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𝗝𝘂𝗹𝗲𝘀 𝗠𝗮𝘀𝘀𝗲𝗻𝗲𝘁: 𝗣𝗿𝗶𝘃𝗮𝘁𝗲 𝗟𝗶𝗳𝗲, 𝗣𝘀𝘆𝗰𝗵𝗼𝗹𝗼𝗴𝘆, 𝗧𝗲𝗮𝗰𝗵𝗲𝗿𝘀, 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗣𝘂𝗽𝗶𝗹𝘀 𝗜. 𝗘𝗮𝗿𝗹𝘆 𝗟𝗶𝗳𝗲 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗙𝗼𝗿𝗺𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗼𝗳 𝗛𝗶𝘀 𝗖𝗵𝗮𝗿𝗮𝗰𝘁𝗲𝗿 Jules Massenet was born on 𝗠𝗮𝘆 𝟭𝟮, 𝟭𝟴𝟰𝟮, in Montaud, near Saint-Étienne, into a cultivated but not…

# **𝗠𝗢𝗭𝗔𝗥𝗧 𝗜𝗡 𝗦𝗪𝗔𝗙𝗙𝗢𝗥𝗗’𝗦 𝗕𝗜𝗢𝗚𝗥𝗔𝗣𝗛𝗬 - Chapter 18 - Long and Laborious Effort** **I. Vienna in Motion: The Trattnerhof and the Economy of Genius** At the opening of **1784**, Mozart is no longer merely…

𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗟𝗶𝗳𝗲 𝗼𝗳 𝗛𝗮𝗻𝗱𝗲𝗹 - 𝗖𝗛𝗔𝗣𝗧𝗘𝗥 𝟲: 𝗔𝗟𝗠𝗜𝗥𝗔 𝗔𝗡𝗗 𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝗙𝗜𝗥𝗦𝗧 𝗧𝗥𝗜𝗨𝗠𝗣𝗛 (𝟭𝟳𝟬𝟱) If the duel with Mattheson marked the violent end of one phase of Handel’s youth, 𝗔𝗹𝗺𝗶𝗿𝗮 marked the beginning of another:…

𝗕𝗘𝗘𝗧𝗛𝗢𝗩𝗘𝗡 - 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗧𝗿𝗶𝗽𝗹𝗲 𝗖𝗼𝗻𝗰𝗲𝗿𝘁𝗼 𝗶𝗻 𝗖 𝗠𝗮𝗷𝗼𝗿, 𝗢𝗽. 𝟱𝟲 - 𝗗𝗮𝘃𝗶𝗱 𝗢𝗶𝘀𝘁𝗿𝗮𝗸𝗵 / 𝗠𝘀𝘁𝗶𝘀𝗹𝗮𝘃 𝗥𝗼𝘀𝘁𝗿𝗼𝗽𝗼𝘃𝗶𝗰𝗵 / 𝗦𝘃𝗶𝗮𝘁𝗼𝘀𝗹𝗮𝘃 𝗥𝗶𝗰𝗵𝘁𝗲𝗿 / 𝗛𝗲𝗿𝗯𝗲𝗿𝘁 𝘃𝗼𝗻 𝗞𝗮𝗿𝗮𝗷𝗮𝗻 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zt4EvVbzIXg 𝗕𝗘𝗘𝗧𝗛𝗢𝗩𝗘𝗡 – 𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝗧𝗥𝗜𝗣𝗟𝗘 𝗖𝗢𝗡𝗖𝗘𝗥𝗧𝗢 𝗜𝗡 𝗖 𝗠𝗔𝗝𝗢𝗥, 𝗢𝗣. 𝟱𝟲…

𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗟𝗶𝗳𝗲 𝗼𝗳 𝗛𝗮𝗻𝗱𝗲𝗹 - 𝗖𝗛𝗔𝗣𝗧𝗘𝗥 𝟰: 𝗛𝗔𝗠𝗕𝗨𝗥𝗚 — 𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝗙𝗜𝗥𝗦𝗧 𝗕𝗔𝗧𝗧𝗟𝗘𝗙𝗜𝗘𝗟𝗗 𝗢𝗙 𝗔𝗠𝗕𝗜𝗧𝗜𝗢𝗡 (𝟭𝟳𝟬𝟯–𝟭𝟳𝟬𝟰) When Handel left Halle in the spring of 1703, he was not simply changing cities. He was crossing a…

𝗜𝗴𝗼𝗿 𝗦𝘁𝗿𝗮𝘃𝗶𝗻𝘀𝗸𝘆: 𝗔 𝗦𝘂𝗽𝗿𝗲𝗺𝗲 𝗖𝗼𝗺𝗽𝗼𝘀𝗲𝗿, 𝗮 𝗟𝗶𝗺𝗶𝘁𝗲𝗱 𝗖𝗼𝗻𝗱𝘂𝗰𝘁𝗼𝗿 Few figures in twentieth-century music command admiration as universal as Igor Stravinsky. As a composer, he reshaped the language of modern music several times over—first through…

# **𝗠𝗢𝗭𝗔𝗥𝗧 𝗜𝗡 𝗦𝗪𝗔𝗙𝗙𝗢𝗥𝗗’𝗦 𝗕𝗜𝗢𝗚𝗥𝗔𝗣𝗛𝗬 - Chapter 17 — Last Return, Last Departure ** **I. Vienna: Sociability, Dance, and the Theatre of Identity** The year **1783** opens with Mozart in a state of outward…

𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗟𝗶𝗳𝗲 𝗼𝗳 𝗛𝗮𝗻𝗱𝗲𝗹 — 𝗖𝗛𝗔𝗣𝗧𝗘𝗥 𝟮 𝗭𝗔𝗖𝗛𝗔𝗨 𝗔𝗡𝗗 𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝗠𝗔𝗞𝗜𝗡𝗚 𝗢𝗙 𝗔 𝗠𝗨𝗦𝗜𝗖𝗜𝗔𝗡 (𝟭𝟲𝟵𝟳–𝟭𝟳𝟬𝟮) If the first stage of Handel’s life was the awakening of a vocation, this second one was the period…

𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗟𝗶𝗳𝗲 𝗼𝗳 𝗛𝗮𝗻𝗱𝗲𝗹 — 𝗖𝗵𝗮𝗽𝘁𝗲𝗿 𝗡𝗼. 𝟭 𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝗖𝗛𝗜𝗟𝗗 𝗢𝗙 𝗛𝗔𝗟𝗟𝗘 (𝟭𝟲𝟴𝟱–𝟭𝟲𝟵𝟳) Handel’s life begins not in glamour, but in a world of 𝗱𝗶𝘀𝗰𝗶𝗽𝗹𝗶𝗻𝗲, 𝘀𝗲𝗿𝗶𝗼𝘂𝘀𝗻𝗲𝘀𝘀, 𝗿𝗲𝗹𝗶𝗴𝗶𝗼𝗻, 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝘀𝘁𝗿𝗼𝗻𝗴 𝗯𝗼𝘂𝗿𝗴𝗲𝗼𝗶𝘀 𝗼𝗿𝗱𝗲𝗿. He was born…

𝗜𝗴𝗻𝗮𝘇 𝗠𝗼𝘀𝗰𝗵𝗲𝗹𝗲𝘀: 𝗚𝘂𝗮𝗿𝗱𝗶𝗮𝗻 𝗼𝗳 𝗕𝗲𝗲𝘁𝗵𝗼𝘃𝗲𝗻, 𝗚𝘂𝗶𝗱𝗲 𝘁𝗼 𝗠𝗲𝗻𝗱𝗲𝗹𝘀𝘀𝗼𝗵𝗻 𝗔 𝗖𝗵𝗶𝗹𝗱 𝗼𝗳 𝗣𝗿𝗮𝗴𝘂𝗲 (𝟭𝟳𝟵𝟰–𝟭𝟴𝟬𝟴) Ignaz Moscheles was born on 𝗠𝗮𝘆 𝟯𝟬, 𝟭𝟳𝟵𝟰, in Prague, then part of the Habsburg Empire, into a well-educated German-speaking Jewish…

𝗖𝗼𝗺𝗽𝗼𝘀𝗲𝗿𝘀 𝗙𝗿𝗮𝗻𝘇 𝗟𝗶𝘀𝘇𝘁 𝗪𝗮𝘀 𝗖𝗹𝗼𝘀𝗲𝘀𝘁 𝗧𝗼 𝗗𝘂𝗿𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗛𝗶𝘀 𝗟𝗶𝗳𝗲𝘁𝗶𝗺𝗲 Franz Liszt’s extraordinary life brought him into contact with nearly every major composer of the 19th century. From the final years of the Classical tradition…

𝐕𝐥𝐚𝐝𝐢𝐦𝐢𝐫 𝐀𝐬𝐡𝐤𝐞𝐧𝐚𝐳𝐲: 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐌𝐮𝐬𝐢𝐜𝐢𝐚𝐧 𝐖𝐡𝐨 𝐔𝐧𝐢𝐭𝐞𝐝 𝐏𝐢𝐚𝐧𝐨 𝐅𝐢𝐫𝐞, 𝐑𝐮𝐬𝐬𝐢𝐚𝐧 𝐃𝐞𝐩𝐭𝐡, 𝐀𝐧𝐝 𝐇𝐮𝐦𝐚𝐧 𝐖𝐚𝐫𝐦𝐭𝐡 𝐈𝐧𝐭𝐨 𝐀 𝐋𝐢𝐟𝐞 𝐎𝐟 𝐌𝐮𝐬𝐢𝐜 There are musicians whose careers divide neatly into one identity, and there are others whose greatness…

𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝗖𝗛𝗜𝗟𝗗𝗛𝗢𝗢𝗗 𝗢𝗙 𝗙𝗥É𝗗É𝗥𝗜𝗖 𝗖𝗛𝗢𝗣𝗜𝗡 𝗜. 𝗔 𝗖𝗵𝗶𝗹𝗱 𝗼𝗳 𝗧𝘄𝗼 𝗪𝗼𝗿𝗹𝗱𝘀 (𝟭𝟴𝟭𝟬–𝟭𝟴𝟭𝟮) Frédéric Chopin was born on 1 March 1810 in the small Polish village of Żelazowa Wola, a rural estate belonging to the…

𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝗗𝗘𝗔𝗧𝗛 𝗢𝗙 𝗙𝗥É𝗗É𝗥𝗜𝗖 𝗖𝗛𝗢𝗣𝗜𝗡 — 𝗔 𝗖𝗢𝗠𝗣𝗟𝗘𝗧𝗘 𝗔𝗡𝗔𝗟𝗬𝗦𝗜𝗦 𝗜. 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗙𝗶𝗻𝗮𝗹 𝗬𝗲𝗮𝗿𝘀: 𝗗𝗲𝗰𝗹𝗶𝗻𝗲 𝗠𝗮𝗱𝗲 𝗩𝗶𝘀𝗶𝗯𝗹𝗲 (𝟭𝟴𝟰𝟲–𝟭𝟴𝟰𝟵) By the mid-1840s, Chopin’s health — always fragile — had entered an unmistakably worsening phase. He had…

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…

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…

𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗚𝗿𝗮𝘃𝗲 𝗼𝗳 𝗙𝗿𝘆𝗱𝗲𝗿𝘆𝗸 𝗖𝗵𝗼𝗽𝗶𝗻 The grave of Fryderyk Chopin in Père Lachaise Cemetery in Paris is not merely a burial site. It is one of the most symbolic places in the history of…

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…

**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…

𝗖𝗹𝗮𝘂𝗱𝗶𝗼 𝗠𝗼𝗻𝘁𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗿𝗱𝗶: 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗖𝗼𝗺𝗽𝗼𝘀𝗲𝗿 𝗪𝗵𝗼 𝗖𝗵𝗮𝗻𝗴𝗲𝗱 𝗠𝘂𝘀𝗶𝗰 𝗙𝗼𝗿𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗿 𝗖𝗹𝗮𝘂𝗱𝗶𝗼 𝗠𝗼𝗻𝘁𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗿𝗱𝗶 (1567–1643) was one of the most decisive figures in the history of Western music, standing at the threshold between the Renaissance and the Baroque.…

𝗛𝗲𝗶𝗻𝗿𝗶𝗰𝗵 𝗦𝗰𝗵ü𝘁𝘇: 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗚𝗿𝗲𝗮𝘁 𝗚𝗲𝗿𝗺𝗮𝗻 𝗠𝗮𝘀𝘁𝗲𝗿 𝗪𝗵𝗼 𝗣𝗿𝗲𝗽𝗮𝗿𝗲𝗱 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗪𝗮𝘆 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝗕𝗮𝗰𝗵 𝗛𝗲𝗶𝗻𝗿𝗶𝗰𝗵 𝗦𝗰𝗵ü𝘁𝘇 (1585–1672) stands as the most important German composer before Bach and 𝗮 𝗰𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗿𝗮𝗹 𝗳𝗶𝗴𝘂𝗿𝗲 𝗼𝗳 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗲𝗮𝗿𝗹𝘆 𝗕𝗮𝗿𝗼𝗾𝘂𝗲. He was…

𝐃𝐚𝐯𝐢𝐝 𝐎𝐢𝐬𝐭𝐫𝐚𝐤𝐡: 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐆𝐨𝐥𝐝𝐞𝐧 𝐒𝐨𝐮𝐥 𝐎𝐟 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐕𝐢𝐨𝐥𝐢𝐧 𝐖𝐡𝐨 𝐓𝐮𝐫𝐧𝐞𝐝 𝐍𝐨𝐛𝐢𝐥𝐢𝐭𝐲 𝐀𝐧𝐝 𝐅𝐢𝐫𝐞 𝐈𝐧𝐭𝐨 𝐋𝐞𝐠𝐞𝐧𝐝 There are violinists whose fame rests on brilliance, others on beauty of tone, and a very rare few whose…

𝗗𝗶𝗲𝘁𝗲𝗿𝗶𝗰𝗵 𝗕𝘂𝘅𝘁𝗲𝗵𝘂𝗱𝗲: 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗡𝗼𝗿𝘁𝗵 𝗚𝗲𝗿𝗺𝗮𝗻 𝗠𝗮𝘀𝘁𝗲𝗿 𝗪𝗵𝗼 𝗣𝗿𝗲𝗽𝗮𝗿𝗲𝗱 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗪𝗮𝘆 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝗕𝗮𝗰𝗵 𝗗𝗶𝗲𝘁𝗲𝗿𝗶𝗰𝗵 𝗕𝘂𝘅𝘁𝗲𝗵𝘂𝗱𝗲 (c. 1637–1707) was one of the most influential composers of the North German Baroque and 𝗮 𝗰𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗿𝗮𝗹 𝗳𝗶𝗴𝘂𝗿𝗲 𝗶𝗻 𝘁𝗵𝗲…

𝗔𝗿𝗰𝗮𝗻𝗴𝗲𝗹𝗼 𝗖𝗼𝗿𝗲𝗹𝗹𝗶: 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗡𝗼𝗯𝗹𝗲 𝗔𝗿𝗰𝗵𝗶𝘁𝗲𝗰𝘁 𝗼𝗳 𝗕𝗮𝗿𝗼𝗾𝘂𝗲 𝗜𝗻𝘀𝘁𝗿𝘂𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗮𝗹 𝗦𝘁𝘆𝗹𝗲 𝗔𝗿𝗰𝗮𝗻𝗴𝗲𝗹𝗼 𝗖𝗼𝗿𝗲𝗹𝗹𝗶 (1653–1713) was one of the most influential composers of the Baroque era and 𝗮 𝗰𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗿𝗮𝗹 𝗳𝗶𝗴𝘂𝗿𝗲 𝗶𝗻 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗱𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗹𝗼𝗽𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁 𝗼𝗳 𝗶𝗻𝘀𝘁𝗿𝘂𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗮𝗹 𝗺𝘂𝘀𝗶𝗰. Born…