposition made itself felt especially on days of "suffering, physical weakness." or an argument with George Sand. Fortunately, the composer quickly calmed down when he saw that his outburst of anger stressed the student.

Source: Frederic Chopin's National Institute

#frederic chopin #classical composers #chopin #classical composer #fryderyk chopin #classical music #quotes #zofia rosengardt