Posts / Photos

𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝟭𝟱 𝗚𝗥𝗘𝗔𝗧𝗘𝗦𝗧 𝗩𝗜𝗢𝗟𝗜𝗡 𝗦𝗢𝗡𝗔𝗧𝗔𝗦 𝗔𝗡𝗗 𝗖𝗬𝗖𝗟𝗘𝗦 𝗢𝗙 𝗔𝗟𝗟 𝗧𝗜𝗠𝗘 Selecting the greatest violin sonatas requires more than identifying the most famous or technically demanding pieces. The essential criterion is the quality of 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…

𝐋𝐄𝐎𝐍𝐀𝐑𝐃 𝐁𝐄𝐑𝐍𝐒𝐓𝐄𝐈𝐍 — 𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐌𝐀𝐍 𝐖𝐇𝐎 𝐂𝐎𝐔𝐋𝐃 𝐄𝐗𝐏𝐋𝐀𝐈𝐍 𝐌𝐔𝐒𝐈𝐂 𝐋𝐈𝐊𝐄 𝐍𝐎 𝐎𝐍𝐄 𝐄𝐋𝐒𝐄 Leonard Bernstein possessed a gift that was almost as remarkable as his ability to conduct and compose: he could explain how…

𝐖𝐈𝐋𝐇𝐄𝐋𝐌 𝐅𝐔𝐑𝐓𝐖Ä𝐍𝐆𝐋𝐄𝐑 — 𝐖𝐇𝐘 𝐄𝐕𝐄𝐑𝐘 𝐏𝐄𝐑𝐅𝐎𝐑𝐌𝐀𝐍𝐂𝐄 𝐇𝐀𝐃 𝐓𝐎 𝐁𝐄 𝐔𝐍𝐈𝐐𝐔𝐄 Wilhelm Furtwängler did not believe that a musical masterpiece could be reproduced like a finished object. For him, a score was not a set…

𝐂𝐀𝐑𝐋𝐎𝐒 𝐊𝐋𝐄𝐈𝐁𝐄𝐑 — 𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐂𝐎𝐍𝐃𝐔𝐂𝐓𝐎𝐑 𝐖𝐇𝐎 𝐌𝐀𝐃𝐄 𝐄𝐕𝐄𝐑𝐘 𝐀𝐏𝐏𝐄𝐀𝐑𝐀𝐍𝐂𝐄 𝐀𝐍 𝐄𝐕𝐄𝐍𝐓 Carlos Kleiber occupies an almost unique position in the history of conducting. He never directed a major orchestra for decades in the manner…

𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝗟𝗜𝗙𝗘 𝗢𝗙 𝗛𝗘𝗖𝗧𝗢𝗥 𝗕𝗘𝗥𝗟𝗜𝗢𝗭 𝗔𝗦 𝗪𝗥𝗜𝗧𝗧𝗘𝗡 𝗕𝗬 𝗛𝗜𝗠𝗦𝗘𝗟𝗙 𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝗟𝗜𝗙𝗘 𝗢𝗙 𝗛𝗘𝗖𝗧𝗢𝗥 𝗕𝗘𝗥𝗟𝗜𝗢𝗭 𝗔𝗦 𝗪𝗥𝗜𝗧𝗧𝗘𝗡 𝗕𝗬 𝗛𝗜𝗠𝗦𝗘𝗟𝗙 𝗣𝗢𝗦𝗧 𝟭𝟴 𝗔 𝗣𝗿𝗼𝗽𝗵𝗲𝘁 𝗔𝗯𝗿𝗼𝗮𝗱: 𝗚𝗲𝗿𝗺𝗮𝗻𝘆, 𝗛𝘂𝗻𝗴𝗮𝗿𝘆, 𝗥𝘂𝘀𝘀𝗶𝗮, 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗟𝗼𝗻𝗱𝗼𝗻 𝗪𝗵𝗲𝗻 𝗣𝗮𝗿𝗶𝘀 𝗖𝗼𝘂𝗹𝗱 𝗡𝗼 𝗟𝗼𝗻𝗴𝗲𝗿 𝗕𝗲…

𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝗟𝗜𝗙𝗘 𝗢𝗙 𝗛𝗘𝗖𝗧𝗢𝗥 𝗕𝗘𝗥𝗟𝗜𝗢𝗭 𝗔𝗦 𝗪𝗥𝗜𝗧𝗧𝗘𝗡 𝗕𝗬 𝗛𝗜𝗠𝗦𝗘𝗟𝗙 𝗣𝗢𝗦𝗧 𝟭𝟴 𝗔 𝗣𝗿𝗼𝗽𝗵𝗲𝘁 𝗔𝗯𝗿𝗼𝗮𝗱: 𝗚𝗲𝗿𝗺𝗮𝗻𝘆, 𝗛𝘂𝗻𝗴𝗮𝗿𝘆, 𝗥𝘂𝘀𝘀𝗶𝗮, 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗟𝗼𝗻𝗱𝗼𝗻 𝗪𝗵𝗲𝗻 𝗣𝗮𝗿𝗶𝘀 𝗖𝗼𝘂𝗹𝗱 𝗡𝗼 𝗟𝗼𝗻𝗴𝗲𝗿 𝗕𝗲 𝗘𝗻𝗼𝘂𝗴𝗵 — 𝟭𝟴𝟰𝟮 For years, 𝗛𝗲𝗰𝘁𝗼𝗿 𝗕𝗲𝗿𝗹𝗶𝗼𝘇 had struggled…

𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝗟𝗜𝗙𝗘 𝗢𝗙 𝗛𝗘𝗖𝗧𝗢𝗥 𝗕𝗘𝗥𝗟𝗜𝗢𝗭 𝗔𝗦 𝗪𝗥𝗜𝗧𝗧𝗘𝗡 𝗕𝗬 𝗛𝗜𝗠𝗦𝗘𝗟𝗙 𝗣𝗢𝗦𝗧 𝟭𝟱 𝗟𝗶𝘀𝘇𝘁, 𝗣𝗮𝗴𝗮𝗻𝗶𝗻𝗶, 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗛𝗲𝗿𝗼𝗶𝗰 𝗬𝗲𝗮𝗿𝘀 𝗧𝘄𝗼 𝗚𝗿𝗲𝗮𝘁 𝗩𝗶𝗿𝘁𝘂𝗼𝘀𝗶 𝗘𝗻𝘁𝗲𝗿 𝗛𝗶𝘀 𝗟𝗶𝗳𝗲 — 𝟭𝟴𝟯𝟬–𝟭𝟴𝟯𝟯 Shortly before leaving Paris for Rome, 𝗛𝗲𝗰𝘁𝗼𝗿 𝗕𝗲𝗿𝗹𝗶𝗼𝘇 received…

𝗠𝗔𝗛𝗟𝗘𝗥 𝗝𝗢𝗦𝗘 𝗟𝗨𝗜𝗦 𝗣𝗘𝗥𝗘𝗭 𝗗𝗘 𝗔𝗥𝗧𝗘𝗔𝗚𝗔 𝗣𝗢𝗦𝗧 𝟭𝟴 𝗧𝘄𝗼 𝗛𝗲𝗮𝗱𝘀, 𝗢𝗻𝗲 𝗟𝗶𝗳𝗲 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗖𝗼𝗻𝗱𝘂𝗰𝘁𝗼𝗿, 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗖𝗼𝗺𝗽𝗼𝘀𝗲𝗿, 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗦𝘂𝗺𝗺𝗲𝗿 𝗥𝗲𝘁𝗿𝗲𝗮𝘁𝘀, 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗙𝗮𝗺𝗶𝗹𝘆 𝗕𝘂𝗶𝗹𝘁 𝗔𝗿𝗼𝘂𝗻𝗱 𝗚𝗲𝗻𝗶𝘂𝘀 When 𝗚𝘂𝘀𝘁𝗮𝘃 𝗠𝗮𝗵𝗹𝗲𝗿 married 𝗔𝗹𝗺𝗮 𝗦𝗰𝗵𝗶𝗻𝗱𝗹𝗲𝗿 in 𝗠𝗮𝗿𝗰𝗵 𝟭𝟵𝟬𝟮,…

𝗠𝗔𝗛𝗟𝗘𝗥 𝗝𝗢𝗦𝗘 𝗟𝗨𝗜𝗦 𝗣𝗘𝗥𝗘𝗭 𝗗𝗘 𝗔𝗥𝗧𝗘𝗔𝗚𝗔 𝗣𝗢𝗦𝗧 𝟭𝟯 𝗛𝗮𝗺𝗯𝘂𝗿𝗴: 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗥𝗼𝗮𝗱 𝘁𝗼 𝗙𝗮𝗺𝗲 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗖𝗼𝗻𝗱𝘂𝗰𝘁𝗼𝗿 𝗪𝗵𝗼 𝗛𝗮𝗱 𝗟𝗲𝗳𝘁 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗣𝗿𝗼𝘃𝗶𝗻𝗰𝗲𝘀 𝗕𝗲𝗵𝗶𝗻𝗱 — 𝟭𝟴𝟵𝟭 When 𝗚𝘂𝘀𝘁𝗮𝘃 𝗠𝗮𝗵𝗹𝗲𝗿 left Budapest for Hamburg in 𝟭𝟴𝟵𝟭, he was…

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…

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…

# 𝗥𝗢𝗕𝗘𝗥𝗧 𝗦𝗖𝗛𝗨𝗠𝗔𝗡𝗡 𝗜𝗡 𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝗠𝗨𝗦𝗜𝗖 𝗢𝗙 𝗝𝗢𝗛𝗔𝗡𝗡𝗘𝗦 𝗕𝗥𝗔𝗛𝗠𝗦 — 𝗙𝗥𝗢𝗠 𝗬𝗢𝗨𝗧𝗛𝗙𝗨𝗟 𝗗𝗜𝗦𝗖𝗜𝗣𝗟𝗘 𝗧𝗢 𝗖𝗥𝗘𝗔𝗧𝗜𝗩𝗘 𝗛𝗘𝗜𝗥 The influence of **𝗥𝗼𝗯𝗲𝗿𝘁 𝗦𝗰𝗵𝘂𝗺𝗮𝗻𝗻** on **𝗝𝗼𝗵𝗮𝗻𝗻𝗲𝘀 𝗕𝗿𝗮𝗵𝗺𝘀** was profound, but it cannot be reduced to direct imitation.…

𝗟𝗘𝗢𝗣𝗢𝗟𝗗 𝗦𝗧𝗢𝗞𝗢𝗪𝗦𝗞𝗜 — 𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝟭𝟱 𝗚𝗥𝗘𝗔𝗧𝗘𝗦𝗧 𝗥𝗘𝗖𝗢𝗥𝗗𝗜𝗡𝗚𝗦 Leopold Stokowski was one of the most imaginative, controversial and influential conductors in recording history. His art was founded not only upon interpretation, but upon the very…

𝗛𝗘𝗖𝗧𝗢𝗥 𝗕𝗘𝗥𝗟𝗜𝗢𝗭’𝗦 𝗧𝗘𝗡 𝗧𝗥𝗨𝗘 𝗠𝗔𝗦𝗧𝗘𝗥𝗣𝗜𝗘𝗖𝗘𝗦 Hector Berlioz occupies a unique place in nineteenth-century music. He was neither a conventional symphonist in the Beethovenian tradition nor principally a composer of absolute music. His greatest creations…

𝗚𝗘𝗢𝗥𝗚𝗘 𝗦𝗭𝗘𝗟𝗟 — 𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝟭𝟱 𝗚𝗥𝗘𝗔𝗧𝗘𝗦𝗧 𝗥𝗘𝗖𝗢𝗥𝗗𝗜𝗡𝗚𝗦 George Szell is often remembered as the supreme orchestral disciplinarian: a conductor of relentless rehearsal, exact ensemble, perfectly balanced textures and uncompromising technical standards. Under his direction,…

𝗛𝗘𝗥𝗕𝗘𝗥𝗧 𝗩𝗢𝗡 𝗞𝗔𝗥𝗔𝗝𝗔𝗡 — 𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝟭𝟱 𝗚𝗥𝗘𝗔𝗧𝗘𝗦𝗧 𝗥𝗘𝗖𝗢𝗥𝗗𝗜𝗡𝗚𝗦 Herbert von Karajan left one of the largest recorded legacies of any conductor. He repeatedly returned to the same compositions, sometimes recording them three or four…

𝗠𝗢𝗭𝗔𝗥𝗧: 𝗔 𝗟𝗜𝗙𝗘 𝗠𝗔𝗬𝗡𝗔𝗥𝗗 𝗦𝗢𝗟𝗢𝗠𝗢𝗡 𝗩𝗜𝗘𝗡𝗡𝗔 𝗖𝗛𝗔𝗣𝗧𝗘𝗥 𝟮𝟮 𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝗭𝗢𝗥𝗢𝗔𝗦𝗧𝗥𝗔𝗡 𝗥𝗜𝗗𝗗𝗟𝗘𝗦 ════════════════════════════ 𝗜. 𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝗥𝗜𝗗𝗗𝗟𝗘 𝗔𝗦 𝗛𝗜𝗗𝗗𝗘𝗡 𝗖𝗢𝗡𝗙𝗘𝗦𝗦𝗜𝗢𝗡 After the solemn world of 𝗙𝗥𝗘𝗘𝗠𝗔𝗦𝗢𝗡𝗥𝗬, with its ideals of brotherhood, initiation, moral light, and symbolic…

𝗦𝗖𝗛𝗨𝗠𝗔𝗡𝗡 — 𝗘𝗥𝗜𝗖 𝗙𝗥𝗘𝗗𝗘𝗥𝗜𝗖𝗞 𝗝𝗘𝗡𝗦𝗘𝗡 𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝗠𝗔𝗦𝗧𝗘𝗥 𝗠𝗨𝗦𝗜𝗖𝗜𝗔𝗡𝗦 — 𝗢𝗫𝗙𝗢𝗥𝗗 𝗨𝗡𝗜𝗩𝗘𝗥𝗦𝗜𝗧𝗬 𝗣𝗥𝗘𝗦𝗦 𝗖𝗛𝗔𝗣𝗧𝗘𝗥 𝟭 — 𝗖𝗛𝗜𝗟𝗗𝗛𝗢𝗢𝗗 𝗔𝗡𝗗 𝗬𝗢𝗨𝗧𝗛 𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝗦𝗧𝗥𝗔𝗡𝗚𝗘 𝗕𝗢𝗬 𝗢𝗙 𝗭𝗪𝗜𝗖𝗞𝗔𝗨 Robert Schumann’s childhood begins not with the image of a passive…

𝗖𝗔𝗥𝗟 𝗦𝗧𝗔𝗠𝗜𝗧𝗭: 𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝗧𝗥𝗔𝗩𝗘𝗟𝗟𝗜𝗡𝗚 𝗩𝗜𝗥𝗧𝗨𝗢𝗦𝗢 𝗪𝗛𝗢 𝗖𝗔𝗥𝗥𝗜𝗘𝗗 𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝗠𝗔𝗡𝗡𝗛𝗘𝗜𝗠 𝗦𝗧𝗬𝗟𝗘 𝗔𝗖𝗥𝗢𝗦𝗦 𝗘𝗨𝗥𝗢𝗣𝗘 𝗖𝗮𝗿𝗹 𝗣𝗵𝗶𝗹𝗶𝗽𝗽 𝗦𝘁𝗮𝗺𝗶𝘁𝘇 𝗕𝗼𝗿𝗻: 𝟳 𝗠𝗮𝘆 𝟭𝟳𝟰𝟱, 𝗠𝗮𝗻𝗻𝗵𝗲𝗶𝗺, 𝗚𝗲𝗿𝗺𝗮𝗻𝘆 𝗗𝗶𝗲𝗱: 𝟵 𝗡𝗼𝘃𝗲𝗺𝗯𝗲𝗿 𝟭𝟴𝟬𝟭, 𝗝𝗲𝗻𝗮, 𝗚𝗲𝗿𝗺𝗮𝗻𝘆 𝗖𝗮𝗿𝗹 𝗦𝘁𝗮𝗺𝗶𝘁𝘇 was one of the most…

𝗞𝗔𝗥𝗟 𝗗𝗜𝗧𝗧𝗘𝗥𝗦 𝗩𝗢𝗡 𝗗𝗜𝗧𝗧𝗘𝗥𝗦𝗗𝗢𝗥𝗙: 𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝗪𝗜𝗧𝗧𝗬 𝗩𝗜𝗥𝗧𝗨𝗢𝗦𝗢 𝗢𝗙 𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝗩𝗜𝗘𝗡𝗡𝗘𝗦𝗘 𝗖𝗟𝗔𝗦𝗦𝗜𝗖𝗔𝗟 𝗪𝗢𝗥𝗟𝗗 𝗞𝗮𝗿𝗹 𝗗𝗶𝘁𝘁𝗲𝗿𝘀 𝘃𝗼𝗻 𝗗𝗶𝘁𝘁𝗲𝗿𝘀𝗱𝗼𝗿𝗳 𝗕𝗼𝗿𝗻: 𝟮 𝗡𝗼𝘃𝗲𝗺𝗯𝗲𝗿 𝟭𝟳𝟯𝟵, 𝗩𝗶𝗲𝗻𝗻𝗮, 𝗔𝘂𝘀𝘁𝗿𝗶𝗮 𝗗𝗶𝗲𝗱: 𝟮𝟰 𝗢𝗰𝘁𝗼𝗯𝗲𝗿 𝟭𝟳𝟵𝟵, 𝗡𝗲𝘂𝗵𝗼𝗳, 𝗕𝗼𝗵𝗲𝗺𝗶𝗮 Among the many brilliant figures who…

𝗠𝗔𝗥𝗖 𝗠𝗜𝗡𝗞𝗢𝗪𝗦𝗞𝗜 — 𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝗙𝗜𝗘𝗥𝗬 𝗙𝗥𝗘𝗡𝗖𝗛 𝗖𝗢𝗡𝗗𝗨𝗖𝗧𝗢𝗥 𝗪𝗛𝗢 𝗧𝗨𝗥𝗡𝗘𝗗 𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝗕𝗔𝗥𝗢𝗤𝗨𝗘 𝗢𝗥𝗖𝗛𝗘𝗦𝗧𝗥𝗔 𝗜𝗡𝗧𝗢 𝗔 𝗧𝗛𝗘𝗔𝗧𝗥𝗘 𝗢𝗙 𝗦𝗢𝗨𝗡𝗗 𝗙𝗥𝗢𝗠 𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝗕𝗔𝗦𝗦𝗢𝗢𝗡 𝗧𝗢 𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝗣𝗢𝗗𝗜𝗨𝗠: 𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝗟𝗜𝗙𝗘, 𝗖𝗔𝗥𝗘𝗘𝗥, 𝗖𝗨𝗥𝗜𝗢𝗦𝗜𝗧𝗜𝗘𝗦, 𝗔𝗡𝗗 𝗔𝗥𝗧𝗜𝗦𝗧𝗜𝗖 𝗖𝗢𝗡𝗦𝗘𝗖𝗥𝗔𝗧𝗜𝗢𝗡 𝗢𝗙 𝗠𝗔𝗥𝗖 𝗠𝗜𝗡𝗞𝗢𝗪𝗦𝗞𝗜 𝗠𝗮𝗿𝗰…

𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝗡𝗘𝗪 𝗕𝗔𝗖𝗛 𝗥𝗘𝗔𝗗𝗘𝗥: 𝗔 𝗟𝗜𝗙𝗘 𝗢𝗙 𝗝𝗢𝗛𝗔𝗡𝗡 𝗦𝗘𝗕𝗔𝗦𝗧𝗜𝗔𝗡 𝗕𝗔𝗖𝗛 𝗜𝗡 𝗟𝗘𝗧𝗧𝗘𝗥𝗦 𝗔𝗡𝗗 𝗗𝗢𝗖𝗨𝗠𝗘𝗡𝗧𝗦 𝗛𝗮𝗻𝘀 𝗧. 𝗗𝗮𝘃𝗶𝗱 — 𝗔𝗿𝘁𝗵𝘂𝗿 𝗠𝗲𝗻𝗱𝗲𝗹 — 𝗖𝗵𝗿𝗶𝘀𝘁𝗼𝗽𝗵 𝗪𝗼𝗹𝗳𝗳 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗡𝗲𝘄 𝗕𝗮𝗰𝗵 𝗥𝗲𝗮𝗱𝗲𝗿 is not a conventional biography of Johann…