For this month’s blog I thought I’d focus on musical families. By this I mean families who have more than one famous classical musician within the family. This is true for many families, but I’m looking at this topic through a gender lens, so I’m picking out pairs of famous musicians from the same family, one female and one male.
Clara Schumann is perhaps one of, if not the, most well-known female composers of the classical era. As well as writing hundreds of lieder and piano solos, she was also an incredibly gifted pianist. However, equally, or probably more, well-known is her husband, Robert Schumann. He also played piano, but is most well-known for his compositions, particularly his lieder and song cycles.
Another fairly well-known female composer is Fanny Mendelssohn. She is well-known for composing predominantly piano solos and chamber music. Yet her brother Felix Mendelssohn is definitely still more well-known for his numerous solo, chamber and orchestral works.
The last four pairs consist of a male composer who is significantly more well-known than their female counterpart.
Johann Sebastian Bach is one of the most famous composers of all time, especially for his fugues. But less well-known, is his wife, Anna Magdalena Bach. She was a talented singer but has also been believed to compose herself, with works potentially published under her husband’s name.
Perhaps the most famous classical composer is Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, but little is known of his sister Maria Anna. She was also a pianist and composer but unfortunately her works have been lost over time, though there are suggestions that she also collaborated with her brother.
Gustav Mahler is another very well-known composer, but his wife Alma Mahler, who was also a composer, is significantly less well-known. This is also true for final pair Gustav Holst and his daughter, Imogen Holst, who composed a number of vocal and instrumental works.
The rest of this blog is more interactive. With questions about each pair, it’s up to you to decide who the answer is. For example, a question may be “Which Mozart is the film Amadeus about?” and the answer would be “Wolfgang”. You can go through the questions on here, or if you’d like more of a challenge you can try a timed, more interactive version here: Musical families quiz (jetpunk.com).
So, let’s begin!
Round 1: Anna Magdalena or Johann Sebastian Bach
1. Which Bach was Kantor at Thomasschule, Leipzig?
2. Which Bach was a court singer?
3. Which Bach was the documentary Written By ___ Bach about?
Round 2: Maria Anna or Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
1. Which Mozart had musical lessons first?
2. Which Mozart failed to gain a court post in Vienna in 1773?
3. Which Mozart shone as the more talented youngster, according to their father and Munich aristocrats?
Round 3: Fanny or Felix Mendelssohn
1. Which Mendelssohn did their composition teacher think was “something special”?
2. Which Mendelssohn met Queen Victoria?
3. Which Mendelssohn’s work did Queen Victoria describe as one of her favourite songs?
Round 4: Clara or Robert Schumann
1. Which Schumann gave up law to pursue music?
2. Which Schumann was Kammervirtuosin for the Austrian court?
3. Which Schumman suffered from depression?
Round 5: Alma or Gustav Mahler
1. Which Mahler ordered their spouse to give up composing?
2. Which Mahler was director of Vienna Court Opera?
3. Which Mahler had to flee Austria as it became unsafe for Jewish people?
Round 6: Imogen or Gustav Holst
1. Which Holst studied composition with Herbert Howells?
2. Which Holst worked as Aldeburgh Festival director?
3. Which Holst taught and pioneered for music education for women at St Paul’s Girls’ School?
Answers below
Round 1: The Bachs
1. Johann
2. Anna
3. Anna
Round 2: The Mozarts
1. Maria
2. Wolfgang
3. Maria
Round 3: The Mendelssohns
1. Fanny
2. Felix
3. Fanny
Round 4: The Schumanns
1. Robert
2. Clara
3. Robert
Round 5: The Mahlers
1. Gustav
2. Gustav
3. Alma
Round 6: The Holsts
1. Imogen
2. Imogen
3. Gustav
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