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𝗕𝗥𝗔𝗛𝗠𝗦 𝗔𝗡𝗗 𝗗𝗩𝗢ŘÁ𝗞 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗠𝗮𝘀𝘁𝗲𝗿 𝗪𝗵𝗼 𝗢𝗽𝗲𝗻𝗲𝗱 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗗𝗼𝗼𝗿 — 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗚𝗲𝗻𝗶𝘂𝘀 𝗪𝗵𝗼 𝗪𝗮𝗹𝗸𝗲𝗱 𝗧𝗵𝗿𝗼𝘂𝗴𝗵 𝗜𝘁 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗙𝗶𝗿𝘀𝘁 𝗖𝗼𝗻𝘁𝗮𝗰𝘁: 𝗩𝗶𝗲𝗻𝗻𝗮, 𝟭𝟴𝟳𝟱–𝟭𝟴𝟳𝟳 The relationship between 𝗝𝗼𝗵𝗮𝗻𝗻𝗲𝘀 𝗕𝗿𝗮𝗵𝗺𝘀 and 𝗔𝗻𝘁𝗼𝗻í𝗻 𝗗𝘃𝗼řá𝗸 began not with a…

𝗕𝗥𝗔𝗛𝗠𝗦 𝗔𝗡𝗗 𝗝𝗢𝗔𝗖𝗛𝗜𝗠: 𝗔 𝗟𝗜𝗙𝗘𝗟𝗢𝗡𝗚 𝗙𝗥𝗜𝗘𝗡𝗗𝗦𝗛𝗜𝗣 𝗢𝗙 𝗠𝗨𝗦𝗜𝗖, 𝗟𝗢𝗬𝗔𝗟𝗧𝗬, 𝗔𝗡𝗗 𝗢𝗖𝗖𝗔𝗦𝗜𝗢𝗡𝗔𝗟 𝗗𝗜𝗦𝗖𝗢𝗥𝗗 The friendship between 𝗝𝗼𝗵𝗮𝗻𝗻𝗲𝘀 𝗕𝗿𝗮𝗵𝗺𝘀 and 𝗝𝗼𝘀𝗲𝗽𝗵 𝗝𝗼𝗮𝗰𝗵𝗶𝗺 belongs among the most significant artistic relationships of the 19th century. It was not…

𝗘𝗿𝗻𝗲𝘀𝘁 𝗔𝗻𝘀𝗲𝗿𝗺𝗲𝘁: 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗠𝗮𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗺𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗰𝗶𝗮𝗻 𝗪𝗵𝗼 𝗖𝗼𝗻𝗱𝘂𝗰𝘁𝗲𝗱 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗠𝗼𝗱𝗲𝗿𝗻 𝗢𝗿𝗰𝗵𝗲𝘀𝘁𝗿𝗮 𝗖𝗵𝗮𝗽𝘁𝗲𝗿 𝗜 – 𝗔 𝗦𝘄𝗶𝘀𝘀 𝗠𝗶𝗻𝗱 𝗙𝗼𝗿𝗺𝗲𝗱 𝗯𝘆 𝗡𝘂𝗺𝗯𝗲𝗿𝘀 𝗘𝗿𝗻𝗲𝘀𝘁 𝗔𝗹𝗲𝘅𝗮𝗻𝗱𝗿𝗲 𝗔𝗻𝘀𝗲𝗿𝗺𝗲𝘁 was born on 𝗡𝗼𝘃𝗲𝗺𝗯𝗲𝗿 𝟭𝟭, 𝟭𝟴𝟴𝟯, in 𝗩𝗲𝘃𝗲𝘆, Switzerland, and died on 𝗙𝗲𝗯𝗿𝘂𝗮𝗿𝘆…

𝗣𝗔𝗨𝗟𝗜𝗡𝗘 𝗩𝗜𝗔𝗥𝗗𝗢𝗧 𝗔𝗡𝗗 𝟮𝟱 𝗛𝗜𝗦𝗧𝗢𝗥𝗜𝗖 𝗣𝗘𝗥𝗙𝗢𝗥𝗠𝗔𝗡𝗖𝗘𝗦 𝗣𝗮𝘂𝗹𝗶𝗻𝗲 𝗩𝗶𝗮𝗿𝗱𝗼𝘁 𝗚𝗮𝗿𝗰í𝗮 𝗩𝗶𝗮𝗿𝗱𝗼𝘁 was far more than one of the greatest mezzo-sopranos of the nineteenth century. She was a 𝗰𝘂𝗹𝘁𝘂𝗿𝗮𝗹 𝗳𝗼𝗿𝗰𝗲, a singer whose intelligence, dramatic instinct,…

𝗕𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗿𝗹𝘆 𝗦𝗶𝗹𝗹𝘀 — 𝗔 𝗟𝗶𝗳𝗲 𝗖𝗵𝗮𝗽𝘁𝗲𝗿 𝟭 — 𝗕𝗿𝗼𝗼𝗸𝗹𝘆𝗻 𝗕𝗲𝗴𝗶𝗻𝗻𝗶𝗻𝗴𝘀 (𝟭𝟵𝟮𝟵–𝟭𝟵𝟯𝟯) Beverly Sills was born Belle Miriam Silverman on May 25, 1929, in Brooklyn, New York, to immigrant parents of Russian-Jewish descent. Music entered…

𝐋𝐞𝐨𝐧𝐚𝐫𝐝 𝐁𝐞𝐫𝐧𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐢𝐧 𝐚𝐬 𝐨𝐧𝐞 𝐨𝐟 𝐌𝐢𝐜𝐡𝐚𝐞𝐥 𝐓𝐢𝐥𝐬𝐨𝐧 𝐓𝐡𝐨𝐦𝐚𝐬’s 𝐠𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐭 𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐨𝐫𝐬 Leonard Bernstein occupied a decisive place in the artistic formation of Michael Tilson Thomas. Although Tilson Thomas came from a deeply musical background and…

𝗕𝗿𝘂𝗻𝗼 𝗪𝗮𝗹𝘁𝗲𝗿, 𝗔𝗿𝘁𝘂𝗿𝗼 𝗧𝗼𝘀𝗰𝗮𝗻𝗶𝗻𝗶, 𝗘𝗿𝗶𝗰𝗵 𝗞𝗹𝗲𝗶𝗯𝗲𝗿, 𝗢𝘁𝘁𝗼 𝗞𝗹𝗲𝗺𝗽𝗲𝗿𝗲𝗿, 𝗪𝗶𝗹𝗵𝗲𝗹𝗺 𝗙𝘂𝗿𝘁𝘄ä𝗻𝗴𝗹𝗲𝗿, 𝗕𝗲𝗿𝗹𝗶𝗻, 𝟭𝟵𝟮𝟵 This historic photograph, taken in Berlin in 1929, brings together five of the most legendary conductors of the 20th century: Bruno Walter,…

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…

𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗙𝘂𝗻𝗲𝗿𝗮𝗹 𝗼𝗳 𝗝𝗼𝗵𝗮𝗻𝗻𝗲𝘀 𝗕𝗿𝗮𝗵𝗺𝘀 (𝗔𝗽𝗿𝗶𝗹 𝟲, 𝟭𝟴𝟵𝟳) 𝗩𝗶𝗲𝗻𝗻𝗮, 𝗔𝘂𝘀𝘁𝗿𝗶𝗮 – 𝗞𝗮𝗿𝗹𝘀𝗸𝗶𝗿𝗰𝗵𝗲 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗭𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗿𝗮𝗹𝗳𝗿𝗶𝗲𝗱𝗵𝗼𝗳 Johannes Brahms, one of the towering figures of Romantic music, passed away on April 3, 1897, at the age of…

# **𝗠𝗢𝗭𝗔𝗥𝗧 𝗜𝗡 𝗦𝗪𝗔𝗙𝗙𝗢𝗥𝗗’𝗦 𝗕𝗜𝗢𝗚𝗥𝗔𝗣𝗛𝗬 - CHAPTER 12 - Ashes ** ## **I. Arrival in Paris: Promise Beneath Gathering Shadows** When **Mozart** and his mother **Maria Anna Mozart** reached **Paris on 23 March 1778**,…

𝐋𝐞𝐨𝐩𝐨𝐥𝐝 𝐒𝐭𝐨𝐤𝐨𝐰𝐬𝐤𝐢: 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐖𝐢𝐳𝐚𝐫𝐝 𝐎𝐟 𝐒𝐨𝐮𝐧𝐝 𝐖𝐡𝐨 𝐓𝐮𝐫𝐧𝐞𝐝 𝐎𝐫𝐜𝐡𝐞𝐬𝐭𝐫𝐚𝐬 𝐈𝐧𝐭𝐨 𝐋𝐢𝐯𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐅𝐢𝐫𝐞 There are conductors who preserve tradition, and there are others who seem to reinvent the very act of orchestral music-making. 𝐋𝐞𝐨𝐩𝐨𝐥𝐝 𝐒𝐭𝐨𝐤𝐨𝐰𝐬𝐤𝐢…

𝐒𝐢𝐫 𝐌𝐚𝐥𝐜𝐨𝐥𝐦 𝐒𝐚𝐫𝐠𝐞𝐧𝐭: 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐆𝐥𝐚𝐦𝐨𝐮𝐫𝐨𝐮𝐬 𝐌𝐚𝐞𝐬𝐭𝐫𝐨 𝐖𝐡𝐨 𝐌𝐚𝐝𝐞 𝐁𝐫𝐢𝐭𝐚𝐢𝐧 𝐒𝐢𝐧𝐠 There are conductors whose greatness lies in severity, austerity, and intellectual weight, and there are others whose power comes from something more public, more…

𝐕𝐚́𝐜𝐥𝐚𝐯 𝐓𝐚𝐥𝐢𝐜𝐡: 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐌𝐚𝐞𝐬𝐭𝐫𝐨 𝐖𝐡𝐨 𝐆𝐚𝐯𝐞 𝐀 𝐍𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐈𝐭𝐬 𝐎𝐫𝐜𝐡𝐞𝐬𝐭𝐫𝐚𝐥 𝐕𝐨𝐢𝐜𝐞 There are conductors who inherit great orchestras, and there are conductors who create them in the deepest sense. 𝐕𝐚́𝐜𝐥𝐚𝐯 𝐓𝐚𝐥𝐢𝐜𝐡 belonged to the…

𝐇𝐀𝐍𝐒 𝐑𝐈𝐂𝐇𝐓𝐄𝐑 (𝟏𝟖𝟒𝟑–𝟏𝟗𝟏𝟔) 𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐈𝐑𝐎𝐍 𝐀𝐑𝐂𝐇𝐈𝐓𝐄𝐂𝐓 𝐎𝐅 𝐖𝐀𝐆𝐍𝐄𝐑 𝐀𝐍𝐃 𝐁𝐑𝐀𝐇𝐌𝐒 — 𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐆𝐑𝐄𝐀𝐓 𝐊𝐀𝐏𝐄𝐋𝐋𝐌𝐄𝐈𝐒𝐓𝐄𝐑 𝐖𝐇𝐎 𝐇𝐄𝐋𝐏𝐄𝐃 𝐒𝐇𝐀𝐏𝐄 𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐒𝐎𝐔𝐍𝐃 𝐎𝐅 𝐋𝐀𝐓𝐄 𝟏𝟗𝐓𝐇-𝐂𝐄𝐍𝐓𝐔𝐑𝐘 𝐄𝐔𝐑𝐎𝐏𝐄 𝐁𝐈𝐑𝐓𝐇 𝐀𝐍𝐃 𝐄𝐀𝐑𝐋𝐘 𝐅𝐎𝐑𝐌𝐀𝐓𝐈𝐎𝐍 — 𝐀 𝐇𝐔𝐍𝐆𝐀𝐑𝐈𝐀𝐍 𝐌𝐔𝐒𝐈𝐂𝐈𝐀𝐍 𝐎𝐅 𝐒𝐎𝐋𝐈𝐃 𝐂𝐑𝐀𝐅𝐓…

𝐄𝐮𝐠𝐞𝐧𝐲 𝐌𝐫𝐚𝐯𝐢𝐧𝐬𝐤𝐲: 𝐅𝐫𝐨𝐦 𝐀𝐫𝐢𝐬𝐭𝐨𝐜𝐫𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐜 𝐂𝐡𝐢𝐥𝐝 𝐭𝐨 𝐈𝐫𝐨𝐧 𝐌𝐚𝐞𝐬𝐭𝐫𝐨 𝐁𝐢𝐫𝐭𝐡, 𝐅𝐚𝐦𝐢𝐥𝐲 𝐁𝐚𝐜𝐤𝐠𝐫𝐨𝐮𝐧𝐝, 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐂𝐡𝐢𝐥𝐝𝐡𝐨𝐨𝐝 Yevgeny Aleksandrovich Mravinsky was born in Saint Petersburg on 4 June 1903, into a family of aristocratic and artistic background. He…

𝐍𝐚𝐝𝐢𝐚 𝐁𝐨𝐮𝐥𝐚𝐧𝐠𝐞𝐫 – 𝐀 𝐋𝐢𝐟𝐞 𝐢𝐧 𝟐𝟎 𝐂𝐡𝐚𝐩𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐬 𝐂𝐡𝐚𝐩𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝟏 – 𝐂𝐡𝐢𝐥𝐝𝐡𝐨𝐨𝐝 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐅𝐚𝐦𝐢𝐥𝐲 𝐎𝐫𝐢𝐠𝐢𝐧𝐬 (𝟏𝟖𝟖𝟕–𝟏𝟗𝟎𝟎) Nadia Juliette Boulanger was born in Paris on 𝐒𝐞𝐩𝐭𝐞𝐦𝐛𝐞𝐫 𝟏𝟔, 𝟏𝟖𝟖𝟕, into a household steeped in music. Her…

𝐉𝐄𝐀𝐍-𝐏𝐇𝐈𝐋𝐈𝐏𝐏𝐄 𝐑𝐀𝐌𝐄𝐀𝐔 (𝟏𝟔𝟖𝟑–𝟏𝟕𝟔𝟒): 𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐌𝐎𝐒𝐓 𝐏𝐎𝐋𝐄𝐌𝐈𝐂𝐀𝐋 𝐀𝐍𝐃 𝐂𝐎𝐍𝐓𝐑𝐀𝐃𝐈𝐂𝐓𝐎𝐑𝐘 𝐒𝐈𝐓𝐔𝐀𝐓𝐈𝐎𝐍𝐒 𝐈𝐍 𝐇𝐈𝐒 𝐋𝐈𝐅𝐄 Jean-Philippe Rameau (1683–1764) was born on 25 September 1683 and died on 12 September 1764. He is often remembered as the supreme…

𝐂𝐀𝐌𝐈𝐋𝐋𝐄 𝐒𝐀𝐈𝐍𝐓-𝐒𝐀𝐄̈𝐍𝐒 (𝟏𝟖𝟑𝟓–𝟏𝟗𝟐𝟏): 𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐌𝐎𝐒𝐓 𝐏𝐎𝐋𝐄𝐌𝐈𝐂𝐀𝐋 𝐀𝐍𝐃 𝐂𝐎𝐍𝐓𝐑𝐀𝐃𝐈𝐂𝐓𝐎𝐑𝐘 𝐒𝐈𝐓𝐔𝐀𝐓𝐈𝐎𝐍𝐒 𝐈𝐍 𝐇𝐈𝐒 𝐋𝐈𝐅𝐄 Camille Saint-Saëns (1835–1921) is often remembered as the supreme French classicist of the later nineteenth century: elegant, lucid, disciplined, cultivated, brilliant, and…

𝐂𝐀𝐑𝐋 𝐍𝐈𝐄𝐋𝐒𝐄𝐍 (𝟏𝟖𝟔𝟓–𝟏𝟗𝟑𝟏): 𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐌𝐎𝐒𝐓 𝐏𝐎𝐋𝐄𝐌𝐈𝐂𝐀𝐋 𝐀𝐍𝐃 𝐂𝐎𝐍𝐓𝐑𝐀𝐃𝐈𝐂𝐓𝐎𝐑𝐘 𝐒𝐈𝐓𝐔𝐀𝐓𝐈𝐎𝐍𝐒 𝐈𝐍 𝐇𝐈𝐒 𝐋𝐈𝐅𝐄 Carl Nielsen (1865–1931) is often presented as one of the strongest and healthiest figures in Scandinavian music: the great Danish symphonist, a…

𝐅𝐄𝐋𝐈𝐗 𝐌𝐄𝐍𝐃𝐄𝐋𝐒𝐒𝐎𝐇𝐍: 𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐌𝐎𝐒𝐓 𝐏𝐎𝐋𝐄𝐌𝐈𝐂𝐀𝐋 𝐀𝐍𝐃 𝐂𝐎𝐍𝐓𝐑𝐀𝐃𝐈𝐂𝐓𝐎𝐑𝐘 𝐒𝐈𝐓𝐔𝐀𝐓𝐈𝐎𝐍𝐒 𝐈𝐍 𝐇𝐈𝐒 𝐋𝐈𝐅𝐄 Felix Mendelssohn lived a life that seemed outwardly orderly, brilliant, elegant, and successful. Yet beneath that polished surface lay a series of deep…

𝐁𝐄𝐋𝐀 𝐁𝐀𝐑𝐓𝐎𝐊 𝐀𝐍𝐃 𝐅𝐑𝐈𝐓𝐙 𝐑𝐄𝐈𝐍𝐄𝐑 — 𝐀 𝐅𝐑𝐈𝐄𝐍𝐃𝐒𝐇𝐈𝐏 𝐎𝐅 𝐈𝐑𝐎𝐍 𝐖𝐈𝐋𝐋 𝐀𝐍𝐃 𝐌𝐔𝐒𝐈𝐂𝐀𝐋 𝐏𝐑𝐄𝐂𝐈𝐒𝐈𝐎𝐍 𝐈. 𝐁𝐔𝐃𝐀𝐏𝐄𝐒𝐓 𝐁𝐄𝐆𝐈𝐍𝐍𝐈𝐍𝐆𝐒 — 𝐓𝐖𝐎 𝐘𝐎𝐔𝐍𝐆 𝐌𝐄𝐍 𝐈𝐍 𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐋𝐈𝐒𝐙𝐓 𝐀𝐂𝐀𝐃𝐄𝐌𝐘 (𝟏𝟖𝟗𝟎𝐬) The relationship between 𝐁𝐞𝐥𝐚 𝐁𝐚𝐫𝐭𝐨𝐤 (1881–1945) and 𝐅𝐫𝐢𝐭𝐳…

𝐒𝐀𝐌𝐔𝐈𝐋 𝐒𝐀𝐌𝐎𝐒𝐔𝐃 — 𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐅𝐈𝐄𝐑𝐘 𝐌𝐀𝐄𝐒𝐓𝐑𝐎 𝐎𝐅 𝐒𝐎𝐕𝐈𝐄𝐓 𝐏𝐑𝐄𝐌𝐈𝐄𝐑𝐄𝐒: 𝐅𝐑𝐎𝐌 𝐎𝐃𝐄𝐒𝐒𝐀 𝐓𝐎 𝐒𝐇𝐎𝐒𝐓𝐀𝐊𝐎𝐕𝐈𝐂𝐇’𝐒 𝐓𝐑𝐈𝐔𝐌𝐏𝐇 (𝟏𝟖𝟖𝟒–𝟏𝟗𝟔𝟒) 𝐄𝐀𝐑𝐋𝐘 𝐋𝐈𝐅𝐄 𝐈𝐍 𝐎𝐃𝐄𝐒𝐒𝐀 (𝟏𝟖𝟖𝟒–𝟏𝟗𝟎𝟑) 𝐒𝐚𝐦𝐮𝐢𝐥 𝐀𝐛𝐫𝐚𝐦𝐨𝐯𝐢𝐜𝐡 𝐒𝐚𝐦𝐨𝐬𝐮𝐝 (1884–1964) was born on 14 May 1884 in Odessa, then part…

𝐑𝐎𝐁𝐄𝐑𝐓 𝐊𝐀𝐉𝐀𝐍𝐔𝐒 — 𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐀𝐑𝐂𝐇𝐈𝐓𝐄𝐂𝐓 𝐎𝐅 𝐅𝐈𝐍𝐍𝐈𝐒𝐇 𝐌𝐔𝐒𝐈𝐂: 𝐌𝐀𝐒𝐓𝐄𝐑𝐒, 𝐃𝐈𝐒𝐂𝐈𝐏𝐋𝐄𝐒 𝐀𝐍𝐃 𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐑𝐈𝐒𝐄 𝐎𝐅 𝐀 𝐍𝐀𝐓𝐈𝐎𝐍 (𝟏𝟖𝟓𝟔–𝟏𝟗𝟑𝟑) 𝐀 𝐘𝐎𝐔𝐍𝐆 𝐅𝐈𝐍𝐍 𝐋𝐎𝐎𝐊𝐈𝐍𝐆 𝐓𝐎 𝐄𝐔𝐑𝐎𝐏𝐄 When 𝐑𝐨𝐛𝐞𝐫𝐭 𝐊𝐚𝐣𝐚𝐧𝐮𝐬 (1856–1933) was born in Helsingfors on 2 December…

𝐒𝐈𝐑 𝐄𝐃𝐖𝐀𝐑𝐃 𝐄𝐋𝐆𝐀𝐑 — 𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐕𝐎𝐈𝐂𝐄 𝐎𝐅 𝐄𝐃𝐖𝐀𝐑𝐃𝐈𝐀𝐍 𝐄𝐍𝐆𝐋𝐀𝐍𝐃: 𝐋𝐈𝐅𝐄, 𝐒𝐓𝐑𝐔𝐆𝐆𝐋𝐄 𝐀𝐍𝐃 𝐓𝐑𝐈𝐔𝐌𝐏𝐇 (𝟏𝟖𝟓𝟕–𝟏𝟗𝟑𝟒) 𝐈. 𝐇𝐔𝐌𝐁𝐋𝐄 𝐎𝐑𝐈𝐆𝐈𝐍𝐒 𝐈𝐍 𝐖𝐎𝐑𝐂𝐄𝐒𝐓𝐄𝐑𝐒𝐇𝐈𝐑𝐄 (𝟏𝟖𝟓𝟕–𝟏𝟖𝟕𝟎𝐬) 𝐒𝐢𝐫 𝐄𝐝𝐰𝐚𝐫𝐝 𝐖𝐢𝐥𝐥𝐢𝐚𝐦 𝐄𝐥𝐠𝐚𝐫 (𝟏𝟖𝟓𝟕–𝟏𝟗𝟑𝟒) was born on 2 June 1857 in Lower Broadheath,…