Introduction
Ignaz Moscheles (1794-1870) was a Czech composer who came to England in the 1820s and instantly felt at home. England warmed just as quickly to him, and he became a kind of godfather to a generation of Victorian composers writing particularly tuneful music.
IGNAZ Moscheles was born in Prague, and studied at the Conservatory there. He was soon in demand, and his first concert in England came in 1822.
The British countryside charmed him, and he admitted that “I feel more and more at home in England”. After his marriage in 1825, Moscheles settled in London, where his reputation grew.
He championed the then-unfashionable music of Beethoven, and used his good offices with the Philharmonic Society to help Beethoven financially in his last illness.
As a talent-scout for the Society, in 1829 he secured an invitation for his former pupil Felix Mendelssohn to visit London. Mendelssohn instantly fell in love with England, and England with Mendelssohn.
A steady stream of promising composers, including Arthur Sullivan, William Sterndale Bennett and Charles Villiers Stanford, studied at Mendelssohn’s Conservatory in Germany (which Moscheles ran from 1847), and returned to make Victorian music some of the most enchanting and tuneful in the world.
Archive
Word Games
Spinners Find in Think and Speak
For each group of words, compose a sentence that uses all three. You can use any form of the word: for example, cat → cats, go → went, or quick → quickly, though neigh → neighbour is stretching it a bit.
This exercise uses words found in the accompanying passage.
1 Countryside. Philharmonic. Soon.
2 Champion. Secure. Talent.
3 Composer. Help. Pupil.
Variations: 1. include direct and indirect speech 2. include one or more of these words: although, because, despite, either/or, if, unless, until, when, whether, which, who 3. use negatives (not, isn’t, neither/nor, never, nobody etc.)
Adjectives Find in Think and Speak
For each word below, compose sentences to show that it may be used as an adjective. Adjectives provide extra information about a noun, e.g. a black cat, a round table, the early bird etc..
This exercise uses words found in the accompanying passage.
1 Concerted. 2 Best. 3 Steady. 4 Enchanting. 5 Ill. 6 Former. 7 Instant. 8 Loving. 9 Helpless.
Variations: 1.show whether your adjective can also be used as e.g. a noun, verb or adverb. 2.show whether your adjective can be used in comparisons (e.g. good/better/best). 3.show whether your adjective can be used in attributive position (e.g. a dangerous corner) and also in predicate position (this corner is dangerous).
Statements, Questions and Commands Find in Think and Speak
Use each word below in a sentence. Try to include at least one statement, one question and one command among your sentences. Note that some verbs make awkward or meaningless words of command, e.g. need, happen.
This exercise uses words found in the accompanying passage.
1 Visit. 2 Include. 3 Help. 4 Fall. 5 Use. 6 Make. 7 Tune. 8 Champion. 9 Study.
Variations: 1. use a minimum of seven words for each sentence 2. include negatives, e.g. isn’t, don’t, never 3. use the words ‘must’ to make commands 4. compose a short dialogue containing all three kinds of sentence: one statement, one question and one command
High Tiles Find in Think and Speak
Make words (three letters or more) from the seven letters showing below, using any letter once only. Each letter carries a score. What is the highest-scoring word you can make?
Your Words ()
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