The Italian composer, Giacomo Puccini, died in Brussels on 29 November 1924. When news of Puccini’s death reached Rome, a performance of ‘La boheme’ was stopped, as the orchestra abruptly shifted key to play Chopin’s ‘Funeral March’ to a shocked audience. So to commemorate his sublime music and his life, we’ve posted two stories that report on the life and music of Puccini. Hull Daily Mail – Monday 01 December 1924 Image © Northcliffe Media Limited. Image created courtesy of …

31 August Mary Ward: the first fatality in a car accident in the UK & Ireland, 31.8.1869 – find out more on the BNA blog http://bit.ly/1duuKBB “He who would valiant be ‘gainst all disaster” – John Bunyan died in London on 31 August 1688, aged 59 http://bit.ly/160Pzyp 30 August Evacuation of children & other ‘priority classes’ from UK cities, 30/31 August 1939 – visit the BNA blog to read more http://bit.ly/16QhwtN 29 August The sinking of HMS Royal George at …

With the Proms taking place at the moment, we thought we’d post a historical newspaper story about Beethoven. The report tells the story of how Beethoven received his inspiration to write the beautiful ‘Moonlight Sonata’ The thing is, we’re not sure if it’s true – for it does seem to be one of those famous “Shaggy Beethoven’s Tales”. We dearly wish it to be true, though! But even if it’s not true, it’s still a wonderful tale. Perhaps some music …

‘If music be the food of life, then play on.’ The 118th season of the Proms starts tonight at the Royal Albert Hall. To celebrate this wonderful event, we’ve posted two newspaper reports about the 1941 Proms. Due to fire damage during ‘the Blitz, the Proms were moved that year from Queen’s Hall to the Royal Albert Hall. In the first of these reports, you can read about the concerns that were raised regarding the inferior acoustics of the Royal …

though not both things in the one telephone call, just in case you’re wondering… We’ve found some interesting techie and scientific stories in the British Newspaper Archive over the last week, which we’ve posted on our Facebook page. The first story is rather amusing (and a touch surreal), and reports on the demo of the telephone that Alexander Graham Bell gave to Queen Victoria at Osborne House in 1878. Especially interesting is the musical pieces that were played down the …