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𝗚𝗜𝗔𝗖𝗢𝗠𝗢 𝗣𝗨𝗖𝗖𝗜𝗡𝗜 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗟𝗮𝘀𝘁 𝗬𝗲𝗮𝗿: 𝗧𝘂𝗿𝗮𝗻𝗱𝗼𝘁, 𝗜𝗹𝗹𝗻𝗲𝘀𝘀, 𝗕𝗿𝘂𝘀𝘀𝗲𝗹𝘀, 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗨𝗻𝗳𝗶𝗻𝗶𝘀𝗵𝗲𝗱 𝗙𝗶𝗻𝗮𝗹 𝗣𝘂𝘇𝘇𝗹𝗲 The last year of 𝗚𝗶𝗮𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗼 𝗣𝘂𝗰𝗰𝗶𝗻𝗶’s life was one of the most dramatic final chapters in the history of opera. It…

𝗪𝗔𝗚𝗡𝗘𝗥 𝗔𝗡𝗗 𝗠𝗘𝗬𝗘𝗥𝗕𝗘𝗘𝗥 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗣𝗮𝘁𝗿𝗼𝗻, 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗗𝗲𝗯𝘁, 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗕𝗲𝘁𝗿𝗮𝘆𝗮𝗹 — 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗢𝗻𝗲 𝗼𝗳 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗠𝗼𝘀𝘁 𝗧𝗿𝗼𝘂𝗯𝗹𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗥𝗲𝗹𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝘀𝗵𝗶𝗽𝘀 𝗶𝗻 𝗡𝗶𝗻𝗲𝘁𝗲𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗵-𝗖𝗲𝗻𝘁𝘂𝗿𝘆 𝗠𝘂𝘀𝗶𝗰 The relationship between 𝗥𝗶𝗰𝗵𝗮𝗿𝗱 𝗪𝗮𝗴𝗻𝗲𝗿 and 𝗚𝗶𝗮𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗼 𝗠𝗲𝘆𝗲𝗿𝗯𝗲𝗲𝗿 is one of the most revealing,…

𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐋𝐢𝐟𝐞 𝐨𝐟 𝐇𝐚𝐧𝐝𝐞𝐥 - 𝗖𝗛𝗔𝗣𝗧𝗘𝗥 𝟭𝟯: 𝗕𝗘𝗧𝗪𝗘𝗘𝗡 𝗖𝗢𝗨𝗥𝗧𝗦 𝗔𝗡𝗗 𝗦𝗧𝗔𝗚𝗘𝗦 — 𝗣𝗢𝗪𝗘𝗥, 𝗣𝗔𝗧𝗥𝗢𝗡𝗔𝗚𝗘, 𝗔𝗡𝗗 𝗜𝗡𝗗𝗘𝗣𝗘𝗡𝗗𝗘𝗡𝗖𝗘 (𝟭𝟳𝟭𝟮–𝟭𝟳𝟮𝟬) After the dazzling success of 𝗥𝗶𝗻𝗮𝗹𝗱𝗼 in London, Handel entered one of the most important transitional phases…

𝐖𝐡𝐲 𝐠𝐨 𝐭𝐨 𝐚 𝐥𝐢𝐯𝐞 𝐜𝐨𝐧𝐜𝐞𝐫𝐭 𝐰𝐡𝐞𝐧 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐜𝐚𝐧 𝐥𝐢𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐧 𝐭𝐨 𝐫𝐞𝐜𝐨𝐫𝐝𝐞𝐝 𝐦𝐮𝐬𝐢𝐜? In an age when almost any song is available instantly on a phone, computer, or speaker, some people ask why live…

𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝗗𝗘𝗔𝗧𝗛 𝗢𝗙 𝗕𝗘𝗘𝗧𝗛𝗢𝗩𝗘𝗡 — 𝗔 𝗖𝗢𝗠𝗣𝗟𝗘𝗧𝗘 𝗔𝗡𝗔𝗟𝗬𝗦𝗜𝗦 Vienna, 1826–1827 Age at death: 56 𝗜. 𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝗙𝗜𝗡𝗔𝗟 𝗗𝗘𝗦𝗖𝗘𝗡𝗧 𝗕𝗘𝗚𝗜𝗡𝗦 — 𝗦𝗨𝗠𝗠𝗘𝗥 𝗧𝗢 𝗔𝗨𝗧𝗨𝗠𝗡 𝟭𝟴𝟮𝟲 Beethoven’s final decline did not begin in a single dramatic…

𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗟𝗶𝗳𝗲 𝗼𝗳 𝗛𝗮𝗻𝗱𝗲𝗹 - 𝗖𝗛𝗔𝗣𝗧𝗘𝗥 𝟲: 𝗔𝗟𝗠𝗜𝗥𝗔 𝗔𝗡𝗗 𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝗙𝗜𝗥𝗦𝗧 𝗧𝗥𝗜𝗨𝗠𝗣𝗛 (𝟭𝟳𝟬𝟱) If the duel with Mattheson marked the violent end of one phase of Handel’s youth, 𝗔𝗹𝗺𝗶𝗿𝗮 marked the beginning of another:…

𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗟𝗶𝗳𝗲 𝗼𝗳 𝗛𝗮𝗻𝗱𝗲𝗹 - 𝗖𝗛𝗔𝗣𝗧𝗘𝗥 𝟰: 𝗛𝗔𝗠𝗕𝗨𝗥𝗚 — 𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝗙𝗜𝗥𝗦𝗧 𝗕𝗔𝗧𝗧𝗟𝗘𝗙𝗜𝗘𝗟𝗗 𝗢𝗙 𝗔𝗠𝗕𝗜𝗧𝗜𝗢𝗡 (𝟭𝟳𝟬𝟯–𝟭𝟳𝟬𝟰) When Handel left Halle in the spring of 1703, he was not simply changing cities. He was crossing a…

𝗛𝗲𝗿𝗯𝗲𝗿𝘁 𝘃𝗼𝗻 𝗞𝗮𝗿𝗮𝗷𝗮𝗻’𝘀 𝗙𝗶𝗿𝘀𝘁 𝗠𝗮𝗿𝗿𝗶𝗮𝗴𝗲: 𝗘𝗹𝗺𝘆 𝗛𝗼𝗹𝗴𝗲𝗿𝗹𝗼𝗲𝗳 Elmy Holgerloef was 𝗞𝗮𝗿𝗮𝗷𝗮𝗻’𝘀 𝗳𝗶𝗿𝘀𝘁 𝘄𝗶𝗳𝗲 and is generally identified in reliable biographical sources as 𝗮𝗻 𝗼𝗽𝗲𝗿𝗲𝘁𝘁𝗮 𝘀𝗶𝗻𝗴𝗲𝗿. Karajan married her in 𝗔𝗮𝗰𝗵𝗲𝗻 𝗼𝗻 𝟮𝟲 𝗝𝘂𝗹𝘆 𝟭𝟵𝟯𝟴,…

𝐉𝐮𝐥𝐢𝐮𝐬 𝐊𝐚𝐭𝐜𝐡𝐞𝐧: 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐓𝐢𝐭𝐚𝐧 𝐎𝐟 𝐁𝐫𝐚𝐡𝐦𝐬 𝐖𝐡𝐨 𝐔𝐧𝐢𝐭𝐞𝐝 𝐕𝐢𝐫𝐭𝐮𝐨𝐬𝐢𝐭𝐲, 𝐈𝐧𝐭𝐞𝐥𝐥𝐢𝐠𝐞𝐧𝐜𝐞, 𝐀𝐧𝐝 𝐅𝐢𝐫𝐞 There are pianists whose greatness rests on elegance, others on poetry, others on sheer force, and a very rare few whose art…

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,…

**𝗠𝗢𝗭𝗔𝗥𝗧 𝗜𝗡 𝗦𝗪𝗔𝗙𝗙𝗢𝗥𝗗’𝗦 𝗕𝗜𝗢𝗚𝗥𝗔𝗣𝗛𝗬 - 𝗖𝗵𝗮𝗽𝘁𝗲𝗿 𝟭𝟲 — 𝗠𝗼𝗻𝘀𝘁𝗿𝗼𝘂𝘀 𝗠𝗮𝗻𝘆 𝗡𝗼𝘁𝗲𝘀: 𝗠𝗼𝘇𝗮𝗿𝘁, 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗔𝗯𝗱𝘂𝗰𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻, 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗙𝗶𝗿𝘀𝘁 𝗚𝗿𝗲𝗮𝘁 𝗩𝗶𝗲𝗻𝗻𝗲𝘀𝗲 𝗧𝗿𝗶𝘂𝗺𝗽𝗵** **𝗜. 𝗔 𝗡𝗲𝘄 𝗣𝗿𝗼𝗷𝗲𝗰𝘁, 𝗔 𝗡𝗲𝘄 𝗠𝗼𝘇𝗮𝗿𝘁** Swafford begins this chapter with a striking…

𝐋𝐞𝐨𝐩𝐨𝐥𝐝 𝐋𝐮𝐝𝐰𝐢𝐠: 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐃𝐢𝐠𝐧𝐢𝐟𝐢𝐞𝐝 𝐌𝐚𝐞𝐬𝐭𝐫𝐨 𝐖𝐡𝐨 𝐊𝐞𝐩𝐭 𝐆𝐞𝐫𝐦𝐚𝐧 𝐎𝐩𝐞𝐫𝐚 𝐀𝐥𝐢𝐯𝐞 𝐖𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐒𝐭𝐞𝐞𝐥, 𝐒𝐭𝐲𝐥𝐞, 𝐀𝐧𝐝 𝐇𝐮𝐦𝐚𝐧𝐢𝐭𝐲 There are conductors whose names survive because of scandal, glamour, or sheer tyranny, and there are others whose greatness…

𝐄𝐝𝐮𝐚𝐫𝐝 𝐯𝐚𝐧 𝐁𝐞𝐢𝐧𝐮𝐦: 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐍𝐨𝐛𝐥𝐞 𝐌𝐚𝐞𝐬𝐭𝐫𝐨 𝐖𝐡𝐨 𝐓𝐮𝐫𝐧𝐞𝐝 𝐆𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐥𝐞𝐧𝐞𝐬𝐬 𝐈𝐧𝐭𝐨 𝐆𝐫𝐚𝐧𝐝𝐞𝐮𝐫 There are conductors whose authority is built on domination, theatrical command, and visible force. And then there are rarer figures whose greatness comes…

𝗖𝗵𝗮𝗿𝗹𝗲𝘀 𝗠𝘂𝗻𝗰𝗵: 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗜𝗻𝘀𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗰𝘁𝗶𝘃𝗲 𝗣𝗼𝗲𝘁 𝗼𝗳 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗣𝗼𝗱𝗶𝘂𝗺 𝗜. 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗥𝗲𝗹𝘂𝗰𝘁𝗮𝗻𝘁 𝗖𝗼𝗻𝗱𝘂𝗰𝘁𝗼𝗿: 𝗙𝗿𝗼𝗺 𝗩𝗶𝗼𝗹𝗶𝗻 𝘁𝗼 𝗕𝗮𝘁𝗼𝗻 𝗖𝗵𝗮𝗿𝗹𝗲𝘀 𝗠𝘂𝗻𝗰𝗵 never intended to be a conductor. He began as a violinist—gifted, gentle, and lyrical. In fact,…

𝗚𝗿𝗲𝗮𝘁 𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗽𝗼𝘀𝗲𝗿𝘀 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗶𝗿 𝗮𝗴𝗲𝘀 𝘄𝗵𝗲𝗻 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝘆 𝗱𝗶𝗲𝗱 𝗝𝘂𝗮𝗻 𝗖𝗿𝗶𝘀𝗼́𝘀𝘁𝗼𝗺𝗼 𝗔𝗿𝗿𝗶𝗮𝗴𝗮 – died at 19 – unknown, possibly tuberculosis. 𝗝𝘂𝗹𝗶𝘂𝘀 𝗥𝗲𝘂𝗯𝗸𝗲 – died at 24 – tuberculosis. 𝗟𝗶𝗹𝗶 𝗕𝗼𝘂𝗹𝗮𝗻𝗴𝗲𝗿 – died at 24 –…

𝗠𝗬𝗨𝗡𝗚-𝗪𝗛𝗨𝗡 𝗖𝗛𝗨𝗡𝗚: 𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝗦𝗜𝗟𝗘𝗡𝗧 𝗠𝗔𝗘𝗦𝗧𝗥𝗢 𝗪𝗛𝗢 𝗧𝗨𝗥𝗡𝗘𝗗 𝗗𝗜𝗦𝗖𝗜𝗣𝗟𝗜𝗡𝗘 𝗜𝗡𝗧𝗢 𝗙𝗜𝗥𝗘 Myung-Whun Chung is one of those rare conductors whose authority has never depended on theatrical gestures, public self-advertisement, or cultivated legend. His power has…

𝐋𝐞𝐨𝐩𝐨𝐥𝐝 𝐒𝐭𝐨𝐤𝐨𝐰𝐬𝐤𝐢: 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐖𝐢𝐳𝐚𝐫𝐝 𝐎𝐟 𝐒𝐨𝐮𝐧𝐝 𝐖𝐡𝐨 𝐓𝐮𝐫𝐧𝐞𝐝 𝐎𝐫𝐜𝐡𝐞𝐬𝐭𝐫𝐚𝐬 𝐈𝐧𝐭𝐨 𝐋𝐢𝐯𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐅𝐢𝐫𝐞 There are conductors who preserve tradition, and there are others who seem to reinvent the very act of orchestral music-making. 𝐋𝐞𝐨𝐩𝐨𝐥𝐝 𝐒𝐭𝐨𝐤𝐨𝐰𝐬𝐤𝐢…

𝐂𝐡𝐫𝐢𝐬𝐭𝐢𝐚𝐧 𝐓𝐡𝐢𝐞𝐥𝐞𝐦𝐚𝐧𝐧: 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐋𝐚𝐬𝐭 𝐆𝐫𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐇𝐢𝐠𝐡 𝐏𝐫𝐢𝐞𝐬𝐭 𝐨𝐟 𝐆𝐞𝐫𝐦𝐚𝐧 𝐑𝐨𝐦𝐚𝐧𝐭𝐢𝐜 𝐂𝐨𝐧𝐝𝐮𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠 There are conductors who dazzle through versatility, others through charisma, and a few whose authority seems to come from a much older source:…

𝐍𝐞𝐯𝐢𝐥𝐥𝐞 𝐌𝐚𝐫𝐫𝐢𝐧𝐞𝐫: 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐌𝐚𝐞𝐬𝐭𝐫𝐨 𝐖𝐡𝐨 𝐓𝐮𝐫𝐧𝐞𝐝 𝐂𝐥𝐚𝐫𝐢𝐭𝐲 𝐈𝐧𝐭𝐨 𝐉𝐨𝐲 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐌𝐚𝐝𝐞 𝐚 𝐂𝐡𝐚𝐦𝐛𝐞𝐫 𝐎𝐫𝐜𝐡𝐞𝐬𝐭𝐫𝐚 𝐂𝐨𝐧𝐪𝐮𝐞𝐫 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐖𝐨𝐫𝐥𝐝 There are conductors who build their fame through grandeur, severity, and historical weight, and there are others…

𝐒𝐢𝐫 𝐒𝐢𝐦𝐨𝐧 𝐑𝐚𝐭𝐭𝐥𝐞: 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐅𝐢𝐞𝐫𝐲 𝐀𝐫𝐜𝐡𝐢𝐭𝐞𝐜𝐭 𝐖𝐡𝐨 𝐑𝐞𝐦𝐚𝐝𝐞 𝐎𝐫𝐜𝐡𝐞𝐬𝐭𝐫𝐚𝐬 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐓𝐚𝐮𝐠𝐡𝐭 𝐓𝐡𝐞𝐦 𝐭𝐨 𝐁𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐀𝐠𝐚𝐢𝐧 There are conductors who inherit greatness, and there are others who seem to create a new climate wherever they…

𝐄𝐮𝐠𝐞𝐧𝐞 𝐎𝐫𝐦𝐚𝐧𝐝𝐲: 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐌𝐚𝐞𝐬𝐭𝐫𝐨 𝐖𝐡𝐨 𝐓𝐮𝐫𝐧𝐞𝐝 𝐀𝐧 𝐎𝐫𝐜𝐡𝐞𝐬𝐭𝐫𝐚 𝐈𝐧𝐭𝐨 𝐀 𝐋𝐞𝐠𝐞𝐧𝐝 There are conductors whose fame rests on a few electrifying seasons, and there are others whose greatness is built over decades, through patience,…

𝐃𝐢𝐦𝐢𝐭𝐫𝐢 𝐌𝐢𝐭𝐫𝐨𝐩𝐨𝐮𝐥𝐨𝐬: 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐀𝐬𝐜𝐞𝐭𝐢𝐜 𝐨𝐟 𝐅𝐢𝐫𝐞 𝐖𝐡𝐨 𝐂𝐨𝐧𝐝𝐮𝐜𝐭𝐞𝐝 𝐀𝐬 𝐈𝐟 𝐌𝐮𝐬𝐢𝐜 𝐖𝐞𝐫𝐞 𝐚 𝐒𝐩𝐢𝐫𝐢𝐭𝐮𝐚𝐥 𝐓𝐫𝐢𝐚𝐥 There are conductors who dominate by sheer authority, and there are conductors whose greatness seems to come from something…

𝐎𝐭𝐦𝐚𝐫 𝐒𝐮𝐢𝐭𝐧𝐞𝐫: 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐋𝐚𝐬𝐭 𝐆𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐭 𝐊𝐚𝐩𝐞𝐥𝐥𝐦𝐞𝐢𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐖𝐡𝐨 𝐁𝐮𝐢𝐥𝐭 𝐀𝐫𝐭 𝐁𝐞𝐭𝐰𝐞𝐞𝐧 𝐓𝐰𝐨 𝐆𝐞𝐫𝐦𝐚𝐧𝐢𝐞𝐬 There are conductors whose reputations are made by glamour, by controversy, or by a few world-famous recordings. And then there are conductors…

𝐖𝐈𝐋𝐇𝐄𝐋𝐌 𝐅𝐔𝐑𝐓𝐖𝐀̈𝐍𝐆𝐋𝐄𝐑 (𝟏𝟖𝟖𝟔–𝟏𝟗𝟓𝟒): 𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐌𝐎𝐒𝐓 𝐏𝐎𝐋𝐄𝐌𝐈𝐂𝐀𝐋 𝐀𝐍𝐃 𝐂𝐎𝐍𝐓𝐑𝐀𝐃𝐈𝐂𝐓𝐎𝐑𝐘 𝐒𝐈𝐓𝐔𝐀𝐓𝐈𝐎𝐍𝐒 𝐈𝐍 𝐇𝐈𝐒 𝐋𝐈𝐅𝐄 Wilhelm Furtwängler (1886–1954) remains one of the most morally and historically controversial figures in twentieth-century music. He was born on 25 January…