20 Bizarre and Interesting Musical Facts
Posted on May 27th, 2020 by shineuser1. In 2016, Mozart sold More CDs than Beyoncé. In October of the same year, the Universal Music Group released a box set commemorating the 225th anniversary of Mozart’s death. Every box set held 200 CDs. The box has been extremely popular. A New Complete Edition, presenting Mozart’s entire work including every last fragment, in the most authoritative edition ever created. The Edition presents over 240 hours of music, 600 solo performers and ensembles including 60 orchestras and every significant Mozart interpreter of the past 30 years. You can still buy the set on amazon. 2. ‘Mozartkugeln’ are the most popular chocolate brands in Austria. A Mozartkugel in English known as a Mozart ball, is a small, round sweet made of pistachio marzipan and nougat which is then dipped in dark chocolate. Created in 1890 by Salzburg confectioner Paul Fürst (1856–1941) and named after Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. They are still hand-made to this day! 3. Rod Stewart played in the largest free rock concert According to Guinness World Records, Rod Stewart’s 1993 New Year’s Eve concert on Copacabana Beach in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, is the most-attended free concert ever. Around 4.2 million people came down to the beach to see him perform and watch the fireworks at midnight. 4. Finland Has the Most Metal Bands Per Capita Finland, apparently, is home to the most metal bands, with about 53.5 metal bands per 100,000 people. Other Nordic nations Sweden, Norway and Iceland follow closely behind. Even though heavy metal music originated in the United States and the United Kingdom, the genre has taken off in the northern climes. There is even a Finnish Children’s metal group – Hevisaurus, of heavy metal dinosaurs with more than 7 albums under their belt! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lKImPsjpGjQ
6. Yuri Gagarin sang from space. Russian cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin also apparently famously sang a Shostakovich song, ‘My Homeland Hears’, from space but it was not recorded. This make it the first song in space!
15. Haydn has two skulls! There are two skulls in the musician Haydn’s tomb. One real and one fake! His head was stolen by phrenologists and a replacement skull was put in his tomb. In 1954, the real skull was restored but the substitute was also left behind! Two heads are better than one! 16. Risotto inspired Rossini. The composer wrote the aria ‘Di tanti palpiti’ while waiting for some risotto to cook in Venice. Besides this Rossini wrote many pieces inspired by gastronomy, and has had many dishes named after him including Cannelloni which is popular in Barcelona. Apparently he had a thing for “truffles”. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gLGDTKjJN-E 17. Titanic almost sank with the London Symphony Orchestra. The London Symphony Orchestra was booked to travel on the Titanic’s maiden voyage, but they changed boats at the last minute. The band of Titanic is one of the most mysterious and legendary tales that comes from the ill-fated ocean liner. Titanic’s eight-member band was led by Wallace Hartley, and upon panic of the passengers during Titanic’s sinking, assembled in the first-class lounge to play in an effort to keep everyone calm. 18. Dogfish skin was often used in the 18th century to sand violins. Dogfish are a family of sharks. Dogfish sharks make up the second largest order of sharks at 119 species. They have two dorsal fins, and their skin is generally rough to the touch, hence being used to sand the wood of violins. They are found in coastal waters and classified in the IUCN Red List of threatened species as Vulnerable globally and Critically endangered in the Northeast Atlantic, meaning stocks around Europe have decreased by at least 95%! 19. Renaissance composer Orlando de Lassus was kidnapped many times as a boy because of his beautiful singing voice. Orlando de Lassus was a composer of the late Renaissance, chief representative of the polyphonic style of the Franco-Flemish school, and considered to be one of the three most famous and influential musicians in Europe at the end of the 16th century. Legend has it that he also sang really well!
20. Domenico Scarlatti composed his ‘cat fugue’ after his cat, Pulcinella, walked across his keyboard.
Sources: https://bestlifeonline.com/music-facts/
https://www.classicfm.com/discover-music/latest/incredible-facts/haydns-skull/
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