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𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐂𝐮𝐥𝐭 𝐨𝐟 𝐆𝐞𝐧𝐢𝐮𝐬 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐖𝐚𝐠𝐧𝐞𝐫’𝐬 𝐒𝐞𝐥𝐟-𝐌𝐲𝐭𝐡𝐨𝐥𝐨𝐠𝐲 Wagner did not merely compose works of unusual scale and ambition; he also created an image of himself as a uniquely prophetic artist. He fashioned himself as…

𝐊𝐚𝐫𝐚𝐣𝐚𝐧 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐇𝐢𝐬 𝐃𝐨𝐠 — 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐒𝐢𝐥𝐞𝐧𝐭, 𝐏𝐫𝐢𝐯𝐚𝐭𝐞 𝐅𝐚𝐜𝐞 𝐨𝐟 𝐚 𝐌𝐚𝐞𝐬𝐭𝐫𝐨 The image of 𝐇𝐞𝐫𝐛𝐞𝐫𝐭 𝐯𝐨𝐧 𝐊𝐚𝐫𝐚𝐣𝐚𝐧 seated quietly beside his dog is deeply revealing because it shows a side of him that…

The relationship between 𝐖𝐢𝐥𝐡𝐞𝐥𝐦 𝐅𝐮𝐫𝐭𝐰ä𝐧𝐠𝐥𝐞𝐫 and 𝐀𝐭𝐚ú𝐥𝐟𝐨 𝐀𝐫𝐠𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐚 was not that of master and formal disciple in the strict documentary sense, nor was it a long public partnership built on frequent joint projects. What…

𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐅𝐀𝐌𝐈𝐋𝐘 𝐎𝐅 𝐑𝐈𝐂𝐇𝐀𝐑𝐃 𝐒𝐓𝐑𝐀𝐔𝐒𝐒: 𝐌𝐀𝐑𝐑𝐈𝐀𝐆𝐄, 𝐇𝐎𝐌𝐄, 𝐀𝐍𝐃 𝐇𝐈𝐒 𝐎𝐍𝐋𝐘 𝐒𝐎𝐍 𝐑𝐢𝐜𝐡𝐚𝐫𝐝 𝐒𝐭𝐫𝐚𝐮𝐬𝐬 is often remembered as the brilliant composer of Salome, Elektra, Der Rosenkavalier, and the great tone poems, but behind the public…

𝗗𝗮𝘃𝗶𝗱 𝗕𝗲𝗹𝗮𝘀𝗰𝗼 (1853–1931), 𝗔𝗿𝘁𝘂𝗿𝗼 𝗧𝗼𝘀𝗰𝗮𝗻𝗶𝗻𝗶 (1867–1957) and 𝗚𝗶𝗮𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗼 𝗣𝘂𝗰𝗰𝗶𝗻𝗶 (1858–1924) - After the première of "La Fanciulla del West" in 1910 David Belasco (1853–1931) was a major American theatre producer, director, playwright, and stage…

𝗪𝗛𝗔𝗧 𝗧𝗛𝗜𝗦 𝗧𝗘𝗫𝗧 𝗠𝗘𝗔𝗡𝗦 𝗔𝗡𝗗 𝗪𝗛𝗜𝗖𝗛 𝗢𝗣𝗘𝗥𝗔 𝗕𝗥𝗜𝗧𝗧𝗘𝗡 𝗪𝗔𝗦 𝗥𝗘𝗙𝗘𝗥𝗥𝗜𝗡𝗚 𝗧𝗢 The text shown in the image reads: “I want to pick the old man’s brains for my opera.” Britten, 1943, after reading the…

𝐆𝐄𝐎𝐑𝐆 𝐒𝐎𝐋𝐓𝐈 — 𝐅𝐑𝐎𝐌 𝐁𝐔𝐃𝐀𝐏𝐄𝐒𝐓 𝐏𝐑𝐎𝐃𝐈𝐆𝐘 𝐓𝐎 𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐑𝐈𝐒𝐄 𝐎𝐅 𝐀 𝐌𝐀𝐄𝐒𝐓𝐑𝐎: 𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐅𝐎𝐑𝐌𝐀𝐓𝐈𝐕𝐄 𝐘𝐄𝐀𝐑𝐒 (1912–1947) 𝐈. 𝐀 𝐂𝐇𝐈𝐋𝐃 𝐎𝐅 𝐁𝐔𝐃𝐀𝐏𝐄𝐒𝐓: 𝐁𝐈𝐑𝐓𝐇 𝐀𝐍𝐃 𝐅𝐀𝐌𝐈𝐋𝐘 (1912) 𝐆𝐞𝐨𝐫𝐠 𝐒𝐨𝐥𝐭𝐢 (1912–1997) was born György Stern on 21…

𝐋𝐄𝐎𝐒 𝐉𝐀𝐍𝐀𝐂𝐄𝐊 — 𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐅𝐋𝐀𝐌𝐄 𝐎𝐅 𝐋𝐀𝐓𝐄 𝐆𝐄𝐍𝐈𝐔𝐒: 𝐌𝐀𝐓𝐔𝐑𝐈𝐓𝐘, 𝐎𝐁𝐒𝐄𝐒𝐒𝐈𝐎𝐍 𝐀𝐍𝐃 𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐁𝐈𝐑𝐓𝐇 𝐎𝐅 𝐌𝐎𝐃𝐄𝐑𝐍 𝐎𝐏𝐄𝐑𝐀 (1890s–1928) 𝐈. 𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐋𝐎𝐍𝐆 𝐒𝐓𝐑𝐔𝐆𝐆𝐋𝐄 𝐁𝐄𝐅𝐎𝐑𝐄 𝐅𝐀𝐌𝐄 (1890s–1903) By the 1890s, 𝐋𝐞𝐨𝐬 𝐉𝐚𝐧𝐚𝐜𝐞𝐤 (1854–1928) was already a respected…

𝐂𝐇𝐑𝐎𝐍𝐎𝐋𝐎𝐆𝐘 𝐎𝐅 𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐋𝐈𝐅𝐄 𝐎𝐅 𝐙𝐎𝐋𝐓𝐀𝐍 𝐊𝐎𝐃𝐀𝐋𝐘 𝐙𝐨𝐥𝐭𝐚𝐧 𝐊𝐨𝐝𝐚𝐥𝐲 (16 December 1882 Kecskemét – 6 March 1967 Budapest) was one of the most outstanding personalities of 20th century Hungarian culture: composer, ethnomusicologist, music pedagogue…

𝐂𝐄𝐒𝐀𝐑 𝐅𝐑𝐀𝐍𝐂𝐊 — 𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐌𝐘𝐒𝐓𝐈𝐂 𝐀𝐑𝐂𝐇𝐈𝐓𝐄𝐂𝐓 𝐎𝐅 𝐅𝐑𝐄𝐍𝐂𝐇 𝐒𝐘𝐌𝐏𝐇𝐎𝐍𝐈𝐂 𝐑𝐎𝐌𝐀𝐍𝐓𝐈𝐂𝐈𝐒𝐌 (𝟏𝟖𝟐𝟐–𝟏𝟖𝟗𝟎) 𝐈. 𝐀 𝐂𝐇𝐈𝐋𝐃 𝐁𝐄𝐓𝐖𝐄𝐄𝐍 𝐍𝐀𝐓𝐈𝐎𝐍𝐒 (𝟏𝟖𝟐𝟐–𝟏𝟖𝟑𝟓) 𝐂𝐞𝐬𝐚𝐫 𝐀𝐮𝐠𝐮𝐬𝐭𝐞 𝐅𝐫𝐚𝐧𝐜𝐤 (𝟏𝟖𝟐𝟐–𝟏𝟖𝟗𝟎) was born on 10 December 1822 in Liège, then part of the United…

𝐆𝐔𝐒𝐓𝐀𝐕 𝐌𝐀𝐇𝐋𝐄𝐑 & 𝐉𝐔𝐒𝐓𝐈𝐍𝐄 𝐌𝐀𝐇𝐋𝐄𝐑: 𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐒𝐈𝐒𝐓𝐄𝐑 𝐖𝐇𝐎 𝐇𝐄𝐋𝐃 𝐇𝐈𝐒 𝐋𝐈𝐅𝐄 𝐓𝐎𝐆𝐄𝐓𝐇𝐄𝐑 — 𝐀 𝐂𝐇𝐑𝐎𝐍𝐎𝐋𝐎𝐆𝐈𝐂𝐀𝐋 𝐄𝐒𝐒𝐀𝐘 𝐎𝐅 𝐋𝐎𝐕𝐄, 𝐃𝐔𝐓𝐘, 𝐀𝐍𝐃 𝐄𝐗𝐈𝐋𝐄 (𝟏𝟖𝟔𝟖–𝟏𝟗𝟑𝟖) 𝐈. 𝐂𝐇𝐈𝐋𝐃𝐇𝐎𝐎𝐃 𝐀𝐍𝐃 𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐅𝐀𝐌𝐈𝐋𝐘 𝐂𝐑𝐔𝐂𝐈𝐁𝐋𝐄 (𝟏𝟖𝟔𝟖–𝟏𝟖𝟖𝟖) 𝐉𝐮𝐬𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐞 (𝐄𝐫𝐧𝐞𝐬𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐞) 𝐌𝐚𝐡𝐥𝐞𝐫 was born…

𝐀𝐋𝐌𝐀 𝐀𝐍𝐃 𝐀𝐑𝐍𝐎𝐋𝐃 𝐑𝐎𝐒𝐄́: 𝐌𝐔𝐒𝐈𝐂, 𝐅𝐀𝐌𝐈𝐋𝐘, 𝐀𝐍𝐃 𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐓𝐑𝐀𝐆𝐄𝐃𝐘 𝐓𝐇𝐀𝐓 𝐁𝐑𝐎𝐊𝐄 𝐕𝐈𝐄𝐍𝐍𝐀 𝐈. 𝐀 𝐕𝐈𝐄𝐍𝐍𝐄𝐒𝐄 𝐃𝐘𝐍𝐀𝐒𝐓𝐘 𝐁𝐄𝐅𝐎𝐑𝐄 𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐂𝐀𝐓𝐀𝐒𝐓𝐑𝐎𝐏𝐇𝐄 Few musical stories condense the grandeur and the collapse of Central European culture as sharply…

𝐄𝐌𝐈𝐋 𝐕𝐎𝐍 𝐒𝐀𝐔𝐄𝐑 (𝟏𝟖𝟔𝟐–𝟏𝟗𝟒𝟐) A Rigorous Essay on His Life and Professional Activity 𝐈. 𝐎𝐫𝐢𝐠𝐢𝐧𝐬 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐄𝐚𝐫𝐥𝐲 𝐅𝐨𝐫𝐦𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 (𝟏𝟖𝟔𝟐–𝟏𝟖𝟖𝟏) Emil von Sauer was born on October 8, 1862, in Hamburg, Germany. He grew up…

𝗠𝗜𝗧𝗥𝗢𝗣𝗢𝗨𝗟𝗢𝗦 𝗔𝗡𝗗 𝗕𝗘𝗥𝗡𝗦𝗧𝗘𝗜𝗡 — 𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝗠𝗘𝗡𝗧𝗢𝗥𝗦𝗛𝗜𝗣 𝗧𝗛𝗔𝗧 𝗖𝗛𝗔𝗡𝗚𝗘𝗗 𝗔𝗠𝗘𝗥𝗜𝗖𝗔𝗡 𝗖𝗢𝗡𝗗𝗨𝗖𝗧𝗜𝗡𝗚 𝗗𝗶𝗺𝗶𝘁𝗿𝗶 𝗠𝗶𝘁𝗿𝗼𝗽𝗼𝘂𝗹𝗼𝘀 (1896–1960) was indeed a crucial mentor figure for 𝗟𝗲𝗼𝗻𝗮𝗿𝗱 𝗕𝗲𝗿𝗻𝘀𝘁𝗲𝗶𝗻 (1918–1990), though their bond never followed the formal path of teacher and…

𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝗕𝗢𝗦𝗧𝗢𝗡 𝗦𝗬𝗠𝗣𝗛𝗢𝗡𝗬 𝗢𝗥𝗖𝗛𝗘𝗦𝗧𝗥𝗔 — 𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝗙𝗥𝗘𝗡𝗖𝗛 𝗧𝗥𝗔𝗗𝗜𝗧𝗜𝗢𝗡 𝗙𝗢𝗥𝗚𝗘𝗗 𝗕𝗬 𝗣𝗜𝗘𝗥𝗥𝗘 𝗠𝗢𝗡𝗧𝗘𝗨𝗫, 𝗦𝗘𝗥𝗚𝗘 𝗞𝗢𝗨𝗦𝗦𝗘𝗩𝗜𝗧𝗭𝗞𝗬 𝗔𝗡𝗗 𝗖𝗛𝗔𝗥𝗟𝗘𝗦 𝗠𝗨𝗡𝗖𝗛 𝗜𝗡𝗧𝗥𝗢𝗗𝗨𝗖𝗧𝗜𝗢𝗡 — 𝗔 𝗖𝗢𝗡𝗧𝗜𝗡𝗨𝗨𝗠 𝗢𝗙 𝗔𝗥𝗧𝗜𝗦𝗧𝗜𝗖 𝗟𝗘𝗔𝗗𝗘𝗥𝗦𝗛𝗜𝗣 The artistic identity of the Boston Symphony Orchestra (BSO) in…

𝗦𝗘𝗥𝗚𝗜𝗨 𝗖𝗘𝗟𝗜𝗕𝗜𝗗𝗔𝗖𝗛𝗘 — 𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝗣𝗛𝗘𝗡𝗢𝗠𝗘𝗡𝗢𝗟𝗢𝗚𝗬 𝗢𝗙 𝗦𝗢𝗨𝗡𝗗: 𝗔 𝗥𝗜𝗚𝗢𝗥𝗢𝗨𝗦 𝗦𝗧𝗨𝗗𝗬 𝗢𝗙 𝗛𝗜𝗦 𝗖𝗢𝗡𝗗𝗨𝗖𝗧𝗜𝗡𝗚 𝗦𝗧𝗬𝗟𝗘 𝗔 𝗖𝗢𝗡𝗗𝗨𝗖𝗧𝗢𝗥 𝗔𝗚𝗔𝗜𝗡𝗦𝗧 𝗧𝗥𝗔𝗗𝗜𝗧𝗜𝗢𝗡 Sergiu Celibidache (1912–1996) remains one of the most singular figures in twentieth-century conducting. From the beginning…

𝗛𝗮𝗻𝘀 𝗥𝗶𝗰𝗵𝘁𝗲𝗿 (𝟭𝟴𝟰𝟯–𝟭𝟵𝟭𝟲) One of the most authoritative Wagnerian conductors of the late nineteenth century, Hans Richter was born in Raab (Győr, Hungary) and trained in Vienna. A trusted associate of Richard Wagner, he…

## **𝗠𝗢𝗭𝗔𝗥𝗧 𝗜𝗡 𝗦𝗪𝗔𝗙𝗙𝗢𝗥𝗗 — 𝗦𝗨𝗖𝗖𝗘𝗦𝗦, 𝗠𝗬𝗧𝗛𝗦, 𝗔𝗡𝗗 𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝗖𝗢𝗠𝗣𝗢𝗦𝗘𝗥’𝗦 𝗣𝗘𝗥𝗦𝗣𝗘𝗖𝗧𝗜𝗩𝗘** **𝗠𝗼𝘇𝗮𝗿𝘁’𝘀 𝗟𝗮𝘁𝗲 𝗗𝗶𝗳𝗳𝗶𝗰𝘂𝗹𝘁𝗶𝗲𝘀 𝗶𝗻 𝗖𝗼𝗻𝘁𝗲𝘅𝘁** Mozart experienced **some difficult periods toward the end of his life**, but Swafford stresses that hardship was not…

## **The Final Year of Gioachino Rossini: Serenity, Memory, and the Last Curtain (1867–1868)** The last year of **Gioachino Rossini’s** life unfolded not in the theatrical blaze that had once defined his fame, but…

𝗦𝘄𝗶𝘁𝘇𝗲𝗿𝗹𝗮𝗻𝗱 — 𝗛𝗲𝗿𝗺𝗮𝗻𝗻 𝗦𝗰𝗵𝗲𝗿𝗰𝗵𝗲𝗻 & 𝗙𝗲𝗹𝗶𝘅 𝗪𝗲𝗶𝗻𝗴𝗮𝗿𝘁𝗻𝗲𝗿, 1940 𝗦𝗰𝗵𝗲𝗿𝗰𝗵𝗲𝗻’𝘀 𝗦𝘁𝘂𝗱𝗶𝗲𝘀 𝘄𝗶𝘁𝗵 𝗪𝗲𝗶𝗻𝗴𝗮𝗿𝘁𝗻𝗲𝗿: Hermann Scherchen studied conducting and composition in Vienna, where he came into contact with Felix Weingartner. Scherchen was particularly drawn to 𝗪𝗲𝗶𝗻𝗴𝗮𝗿𝘁𝗻𝗲𝗿’𝘀…

𝗙𝗘𝗟𝗜𝗫 𝗪𝗘𝗜𝗡𝗚𝗔𝗥𝗧𝗡𝗘𝗥 — 𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝗔𝗥𝗜𝗦𝗧𝗢𝗖𝗥𝗔𝗧 𝗢𝗙 𝗖𝗟𝗔𝗥𝗜𝗧𝗬 𝗔𝗡𝗗 𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝗠𝗔𝗡 𝗪𝗛𝗢 𝗗𝗘𝗙𝗜𝗘𝗗 𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝗠𝗬𝗧𝗛𝗦 Few conductors of the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries combined intellectual rigor, aristocratic poise, and polemical courage as strikingly…

𝗙𝗥𝗜𝗧𝗭 𝗥𝗘𝗜𝗡𝗘𝗥 — 𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝗜𝗥𝗢𝗡 𝗕𝗔𝗧𝗢𝗡 𝗢𝗙 𝗣𝗘𝗥𝗙𝗘𝗖𝗧𝗜𝗢𝗡 Fritz Reiner (1888–1963) was one of the most formidable conductors of the twentieth century — a musician whose icy precision, razor-sharp rehearsal discipline, and uncompromising standards…

𝗘𝗥𝗜𝗖𝗛 𝗞𝗟𝗘𝗜𝗕𝗘𝗥 — 𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝗖𝗢𝗡𝗗𝗨𝗖𝗧𝗢𝗥 𝗪𝗛𝗢 𝗗𝗘𝗙𝗜𝗘𝗗 𝗧𝗬𝗥𝗔𝗡𝗡𝗬 Erich Kleiber (1890–1956) remains one of the most fascinating figures in twentieth-century conducting. Brilliant, uncompromising, witty, and fiercely independent, his life was filled with dramatic decisions,…

𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝗬𝗢𝗨𝗡𝗚 𝗝𝗢𝗛𝗔𝗡𝗡 𝗦𝗘𝗕𝗔𝗦𝗧𝗜𝗔𝗡 𝗕𝗔𝗖𝗛 — 𝗛𝗢𝗪 𝗔 𝗣𝗥𝗢𝗩𝗜𝗡𝗖𝗜𝗔𝗟 𝗕𝗢𝗬 𝗕𝗘𝗖𝗔𝗠𝗘 𝗔 𝗠𝗨𝗦𝗜𝗖𝗔𝗟 𝗙𝗢𝗥𝗖𝗘 When we imagine Johann Sebastian Bach, we often picture the mature master of Leipzig, the composer of the Passions and…