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## **J.S.BACH: Music as a Family Language** Johann Sebastian Bach was born on **21 March 1685 in Eisenach**, into a family in which music was not learned as an external discipline, but **absorbed as…

**Fiorello Giraud** (22 October 1870 – 28 March 1928) was an Italian operatic tenor who sang leading roles in many Italian opera houses during the course of his career, including La Scala, the Teatro…

# **Tugan Sokhiev, Conductor — Life and Musical Career ** **Tugan Sokhiev** was born on **September 21, 1977**, in **Vladikavkaz**, in North Ossetia–Alania (then part of the Soviet Union). He grew up in a…

# **Johann Strauss I (1804–1849): A Complete Life and Historical Portrait** **1. Origins and Early Hardship (1804–1817)** Johann Strauss I was born on **14 March 1804** in **Vienna**, at a time when the city…

# **Handel - Teseo (highlights) - Nicholas McGegan ** [https://www.patreon.com/posts/handel-teseo-147142014?utm_medium=clipboard_copy&utm_source=copyLink&utm_campaign=postshare_creator&utm_content=join_link](https://www.patreon.com/posts/handel-teseo-147142014?utm_medium=clipboard_copy&utm_source=copyLink&utm_campaign=postshare_creator&utm_content=join_link) ## **George Frideric Handel – *****Teseo***** (HWV 9): Myth, Magic, and the First English-Style Handelian Opera (1712–1713)** **1. Handel in London: A Composer in…

# **Handel - Serse - The Hannover Band - Nicholas McGegan ** [https://www.patreon.com/posts/handel-serse-147141781?utm_medium=clipboard_copy&utm_source=copyLink&utm_campaign=postshare_creator&utm_content=join_link](https://www.patreon.com/posts/handel-serse-147141781?utm_medium=clipboard_copy&utm_source=copyLink&utm_campaign=postshare_creator&utm_content=join_link) ## **George Frideric Handel – *****Serse***** (HWV 40): Irony, Intimacy, and the Twilight of Italian Opera (1737–1738)** **1. A Late Opera…

# **Handel - Saul - Nicholas McGegan** [[https://www.patreon.com/posts/handel-saul-147141303?utm_medium=clipboard_copy&utm_source=copyLink&utm_campaign=postshare_creator&utm_content=join_link](https://www.patreon.com/posts/handel-saul-147141303?utm_medium=clipboard_copy&utm_source=copyLink&utm_campaign=postshare_creator&utm_content=join_link)](https://www.patreon.com/posts/handel-saul-147141303?utm_medium=clipboard_copy&utm_source=copyLink&utm_campaign=postshare_creator&utm_content=join_link) ## **George Frideric Handel – *****Saul***** (HWV 53): Power, Madness, and the Tragic Birth of the English Oratorio (1738–1739)** **1. A Decisive Moment in Handel’s Life**…

# **Handel - Samson - Nicholas McGegan ** [https://www.patreon.com/posts/handel-samson-147141466?utm_medium=clipboard_copy&utm_source=copyLink&utm_campaign=postshare_creator&utm_content=join_link](https://www.patreon.com/posts/handel-samson-147141466?utm_medium=clipboard_copy&utm_source=copyLink&utm_campaign=postshare_creator&utm_content=join_link) ## **George Frideric Handel – *****Samson***** (HWV 57): Blindness, Inner Strength, and the Birth of Moral Tragedy (1741–1743)** **1. A Work Born at a Turning…

# **Handel - Joseph and his Brethren - Nicholas McGegan ** [[https://www.patreon.com/posts/handel-joseph-147140702?utm_medium=clipboard_copy&utm_source=copyLink&utm_campaign=postshare_creator&utm_content=join_link](https://www.patreon.com/posts/handel-joseph-147140702?utm_medium=clipboard_copy&utm_source=copyLink&utm_campaign=postshare_creator&utm_content=join_link)](https://www.patreon.com/posts/handel-joseph-147140702?utm_medium=clipboard_copy&utm_source=copyLink&utm_campaign=postshare_creator&utm_content=join_link) ## **George Frideric Handel – *****Joseph and His Brethren***** (1743): Genesis, Context, and Meaning** **1. Historical Position in Handel’s Career** *Joseph and…

# **André Cluytens — Anecdotes and Curiosities from a Life in Music** André Cluytens (1905–1967) remains one of the most **subtle, intelligent, and paradoxically understated conductors** of the twentieth century. Revered by musicians, quietly…

# **Handel - Rinaldo - Nicholas McGegan** [https://www.patreon.com/posts/handel-rinaldo-146976726?utm_medium=clipboard_copy&utm_source=copyLink&utm_campaign=postshare_creator&utm_content=join_link](https://www.patreon.com/posts/handel-rinaldo-146976726?utm_medium=clipboard_copy&utm_source=copyLink&utm_campaign=postshare_creator&utm_content=join_link) **Magic, Crusade, and the Birth of Italian Opera in London** **Rinaldo** occupies a unique and decisive place in Handel’s career: it was **his first Italian opera…

# **Handel - Il pastor fido - Nicholas McGegan ** [https://www.patreon.com/posts/handel-il-pastor-146975888?utm_medium=clipboard_copy&utm_source=copyLink&utm_campaign=postshare_creator&utm_content=join_link](https://www.patreon.com/posts/handel-il-pastor-146975888?utm_medium=clipboard_copy&utm_source=copyLink&utm_campaign=postshare_creator&utm_content=join_link) **Il pastor fido** occupies a very particular place in the operatic output of **George Frideric Handel**. First performed in **1712** at the **Queen’s…

# **Haydn - Symphonies Nos. 97 - 98 - Nikolaus Esterhazy Sinfonia - Bela Drahos ** [https://www.patreon.com/posts/haydn-symphonies-146896361?utm_medium=clipboard_copy&utm_source=copyLink&utm_campaign=postshare_creator&utm_content=join_link](https://www.patreon.com/posts/haydn-symphonies-146896361?utm_medium=clipboard_copy&utm_source=copyLink&utm_campaign=postshare_creator&utm_content=join_link) ## **Joseph Haydn – Symphonies Nos. 97 & 98 (1792)** **The consolidation of Haydn’s London symphonic language**…

# **Handel - Alceste - Franck-Emmanuel Comte ** [https://www.patreon.com/posts/handel-alceste-146840665?utm_medium=clipboard_copy&utm_source=copyLink&utm_campaign=postshare_creator&utm_content=join_link](https://www.patreon.com/posts/handel-alceste-146840665?utm_medium=clipboard_copy&utm_source=copyLink&utm_campaign=postshare_creator&utm_content=join_link) **1. Genesis and Historical Context (1749)** **Alceste** is one of the most fascinating *unfinished* dramatic projects by **George Frideric Handel**, composed in **1749** as **incidental…

# **Beethoven - Piano Sonatas Nos. 4 - 8 - 10 - Emil Gilels ** [https://www.patreon.com/posts/beethoven-piano-146777269?utm_medium=clipboard_copy&utm_source=copyLink&utm_campaign=postshare_creator&utm_content=join_link](https://www.patreon.com/posts/beethoven-piano-146777269?utm_medium=clipboard_copy&utm_source=copyLink&utm_campaign=postshare_creator&utm_content=join_link) **Ludwig van Beethoven: Piano Sonatas Nos. 4, 8, and 10 – History, Context, and Chronology:** **Vienna at the…

# **Mozart and Clementi: The Musical Duel of Christmas Eve (1781)** One of the most revealing anecdotes of **Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart**’s early career took place on **Christmas Eve, 24 December 1781**, in **Vienna**, and…

# **Astrid Varnay (1918–2006): A Voice Born into Destiny** **Astrid Varnay** was not merely a great Wagnerian soprano; she was **a phenomenon shaped by fate, circumstance, and fearless intelligence**. Few singers in operatic history…

# **Haydn - Symphonies Nos. 43 - 46 - 47 - Cologne Chamber Orchestra - Helmut Müller-Brühl ** [https://www.patreon.com/posts/haydn-symphonies-146274694?utm_medium=clipboard_copy&utm_source=copyLink&utm_campaign=postshare_creator&utm_content=join_link](https://www.patreon.com/posts/haydn-symphonies-146274694?utm_medium=clipboard_copy&utm_source=copyLink&utm_campaign=postshare_creator&utm_content=join_link) ## **Haydn around 1768–1771: The Sturm und Drang Threshold** Between roughly **1768 and 1771**, **Joseph…

# **Haydn - Symphonies Nos. 30 - 55 - 63 - Northern Chamber Orchestra - Nicholas Ward** [https://www.patreon.com/posts/haydn-symphonies-146273857?utm_medium=clipboard_copy&utm_source=copyLink&utm_campaign=postshare_creator&utm_content=join_link](https://www.patreon.com/posts/haydn-symphonies-146273857?utm_medium=clipboard_copy&utm_source=copyLink&utm_campaign=postshare_creator&utm_content=join_link) By the early 1760s, **Joseph Haydn** had entered a decisive phase of his career. As Vice-Kapellmeister…

# **Bruno Walter: Anecdotes and Curiosities from a Life in Music (1876–1962)** **Early Debut and Unusual Seriousness (1893)** Bruno Walter, born **Bruno Schlesinger** on **15 September 1876**, made his conducting debut at the age…

# **Handel - Susanna - Oratorio** - **1749 - Laurence Cummings** [https://www.patreon.com/posts/handel-susanna-145976191?utm_medium=clipboard_copy&utm_source=copyLink&utm_campaign=postshare_creator&utm_content=join_link](https://www.patreon.com/posts/handel-susanna-145976191?utm_medium=clipboard_copy&utm_source=copyLink&utm_campaign=postshare_creator&utm_content=join_link) **George Frideric Handel — *****Susanna*****: The History of Its Composition** Handel’s ***Susanna*** occupies a distinctive and revealing place in his output, standing…

# **Pinchas Zukerman and His Relationships with Other Musicians** Pinchas Zukerman’s career cannot be understood in isolation. From the beginning, his artistic identity was shaped—and continually refined—through **intense personal and musical relationships** with performers,…

# **Karl Böhm: Anecdotes and Curiosities from a Life of Musical Authority** Karl Böhm was never a conductor who relied on charm, theatrical gestures, or emotional display. His authority was quiet, intellectual, and often…

# **Handel - Lotario - Opera - 1729 **- **Laurence Cummings ** [https://www.patreon.com/posts/handel-lotario-145844033?utm_medium=clipboard_copy&utm_source=copyLink&utm_campaign=postshare_creator&utm_content=join_link](https://www.patreon.com/posts/handel-lotario-145844033?utm_medium=clipboard_copy&utm_source=copyLink&utm_campaign=postshare_creator&utm_content=join_link) *Lotario* was composed in **1729–1730** and occupies a pivotal position in **Handel’s London operatic career**. It was written immediately after the…