The Pop Stars of Classical Music
Emotions in the audience reach fever pitch as soon as they appear on stage. Long before the arrival of rock and pop, there were classical performers who knew how to captivate the masses. What was their secret? Playlist curated by Corina Kolbe.
Read more…Back in the Baroque period, castrati such as Farinelli were worshipped for "otherwordly" highness of their voices. The success of these men, who for many sounded like angels descended from heaven, had its obvious dark side. The sound was the result of mutilation inflicted before the onset of puberty. In the 19th century Niccolò Paganini driving the crowds wild with the unprecedented virtuosity of his violin playing. Fanny Mendelssohn called him an "unnatural, wild genius," and many others who saw him on his tours through Europe believed that he he must have struck a deal with the devil. The composer and pianist Franz Liszt was similarly celebrated. A lion of the salon who inspired especial devotion among his female fans, he showed off his breathtaking – and mind-boggling – techniques across the continent. He set out to redefine piano technique as Paganini had that of the violin, and his enthusiasm for Paganini's fiendish 'Caprices' was reflected in the fact that he created his own transcriptions of some of them.
In the 20th century, Vladimir Horowitz joined the pianistic gods with his performances of Liszt and much else besides. An eccentric artist by modern standards, who often had a free way with the score, Horowitz made inspired standing ovations right to the end of his long and eventful career. Today Lang Lang fires the enthusiasm for classical music of huge younger audiences. On the opera stage, meanwhile, there are other unforgettable names. Maria Callas was the "diva assoluta", who used a voice that at its peak could span three octaves to bring tragic heroines to life. Her uncompromising attitude to life and art made "La Callas" a legend. Later, Luciano Pavarotti started selling out stadiums as well as opera houses and concert halls, and now singers such as Anna Netrebko are among the opera idols who inspire a worldwide fanbase.