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𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝗟𝗔𝗦𝗧 𝗗𝗔𝗬𝗦 𝗢𝗙 𝗙𝗥𝗔𝗡𝗭 𝗟𝗜𝗦𝗭𝗧 (𝗝𝗨𝗟𝗬 𝟭𝟴𝟴𝟲) 𝗜. 𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝗙𝗔𝗗𝗜𝗡𝗚 𝗢𝗙 𝗔 𝗧𝗜𝗧𝗔𝗡 In the summer of 1886, the once-brilliant light of Franz Liszt began to dim. He was 𝟳𝟰 𝘆𝗲𝗮𝗿𝘀 𝗼𝗹𝗱, frail,…

𝗦𝗰𝗵𝘂𝗺𝗮𝗻𝗻 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗖𝗵𝗼𝗽𝗶𝗻 — 𝗘𝗻𝗰𝗼𝘂𝗻𝘁𝗲𝗿𝘀, 𝗜𝗻𝗳𝗹𝘂𝗲𝗻𝗰𝗲𝘀, 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗠𝘂𝘁𝘂𝗮𝗹 𝗔𝗱𝗺𝗶𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 Although Robert Schumann and Frédéric Chopin were never intimate friends, and never shared the kind of daily closeness that binds two lives together through habit…

𝗚𝗶𝗼𝘃𝗮𝗻𝗻𝗶 𝗚𝗮𝗯𝗿𝗶𝗲𝗹𝗶: 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗠𝗮𝘀𝘁𝗲𝗿 𝗪𝗵𝗼 𝗢𝗽𝗲𝗻𝗲𝗱 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗗𝗼𝗼𝗿 𝘁𝗼 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗕𝗮𝗿𝗼𝗾𝘂𝗲 𝗚𝗶𝗼𝘃𝗮𝗻𝗻𝗶 𝗚𝗮𝗯𝗿𝗶𝗲𝗹𝗶 (c.1554–1612) was one of the most influential composers of the late Renaissance and early Baroque, and 𝗼𝗻𝗲 𝗼𝗳 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝘀𝘂𝗽𝗿𝗲𝗺𝗲 𝗰𝗿𝗲𝗮𝘁𝗼𝗿𝘀…

**𝗠𝗢𝗭𝗔𝗥𝗧 𝗜𝗡 𝗦𝗪𝗔𝗙𝗙𝗢𝗥𝗗’𝗦 𝗕𝗜𝗢𝗚𝗥𝗔𝗣𝗛𝗬 - 𝗖𝗵𝗮𝗽𝘁𝗲𝗿 𝟭𝟰 — 𝗥𝗲𝘁𝘂𝗿𝗻: 𝗠𝗼𝘇𝗮𝗿𝘁, 𝗩𝗶𝗲𝗻𝗻𝗮, 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗕𝗲𝗴𝗶𝗻𝗻𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗼𝗳 𝗛𝗶𝘀 𝗧𝗿𝘂𝗲 𝗟𝗶𝗳𝗲** **𝗜. 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗖𝗼𝘀𝘁 𝗼𝗳 𝗙𝗿𝗲𝗲𝗱𝗼𝗺** When Mozart arrived in **Vienna in 1781**, he had at last…

𝗚𝗶𝘂𝘀𝗲𝗽𝗽𝗲 𝗩𝗲𝗿𝗱𝗶 𝗦𝘁𝗮𝘁𝗲 𝗙𝘂𝗻𝗲𝗿𝗮𝗹 𝗣𝗿𝗼𝗰𝗲𝘀𝘀𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝟭𝟵𝟬𝟭 𝗜. 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗱𝗲𝗮𝘁𝗵 𝗼𝗳 𝗮 𝗻𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝗮𝗹 𝘀𝘆𝗺𝗯𝗼𝗹 When Giuseppe Verdi died in Milan on 27 January 1901, at the Grand Hotel et de Milan, Italy did not feel…

𝐀𝐑𝐓𝐔𝐑𝐎 𝐓𝐎𝐒𝐂𝐀𝐍𝐈𝐍𝐈 — 𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐃𝐄𝐀𝐓𝐇 𝐎𝐅 𝐇𝐈𝐒 𝐘𝐎𝐔𝐍𝐆𝐄𝐑 𝐒𝐎𝐍 𝐆𝐈𝐎𝐑𝐆𝐈𝐎 𝐈𝐍 𝐁𝐔𝐄𝐍𝐎𝐒 𝐀𝐈𝐑𝐄𝐒 𝐎𝐍 𝟏𝟎 𝐉𝐔𝐍𝐄 𝟏𝟗𝟎𝟔 — 𝐂𝐇𝐑𝐎𝐍𝐎𝐋𝐎𝐆𝐘 𝐀𝐍𝐃 𝐂𝐈𝐑𝐂𝐔𝐌𝐒𝐓𝐀𝐍𝐂𝐄𝐒 𝐈. 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐟𝐚𝐦𝐢𝐥𝐲 𝐛𝐞𝐟𝐨𝐫𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐛𝐥𝐨𝐰 Arturo Toscanini married Carla De Martini on…

𝐖𝐢𝐥𝐡𝐞𝐥𝐦 𝐊𝐞𝐦𝐩𝐟𝐟: 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐏𝐨𝐞𝐭 𝐨𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐏𝐢𝐚𝐧𝐨 𝐖𝐡𝐨 𝐌𝐚𝐝𝐞 𝐁𝐞𝐞𝐭𝐡𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐧 𝐒𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐒𝐜𝐡𝐮𝐛𝐞𝐫𝐭 𝐃𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐦 There are pianists who astonish by force, brilliance, and the sheer dazzle of their fingers, and there are others whose…

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,…

𝐒𝐢𝐫 𝐀𝐝𝐫𝐢𝐚𝐧 𝐁𝐨𝐮𝐥𝐭: 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐆𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐥𝐞𝐦𝐚𝐧 𝐌𝐚𝐞𝐬𝐭𝐫𝐨 𝐖𝐡𝐨 𝐆𝐚𝐯𝐞 𝐄𝐧𝐠𝐥𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐈𝐭𝐬 𝐎𝐫𝐜𝐡𝐞𝐬𝐭𝐫𝐚𝐥 𝐕𝐨𝐢𝐜𝐞 There are conductors who dazzle through theatrical charisma, and there are others whose greatness lies in something quieter but no less durable:…

𝐇𝐀𝐍𝐒 𝐑𝐈𝐂𝐇𝐓𝐄𝐑 (𝟏𝟖𝟒𝟑–𝟏𝟗𝟏𝟔) 𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐈𝐑𝐎𝐍 𝐀𝐑𝐂𝐇𝐈𝐓𝐄𝐂𝐓 𝐎𝐅 𝐖𝐀𝐆𝐍𝐄𝐑 𝐀𝐍𝐃 𝐁𝐑𝐀𝐇𝐌𝐒 — 𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐆𝐑𝐄𝐀𝐓 𝐊𝐀𝐏𝐄𝐋𝐋𝐌𝐄𝐈𝐒𝐓𝐄𝐑 𝐖𝐇𝐎 𝐇𝐄𝐋𝐏𝐄𝐃 𝐒𝐇𝐀𝐏𝐄 𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐒𝐎𝐔𝐍𝐃 𝐎𝐅 𝐋𝐀𝐓𝐄 𝟏𝟗𝐓𝐇-𝐂𝐄𝐍𝐓𝐔𝐑𝐘 𝐄𝐔𝐑𝐎𝐏𝐄 𝐁𝐈𝐑𝐓𝐇 𝐀𝐍𝐃 𝐄𝐀𝐑𝐋𝐘 𝐅𝐎𝐑𝐌𝐀𝐓𝐈𝐎𝐍 — 𝐀 𝐇𝐔𝐍𝐆𝐀𝐑𝐈𝐀𝐍 𝐌𝐔𝐒𝐈𝐂𝐈𝐀𝐍 𝐎𝐅 𝐒𝐎𝐋𝐈𝐃 𝐂𝐑𝐀𝐅𝐓…

𝐉𝐄𝐀𝐍-𝐁𝐀𝐏𝐓𝐈𝐒𝐓𝐄 𝐋𝐔𝐋𝐋𝐘 (𝟏𝟔𝟑𝟐–𝟏𝟔𝟖𝟕): 𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐌𝐎𝐒𝐓 𝐏𝐎𝐋𝐄𝐌𝐈𝐂𝐀𝐋 𝐀𝐍𝐃 𝐂𝐎𝐍𝐓𝐑𝐀𝐃𝐈𝐂𝐓𝐎𝐑𝐘 𝐒𝐈𝐓𝐔𝐀𝐓𝐈𝐎𝐍𝐒 𝐈𝐍 𝐇𝐈𝐒 𝐋𝐈𝐅𝐄 Jean-Baptiste Lully (1632–1687) was one of the most powerful and contradictory figures in seventeenth-century music. He was born Giovanni Battista Lulli in…

𝐀𝐋𝐄𝐗𝐀𝐍𝐃𝐄𝐑 𝐆𝐋𝐀𝐙𝐔𝐍𝐎𝐕 (𝟏𝟖𝟔𝟓–𝟏𝟗𝟑𝟔): 𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐌𝐎𝐒𝐓 𝐏𝐎𝐋𝐄𝐌𝐈𝐂𝐀𝐋 𝐀𝐍𝐃 𝐂𝐎𝐍𝐓𝐑𝐀𝐃𝐈𝐂𝐓𝐎𝐑𝐘 𝐒𝐈𝐓𝐔𝐀𝐓𝐈𝐎𝐍𝐒 𝐈𝐍 𝐇𝐈𝐒 𝐋𝐈𝐅𝐄 Alexander Glazunov (1865–1936) is often remembered as the grand stabilizing figure of late Russian music: the prodigy who united nationalism with conservatory…

𝐀𝐍𝐉𝐀 𝐒𝐈𝐋𝐉𝐀 𝐀𝐍𝐃 𝐂𝐇𝐑𝐈𝐒𝐓𝐎𝐏𝐇 𝐕𝐎𝐍 𝐃𝐎𝐇𝐍𝐀𝐍𝐘𝐈: 𝐀 𝐏𝐄𝐑𝐒𝐎𝐍𝐀𝐋 𝐀𝐍𝐃 𝐀𝐑𝐓𝐈𝐒𝐓𝐈𝐂 𝐏𝐀𝐑𝐓𝐍𝐄𝐑𝐒𝐇𝐈𝐏 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐁𝐞𝐠𝐢𝐧𝐧𝐢𝐧𝐠: 𝐅𝐫𝐨𝐦 𝐎𝐩𝐞𝐫𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐜 𝐂𝐨𝐧𝐭𝐚𝐜𝐭 𝐭𝐨 𝐏𝐞𝐫𝐬𝐨𝐧𝐚𝐥 𝐂𝐥𝐨𝐬𝐞𝐧𝐞𝐬𝐬 Anja Silja and Christoph von Dohnányi came together in the world of postwar German opera,…

𝐀𝐒𝐓𝐑𝐈𝐃 𝐕𝐀𝐑𝐍𝐀𝐘 (𝟏𝟗𝟏𝟖–𝟐𝟎𝟎𝟔) 𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐖𝐀𝐆𝐍𝐄𝐑𝐈𝐀𝐍 𝐐𝐔𝐄𝐄𝐍 𝐎𝐅 𝐅𝐈𝐑𝐄 — 𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐃𝐑𝐀𝐌𝐀𝐓𝐈𝐂 𝐒𝐎𝐏𝐑𝐀𝐍𝐎 𝐖𝐇𝐎 𝐂𝐎𝐍𝐐𝐔𝐄𝐑𝐄𝐃 𝐁𝐀𝐘𝐑𝐄𝐔𝐓𝐇 𝐀𝐍𝐃 𝐑𝐄𝐈𝐍𝐕𝐄𝐍𝐓𝐄𝐃 𝐇𝐄𝐑𝐒𝐄𝐋𝐅 𝐁𝐈𝐑𝐓𝐇 𝐈𝐍𝐓𝐎 𝐀 𝐖𝐎𝐑𝐋𝐃 𝐎𝐅 𝐎𝐏𝐄𝐑𝐀 — 𝐀 𝐂𝐇𝐈𝐋𝐃 𝐎𝐅 𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐓𝐇𝐄𝐀𝐓𝐑𝐄 𝐀𝐬𝐭𝐫𝐢𝐝 𝐕𝐚𝐫𝐧𝐚𝐲 (𝟐𝟓 𝐀𝐩𝐫𝐢𝐥…

𝐅𝐑𝐀𝐍𝐙 𝐋𝐈𝐒𝐙𝐓 (𝟏𝟖𝟏𝟏–𝟏𝟖𝟖𝟔): 𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐌𝐎𝐒𝐓 𝐏𝐎𝐋𝐄𝐌𝐈𝐂𝐀𝐋 𝐀𝐍𝐃 𝐂𝐎𝐍𝐓𝐑𝐀𝐃𝐈𝐂𝐓𝐎𝐑𝐘 𝐒𝐈𝐓𝐔𝐀𝐓𝐈𝐎𝐍𝐒 𝐈𝐍 𝐇𝐈𝐒 𝐋𝐈𝐅𝐄 Franz Liszt (1811–1886) was one of the most contradictory figures in nineteenth-century music. He was the greatest virtuoso celebrity of his age…

𝐄𝐃𝐕𝐀𝐑𝐃 𝐆𝐑𝐈𝐄𝐆 (𝟏𝟖𝟒𝟑–𝟏𝟗𝟎𝟕): 𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐌𝐎𝐒𝐓 𝐏𝐎𝐋𝐄𝐌𝐈𝐂𝐀𝐋 𝐀𝐍𝐃 𝐂𝐎𝐍𝐓𝐑𝐀𝐃𝐈𝐂𝐓𝐎𝐑𝐘 𝐒𝐈𝐓𝐔𝐀𝐓𝐈𝐎𝐍𝐒 𝐈𝐍 𝐇𝐈𝐒 𝐋𝐈𝐅𝐄 Edvard Grieg (1843–1907) is often remembered as one of the most lyrical, intimate, and beloved composers of the nineteenth century: the musical…

𝐀𝐍𝐓𝐎𝐍𝐈𝐍 𝐃𝐕𝐎𝐑𝐀𝐊: 𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐌𝐎𝐒𝐓 𝐏𝐎𝐋𝐄𝐌𝐈𝐂𝐀𝐋 𝐀𝐍𝐃 𝐂𝐎𝐍𝐓𝐑𝐀𝐃𝐈𝐂𝐓𝐎𝐑𝐘 𝐒𝐈𝐓𝐔𝐀𝐓𝐈𝐎𝐍𝐒 𝐈𝐍 𝐇𝐈𝐒 𝐋𝐈𝐅𝐄 Antonin Dvorak is often remembered as one of the healthiest, warmest, and most balanced figures in nineteenth-century music: a deeply Czech composer, a…

𝐃𝐌𝐈𝐓𝐑𝐈 𝐒𝐇𝐎𝐒𝐓𝐀𝐊𝐎𝐕𝐈𝐂𝐇: 𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐌𝐎𝐒𝐓 𝐏𝐎𝐋𝐄𝐌𝐈𝐂𝐀𝐋 𝐀𝐍𝐃 𝐂𝐎𝐍𝐓𝐑𝐀𝐃𝐈𝐂𝐓𝐎𝐑𝐘 𝐒𝐈𝐓𝐔𝐀𝐓𝐈𝐎𝐍𝐒 𝐈𝐍 𝐇𝐈𝐒 𝐋𝐈𝐅𝐄 Dmitri Shostakovich is one of the most contradictory figures in all music history. He was at once a state-honored Soviet composer and a…

𝐖𝐎𝐋𝐅𝐆𝐀𝐍𝐆 𝐀𝐌𝐀𝐃𝐄𝐔𝐒 𝐌𝐎𝐙𝐀𝐑𝐓: 𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐌𝐎𝐒𝐓 𝐏𝐎𝐋𝐄𝐌𝐈𝐂𝐀𝐋 𝐀𝐍𝐃 𝐂𝐎𝐍𝐓𝐑𝐀𝐃𝐈𝐂𝐓𝐎𝐑𝐘 𝐒𝐈𝐓𝐔𝐀𝐓𝐈𝐎𝐍𝐒 𝐈𝐍 𝐇𝐈𝐒 𝐋𝐈𝐅𝐄 Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart is often imagined as the miraculous child of music, the smiling genius of effortless perfection, the embodiment of grace,…

𝐏𝐘𝐎𝐓𝐑 𝐈𝐋𝐘𝐈𝐂𝐇 𝐓𝐂𝐇𝐀𝐈𝐊𝐎𝐕𝐒𝐊𝐘: 𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐌𝐎𝐒𝐓 𝐏𝐎𝐋𝐄𝐌𝐈𝐂𝐀𝐋 𝐀𝐍𝐃 𝐂𝐎𝐍𝐓𝐑𝐀𝐃𝐈𝐂𝐓𝐎𝐑𝐘 𝐒𝐈𝐓𝐔𝐀𝐓𝐈𝐎𝐍𝐒 𝐈𝐍 𝐇𝐈𝐒 𝐋𝐈𝐅𝐄 Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky remains one of the most beloved and emotionally immediate composers in all music history. His works seem to speak…

𝐆𝐄𝐎𝐑𝐆𝐄 𝐅𝐑𝐈𝐃𝐄𝐑𝐈𝐂 𝐇𝐀𝐍𝐃𝐄𝐋: 𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐌𝐎𝐒𝐓 𝐏𝐎𝐋𝐄𝐌𝐈𝐂𝐀𝐋 𝐀𝐍𝐃 𝐂𝐎𝐍𝐓𝐑𝐀𝐃𝐈𝐂𝐓𝐎𝐑𝐘 𝐒𝐈𝐓𝐔𝐀𝐓𝐈𝐎𝐍𝐒 𝐈𝐍 𝐇𝐈𝐒 𝐋𝐈𝐅𝐄 George Frideric Handel is often remembered as a figure of magnificence, authority, theatrical brilliance, and overwhelming musical confidence: the composer of Messiah,…

𝐆𝐔𝐍𝐃𝐔𝐋𝐀 𝐉𝐀𝐍𝐎𝐖𝐈𝐓𝐙: 𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐒𝐈𝐋𝐕𝐄𝐑-𝐆𝐎𝐋𝐃 𝐕𝐎𝐈𝐂𝐄 𝐎𝐅 𝐌𝐎𝐙𝐀𝐑𝐓, 𝐒𝐓𝐑𝐀𝐔𝐒𝐒, 𝐀𝐍𝐃 𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐏𝐔𝐑𝐄𝐒𝐓 𝐋𝐘𝐑𝐈𝐂 𝐈𝐃𝐄𝐀𝐋 𝐎𝐅 𝐏𝐎𝐒𝐓𝐖𝐀𝐑 𝐄𝐔𝐑𝐎𝐏𝐄 Gundula Janowitz belongs to that very rare group of sopranos whose voices seem to exist almost beyond ordinary…

𝐆𝐮𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐯 𝐌𝐚𝐡𝐥𝐞𝐫 𝐢𝐧 𝟏𝟖𝟗𝟕: 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐘𝐞𝐚𝐫 𝐇𝐞 𝐒𝐭𝐞𝐩𝐩𝐞𝐝 𝐈𝐧𝐭𝐨 𝐕𝐢𝐞𝐧𝐧𝐚’𝐬 𝐂𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐫𝐞 𝐀 𝐲𝐞𝐚𝐫 𝐨𝐟 𝐭𝐫𝐚𝐧𝐬𝐢𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧, 𝐚𝐦𝐛𝐢𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧, 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐟𝐚𝐭𝐞 For Gustav Mahler, 1897 was not merely another year in a successful conducting career. It was…

𝐇𝐄𝐑𝐌𝐀𝐍𝐍 𝐀𝐁𝐄𝐍𝐃𝐑𝐎𝐓𝐇 — 𝐅𝐑𝐎𝐌 𝐏𝐑𝐔𝐒𝐒𝐈𝐀𝐍 𝐌𝐔𝐒𝐈𝐂𝐀𝐋 𝐒𝐓𝐔𝐃𝐄𝐍𝐓 𝐓𝐎 𝐌𝐀𝐄𝐒𝐓𝐑𝐎 𝐎𝐅 𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐆𝐄𝐑𝐌𝐀𝐍 𝐓𝐑𝐀𝐃𝐈𝐓𝐈𝐎𝐍 𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐄𝐀𝐑𝐋𝐘 𝐋𝐈𝐅𝐄 𝐀𝐍𝐃 𝐑𝐈𝐒𝐄 𝐎𝐅 𝐀 𝐆𝐑𝐄𝐀𝐓 𝐁𝐑𝐔𝐂𝐊𝐍𝐄𝐑 𝐀𝐍𝐃 𝐁𝐄𝐄𝐓𝐇𝐎𝐕𝐄𝐍 𝐂𝐎𝐍𝐃𝐔𝐂𝐓𝐎𝐑 𝐂𝐇𝐈𝐋𝐃𝐇𝐎𝐎𝐃 𝐈𝐍 𝐅𝐑𝐀𝐍𝐊𝐅𝐔𝐑𝐓 — 𝟏𝟖𝟖𝟑 𝐇𝐞𝐫𝐦𝐚𝐧𝐧 𝐀𝐛𝐞𝐧𝐝𝐫𝐨𝐭𝐡 was born…