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𝐂𝐥𝐚𝐫𝐚 𝐇𝐚𝐬𝐤𝐢𝐥: 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐏𝐮𝐫𝐞 𝐒𝐨𝐮𝐥 𝐎𝐟 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐏𝐢𝐚𝐧𝐨 𝐖𝐡𝐨 𝐓𝐮𝐫𝐧𝐞𝐝 𝐅𝐫𝐚𝐠𝐢𝐥𝐢𝐭𝐲 𝐈𝐧𝐭𝐨 𝐌𝐢𝐫𝐚𝐜𝐥𝐞 There are pianists whose fame is built on conquest, and others whose greatness seems to arise from something infinitely rarer: 𝐭𝐫𝐮𝐭𝐡𝐟𝐮𝐥𝐧𝐞𝐬𝐬,…

𝗔 𝗙𝗢𝗥𝗚𝗢𝗧𝗧𝗘𝗡 𝗣𝗥𝗢𝗗𝗜𝗚𝗬 𝗜𝗡 𝗚𝗟𝗔𝗭𝗨𝗡𝗢𝗩’𝗦 𝗦𝗛𝗔𝗗𝗢𝗪 𝗔𝗹𝗲𝘅𝗮𝗻𝗱𝗲𝗿 𝗞𝗼𝗻𝘀𝘁𝗮𝗻𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗼𝘃𝗶𝗰𝗵 𝗚𝗹𝗮𝘇𝘂𝗻𝗼𝘃 𝘄𝗶𝘁𝗵 𝗜𝗿è𝗻𝗲 (𝗘𝗻𝗲𝗿𝗶) 𝗚𝗼𝗿𝗮𝗶𝗻𝗼𝗳𝗳 𝗜𝗿è𝗻𝗲 (𝗘𝗻𝗲𝗿𝗶) 𝗚𝗼𝗿𝗮𝗶𝗻𝗼𝗳𝗳 was a 𝗥𝘂𝘀𝘀𝗶𝗮𝗻-𝗯𝗼𝗿𝗻 𝗽𝗶𝗮𝗻𝗶𝘀𝘁 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗽𝗼𝘀𝗲𝗿, a 𝗿𝗲𝗺𝗮𝗿𝗸𝗮𝗯𝗹𝗲 𝗺𝘂𝘀𝗶𝗰𝗮𝗹 𝗽𝗿𝗼𝗱𝗶𝗴𝘆 whose early brilliance placed her among 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗺𝗼𝘀𝘁…

𝐇𝐞𝐧𝐫𝐢 𝐇𝐞𝐫𝐳: 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐆𝐥𝐢𝐭𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐊𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐎𝐟 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐒𝐚𝐥𝐨𝐧 𝐖𝐡𝐨 𝐓𝐮𝐫𝐧𝐞𝐝 𝐕𝐢𝐫𝐭𝐮𝐨𝐬𝐢𝐭𝐲 𝐈𝐧𝐭𝐨 𝐀𝐧 𝐄𝐦𝐩𝐢𝐫𝐞 There are pianists whose fame rests on a few immortal works, and there are others whose importance lies in the…

𝐀𝐫𝐭𝐮𝐫𝐨 𝐁𝐞𝐧𝐞𝐝𝐞𝐭𝐭𝐢 𝐌𝐢𝐜𝐡𝐞𝐥𝐚𝐧𝐠𝐞𝐥𝐢: 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐈𝐜𝐞 𝐀𝐧𝐝 𝐅𝐢𝐫𝐞 𝐎𝐟 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐏𝐢𝐚𝐧𝐨 𝐖𝐡𝐨 𝐓𝐮𝐫𝐧𝐞𝐝 𝐏𝐞𝐫𝐟𝐞𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐈𝐧𝐭𝐨 𝐋𝐞𝐠𝐞𝐧𝐝 There are pianists whose greatness lies in spontaneity, others in poetry, others in sheer power, and a very rare…

𝐄𝐧𝐫𝐢𝐪𝐮𝐞 𝐆𝐫𝐚𝐧𝐚𝐝𝐨𝐬: 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐏𝐨𝐞𝐭 𝐎𝐟 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐏𝐢𝐚𝐧𝐨 𝐖𝐡𝐨 𝐓𝐮𝐫𝐧𝐞𝐝 𝐒𝐩𝐚𝐧𝐢𝐬𝐡 𝐄𝐥𝐞𝐠𝐚𝐧𝐜𝐞 𝐈𝐧𝐭𝐨 𝐌𝐮𝐬𝐢𝐜 𝐀𝐧𝐝 𝐃𝐢𝐞𝐝 𝐈𝐧 𝐓𝐫𝐚𝐠𝐞𝐝𝐲 There are composers whose music conquers by force, and others whose power lies in 𝐜𝐡𝐚𝐫𝐦, 𝐫𝐞𝐟𝐢𝐧𝐞𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭, 𝐦𝐞𝐥𝐚𝐧𝐜𝐡𝐨𝐥𝐲,…

Dear friends, Many of you have followed my publications with extraordinary generosity, interest, and kindness, and for that I am truly grateful. Preparing these posts takes time: reading, selecting sources, writing, revising, choosing images,…

𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝗠𝗔𝗞𝗜𝗡𝗚 𝗢𝗙 𝗔 𝗥𝗘𝗕𝗘𝗟: 𝗦𝗘𝗥𝗚𝗜𝗨 𝗖𝗘𝗟𝗜𝗕𝗜𝗗𝗔𝗖𝗛𝗘’𝗦 𝗖𝗛𝗜𝗟𝗗𝗛𝗢𝗢𝗗 𝗔𝗡𝗗 𝗔𝗗𝗢𝗟𝗘𝗦𝗖𝗘𝗡𝗖𝗘, 𝗙𝗥𝗢𝗠 𝗥𝗢𝗠𝗔𝗡 𝗧𝗢 𝗛𝗜𝗦 𝟮𝟭𝗦𝗧 𝗬𝗘𝗔𝗥 𝗜. 𝗕𝗜𝗥𝗧𝗛, 𝗙𝗔𝗠𝗜𝗟𝗬, 𝗔𝗡𝗗 𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝗘𝗔𝗥𝗟𝗬 𝗥𝗢𝗠𝗔𝗡𝗜𝗔𝗡 𝗪𝗢𝗥𝗟𝗗 Sergiu Celibidache was born in Roman, Romania, in 1912, into…

𝗔𝗥𝗜𝗦𝗧𝗢𝗧𝗟𝗘: 𝟮𝟱 𝗤𝗨𝗢𝗧𝗔𝗧𝗜𝗢𝗡𝗦 𝗙𝗢𝗥 𝗔 𝗠𝗢𝗥𝗘 𝗛𝗔𝗣𝗣𝗬 𝗔𝗡𝗗 𝗦𝗘𝗥𝗘𝗡𝗘 𝗟𝗜𝗙𝗘 Aristotle, one of the greatest philosophers in history, shaped the entire course of Western thought. Philosopher, scientist, political thinker, and observer of human nature,…

𝗜𝘀 𝗧𝗲𝗹𝗲𝗺𝗮𝗻𝗻 𝗥𝗲𝗮𝗹𝗹𝘆 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗠𝗼𝘀𝘁 𝗣𝗿𝗼𝗹𝗶𝗳𝗶𝗰 𝗖𝗼𝗺𝗽𝗼𝘀𝗲𝗿 𝗶𝗻 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗛𝗶𝘀𝘁𝗼𝗿𝘆 𝗼𝗳 𝗖𝗹𝗮𝘀𝘀𝗶𝗰𝗮𝗹 𝗠𝘂𝘀𝗶𝗰? 𝗜. 𝗔 𝗤𝗨𝗘𝗦𝗧𝗜𝗢𝗡 𝗧𝗛𝗔𝗧 𝗥𝗘𝗩𝗘𝗔𝗟𝗦 𝗔 𝗛𝗜𝗦𝗧𝗢𝗥𝗜𝗖𝗔𝗟 𝗣𝗔𝗥𝗔𝗗𝗢𝗫 At first glance, the idea seems almost paradoxical. When one thinks of the…

𝗛𝗲𝗶𝗻𝗿𝗶𝗰𝗵 𝗦𝗰𝗵ü𝘁𝘇: 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗚𝗿𝗲𝗮𝘁 𝗚𝗲𝗿𝗺𝗮𝗻 𝗠𝗮𝘀𝘁𝗲𝗿 𝗪𝗵𝗼 𝗣𝗿𝗲𝗽𝗮𝗿𝗲𝗱 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗪𝗮𝘆 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝗕𝗮𝗰𝗵 𝗛𝗲𝗶𝗻𝗿𝗶𝗰𝗵 𝗦𝗰𝗵ü𝘁𝘇 (1585–1672) stands as the most important German composer before Bach and 𝗮 𝗰𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗿𝗮𝗹 𝗳𝗶𝗴𝘂𝗿𝗲 𝗼𝗳 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗲𝗮𝗿𝗹𝘆 𝗕𝗮𝗿𝗼𝗾𝘂𝗲. He was…

𝗝𝗼𝗵𝗮𝗻𝗻 𝗣𝗮𝗰𝗵𝗲𝗹𝗯𝗲𝗹: 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗖𝗹𝗲𝗮𝗿 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗡𝗼𝗯𝗹𝗲 𝗩𝗼𝗶𝗰𝗲 𝗼𝗳 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗦𝗼𝘂𝘁𝗵 𝗚𝗲𝗿𝗺𝗮𝗻 𝗕𝗮𝗿𝗼𝗾𝘂𝗲 𝗝𝗼𝗵𝗮𝗻𝗻 𝗣𝗮𝗰𝗵𝗲𝗹𝗯𝗲𝗹 (1653–1706) was a leading German Baroque composer and 𝗼𝗻𝗲 𝗼𝗳 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗺𝗼𝘀𝘁 𝗶𝗺𝗽𝗼𝗿𝘁𝗮𝗻𝘁 𝗳𝗶𝗴𝘂𝗿𝗲𝘀 𝗼𝗳 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗦𝗼𝘂𝘁𝗵 𝗚𝗲𝗿𝗺𝗮𝗻 𝗼𝗿𝗴𝗮𝗻 𝘁𝗿𝗮𝗱𝗶𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻.…

𝐃𝐚𝐯𝐢𝐝 𝐎𝐢𝐬𝐭𝐫𝐚𝐤𝐡: 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐆𝐨𝐥𝐝𝐞𝐧 𝐒𝐨𝐮𝐥 𝐎𝐟 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐕𝐢𝐨𝐥𝐢𝐧 𝐖𝐡𝐨 𝐓𝐮𝐫𝐧𝐞𝐝 𝐍𝐨𝐛𝐢𝐥𝐢𝐭𝐲 𝐀𝐧𝐝 𝐅𝐢𝐫𝐞 𝐈𝐧𝐭𝐨 𝐋𝐞𝐠𝐞𝐧𝐝 There are violinists whose fame rests on brilliance, others on beauty of tone, and a very rare few whose…

𝗗𝗶𝗲𝘁𝗲𝗿𝗶𝗰𝗵 𝗕𝘂𝘅𝘁𝗲𝗵𝘂𝗱𝗲: 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗡𝗼𝗿𝘁𝗵 𝗚𝗲𝗿𝗺𝗮𝗻 𝗠𝗮𝘀𝘁𝗲𝗿 𝗪𝗵𝗼 𝗣𝗿𝗲𝗽𝗮𝗿𝗲𝗱 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗪𝗮𝘆 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝗕𝗮𝗰𝗵 𝗗𝗶𝗲𝘁𝗲𝗿𝗶𝗰𝗵 𝗕𝘂𝘅𝘁𝗲𝗵𝘂𝗱𝗲 (c. 1637–1707) was one of the most influential composers of the North German Baroque and 𝗮 𝗰𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗿𝗮𝗹 𝗳𝗶𝗴𝘂𝗿𝗲 𝗶𝗻 𝘁𝗵𝗲…

𝗛𝗲𝗻𝗿𝘆 𝗣𝘂𝗿𝗰𝗲𝗹𝗹: 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗚𝗿𝗲𝗮𝘁𝗲𝘀𝘁 𝗘𝗻𝗴𝗹𝗶𝘀𝗵 𝗩𝗼𝗶𝗰𝗲 𝗼𝗳 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗕𝗮𝗿𝗼𝗾𝘂𝗲 𝗛𝗲𝗻𝗿𝘆 𝗣𝘂𝗿𝗰𝗲𝗹𝗹 (1659–1695) was England’s greatest Baroque composer and 𝗼𝗻𝗲 𝗼𝗳 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗺𝗼𝘀𝘁 𝗼𝗿𝗶𝗴𝗶𝗻𝗮𝗹 𝗺𝘂𝘀𝗶𝗰𝗮𝗹 𝘃𝗼𝗶𝗰𝗲𝘀 𝗼𝗳 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗥𝗲𝘀𝘁𝗼𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗽𝗲𝗿𝗶𝗼𝗱. Born in 𝗟𝗼𝗻𝗱𝗼𝗻 around 1659…

𝗧𝗼𝗺𝗮𝘀𝗼 𝗔𝗹𝗯𝗶𝗻𝗼𝗻𝗶: 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗡𝗼𝗯𝗹𝗲 𝗩𝗼𝗶𝗰𝗲 𝗼𝗳 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗩𝗲𝗻𝗲𝘁𝗶𝗮𝗻 𝗕𝗮𝗿𝗼𝗾𝘂𝗲 𝗧𝗼𝗺𝗮𝘀𝗼 𝗔𝗹𝗯𝗶𝗻𝗼𝗻𝗶 (1671–1751) was an Italian Baroque composer known for his refined instrumental music and for his 𝗶𝗺𝗽𝗼𝗿𝘁𝗮𝗻𝘁 𝗰𝗼𝗻𝘁𝗿𝗶𝗯𝘂𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝘀 𝘁𝗼 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗰𝗼𝗻𝗰𝗲𝗿𝘁𝗼. Born in 𝗩𝗲𝗻𝗶𝗰𝗲…

𝗚𝗶𝗼𝘃𝗮𝗻𝗻𝗶 𝗚𝗮𝗯𝗿𝗶𝗲𝗹𝗶: 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗠𝗮𝘀𝘁𝗲𝗿 𝗪𝗵𝗼 𝗢𝗽𝗲𝗻𝗲𝗱 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗗𝗼𝗼𝗿 𝘁𝗼 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗕𝗮𝗿𝗼𝗾𝘂𝗲 𝗚𝗶𝗼𝘃𝗮𝗻𝗻𝗶 𝗚𝗮𝗯𝗿𝗶𝗲𝗹𝗶 (c.1554–1612) was one of the most influential composers of the late Renaissance and early Baroque, and 𝗼𝗻𝗲 𝗼𝗳 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝘀𝘂𝗽𝗿𝗲𝗺𝗲 𝗰𝗿𝗲𝗮𝘁𝗼𝗿𝘀…

𝗙𝗿𝗮𝗻𝗰𝗲𝘀𝗰𝗼 𝗖𝗮𝘃𝗮𝗹𝗹𝗶: 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗖𝗼𝗺𝗽𝗼𝘀𝗲𝗿 𝗪𝗵𝗼 𝗠𝗮𝗱𝗲 𝗢𝗽𝗲𝗿𝗮 𝗮 𝗣𝘂𝗯𝗹𝗶𝗰 𝗔𝗿𝘁 𝗙𝗿𝗮𝗻𝗰𝗲𝘀𝗰𝗼 𝗖𝗮𝘃𝗮𝗹𝗹𝗶 (1602–1676) was one of the most important opera composers of the early Baroque and 𝗮 𝗰𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗿𝗮𝗹 𝗳𝗶𝗴𝘂𝗿𝗲 𝗶𝗻 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗿𝗶𝘀𝗲 𝗼𝗳 𝗽𝘂𝗯𝗹𝗶𝗰…

𝗠𝗮𝗿𝗶𝗻 𝗠𝗮𝗿𝗮𝗶𝘀: 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗚𝗿𝗲𝗮𝘁 𝗣𝗼𝗲𝘁 𝗼𝗳 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗩𝗶𝗼𝗹𝗮 𝗱𝗮 𝗚𝗮𝗺𝗯𝗮 𝗠𝗮𝗿𝗶𝗻 𝗠𝗮𝗿𝗮𝗶𝘀 (1656–1728) was a French Baroque composer and a supreme virtuoso of the viola da gamba, 𝗼𝗻𝗲 𝗼𝗳 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗺𝗼𝘀𝘁 𝗱𝗶𝘀𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴𝘂𝗶𝘀𝗵𝗲𝗱 𝗺𝘂𝘀𝗶𝗰𝗶𝗮𝗻𝘀 𝗼𝗳…

𝐊𝐚𝐫𝐥 𝐑𝐢𝐜𝐡𝐭𝐞𝐫: 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐁𝐚𝐜𝐡 𝐓𝐢𝐭𝐚𝐧 𝐖𝐡𝐨 𝐓𝐮𝐫𝐧𝐞𝐝 𝐅𝐚𝐢𝐭𝐡, 𝐃𝐢𝐬𝐜𝐢𝐩𝐥𝐢𝐧𝐞, 𝐀𝐧𝐝 𝐅𝐢𝐫𝐞 𝐈𝐧𝐭𝐨 𝐒𝐨𝐮𝐧𝐝 There are musicians whose reputations rest on fashion, and others whose names remain inseparable from an entire repertory because they seemed…

𝐀𝐥𝐞𝐱𝐚𝐧𝐝𝐞𝐫 𝐁𝐨𝐫𝐨𝐝𝐢𝐧: 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐂𝐡𝐞𝐦𝐢𝐬𝐭-𝐂𝐨𝐦𝐩𝐨𝐬𝐞𝐫 𝐖𝐡𝐨 𝐖𝐫𝐨𝐭𝐞 𝐌𝐮𝐬𝐢𝐜 𝐀𝐬 𝐈𝐟 𝐑𝐮𝐬𝐬𝐢𝐚 𝐖𝐞𝐫𝐞 𝐃𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐦𝐢𝐧𝐠 There are composers whose lives seem wholly given over to music, and there are others whose greatness becomes even more astonishing because…

𝐄𝐫𝐢𝐤 𝐒𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐞: 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐄𝐜𝐜𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐫𝐢𝐜 𝐏𝐫𝐨𝐩𝐡𝐞𝐭 𝐖𝐡𝐨 𝐓𝐮𝐫𝐧𝐞𝐝 𝐈𝐫𝐨𝐧𝐲, 𝐒𝐢𝐥𝐞𝐧𝐜𝐞, 𝐀𝐧𝐝 𝐂𝐥𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐧𝐞𝐬𝐬 𝐈𝐧𝐭𝐨 𝐌𝐨𝐝𝐞𝐫𝐧 𝐌𝐮𝐬𝐢𝐜 There are composers whose greatness lies in large monuments, and there are others whose influence works more strangely, more quietly,…

𝗟𝗘𝗢𝗡𝗔𝗥𝗗 𝗕𝗘𝗥𝗡𝗦𝗧𝗘𝗜𝗡 — 𝟮𝟬 𝗢𝗙 𝗛𝗜𝗦 𝗠𝗢𝗦𝗧 𝗖𝗘𝗟𝗘𝗕𝗥𝗔𝗧𝗘𝗗 𝗤𝗨𝗢𝗧𝗔𝗧𝗜𝗢𝗡𝗦 𝟭. 𝗧𝗵𝗶𝘀 𝘄𝗶𝗹𝗹 𝗯𝗲 𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗿𝗲𝗽𝗹𝘆 𝘁𝗼 𝘃𝗶𝗼𝗹𝗲𝗻𝗰𝗲: 𝘁𝗼 𝗺𝗮𝗸𝗲 𝗺𝘂𝘀𝗶𝗰 𝗺𝗼𝗿𝗲 𝗶𝗻𝘁𝗲𝗻𝘀𝗲𝗹𝘆, 𝗺𝗼𝗿𝗲 𝗯𝗲𝗮𝘂𝘁𝗶𝗳𝘂𝗹𝗹𝘆, 𝗺𝗼𝗿𝗲 𝗱𝗲𝘃𝗼𝘁𝗲𝗱𝗹𝘆 𝘁𝗵𝗮𝗻 𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗿 𝗯𝗲𝗳𝗼𝗿𝗲. 𝟮. 𝗠𝘂𝘀𝗶𝗰 𝗰𝗮𝗻 𝗻𝗮𝗺𝗲 𝘁𝗵𝗲…

𝗛𝗘𝗥𝗕𝗘𝗥𝗧 𝗩𝗢𝗡 𝗞𝗔𝗥𝗔𝗝𝗔𝗡 — 𝟮𝟰 𝗢𝗙 𝗛𝗜𝗦 𝗠𝗢𝗦𝗧 𝗖𝗘𝗟𝗘𝗕𝗥𝗔𝗧𝗘𝗗 𝗔𝗡𝗗 𝗗𝗢𝗖𝗨𝗠𝗘𝗡𝗧𝗘𝗗 𝗤𝗨𝗢𝗧𝗔𝗧𝗜𝗢𝗡𝗦 𝟭. “𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗮𝗿𝘁 𝗼𝗳 𝗰𝗼𝗻𝗱𝘂𝗰𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗰𝗼𝗻𝘀𝗶𝘀𝘁𝘀 𝗶𝗻 𝗸𝗻𝗼𝘄𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘄𝗵𝗲𝗻 𝘁𝗼 𝘀𝘁𝗼𝗽 𝗰𝗼𝗻𝗱𝘂𝗰𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘁𝗼 𝗹𝗲𝘁 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗼𝗿𝗰𝗵𝗲𝘀𝘁𝗿𝗮 𝗽𝗹𝗮𝘆.” 𝟮. “𝗤𝘂𝗶𝗰𝗸 𝗺𝘂𝘀𝗶𝗰 𝘀𝗼𝘂𝗻𝗱𝘀 𝗱𝘂𝗹𝗹…

𝗬𝘂𝗿𝗶 𝗦𝗵𝗮𝗽𝗼𝗿𝗶𝗻 (1887–1966) 𝗬𝘂𝗿𝗶 𝗔𝗹𝗲𝗸𝘀𝗮𝗻𝗱𝗿𝗼𝘃𝗶𝗰𝗵 𝗦𝗵𝗮𝗽𝗼𝗿𝗶𝗻 was a Soviet composer best known for his large-scale vocal-symphonic and operatic works. Born in Glukhov, in the former Russian Empire, he studied in St Petersburg and later…