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𝗝ó𝘇𝗲𝗳 𝗘𝗹𝘀𝗻𝗲𝗿 — 𝗖𝗼𝗺𝗽𝗼𝘀𝗲𝗿, 𝗣𝗲𝗱𝗮𝗴𝗼𝗴𝘂𝗲, 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗜𝗻𝘁𝗲𝗹𝗹𝗲𝗰𝘁𝘂𝗮𝗹 𝗣𝗶𝗹𝗹𝗮𝗿 𝗼𝗳 𝗣𝗼𝗹𝗶𝘀𝗵 𝗠𝘂𝘀𝗶𝗰𝗮𝗹 𝗖𝘂𝗹𝘁𝘂𝗿𝗲 Józef Elsner (1769–1854) stands as one of the quiet architects of Polish musical life during the early nineteenth century—a figure whose influence…

𝐇𝐞𝐧𝐫𝐲 𝐂𝐡𝐚𝐫𝐥𝐞𝐬 𝐋𝐢𝐭𝐨𝐥𝐟𝐟: 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐅𝐨𝐫𝐠𝐨𝐭𝐭𝐞𝐧 𝐕𝐢𝐫𝐭𝐮𝐨𝐬𝐨 𝐖𝐡𝐨 𝐌𝐚𝐝𝐞 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐏𝐢𝐚𝐧𝐨 𝐂𝐨𝐧𝐜𝐞𝐫𝐭𝐨 𝐁𝐮𝐫𝐧 𝐖𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐎𝐫𝐜𝐡𝐞𝐬𝐭𝐫𝐚𝐥 𝐅𝐢𝐫𝐞 There are composers who survive in history through a vast catalogue, and there are others whose fame contracts over…

𝐂𝐥𝐚𝐫𝐚 𝐇𝐚𝐬𝐤𝐢𝐥: 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐏𝐮𝐫𝐞 𝐒𝐨𝐮𝐥 𝐎𝐟 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐏𝐢𝐚𝐧𝐨 𝐖𝐡𝐨 𝐓𝐮𝐫𝐧𝐞𝐝 𝐅𝐫𝐚𝐠𝐢𝐥𝐢𝐭𝐲 𝐈𝐧𝐭𝐨 𝐌𝐢𝐫𝐚𝐜𝐥𝐞 There are pianists whose fame is built on conquest, and others whose greatness seems to arise from something infinitely rarer: 𝐭𝐫𝐮𝐭𝐡𝐟𝐮𝐥𝐧𝐞𝐬𝐬,…

𝐀𝐫𝐭𝐮𝐫𝐨 𝐁𝐞𝐧𝐞𝐝𝐞𝐭𝐭𝐢 𝐌𝐢𝐜𝐡𝐞𝐥𝐚𝐧𝐠𝐞𝐥𝐢: 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐈𝐜𝐞 𝐀𝐧𝐝 𝐅𝐢𝐫𝐞 𝐎𝐟 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐏𝐢𝐚𝐧𝐨 𝐖𝐡𝐨 𝐓𝐮𝐫𝐧𝐞𝐝 𝐏𝐞𝐫𝐟𝐞𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐈𝐧𝐭𝐨 𝐋𝐞𝐠𝐞𝐧𝐝 There are pianists whose greatness lies in spontaneity, others in poetry, others in sheer power, and a very rare…

𝐄𝐧𝐫𝐢𝐪𝐮𝐞 𝐆𝐫𝐚𝐧𝐚𝐝𝐨𝐬: 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐏𝐨𝐞𝐭 𝐎𝐟 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐏𝐢𝐚𝐧𝐨 𝐖𝐡𝐨 𝐓𝐮𝐫𝐧𝐞𝐝 𝐒𝐩𝐚𝐧𝐢𝐬𝐡 𝐄𝐥𝐞𝐠𝐚𝐧𝐜𝐞 𝐈𝐧𝐭𝐨 𝐌𝐮𝐬𝐢𝐜 𝐀𝐧𝐝 𝐃𝐢𝐞𝐝 𝐈𝐧 𝐓𝐫𝐚𝐠𝐞𝐝𝐲 There are composers whose music conquers by force, and others whose power lies in 𝐜𝐡𝐚𝐫𝐦, 𝐫𝐞𝐟𝐢𝐧𝐞𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭, 𝐦𝐞𝐥𝐚𝐧𝐜𝐡𝐨𝐥𝐲,…

𝗟𝗜𝗟𝗜 𝗕𝗢𝗨𝗟𝗔𝗡𝗚𝗘𝗥: 𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝗙𝗟𝗔𝗠𝗘 𝗧𝗛𝗔 𝗕𝗨𝗥𝗡𝗘𝗗 𝗧𝗢𝗢 𝗕𝗥𝗜𝗘𝗙𝗟𝗬 — 𝗔 𝗚𝗘𝗡𝗜𝗨𝗦 𝗢𝗙 𝗙𝗥𝗔𝗡𝗖𝗛 𝗠𝗨𝗦𝗜𝗖 𝗜𝗻𝘁𝗿𝗼𝗱𝘂𝗰𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 Among the most moving figures in the history of music, Lili Boulanger (1893–1918) stands as one of those rare…

𝗝𝗼𝗵𝗮𝗻𝗻 𝗣𝗮𝗰𝗵𝗲𝗹𝗯𝗲𝗹: 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗖𝗹𝗲𝗮𝗿 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗡𝗼𝗯𝗹𝗲 𝗩𝗼𝗶𝗰𝗲 𝗼𝗳 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗦𝗼𝘂𝘁𝗵 𝗚𝗲𝗿𝗺𝗮𝗻 𝗕𝗮𝗿𝗼𝗾𝘂𝗲 𝗝𝗼𝗵𝗮𝗻𝗻 𝗣𝗮𝗰𝗵𝗲𝗹𝗯𝗲𝗹 (1653–1706) was a leading German Baroque composer and 𝗼𝗻𝗲 𝗼𝗳 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗺𝗼𝘀𝘁 𝗶𝗺𝗽𝗼𝗿𝘁𝗮𝗻𝘁 𝗳𝗶𝗴𝘂𝗿𝗲𝘀 𝗼𝗳 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗦𝗼𝘂𝘁𝗵 𝗚𝗲𝗿𝗺𝗮𝗻 𝗼𝗿𝗴𝗮𝗻 𝘁𝗿𝗮𝗱𝗶𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻.…

𝗪𝗶𝗹𝗹𝗶𝗮𝗺 𝗕𝗼𝘆𝗰𝗲: 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗡𝗼𝗯𝗹𝗲 𝗘𝗻𝗴𝗹𝗶𝘀𝗵 𝗩𝗼𝗶𝗰𝗲 𝗕𝗲𝘁𝘄𝗲𝗲𝗻 𝗕𝗮𝗿𝗼𝗾𝘂𝗲 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗖𝗹𝗮𝘀𝘀𝗶𝗰𝗶𝘀𝗺 𝗪𝗶𝗹𝗹𝗶𝗮𝗺 𝗕𝗼𝘆𝗰𝗲 (1711–1779) was one of the most important English composers of the eighteenth century and 𝗮 𝗰𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗿𝗮𝗹 𝗳𝗶𝗴𝘂𝗿𝗲 𝗶𝗻 𝗘𝗻𝗴𝗹𝗮𝗻𝗱’𝘀 𝗺𝘂𝘀𝗶𝗰𝗮𝗹 𝗹𝗶𝗳𝗲 𝗮𝗳𝘁𝗲𝗿…

𝗙𝗿𝗮𝗻𝗰𝗲𝘀𝗰𝗼 𝗖𝗮𝘃𝗮𝗹𝗹𝗶: 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗖𝗼𝗺𝗽𝗼𝘀𝗲𝗿 𝗪𝗵𝗼 𝗠𝗮𝗱𝗲 𝗢𝗽𝗲𝗿𝗮 𝗮 𝗣𝘂𝗯𝗹𝗶𝗰 𝗔𝗿𝘁 𝗙𝗿𝗮𝗻𝗰𝗲𝘀𝗰𝗼 𝗖𝗮𝘃𝗮𝗹𝗹𝗶 (1602–1676) was one of the most important opera composers of the early Baroque and 𝗮 𝗰𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗿𝗮𝗹 𝗳𝗶𝗴𝘂𝗿𝗲 𝗶𝗻 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗿𝗶𝘀𝗲 𝗼𝗳 𝗽𝘂𝗯𝗹𝗶𝗰…

𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗧𝗿𝗮𝗻𝘀𝗶𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗳𝗿𝗼𝗺 𝗥𝗲𝗻𝗮𝗶𝘀𝘀𝗮𝗻𝗰𝗲 𝗠𝘂𝘀𝗶𝗰 𝘁𝗼 𝗕𝗮𝗿𝗼𝗾𝘂𝗲 𝗠𝘂𝘀𝗶𝗰 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗿𝗲𝗮𝗹 𝗱𝗿𝗶𝘃𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗽𝗼𝘀𝗲𝗿𝘀 The transition from Renaissance music to Baroque music was not a simple replacement of one style by another. It was a deep…

𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗧𝗿𝗮𝗻𝘀𝗶𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗳𝗿𝗼𝗺 𝗕𝗮𝗿𝗼𝗾𝘂𝗲 𝘁𝗼 𝗖𝗹𝗮𝘀𝘀𝗶𝗰𝗶𝘀𝗺 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗿𝗲𝗮𝗹 𝗱𝗿𝗶𝘃𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗽𝗼𝘀𝗲𝗿𝘀 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝘄𝗵𝘆 The passage from the Baroque world to the Classical one was not a sudden revolution that happened in a single year, nor…

𝐀𝐥𝐞𝐱𝐚𝐧𝐝𝐞𝐫 𝐁𝐨𝐫𝐨𝐝𝐢𝐧: 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐂𝐡𝐞𝐦𝐢𝐬𝐭-𝐂𝐨𝐦𝐩𝐨𝐬𝐞𝐫 𝐖𝐡𝐨 𝐖𝐫𝐨𝐭𝐞 𝐌𝐮𝐬𝐢𝐜 𝐀𝐬 𝐈𝐟 𝐑𝐮𝐬𝐬𝐢𝐚 𝐖𝐞𝐫𝐞 𝐃𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐦𝐢𝐧𝐠 There are composers whose lives seem wholly given over to music, and there are others whose greatness becomes even more astonishing because…

𝐄𝐫𝐢𝐤 𝐒𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐞: 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐄𝐜𝐜𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐫𝐢𝐜 𝐏𝐫𝐨𝐩𝐡𝐞𝐭 𝐖𝐡𝐨 𝐓𝐮𝐫𝐧𝐞𝐝 𝐈𝐫𝐨𝐧𝐲, 𝐒𝐢𝐥𝐞𝐧𝐜𝐞, 𝐀𝐧𝐝 𝐂𝐥𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐧𝐞𝐬𝐬 𝐈𝐧𝐭𝐨 𝐌𝐨𝐝𝐞𝐫𝐧 𝐌𝐮𝐬𝐢𝐜 There are composers whose greatness lies in large monuments, and there are others whose influence works more strangely, more quietly,…

𝗩𝗘𝗥𝗗𝗜 𝗔𝗡𝗗 𝗛𝗜𝗦 𝗢𝗪𝗡 𝗢𝗣𝗘𝗥𝗔𝗦 — 𝗪𝗛𝗜𝗖𝗛 𝗢𝗡𝗘𝗦 𝗗𝗜𝗗 𝗛𝗘 𝗩𝗔𝗟𝗨𝗘 𝗠𝗢𝗦𝗧? The safest answer is that 𝗩𝗲𝗿𝗱𝗶 𝗱𝗶𝗱 𝗻𝗼𝘁 𝗹𝗲𝗮𝘃𝗲 𝗮 𝘀𝗶𝗻𝗴𝗹𝗲, 𝘀𝘁𝗮𝗯𝗹𝗲, 𝗼𝗻𝗰𝗲-𝗮𝗻𝗱-𝗳𝗼𝗿-𝗮𝗹𝗹 “𝗳𝗮𝘃𝗼𝗿𝗶𝘁𝗲 𝗼𝗽𝗲𝗿𝗮.” His preferences changed across his career, and…

𝗟𝗘𝗢𝗡𝗔𝗥𝗗 𝗕𝗘𝗥𝗡𝗦𝗧𝗘𝗜𝗡 — 𝟮𝟬 𝗢𝗙 𝗛𝗜𝗦 𝗠𝗢𝗦𝗧 𝗖𝗘𝗟𝗘𝗕𝗥𝗔𝗧𝗘𝗗 𝗤𝗨𝗢𝗧𝗔𝗧𝗜𝗢𝗡𝗦 𝟭. 𝗧𝗵𝗶𝘀 𝘄𝗶𝗹𝗹 𝗯𝗲 𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗿𝗲𝗽𝗹𝘆 𝘁𝗼 𝘃𝗶𝗼𝗹𝗲𝗻𝗰𝗲: 𝘁𝗼 𝗺𝗮𝗸𝗲 𝗺𝘂𝘀𝗶𝗰 𝗺𝗼𝗿𝗲 𝗶𝗻𝘁𝗲𝗻𝘀𝗲𝗹𝘆, 𝗺𝗼𝗿𝗲 𝗯𝗲𝗮𝘂𝘁𝗶𝗳𝘂𝗹𝗹𝘆, 𝗺𝗼𝗿𝗲 𝗱𝗲𝘃𝗼𝘁𝗲𝗱𝗹𝘆 𝘁𝗵𝗮𝗻 𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗿 𝗯𝗲𝗳𝗼𝗿𝗲. 𝟮. 𝗠𝘂𝘀𝗶𝗰 𝗰𝗮𝗻 𝗻𝗮𝗺𝗲 𝘁𝗵𝗲…

𝗝𝗼𝘀𝗲𝗽𝗵 𝗛𝗮𝘆𝗱𝗻 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗛𝗶𝘀 𝗥𝗲𝗹𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝘀𝗵𝗶𝗽𝘀 𝘄𝗶𝘁𝗵 𝗛𝗶𝘀 𝗖𝗼𝗺𝗽𝗼𝘀𝗲𝗿 𝗖𝗼𝗻𝘁𝗲𝗺𝗽𝗼𝗿𝗮𝗿𝗶𝗲𝘀: 𝗠𝗼𝘇𝗮𝗿𝘁 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗕𝗲𝗲𝘁𝗵𝗼𝘃𝗲𝗻 𝗛𝗮𝘆𝗱𝗻 𝘄𝗮𝘀 𝗻𝗼𝘁 𝗺𝗲𝗿𝗲𝗹𝘆 𝗮 𝗴𝗿𝗲𝗮𝘁 𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗽𝗼𝘀𝗲𝗿 𝗮𝗺𝗼𝗻𝗴 𝗼𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗿 𝗴𝗿𝗲𝗮𝘁 𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗽𝗼𝘀𝗲𝗿𝘀. He was, in many respects, the central musical axis around which…

**𝗠𝗢𝗭𝗔𝗥𝗧 𝗜𝗡 𝗦𝗪𝗔𝗙𝗙𝗢𝗥𝗗’𝗦 𝗕𝗜𝗢𝗚𝗥𝗔𝗣𝗛𝗬 - 𝗖𝗵𝗮𝗽𝘁𝗲𝗿 𝟭𝟱 — 𝗚𝗻𝗮𝗴𝗳𝗹𝗼𝘄 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗭𝗻𝗮𝘁𝘀𝗻𝗼𝗰** **Mozart in Vienna: opera, gossip, love, independence, and the making of a new life** Mozart’s arrival in Vienna in **1781** marked the true…

**𝗠𝗢𝗭𝗔𝗥𝗧 𝗜𝗡 𝗦𝗪𝗔𝗙𝗙𝗢𝗥𝗗’𝗦 𝗕𝗜𝗢𝗚𝗥𝗔𝗣𝗛𝗬 - Chapter 13 — A Scoundrel, a Lousy Rogue** ## **I. Return to Salzburg (1779): Comfort Without Freedom** When Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart returned to Salzburg in **January 1779**, the outward…

𝗕𝗿𝘂𝗻𝗼 𝗪𝗮𝗹𝘁𝗲𝗿: 𝗔 𝗪𝗼𝗿𝗹𝗱 𝗘𝗹𝘀𝗲𝘄𝗵𝗲𝗿𝗲 𝗯𝘆 𝗘𝗿𝗶𝗸 𝗥𝘆𝗱𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗥𝗲𝗯𝗲𝗰𝗰𝗮 𝗣𝗲𝗰𝗵𝗲𝗳𝘀𝗸𝘆 𝗔 𝗗𝗲𝘁𝗮𝗶𝗹𝗲𝗱 𝗦𝘂𝗺𝗺𝗮𝗿𝘆 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗖𝗿𝗶𝘁𝗶𝗰𝗮𝗹 𝗥𝗲𝗰𝗲𝗽𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗜𝗻𝘁𝗿𝗼𝗱𝘂𝗰𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗖𝗼𝗻𝘁𝗲𝘅𝘁 Bruno Walter: A World Elsewhere offers a comprehensive biography of Bruno Walter, one of…

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…

𝐒𝐞𝐦𝐲𝐨𝐧 𝐁𝐲𝐜𝐡𝐤𝐨𝐯: 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐌𝐚𝐞𝐬𝐭𝐫𝐨 𝐎𝐟 𝐅𝐢𝐫𝐞 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐄𝐱𝐢𝐥𝐞 𝐖𝐡𝐨 𝐌𝐚𝐝𝐞 𝐓𝐫𝐚𝐠𝐞𝐝𝐲 𝐒𝐢𝐧𝐠 There are conductors whose greatness lies in polish, and there are others whose art seems born from fracture, displacement, and the hard-won…

𝐂𝐡𝐫𝐢𝐬𝐭𝐢𝐚𝐧 𝐓𝐡𝐢𝐞𝐥𝐞𝐦𝐚𝐧𝐧: 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐋𝐚𝐬𝐭 𝐆𝐫𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐇𝐢𝐠𝐡 𝐏𝐫𝐢𝐞𝐬𝐭 𝐨𝐟 𝐆𝐞𝐫𝐦𝐚𝐧 𝐑𝐨𝐦𝐚𝐧𝐭𝐢𝐜 𝐂𝐨𝐧𝐝𝐮𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠 There are conductors who dazzle through versatility, others through charisma, and a few whose authority seems to come from a much older source:…

**𝗠𝗢𝗭𝗔𝗥𝗧 𝗜𝗡 𝗦𝗪𝗔𝗙𝗙𝗢𝗥𝗗’𝗦 𝗕𝗜𝗢𝗚𝗥𝗔𝗣𝗛𝗬 - CHAPTER 11 – LOVE AND MONEY** **1. Mannheim as a Musical Capital: The City That Expanded Mozart’s Ear** When **Mozart** arrived in **Mannheim** with his mother in **October 1777**,…

𝐃𝐢𝐦𝐢𝐭𝐫𝐢 𝐌𝐢𝐭𝐫𝐨𝐩𝐨𝐮𝐥𝐨𝐬: 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐀𝐬𝐜𝐞𝐭𝐢𝐜 𝐨𝐟 𝐅𝐢𝐫𝐞 𝐖𝐡𝐨 𝐂𝐨𝐧𝐝𝐮𝐜𝐭𝐞𝐝 𝐀𝐬 𝐈𝐟 𝐌𝐮𝐬𝐢𝐜 𝐖𝐞𝐫𝐞 𝐚 𝐒𝐩𝐢𝐫𝐢𝐭𝐮𝐚𝐥 𝐓𝐫𝐢𝐚𝐥 There are conductors who dominate by sheer authority, and there are conductors whose greatness seems to come from something…