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𝗗𝗜𝗠𝗜𝗧𝗥𝗜 𝗠𝗜𝗧𝗥𝗢𝗣𝗢𝗨𝗟𝗢𝗦 — 𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝟭𝟱 𝗚𝗥𝗘𝗔𝗧𝗘𝗦𝗧 𝗥𝗘𝗖𝗢𝗥𝗗𝗜𝗡𝗚𝗦 Dimitri Mitropoulos was one of the most intense, selfless and visionary conductors of the twentieth century. He conducted without a baton, frequently without a score and with…

𝗛𝗘𝗥𝗠𝗔𝗡𝗡 𝗦𝗖𝗛𝗘𝗥𝗖𝗛𝗘𝗡 — 𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝟭𝟱 𝗚𝗥𝗘𝗔𝗧𝗘𝗦𝗧 𝗥𝗘𝗖𝗢𝗥𝗗𝗜𝗡𝗚𝗦 Hermann Scherchen was one of the most radical, intellectually adventurous and unpredictable conductors of the twentieth century. He cannot be classified simply as a specialist in modern…

𝗡𝗜𝗞𝗢𝗟𝗔𝗜 𝗥𝗜𝗠𝗦𝗞𝗬-𝗞𝗢𝗥𝗦𝗔𝗞𝗢𝗩’𝗦 𝗧𝗘𝗡 𝗧𝗥𝗨𝗘 𝗠𝗔𝗦𝗧𝗘𝗥𝗣𝗜𝗘𝗖𝗘𝗦 Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov is frequently described as a supreme orchestrator, as though colour were the principal—or even the only—reason for his enduring importance. The description is accurate but incomplete. His…

𝗙𝗥𝗔𝗡𝗭 𝗟𝗜𝗦𝗭𝗧’𝗦 𝗙𝗜𝗙𝗧𝗘𝗘𝗡 𝗧𝗥𝗨𝗘 𝗠𝗔𝗦𝗧𝗘𝗥𝗣𝗜𝗘𝗖𝗘𝗦 Franz Liszt’s reputation has often been distorted by two opposing myths. To some listeners, he remains primarily the supreme nineteenth-century virtuoso: the dazzling showman who transformed the piano into…

𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝗟𝗜𝗙𝗘 𝗢𝗙 𝗛𝗘𝗖𝗧𝗢𝗥 𝗕𝗘𝗥𝗟𝗜𝗢𝗭 𝗔𝗦 𝗪𝗥𝗜𝗧𝗧𝗘𝗡 𝗕𝗬 𝗛𝗜𝗠𝗦𝗘𝗟𝗙 𝗣𝗢𝗦𝗧 𝟰 𝗕𝗲𝘁𝘄𝗲𝗲𝗻 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗗𝗶𝘀𝘀𝗲𝗰𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗥𝗼𝗼𝗺 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗢𝗿𝗰𝗵𝗲𝘀𝘁𝗿𝗮 𝗔 𝗙𝗮𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗿’𝘀 𝗣𝗹𝗮𝗻 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗮 𝗦𝗼𝗻’𝘀 𝗗𝗿𝗲𝗮𝗱 — 𝗖𝗶𝗿𝗰𝗮 𝟭𝟴𝟮𝟬–𝟭𝟴𝟮𝟭 As adolescence drew to its end,…

𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝗟𝗜𝗙𝗘 𝗢𝗙 𝗛𝗘𝗖𝗧𝗢𝗥 𝗕𝗘𝗥𝗟𝗜𝗢𝗭 𝗔𝗦 𝗪𝗥𝗜𝗧𝗧𝗘𝗡 𝗕𝗬 𝗛𝗜𝗠𝗦𝗘𝗟𝗙 𝗣𝗢𝗦𝗧 𝟯 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗙𝗶𝗿𝘀𝘁 𝗦𝗼𝘂𝗻𝗱𝘀 𝗼𝗳 𝗚𝗲𝗻𝗶𝘂𝘀 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗙𝗹𝗮𝗴𝗲𝗼𝗹𝗲𝘁 𝗶𝗻 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗗𝗿𝗮𝘄𝗲𝗿 — 𝗖𝗶𝗿𝗰𝗮 𝟭𝟴𝟭𝟱–𝟭𝟴𝟭𝟲 In the memory of 𝗛𝗲𝗰𝘁𝗼𝗿 𝗕𝗲𝗿𝗹𝗶𝗼𝘇, love and music seemed…

𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝗟𝗜𝗙𝗘 𝗢𝗙 𝗛𝗘𝗖𝗧𝗢𝗥 𝗕𝗘𝗥𝗟𝗜𝗢𝗭 𝗔𝗦 𝗪𝗥𝗜𝗧𝗧𝗘𝗡 𝗕𝗬 𝗛𝗜𝗠𝗦𝗘𝗟𝗙 𝗣𝗢𝗦𝗧 𝟮 𝗘𝘀𝘁𝗲𝗹𝗹𝗲 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗣𝗶𝗻𝗸 𝗦𝗹𝗶𝗽𝗽𝗲𝗿𝘀: 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗟𝗼𝘃𝗲 𝗧𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗡𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗿 𝗗𝗶𝗲𝗱 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗦𝘂𝗺𝗺𝗲𝗿 𝗧𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗖𝗵𝗮𝗻𝗴𝗲𝗱 𝗛𝗶𝘀 𝗟𝗶𝗳𝗲 Long before music had entirely claimed him,…

𝗠𝗔𝗛𝗟𝗘𝗥 𝗝𝗢𝗦𝗘 𝗟𝗨𝗜𝗦 𝗣𝗘𝗥𝗘𝗭 𝗗𝗘 𝗔𝗥𝗧𝗘𝗔𝗚𝗔 𝗣𝗢𝗦𝗧 𝟭 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗠𝗮𝗻 𝗪𝗵𝗼𝘀𝗲 𝗧𝗶𝗺𝗲 𝗪𝗼𝘂𝗹𝗱 𝗖𝗼𝗺𝗲 𝗔 𝗖𝗼𝗺𝗽𝗼𝘀𝗲𝗿 𝗕𝗼𝗿𝗻 𝗕𝗲𝗳𝗼𝗿𝗲 𝗛𝗶𝘀 𝗔𝘂𝗱𝗶𝗲𝗻𝗰𝗲 During his lifetime, 𝗚𝘂𝘀𝘁𝗮𝘃 𝗠𝗮𝗵𝗹𝗲𝗿 inhabited one of the great paradoxes of musical history.…

𝗦𝗖𝗛𝗨𝗠𝗔𝗡𝗡 — 𝗘𝗥𝗜𝗖 𝗙𝗥𝗘𝗗𝗘𝗥𝗜𝗖𝗞 𝗝𝗘𝗡𝗦𝗘𝗡 𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝗠𝗔𝗦𝗧𝗘𝗥 𝗠𝗨𝗦𝗜𝗖𝗜𝗔𝗡𝗦 — 𝗢𝗫𝗙𝗢𝗥𝗗 𝗨𝗡𝗜𝗩𝗘𝗥𝗦𝗜𝗧𝗬 𝗣𝗥𝗘𝗦𝗦 𝗘𝗣𝗜𝗟𝗢𝗚𝗨𝗘 — “𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝗣𝗢𝗘𝗧 𝗦𝗣𝗘𝗔𝗞𝗦”: 𝗦𝗖𝗛𝗨𝗠𝗔𝗡𝗡 𝗔𝗡𝗗 𝗖𝗛𝗜𝗟𝗗𝗛𝗢𝗢𝗗 𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝗖𝗛𝗜𝗟𝗗 𝗔𝗦 𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝗟𝗔𝗦𝗧 𝗦𝗘𝗖𝗥𝗘𝗧 𝗢𝗙 𝗦𝗖𝗛𝗨𝗠𝗔𝗡𝗡 At the end of Robert Schumann’s…

𝗙𝗿𝗮𝗻𝘇 𝗟𝗶𝘀𝘇𝘁 𝗕𝘆 𝗝𝗮𝗺𝗲𝘀 𝗛𝘂𝗻𝗲𝗸𝗲𝗿 𝗖𝗵𝗮𝗽𝘁𝗲𝗿 𝗜𝗜 — 𝗔𝘀𝗽𝗲𝗰𝘁𝘀 𝗼𝗳 𝗛𝗶𝘀 𝗔𝗿𝘁 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗖𝗵𝗮𝗿𝗮𝗰𝘁𝗲𝗿 𝗣𝗼𝘀𝘁 𝟭𝟰 — 𝗟𝗶𝘀𝘇𝘁𝗼𝗺𝗮𝗻𝗶𝗮: 𝗕𝗲𝗳𝗼𝗿𝗲 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗣𝗼𝗽 𝗦𝘁𝗮𝗿 Before the modern pop idol, before the cinema star, before mass media…

𝗙𝗿𝗮𝗻𝘇 𝗟𝗶𝘀𝘇𝘁 𝗕𝘆 𝗝𝗮𝗺𝗲𝘀 𝗛𝘂𝗻𝗲𝗸𝗲𝗿 𝗖𝗵𝗮𝗽𝘁𝗲𝗿 𝗜𝗜 — 𝗔𝘀𝗽𝗲𝗰𝘁𝘀 𝗼𝗳 𝗛𝗶𝘀 𝗔𝗿𝘁 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗖𝗵𝗮𝗿𝗮𝗰𝘁𝗲𝗿 𝗣𝗼𝘀𝘁 𝟭𝟯 — 𝗖𝗮𝗿𝗼𝗹𝗶𝗻𝗲 𝗱𝗲 𝗦𝗮𝗶𝗻𝘁-𝗖𝗿𝗶𝗾 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗙𝗶𝗿𝘀𝘁 𝗪𝗼𝘂𝗻𝗱 The story of 𝗖𝗮𝗿𝗼𝗹𝗶𝗻𝗲 𝗱𝗲 𝗦𝗮𝗶𝗻𝘁-𝗖𝗿𝗶𝗾 belongs to the earliest…

𝗙𝗿𝗮𝗻𝘇 𝗟𝗶𝘀𝘇𝘁 𝗕𝘆 𝗝𝗮𝗺𝗲𝘀 𝗛𝘂𝗻𝗲𝗸𝗲𝗿 𝗖𝗵𝗮𝗽𝘁𝗲𝗿 𝗜𝗜 — 𝗔𝘀𝗽𝗲𝗰𝘁𝘀 𝗼𝗳 𝗛𝗶𝘀 𝗔𝗿𝘁 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗖𝗵𝗮𝗿𝗮𝗰𝘁𝗲𝗿 𝗣𝗼𝘀𝘁 𝟭𝟮 — 𝗟𝗶𝘀𝘇𝘁 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗟𝗮𝗱𝗶𝗲𝘀 The legend of 𝗙𝗿𝗮𝗻𝘇 𝗟𝗶𝘀𝘇𝘁 as a musical Don Juan is one of…

𝗦𝗖𝗛𝗨𝗠𝗔𝗡𝗡 — 𝗘𝗥𝗜𝗖 𝗙𝗥𝗘𝗗𝗘𝗥𝗜𝗖𝗞 𝗝𝗘𝗡𝗦𝗘𝗡 𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝗠𝗔𝗦𝗧𝗘𝗥 𝗠𝗨𝗦𝗜𝗖𝗜𝗔𝗡𝗦 — 𝗢𝗫𝗙𝗢𝗥𝗗 𝗨𝗡𝗜𝗩𝗘𝗥𝗦𝗜𝗧𝗬 𝗣𝗥𝗘𝗦𝗦 𝗖𝗛𝗔𝗣𝗧𝗘𝗥 𝟭𝟰 — 𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝗖𝗢𝗠𝗣𝗢𝗦𝗜𝗧𝗜𝗢𝗡𝗦, 𝟭𝟴𝟰𝟱–𝟱𝟰 𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝗟𝗔𝗧𝗘 𝗦𝗖𝗛𝗨𝗠𝗔𝗡𝗡 — 𝗡𝗢𝗧 𝗔 𝗥𝗨𝗜𝗡, 𝗕𝗨𝗧 𝗔 𝗗𝗜𝗙𝗙𝗘𝗥𝗘𝗡𝗧 𝗪𝗢𝗥𝗟𝗗 The music Robert Schumann composed…

𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝟭𝟱 𝗚𝗥𝗘𝗔𝗧𝗘𝗦𝗧 𝗕𝗔𝗥𝗢𝗤𝗨𝗘 𝗞𝗘𝗬𝗕𝗢𝗔𝗥𝗗 𝗠𝗔𝗦𝗧𝗘𝗥𝗣𝗜𝗘𝗖𝗘𝗦 𝗢𝗙 𝗔𝗟𝗟 𝗧𝗜𝗠𝗘 Selecting the greatest Baroque keyboard masterpieces requires a broader definition of “keyboard” than the modern piano repertoire usually implies. These works were written for harpsichord,…

𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝟭𝟱 𝗚𝗥𝗘𝗔𝗧𝗘𝗦𝗧 𝗖𝗛𝗔𝗠𝗕𝗘𝗥-𝗠𝗨𝗦𝗜𝗖 𝗥𝗘𝗖𝗢𝗥𝗗𝗜𝗡𝗚𝗦 𝗢𝗙 𝗔𝗟𝗟 𝗧𝗜𝗠𝗘 Any attempt to identify the fifteen greatest chamber-music recordings must begin by acknowledging that “greatest” cannot mean merely the most technically perfect. A genuinely historic chamber…

𝗙𝗘𝗥𝗘𝗡𝗖 𝗙𝗥𝗜𝗖𝗦𝗔𝗬 — 𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝟭𝟱 𝗚𝗥𝗘𝗔𝗧𝗘𝗦𝗧 𝗥𝗘𝗖𝗢𝗥𝗗𝗜𝗡𝗚𝗦 Ferenc Fricsay’s international career lasted scarcely fifteen years, yet he left one of the most concentrated and consistently distinguished discographies of the twentieth century. He died in…

𝗔𝗡𝗧𝗔𝗟 𝗗𝗢𝗥𝗔́𝗧𝗜 — 𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝟭𝟱 𝗚𝗥𝗘𝗔𝗧𝗘𝗦𝗧 𝗥𝗘𝗖𝗢𝗥𝗗𝗜𝗡𝗚𝗦 Antal Doráti was one of the most versatile and industrious conductors of the twentieth century, but mere productivity does not explain his importance. His finest recordings reveal…

𝗘𝗨𝗚𝗘𝗡𝗘 𝗢𝗥𝗠𝗔𝗡𝗗𝗬 — 𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝟭𝟱 𝗚𝗥𝗘𝗔𝗧𝗘𝗦𝗧 𝗥𝗘𝗖𝗢𝗥𝗗𝗜𝗡𝗚𝗦 Eugene Ormandy remains inseparable from the Philadelphia Orchestra and the famously sumptuous sonority that became known throughout the world as the “Philadelphia Sound.” During his extraordinary tenure—first…

𝗦𝗜𝗥 𝗖𝗢𝗟𝗜𝗡 𝗗𝗔𝗩𝗜𝗦 — 𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝟭𝟱 𝗚𝗥𝗘𝗔𝗧𝗘𝗦𝗧 𝗥𝗘𝗖𝗢𝗥𝗗𝗜𝗡𝗚𝗦 Sir Colin Davis was one of the most cultivated, humane and intellectually independent conductors of the second half of the twentieth century. He never cultivated the…

𝗪𝗢𝗟𝗙𝗚𝗔𝗡𝗚 𝗦𝗔𝗪𝗔𝗟𝗟𝗜𝗦𝗖𝗛 — 𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝟭𝟱 𝗚𝗥𝗘𝗔𝗧𝗘𝗦𝗧 𝗥𝗘𝗖𝗢𝗥𝗗𝗜𝗡𝗚𝗦 Wolfgang Sawallisch represented one of the last great manifestations of the traditional German Kapellmeister: a conductor whose authority was founded not upon personal exhibitionism, but upon complete…

𝗙𝗿𝗮𝗻𝘇 𝗟𝗶𝘀𝘇𝘁 𝗕𝘆 𝗝𝗮𝗺𝗲𝘀 𝗛𝘂𝗻𝗲𝗸𝗲𝗿 𝗖𝗵𝗮𝗽𝘁𝗲𝗿 𝗜 — 𝗟𝗶𝘀𝘇𝘁: 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗥𝗲𝗮𝗹 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗟𝗲𝗴𝗲𝗻𝗱𝗮𝗿𝘆 𝗣𝗼𝘀𝘁 𝟭𝟬 — 𝗪𝗲𝗶𝗺𝗮𝗿 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗔𝗹𝘁𝗲𝗻𝗯𝘂𝗿𝗴 The Weimar years were the great turning point of 𝗙𝗿𝗮𝗻𝘇 𝗟𝗶𝘀𝘇𝘁’𝘀 maturity. Until then,…

𝗥𝗨𝗗𝗢𝗟𝗙 𝗕𝗨𝗖𝗛𝗕𝗜𝗡𝗗𝗘𝗥 — 𝗔 𝗟𝗜𝗙𝗘 𝗔𝗧 𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝗣𝗜𝗔𝗡𝗢 𝗔𝗻𝗲𝗰𝗱𝗼𝘁𝗲𝘀, 𝗖𝘂𝗿𝗶𝗼𝘀𝗶𝘁𝗶𝗲𝘀 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗗𝗲𝗰𝗶𝘀𝗶𝘃𝗲 𝗠𝗼𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁𝘀 — 𝗖𝗵𝗿𝗼𝗻𝗼𝗹𝗼𝗴𝗶𝗰𝗮𝗹𝗹𝘆 𝗔𝗿𝗿𝗮𝗻𝗴𝗲𝗱 The life of 𝗥𝘂𝗱𝗼𝗹𝗳 𝗕𝘂𝗰𝗵𝗯𝗶𝗻𝗱𝗲𝗿 has been shaped by an unusual combination of precocious talent, Viennese musical tradition,…

# 𝗥𝗨𝗗𝗢𝗟𝗙 𝗕𝗨𝗖𝗛𝗕𝗜𝗡𝗗𝗘𝗥 — 𝗠𝗬 𝗕𝗘𝗘𝗧𝗛𝗢𝗩𝗘𝗡 ## 𝗟𝗶𝘃𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘄𝗶𝘁𝗵 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗠𝗮𝘀𝘁𝗲𝗿 **𝗠𝘆 𝗕𝗲𝗲𝘁𝗵𝗼𝘃𝗲𝗻: 𝗟𝗶𝘃𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘄𝗶𝘁𝗵 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗠𝗮𝘀𝘁𝗲𝗿** is neither a conventional biography of **𝗟𝘂𝗱𝘄𝗶𝗴 𝘃𝗮𝗻 𝗕𝗲𝗲𝘁𝗵𝗼𝘃𝗲𝗻** nor a technical handbook devoted exclusively to piano…

𝗘𝗨𝗚𝗘𝗡 𝗝𝗢𝗖𝗛𝗨𝗠 — 𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝟭𝟱 𝗚𝗥𝗘𝗔𝗧𝗘𝗦𝗧 𝗥𝗘𝗖𝗢𝗥𝗗𝗜𝗡𝗚𝗦 Eugen Jochum is remembered above all as one of the supreme Bruckner conductors of the twentieth century, but that description captures only part of his achievement. His…