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𝗠𝗔𝗛𝗟𝗘𝗥 𝗝𝗢𝗦𝗘 𝗟𝗨𝗜𝗦 𝗣𝗘𝗥𝗘𝗭 𝗗𝗘 𝗔𝗥𝗧𝗘𝗔𝗚𝗔 𝗣𝗢𝗦𝗧 𝟴 𝗙𝗿𝗶𝗲𝗻𝗱𝘀, 𝗗𝗿𝗲𝗮𝗺𝗲𝗿𝘀, 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗟𝗼𝘀𝘁 𝗚𝗲𝗻𝗶𝘂𝘀𝗲𝘀 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗬𝗼𝘂𝗻𝗴 𝗠𝗮𝗵𝗹𝗲𝗿 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗛𝗶𝘀 𝗩𝗶𝗲𝗻𝗻𝗲𝘀𝗲 𝗖𝗶𝗿𝗰𝗹𝗲 The young 𝗚𝘂𝘀𝘁𝗮𝘃 𝗠𝗮𝗵𝗹𝗲𝗿 did not form his artistic identity in solitude. Vienna gave…

𝗠𝗔𝗛𝗟𝗘𝗥 𝗝𝗢𝗦𝗘 𝗟𝗨𝗜𝗦 𝗣𝗘𝗥𝗘𝗭 𝗗𝗘 𝗔𝗥𝗧𝗘𝗔𝗚𝗔 𝗣𝗢𝗦𝗧 𝟲 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗙𝗶𝗳𝘁𝗲𝗲𝗻-𝗬𝗲𝗮𝗿-𝗢𝗹𝗱 𝗶𝗻 𝗩𝗶𝗲𝗻𝗻𝗮 𝗜𝗻𝘁𝗼 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗠𝘂𝘀𝗶𝗰𝗮𝗹 𝗖𝗮𝗽𝗶𝘁𝗮𝗹 When 𝗚𝘂𝘀𝘁𝗮𝘃 𝗠𝗮𝗵𝗹𝗲𝗿 arrived in 𝗩𝗶𝗲𝗻𝗻𝗮 in 𝟭𝟴𝟳𝟱, he was only fifteen years old, but he had already…

𝗠𝗔𝗛𝗟𝗘𝗥 𝗝𝗢𝗦𝗘 𝗟𝗨𝗜𝗦 𝗣𝗘𝗥𝗘𝗭 𝗗𝗘 𝗔𝗥𝗧𝗘𝗔𝗚𝗔 𝗣𝗢𝗦𝗧 𝟱 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗙𝗶𝗳𝘁𝗲𝗲𝗻-𝗬𝗲𝗮𝗿-𝗢𝗹𝗱 𝗪𝗵𝗼 𝗖𝗵𝗮𝗹𝗹𝗲𝗻𝗴𝗲𝗱 𝗩𝗶𝗲𝗻𝗻𝗮 𝗣𝗼𝘃𝗲𝗿𝘁𝘆, 𝗔𝗺𝗯𝗶𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻, 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗖𝗼𝗻𝘀𝗲𝗿𝘃𝗮𝘁𝗼𝗿𝘆 In the summer of 𝟭𝟴𝟳𝟱, the future of 𝗚𝘂𝘀𝘁𝗮𝘃 𝗠𝗮𝗵𝗹𝗲𝗿 remained uncertain. He was fifteen years…

𝗝𝗔𝗠𝗘𝗦 𝗟𝗘𝗩𝗜𝗡𝗘 — 𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝟭𝟱 𝗚𝗥𝗘𝗔𝗧𝗘𝗦𝗧 𝗥𝗘𝗖𝗢𝗥𝗗𝗜𝗡𝗚𝗦 James Levine left one of the largest and most varied recorded legacies of any American conductor. His discography encompasses Mozart, Verdi, Wagner, Puccini, Berlioz, Mahler, Brahms, Schumann,…

𝗝𝗢𝗦𝗘𝗙 𝗞𝗥𝗜𝗣𝗦 — 𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝟭𝟱 𝗚𝗥𝗘𝗔𝗧𝗘𝗦𝗧 𝗥𝗘𝗖𝗢𝗥𝗗𝗜𝗡𝗚𝗦 Josef Krips represented a conducting tradition founded not upon personal display, exaggerated rhetoric or orchestral weight, but upon balance, clarity, natural phrasing and absolute fidelity to musical…

𝗝𝗔𝗦𝗖𝗛𝗔 𝗛𝗢𝗥𝗘𝗡𝗦𝗧𝗘𝗜𝗡 — 𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝟭𝟱 𝗚𝗥𝗘𝗔𝗧𝗘𝗦𝗧 𝗥𝗘𝗖𝗢𝗥𝗗𝗜𝗡𝗚𝗦 Jascha Horenstein belonged to a generation of conductors for whom interpretation was founded upon structural understanding, stylistic responsibility and absolute concentration rather than theatrical personality. His performances…

𝗗𝗜𝗠𝗜𝗧𝗥𝗜 𝗠𝗜𝗧𝗥𝗢𝗣𝗢𝗨𝗟𝗢𝗦 — 𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝟭𝟱 𝗚𝗥𝗘𝗔𝗧𝗘𝗦𝗧 𝗥𝗘𝗖𝗢𝗥𝗗𝗜𝗡𝗚𝗦 Dimitri Mitropoulos was one of the most intense, selfless and visionary conductors of the twentieth century. He conducted without a baton, frequently without a score and with…

𝗛𝗘𝗥𝗠𝗔𝗡𝗡 𝗦𝗖𝗛𝗘𝗥𝗖𝗛𝗘𝗡 — 𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝟭𝟱 𝗚𝗥𝗘𝗔𝗧𝗘𝗦𝗧 𝗥𝗘𝗖𝗢𝗥𝗗𝗜𝗡𝗚𝗦 Hermann Scherchen was one of the most radical, intellectually adventurous and unpredictable conductors of the twentieth century. He cannot be classified simply as a specialist in modern…

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…

𝗞𝗨𝗥𝗧 𝗠𝗔𝗦𝗨𝗥 — 𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝟭𝟱 𝗚𝗥𝗘𝗔𝗧𝗘𝗦𝗧 𝗥𝗘𝗖𝗢𝗥𝗗𝗜𝗡𝗚𝗦 Kurt Masur was sometimes characterised as a sober, traditional conductor: dependable, serious, architecturally disciplined and resistant to interpretative eccentricity. Such descriptions are not entirely wrong, but they…

𝗖𝗹𝗮𝗿𝗮 𝗦𝗰𝗵𝘂𝗺𝗮𝗻𝗻 — 𝗖𝗼𝗺𝗽𝗹𝗲𝘁𝗲 𝗖𝗵𝗿𝗼𝗻𝗼𝗹𝗼𝗴𝗶𝗰𝗮𝗹 𝗟𝗶𝘀𝘁 𝗼𝗳 𝗢𝗿𝗶𝗴𝗶𝗻𝗮𝗹 𝗖𝗼𝗺𝗽𝗼𝘀𝗶𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝘀 The chronology below includes Clara Schumann’s published works, surviving unpublished compositions, cadenzas, unfinished works, and documented lost works. Dates sometimes differ among catalogues; uncertain dates…

𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝗟𝗜𝗙𝗘 𝗢𝗙 𝗛𝗘𝗖𝗧𝗢𝗥 𝗕𝗘𝗥𝗟𝗜𝗢𝗭 𝗔𝗦 𝗪𝗥𝗜𝗧𝗧𝗘𝗡 𝗕𝗬 𝗛𝗜𝗠𝗦𝗘𝗟𝗙 𝗣𝗢𝗦𝗧 𝟮 𝗘𝘀𝘁𝗲𝗹𝗹𝗲 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗣𝗶𝗻𝗸 𝗦𝗹𝗶𝗽𝗽𝗲𝗿𝘀: 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗟𝗼𝘃𝗲 𝗧𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗡𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗿 𝗗𝗶𝗲𝗱 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗦𝘂𝗺𝗺𝗲𝗿 𝗧𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗖𝗵𝗮𝗻𝗴𝗲𝗱 𝗛𝗶𝘀 𝗟𝗶𝗳𝗲 Long before music had entirely claimed him,…

𝗠𝗔𝗛𝗟𝗘𝗥 𝗝𝗢𝗦𝗘 𝗟𝗨𝗜𝗦 𝗣𝗘𝗥𝗘𝗭 𝗗𝗘 𝗔𝗥𝗧𝗘𝗔𝗚𝗔 𝗣𝗢𝗦𝗧 𝟭 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗠𝗮𝗻 𝗪𝗵𝗼𝘀𝗲 𝗧𝗶𝗺𝗲 𝗪𝗼𝘂𝗹𝗱 𝗖𝗼𝗺𝗲 𝗔 𝗖𝗼𝗺𝗽𝗼𝘀𝗲𝗿 𝗕𝗼𝗿𝗻 𝗕𝗲𝗳𝗼𝗿𝗲 𝗛𝗶𝘀 𝗔𝘂𝗱𝗶𝗲𝗻𝗰𝗲 During his lifetime, 𝗚𝘂𝘀𝘁𝗮𝘃 𝗠𝗮𝗵𝗹𝗲𝗿 inhabited one of the great paradoxes of musical history.…

𝗙𝗿𝗮𝗻𝘇 𝗟𝗶𝘀𝘇𝘁 𝗕𝘆 𝗝𝗮𝗺𝗲𝘀 𝗛𝘂𝗻𝗲𝗸𝗲𝗿 𝗖𝗵𝗮𝗽𝘁𝗲𝗿 𝗜𝗜 — 𝗔𝘀𝗽𝗲𝗰𝘁𝘀 𝗼𝗳 𝗛𝗶𝘀 𝗔𝗿𝘁 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗖𝗵𝗮𝗿𝗮𝗰𝘁𝗲𝗿 𝗣𝗼𝘀𝘁 𝟭𝟮 — 𝗟𝗶𝘀𝘇𝘁 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗟𝗮𝗱𝗶𝗲𝘀 The legend of 𝗙𝗿𝗮𝗻𝘇 𝗟𝗶𝘀𝘇𝘁 as a musical Don Juan is one of…

𝗦𝗖𝗛𝗨𝗠𝗔𝗡𝗡 — 𝗘𝗥𝗜𝗖 𝗙𝗥𝗘𝗗𝗘𝗥𝗜𝗖𝗞 𝗝𝗘𝗡𝗦𝗘𝗡 𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝗠𝗔𝗦𝗧𝗘𝗥 𝗠𝗨𝗦𝗜𝗖𝗜𝗔𝗡𝗦 — 𝗢𝗫𝗙𝗢𝗥𝗗 𝗨𝗡𝗜𝗩𝗘𝗥𝗦𝗜𝗧𝗬 𝗣𝗥𝗘𝗦𝗦 𝗖𝗛𝗔𝗣𝗧𝗘𝗥 𝟭𝟰 — 𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝗖𝗢𝗠𝗣𝗢𝗦𝗜𝗧𝗜𝗢𝗡𝗦, 𝟭𝟴𝟰𝟱–𝟱𝟰 𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝗟𝗔𝗧𝗘 𝗦𝗖𝗛𝗨𝗠𝗔𝗡𝗡 — 𝗡𝗢𝗧 𝗔 𝗥𝗨𝗜𝗡, 𝗕𝗨𝗧 𝗔 𝗗𝗜𝗙𝗙𝗘𝗥𝗘𝗡𝗧 𝗪𝗢𝗥𝗟𝗗 The music Robert Schumann composed…

𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝟭𝟱 𝗚𝗥𝗘𝗔𝗧𝗘𝗦𝗧 𝗕𝗔𝗥𝗢𝗤𝗨𝗘 𝗞𝗘𝗬𝗕𝗢𝗔𝗥𝗗 𝗠𝗔𝗦𝗧𝗘𝗥𝗣𝗜𝗘𝗖𝗘𝗦 𝗢𝗙 𝗔𝗟𝗟 𝗧𝗜𝗠𝗘 Selecting the greatest Baroque keyboard masterpieces requires a broader definition of “keyboard” than the modern piano repertoire usually implies. These works were written for harpsichord,…

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…

𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝟭𝟱 𝗚𝗥𝗘𝗔𝗧𝗘𝗦𝗧 𝗪𝗢𝗥𝗞𝗦 𝗔𝗡𝗗 𝗖𝗬𝗖𝗟𝗘𝗦 𝗙𝗢𝗥 𝗦𝗢𝗟𝗢 𝗣𝗜𝗔𝗡𝗢 𝗢𝗙 𝗔𝗟𝗟 𝗧𝗜𝗠𝗘 𝗔 𝗥𝗘𝗩𝗜𝗦𝗘𝗗 𝗔𝗡𝗗 𝗘𝗫𝗣𝗔𝗡𝗗𝗘𝗗 𝗦𝗘𝗟𝗘𝗖𝗧𝗜𝗢𝗡 Selecting the fifteen greatest achievements in solo piano literature cannot be reduced to choosing fifteen isolated compositions.…

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…

𝗙𝗘𝗥𝗘𝗡𝗖 𝗙𝗥𝗜𝗖𝗦𝗔𝗬 — 𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝟭𝟱 𝗚𝗥𝗘𝗔𝗧𝗘𝗦𝗧 𝗥𝗘𝗖𝗢𝗥𝗗𝗜𝗡𝗚𝗦 Ferenc Fricsay’s international career lasted scarcely fifteen years, yet he left one of the most concentrated and consistently distinguished discographies of the twentieth century. He died in…

𝗔𝗡𝗧𝗔𝗟 𝗗𝗢𝗥𝗔́𝗧𝗜 — 𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝟭𝟱 𝗚𝗥𝗘𝗔𝗧𝗘𝗦𝗧 𝗥𝗘𝗖𝗢𝗥𝗗𝗜𝗡𝗚𝗦 Antal Doráti was one of the most versatile and industrious conductors of the twentieth century, but mere productivity does not explain his importance. His finest recordings reveal…

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…

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…

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…