‘The Free-shooter’ The Faustian theme, with its connotations of the black arts, was not new to opera when Weber wrote Der Freischütz. Since 1796 there had already been eight operas based on the sixteenth-century legend as composers responded to one of the most seductive themes of the early Romantic era: a pact with the devil for personal gain or ...
(Kärl Châr’-ne) 1791–1857 Austrian piano teacher and composer As the pupil of Beethoven and the teacher of Liszt, Czerny occupies an important historical position as a pianist and pedagogue, and forms a vital link between these two masters. He was immensely prolific, writing over 1,000 works, including the many volumes of technical studies for which he is ...
(Kärl Dit’-ters fun Dit’-ters-dôrf) 1739–99 Austrian composer One of the most important Viennese composers in the age of Haydn and Mozart, Dittersdorf held appointments as violinist, composer and Kapellmeister in Vienna, Grosswardein (now Oradea, Romania) and other courts in the Austrian Empire. He was a prolific composer, particularly of symphonies (among them 12 based on texts from ...
‘Kung Fu Fighting’, 1974 Jamaican-born Carl Douglas had his finger on the pulse when he recorded ‘King Fu Fighting’, a mid-1970s novelty disco hit that reflected that era’s fascination with king fu movies and the martial arts. It reached No. 1 on both sides of the Atlantic, and is said to have been recorded in just 10 minutes, and ...
(Kärl Fre’-drikh A’-bel) 1723–87 German composer Abel was born at Cöthen, where his father played in J. S. Bach’s group. In 1759 he travelled to London, where he eventually settled, becoming a chamber musician to King George III’s wife Charlotte. It was also in London, in 1764, that Abel, together with J. C. Bach, established ...
(Kârl Hin’-rikh Groun) 1703/4–59 German composer Graun worked in the opera at Dresden and then at Brunswick (where he wrote six operas), before becoming Kapellmeister in 1735 to Frederick, the Prussian prince. He was promoted to royal Kapellmeister when Frederick (who later acquired the title ‘the Great’) acceded in 1740. Graun was put in charge of the new Berlin court opera ...
(Kärl Lö’-ve) 1796–1869 German composer and singer Loewe studied first with his father and later with Daniel Türk at Halle. He was a gifted singer and performer and was appointed professor and Kantor at the Gymnasium and seminary in Stettin, where he spent the rest of his life. He was a devout Catholic, and his religion was an inspiration for ...
(Kârl Ma-re’-a fun Va’-ber) 1786–1826 German composer Weber was a central figure in the growth of the Romantic movement in Germany, and one of its most important composers. He resuscitated and spread an enthusiasm for German opera, to which his own three-act opera Der Freischütz (‘The Free-shooter’, 1812) contributed. A gifted Kapellmeister and astute critic, he raised standards of ...
1786–1826, German Carl Maria von Weber was a teenage prodigy who wrote his first opera aged 14. By 1804 Weber, still only 18, was musical director in Breslau. By the time he had moved on to Stuttgart, Weber had reworked his first opera, Das Waldmädchen (‘The Forest Girl’, 1810), and gave it the new title of ...
(Kärl Nel’-sen) 1865–1931 Danish composer Nielsen was born of working-class parents on the island of Funen; his father was well known locally as a folk fiddle-player. After a period in a military band, he studied the violin and for some years made his living as an orchestral violinist, then as a conductor. At the centre of his output are ...
(Kärl Ôrf) 1895–1982 German composer Orff’s Carmina Burana (‘Songs of Beuren’, 1937), with its simple melodies and pounding rhythms, is characteristic of his work. It is one of the most popular choral works in the repertory today. He wrote comic and satirical operas in this manner, including Der Mond (‘The Moon’, 1939) and Die Kluge (‘The Clever Girl’, 1943). ...
1810–49, German Although Otto Nicolai was born in Kaliningrad, northwest of Moscow, he is classed as a German composer. Between 1833 and 1836, Nicolai was organist at the Prussian Chapel in Rome where he became fascinated with opera. His first work for the opera stage, Enrico II (‘Henry II’, 1839) was enthusiastically received in Trieste. Best ...
(Guitar, vocals, 1932–88) Tennessee-born Perkins was a rockabilly pioneer. Signed to Sun Records in 1955, he is most famous for 1956’s US country chart-topper/US pop Top 3/UK Top 10 ‘Blue Suede Shoes’. On his way to New York for a TV appearance, Perkins was involved in a serious car crash, and a 1956 Elvis Presley cover ...
For a brief period in early 1956, Carl Perkins was the first singer to take a pure rockabilly record – his self-penned ‘Blue Suede Shoes’ – to the summit of the best-selling charts in the USA. He beat Elvis to the top, but was never a realistic candidate to sustain this early promise because he lacked Presley’s film-star looks ...
(Kärl Fe’-lip E-ma’-noo-el Bakh) 1714–88 German composer In the eighteenth century, ‘Bach’ usually meant C. P. E. Bach, not his father Johann Sebastian. Born in Weimar, he studied under his father, then read law at the university in Frankfurt an der Oder. He took up a post in Berlin at the court of Prince Frederick, later Frederick ...
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