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# **Mozart and Johann Christian Bach (London, 1764–1765)** When Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart arrived in London in the spring of **1764**, he was not merely a prodigious child touring Europe with his family; he was…

# **Why Bach Is Considered One of the Most Important Composers in the History of Music ** Speaking about Bach often means speaking about a point of origin. Not because he was the first,…

# **Francesco Feo - San Francesco di Sales - Oratorio - Bologna 1734 - Fabio Biondi ** [https://www.patreon.com/posts/francesco-feo-di-145171436?utm_medium=clipboard_copy&utm_source=copyLink&utm_campaign=postshare_creator&utm_content=join_link](https://www.patreon.com/posts/francesco-feo-di-145171436?utm_medium=clipboard_copy&utm_source=copyLink&utm_campaign=postshare_creator&utm_content=join_link) *A luminous masterpiece of Neapolitan sacred drama* Francesco Feo (1691–1761), one of the central composers of…

# **Antonio Caldara - Morte e sepoltura di Christo - Oratorio - 1724 - Fabio Biondi ** [https://www.patreon.com/posts/antonio-caldara-145171183?utm_medium=clipboard_copy&utm_source=copyLink&utm_campaign=postshare_creator&utm_content=join_link](https://www.patreon.com/posts/antonio-caldara-145171183?utm_medium=clipboard_copy&utm_source=copyLink&utm_campaign=postshare_creator&utm_content=join_link)** ** *A monumental Viennese oratorio of grief, devotion, and Baroque drama* Antonio Caldara, one of the…

# **THE DEATH OF JOHANN SEBASTIAN BACH — A COMPLETE ANALYSIS** ## **I. Prelude: Leipzig, 1750 — An Aging Titan in Decline** Johann Sebastian Bach, 65 years old, had lived long enough to see…

𝐀𝐑𝐂𝐀𝐍𝐆𝐄𝐋𝐎 𝐂𝐎𝐑𝐄𝐋𝐋𝐈 𝐀𝐒 𝐀 𝐓𝐄𝐀𝐂𝐇𝐄𝐑 𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐌𝐀𝐍 𝐖𝐇𝐎 𝐓𝐀𝐔𝐆𝐇𝐓 𝐄𝐔𝐑𝐎𝐏𝐄 𝐇𝐎𝐖 𝐓𝐎 𝐏𝐋𝐀𝐘 𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐕𝐈𝐎𝐋𝐈𝐍 Arcangelo Corelli occupies an unusual position in the history of musical pedagogy. He left no violin method, no systematic…

𝐌𝐎𝐙𝐀𝐑𝐓’𝐒 𝐒𝐘𝐌𝐏𝐇𝐎𝐍𝐘 𝐍𝐎. 𝟒𝟏 — 𝐓𝐇𝐄 “𝐉𝐔𝐏𝐈𝐓𝐄𝐑” 𝐀𝐍𝐃 𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐂𝐔𝐋𝐌𝐈𝐍𝐀𝐓𝐈𝐎𝐍 𝐎𝐅 𝐇𝐈𝐒 𝐒𝐘𝐌𝐏𝐇𝐎𝐍𝐈𝐂 𝐀𝐑𝐓 Mozart completed his 𝐒𝐲𝐦𝐩𝐡𝐨𝐧𝐲 𝐍𝐨. 𝟒𝟏 𝐢𝐧 𝐂 𝐦𝐚𝐣𝐨𝐫, 𝐊. 𝟓𝟓𝟏, on 10 August 1788. It was the last of…

𝐌𝐎𝐙𝐀𝐑𝐓’𝐒 𝐒𝐘𝐌𝐏𝐇𝐎𝐍𝐘 𝐍𝐎. 𝟒𝟎 — 𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐃𝐀𝐑𝐊 𝐇𝐄𝐀𝐑𝐓 𝐎𝐅 𝟏𝟕𝟖𝟖 Mozart’s 𝐒𝐲𝐦𝐩𝐡𝐨𝐧𝐲 𝐍𝐨. 𝟒𝟎 𝐢𝐧 𝐆 𝐦𝐢𝐧𝐨𝐫, 𝐊. 𝟓𝟓𝟎, completed on 25 July 1788, stands at the centre of one of the most astonishing…

𝐄𝐔𝐆𝐄𝐍 𝐉𝐎𝐂𝐇𝐔𝐌 — 𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐂𝐎𝐍𝐃𝐔𝐂𝐓𝐎𝐑 𝐖𝐇𝐎 𝐄𝐗𝐏𝐄𝐑𝐈𝐄𝐍𝐂𝐄𝐃 𝐁𝐑𝐔𝐂𝐊𝐍𝐄𝐑 𝐀𝐒 𝐀 𝐒𝐏𝐈𝐑𝐈𝐓𝐔𝐀𝐋 𝐉𝐎𝐔𝐑𝐍𝐄𝐘 For Eugen Jochum, Anton Bruckner’s symphonies were far more than monumental constructions designed to display the splendour of a great orchestra. He…

𝐁𝐑𝐔𝐍𝐎 𝐖𝐀𝐋𝐓𝐄𝐑 — 𝐌𝐀𝐇𝐋𝐄𝐑’𝐒 𝐂𝐋𝐎𝐒𝐄𝐒𝐓 𝐌𝐔𝐒𝐈𝐂𝐀𝐋 𝐃𝐈𝐒𝐂𝐈𝐏𝐋𝐄 𝐀𝐍𝐃 𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐂𝐎𝐍𝐃𝐔𝐂𝐓𝐎𝐑 𝐖𝐇𝐎 𝐂𝐀𝐑𝐑𝐈𝐄𝐃 𝐇𝐈𝐒 𝐋𝐄𝐆𝐀𝐂𝐘 𝐈𝐍𝐓𝐎 𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐅𝐔𝐓𝐔𝐑𝐄 Bruno Walter was much more than one of the leading conductors of the twentieth century. He was…

## 𝐀𝐑𝐓𝐔𝐑𝐎 𝐓𝐎𝐒𝐂𝐀𝐍𝐈𝐍𝐈 — 𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐂𝐎𝐍𝐃𝐔𝐂𝐓𝐎𝐑 𝐖𝐇𝐎 𝐂𝐀𝐑𝐑𝐈𝐄𝐃 𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐒𝐂𝐎𝐑𝐄 𝐈𝐍 𝐇𝐈𝐒 𝐌𝐈𝐍𝐃 Arturo Toscanini became legendary for stepping onto the podium and conducting vast symphonies, operas and choral works **entirely from memory**. To…

𝐂𝐀𝐑𝐋𝐎𝐒 𝐊𝐋𝐄𝐈𝐁𝐄𝐑 — 𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐂𝐎𝐍𝐃𝐔𝐂𝐓𝐎𝐑 𝐖𝐇𝐎 𝐌𝐀𝐃𝐄 𝐄𝐕𝐄𝐑𝐘 𝐀𝐏𝐏𝐄𝐀𝐑𝐀𝐍𝐂𝐄 𝐀𝐍 𝐄𝐕𝐄𝐍𝐓 Carlos Kleiber occupies an almost unique position in the history of conducting. He never directed a major orchestra for decades in the manner…

𝗥𝗢𝗚𝗘𝗥 𝗡𝗢𝗥𝗥𝗜𝗡𝗚𝗧𝗢𝗡: 𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝗖𝗢𝗡𝗗𝗨𝗖𝗧𝗢𝗥 𝗪𝗛𝗢 𝗧𝗥𝗜𝗘𝗗 𝗧𝗢 𝗦𝗧𝗥𝗜𝗣 𝗥𝗢𝗠𝗔𝗡𝗧𝗜𝗖 𝗠𝗨𝗦𝗜𝗖 𝗢𝗙 𝗜𝗧𝗦 𝗥𝗢𝗠𝗔𝗡𝗖𝗘 Few conductors have divided the musical world as violently as 𝗦𝗶𝗿 𝗥𝗼𝗴𝗲𝗿 𝗡𝗼𝗿𝗿𝗶𝗻𝗴𝘁𝗼𝗻. To his admirers, he was a visionary who…

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.…

𝗛𝗔𝗡𝗦 𝗥𝗢𝗦𝗕𝗔𝗨𝗗 — 𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝟭𝟱 𝗚𝗥𝗘𝗔𝗧𝗘𝗦𝗧 𝗥𝗘𝗖𝗢𝗥𝗗𝗜𝗡𝗚𝗦 𝗛𝗮𝗻𝘀 𝗥𝗼𝘀𝗯𝗮𝘂𝗱 was one of the twentieth century’s most complete and least theatrical great conductors. His reputation rests largely on his advocacy of modern music, especially 𝗦𝗰𝗵𝗼𝗲𝗻𝗯𝗲𝗿𝗴,…

𝗦𝗧𝗥𝗔𝗩𝗜𝗡𝗦𝗞𝗬 𝗔𝗡𝗗 𝗥𝗔𝗩𝗘𝗟 — 𝗙𝗥𝗢𝗠 𝗠𝗨𝗧𝗨𝗔𝗟 𝗗𝗜𝗦𝗖𝗢𝗩𝗘𝗥𝗬 𝗧𝗢 𝗔 𝗖𝗢𝗢𝗟𝗜𝗡𝗚 𝗢𝗙 𝗧𝗪𝗢 𝗠𝗢𝗗𝗘𝗥𝗡 𝗠𝗔𝗦𝗧𝗘𝗥𝗦 The relationship between 𝗜𝗴𝗼𝗿 𝗦𝘁𝗿𝗮𝘃𝗶𝗻𝘀𝗸𝘆 and 𝗠𝗮𝘂𝗿𝗶𝗰𝗲 𝗥𝗮𝘃𝗲𝗹 was one of the most significant artistic friendships of the years immediately…

𝗪𝗛𝗘𝗡 𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝗖𝗔𝗧𝗛𝗘𝗗𝗥𝗔𝗟 𝗠𝗘𝗧 𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝗧𝗛𝗘𝗔𝗧𝗥𝗘: 𝗕𝗥𝗨𝗖𝗞𝗡𝗘𝗥’𝗦 𝗙𝗜𝗥𝗦𝗧 𝗘𝗡𝗖𝗢𝗨𝗡𝗧𝗘𝗥 𝗪𝗜𝗧𝗛 𝗥𝗜𝗖𝗛𝗔𝗥𝗗 𝗪𝗔𝗚𝗡𝗘𝗥 The first personal encounter between Anton Bruckner and Richard Wagner has often been compressed into a picturesque but imprecise formula: Bruckner met…

𝗠𝗔𝗛𝗟𝗘𝗥 𝗝𝗢𝗦𝗘 𝗟𝗨𝗜𝗦 𝗣𝗘𝗥𝗘𝗭 𝗗𝗘 𝗔𝗥𝗧𝗘𝗔𝗚𝗔 𝗣𝗢𝗦𝗧 𝟱 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗙𝗶𝗳𝘁𝗲𝗲𝗻-𝗬𝗲𝗮𝗿-𝗢𝗹𝗱 𝗪𝗵𝗼 𝗖𝗵𝗮𝗹𝗹𝗲𝗻𝗴𝗲𝗱 𝗩𝗶𝗲𝗻𝗻𝗮 𝗣𝗼𝘃𝗲𝗿𝘁𝘆, 𝗔𝗺𝗯𝗶𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻, 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗖𝗼𝗻𝘀𝗲𝗿𝘃𝗮𝘁𝗼𝗿𝘆 In the summer of 𝟭𝟴𝟳𝟱, the future of 𝗚𝘂𝘀𝘁𝗮𝘃 𝗠𝗮𝗵𝗹𝗲𝗿 remained uncertain. He was fifteen years…

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,…

𝗝𝗔𝗦𝗖𝗛𝗔 𝗛𝗢𝗥𝗘𝗡𝗦𝗧𝗘𝗜𝗡 — 𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝟭𝟱 𝗚𝗥𝗘𝗔𝗧𝗘𝗦𝗧 𝗥𝗘𝗖𝗢𝗥𝗗𝗜𝗡𝗚𝗦 Jascha Horenstein belonged to a generation of conductors for whom interpretation was founded upon structural understanding, stylistic responsibility and absolute concentration rather than theatrical personality. His performances…

𝗗𝗜𝗠𝗜𝗧𝗥𝗜 𝗠𝗜𝗧𝗥𝗢𝗣𝗢𝗨𝗟𝗢𝗦 — 𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝟭𝟱 𝗚𝗥𝗘𝗔𝗧𝗘𝗦𝗧 𝗥𝗘𝗖𝗢𝗥𝗗𝗜𝗡𝗚𝗦 Dimitri Mitropoulos was one of the most intense, selfless and visionary conductors of the twentieth century. He conducted without a baton, frequently without a score and with…