MUsicFacts

MUsical FAcTs

1. Classical music facts - piano tension

The tension of the 230-odd strings in a grand piano exert a combined force of 20 tonnes on the cast iron frame.

2. Schumann's fingers

Robert Schumann would often plunge his hands into the entrails of a slaughtered animal to heal his ailments.

3. Haydn's skull

There are two skulls in Haydn’s tomb. 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 not removed.

4. Risotto

Rossini wrote the aria ‘Di tanti palpiti’ while waiting for some risotto in a Venice restaurant.

5. Violin

A single violin is made from over 70 individual pieces of wood.