The violin is one of the many instruments that is used to create music. There were also many instruments before the violin was invented as well. Composers like J. S. Bach, W. A. Mozart, and L. V. Beethoven all played the violin too. There is a full history behind the violin storing fascinating facts, brain-filling biographies, and interesting instruments!
The History of it All
Before the violin was invented, there were a few instruments that were close to a violin. The Rabab, the Rebec, the Vielle and the Viola di Braccio were all very close to it. Then, after all of those ‘pre-violin instruments,’ the violin was invented.
Who invented the violin, you may ask? Well, the inventor remains anonymous and is still brought up in many conversations. The closest guess is Andrea Amati. A group of people said that he was the creator because of the documentation they found of two violins with three strings he created from 1542 to 1546.
Johann Sebastian Bach
(1685-1750)
Johann Sebastian Bach was a musician during the Baroque time period. Some of his compositions are probably the most famous pieces ever.
Bach was born in Thuringia, Germany on March 31, 1685. At the age of ten, both his parents died. His older brother took him in until he turned fifteen. He started singing a little later and wanted to become a singer. Then, his voice changed, so he switched to playing the violin and harpsichord.
In 1703, Bach got his first job as a musician at the Court of Duke Johann Ernst in Weimar. Then, he found another position at a new church in Arnstadt. During his work there, he didn’t get along with his students very well and was scolded a lot. Later, in 1707, Bach was assigned a job in a church playing his regular classical music. This music was not the kind of music the pastor liked and made many musical statements to Bach.
In 1717, Bach was hired to play for the Prince Leopold of Anhalt-Cothen. There, he created most of his pieces, such as the Brandenburg Concerto, created in 1721. Many people say it is considered to be one of the most famous concertos that he ever wrote. He also became the organist and had to teach at the Saint Thomas Church.
During his later years, Bach was struggling with his eyesight. But this inconvenience did not stop him from still writing many of his pieces. In 1749, nine years later, he tried to write The Art of Fugue, but unfortunately, he didn’t get to finish it. Later that year, Bach suffered from a stroke and died.
Johann Sebastian Bach was a very famous composer of the Baroque time period for many reasons. He will always be known for all his famous concertos forever.
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
1756-1791
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart was an Austrian composer of the Classical era. During hi lifetime, he mastered a group of modern and contemporary musical forms.
Mozart was born in Salzburg, Austria on January 27, 1756. Both his parents really wanted their children to play a lot of music. Mozart picked this up quickly. At the age of six, he was already composing a couple of pieces and was playing the piano very well. In 1762, Mozart was lead by his father to perform in Vienna, Austria. Mozart stayed there from 1763 to 1766 touring many gorgeous stays in Paris, France, London and England.
At the age of ten through seventeen, Mozart grew a reputation, and spent more and more of his time focusing on writing musical works for various operas. After a few years later, Mozart and his father set off for Italy for the new reputation of an opera composer.
During Mozart’s stay in Italy, he found a commision for an opera. Rome honored him with a membership to the Accademia Filarmonica. He then produced a large number of court opera on serious series and his first string quartet.
Later, Mozart was frustratingly forced to go to Paris with his mother to try to find a job. Sadly, in the midst of all of it, Mozart’s mother passed away. Mozart tried really hard to stay a little longer in Paris, but finally, after nine years, he returned home to Salzburg. With no position at all related to opera, Mozart decided to write even more compositions. In addition to that, he started to teach a few private lessons to earn some more money.
During this musical time period, Mozart composed many pieces that are still very famous today such as No. 39 in E flat major, No. 40 in G minor and No. 41 in C major (Jupiter). Mozart’s greatest Italian opera pieces that he wrote were Le nozze di Figaro, Don Giovanni and Cosi fan tutte.
After finishing writing his most recent opera piece; The Magic Flute, Mozart started writing the Requiem. Unfortunately, Mozart was only able to finish the first two movements before he sadly passed away. His pupil, Franz Süssmayer finished the last three sections after Mozart died on December 5, 1791.
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart was a very famous opera composer. People will always remember him as the very talented, young composer.
Ludwig van Beethoven
1770-1827
Ludwig van Beethoven was a famous German Composer of the transitional period between the Classical and Romantic time period. He stood out for being brave when times were hard.
Beethoven was born on December 16, 1770 in Bonn, Germany. He had two other siblings who were a little bit younger than he was. Their father taught him how to play the piano and violin.
When Beethoven was twelve years old, he was a very talented keyboard player and pupil of the court organist Christian Gottlob Neefe. Beethoven was glad to fill in as the church organist when Neefe was out of town. In 1783, Beethoven published his first piece, as well as a few other keyboard compositions later in the 1780’s.
During Beethoven’s years of study, he really admired the work of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. In 1787, Beethoven set out to look for him in Vienna, as a teacher. Suddenly, his mother became ill and Beethoven was forced to go home to care for her. His mother sadly passed away a little later and then his father, in 1792.
As Beethoven grew, he got a lot better at writing his compositions. Many other publishers asked him for his best works and Beethoven accepted. But soon, he found it hard to have his pieces how he wanted because many of the publishers kept on revising and editing it.
During Beethoven’s later life, he started to lose his hearing. Eventually, Beethoven lost all of his hearing and became deaf. In 1815, he gave all hope of performing in the public. Three years later, Beethoven could no longer carry a conversation with any of the visitors. Even worse, Beethoven was forced to become his nephew, Karl’s guardian. This did not work out like anyone expected.
Beethoven’s life was very difficult and hard for him, especially his deafness, but he persevered and showed strength to everyone around him. Ludwig van Beethoven was a very talented and brave composer during both the Classical and Romantic time period and forever.
Practicing
Okay, so now you’re probably groaning at the sound of that word, falling to the floor and pretending to stab yourself in the chest (just kidding!). But seriously, practicing is really important if you want to become a violinist for life. Composers couldn’t just become composers automatically, they had to get there step by step.
One of the steps they went through was practicing. Practicing takes hard work and a lot of patience. You have to stick with it, especially when it is very frustrating. If you want to get better and move up to the next level, you have to practice. Also, finding a good teacher can really help you out!
When you play violin, you have to balance out your time practicing as well. Sometimes, if you take part in many activities, it can be very hard to have time to practice. You might want to cut out some of what doesn’t matter as much. It can really help! (Trust me, I play, and it’s pretty hard to do even two activities at once!)
So, as you can see, practicing is very, very, very important. Practice well and you’ll be sure to get there soon!
Music to me
To me, music is a way of expressing my feelings in a way that only I can understand. When I play my violin, I feel like a whole new me. It’s like my violin is part of me. Even though it can take a lot of work, effort and practice, I still love it. Music is something that I will always want to keep with me my whole life.