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𝐉𝐮𝐥𝐢𝐮𝐬 𝐊𝐚𝐭𝐜𝐡𝐞𝐧: 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐓𝐢𝐭𝐚𝐧 𝐎𝐟 𝐁𝐫𝐚𝐡𝐦𝐬 𝐖𝐡𝐨 𝐔𝐧𝐢𝐭𝐞𝐝 𝐕𝐢𝐫𝐭𝐮𝐨𝐬𝐢𝐭𝐲, 𝐈𝐧𝐭𝐞𝐥𝐥𝐢𝐠𝐞𝐧𝐜𝐞, 𝐀𝐧𝐝 𝐅𝐢𝐫𝐞 There are pianists whose greatness rests on elegance, others on poetry, others on sheer force, and a very rare few whose art…

𝐃𝐢𝐧𝐮 𝐋𝐢𝐩𝐚𝐭𝐭𝐢: 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐏𝐮𝐫𝐞 𝐅𝐥𝐚𝐦𝐞 𝐎𝐟 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐏𝐢𝐚𝐧𝐨 𝐖𝐡𝐨 𝐓𝐮𝐫𝐧𝐞𝐝 𝐁𝐫𝐞𝐯𝐢𝐭𝐲 𝐈𝐧𝐭𝐨 𝐈𝐦𝐦𝐨𝐫𝐭𝐚𝐥𝐢𝐭𝐲 There are pianists whose greatness is built on vast careers, huge repertories, and decades of public triumph, and there are others…

𝗖𝗹𝗮𝗿𝗮 𝗛𝗮𝘀𝗸𝗶𝗹 – 𝗔 𝗟𝗶𝗳𝗲 𝗶𝗻 𝟮𝟬 𝗖𝗵𝗮𝗽𝘁𝗲𝗿𝘀 𝗖𝗵𝗮𝗽𝘁𝗲𝗿 𝟭 – 𝗖𝗵𝗶𝗹𝗱𝗵𝗼𝗼𝗱 𝗶𝗻 𝗕𝘂𝗰𝗵𝗮𝗿𝗲𝘀𝘁 (𝟭𝟴𝟵𝟱–𝟭𝟵𝟬𝟱) Clara Haskil was born on January 7, 1895, in Bucharest, Romania, into a Sephardic Jewish family of modest means.…

𝐖𝐢𝐥𝐡𝐞𝐥𝐦 𝐊𝐞𝐦𝐩𝐟𝐟: 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐏𝐨𝐞𝐭 𝐎𝐟 𝐁𝐞𝐞𝐭𝐡𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐧 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐒𝐜𝐡𝐮𝐛𝐞𝐫𝐭 𝐖𝐡𝐨 𝐓𝐮𝐫𝐧𝐞𝐝 𝐋𝐲𝐫𝐢𝐜𝐢𝐬𝐦 𝐈𝐧𝐭𝐨 𝐋𝐞𝐠𝐞𝐧𝐝 There are pianists whose greatness is built on force, brilliance, or spectacle, and there are others whose authority comes from something…

𝐊𝐫𝐲𝐬𝐭𝐢𝐚𝐧 𝐙𝐢𝐦𝐞𝐫𝐦𝐚𝐧: 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐒𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐞𝐢𝐠𝐧 𝐎𝐟 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐏𝐢𝐚𝐧𝐨 𝐖𝐡𝐨 𝐓𝐮𝐫𝐧𝐞𝐝 𝐏𝐞𝐫𝐟𝐞𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧, 𝐂𝐨𝐧𝐬𝐜𝐢𝐞𝐧𝐜𝐞, 𝐀𝐧𝐝 𝐒𝐨𝐮𝐧𝐝 𝐈𝐧𝐭𝐨 𝐋𝐞𝐠𝐞𝐧𝐝 There are pianists whose greatness lies in brilliance, others in poetry, and a very rare few whose art seems…

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…

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,…

𝐇𝐞𝐧𝐫𝐢 𝐇𝐞𝐫𝐳: 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐆𝐥𝐢𝐭𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐊𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐎𝐟 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐒𝐚𝐥𝐨𝐧 𝐖𝐡𝐨 𝐓𝐮𝐫𝐧𝐞𝐝 𝐕𝐢𝐫𝐭𝐮𝐨𝐬𝐢𝐭𝐲 𝐈𝐧𝐭𝐨 𝐀𝐧 𝐄𝐦𝐩𝐢𝐫𝐞 There are pianists whose fame rests on a few immortal works, and there are others whose importance lies in the…

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,…

**𝗠𝗢𝗭𝗔𝗥𝗧 𝗜𝗡 𝗦𝗪𝗔𝗙𝗙𝗢𝗥𝗗’𝗦 𝗕𝗜𝗢𝗚𝗥𝗔𝗣𝗛𝗬 - 𝗖𝗵𝗮𝗽𝘁𝗲𝗿 𝟭𝟲 — 𝗠𝗼𝗻𝘀𝘁𝗿𝗼𝘂𝘀 𝗠𝗮𝗻𝘆 𝗡𝗼𝘁𝗲𝘀: 𝗠𝗼𝘇𝗮𝗿𝘁, 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗔𝗯𝗱𝘂𝗰𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻, 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗙𝗶𝗿𝘀𝘁 𝗚𝗿𝗲𝗮𝘁 𝗩𝗶𝗲𝗻𝗻𝗲𝘀𝗲 𝗧𝗿𝗶𝘂𝗺𝗽𝗵** **𝗜. 𝗔 𝗡𝗲𝘄 𝗣𝗿𝗼𝗷𝗲𝗰𝘁, 𝗔 𝗡𝗲𝘄 𝗠𝗼𝘇𝗮𝗿𝘁** Swafford begins this chapter with a striking…

𝗙𝗜𝗥𝗘, 𝗙𝗔𝗜𝗧𝗛, 𝗔𝗡𝗗 𝗗𝗥𝗔𝗠𝗔: 𝗕𝗔𝗖𝗛’𝗦 𝗦𝗧. 𝗝𝗢𝗛𝗡 𝗣𝗔𝗦𝗦𝗜𝗢𝗡 𝗔𝗡𝗗 𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝗥𝗜𝗦𝗘 𝗢𝗙 𝗦𝗔𝗖𝗥𝗘𝗗 𝗧𝗥𝗔𝗚𝗘𝗗𝗬 𝗕𝗮𝗰𝗵 - 𝗝𝗼𝗵𝗮𝗻𝗻𝗲𝘀 𝗣𝗮𝘀𝘀𝗶𝗼𝗻 - 𝗔𝘂𝗱𝗶𝗼 𝗥𝗲𝗰𝗼𝗿𝗱𝗶𝗻𝗴𝘀 𝗶𝗻 𝗣𝗮𝘁𝗿𝗲𝗼𝗻: https://www.patreon.com/collection/2089334 𝗝𝗼𝗵𝗮𝗻𝗻 𝗦𝗲𝗯𝗮𝘀𝘁𝗶𝗮𝗻 𝗕𝗮𝗰𝗵’𝘀 𝗦𝘁. 𝗝𝗼𝗵𝗻 𝗣𝗮𝘀𝘀𝗶𝗼𝗻 — 𝗝𝗼𝗵𝗮𝗻𝗻𝗲𝘀-𝗣𝗮𝘀𝘀𝗶𝗼𝗻, 𝗕𝗪𝗩 𝟮𝟰𝟱…

𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝗠𝗢𝗨𝗡𝗧𝗔𝗜𝗡 𝗢𝗙 𝗦𝗔𝗖𝗥𝗘𝗗 𝗗𝗥𝗔𝗠𝗔: 𝗕𝗔𝗖𝗛’𝗦 𝗦𝗧. 𝗠𝗔𝗧𝗧𝗛𝗘𝗪 𝗣𝗔𝗦𝗦𝗜𝗢𝗡 𝗔𝗡𝗗 𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝗕𝗜𝗥𝗧𝗛 𝗢𝗙 𝗔 𝗦𝗣𝗜𝗥𝗜𝗧𝗨𝗔𝗟 𝗨𝗡𝗜𝗩𝗘𝗥𝗦𝗘 𝗕𝗮𝗰𝗵 - 𝗠𝗮𝘁𝘁𝗵𝗮𝘂𝘀 𝗣𝗮𝘀𝘀𝗶𝗼𝗻 - 𝗔𝘂𝗱𝗶𝗼 𝗥𝗲𝗰𝗼𝗿𝗱𝗶𝗻𝗴𝘀 𝗶𝗻 𝗣𝗮𝘁𝗿𝗲𝗼𝗻: https://www.patreon.com/collection/2089323 𝗝𝗼𝗵𝗮𝗻𝗻 𝗦𝗲𝗯𝗮𝘀𝘁𝗶𝗮𝗻 𝗕𝗮𝗰𝗵’𝘀 𝗦𝘁. 𝗠𝗮𝘁𝘁𝗵𝗲𝘄 𝗣𝗮𝘀𝘀𝗶𝗼𝗻 — 𝗠𝗮𝘁𝘁𝗵ä𝘂𝘀-𝗣𝗮𝘀𝘀𝗶𝗼𝗻,…

𝐊𝐚𝐫𝐥 𝐑𝐢𝐜𝐡𝐭𝐞𝐫: 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐁𝐚𝐜𝐡 𝐓𝐢𝐭𝐚𝐧 𝐖𝐡𝐨 𝐓𝐮𝐫𝐧𝐞𝐝 𝐅𝐚𝐢𝐭𝐡, 𝐃𝐢𝐬𝐜𝐢𝐩𝐥𝐢𝐧𝐞, 𝐀𝐧𝐝 𝐅𝐢𝐫𝐞 𝐈𝐧𝐭𝐨 𝐒𝐨𝐮𝐧𝐝 There are musicians whose reputations rest on fashion, and others whose names remain inseparable from an entire repertory because they seemed…

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…

𝗛𝗔𝗡𝗦 𝗞𝗡𝗔𝗣𝗣𝗘𝗥𝗧𝗦𝗕𝗨𝗦𝗖𝗛 𝗖𝗢𝗡𝗗𝗨𝗖𝗧𝗦 𝗕𝗥𝗨𝗖𝗞𝗡𝗘𝗥 𝗔 𝗦𝘂𝗺𝗺𝗮𝗿𝘆 𝗼𝗳 𝗧𝗼𝗻𝘆 𝗗𝘂𝗴𝗴𝗮𝗻’𝘀 𝗔𝘀𝘀𝗲𝘀𝘀𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁 https://www.musicweb-international.com/classrev/2001/oct01/knappertsbusch.htm Tony Duggan presents this 6-CD set as a highly valuable historical document rather than a first-choice modern recommendation. Its importance lies above all…

𝐋𝐞𝐨𝐩𝐨𝐥𝐝 𝐋𝐮𝐝𝐰𝐢𝐠: 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐃𝐢𝐠𝐧𝐢𝐟𝐢𝐞𝐝 𝐌𝐚𝐞𝐬𝐭𝐫𝐨 𝐖𝐡𝐨 𝐊𝐞𝐩𝐭 𝐆𝐞𝐫𝐦𝐚𝐧 𝐎𝐩𝐞𝐫𝐚 𝐀𝐥𝐢𝐯𝐞 𝐖𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐒𝐭𝐞𝐞𝐥, 𝐒𝐭𝐲𝐥𝐞, 𝐀𝐧𝐝 𝐇𝐮𝐦𝐚𝐧𝐢𝐭𝐲 There are conductors whose names survive because of scandal, glamour, or sheer tyranny, and there are others whose greatness…

𝐊𝐚𝐫𝐥 𝐑𝐢𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐧𝐩𝐚𝐫𝐭: 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐒𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐞𝐢𝐠𝐧 𝐎𝐟 𝐂𝐡𝐚𝐦𝐛𝐞𝐫 𝐌𝐮𝐬𝐢𝐜 𝐖𝐡𝐨 𝐌𝐚𝐝𝐞 𝐁𝐚𝐜𝐡 𝐁𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐖𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐅𝐢𝐫𝐞 𝐀𝐧𝐝 𝐂𝐥𝐚𝐫𝐢𝐭𝐲 There are conductors whose fame rests on vast symphonic monuments, and there are others whose greatness is forged in…

𝗔𝗻𝘁𝗼𝗻 𝗕𝗿𝘂𝗰𝗸𝗻𝗲𝗿 - 𝗖𝗼𝗺𝗽𝗹𝗲𝘁𝗲 𝗦𝘆𝗺𝗽𝗵𝗼𝗻𝗶𝗲𝘀 - 𝗦𝘁𝗮𝗻𝗶𝘀𝗹𝗮𝘄 𝗦𝗸𝗿𝗼𝘄𝗮𝗰𝘇𝗲𝘄𝘀𝗸𝗶 https://www.patreon.com/posts/anton-bruckner-139330088?utm_medium=clipboard_copy&utm_source=copyLink&utm_campaign=postshare_creator&utm_content=join_link 𝗦𝘁𝗮𝗻𝗶𝘀𝗹𝗮𝘄 𝗦𝗸𝗿𝗼𝘄𝗮𝗰𝘇𝗲𝘄𝘀𝗸𝗶 𝗶𝗻 𝗕𝗿𝘂𝗰𝗸𝗻𝗲𝗿: 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗦𝘆𝗺𝗽𝗵𝗼𝗻𝗶𝗲𝘀, 𝗢𝗻𝗲 𝗯𝘆 𝗢𝗻𝗲 Stanisław Skrowaczewski’s Bruckner cycle with the Saarbrucken Radio Symphony Orchestra is one of the most admired…

𝗪𝗜𝗟𝗟𝗘𝗠 𝗠𝗘𝗡𝗚𝗘𝗟𝗕𝗘𝗥𝗚 𝗥𝗘𝗖𝗢𝗥𝗗𝗜𝗡𝗚𝗦 — 𝗛𝗜𝗦 𝗠𝗢𝗦𝗧 𝗘𝗦𝗦𝗘𝗡𝗧𝗜𝗔𝗟 𝗜𝗡𝗧𝗘𝗥𝗣𝗥𝗘𝗧𝗔𝗧𝗜𝗢𝗡𝗦 What follows is a selective, chronological guide to the most important and most admired surviving Mengelberg recordings, not a complete discography. I have favored performances that…

𝐂𝐚𝐫𝐦𝐞𝐧 𝐛𝐲 𝐁𝐢𝐳𝐞𝐭, 𝐨𝐩𝐞𝐫𝐚 — 𝐑𝐞𝐟𝐞𝐫𝐞𝐧𝐜𝐞 𝐑𝐞𝐜𝐨𝐫𝐝𝐢𝐧𝐠𝐬 - Complete Audio in patreon: https://www.patreon.com/collection/2074467 𝐁𝐈𝐙𝐄𝐓’𝐒 𝐂𝐀𝐑𝐌𝐄𝐍 — 𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐇𝐈𝐒𝐓𝐎𝐑𝐘 𝐎𝐅 𝐈𝐓𝐒 𝐂𝐎𝐌𝐏𝐎𝐒𝐈𝐓𝐈𝐎𝐍, 𝐏𝐑𝐄𝐌𝐈𝐄𝐑𝐄, 𝐈𝐌𝐏𝐀𝐂𝐓 𝐈𝐍 𝐈𝐓𝐒 𝐎𝐖𝐍 𝐓𝐈𝐌𝐄, 𝐀𝐍𝐃 𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐑𝐄𝐅𝐄𝐑𝐄𝐍𝐂𝐄 𝐑𝐄𝐂𝐎𝐑𝐃𝐈𝐍𝐆𝐒 𝐈. 𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐁𝐈𝐑𝐓𝐇…

𝐀𝐋𝐂𝐎𝐇𝐎𝐋 𝐀𝐍𝐃 𝐈𝐋𝐋𝐍𝐄𝐒𝐒 𝐈𝐍 𝐂𝐋𝐀𝐒𝐒𝐈𝐂𝐀𝐋 𝐌𝐔𝐒𝐈𝐂: 𝐀 𝐑𝐈𝐆𝐎𝐑𝐎𝐔𝐒 𝐄𝐒𝐒𝐀𝐘 𝐎𝐍 𝐃𝐈𝐒𝐄𝐀𝐒𝐄, 𝐃𝐄𝐂𝐋𝐈𝐍𝐄, 𝐀𝐍𝐃 𝐃𝐄𝐀𝐓𝐇 Alcohol has occupied a far more ambiguous place in the history of classical music than tobacco. Wine, beer, champagne, absinthe,…

𝐁𝐫𝐮𝐧𝐨 𝐖𝐚𝐥𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐢𝐧 𝐁𝐞𝐞𝐭𝐡𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐧 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐁𝐫𝐚𝐡𝐦𝐬: 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐒𝐲𝐦𝐩𝐡𝐨𝐧𝐢𝐞𝐬, 𝐎𝐧𝐞 𝐛𝐲 𝐎𝐧𝐞 Bruno Walter’s Beethoven and Brahms stand at the heart of the central Austro-German symphonic tradition on record, but his legacy in the two…

𝐆𝐢𝐮𝐬𝐞𝐩𝐩𝐞 𝐒𝐢𝐧𝐨𝐩𝐨𝐥𝐢: 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐅𝐢𝐞𝐫𝐲 𝐈𝐧𝐭𝐞𝐥𝐥𝐞𝐜𝐭 𝐖𝐡𝐨 𝐂𝐨𝐧𝐝𝐮𝐜𝐭𝐞𝐝 𝐀𝐬 𝐈𝐟 𝐄𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐲 𝐒𝐜𝐨𝐫𝐞 𝐖𝐞𝐫𝐞 𝐀 𝐏𝐬𝐲𝐜𝐡𝐨𝐥𝐨𝐠𝐢𝐜𝐚𝐥 𝐃𝐫𝐚𝐦𝐚 There are conductors who win admiration through beauty of sound, others through sheer discipline, and a few who seem…