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Archive for the ‘Artist Anecdotes’ Category

Michelangelo’s Broken Nose

by Leticia Marie Sanchez  In light of the Getty Center‘s new exhibit, Michelangelo, Mind of the Master, an insight into the maestro that first appeared on Cultural Cocktail Hour a few years ago: As a teenager, Michelangelo Buonarroti suffered a blow at the hands of a green-eyed bully. Two different accounts of the story exist. In Vasari’s Lives of the Artists, Pietro Torrigiano, an artist studying with Michelangelo under the patronage of Lorenzo De ‘Medici, grew jealous of Michelangelo’s undeniable talent. Resentful of his former pal’s new status as teacher’s pet, Torrigiano delivered a blow that knocked the 15-year-old genius out cold. In the Autobiography of Benvenuto Cellini, Torrigiano defended himself by saying that Michelangelo was teasing the other artists working in the Church of the Carmine. He admitted the viciousness of his attack: “I felt bone and cartilage go

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The Christmas fruitcake fiasco: Puccini versus Toscanini

In the spirit of the season Cultural Cocktail Hour will share a holiday favorite! In her revealing book, Secret Lives of the Great Composers, Elizabeth Lundy described a fruity fiasco between two rivals: opera composers, Giacomo Puccini and conductor Arturo Toscanini: “During the years of Puccini and Toscanini’s feud, they had very little contact- except for one Christmastime incident. That year Puccini forgot to remove the conductor’s name from the list of friends to whom he sent the traditional Italian holiday gift, a pannetone cake. When Puccini realized his error, he sent Toscanini a telegram reading: “PANNETONE SENT BY MISTAKE. PUCCINI.” Toscanini replied, “PANNETONE EATEN BY MISTAKE. TOSCANINI.”

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Young Verdi: Altar Boy

Verdi

By Leticia Marie Sanchez       Cultural Cocktail Hour® is a registered Trademark In his Book of Musical Anecdotes, Norman Lebrecht relates a revealing incident from Verdi’s childhood. The seven-year-old Verdi, born into a modest family, once served as an altar boy at the church of Le Rencole. During Fête Day, the young boy heard the organ for the first time. Transported by the emanating musical harmonies, the child did not hear the priest’s request for water. Three times did the priest make his demand, to no avail. Enraged at the child with his head in the clouds, the priest struck a severe blow, pushing young Verdi down the three altar stairs, knocking him into unconsciousness. When the child thankfully awoke from his ordeal, what was the first thing for which he asked his parents? A painkiller? A glass of

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Rossini’s Risky Business

“Please don’t throw me out the window!! I’m a MAESTRO!” Does Procrastination lead to Defenestration? Professor Robert Greenberg, in a wonderful lecture for the Teaching Company, read a letter in which opera composer Gioachino Rossini (nicknamed “The Italian Mozart”) confessed his last minute habits. According to Rossini: “Wait until the evening before opening night- nothing primes inspiration more than necessity! Whether it be the presence of a copyist waiting for your work or the prodding of an impresario tearing at his hair (In my time, all the impresarios of Italy were bald by 30). I wrote the overture to La Gazza Ladra the day of its opening- in the theater itself- where I was imprisoned by the director and under the direct surveillance of the stage hands who were instructed to throw my original text through the window, page by page,

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Life of an artist…Philip Glass..

Philip Glass, the creative and celebrated modern composer, courageously blazed a trail despite all the absurdities facing artists. According to Elizabeth Lundy, in Secret Lives of Great Composers, Mr. Glass took on sundry jobs to pay the bills during the 60′s and 70′s, even while his operas were being performed at the Met in Lincoln Center: Shortly after the New York premiere of Einstein on the Beach, Glass was driving a taxi. A well-dressed woman got into the cab, looked at his name [tag], and said in surprise, ‘”Young man, do you realize you have the same name as a very famous composer?’” [Secret Lives of Composers, 278]

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Henri Matisse- Don’t touch the fruit!

by Leticia Marie Sanchez According to Kathleen Krull, in her book “Lives of the Artists,” Henri Matisse subsisted on a strict diet of rice-only when he first started out as a painter. Not Rice-A-Roni. Just plain boiled rice. Matisse refused to even allow himself to indulge in the luscious fruit that he bought for his still life paintings. Instead, he saved that fruit for his art. And for us.  Enjoy. Henri Matisse, Still Life with Oranges. 1899  Editor’s Note: Matisse eventually became one of the highest-paid artists of his time, imbing champagne and moving to the French Riviera– a real Rice to Riches story!

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Beyond Civilized- Von Bulow vis a vis Wagner

Cosima Liszt, the daughter of the illustrious composer Franz Liszt, married conductor and pianist Hans Von Bulow. While married to Von Bulow, she became pregnant three times with the offspring of German composer Richard Wagner, bearing Wagner three children: Isolde, Ava, and Siegfried. Although she initially denied the affair, Cosima eventually left Von Bulow to move in with Wagner. Von Bulow’s response? In a letter contained in Norman Lebrecht’s “Book of Musical Anecdotes,” Von Bulow declares his wife’s lover to be superior to himself in every way: “You have preferred to devote your life and the treasures of your mind and affection to one who is my superior, and far from blaming you, I approve your action from every point of view and admit you are perfectly right…the only consoling though has been that Cosima is happy over there.” Below:

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Salvador Dalí and the Cauliflower-stuffed Rolls Royce

by Leticia Marie Sanchez         Salvador Dalí mastered the art of creating his own image. Dalí shocked audiences everywhere with his flamboyant persona. A limousine or taxi was just too dull for the outrageous surrealist. So Mr. Dali drove a Rolls Royce stuffed to the brim with…. cauliflower.   The veggie-mobile was the automobile of choice for Mr. Dali as he drove to La Sorbonne University in Paris to give a lecture.  His speech was entitled, “Phenomenological Aspects of the Critical Paranoiac Method.”   During the speech, Dali exclaimed to the two thousand listeners in the audience, “Everything departs from the rhinoceros horn! Everything departs from Jan Vermeer’s The Lacemaker! Everything ends up in the cauliflower!“ Time Magazine, Dec. 26, 1955                                             

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Rock on, Gottlieb– the many nicknames of Mozart

First published by Cultural Cocktail Hour in 2011 Cultural Cocktail Hour® is a registered trademark by Leticia Marie Sanchez A lecture by Professor Robert Greenberg, from San Francisco Performances, revealed hidden gems about Mozart’s name. Enjoy! Baptized Name: Johannes Chrysostomus Wolfgangus Theophilus Mozart The divinely-inspired composer adored word games. He called himself: Di Mozartini, Mozartus, and Mozarti  He also enjoyed playing with the letters of his name and called himself:  Romatz, Trazom, Volfgangus (Latin Version) Gangflow (backwards)  His middle name, Theophilus, had the most permutations  His father called him GOTTLIEB because Gottlieb is the German version of Theophilus- “love of God”) What was Mozart’s personal favorite?  Amédée, the French version, which he picked up when he lived in Paris.  He actually never referred to himself as Amadeus!  (Unless it was a joke, then he would call him self Woolfgangus Amadeus) Out of

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Roman Emperor Caligula loved horsing around…

Salvador Dali- Caligula

Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner? by Leticia Marie Sanchez Salvador Dalí s painting, “Le Cheval de Caligula” depicts Incitatus, pampered pony of blood-thirsty Roman emperor Caligula. The often-violent Caligula became so enraptured with his stallion that he giddily showered him with 18 servants, a marble stable, an ivory manger, rich red robes, and a bejeweled collar. Caligula even made sure that his horse had a lil’ wifey and presented him with the alluring mare Penelope as a bride. The neurotic emperor demanded that everyone bow down to his horse as a god. No Mueslix or chewy carrots for this horsey. According to Roman historian Suetonius, Caligula’s horse snacked on oats mixed with flex of gold, naturally, and sipped the finest wine from golden goblets. Dignitaries must have clenched their teeth politely when Caligula required that they all sit at the dinner table

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