The Autographs and Collectible Memorabilia Blog

"Maestro" Movie in Review - A Leonard Bernstein Biopic

Maestro is a biographical drama film directed by and starring Bradley Cooper as legendary American composer and conductor Leonard Bernstein. Boasting impeccable technical merits from cinematography to production design, the film still falls into a common biopic trap of lacking emotional resonance even as it aims to capture a cultural...

Francesco Tamagno - The Fantastic Tenor and First Otello

Francesco Tamagno was born in Turin on December 28th 1850. His family was from the peripheral area “Barriera di Milano”, where they run a trattoria (small family-run casual restaurant). Unfortunately, after the Cholera outbreak of 1854, parents Margherita and Carlo were left with only 5 of their 15 sons. Among...

19 Greatest Organ Composers in Classical Music

Organ music is one of the most beautiful and moving forms of classical music. It's also one of the more difficult to write, as the organ is an incredibly versatile instrument that can be used to create a wide range of moods and styles. But who are the greatest composers...

Ned Rorem: American Composer and Diarist

"Divine fires do not blaze each day, but an artist functions in their afterglow hoping for their recurrence." —Ned Rorem. Ned Rorem was perhaps a little humble when he spoke these words, as his output, both musical and written, is nothing short of prolific. He received the Pulitzer Prize for Music...

Cosima Wagner: The ideal companion

INTRODUCTION Francesca Gaetana Cosima Liszt was the second daughter of Marie d'Agoult and Franz Liszt. She was born on December 24, 1837. Her unusual third name was derived from the lake in Italy where he parents had gone to wait for her birth. Cosima lived to reach ninety-two, outliving her...

Gustavo Dudamel Next Music Director of the NY Philharmonic

Gustavo Dudamel will be the new Music Director for the New York Philharmonic. The energetic and charming conductor will take up his new post in 2026 and is determined to develop something memorable and profound with his new orchestra. The New York Philharmonic is the oldest symphony orchestra in the...

Leonard Bernstein Conducting the New York Philharmonic, 1958 to 1969

Born a few months before the end of the First World War, it’s impossible to put a single label on Leonard Bernstein - even ‘musician’ seems inadequate, as he was equally important and influential as both music educator and humanitarian as conductor and composer. One of the most influential Americans, let alone musicians, of the twentieth century, Bernstein was also the first conductor both born and trained in America to be Music Director of the New York Philharmonic Orchestra.

Cleo de Merode: The Start of the Celebrity Culture

It’s easy to think of celebrity culture as being a modern phenomenon. Fueled by social media, celebrity is now a throwaway term, as anyone with a successful YouTube channel or Instagram account demonstrates. However, in terms of how we understand celebrity in the twenty-first century, Cleo de Merode was the...

Ernesto Lecuona: Celebrated Cuban Composer and Pianist

Ernesto Lecuona (1895-1963) was beloved by his native Cuba and gained worldwide recognition during his lifetime. He traveled the globe extensively, performing for packed theaters and concert halls. His musical talents were appreciated by fellow musicians and the general populace alike, with well-known hits such as "Always in My Heart"...

Italian Conductor Guido Cantelli: His Life and Times

Guido Cantelli was a renowned Italian conductor whose brief yet fruitful journey allowed him to conduct in some of the most famous concert halls of the world. So promising was Cantelli’s career that Maestro Arturo Toscanini once stated, "He [Cantelli] will, I feel sure, be my true successor." Sadly, Cantelli’s...

Anna Pavlova - Dying Swan and the Making of her Only Film

Anna Pavlova is one of the greatest and most influential dancers of all time, constantly being revered as one of those figures that helped dancing take a much clearer and fascinating form. In that regard, there are a lot of interesting facts and stories regarding her life and work, which...

Antoni Esplugas: From Painter to Pioneering Photographer

People might say Antoni Esplugas' destiny was becoming a great artist. Born Antoni Esplugas Puig on April 26, 1852, the son of a painter, Antoni Esplugas Gual, and a drawing teacher, Mariana Puig Battle of Villanova, Antoni Esplugas began painting as a youngster. [IMAGE] Antoni Esplugas by Spanish cartoonist Ramon Escaler...

Havergal Brian: Working-Class Genius Composer

Havergal Brian was a rare phenomenon among composers; a working-class English boy in a middle-class-dominated field who grew up to be one of the most prolific composers of his generation. Brian was also unusual in that most of his work came at a time of life when most people are...

Adelina Patti: 19th Century's Diva and Queen of Voice

Dubbed by many as “one of the greatest sopranos of all time”, the opera singer Adelina Patti took the mid-19th century by storm with her unmatched coloratura singing and exquisite tone of voice. A child prodigy at birth, she would then rise to fame and rank among some of the...

Giuseppina Strepponi - The Real Traviata

Giuseppina Strepponi (1815–1897) was a famous nineteenth-century Italian operatic soprano. The eldest daughter of the famous Italian composer and conductor, Feliciano Strepponi and the second wife of Giuseppe Verdi (1813–1901) . Giuseppina’s performances in a number of Verdi’s early such as Oberto (1839) and Nabucco (1842) helped launch the composer in Italy...

Ole Bull:The Norwegian Violin Virtuoso

Born Ole Bornemann Bull (1810-1880), the violinist has been overshadowed by contemporaries of his time as Paganini (1782-1840), Wieniawski (1835-1880) and subsequently Ysaÿe (1858-1931). Be that as it may, Bull was still one of the most celebrated artists of his time, often being hailed as the “Norwegian Paganini” for...

Teresa Berganza: The Legacy of a Spanish Opera Star

A dramatic figure with flashing dark eyes, Teresa Berganza passed away last May 13th, 2022, at 89, and was acclaimed as a coloratura mezzo-soprano, with a vocal register that was warm at its lower range and supple at its higher end. Her repertoire included mostly the operas of Mozart and Rossini and...

Lily Pons - Prima Donna Assoluta

Lily Pons was a French-American operatic soprano actress known for her skills at marketing herself and becoming one of the most well-known and beloved culture icons of her time. Her career was long and varied, working as an actress, opera singer, and concert singer plus made multiple appearances on radio...

Lillian Nordica: Lily of the North - A Biography

Aged just two, Lillie Norton's mother took her to see "Aunt Eunice", a neighbor who had a local reputation as a witch. Looking at the child's palm, she made the following prediction - "you shall sail the seven seas, and the crowned heads of Europe will bow before you". Whatever...

Jacques Offenbach - Pioneer of the Operetta

Jacques Offenbach was a German-born French composer and cellist during the Romantic Period. While his famed Les Contes d'Hoffmann is considered his only full-length opera, his musical legacy lies primarily in his 100+ operettas that contain a unique mixture of social and political satire, along with catchy melodies and popular...

Kathleen Ferrier: Klever Kaff

There is no need to say how much we loved and admired darling Kath, how we treasured her friendship and were honored and proud to work with her and for her. It is unbelievable that she is no longer with us, and that we shall never hear that glorious voice...

The Life of Chopin by Franz Liszt - An Overview

INTRODUCTORY NOTES "Life of Chopin" is a biography of the renowned Polish composer and piano virtuoso, Fryderyk Chopin. The book was originally published in French in about 1863 and was later translated to English by Martha Cook. It is written from the perspective of an actual friend, admirer, and fellow composer...

Pablo de Sarasate: The Prodigy from Navarra

INTRODUCTION Born in Pamplona (Navarra), Spain on March 10th, 1844, Martín Melitón, later renamed Pablo de Sarasate is amongst the most influential figures in the history of Spanish classical music and one of the greatest violin virtuosi of all time. To this day his legacy lives, carried on by his concise...

Cecile Chaminade - French Composer and Pianist

Cécile Chaminade, in full Cécile Louise Stéphanie Chaminade (1857 – 1944), is a French Composer and a popular concert pianist. Though a very gifted and versatile composer, she was chiefly known for her graceful and romantic piano music and songs, which were very appropriate for the Parisian salon music events...

THE AUTOGRAPH BLOG

"Maestro" Movie in Review - A Leonard Bernstein Biopic

Francesco Tamagno - The Fantastic Tenor and First Otello

19 Greatest Organ Composers in Classical Music

Ned Rorem: American Composer and Diarist

Cosima Wagner: The ideal companion

Gustavo Dudamel Next Music Director of the NY Philharmonic

Leonard Bernstein Conducting the New York Philharmonic, 1958 to 1969

Cleo de Merode: The Start of the Celebrity Culture

Ernesto Lecuona: Celebrated Cuban Composer and Pianist

Italian Conductor Guido Cantelli: His Life and Times

Anna Pavlova - Dying Swan and the Making of her Only Film

Antoni Esplugas: From Painter to Pioneering Photographer

Havergal Brian: Working-Class Genius Composer

Adelina Patti: 19th Century's Diva and Queen of Voice

Giuseppina Strepponi - The Real Traviata

Ole Bull:The Norwegian Violin Virtuoso

Teresa Berganza: The Legacy of a Spanish Opera Star

Lily Pons - Prima Donna Assoluta

Lillian Nordica: Lily of the North - A Biography

Jacques Offenbach - Pioneer of the Operetta

Kathleen Ferrier: Klever Kaff

The Life of Chopin by Franz Liszt - An Overview

Pablo de Sarasate: The Prodigy from Navarra

Cecile Chaminade - French Composer and Pianist

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