Posts / Photos

𝐋𝐞𝐨𝐧𝐢𝐞 𝐑𝐲𝐬𝐚𝐧𝐞𝐤: 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐅𝐥𝐚𝐦𝐞-𝐂𝐫𝐨𝐰𝐧𝐞𝐝 𝐒𝐨𝐩𝐫𝐚𝐧𝐨 𝐖𝐡𝐨 𝐓𝐮𝐫𝐧𝐞𝐝 𝐖𝐚𝐠𝐧𝐞𝐫, 𝐒𝐭𝐫𝐚𝐮𝐬𝐬, 𝐀𝐧𝐝 𝐕𝐞𝐫𝐝𝐢 𝐈𝐧𝐭𝐨 𝐏𝐮𝐫𝐞 𝐓𝐡𝐞𝐚𝐭𝐫𝐢𝐜𝐚𝐥 𝐅𝐢𝐫𝐞 There are singers whose greatness lies in beauty of sound, and there are others whose greatness lies in something…

𝗔 𝗣𝗦𝗬𝗖𝗛𝗢𝗟𝗢𝗚𝗜𝗖𝗔𝗟 𝗣𝗢𝗥𝗧𝗥𝗔𝗜𝗧 𝗢𝗙 𝗙𝗘𝗟𝗜𝗫 𝗠𝗘𝗡𝗗𝗘𝗟𝗦𝗦𝗢𝗛𝗡 𝗜𝗡 𝗛𝗜𝗦 𝗙𝗜𝗡𝗔𝗟 𝗬𝗘𝗔𝗥 (𝟭𝟴𝟰𝟳) 𝗜. 𝗔 𝗺𝗮𝗻 𝗼𝗳 𝗼𝗿𝗱𝗲𝗿 𝗼𝗻 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝘃𝗲𝗿𝗴𝗲 𝗼𝗳 𝗰𝗼𝗹𝗹𝗮𝗽𝘀𝗲 To understand 𝗙𝗲𝗹𝗶𝘅 𝗠𝗲𝗻𝗱𝗲𝗹𝘀𝘀𝗼𝗵𝗻 in 𝟭𝟴𝟰𝟳, one must begin with a paradox. He…

𝗙𝗲𝗹𝗶𝘅 𝗠𝗲𝗻𝗱𝗲𝗹𝘀𝘀𝗼𝗵𝗻 — 𝗣𝘂𝗯𝗹𝗶𝘀𝗵𝗲𝗱 𝗪𝗼𝗿𝗸𝘀 𝗶𝗻 𝗖𝗼𝗺𝗽𝗹𝗲𝘁𝗲 𝗖𝗵𝗿𝗼𝗻𝗼𝗹𝗼𝗴𝗶𝗰𝗮𝗹 𝗢𝗿𝗱𝗲𝗿 𝟭𝟴𝟮𝟮 Quartet for pianoforte, violin, viola, and violoncello in C minor, Op. 1 (Berlin). 𝟭𝟴𝟮𝟯 Quartet for pianoforte, violin, viola, and violoncello in F minor,…

𝐂𝐥𝐚𝐮𝐝𝐞 𝐌𝐨𝐧𝐞𝐭: 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐄𝐲𝐞 𝐎𝐟 𝐋𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭 𝐖𝐡𝐨 𝐓𝐮𝐫𝐧𝐞𝐝 𝐍𝐚𝐭𝐮𝐫𝐞, 𝐓𝐢𝐦𝐞, 𝐀𝐧𝐝 𝐂𝐨𝐥𝐨𝐫 𝐈𝐧𝐭𝐨 𝐀 𝐍𝐞𝐰 𝐖𝐚𝐲 𝐎𝐟 𝐒𝐞𝐞𝐢𝐧𝐠 - 𝗣𝗼𝘀𝘀𝗶𝗯𝗹𝗲 𝗘𝗻𝗰𝗼𝘂𝗻𝘁𝗲𝗿𝘀 𝘄𝗶𝘁𝗵 𝗖𝗼𝗻𝘁𝗲𝗺𝗽𝗼𝗿𝗮𝗿𝘆 𝗖𝗼𝗺𝗽𝗼𝘀𝗲𝗿𝘀 There are painters who refine inherited forms, and there are…

𝐎𝐥𝐢𝐯𝐢𝐞𝐫 𝐌𝐞𝐬𝐬𝐢𝐚𝐞𝐧: 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐌𝐲𝐬𝐭𝐢𝐜 𝐎𝐟 𝐒𝐨𝐮𝐧𝐝 𝐖𝐡𝐨 𝐓𝐮𝐫𝐧𝐞𝐝 𝐅𝐚𝐢𝐭𝐡, 𝐂𝐨𝐥𝐨𝐫, 𝐁𝐢𝐫𝐝𝐬𝐨𝐧𝐠, 𝐀𝐧𝐝 𝐄𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐧𝐢𝐭𝐲 𝐈𝐧𝐭𝐨 𝐌𝐮𝐬𝐢𝐜 There are composers who expand musical language, and there are rarer figures who seem to create an entire spiritual…

𝐉𝐮𝐥𝐞𝐬 𝐌𝐚𝐬𝐬𝐞𝐧𝐞𝐭: 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐏𝐨𝐞𝐭 𝐎𝐟 𝐅𝐫𝐞𝐧𝐜𝐡 𝐎𝐩𝐞𝐫𝐚 𝐖𝐡𝐨 𝐓𝐮𝐫𝐧𝐞𝐝 𝐄𝐥𝐞𝐠𝐚𝐧𝐜𝐞, 𝐒𝐞𝐧𝐬𝐮𝐚𝐥𝐢𝐭𝐲, 𝐀𝐧𝐝 𝐌𝐞𝐥𝐚𝐧𝐜𝐡𝐨𝐥𝐲 𝐈𝐧𝐭𝐨 𝐌𝐮𝐬𝐢𝐜𝐚𝐥 𝐌𝐚𝐠𝐢𝐜 There are composers who dominate by monumentality, and others who conquer through something apparently lighter but no less…

𝐇𝐞𝐜𝐭𝐨𝐫 𝐁𝐞𝐫𝐥𝐢𝐨𝐳: 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐅𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐢𝐬𝐡 𝐏𝐫𝐨𝐩𝐡𝐞𝐭 𝐖𝐡𝐨 𝐓𝐮𝐫𝐧𝐞𝐝 𝐎𝐫𝐜𝐡𝐞𝐬𝐭𝐫𝐚𝐥 𝐅𝐢𝐫𝐞, 𝐎𝐛𝐬𝐞𝐬𝐬𝐢𝐨𝐧, 𝐀𝐧𝐝 𝐃𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐦 𝐈𝐧𝐭𝐨 𝐀 𝐍𝐞𝐰 𝐌𝐮𝐬𝐢𝐜𝐚𝐥 𝐔𝐧𝐢𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐬𝐞 There are composers who refine an existing language, and there are others who seem to arrive almost…

𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗟𝗶𝗳𝗲 𝗼𝗳 𝗛𝗮𝗻𝗱𝗲𝗹 — 𝗖𝗛𝗔𝗣𝗧𝗘𝗥 𝟯 𝗟𝗔𝗪 𝗢𝗥 𝗠𝗨𝗦𝗜𝗖? 𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝗬𝗢𝗨𝗡𝗚 𝗛𝗔𝗡𝗗𝗘𝗟 𝗖𝗛𝗢𝗢𝗦𝗘𝗦 𝗛𝗜𝗦 𝗣𝗔𝗧𝗛 (𝟭𝟳𝟬𝟮–𝟭𝟳𝟬𝟯) By the beginning of the eighteenth century, the essential question in Handel’s life was no longer whether…

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…

𝐂𝐥𝐢𝐟𝐟𝐨𝐫𝐝 𝐂𝐮𝐫𝐳𝐨𝐧: 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐀𝐫𝐢𝐬𝐭𝐨𝐜𝐫𝐚𝐭 𝐎𝐟 𝐓𝐨𝐧𝐞 𝐖𝐡𝐨 𝐓𝐮𝐫𝐧𝐞𝐝 𝐌𝐨𝐳𝐚𝐫𝐭, 𝐒𝐜𝐡𝐮𝐛𝐞𝐫𝐭, 𝐀𝐧𝐝 𝐁𝐫𝐚𝐡𝐦𝐬 𝐈𝐧𝐭𝐨 𝐀𝐫𝐭 𝐎𝐟 𝐍𝐞𝐫𝐯𝐞, 𝐍𝐨𝐛𝐢𝐥𝐢𝐭𝐲, 𝐀𝐧𝐝 𝐈𝐧𝐰𝐚𝐫𝐝 𝐅𝐢𝐫𝐞 There are pianists whose greatness lies in sheer command, and there are others whose…

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…

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…

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…

𝐓𝐡𝐞𝐨𝐝𝐨𝐫 𝐋𝐞𝐬𝐜𝐡𝐞𝐭𝐢𝐳𝐤𝐲: 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐆𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐭 𝐌𝐚𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐖𝐡𝐨 𝐓𝐚𝐮𝐠𝐡𝐭 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐏𝐢𝐚𝐧𝐨 𝐓𝐨 𝐒𝐢𝐧𝐠, 𝐓𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐤, 𝐀𝐧𝐝 𝐂𝐨𝐧𝐪𝐮𝐞𝐫 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐖𝐨𝐫𝐥𝐝 There are pianists whose fame rests on their own performances, and there are others whose deepest greatness lies…

𝐇𝐞𝐧𝐫𝐲 𝐂𝐡𝐚𝐫𝐥𝐞𝐬 𝐋𝐢𝐭𝐨𝐥𝐟𝐟: 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐅𝐨𝐫𝐠𝐨𝐭𝐭𝐞𝐧 𝐕𝐢𝐫𝐭𝐮𝐨𝐬𝐨 𝐖𝐡𝐨 𝐌𝐚𝐝𝐞 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐏𝐢𝐚𝐧𝐨 𝐂𝐨𝐧𝐜𝐞𝐫𝐭𝐨 𝐁𝐮𝐫𝐧 𝐖𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐎𝐫𝐜𝐡𝐞𝐬𝐭𝐫𝐚𝐥 𝐅𝐢𝐫𝐞 There are composers who survive in history through a vast catalogue, and there are others whose fame contracts over…

𝐄𝐫𝐢𝐜𝐡 𝐖𝐨𝐥𝐟𝐠𝐚𝐧𝐠 𝐊𝐨𝐫𝐧𝐠𝐨𝐥𝐝: 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐏𝐫𝐨𝐝𝐢𝐠𝐲 𝐖𝐡𝐨 𝐂𝐚𝐫𝐫𝐢𝐞𝐝 𝐕𝐢𝐞𝐧𝐧𝐚 𝐈𝐧𝐭𝐨 𝐇𝐨𝐥𝐥𝐲𝐰𝐨𝐨𝐝 𝐀𝐧𝐝 𝐓𝐮𝐫𝐧𝐞𝐝 𝐋𝐲𝐫𝐢𝐜 𝐅𝐢𝐫𝐞 𝐈𝐧𝐭𝐨 𝐋𝐞𝐠𝐞𝐧𝐝 There are composers whose lives unfold within a single world, and there are others whose destiny seems split…

𝐄𝐮𝐠𝐞𝐧 𝐝’𝐀𝐥𝐛𝐞𝐫𝐭: 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐂𝐨𝐬𝐦𝐨𝐩𝐨𝐥𝐢𝐭𝐚𝐧 𝐓𝐢𝐭𝐚𝐧 𝐖𝐡𝐨 𝐓𝐮𝐫𝐧𝐞𝐝 𝐕𝐢𝐫𝐭𝐮𝐨𝐬𝐢𝐭𝐲 𝐈𝐧𝐭𝐨 𝐅𝐢𝐫𝐞 𝐀𝐧𝐝 𝐎𝐩𝐞𝐫𝐚 There are pianist-composers whose lives seem divided between the keyboard and the score, and then there are rarer figures whose whole existence…

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,…

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…

𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝗠𝗔𝗞𝗜𝗡𝗚 𝗢𝗙 𝗔 𝗥𝗘𝗕𝗘𝗟: 𝗦𝗘𝗥𝗚𝗜𝗨 𝗖𝗘𝗟𝗜𝗕𝗜𝗗𝗔𝗖𝗛𝗘’𝗦 𝗖𝗛𝗜𝗟𝗗𝗛𝗢𝗢𝗗 𝗔𝗡𝗗 𝗔𝗗𝗢𝗟𝗘𝗦𝗖𝗘𝗡𝗖𝗘, 𝗙𝗥𝗢𝗠 𝗥𝗢𝗠𝗔𝗡 𝗧𝗢 𝗛𝗜𝗦 𝟮𝟭𝗦𝗧 𝗬𝗘𝗔𝗥 𝗜. 𝗕𝗜𝗥𝗧𝗛, 𝗙𝗔𝗠𝗜𝗟𝗬, 𝗔𝗡𝗗 𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝗘𝗔𝗥𝗟𝗬 𝗥𝗢𝗠𝗔𝗡𝗜𝗔𝗡 𝗪𝗢𝗥𝗟𝗗 Sergiu Celibidache was born in Roman, Romania, in 1912, into…

𝗪𝗛𝗘𝗡 𝗧𝗢 𝗟𝗜𝗦𝗧𝗘𝗡 𝗧𝗢 𝗛𝗔𝗡𝗗𝗘𝗟 𝗢𝗥 𝗕𝗔𝗖𝗛: 𝗣𝗦𝗬𝗖𝗛𝗢𝗟𝗢𝗚𝗜𝗖𝗔𝗟 𝗦𝗧𝗔𝗧𝗘𝗦 𝗔𝗡𝗗 𝗟𝗜𝗙𝗘 𝗖𝗜𝗥𝗖𝗨𝗠𝗦𝗧𝗔𝗡𝗖𝗘𝗦 Although 𝗝𝗼𝗵𝗮𝗻𝗻 𝗦𝗲𝗯𝗮𝘀𝘁𝗶𝗮𝗻 𝗕𝗮𝗰𝗵 and 𝗚𝗲𝗼𝗿𝗴𝗲 𝗙𝗿𝗶𝗱𝗲𝗿𝗶𝗰 𝗛𝗮𝗻𝗱𝗲𝗹 were born in the same year, wrote within the same stylistic universe, and are…

𝗛𝗲𝗻𝗿𝘆 𝗣𝘂𝗿𝗰𝗲𝗹𝗹: 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗚𝗿𝗲𝗮𝘁𝗲𝘀𝘁 𝗘𝗻𝗴𝗹𝗶𝘀𝗵 𝗩𝗼𝗶𝗰𝗲 𝗼𝗳 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗕𝗮𝗿𝗼𝗾𝘂𝗲 𝗛𝗲𝗻𝗿𝘆 𝗣𝘂𝗿𝗰𝗲𝗹𝗹 (1659–1695) was England’s greatest Baroque composer and 𝗼𝗻𝗲 𝗼𝗳 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗺𝗼𝘀𝘁 𝗼𝗿𝗶𝗴𝗶𝗻𝗮𝗹 𝗺𝘂𝘀𝗶𝗰𝗮𝗹 𝘃𝗼𝗶𝗰𝗲𝘀 𝗼𝗳 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗥𝗲𝘀𝘁𝗼𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗽𝗲𝗿𝗶𝗼𝗱. Born in 𝗟𝗼𝗻𝗱𝗼𝗻 around 1659…

𝐀𝐥𝐞𝐱𝐚𝐧𝐝𝐞𝐫 𝐁𝐨𝐫𝐨𝐝𝐢𝐧: 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐂𝐡𝐞𝐦𝐢𝐬𝐭-𝐂𝐨𝐦𝐩𝐨𝐬𝐞𝐫 𝐖𝐡𝐨 𝐖𝐫𝐨𝐭𝐞 𝐌𝐮𝐬𝐢𝐜 𝐀𝐬 𝐈𝐟 𝐑𝐮𝐬𝐬𝐢𝐚 𝐖𝐞𝐫𝐞 𝐃𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐦𝐢𝐧𝐠 There are composers whose lives seem wholly given over to music, and there are others whose greatness becomes even more astonishing because…