{"id":49245,"date":"2024-11-06T13:10:43","date_gmt":"2024-11-06T12:10:43","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/224b7eb4-07da-4c9d-998c-252b30d27769"},"modified":"2024-11-06T14:07:17","modified_gmt":"2024-11-06T13:07:17","slug":"happiness-brilliance-pain-and-fear-the-7-most-passionate-musical-declarations-of-love","status":"publish","type":"rss_feed","link":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcmusicmagazine\/rss_feed\/happiness-brilliance-pain-and-fear-the-7-most-passionate-musical-declarations-of-love\/","title":{"rendered":"Happiness, brilliance, pain and fear: the 7 most passionate musical declarations of love"},"content":{"rendered":"

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By <\/p>

Published: Wednesday, 06 November 2024 at 12:10 PM<\/p>

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Read on to discover cellist Christian Pierre La Marca’s 7 favourite musical declarations of love…<\/strong><\/p>

Musical declarations of love… Gustav Mahler and Alma Schindler<\/h2>
Mahler Fifth Symphony –\u00a0Adagietto<\/em><\/h3>
This is one of the most intense and profound expressions of love in music. From what I gather,\u00a0Mahler<\/a><\/strong>\u2019s relationship with his wife Alma was quite complex, and this piece is a real mixture of emotions, from happiness and brilliance to pain and fear. We often use the\u00a0Adagietto<\/em>\u00a0from\u00a0Mahler’s Fifth Symphony<\/a><\/strong>\u00a0to accompany sad moments, yet there is something more transcendent than sad about the work. And as with many great pieces, it is both harmonically and musically sophisticated, while remaining completely accessible.<\/p>

Narcissist, adulterer, social climber, frustrated genius… Who was Alma Mahler?<\/a><\/strong><\/li> <\/ul>
Musical declarations of love… JS Bach and Anna Magdalena Wilcke<\/h2>
Bach Cello Suites<\/h3>
Since the original manuscripts of\u00a0JS Bach<\/a><\/strong>\u2019s\u00a0Cello<\/a><\/strong>\u00a0Suites have been lost, the most authentic versions we have are by the hand of Anna Magdalena Bach, the composer\u2019s second wife. It\u2019s beautiful to think that the Cello Suites \u2013 which are like the bible to us cellists \u2013 are connected to the relationship between this man and woman, and the obvious trust that existed between them. It\u2019s wonderful to imagine Anna Magdalena being involved in these iconic pieces.<\/p>

<\/div> <figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\"> Yo-Yo Ma performs the Prelude from Bach’s Cello Suite No. 1 <\/figcaption> <\/figure> <ul class=\"wp-block-list\"> <li><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.classical-music.com\/features\/artists\/best-cellists\">Best cellists: the 20 greatest cellists of all time<\/a><\/strong><\/li> <\/ul> <h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart and Constanze Weber<\/h2> <h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Mozart Vesperae Solennes K339 \u2013 Laudate Dominum<\/h3> <p>This piece from 1780 doesn\u2019t exactly illustrate\u00a0<strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.classical-music.com\/features\/composers\/mozart\">Mozart<\/a><\/strong>\u2019s feelings for Constanze. For one thing, it predates\u00a0<strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.classical-music.com\/features\/composers\/mozart-marriage\">their marriage<\/a><\/strong>; for another, you don\u2019t get the sense that Mozart\u2019s real-life loves had any direct influence on his work. What we do know, however, is that from the moment he met Constanze, Mozart became fascinated by the timbre of clear soprano voices such as hers. In this piece, which he wrote while still in a relationship with Constanze\u2019s sister Aloysia, that high sound plays a very important role.\u00a0<\/p> <ul class=\"wp-block-list\"> <li><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.classical-music.com\/features\/composers\/10-mozart-myths\">10 Mozart myths debunked: from being buried in a pauper’s grave to a penchant for wearing brightly coloured wigs<\/a><\/strong><\/li> <\/ul> <h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Musical declarations of love… Robert Schumann and Clara\u00a0Wieck<\/h2> <h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Schumann Cello Concerto<\/h3> <p><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.classical-music.com\/features\/composers\/robert-schumann\">Schumann<\/a><\/strong>\u2019s Cello\u00a0<strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.classical-music.com\/features\/musical-terms\/what-concerto\">Concerto<\/a><\/strong>\u00a0is probably the last love letter that the composer ever wrote to his wife,\u00a0<strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.classical-music.com\/features\/composers\/clara-schumann\">Clara<\/a><\/strong>. Not only does every phrase find a new way of saying \u2018I love you\u2019, but there is also the recurring \u2018Clara motif\u2019, so called because its descending interval of a fifth is similar in inflection to the sound of his wife\u2019s name. This piece is a very honest declaration \u2013 not transcendent in the Mahlerian sense, but a direct expression of love.<\/p> <ul class=\"wp-block-list\"> <li><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.classical-music.com\/features\/composers\/schumann-suicide-attempt\">Schumann’s suicide attempt: how mental illness and money woes pushed a great composer close to the edge<\/a><\/strong><\/li> <\/ul> <h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Richard Wagner and Cosima Liszt<\/h2> <h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Wagner Tannha\u00fcser Overture<\/h3> <p>Hans von B\u00fclow \u2013 a German composer-conductor and huge\u00a0<strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.classical-music.com\/features\/composers\/richard-wagner\">Wagner<\/a><\/strong>\u00a0fan \u2013 played this piece to the teenage Cosima Liszt in an effort to seduce her. It worked and she did marry B\u00fclow, but ended up leaving him for his idol. So, I like to think of the<em>\u00a0Tannh\u00e4user<\/em>\u00a0Overture as the first thread that connected Cosima to Wagner. It\u2019s a seductive work, with a confidence and vigour that makes you feel on top of the world. So, I\u2019m not surprised it had such an effect on Cosima.<\/p> <ul class=\"wp-block-list\"> <li><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.classical-music.com\/articles\/musics-great-romantics\">‘I can do nothing but think of you…’ Music’s great romantic couples<\/a><\/strong><\/li> <\/ul> <h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Musical declarations of love… Hector Berlioz and Harriet Smithson<\/h2> <h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Berlioz Symphonie fantastique<\/h3> <p>The inspiration behind this work was\u00a0<strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.classical-music.com\/features\/composers\/hector-berlioz\">Berlioz<\/a><\/strong>\u2019s love for the Shakespearean actress Harriet Smithson. Convinced that she wasn\u2019t interested in him, the composer created this confessional that builds from a lover\u2019s sense of dejection to a dreamy, phantasmagorical vision. He invited Harriet to the work\u2019s first performance, but she didn\u2019t show up! Later she got back in contact, before eventually becoming his wife. I love this story about a romance that so nearly didn\u2019t happen.\u00a0<\/p> <figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube\"> <div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\"> <iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"Berlioz Symphonie fantastique (4 March to the Scaffold) \/\/ LSO & Sir Simon Rattle\" width=\"800\" height=\"450\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/598i8b3HGrw?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen=\"\"\/> <\/div> <figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\"> Simon Rattle conducts Berlioz’s <em>Symphonie fantastique<\/em> <\/figcaption> <\/figure> <ul class=\"wp-block-list\"> <li><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.classical-music.com\/features\/works\/music-lost-love\">‘To die for you!’ The pieces composers penned to win back lost lovers<\/a><\/strong><\/li> <\/ul> <h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Musical declarations of love… Benjamin Britten and Peter Pears<\/h2> <h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Britten War Requiem<\/h3> <p>Ostensibly about war, this piece, I sense, is also about\u00a0<strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.classical-music.com\/features\/composers\/benjamin-britten-composer\">Britten<\/a><\/strong>\u2019s inner war \u2013 to be accepted at a time when homosexuality was forbidden. There is a darkness to this music, and a sense of something frozen \u2013 strange because Britten always came across as such a warm musician. But something in the\u00a0<em><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.classical-music.com\/features\/works\/britten-war-requiem-3\">War Requiem<\/a><\/strong><\/em>\u00a0is stifled and not totally open. And it creates a very interesting tension.<\/p> <p><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.classical-music.com\/articles\/benjamin-britten-and-peter-pears\">‘A perfect gay marriage before the concept was invented’: Britten and Pears, gay pioneers<\/a><\/strong><\/p> <h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Who is Christian-Pierre La Marca?<\/h2> <p>Hailing from Aix-en-Provence, Christian-Pierre La Marca is a prize-winning cellist who has performed with ensembles ranging from the Orchestre National de France to the Philharmonia. He often collaborates with contemporary composers but is equally passionate about historically informed performance. His first recording for the Na\u00efve label, <em><a href=\"https:\/\/www.amazon.co.uk\/dp\/B08KQWCMB3\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener nofollow\"><strong>Cello 360<\/strong><\/a>,<\/em> took the listener on a journey from <strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.classical-music.com\/articles\/four-best-john-dowland-recordings\">Dowland<\/a><\/strong> to The Beatles. His latest album, <em><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.amazon.co.uk\/dp\/B09W7LP75Z\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener nofollow\">Legacy<\/a><\/strong><\/em>, which comes out this Autumn, is a survey of musical love letters.<\/p> <\/body><\/html>\n<hr class=\"no-tts wp-block-separator\"\/>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>By Published: Wednesday, 06 November 2024 at 12:10 PM Read on to discover cellist Christian Pierre La Marca’s 7 favourite musical declarations of love… Musical declarations of love… Gustav Mahler and Alma Schindler Mahler Fifth Symphony –\u00a0Adagietto This is one of the most intense and profound expressions of love in music. From what I gather,\u00a0Mahler\u2019s […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":24,"featured_media":49246,"template":"","categories":[1],"acf":{"readingTimeMinutes":"4"},"uagb_featured_image_src":{"full":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/37\/2024\/11\/happiness-brilliance-pain-and-fear-the-7-most-passionate-musical-declarations-of-love.jpg",1200,800,false],"thumbnail":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/37\/2024\/11\/happiness-brilliance-pain-and-fear-the-7-most-passionate-musical-declarations-of-love-150x150.jpg",150,150,true],"medium":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/37\/2024\/11\/happiness-brilliance-pain-and-fear-the-7-most-passionate-musical-declarations-of-love-300x200.jpg",300,200,true],"medium_large":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/37\/2024\/11\/happiness-brilliance-pain-and-fear-the-7-most-passionate-musical-declarations-of-love-768x512.jpg",768,512,true],"large":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/37\/2024\/11\/happiness-brilliance-pain-and-fear-the-7-most-passionate-musical-declarations-of-love-1024x683.jpg",800,534,true],"1536x1536":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/37\/2024\/11\/happiness-brilliance-pain-and-fear-the-7-most-passionate-musical-declarations-of-love.jpg",1200,800,false],"2048x2048":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/37\/2024\/11\/happiness-brilliance-pain-and-fear-the-7-most-passionate-musical-declarations-of-love.jpg",1200,800,false]},"uagb_author_info":{"display_name":"importmanagerhub@sprylab.com","author_link":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcmusicmagazine\/author\/importmanagerhubsprylab-com\/"},"uagb_comment_info":0,"uagb_excerpt":"By Published: Wednesday, 06 November 2024 at 12:10 PM Read on to discover cellist Christian Pierre La Marca’s 7 favourite musical declarations of love… Musical declarations of love… Gustav Mahler and Alma Schindler Mahler Fifth Symphony –\u00a0Adagietto This is one of the most intense and profound expressions of love in music. From what I gather,\u00a0Mahler\u2019s…","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcmusicmagazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/rss_feed\/49245"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcmusicmagazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/rss_feed"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcmusicmagazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/rss_feed"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcmusicmagazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/24"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcmusicmagazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/49246"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcmusicmagazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=49245"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcmusicmagazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=49245"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}