Tchouk,issued April 29th,1974 The tchouk is a kind of percussion-instrument.Inside the trough there is a wooden hammer,what is lifted and then pushed down.
The "Eo" (also Eu) is a kind of percussion-instrument. Built from wood in the shape of a tiger,it´s back has a saw-like elevated runner.The player scratches with kind of whisk made from bamboo over that runner,generating a scratch-sound.
The "Ajaeng" sounds like a cello,but more rough.A wooden stick is used instead of a bow,although in modern times some musicians use horsehair-bows.Occasionally the strings,what are made from silk,are also plucked. Stamp issued June 20th,1974.
The "Haegeum" (different spellings exist) is a string-instrument,close to the violin.Modernized form exist and are widely used in North-Korea. Stamp issued Aug.20th,1974.
The "Bak" is a clapper,what is used mainly as a conducting tool. It is for instance clapped when to begin the music. Stamp issued Oct.20th,1974.
The "Pyeonjong" (different spellings) is a carillion.(Or is chimes the english word for it ?)(in German it is "Glockenspiel") This is the last stamp of the ancient instruments series. Issued Oct.20th,1974.
Concert-Harp,a Berlin "classic",issued Oct.29th,1950. From a set of 2,commemorating the rebuilding of the Berlin Philharmonic Hall.
The Violin played by Joseph Joachim.Painting by Adolph von Menzel. Joachim was an austrian violin virtuoso,who became the first director of Music Academy of Berlin. Stamp issued Sept.12th,1969, commemorating the 100th anniversary of the academy.
Do we have a balalaika here? If not, this one will do. I love the sound of this Russian instrument! It figures in a couple popular songs - Maggie Mae by Rod Stewart and Those Were the Days by Mary Hopkins. Anyone know of its use in a piece of classical music?
Hi Molokai! I believe there was an interlude of balalaikas in an opera called "The Nose" by Shostakovich. Another popular music use of a balalaika is by Ian Anderson in the song "Jeffrey Goes To Leicester Square". Since the balakaika wasn't standardized until the 1880's and its firm grounding in the folk music tradition the largest use of this instrument is in the balalaika orchestra.
No Molokai, I have not listened to much of Shostakovich, I doubt I could even cite a favorite composition of his. My favorite Russian composers are more in the line of Rimsky-Korsokov, Rachmaninoff, Tschaikovsky or Prokofiev.
