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𝐁𝐄𝐄𝐓𝐇𝐎𝐕𝐄𝐍 𝐀𝐍𝐃 𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐅𝐎𝐔𝐑𝐓𝐇 𝐒𝐘𝐌𝐏𝐇𝐎𝐍𝐘: 𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐋𝐔𝐌𝐈𝐍𝐎𝐔𝐒 𝐖𝐎𝐑𝐊 𝐁𝐄𝐓𝐖𝐄𝐄𝐍 𝐓𝐖𝐎 𝐆𝐈𝐀𝐍𝐓𝐒 Symphony No. 4 in B-flat major, Op. 60, by 𝐋𝐮𝐝𝐰𝐢𝐠 𝐯𝐚𝐧 𝐁𝐞𝐞𝐭𝐡𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐧, occupies one of the most singular places among his nine symphonies.…

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…

𝗢𝗧𝗧𝗢 𝗞𝗟𝗘𝗠𝗣𝗘𝗥𝗘𝗥 — 𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝟭𝟱 𝗚𝗥𝗘𝗔𝗧𝗘𝗦𝗧 𝗥𝗘𝗖𝗢𝗥𝗗𝗜𝗡𝗚𝗦 Otto Klemperer’s recorded legacy is frequently reduced to a convenient stereotype: monumental tempos, massive sonorities and granite-like severity. Those qualities certainly formed part of his mature style,…

𝗝𝗢𝗛𝗔𝗡𝗡𝗘𝗦 𝗕𝗥𝗔𝗛𝗠𝗦’𝗦 𝗧𝗘𝗡 𝗧𝗥𝗨𝗘 𝗠𝗔𝗦𝗧𝗘𝗥𝗣𝗜𝗘𝗖𝗘𝗦 — 𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝗚𝗘𝗡𝗜𝗨𝗦 𝗪𝗛𝗢 𝗧𝗨𝗥𝗡𝗘𝗗 𝗠𝗘𝗠𝗢𝗥𝗬 𝗜𝗡𝗧𝗢 𝗙𝗢𝗥𝗠 Johannes Brahms is often portrayed as the great conservative of nineteenth-century music: the guardian of Classical form, the heir of Bach,…

# **Anecdotes and Curiosities from the Life of Paul Kletzki** ## **1. The boy who memorized orchestral scores before he could shave** In Łódź, musicians would give the teenage Kletzki orchestral parts to test…

𝐌𝐎𝐙𝐀𝐑𝐓’𝐒 𝐒𝐘𝐌𝐏𝐇𝐎𝐍𝐘 𝐍𝐎. 𝟒𝟏 — 𝐓𝐇𝐄 “𝐉𝐔𝐏𝐈𝐓𝐄𝐑” 𝐀𝐍𝐃 𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐂𝐔𝐋𝐌𝐈𝐍𝐀𝐓𝐈𝐎𝐍 𝐎𝐅 𝐇𝐈𝐒 𝐒𝐘𝐌𝐏𝐇𝐎𝐍𝐈𝐂 𝐀𝐑𝐓 Mozart completed his 𝐒𝐲𝐦𝐩𝐡𝐨𝐧𝐲 𝐍𝐨. 𝟒𝟏 𝐢𝐧 𝐂 𝐦𝐚𝐣𝐨𝐫, 𝐊. 𝟓𝟓𝟏, on 10 August 1788. It was the last of…

𝐌𝐎𝐙𝐀𝐑𝐓’𝐒 𝐒𝐘𝐌𝐏𝐇𝐎𝐍𝐘 𝐍𝐎. 𝟒𝟎 — 𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐃𝐀𝐑𝐊 𝐇𝐄𝐀𝐑𝐓 𝐎𝐅 𝟏𝟕𝟖𝟖 Mozart’s 𝐒𝐲𝐦𝐩𝐡𝐨𝐧𝐲 𝐍𝐨. 𝟒𝟎 𝐢𝐧 𝐆 𝐦𝐢𝐧𝐨𝐫, 𝐊. 𝟓𝟓𝟎, completed on 25 July 1788, stands at the centre of one of the most astonishing…

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…

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…

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…

# 𝗡𝗜𝗞𝗢𝗟𝗔𝗨𝗦 𝗛𝗔𝗥𝗡𝗢𝗡𝗖𝗢𝗨𝗥𝗧 — 𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝗠𝗢𝗭𝗔𝗥𝗧 𝗗𝗜𝗔𝗟𝗢𝗚𝗨𝗘𝗦 ## 𝗖𝗢𝗟𝗟𝗘𝗖𝗧𝗘𝗗 𝗧𝗛𝗢𝗨𝗚𝗛𝗧𝗦 𝗢𝗡 𝗔 𝗚𝗥𝗘𝗔𝗧 𝗖𝗢𝗠𝗣𝗢𝗦𝗘𝗥 𝗘𝗱𝗶𝘁𝗲𝗱 𝗯𝘆 𝗝𝗼𝗵𝗮𝗻𝗻𝗮 𝗙ü𝗿𝘀𝘁𝗮𝘂𝗲𝗿 **𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗠𝗼𝘇𝗮𝗿𝘁 𝗗𝗶𝗮𝗹𝗼𝗴𝘂𝗲𝘀** is not a conventional biography of **𝗪𝗼𝗹𝗳𝗴𝗮𝗻𝗴 𝗔𝗺𝗮𝗱𝗲𝘂𝘀 𝗠𝗼𝘇𝗮𝗿𝘁**, nor is it a…

# 𝗡𝗜𝗞𝗢𝗟𝗔𝗨𝗦 𝗛𝗔𝗥𝗡𝗢𝗡𝗖𝗢𝗨𝗥𝗧 — “…𝗜𝗧 𝗪𝗔𝗦 𝗔𝗟𝗪𝗔𝗬𝗦 𝗔𝗕𝗢𝗨𝗧 𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝗠𝗨𝗦𝗜𝗖” ## 𝗔 𝗥𝗲𝘁𝗿𝗼𝘀𝗽𝗲𝗰𝘁𝗶𝘃𝗲 𝘁𝗵𝗿𝗼𝘂𝗴𝗵 𝗜𝗻𝘁𝗲𝗿𝘃𝗶𝗲𝘄𝘀 𝗘𝗱𝗶𝘁𝗲𝗱 𝗯𝘆 𝗝𝗼𝗵𝗮𝗻𝗻𝗮 𝗙ü𝗿𝘀𝘁𝗮𝘂𝗲𝗿 Few conductors of the twentieth and early twenty-first centuries transformed musical interpretation as radically as…

𝗙𝗥𝗔𝗡𝗭 𝗩𝗢𝗡 𝗪𝗔𝗟𝗦𝗘𝗚𝗚 — 𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝗚𝗥𝗜𝗘𝗩𝗜𝗡𝗚 𝗖𝗢𝗨𝗡𝗧, 𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝗦𝗘𝗖𝗥𝗘𝗧 𝗖𝗢𝗠𝗠𝗜𝗦𝗦𝗜𝗢𝗡, 𝗔𝗡𝗗 𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝗧𝗥𝗨𝗧𝗛 𝗕𝗘𝗛𝗜𝗡𝗗 𝗠𝗢𝗭𝗔𝗥𝗧’𝗦 𝗥𝗘𝗤𝗨𝗜𝗘𝗠 Few minor figures in musical history have exercised such a decisive influence over the fate of a masterpiece…

𝗦𝗜𝗥 𝗧𝗛𝗢𝗠𝗔𝗦 𝗕𝗘𝗘𝗖𝗛𝗔𝗠 — 𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝟭𝟱 𝗚𝗥𝗘𝗔𝗧𝗘𝗦𝗧 𝗥𝗘𝗖𝗢𝗥𝗗𝗜𝗡𝗚𝗦 Sir Thomas Beecham was one of the most charismatic, cultivated and immediately recognisable conductors of the twentieth century. His interpretations rarely depended upon severity, intellectual demonstration…

𝗖𝗟𝗔𝗨𝗗𝗜𝗢 𝗔𝗕𝗕𝗔𝗗𝗢 — 𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝟭𝟱 𝗚𝗥𝗘𝗔𝗧𝗘𝗦𝗧 𝗥𝗘𝗖𝗢𝗥𝗗𝗜𝗡𝗚𝗦 Claudio Abbado’s finest recordings reveal a conductor whose authority rarely depended upon weight, domination or theatrical self-display. His interpretations were founded upon listening, transparency, rhythmic flexibility, instrumental…

𝗞𝗔𝗥𝗟 𝗕𝗢̈𝗛𝗠 — 𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝟭𝟱 𝗚𝗥𝗘𝗔𝗧𝗘𝗦𝗧 𝗥𝗘𝗖𝗢𝗥𝗗𝗜𝗡𝗚𝗦 Karl Böhm’s reputation rests above all upon Mozart, Richard Strauss, Wagner, Schubert and Bruckner. He was neither a cultivator of orchestral glamour in the Karajan manner nor…

𝗗𝗩𝗢𝗥𝗔𝗞’𝗦 𝗧𝗘𝗡 𝗧𝗥𝗨𝗘 𝗠𝗔𝗦𝗧𝗘𝗥𝗣𝗜𝗘𝗖𝗘𝗦 — 𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝗪𝗢𝗥𝗞𝗦 𝗧𝗛𝗔𝗧 𝗥𝗘𝗩𝗘𝗔𝗟 𝗛𝗜𝗦 𝗙𝗨𝗟𝗟 𝗚𝗘𝗡𝗜𝗨𝗦 Antonin Dvorak is sometimes reduced to three familiar emblems: the New World Symphony, the Cello Concerto and the Slavonic Dances. Yet his…

𝗖𝗔𝗥𝗟 𝗣𝗛𝗜𝗟𝗜𝗣𝗣 𝗘𝗠𝗔𝗡𝗨𝗘𝗟 𝗕𝗔𝗖𝗛: 𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝗦𝗘𝗡𝗦𝗜𝗧𝗜𝗩𝗘 𝗚𝗘𝗡𝗜𝗨𝗦 𝗪𝗛𝗢 𝗦𝗧𝗢𝗢𝗗 𝗕𝗘𝗧𝗪𝗘𝗘𝗡 𝗕𝗔𝗖𝗛 𝗔𝗡𝗗 𝗕𝗘𝗘𝗧𝗛𝗢𝗩𝗘𝗡 𝗖𝗮𝗿𝗹 𝗣𝗵𝗶𝗹𝗶𝗽𝗽 𝗘𝗺𝗮𝗻𝘂𝗲𝗹 𝗕𝗮𝗰𝗵 𝗕𝗼𝗿𝗻: 𝟴 𝗠𝗮𝗿𝗰𝗵 𝟭𝟳𝟭𝟰, 𝗪𝗲𝗶𝗺𝗮𝗿, 𝗚𝗲𝗿𝗺𝗮𝗻𝘆 𝗗𝗶𝗲𝗱: 𝟭𝟰 𝗗𝗲𝗰𝗲𝗺𝗯𝗲𝗿 𝟭𝟳𝟴𝟴, 𝗛𝗮𝗺𝗯𝘂𝗿𝗴, 𝗚𝗲𝗿𝗺𝗮𝗻𝘆 Among the sons of 𝗝𝗼𝗵𝗮𝗻𝗻…

𝗙𝗜𝗙𝗧𝗬 𝗘𝗦𝗦𝗘𝗡𝗧𝗜𝗔𝗟 𝗖𝗢𝗠𝗣𝗢𝗦𝗘𝗥𝗦 𝗢𝗙 𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝗖𝗟𝗔𝗦𝗦𝗜𝗖𝗔𝗟 𝗘𝗥𝗔 𝗙𝗿𝗼𝗺 𝟭𝟳𝟱𝟬 𝘁𝗼 𝟭𝟴𝟮𝟱 — 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗔𝗴𝗲 𝗼𝗳 𝗖𝗹𝗮𝗿𝗶𝘁𝘆, 𝗙𝗼𝗿𝗺, 𝗗𝗿𝗮𝗺𝗮 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗛𝘂𝗺𝗮𝗻 𝗘𝘅𝗽𝗿𝗲𝘀𝘀𝗶𝗼𝗻 The 𝗖𝗹𝗮𝘀𝘀𝗶𝗰𝗮𝗹 𝗽𝗲𝗿𝗶𝗼𝗱 was not merely the age of 𝗛𝗮𝘆𝗱𝗻, 𝗠𝗼𝘇𝗮𝗿𝘁 and 𝗕𝗲𝗲𝘁𝗵𝗼𝘃𝗲𝗻.…

𝗝𝗢𝗛𝗔𝗡𝗡 𝗦𝗘𝗕𝗔𝗦𝗧𝗜𝗔𝗡 𝗕𝗔𝗖𝗛 𝗖. 𝗙. 𝗔𝗯𝗱𝘆 𝗪𝗶𝗹𝗹𝗶𝗮𝗺𝘀 — 𝗖𝗵𝗮𝗽𝘁𝗲𝗿 𝗩𝗜𝗜 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗟𝗮𝘀𝘁 𝗬𝗲𝗮𝗿𝘀: 𝗛𝗼𝗻𝗼𝘂𝗿, 𝗖𝗿𝗶𝘁𝗶𝗰𝗶𝘀𝗺, 𝗙𝗿𝗲𝗱𝗲𝗿𝗶𝗰𝗸 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗚𝗿𝗲𝗮𝘁, 𝗕𝗹𝗶𝗻𝗱𝗻𝗲𝘀𝘀, 𝗔𝗻𝗱 𝗗𝗲𝗮𝘁𝗵 𝗜. 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗠𝗲𝗮𝗻𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗢𝗳 𝗖𝗵𝗮𝗽𝘁𝗲𝗿 𝗩𝗜𝗜 Chapter VII of C. F. Abdy Williams’s…

𝗚𝗿𝗶𝗲𝗴 - 𝗣𝗲𝗲𝗿 𝗚𝘆𝗻𝘁 - 𝗜𝗻𝗰𝗶𝗱𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗮𝗹 𝗠𝘂𝘀𝗶𝗰 𝘁𝗼 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗣𝗹𝗮𝘆 𝗯𝘆 𝗛𝗲𝗻𝗿𝗶𝗸 𝗜𝗯𝘀𝗲𝗻 Soprano: 𝗜𝗹𝘀𝗲 𝗛𝗼𝗹𝗹𝘄𝗲𝗴 - 𝗕𝗲𝗲𝗰𝗵𝗮𝗺 𝗖𝗵𝗼𝗿𝗮𝗹 𝗦𝗼𝗰𝗶𝗲𝘁𝘆 - 𝗥𝗼𝘆𝗮𝗹 𝗣𝗵𝗶𝗹𝗵𝗮𝗿𝗺𝗼𝗻𝗶𝗰 𝗢𝗿𝗰𝗵𝗲𝘀𝘁𝗿𝗮 - 𝗦𝗶𝗿 𝗧𝗵𝗼𝗺𝗮𝘀 𝗕𝗲𝗲𝗰𝗵𝗮𝗺 - Recorded in 𝟭𝟵𝟱𝟴–𝟱𝟵 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OH7_rF7J-Hg 𝗘𝗱𝘃𝗮𝗿𝗱…

𝗢𝘁𝘁𝗼 𝗞𝗹𝗲𝗺𝗽𝗲𝗿𝗲𝗿 𝗼𝗻 𝗥𝗲𝗰𝗼𝗿𝗱: 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗦𝘁𝗼𝗻𝗲, 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗙𝗶𝗿𝗲, 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗟𝗮𝘀𝘁 𝗚𝗿𝗲𝗮𝘁 𝗠𝗼𝗻𝘂𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁 𝗼𝗳 𝗖𝗼𝗻𝗱𝘂𝗰𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗔 𝗥𝗶𝗴𝗼𝗿𝗼𝘂𝘀 𝗦𝘁𝘂𝗱𝘆 𝗼𝗳 𝗢𝘁𝘁𝗼 𝗞𝗹𝗲𝗺𝗽𝗲𝗿𝗲𝗿’𝘀 𝗗𝗶𝘀𝗰𝗼𝗴𝗿𝗮𝗽𝗵𝘆 The recorded legacy of 𝗢𝘁𝘁𝗼 𝗞𝗹𝗲𝗺𝗽𝗲𝗿𝗲𝗿 is one of the most imposing…