Orchestrate Your Knowledge: Top 6 Surprising Fun Facts About Classical Music You Need to Know!

1. Haydn's Double-skulled Tomb

Talk about having a bone to pick with someone: Haydn's tomb contains not one, but two skulls, thanks to a head-napping phrenology enthusiast in the 19th century who snatched the original, leaving a stand-in skull that still shares space with the real one, finally returned in 1954.
Source => classicfm.com

2. Chopin's Pickled Heart

Tickle the ivories and pass the pickles: Frederic Chopin's heart was preserved in alcohol, hidden from Nazis during World War II, and now resides in a stone pillar in Holy Cross Church, Warsaw, inscribed with a verse from Matthew.
Source => nytimes.com

Did you know Beethoven's father altered his son's birth year to market him as a child prodigy? Discover the truth behind this musical deception! 🎵🤥

=> Fun Facts about Beethoven

3. Tchaikovsky's Head-Grabbing Conducting

Losing one's head, figuratively speaking, is not quite what Maestro Tchaikovsky had in mind when he stepped up to the conductor's podium: In fact, he had an unwavering fear that his head would literally fall off while conducting, so he would humorously hold onto his chin with one hand and conduct the orchestra with the other to quell his anxiety.
Source => californiasymphony.org

4. Vivaldi's All-Girl SuperGroup

Before the Spice Girls taught us about girl power: Vivaldi had already formed the ultimate all-girl supergroup at the Ospedale della Pietà, an orphanage for the illegitimate daughters of the Venetian nobility. As composer and director, he penned nearly all of his sacred vocal works for this talented bunch, even having females sing tenor and bass parts, and turned their orchestra into a Europe-wide sensation.
Source => theimaginativeconservative.org

5. Queen Elizabeth, the Piano Queen

They say "God save the Queen," but could it be She tickles the ivories instead?: Queen Elizabeth II is an accomplished pianist who began formal lessons at a young age, and apart from her grand piano, the royal music collection boasts a Steinway grand piano, a Stradivarius violin, and multiple Antonio Stradivari violins, making it one of the most remarkable assemblages worldwide.
Source => salonprivemag.com

6. Wagner's Controversial Wedding March

When it comes to wedding playlists, Wagner's "Bridal Chorus" might just be the "Achy Breaky Heart" of classical music: Revered by some for its emotional pull but shunned by various religious groups like the Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod and the Roman Catholic Diocese of San Diego due to its theatrical origins, not to mention a no-no for Jewish couples given the composer's unsavory antisemitic views.
Source => en.wikipedia.org