Musical Maestros: Fun Facts and Interesting Stories Uncovered

There is no clear definition of music. Music can be defined by its genre, as a collection of notes – or simply as a pleasure or passion! It is a pathway, a world full of harmonious melodies, tingling tunes, and a full story of mystery, romance and so much more.

Different instruments can lead you to various routes, from smooth jazz and heavy rock to elegant classic, all of your choice. But despite this, many of you may know little about some of history's renowned musicians. Perhaps you have heard of Mozart, Beethoven, Kreisler and more famous maestros. However, do you know their personal stories and their childhoods? 

First of all, meet the Austrian composer Mozart. He was probably the first person you would think of. Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart started composing his own music at 5 years old, and by age 6, he had composed two imperial courts. His first ever piece made was the Minuet and Trio in G major. Mozart enjoyed composing symphonies and sonatas the most. He loved all instruments except one, the flute. Although the flute was a very popular instrument at that time, Mozart had a profound dislike for this instrument due to its imperfections, such as going out of tune.

Moving on, we move to Beethoven. Beethoven was a musician that some might claim to be more unfortunate than Mozart because he couldn’t marry the woman he had loved.  Due to this, he turned quite ill, and his ears started to block out more sound day after day; he eventually couldn’t compose his own music while listening to what it sounded like.  Ludwig Van Beethoven started working on his first composition at the age of 10 and, quite interestingly, made his first piece called the Nine Variations On A March. A variation is a group or series of music pieces which had the same theme but different ways of playing it. This is something which Beethoven used often in his later pieces, such as Moonlight and Symphony No. 3. A fun fact that you might have never heard of is that Ludwig Van Beethoven actually did not enjoy playing the piano. His father tried to make him as great as Mozart but failed miserably. 

Mozart, Beethoven and other respected musicians changed the world’s ability to play music. They created unknown tunes and melodies, opening people’s ears. This is why we are able to listen to such beautiful music today!

Instruments can be found everywhere – in orchestras, streets, and even in your home! From the violin to the French horn, there are so many instruments that emphasise their individual beauty and charm.

Now beyond the musicians themselves, there are the tools used to hone their crafts. There are different groups of instruments, including strings, brass, woodwind and more. In those groups, there are various instruments. In the string group, there is the violin, the viola, the cello, and the double bass. The violin is the highest-pitched instrument in the string group, then the viola, the cello, and the deepest instrument is the double bass.

In the brass group, there are nine instruments that, like the string group, vary across instruments. The trumpet is higher pitched, whilst the trombone is lower. The percussion group is a set of instruments played by either hitting or pressing on the instrument. The piano is in both the string and percussion groups, since the sound from the piano comes from the vibration of strings, and the piano is played by hitting the keys, like other percussion instruments.

These are just the modern instruments you can see every day. When Mozart first started playing music, there was the harpsichord. This instrument was played by plucking strings, which was then replaced by the piano by Bartolomeo Cristofori.

The oldest instruments started with flutes, for example, the Greek lyre. This instrument was very rare, and it was known as the Greek god Apollo’s sacred instrument. Flutes are over 40,000 years old.

Now that you have learnt about classical musicians and instruments, try to visit more concerts, take part in orchestras, and even try to compose your own music! Listen closely to every note, and feel how they flow. Every single note you make is a step closer to your own musical piece.