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𝐍𝐀𝐓𝐇𝐀𝐋𝐈𝐄 𝐒𝐓𝐔𝐓𝐙𝐌𝐀𝐍𝐍 — 𝐅𝐑𝐎𝐌 𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐃𝐄𝐄𝐏𝐄𝐒𝐓 𝐕𝐎𝐈𝐂𝐄 𝐓𝐎 𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐂𝐎𝐍𝐃𝐔𝐂𝐓𝐎𝐑’𝐒 𝐏𝐎𝐃𝐈𝐔𝐌 Nathalie Stutzmann is one of the most unusual figures in contemporary classical music. Long before becoming an internationally celebrated conductor, she was already…

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…

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…

𝐀𝐋𝐀𝐍 𝐑𝐀𝐖𝐒𝐓𝐇𝐎𝐑𝐍𝐄 𝐖𝐑𝐎𝐓 𝐅𝐎𝐑 𝐇𝐎𝐋𝐋𝐘𝐖𝐎𝐎𝐃... 𝐁𝐔𝐓 𝐍𝐄𝐕𝐄𝐑 𝐂𝐎𝐌𝐏𝐑𝐎𝐌𝐈𝐒𝐄𝐃 𝐇𝐈𝐒 𝐌𝐔𝐒𝐈𝐂 One of Britain's finest twentieth-century composers quietly became a master of both the concert hall and the cinema. When 𝐀𝐥𝐚𝐧 𝐑𝐚𝐰𝐬𝐭𝐡𝐨𝐫𝐧𝐞 (𝟏𝟗𝟎𝟓–𝟏𝟗𝟕𝟏) began composing…

𝐖𝐈𝐋𝐋𝐈𝐀𝐌 𝐖𝐀𝐋𝐓𝐎𝐍 𝐖𝐀𝐒 𝐉𝐔𝐒𝐓 𝟏𝟕... 𝐖𝐇𝐄𝐍 𝐇𝐄 𝐋𝐄𝐅𝐓 𝐒𝐂𝐇𝐎𝐎𝐋 𝐅𝐎𝐑 𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐖𝐎𝐑𝐋𝐃 𝐎𝐅 𝐌𝐔𝐒𝐈𝐂 One of Britain's greatest twentieth-century composers never received a formal conservatory education. When 𝐖𝐢𝐥𝐥𝐢𝐚𝐦 𝐖𝐚𝐥𝐭𝐨𝐧 (𝟏𝟗𝟎𝟐–𝟏𝟗𝟖𝟑) was only 𝟏𝟕 𝐲𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐬…

𝐄𝐃𝐖𝐀𝐑𝐃 𝐄𝐋𝐆𝐀𝐑 — 𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐕𝐎𝐈𝐂𝐄 𝐎𝐅 𝐄𝐍𝐆𝐋𝐀𝐍𝐃... 𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐂𝐎𝐌𝐏𝐎𝐒𝐄𝐑 𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐖𝐎𝐑𝐋𝐃 𝐅𝐈𝐍𝐀𝐋𝐋𝐘 𝐑𝐄𝐂𝐎𝐆𝐍𝐈𝐙𝐄𝐃 One of Britain's greatest composers spent years believing he would never be truly accepted. When 𝐄𝐝𝐰𝐚𝐫𝐝 𝐄𝐥𝐠𝐚𝐫 (𝟏𝟖𝟓𝟕–𝟏𝟗𝟑𝟒) was in his…

𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝗟𝗜𝗙𝗘 𝗢𝗙 𝗛𝗘𝗖𝗧𝗢𝗥 𝗕𝗘𝗥𝗟𝗜𝗢𝗭 𝗔𝗦 𝗪𝗥𝗜𝗧𝗧𝗘𝗡 𝗕𝗬 𝗛𝗜𝗠𝗦𝗘𝗟𝗙 𝗣𝗢𝗦𝗧 𝟭𝟰 𝗛𝗮𝗿𝗿𝗶𝗲𝘁 𝗮𝘁 𝗟𝗮𝘀𝘁: 𝗪𝗵𝗲𝗻 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗗𝗿𝗲𝗮𝗺 𝗕𝗲𝗰𝗮𝗺𝗲 𝗮 𝗠𝗮𝗿𝗿𝗶𝗮𝗴𝗲 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗡𝗶𝗴𝗵𝘁 𝗛𝗮𝗿𝗿𝗶𝗲𝘁 𝗙𝗶𝗻𝗮𝗹𝗹𝘆 𝗛𝗲𝗮𝗿𝗱 𝗛𝗲𝗿𝘀𝗲𝗹𝗳 𝗶𝗻 𝗛𝗶𝘀 𝗠𝘂𝘀𝗶𝗰 — 𝟵 𝗗𝗲𝗰𝗲𝗺𝗯𝗲𝗿 𝟭𝟴𝟯𝟮 When…

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…

𝗙𝗿𝗮𝗻𝘇 𝗟𝗶𝘀𝘇𝘁 𝗕𝘆 𝗝𝗮𝗺𝗲𝘀 𝗛𝘂𝗻𝗲𝗸𝗲𝗿 𝗖𝗵𝗮𝗽𝘁𝗲𝗿 𝗩𝗜 — 𝗠𝗶𝗿𝗿𝗼𝗿𝗲𝗱 𝗯𝘆 𝗛𝗶𝘀 𝗖𝗼𝗻𝘁𝗲𝗺𝗽𝗼𝗿𝗮𝗿𝗶𝗲𝘀 𝗣𝗼𝘀𝘁 𝟮𝟭 — 𝗟𝗶𝘀𝘇𝘁 𝗧𝗵𝗿𝗼𝘂𝗴𝗵 𝗢𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗿 𝗘𝘆𝗲𝘀 To understand 𝗙𝗿𝗮𝗻𝘇 𝗟𝗶𝘀𝘇𝘁, it is not enough to study dates, compositions, concerts, pupils, cities,…

𝗙𝗿𝗮𝗻𝘇 𝗟𝗶𝘀𝘇𝘁 𝗕𝘆 𝗝𝗮𝗺𝗲𝘀 𝗛𝘂𝗻𝗲𝗸𝗲𝗿 𝗖𝗵𝗮𝗽𝘁𝗲𝗿 𝗜𝗜 — 𝗔𝘀𝗽𝗲𝗰𝘁𝘀 𝗼𝗳 𝗛𝗶𝘀 𝗔𝗿𝘁 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗖𝗵𝗮𝗿𝗮𝗰𝘁𝗲𝗿 𝗣𝗼𝘀𝘁 𝟭𝟱 — 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗔𝗿𝘁𝗶𝘀𝘁 𝗮𝘀 𝗔𝗿𝗶𝘀𝘁𝗼𝗰𝗿𝗮𝘁, 𝗣𝗿𝗶𝗲𝘀𝘁, 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗔𝗰𝘁𝗼𝗿 Few artists of the nineteenth century understood the public meaning…

𝗝𝗢𝗦𝗘𝗙 𝗞𝗥𝗜𝗣𝗦 — 𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝟭𝟱 𝗚𝗥𝗘𝗔𝗧𝗘𝗦𝗧 𝗥𝗘𝗖𝗢𝗥𝗗𝗜𝗡𝗚𝗦 Josef Krips represented a conducting tradition founded not upon personal display, exaggerated rhetoric or orchestral weight, but upon balance, clarity, natural phrasing and absolute fidelity to musical…

𝗙𝗿𝗮𝗻𝘇 𝗟𝗶𝘀𝘇𝘁 𝗕𝘆 𝗝𝗮𝗺𝗲𝘀 𝗛𝘂𝗻𝗲𝗸𝗲𝗿 𝗖𝗵𝗮𝗽𝘁𝗲𝗿 𝗜 — 𝗟𝗶𝘀𝘇𝘁: 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗥𝗲𝗮𝗹 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗟𝗲𝗴𝗲𝗻𝗱𝗮𝗿𝘆 𝗣𝗼𝘀𝘁 𝟭𝟬 — 𝗪𝗲𝗶𝗺𝗮𝗿 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗔𝗹𝘁𝗲𝗻𝗯𝘂𝗿𝗴 The Weimar years were the great turning point of 𝗙𝗿𝗮𝗻𝘇 𝗟𝗶𝘀𝘇𝘁’𝘀 maturity. Until then,…

𝗙𝗥𝗔𝗡𝗭 𝗩𝗢𝗡 𝗪𝗔𝗟𝗦𝗘𝗚𝗚 — 𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝗚𝗥𝗜𝗘𝗩𝗜𝗡𝗚 𝗖𝗢𝗨𝗡𝗧, 𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝗦𝗘𝗖𝗥𝗘𝗧 𝗖𝗢𝗠𝗠𝗜𝗦𝗦𝗜𝗢𝗡, 𝗔𝗡𝗗 𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝗧𝗥𝗨𝗧𝗛 𝗕𝗘𝗛𝗜𝗡𝗗 𝗠𝗢𝗭𝗔𝗥𝗧’𝗦 𝗥𝗘𝗤𝗨𝗜𝗘𝗠 Few minor figures in musical history have exercised such a decisive influence over the fate of a masterpiece…

𝗔𝗥𝗧𝗨𝗥𝗢 𝗧𝗢𝗦𝗖𝗔𝗡𝗜𝗡𝗜 — 𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝟭𝟱 𝗚𝗥𝗘𝗔𝗧𝗘𝗦𝗧 𝗥𝗘𝗖𝗢𝗥𝗗𝗜𝗡𝗚𝗦 Arturo Toscanini was one of the decisive figures in the creation of modern orchestral performance. His reputation was built upon fidelity to the written score, rhythmic discipline,…

𝗝𝗢𝗦𝗘𝗣𝗛 𝗛𝗔𝗬𝗗𝗡’𝗦 𝗧𝗘𝗡 𝗧𝗥𝗨𝗘 𝗠𝗔𝗦𝗧𝗘𝗥𝗣𝗜𝗘𝗖𝗘𝗦 — 𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝗚𝗘𝗡𝗜𝗨𝗦 𝗪𝗛𝗢 𝗧𝗥𝗔𝗡𝗦𝗙𝗢𝗥𝗠𝗘𝗗 𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝗦𝗬𝗠𝗣𝗛𝗢𝗡𝗬, 𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝗤𝗨𝗔𝗥𝗧𝗘𝗧 𝗔𝗡𝗗 𝗦𝗔𝗖𝗥𝗘𝗗 𝗠𝗨𝗦𝗜𝗖 Joseph Haydn is often introduced through a series of familiar labels: “father of the symphony,” “father of…

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…

𝗙𝗥𝗔𝗡𝗭 𝗟𝗜𝗦𝗭𝗧’𝗦 𝗖𝗛𝗜𝗟𝗗𝗥𝗘𝗡: 𝗚𝗘𝗡𝗜𝗨𝗦, 𝗔𝗕𝗦𝗘𝗡𝗖𝗘, 𝗟𝗢𝗦𝗦, 𝗔𝗡𝗗 𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝗣𝗥𝗜𝗖𝗘 𝗢𝗙 𝗔 𝗥𝗢𝗠𝗔𝗡𝗧𝗜𝗖 𝗟𝗜𝗙𝗘 𝗪𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗛𝗮𝗽𝗽𝗲𝗻𝗲𝗱 𝘁𝗼 𝗙𝗿𝗮𝗻𝘇 𝗟𝗶𝘀𝘇𝘁’𝘀 𝗖𝗵𝗶𝗹𝗱𝗿𝗲𝗻? Franz Liszt’s private life cannot be understood only through the dazzling image of the travelling…

𝗙𝗿𝗮𝗻𝘇 𝗟𝗶𝘀𝘇𝘁 𝗕𝘆 𝗝𝗮𝗺𝗲𝘀 𝗛𝘂𝗻𝗲𝗸𝗲𝗿 𝗖𝗵𝗮𝗽𝘁𝗲𝗿 𝗜 — 𝗟𝗶𝘀𝘇𝘁: 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗥𝗲𝗮𝗹 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗟𝗲𝗴𝗲𝗻𝗱𝗮𝗿𝘆 𝗣𝗼𝘀𝘁 𝟬𝟮 — 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗥𝗲𝗮𝗹 𝗟𝗶𝘀𝘇𝘁 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗟𝗲𝗴𝗲𝗻𝗱𝗮𝗿𝘆 𝗟𝗶𝘀𝘇𝘁 Franz Liszt belongs to that rare class of artists whose lives…

𝗙𝗥𝗔𝗡𝗭 𝗟𝗜𝗦𝗭𝗧 𝗕𝗬 𝗝𝗔𝗠𝗘𝗦 𝗛𝗨𝗡𝗘𝗞𝗘𝗥 𝗙𝗿𝗮𝗻𝘇 𝗟𝗶𝘀𝘇𝘁, written by 𝗝𝗮𝗺𝗲𝘀 𝗛𝘂𝗻𝗲𝗸𝗲𝗿, was first published in 𝟭𝟵𝟭𝟭 by 𝗖. 𝗦𝗰𝗿𝗶𝗯𝗻𝗲𝗿’𝘀 𝗦𝗼𝗻𝘀 in New York. It is a substantial biography of around 𝟰𝟱𝟴 𝗽𝗮𝗴𝗲𝘀, devoted to…

𝗙𝗥𝗔𝗡𝗭 𝗟𝗜𝗦𝗭𝗧 — 𝗔𝗡𝗘𝗖𝗗𝗢𝗧𝗘𝗦, 𝗖𝗨𝗥𝗜𝗢𝗦𝗜𝗧𝗜𝗘𝗦, 𝗔𝗡𝗗 𝗙𝗔𝗦𝗖𝗜𝗡𝗔𝗧𝗜𝗡𝗚 𝗗𝗘𝗧𝗔𝗜𝗟𝗦 𝗢𝗙 𝗛𝗜𝗦 𝗟𝗜𝗙𝗘 𝗔𝗡𝗗 𝗪𝗢𝗥𝗞 Franz Liszt was not merely one of the greatest pianists of the nineteenth century. He was a phenomenon: 𝗮 𝘃𝗶𝗿𝘁𝘂𝗼𝘀𝗼, 𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗽𝗼𝘀𝗲𝗿,…

𝗙𝗘𝗥𝗗𝗜𝗡𝗔𝗡𝗗 𝗛𝗜𝗟𝗟𝗘𝗥 𝗕𝗼𝗿𝗻: 𝟮𝟰 𝗢𝗰𝘁𝗼𝗯𝗲𝗿 𝟭𝟴𝟭𝟭, 𝗙𝗿𝗮𝗻𝗸𝗳𝘂𝗿𝘁 𝗮𝗺 𝗠𝗮𝗶𝗻, 𝗚𝗲𝗿𝗺𝗮𝗻𝘆 𝗗𝗶𝗲𝗱: 𝟭𝟭 𝗠𝗮𝘆 𝟭𝟴𝟴𝟱, 𝗖𝗼𝗹𝗼𝗴𝗻𝗲, 𝗚𝗲𝗿𝗺𝗮𝗻𝘆 𝗖𝗼𝘂𝗻𝘁𝗿𝘆: 𝗚𝗲𝗿𝗺𝗮𝗻𝘆 𝗙𝗲𝗿𝗱𝗶𝗻𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗛𝗶𝗹𝗹𝗲𝗿 was one of the most cultivated and versatile musical figures of the nineteenth century:…

𝗦𝗖𝗛𝗨𝗠𝗔𝗡𝗡 — 𝗘𝗥𝗜𝗖 𝗙𝗥𝗘𝗗𝗘𝗥𝗜𝗖𝗞 𝗝𝗘𝗡𝗦𝗘𝗡 𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝗠𝗔𝗦𝗧𝗘𝗥 𝗠𝗨𝗦𝗜𝗖𝗜𝗔𝗡𝗦 — 𝗢𝗫𝗙𝗢𝗥𝗗 𝗨𝗡𝗜𝗩𝗘𝗥𝗦𝗜𝗧𝗬 𝗣𝗥𝗘𝗦𝗦 𝗣𝗥𝗘𝗙𝗔𝗖𝗘 — 𝗕𝗘𝗬𝗢𝗡𝗗 𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝗟𝗘𝗚𝗘𝗡𝗗 𝗢𝗙 𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝗠𝗔𝗗 𝗥𝗢𝗠𝗔𝗡𝗧𝗜𝗖 Few composers have been more persistently surrounded by legend than 𝗥𝗼𝗯𝗲𝗿𝘁 𝗦𝗰𝗵𝘂𝗺𝗮𝗻𝗻. For…

𝗛𝗔𝗡𝗦 𝗣𝗙𝗜𝗧𝗭𝗡𝗘𝗥 — 𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝗟𝗔𝗧𝗘 𝗥𝗢𝗠𝗔𝗡𝗧𝗜𝗖 𝗜𝗡 𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝗠𝗢𝗗𝗘𝗥𝗡 𝗔𝗚𝗘 𝗛𝗮𝗻𝘀 𝗣𝗳𝗶𝘁𝘇𝗻𝗲𝗿 was born in 𝗠𝗼𝘀𝗰𝗼𝘄 in 𝟭𝟴𝟲𝟵, the son of German parents, and received his musical training in 𝗙𝗿𝗮𝗻𝗸𝗳𝘂𝗿𝘁. He was a composer,…