MusiLLection

The Strauss brothers—Eduard, Johann II, and Josef—central figures in Vienna’s nineteenth-century musical life. Johann Strauss II stands among the most recognizable and influential figures of nineteenth-century musical life. His path was neither simple nor linear: it unfolded through family conflict, artistic ambition, public acclaim, and personal loss. His  life reveals that artistic triumph often emerges from tension—between inheritance and independence, public success and private compromise—leaving a legacy shaped as much by personal choice as by musical brilliance.  The milestones below trace the decisive moments that shaped his journey—from the shadow of his father to international recognition. 1825 Born on October 25 in Vienna into a family already deeply involved with music. His father, Johann Strauss I, was a celebrated composer and conductor—a circumstance that would profoundly, and often contentiously, influence his life. 1831 Composes his first waltz, revealing a...

Johannes Brahms accompanies the singer Alice Barbi during a concert in Vienna, a city that shaped his mature style and became his lifelong artistic refuge. 1833 – Born on May 7 in Hamburg, then part of the German Confederation. 1848 – Makes his public debut in Hamburg. 1850 – Meets the Hungarian violinist Eduard Reményi and composes his first known work, Scherzo in E minor . 1853 – Embarks on his first concert tour; meets Joseph Joachim , is introduced to Franz Liszt , and visits Robert and Clara Schumann in Düsseldorf. 1854 – First public performance of a Brahms work with Clara Schumann at the piano. Robert Schumann attempts suicide and is institutionalized; Brahms remains close to Clara, offering emotional and practical support. 1857 – Appointed Music Director at the court of Detmold. 1858 – Becomes romantically involved with Agathe von Siebold while working on Piano Concerto No. 1 . 1859 – Founds a women’s choir in Hamburg. 1862 – Moves to Vienna, the city that...

Announcement marking the death of Anton Bruckner, whose symphonic legacy reshaped late Romantic music. 1824 – Anton Bruckner is born on September 4 in Ansfelden, Austria. 1834 – Begins substituting for his father as an organist. 1835 – Completes his basic education in Hörsching, where Johann Baptist Weiß serves as schoolmaster. 1837 – In June, his father dies. Anton is sent to the Augustinian monastery of Sankt Florian to serve as a choirboy. 1841 – Trains as a schoolteacher in Linz. 1845 – Appointed assistant teacher in Sankt Florian; falls in love with Louise Bogner. 1851 – Becomes permanent organist at Sankt Florian; pays his first visit to Vienna. 1855 – Begins formal studies with the renowned Viennese music theorist Simon Sechter . 1863 – Attends a performance of Wagner ’s Tannhäuser , an experience of lasting artistic impact. 1866 – Completes Symphony No. 1 in C minor . 1868 – Appointed Professor of Music Theory at the Vienna Conservatory. 1871 – Visits En...

A caricature of Hector Berlioz, whose music was considered radically modern, eccentric and unsettling by his contemporaries. 1803 – Hector Berlioz is born on December 11 in La Côte-Saint-André, France. 1815 – Falls passionately in love with his neighbor’s daughter, the 18-year-old Estelle Dubœuf, a lifelong emotional reference point. 1820 – Moves to Paris to study medicine, against his will. 1826 – Admitted to the Paris Conservatory; fully abandons medical studies. 1830 – Symphonie fantastique is premiered; wins the Prix de Rome and departs for Italy. 1833 – Marries the Irish actress Harriet Smithson, the original inspiration for Symphonie fantastique . 1834 – Birth of his only son, Louis. 1846 – First visit to London; increasing international recognition as a conductor. 1854 – Death of Harriet Smithson; Berlioz marries his longtime companion Marie Recio. 1863 – First performance of the opera Les Troyens , his most ambitious dramatic work. 1864 – Death of Marie R...

Poster of a German production of Bizet’s opera The Pearl Fishers , reflecting the composer’s early operatic success beyond France. This concise timeline outlines the key moments in the life of Georges Bizet , whose brief existence left an enduring mark on 19th-century French music. 1838 Georges Bizet is born on October 25 in Montmartre, Paris, into a musical family. 1848 He begins his studies at the Paris Conservatoire, where his exceptional talent becomes evident at an early age. 1857 Bizet wins the prestigious Prix de Rome , the highest distinction for a young French composer. 1858 He arrives in Rome for a three-year stay as part of his Prix de Rome residency. 1859 While caring for an ill friend, Bizet contracts an infection that leads to chronic inflammation of the larynx—an illness that would contribute to his premature death. 1860 He returns to Paris, facing the difficulties of establishing himself in the competitive musical life of the capital. 1861 Bizet is deeply ...

Maurice Ravel conducting an orchestra, probably at London’s Queen’s Hall, April 14, 1923. Maurice Ravel was born on March 7, 1875, in Ciboure, near the French–Spanish border—an origin that would subtly inform his lifelong affinity for Iberian color and rhythm. 1875 – Born in Ciboure, France. 1889 – Enters the Paris Conservatoire. 1895 – Composes early major works, Habanera and Menuet antique (his first published work). 1905 – Fails for the fourth and final time to win the Prix de Rome, a controversy that exposes the Conservatoire’s resistance to modern voices. 1909 – Completes his first opera, The Spanish Hour . 1912 – Completes his first ballet, Daphnis et Chloé . 1915 – Enlists as a driver (guide) in the French army during World War I. 1917 – His mother dies, a devastating personal loss. 1925 – Completes the opera The Child and the Spells . 1928 – Undertakes his first tour of the United States; composes Boléro . 1932 – A car accident severe...

Edvard Grieg with friends during his student years in Leipzig, where his musical foundations were formed. Edvard Grieg  was born in June 1843 in Bergen, Norway, a city whose landscape and folklore would leave a lasting imprint on his musical imagination. 1843 – Born in Bergen, Norway. 1859 – Begins studies at the Leipzig Conservatory in Germany. 1862 – Makes his first public appearance with Four Pieces for Piano , Op. 1. 1864 – Meets Rikard Nordraak , an encounter that profoundly reshapes his artistic direction and strengthens his commitment to Norwegian national identity in music. 1867 – Marries his cousin Nina Hagerup; helps found the Norwegian Music Academy. 1870 – Meets Franz Liszt in Rome, who encourages and supports Grieg’s compositional voice. 1874 – Henrik Ibsen commissions him to write incidental music for the play Peer Gynt . 1876 – First performance of Peer Gynt . 1888 – First performance of Peer Gynt Suite No. 1 . 1894 – Awarded an...

Carl Maria von Weber, a central figure in the emergence of German Romantic opera. Carl Maria von Weber was born on November 18, 1786, in Eutin, near Lübeck in northern Germany. A restless childhood, shaped by travel and theatre life, would profoundly influence both his artistic identity and his pioneering role in German Romantic opera. 1786 – Born in Eutin, near Lübeck. 1787–1796 – Receives his first musical instruction from his brother; his father forms the Weber Troupe , and the family begins touring. 1796 – Apprentices with Johann Peter Heuschkel; his mother falls ill in Hildburghausen. 1797 – Settles in Salzburg and studies with Michael Haydn. 1798 – Publishes his first compositions, Six Fughettas ; his mother dies of tuberculosis. 1804 – Appointed Music Director of the Breslau Theatre. 1806–1807 – Serves as private secretary, first to Duke Eugen of Württemberg and later to Duke Ludwig of Stuttgart. 1810 – Expelled from Württemberg due to scandals i...