MusiLLection

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 in Leipzig. 1843 Edvard Grieg was born in June in Bergen, Norway. 1859 Begins studying at the Leipzig Conservatory in Germany. 1862 First public appearance with the Four Pieces for Piano, Op. 1 1864 Meets Rikard Nordaak, who radically changes his life. 1867 Marries his cousin Nina Hagerup. He founds the Norwegian Music Academy. 1870 Meets Franz Liszt in Rome. 1874 Ibsen asks him to write stage music for his play "Peer Gynt" . 1876 First performance of Peer Gynt . 1888 First interpretation of the Peer Gynt Suite No. 1 1894 PhD in Music from Cambridge University. 1898 Organizes the Norwegian Music Festival 1907 He dies in September in Bergen after a heart attact  Although he was buried with every honor from his grateful homeland, his ashes were buried in a niche on the mountain above Troldhaugen with no sign other than his name and his wife's.