Most fathers welcome their sons and daughters into the family business, even when the family business is composing. As we approach Father’s Day, we take a look at some famous composer fathers, sons and a daughter.
Giulio Caccini and his family were Medici court musicians. Giulio was a singer, instrumentalist and singing teacher who trained his family in the vocal arts. His daughter Francesca, a singer and composer who wrote expressive solo songs, was the most renowned of the family. Giulio’s music has faded in popularity, but Francesca’s is still performed.
For centuries the music of Domenico Scarlatti was better known than that of his father, Alessandro. Domenico’s sonatas are still enormously popular and, with the exception of Bach’s, are some of the most performed Baroque keyboard works. Alessandro’s operas, cantatas and sacred music have enjoyed a recent renaissance, so this family duo may finally be on equal footing.
When we speak of musical dynasties the Bach family reigns supreme. Johann Sebastian Bach (the son of a musician) fathered 20 children, 10 of whom lived to adulthood. Wilhelm Friedemann, Carl Philipp Emanuel, Johann Christoph Friedrich and Johann Christian were, as young composers, more famous than their father. History has sorted things out and Bach is recognized as the supreme master, but the music of his sons is outstanding and worth exploring.
If you’ve seen the play or film Amadeus, or have read Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart’s letters, you have an idea of what that father-son relationship was like. Leopold Mozart was a talented composer but an overprotective and, at times, exploitive promoter of his son’s talent. Nevertheless, Leopold was a respected composer and teacher who passed everything he knew down to his son and the results were glorious. We also shouldn’t forget Franz Xavier Wolfgang Mozart, the son of Wolfgang, and a composer of some charming early Romantic music.
If writing waltzes were a family business, the Strauss family was the Ford Motors of 19th century Vienna. Johann Strauss and his sons Johann Jr. and Josef were the masters of Viennese light music and their waltzes, polkas, quadrilles and marches are centerpieces of New Years Eve concerts around the world.
Who are some of your favorite composer fathers and children?
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by Craig Zeichner
