Born in Spalato, Dalmatia [now Split, Croatia] April 18, 1819
Died in Vienna, May 21, 18951
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SUPPÉ, Franz von
Era: Romantic (~1820–1900)
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SVENDSEN, Johan
Born in Christiania [now Oslo], Sept 30, 1840
Died in Copenhagen, June 14, 1911
- Svendsen was a Norwegian violinist, conductor and composer. He started his career as a boy, playing violin in dance orchestras, and later in the orchestra of the Norwegian Theater.
- In 1863 Svendsen was received a government stipend to study at the Leipzig Conservatory.
- Svendsen pursued a career as an orchestral conductor in Leipzig before returning to Norway n 1872 to join Edvard Grieg as joint conductor of the Music Society Concerts in Christiania.115
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SZYMANOWSKA, Maria
Born in Warsaw, Dec 14, 1789
Died in St Petersburg, July 25, 18313
- Maria Szymanowska (pronounced “shim-ah-nof-ska;” IPA: ʂɨmaˈnɔfska) was a Polish composer and piano virtuoso who made a significant contribution to 19th-century Polish repertoire. She composed over 100 pieces, most of which were for the piano.
- Fun fact – Szymanowska introduced nocturnes to Poland, so she provided the developmental link between John Field, the originator of the genre, and Frédéric Chopin.
- In addition to composing, Szymanowska was also a highly acclaimed concert pianist and spent many years touring around Europe. In 1922, she became “First Pianist” at the Russian Imperial court.
- In 1928, the composer settled in St. Petersburg where she continued to give concerts, teach, and host salons attracting the city’s artistic and social elite.4
Pieces
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TAKI, Rentarō
Born in Tokyo, Aug 24, 1879
Died in Ōita, June 29, 1903
- Taki was a Japanese composer and pianist who studied at the Tokyo Music School and joined its faculty soon after finishing his course of study.
- In 1901, the Japanese government sent Taki to study in Leipzig, but he had to return due to illness and died shortly thereafter. For this reason, Taki did not leave many compositions and probably didn’t reach his full potential as a composer.
- Taki is known as the one of the Japanese composers and educators to promote Western music and Western musical style in Japan.5
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TÁRREGA, Francisco
Born in Villarreal, Castellón, Nov 21, 1852
Died in Barcelona, Dec 15, 1909
[Pronunciation; stress the first syllable of “Tárrega”]
- Francisco Tárrega was a Spanish guitarist and composer is best known for his own works for solo guitar as well as arrangements of famous works by other composers for guitar.
- Tárrega played an important role in the resurgence of the guitar as an instrument of prominence. Growing up, the piano was much more fashionable, but thanks to the help of a new instrument design by renowned luthier, Antonio Torres, Tárrega was able to showcase the new, more resonant sound in his music and playing.
- As a composer, Tárrega wrote 78 original works as well as 120 transcriptions for solo guitar.6
Learn More
Biography via the Philadelphia Chamber Music Society
Born in Kamsko-Votkinsk, Vyatka province, 25 April/May 7, 1840
Died in St Petersburg, 25 Oct/Nov 6, 18937
Pieces
- 1812 Overture, Op. 49
- Capriccio Italien, Op. 45
- Concert Fantasia, Op. 56
- Eighteen Pieces, Op. 72
- Elegy for String Orchestra
- Eugene Onegin
- Hamlet – Fantasy Overture after Shakespeare, Op. 67
- Manfred Symphony in b minor, Op. 58
- Nocturne for Cello in D Major, Op. 19, No. 4
- Piano Concerto No. 1 in b-flat minor, Op. 23
- Romeo and Juliet: Fantasy Overture
- Serenade for Strings in C Major, Op. 48
- Souvenir d’un lieu cher, Op. 42 (Memory of a Dear Place)
- String Quartet No. 1 in D Major, Op. 11
- Swan Lake
- Symphony No. 1 in g minor, “Winter Dreams,” Op. 13
- Symphony No. 2 in c minor, Op. 17
- Symphony No. 3 in D Major, “Polish,” Op. 29
- Symphony No. 4 in f minor, Op. 36
- Symphony No. 5 in e minor, Op. 64
- Symphony No. 6 in b minor, “Pathétique,” Op. 74
- The Nutcracker (Ballet & Suite)
- The Seasons
- The Sleeping Beauty (Ballet and Suite)
- The Tempest – Symphonic Fantasy after Shakespeare, Op. 18
- Variations on a Rococo Theme, Op. 33
- Violin Concerto in D Major, Op. 35
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THOMAS, Ambroise
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VERDI, Giuseppe
Born in Roncole, near Busseto, 9/Oct 10, 1813
Died in Milan, Jan 27, 19019
Born in Paris, July 18, 1821
Died in Paris, May 18, 1910
- Pauline Viardot-Garcìa was a mezzo-soprano, pianist, and composer from the Garcìa family, a Spanish family of musicians and voice teachers.
- Her father was Manuel Garcìa, a voice teacher and tenor.
- Her mother was soprano María Joaquina Sitches.
- Her elder sister was mezzo-soprano and composer Maria Malibran.
- Her brother was Manuel Garcìa II, a baritone and voice teacher.
- Viardot-Garcìa made her vocal concert debut in 1837, and her operatic debut in Rossini’s Barber of Seville in 1839. She was one of the greatest bel canto singers of her time.
- Composers who wrote for Viardot-Garcìa include Schumann (Liederkreis, Op. 24), Meyerbeer (the role of Fides in Le prophète) and Brahms (Alto Rhapsody).
- Her expertise as a singer led composers to turn to her for advice in writing vocal works, including Berlioz (Béatrice et Bénédict) and Gounod (Sapho).
- Viardot-Garcìa’s artistic circle also included Chopin (whose piano pieces she arranged as songs), George Sand (who wrote a novel inspired by her, Consuelo), and Ivan Turgenev, her close friend (possibly lover) who wrote the texts for many of Viardot-Garcìa’s songs and operas.
- Viardot-Garcìa composed over 100 songs, as well as salon operas, chamber music, piano music, and choral music.10
Learn More
Biography from Christin Heitmann, cataloger of Viardot’s works (Viardot Werkverzeichnis or VWV)
Article about Viardot-Garcìa’s Salons
ACP Arts Blog post on Pauline Viardot-Garcìa
ACP Arts Blog post on Maria Malibran
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VILLANUEVA, Felipe
Full name: Felipe de Jesús Villanueva Gutiérrez
Born February 5, 1862 in Santa Cruz Tecamac, Mexico
Died May 28, 1893, Mexico City
- Villanueva was a Mexican violinist, pianist, and composer. He studied at the National Conservatory of Music in Mexico City.11
- Along with Gustavo Campa and several other Mexican composers,12 Villanueva formed a “Group of Six” dedicated to Mexican nationalism in music. In 1887 Villanueva, Campa and others founded a new Mexican school of music for young people.13
- Villanueva created the musical genre of danza mexicana. It was partly inspired by the contradanza habanera, popularized by Ignatio Cervantes.14
- Short biography from Naxos
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WAGNER, Richard
Born in Leipzig, May 22, 1813
Died in Venice, Feb 13, 188314
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WALDTEUFEL, Emile
Born in Strasbourg, Dec 9, 1837
Died in Paris, Feb 12, 19151
Biography from Naxos
Sources
- Andrew Lamb, “Waldteufel [Lévy], (Charles-)Emile,” Grove Music Online (2001), accessed February 20, 2021, https://www.oxfordmusiconline.com/grovemusic/view/10.1093/gmo/9781561592630.001.0001/omo-9781561592630-e-0000029819.
Pieces
Born in Eutin, c.Nov 18, 1786
Died in London, June 5, 182615
Born in Matanzas, Jan 17, 1836
Died in Paris, 12/March 15, 1918
Born José Silvestre de los Dolores White Lafitte
Also known as Joseph White
- White Lafitte was an Afro-Cuban violinist and composer.
- White Lafitte studied violin at the Paris Conservatory, winning a first prize for violin in 1856.
- White Lafitte’s students included Romanian violinist Georges Enescu (George Enesco).
- White Lafitte toured Europe, the United States, and South America.
- He lived in South America for part of his career, after becoming court violinist to Emperor Dom Pedro II of Brazil.16
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WIENIAWSKI, Henryk
Born in Lublin, July 10, 1835
Died in Moscow, March 31, 1880
- Wieniawski was a Polish violin virtuoso who studied both violin and composition at the Paris Conservatory.
- Wieniawski spent much of his career as a touring virtuoso, often appearing with his younger brother, pianist Józef Wieniawski.17
“Without doubt the greatest violinist of his time.”
Anton Rubinstein on Wieniawski18
Biography from the Henryk Wieniawski Music Society
Pronunciation:
[‘hɛnrɪk vi’njafski]
“HEN-rick veen-YAFF-ski”
Listen
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WOLF, Hugo
Born in Windischgraz, Styria [now Slovenjgradec, Slovenia], March 13, 1860
Died in Vienna, Feb 22, 1903
- Wolf is best known as a Lied composer in the tradition of Schubert and Schumann, with a post-Wagnerian sense of harmony, and a strong sensitivity to poetry.
- Wolf studied at the Vienna Conservatory with Robert Fuchs. He was friends with fellow student Gustav Mahler. Frustrated with the conservatory’s musical conservatism, he was a difficult student and was expelled (though he later claimed he’d resigned).
- Wolf spent much of his career in Vienna scraping together a living as a music critic, accompanist, and music teacher. His personal and professional life were greatly affected by his early contraction of syphilis, which led to violent mood swings and eventually severe mental illness.1
Sources
Eric Sams and Susan Youens, “Wolf, Hugo.” Grove Music Online (2001). accessed August 13, 2021, https://www.oxfordmusiconline.com/grovemusic/view/10.1093/gmo/9781561592630.001.0001/omo-9781561592630-e-0000052073.
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ZIEHRER, Carl Michael
Born in Vienna, May 2, 1843
Died in Vienna, Nov 14, 192219