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# **Mozart and Contrapuntal Improvisation in Social Settings** Among the many abilities attributed to Mozart, none was more consistently reported by contemporaries—and yet more poorly understood by later audiences—than his capacity for **contrapuntal improvisation**.…

# **EUGEN D’ALBERT — A LIFE** ## **I. Origins, Childhood, and the Making of a Prodigy** Eugen Francis Charles d’Albert was born on **April 10, 1864**, in Glasgow, Scotland, into a family whose musical…

𝐓𝐖𝐄𝐍𝐓𝐘 𝐑𝐄𝐅𝐄𝐑𝐄𝐍𝐂𝐄 𝐑𝐄𝐂𝐎𝐑𝐃𝐈𝐍𝐆𝐒 𝐎𝐅 𝐁𝐄𝐄𝐓𝐇𝐎𝐕𝐄𝐍’𝐒 𝐅𝐎𝐔𝐑𝐓𝐇 𝐒𝐘𝐌𝐏𝐇𝐎𝐍𝐘 Beethoven’s Symphony No. 4 in B-flat major, Op. 60 has an extraordinarily rich discography and, precisely because of its transparent, rhythmic and apparently light character, it allows…

# **MENDELSSOHN’S MUSICAL INFLUENCE ON OTHER COMPOSERS** The influence of **Felix Mendelssohn (1809–1847)** was far deeper than is sometimes acknowledged. He did not create a clearly defined “school” in the manner of Wagner or…

𝗦𝗖𝗛𝗨𝗠𝗔𝗡𝗡 — 𝗘𝗥𝗜𝗖 𝗙𝗥𝗘𝗗𝗘𝗥𝗜𝗖𝗞 𝗝𝗘𝗡𝗦𝗘𝗡 𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝗠𝗔𝗦𝗧𝗘𝗥 𝗠𝗨𝗦𝗜𝗖𝗜𝗔𝗡𝗦 — 𝗢𝗫𝗙𝗢𝗥𝗗 𝗨𝗡𝗜𝗩𝗘𝗥𝗦𝗜𝗧𝗬 𝗣𝗥𝗘𝗦𝗦 𝗖𝗛𝗔𝗣𝗧𝗘𝗥 𝟴 — 𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝗣𝗜𝗔𝗡𝗢 𝗖𝗢𝗠𝗣𝗢𝗦𝗜𝗧𝗜𝗢𝗡𝗦, 𝟭𝟴𝟯𝟰–𝟯𝟵 𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝗣𝗜𝗔𝗡𝗢 𝗔𝗦 𝗔 𝗦𝗘𝗖𝗥𝗘𝗧 𝗧𝗛𝗘𝗔𝗧𝗥𝗘 Between 1834 and 1839, Robert Schumann created the piano…

𝗝𝗢𝗛𝗔𝗡𝗡 𝗪𝗢𝗟𝗙𝗚𝗔𝗡𝗚 𝗩𝗢𝗡 𝗚𝗢𝗘𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝗔𝗡𝗗 𝗛𝗜𝗦 𝗥𝗘𝗟𝗔𝗧𝗜𝗢𝗡𝗦𝗛𝗜𝗣 𝗪𝗜𝗧𝗛 𝗖𝗟𝗔𝗦𝗦𝗜𝗖𝗔𝗟 𝗠𝗨𝗦𝗜𝗖 𝗝𝗼𝗵𝗮𝗻𝗻 𝗪𝗼𝗹𝗳𝗴𝗮𝗻𝗴 𝘃𝗼𝗻 𝗚𝗼𝗲𝘁𝗵𝗲 — 𝟭𝟳𝟰𝟵–𝟭𝟴𝟯𝟮 𝗝𝗼𝗵𝗮𝗻𝗻 𝗪𝗼𝗹𝗳𝗴𝗮𝗻𝗴 𝘃𝗼𝗻 𝗚𝗼𝗲𝘁𝗵𝗲 was perhaps the most important German literary figure for classical music. His poetry, dramas,…

𝗘𝗗𝗚𝗔𝗥 𝗔𝗟𝗟𝗔𝗡 𝗣𝗢𝗘 𝗔𝗡𝗗 𝗛𝗜𝗦 𝗖𝗢𝗡𝗡𝗘𝗖𝗧𝗜𝗢𝗡 𝗪𝗜𝗧𝗛 𝗖𝗟𝗔𝗦𝗦𝗜𝗖𝗔𝗟 𝗠𝗨𝗦𝗜𝗖 𝗘𝗱𝗴𝗮𝗿 𝗔𝗹𝗹𝗮𝗻 𝗣𝗼𝗲, born in Boston on 19 January 1809 and dead in Baltimore on 7 October 1849, was not a musician in the professional…

𝗣𝗔𝗦𝗖𝗔𝗟 𝗥𝗢𝗚𝗘 — 𝗟𝗶𝗳𝗲 𝗔𝗻𝗱 𝗣𝗿𝗼𝗳𝗲𝘀𝘀𝗶𝗼𝗻𝗮𝗹 𝗔𝗰𝘁𝗶𝘃𝗶𝘁𝘆 𝗢𝗿𝗶𝗴𝗶𝗻𝘀 𝗔𝗻𝗱 𝗘𝗮𝗿𝗹𝘆 𝗠𝘂𝘀𝗶𝗰𝗮𝗹 𝗚𝗶𝗳𝘁: 𝟭𝟵𝟱𝟭–𝗘𝗮𝗿𝗹𝘆 𝟭𝟵𝟲𝟬𝘀 𝗣𝗮𝘀𝗰𝗮𝗹 𝗥𝗼𝗴𝗲 was born in 𝗣𝗮𝗿𝗶𝘀 on 𝟲 𝗔𝗽𝗿𝗶𝗹 𝟭𝟵𝟱𝟭. He belongs to the distinguished French pianistic tradition, but his…

𝐋𝐢𝐥𝐢 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐍𝐚𝐝𝐢𝐚 𝐁𝐨𝐮𝐥𝐚𝐧𝐠𝐞𝐫 𝐓𝐰𝐨 𝐒𝐢𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐬, 𝐓𝐰𝐨 𝐃𝐞𝐬𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐢𝐞𝐬, 𝐎𝐧𝐞 𝐌𝐮𝐬𝐢𝐜𝐚𝐥 𝐂𝐨𝐧𝐬𝐜𝐢𝐞𝐧𝐜𝐞 The history of 𝐋𝐢𝐥𝐢 𝐁𝐨𝐮𝐥𝐚𝐧𝐠𝐞𝐫 and 𝐍𝐚𝐝𝐢𝐚 𝐁𝐨𝐮𝐥𝐚𝐧𝐠𝐞𝐫 is one of the most moving and paradoxical stories in modern music. They were sisters,…

𝗔𝗹𝗳𝗿𝗲𝗱 𝗕𝗿𝗲𝗻𝗱𝗲𝗹 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗧𝗵𝗶𝗻𝗸𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗣𝗶𝗮𝗻𝗶𝘀𝘁: 𝗟𝗶𝗳𝗲, 𝗔𝗿𝘁, 𝗥𝗲𝗽𝗲𝗿𝘁𝗼𝗿𝘆, 𝗖𝘂𝗿𝗶𝗼𝘀𝗶𝘁𝗶𝗲𝘀, 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗔𝗻𝗲𝗰𝗱𝗼𝘁𝗲𝘀 Alfred Brendel occupies a singular place in the history of twentieth-century pianism. He was not the glamorous prodigy, not the thunderous virtuoso, not…

𝗚𝗨𝗦𝗧𝗔𝗩 𝗠𝗔𝗛𝗟𝗘𝗥 𝗔𝗡𝗗 𝗔𝗟𝗠𝗔 𝗦𝗖𝗛𝗜𝗡𝗗𝗟𝗘𝗥 𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝗪𝗘𝗗𝗗𝗜𝗡𝗚 𝗔𝗧 𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝗞𝗔𝗥𝗟𝗦𝗞𝗜𝗥𝗖𝗛𝗘 — 𝗩𝗜𝗘𝗡𝗡𝗔, 𝟵 𝗠𝗔𝗥𝗖𝗛 𝟭𝟵𝟬𝟮 The marriage of 𝗚𝘂𝘀𝘁𝗮𝘃 𝗠𝗮𝗵𝗹𝗲𝗿 and 𝗔𝗹𝗺𝗮 𝗦𝗰𝗵𝗶𝗻𝗱𝗹𝗲𝗿 took place in 𝗩𝗶𝗲𝗻𝗻𝗮, at the 𝗞𝗮𝗿𝗹𝘀𝗸𝗶𝗿𝗰𝗵𝗲, on 𝗦𝘂𝗻𝗱𝗮𝘆, 𝟵 𝗠𝗮𝗿𝗰𝗵…

# **Apostolo Zeno (1668–1750)** *Life, Intellectual World, and Operatic Libretti* **Apostolo Zeno** occupies a crucial but often underestimated position in the history of Baroque opera. Standing between the exuberant theatrical freedom of the 17th…