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𝐂𝐋𝐀𝐔𝐃𝐈𝐎 𝐀𝐁𝐁𝐀𝐃𝐎 — 𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐂𝐎𝐍𝐃𝐔𝐂𝐓𝐎𝐑 𝐖𝐇𝐎 𝐁𝐔𝐈𝐋𝐓 𝐎𝐑𝐂𝐇𝐄𝐒𝐓𝐑𝐀𝐒 𝐀𝐑𝐎𝐔𝐍𝐃 𝐌𝐔𝐒𝐈𝐂𝐈𝐀𝐍𝐒, 𝐍𝐎𝐓 𝐄𝐆𝐎𝐒 Claudio Abbado belonged to a generation in which the great conductor was still frequently imagined as an absolute ruler: an imposing figure…

𝐎𝐓𝐓𝐎 𝐊𝐋𝐄𝐌𝐏𝐄𝐑𝐄𝐑 — 𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐁𝐑𝐀𝐈𝐍 𝐓𝐔𝐌𝐎𝐔𝐑 𝐓𝐇𝐀𝐓 𝐍𝐄𝐀𝐑𝐋𝐘 𝐄𝐍𝐃𝐄𝐃 𝐇𝐈𝐒 𝐂𝐀𝐑𝐄𝐄𝐑 Otto Klemperer’s life was marked not only by exceptional musical achievement, but also by illness, exile, physical disability and repeated personal catastrophe. Among…

𝐖𝐈𝐋𝐇𝐄𝐋𝐌 𝐅𝐔𝐑𝐓𝐖Ä𝐍𝐆𝐋𝐄𝐑 — 𝐖𝐇𝐘 𝐄𝐕𝐄𝐑𝐘 𝐏𝐄𝐑𝐅𝐎𝐑𝐌𝐀𝐍𝐂𝐄 𝐇𝐀𝐃 𝐓𝐎 𝐁𝐄 𝐔𝐍𝐈𝐐𝐔𝐄 Wilhelm Furtwängler did not believe that a musical masterpiece could be reproduced like a finished object. For him, a score was not a set…

𝐖𝐈𝐋𝐋𝐈𝐀𝐌 𝐒𝐂𝐇𝐔𝐌𝐀𝐍 𝐇𝐄𝐋𝐏𝐄𝐃 𝐃𝐄𝐅𝐈𝐍𝐄 𝐀𝐌𝐄𝐑𝐈𝐂𝐀𝐍 𝐂𝐋𝐀𝐒𝐒𝐈𝐂𝐀𝐋 𝐌𝐔𝐒𝐈𝐂... 𝐀𝐍𝐃 𝐁𝐔𝐈𝐋𝐓 𝐈𝐓𝐒 𝐅𝐔𝐓𝐔𝐑𝐄 One of the twentieth century's greatest American composers transformed not only the concert hall, but also the institutions that shaped generations of musicians.…

𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝗟𝗜𝗙𝗘 𝗢𝗙 𝗛𝗘𝗖𝗧𝗢𝗥 𝗕𝗘𝗥𝗟𝗜𝗢𝗭 𝗔𝗦 𝗪𝗥𝗜𝗧𝗧𝗘𝗡 𝗕𝗬 𝗛𝗜𝗠𝗦𝗘𝗟𝗙 𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝗟𝗜𝗙𝗘 𝗢𝗙 𝗛𝗘𝗖𝗧𝗢𝗥 𝗕𝗘𝗥𝗟𝗜𝗢𝗭 𝗔𝗦 𝗪𝗥𝗜𝗧𝗧𝗘𝗡 𝗕𝗬 𝗛𝗜𝗠𝗦𝗘𝗟𝗙 𝗣𝗢𝗦𝗧 𝟭𝟴 𝗔 𝗣𝗿𝗼𝗽𝗵𝗲𝘁 𝗔𝗯𝗿𝗼𝗮𝗱: 𝗚𝗲𝗿𝗺𝗮𝗻𝘆, 𝗛𝘂𝗻𝗴𝗮𝗿𝘆, 𝗥𝘂𝘀𝘀𝗶𝗮, 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗟𝗼𝗻𝗱𝗼𝗻 𝗪𝗵𝗲𝗻 𝗣𝗮𝗿𝗶𝘀 𝗖𝗼𝘂𝗹𝗱 𝗡𝗼 𝗟𝗼𝗻𝗴𝗲𝗿 𝗕𝗲…

𝐇𝐔𝐁𝐄𝐑𝐓 𝐏𝐀𝐑𝐑𝐘 𝐇𝐄𝐋𝐏𝐄𝐃 𝐑𝐄𝐕𝐈𝐕𝐄 𝐁𝐑𝐈𝐓𝐈𝐒𝐇 𝐌𝐔𝐒𝐈𝐂... 𝐀𝐍𝐃 𝐈𝐍𝐒𝐏𝐈𝐑𝐄𝐃 𝐀 𝐍𝐄𝐖 𝐆𝐄𝐍𝐄𝐑𝐀𝐓𝐈𝐎𝐍 𝐇𝐔𝐁𝐄𝐑𝐓 𝐏𝐀𝐑𝐑𝐘 𝐇𝐄𝐋𝐏𝐄𝐃 𝐑𝐄𝐕𝐈𝐕𝐄 𝐁𝐑𝐈𝐓𝐈𝐒𝐇 𝐌𝐔𝐒𝐈𝐂... 𝐀𝐍𝐃 𝐈𝐍𝐒𝐏𝐈𝐑𝐄𝐃 𝐀 𝐍𝐄𝐖 𝐆𝐄𝐍𝐄𝐑𝐀𝐓𝐈𝐎𝐍 One of Britain's greatest musical educators transformed English composition after centuries of…

𝐌𝐀𝐋𝐂𝐎𝐋𝐌 𝐀𝐑𝐍𝐎𝐋𝐃 𝐖𝐎𝐍 𝐀𝐍 𝐎𝐒𝐂𝐀𝐑... 𝐁𝐔𝐓 𝐍𝐄𝐕𝐄𝐑 𝐒𝐓𝐎𝐏𝐏𝐄𝐃 𝐖𝐑𝐈𝐓𝐈𝐍𝐆 𝐅𝐎𝐑 𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐂𝐎𝐍𝐂𝐄𝐑𝐓 𝐇𝐀𝐋𝐋 One of Britain's most gifted composers achieved success in both the concert hall and the cinema. When 𝐌𝐚𝐥𝐜𝐨𝐥𝐦 𝐀𝐫𝐧𝐨𝐥𝐝 (𝟏𝟗𝟐𝟏–𝟐𝟎𝟎𝟔) was…

𝗠𝗔𝗛𝗟𝗘𝗥 𝗼𝗿 𝗕𝗥𝗨𝗖𝗞𝗡𝗘𝗥? 𝗧𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗜𝘀 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗤𝘂𝗲𝘀𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻. 𝗧𝘄𝗼 𝗚𝗶𝗮𝗻𝘁𝘀, 𝗧𝘄𝗼 𝗩𝗶𝘀𝗶𝗼𝗻𝘀, 𝗢𝗻𝗲 𝗘𝘁𝗲𝗿𝗻𝗮𝗹 𝗗𝗲𝗯𝗮𝘁𝗲 Every generation of music lovers eventually arrives at the same crossroads: 𝗚𝘂𝘀𝘁𝗮𝘃 𝗠𝗮𝗵𝗹𝗲𝗿 (1860–1911) or 𝗔𝗻𝘁𝗼𝗻 𝗕𝗿𝘂𝗰𝗸𝗻𝗲𝗿 (1824–1896)? The question…

𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝗟𝗜𝗙𝗘 𝗢𝗙 𝗛𝗘𝗖𝗧𝗢𝗥 𝗕𝗘𝗥𝗟𝗜𝗢𝗭 𝗔𝗦 𝗪𝗥𝗜𝗧𝗧𝗘𝗡 𝗕𝗬 𝗛𝗜𝗠𝗦𝗘𝗟𝗙 𝗣𝗢𝗦𝗧 𝟭𝟴 𝗔 𝗣𝗿𝗼𝗽𝗵𝗲𝘁 𝗔𝗯𝗿𝗼𝗮𝗱: 𝗚𝗲𝗿𝗺𝗮𝗻𝘆, 𝗛𝘂𝗻𝗴𝗮𝗿𝘆, 𝗥𝘂𝘀𝘀𝗶𝗮, 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗟𝗼𝗻𝗱𝗼𝗻 𝗪𝗵𝗲𝗻 𝗣𝗮𝗿𝗶𝘀 𝗖𝗼𝘂𝗹𝗱 𝗡𝗼 𝗟𝗼𝗻𝗴𝗲𝗿 𝗕𝗲 𝗘𝗻𝗼𝘂𝗴𝗵 — 𝟭𝟴𝟰𝟮 For years, 𝗛𝗲𝗰𝘁𝗼𝗿 𝗕𝗲𝗿𝗹𝗶𝗼𝘇 had struggled…

𝗙𝗿𝗮𝗻𝘇 𝗟𝗶𝘀𝘇𝘁 𝗕𝘆 𝗝𝗮𝗺𝗲𝘀 𝗛𝘂𝗻𝗲𝗸𝗲𝗿 𝗖𝗵𝗮𝗽𝘁𝗲𝗿 𝗩𝗜 — 𝗠𝗶𝗿𝗿𝗼𝗿𝗲𝗱 𝗯𝘆 𝗛𝗶𝘀 𝗖𝗼𝗻𝘁𝗲𝗺𝗽𝗼𝗿𝗮𝗿𝗶𝗲𝘀 𝗣𝗼𝘀𝘁 𝟮𝟴 — 𝗟𝗶𝘀𝘇𝘁 𝗮𝘀 𝗧𝗲𝗮𝗰𝗵𝗲𝗿, 𝟭𝟴𝟲𝟵–𝟭𝟴𝟴𝟲 There is a final image of 𝗙𝗿𝗮𝗻𝘇 𝗟𝗶𝘀𝘇𝘁 that is as important as the young…

𝗠𝗔𝗛𝗟𝗘𝗥 𝗝𝗢𝗦𝗘 𝗟𝗨𝗜𝗦 𝗣𝗘𝗥𝗘𝗭 𝗗𝗘 𝗔𝗥𝗧𝗘𝗔𝗚𝗔 𝗣𝗢𝗦𝗧 𝟭𝟳 𝗪𝗵𝗲𝗻 𝗙𝗶𝗿𝗲 𝗠𝗲𝘁 𝗙𝗶𝗿𝗲 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗘𝗻𝗰𝗼𝘂𝗻𝘁𝗲𝗿, 𝗖𝗼𝘂𝗿𝘁𝘀𝗵𝗶𝗽, 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗠𝗮𝗿𝗿𝗶𝗮𝗴𝗲 𝗼𝗳 𝗚𝘂𝘀𝘁𝗮𝘃 𝗠𝗮𝗵𝗹𝗲𝗿 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗔𝗹𝗺𝗮 𝗦𝗰𝗵𝗶𝗻𝗱𝗹𝗲𝗿 By the autumn of 𝟭𝟵𝟬𝟭, 𝗚𝘂𝘀𝘁𝗮𝘃 𝗠𝗮𝗵𝗹𝗲𝗿 stood at the summit…

𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝗟𝗜𝗙𝗘 𝗢𝗙 𝗛𝗘𝗖𝗧𝗢𝗥 𝗕𝗘𝗥𝗟𝗜𝗢𝗭 𝗔𝗦 𝗪𝗥𝗜𝗧𝗧𝗘𝗡 𝗕𝗬 𝗛𝗜𝗠𝗦𝗘𝗟𝗙 𝗣𝗢𝗦𝗧 𝟱 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗡𝗶𝗴𝗵𝘁 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗢𝗽𝗲𝗿𝗮 𝗖𝗵𝗮𝗻𝗴𝗲𝗱 𝗛𝗶𝘀 𝗟𝗶𝗳𝗲 𝗔 𝗠𝗲𝗱𝗶𝗰𝗮𝗹 𝗦𝘁𝘂𝗱𝗲𝗻𝘁 𝗔𝗺𝗼𝗻𝗴 𝗧𝘄𝗼 𝗪𝗼𝗿𝗹𝗱𝘀 — 𝟭𝟴𝟮𝟮 When 𝗛𝗲𝗰𝘁𝗼𝗿 𝗕𝗲𝗿𝗹𝗶𝗼𝘇 arrived in Paris in 𝟭𝟴𝟮𝟮,…

𝗙𝗿𝗮𝗻𝘇 𝗟𝗶𝘀𝘇𝘁 𝗕𝘆 𝗝𝗮𝗺𝗲𝘀 𝗛𝘂𝗻𝗲𝗸𝗲𝗿 𝗖𝗵𝗮𝗽𝘁𝗲𝗿 𝗜𝗩 — 𝗔𝘁 𝗥𝗼𝗺𝗲, 𝗪𝗲𝗶𝗺𝗮𝗿, 𝗕𝘂𝗱𝗮𝗽𝗲𝘀𝘁 𝗣𝗼𝘀𝘁 𝟭𝟴 — 𝗪𝗲𝗶𝗺𝗮𝗿: 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗧𝗲𝗮𝗰𝗵𝗲𝗿 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗦𝗰𝗵𝗼𝗼𝗹 After 𝗥𝗼𝗺𝗲, with its cloisters, sacred manuscripts, Catholic ceremonies, and inward religious light,…

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,…

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…

𝗙𝗿𝗮𝗻𝘇 𝗟𝗶𝘀𝘇𝘁 𝗕𝘆 𝗝𝗮𝗺𝗲𝘀 𝗛𝘂𝗻𝗲𝗸𝗲𝗿 𝗖𝗵𝗮𝗽𝘁𝗲𝗿 𝗜 — 𝗟𝗶𝘀𝘇𝘁: 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗥𝗲𝗮𝗹 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗟𝗲𝗴𝗲𝗻𝗱𝗮𝗿𝘆 𝗣𝗼𝘀𝘁 𝟭𝟭 — 𝗥𝗼𝗺𝗲, 𝗥𝗲𝗹𝗶𝗴𝗶𝗼𝗻, 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗔𝗯𝗯é 𝗟𝗶𝘀𝘇𝘁 After the brilliance of 𝗪𝗲𝗶𝗺𝗮𝗿 and the intellectual kingdom of the 𝗔𝗹𝘁𝗲𝗻𝗯𝘂𝗿𝗴, Franz…

# 𝗡𝗜𝗞𝗢𝗟𝗔𝗨𝗦 𝗛𝗔𝗥𝗡𝗢𝗡𝗖𝗢𝗨𝗥𝗧 — “…𝗜𝗧 𝗪𝗔𝗦 𝗔𝗟𝗪𝗔𝗬𝗦 𝗔𝗕𝗢𝗨𝗧 𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝗠𝗨𝗦𝗜𝗖” ## 𝗔 𝗥𝗲𝘁𝗿𝗼𝘀𝗽𝗲𝗰𝘁𝗶𝘃𝗲 𝘁𝗵𝗿𝗼𝘂𝗴𝗵 𝗜𝗻𝘁𝗲𝗿𝘃𝗶𝗲𝘄𝘀 𝗘𝗱𝗶𝘁𝗲𝗱 𝗯𝘆 𝗝𝗼𝗵𝗮𝗻𝗻𝗮 𝗙ü𝗿𝘀𝘁𝗮𝘂𝗲𝗿 Few conductors of the twentieth and early twenty-first centuries transformed musical interpretation as radically as…

𝗥𝗜𝗖𝗖𝗔𝗥𝗗𝗢 𝗠𝗨𝗧𝗜 — 𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝟭𝟱 𝗚𝗥𝗘𝗔𝗧𝗘𝗦𝗧 𝗥𝗘𝗖𝗢𝗥𝗗𝗜𝗡𝗚𝗦 Riccardo Muti is one of the defining conductors of the modern Italian tradition: a musician of rhythmic authority, textual discipline, theatrical instinct and uncompromising respect for the…

𝗙𝗘𝗟𝗜𝗫 𝗠𝗘𝗡𝗗𝗘𝗟𝗦𝗦𝗢𝗛𝗡’𝗦 𝗧𝗘𝗡 𝗧𝗥𝗨𝗘 𝗠𝗔𝗦𝗧𝗘𝗥𝗣𝗜𝗘𝗖𝗘𝗦 — 𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝗚𝗘𝗡𝗜𝗨𝗦 𝗢𝗙 𝗟𝗜𝗚𝗛𝗧, 𝗠𝗘𝗠𝗢𝗥𝗬 𝗔𝗡𝗗 𝗣𝗘𝗥𝗙𝗘𝗖𝗧𝗜𝗢𝗡 Felix Mendelssohn has often been admired for his elegance and simultaneously underestimated because of it. His music appears so lucid, balanced…

𝗥𝗢𝗕𝗘𝗥𝗧 𝗦𝗖𝗛𝗨𝗠𝗔𝗡𝗡’𝗦 𝗧𝗘𝗡 𝗧𝗥𝗨𝗘 𝗠𝗔𝗦𝗧𝗘𝗥𝗣𝗜𝗘𝗖𝗘𝗦 — 𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝗠𝗨𝗦𝗜𝗖𝗔𝗟 𝗗𝗜𝗔𝗥𝗬 𝗢𝗙 𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝗥𝗢𝗠𝗔𝗡𝗧𝗜𝗖 𝗦𝗢𝗨𝗟 Robert Schumann was perhaps the composer who most completely transformed private thought, literary imagination, emotional contradiction and unstable memory into music.…

𝗙𝗿𝗮𝗻𝘇 𝗟𝗶𝘀𝘇𝘁 𝗕𝘆 𝗝𝗮𝗺𝗲𝘀 𝗛𝘂𝗻𝗲𝗸𝗲𝗿 𝗖𝗵𝗮𝗽𝘁𝗲𝗿 𝗜 — 𝗟𝗶𝘀𝘇𝘁: 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗥𝗲𝗮𝗹 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗟𝗲𝗴𝗲𝗻𝗱𝗮𝗿𝘆 𝗣𝗼𝘀𝘁 𝟬𝟴 — 𝗠𝗮𝗿𝗶𝗲 𝗱’𝗔𝗴𝗼𝘂𝗹𝘁 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗥𝗼𝗺𝗮𝗻𝘁𝗶𝗰 𝗦𝗰𝗮𝗻𝗱𝗮𝗹 The relationship between 𝗙𝗿𝗮𝗻𝘇 𝗟𝗶𝘀𝘇𝘁 and 𝗖𝗼𝘂𝗻𝘁𝗲𝘀𝘀 𝗠𝗮𝗿𝗶𝗲 𝗱’𝗔𝗴𝗼𝘂𝗹𝘁 belongs to the…

𝗧𝗘𝗡 𝗨𝗡𝗝𝗨𝗦𝗧𝗟𝗬 𝗨𝗡𝗗𝗘𝗥𝗩𝗔𝗟𝗨𝗘𝗗 𝗢𝗣𝗘𝗥𝗔𝗦 𝗜𝗡 𝗠𝗨𝗦𝗜𝗖 𝗛𝗜𝗦𝗧𝗢𝗥𝗬 The operatic repertory is not a neutral museum of masterpieces. It is the result of institutional tradition, language, economics, star singers, political history, editorial availability and theatrical…

𝗠𝗢𝗭𝗔𝗥𝗧: 𝗔 𝗟𝗜𝗙𝗘 𝗠𝗔𝗬𝗡𝗔𝗥𝗗 𝗦𝗢𝗟𝗢𝗠𝗢𝗡 𝗘𝗡𝗗𝗜𝗡𝗚𝗦 𝗖𝗛𝗔𝗣𝗧𝗘𝗥 𝟮𝟲 “𝗖𝗔𝗥𝗜𝗦𝗦𝗜𝗠𝗔 𝗦𝗢𝗥𝗘𝗟𝗟𝗔 𝗠𝗜𝗔” ════════════════════════════ 𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝗦𝗜𝗦𝗧𝗘𝗥 𝗪𝗛𝗢 𝗦𝗧𝗔𝗬𝗘𝗗 𝗕𝗘𝗛𝗜𝗡𝗗 After the painful story of 𝗟𝗶𝘁𝘁𝗹𝗲 𝗟𝗲𝗼𝗽𝗼𝗹𝗱, Solomon turns to one of the most delicate and tragic…

𝗠𝗢𝗭𝗔𝗥𝗧: 𝗔 𝗟𝗜𝗙𝗘 𝗠𝗔𝗬𝗡𝗔𝗥𝗗 𝗦𝗢𝗟𝗢𝗠𝗢𝗡 𝗩𝗜𝗘𝗡𝗡𝗔 𝗖𝗛𝗔𝗣𝗧𝗘𝗥 𝟮𝟰 𝗙𝗘𝗔𝗥𝗙𝗨𝗟 𝗦𝗬𝗠𝗠𝗘𝗧𝗥𝗜𝗘𝗦 ════════════════════════════ 𝗜. 𝗕𝗘𝗔𝗨𝗧𝗬 𝗔𝗦 𝗗𝗔𝗡𝗚𝗘𝗥 After the worlds of 𝗙𝗥𝗘𝗘𝗠𝗔𝗦𝗢𝗡𝗥𝗬, 𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝗭𝗢𝗥𝗢𝗔𝗦𝗧𝗥𝗔𝗡 𝗥𝗜𝗗𝗗𝗟𝗘𝗦, and 𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝗖𝗔𝗥𝗡𝗜𝗩𝗔𝗟𝗘𝗦𝗤𝗨𝗘 𝗗𝗜𝗠𝗘𝗡𝗦𝗜𝗢𝗡, Solomon turns to Mozart’s music itself, especially…