Art Collage JANG: July 2021

Thursday, July 29, 2021

The Stories about Music Films: 49. Spring Symphony (1983)

Basic Info

Title: Spring Symphony (Frühlingssinfonie)

Genre: Biography, Music

Country: Germany

Language: German

Running time: 103 minutes

Release date: 8 April 1983

Staff

Director: Peter Schamoni

Producer: Wolfgang Hammerschmidt, Ralph T. Niemeyer, Peter Schamoni

Screenplay by: Peter Schamoni

Music: Herbert Grönemeyer

Cinematography: Gérard Vandenberg

Edited by: Elfie Tillack

Cast

Nastassja Kinski as Clara Wieck

Herbert Grönemeyer as Robert Schumann

Rolf Hoppe as Friedrich Wieck

Summary

"Spring Symphony" is a 1983 West German historical drama film directed by Peter Schamoni and starring Nastassja Kinski, Herbert Grönemeyer, and Rolf Hoppe. The film portrays the life of the pianist Clara Wieck and her relationship with the composer Robert Schumann. The film's sets were designed by the art director Alfred Hirschmeier. It was shot at the Tempelhof Studios in Berlin and in various places in Saxony including Dresden, Leipzig and Zwickau.

Movie Review

“Stunning film about Clara Wieck”

“A Romance in Music”

“Subtitles would have been a plus”

“An apathetic vision of a mad love”

Clara Wieck

Clara Josephine Schumann (Clara Wieck) was a German pianist, composer and piano teacher, born on September 13, 1819 and died on May 20, 1896. Regarded as one of the most famous pianists of the Romantic era, she changed the format and repertoire of the piano recital from displays of virtuosity to programs of serious works. Exercising her influence over a 61-year concert career, she also composed a variety of works, including solo piano pieces, a piano concerto, chamber music, and choral pieces.

She grew up in Leipzig, where her father, Friedrich Wieck, was a professional pianist and teacher, and her mother was an accomplished singer. Having received a musical training from her father, she was a child prodigy and she began touring at the age of 11, where she achieved success in several cities, including Paris and Vienna.

Friedrich Wieck

She married composer Robert Schumann, and they had eight children.

Clara and Robert Schumann

They maintained a close relationship with Johannes Brahms, and she publicly premiered many works by her husband Schumann and Brahms.

Johannes Brahms

After Schumann's early death, she continued her concert tours in Europe for decades with the violinist Joseph Joachim and other chamber musicians.

Joseph Joachim and Clara Schumann, Adolph Menzel

Although she died in Frankfurt, she was buried beside her husband in Bonn.

Robert & Clara Schumann's Grave

Thank you.

Movie Trailer

Amazon Author Page

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Monday, July 26, 2021

The Works by Amedeo Modigliani: 93. Seated woman in Blue Dress (1919)

How are you?

Modigliani Institute Korea (MIK) is currently introducing artworks of Amedeo Modigliani.

The 93rd work to introduce for this week is “Seated woman in Blue Dress” in 1919.

This work is an expressionist style portrait and an oil painting on canvas with the size of 92 x 60 cm and possessed by the Moderna Museet in Stockholm, Sweden.

Moderna Museet, Stockholm, Sweden

This young woman, the model in this painting, stands out with her cut hair in a dark color highlighted by Modigliani to match her dark blue clothes. This portrait also looks very similar to the sculptures of the time in terms of the stylized clothes and the features and outlines of the face. The model's pale skin and expressionless empty eyes also contribute to her sculptural resemblance.

The model sitting on a black chair occupies almost the entire frame of the painting.

Modigliani often revealed the identity of the model by including the model's name in the background of his paintings, but in this painting the background does not give any information that could identify the model of the painting.

However, research has shown that the model for this painting was known as Fernande Barrey, a French artist model and painter, born on 9 January 1893 and died on 14 July 1960.

Fernande Barrey

She left her hometown of Picardy in 1908 and moved to Paris. Then, she became the model for many artists, including Jean Agélou, Amedeo Modigliani and Chaim Soutine.

Portrait of Chaim Soutine, Amedeo
Modigliani (1916)

In March 1917, she met the Japanese artist Tsuguharu Foujita at the Café de la Rotonde in Montparnasse, who fell madly in love with her and married her 13 days later. In 1918, the couple moved to Cagnes-sur-Mer to escape the German bombs, where she spent a year painting and meeting many friends.

Tsuguharu Foujita in his studio

Café de la Rotonde, Montparnasse, Paris

During this time, she also became friends with Jeanne Hébuterne, the wife of Modigliani. In 1920, when Modigliani died, Barrey tried to console Jeanne, but these efforts were in vain, and Jeanne, who was pregnant, committed suicide.

Portrait of Jeanne Hébuterne, Amedeo
Modigliani (1918)

In addition to this painting, other paintings of Fernande Barrey painted by Modigliani are listed below.

Thank you.

Amazon Author Page

Lecture Program List

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Korean Blog

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Thursday, July 22, 2021

94. Classical Music: 9. Carl Maria von Weber, ACJ Music Academy

How are you?

This week's lecture is “Carl Maria von Weber”, the 9th topic of “Classical Music”, which is a summary of the contents of “94. Classical Music: 9. Carl Maria von Weber” introduced on July 1st, 2017.

Carl Maria von Weber was a German composer, conductor, virtuoso pianist, guitarist and critic, born on November 18 (or 19), 1786, and died on June 5, 1826. He was one of the first significant composers of the Romantic era. Weber, best known for his operas, played a major role in the development of German Romantische Oper (German Romantic opera).

Carl Maria von Weber, Ferdinand Schimon
(1825)

Weber was born in Eutin, Germany, as the eldest of three children of Franz Anton von Weber and his second wife and singer Genovefa Weber. He was baptized Catholic on November 20, 1786. Originally came from the far south of Germany, his parents were Catholic, and the "von" in his name was a sort of affectation of his father, who was not an aristocrat.

Franz Anton von Weber

Genovefa Weber

Throughout his youth, Weber moved with his father and family to many locations including Hamburg, Salzburg, Freiberg, Augsburg and Vienna. Accordingly, he studied music with many teachers such as his father, Johann Peter Heuschkel, Michael Haydn, Giovanni Valesi, Johann Nepomuk Kalcher and Georg Joseph Vogler.

Georg Joseph Vogler

He composed non-operatic music, including two symphonies, a bassoon concerto, piano pieces such as “Konzertstück in F minor” and “Invitation to the Dance”, and many pieces featuring clarinet, mainly written for the virtuoso clarinetist Heinrich Baermann.

Heinrich Baermann

He died during the night on 5 June 1826 while sleeping at the home of his friend Sir George Thomas Smart and was buried in London.

Sir George Thomas Smart, William Bradley

Eighteen years later, in December 1844, his remains were transferred to the family burial place in the Old Catholic Cemetery (Alter Katholischer Friedhof) in Dresden, where his youngest son Alexander, who at the age of 19 had died of measles seven weeks before, was buried. The eulogy at the reburial was delivered by Wagner.

Weber's grave, Old Catholic Cemetery,
Dresden

Weber's unfinished opera "Die drei Pintos" was originally commissioned to Giacomo Meyerbeer by his widow, but was eventually completed by Gustav Mahler, who conducted the first performance in Leipzig on January 20, 1888.

Giacomo Meyerbeer

Gustav Mahler

His operas "Silvana", "Abu Hassan", "Der Freischütz", "Die drei Pintos", "Euryanthe" and "Oberon" had a great influence on subsequent German composers including Heinrich Marschner, Giacomo Meyerbeer and Richard Wagner, and his compositions for piano influenced those of Chopin and Liszt. His most famous work, "Der Freischütz" remains among the most significant German operas.