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𝐂𝐇𝐎𝐏𝐈𝐍 𝐓𝐇𝐑𝐎𝐔𝐆𝐇 𝐇𝐈𝐒 𝐂𝐎𝐍𝐓𝐄𝐌𝐏𝐎𝐑𝐀𝐑𝐈𝐄𝐒 𝐅𝐑𝐈𝐄𝐍𝐃𝐒, 𝐋𝐎𝐕𝐄𝐑𝐒, 𝐀𝐍𝐃 𝐑𝐈𝐕𝐀𝐋𝐒 𝐁𝐘 𝐏𝐈𝐄𝐑𝐑𝐄 𝐇. 𝐀𝐙𝐎𝐔𝐑𝐘 𝐏𝐀𝐑𝐓 𝐈 — 𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐖𝐀𝐑𝐒𝐀𝐖 𝐘𝐄𝐀𝐑𝐒, 𝟏𝟖𝟏𝟎–𝟏𝟖𝟑𝟎 𝐂𝐇𝐀𝐏𝐓𝐄𝐑 𝟏 — 𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐅𝐈𝐑𝐒𝐓 𝐂𝐎𝐍𝐓𝐄𝐌𝐏𝐎𝐑𝐀𝐑𝐈𝐄𝐒 𝐂𝐇𝐎𝐏𝐈𝐍’𝐒 𝐅𝐀𝐌𝐈𝐋𝐘 𝐈𝐍 𝐇𝐈𝐒 𝐅𝐎𝐑𝐌𝐀𝐓𝐈𝐕𝐄 𝐘𝐄𝐀𝐑𝐒 The first people…

𝗕𝗘𝗬𝗢𝗡𝗗 𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝗚𝗥𝗘𝗔𝗧 𝗠𝗘𝗟𝗢𝗗𝗜𝗘𝗦: 𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝗖𝗢𝗠𝗣𝗢𝗦𝗘𝗥𝗦 𝗪𝗛𝗢 𝗦𝗛𝗔𝗣𝗘𝗗 𝗥𝗔𝗖𝗛𝗠𝗔𝗡𝗜𝗡𝗢𝗙𝗙’𝗦 𝗠𝗨𝗦𝗜𝗖𝗔𝗟 𝗪𝗢𝗥𝗟𝗗 The music of 𝗦𝗲𝗿𝗴𝗲𝗶 𝗥𝗮𝗰𝗵𝗺𝗮𝗻𝗶𝗻𝗼𝗳𝗳 is instantly recognizable: long-breathed melodies, darkly glowing harmonies, immense climaxes, tolling bells, dense piano textures and an almost…

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…

𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝟭𝟱 𝗚𝗥𝗘𝗔𝗧𝗘𝗦𝗧 𝗖𝗛𝗔𝗠𝗕𝗘𝗥-𝗠𝗨𝗦𝗜𝗖 𝗥𝗘𝗖𝗢𝗥𝗗𝗜𝗡𝗚𝗦 𝗢𝗙 𝗔𝗟𝗟 𝗧𝗜𝗠𝗘 Any attempt to identify the fifteen greatest chamber-music recordings must begin by acknowledging that “greatest” cannot mean merely the most technically perfect. A genuinely historic chamber…

# 𝗥𝗨𝗗𝗢𝗟𝗙 𝗕𝗨𝗖𝗛𝗕𝗜𝗡𝗗𝗘𝗥 — 𝗠𝗬 𝗕𝗘𝗘𝗧𝗛𝗢𝗩𝗘𝗡 ## 𝗟𝗶𝘃𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘄𝗶𝘁𝗵 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗠𝗮𝘀𝘁𝗲𝗿 **𝗠𝘆 𝗕𝗲𝗲𝘁𝗵𝗼𝘃𝗲𝗻: 𝗟𝗶𝘃𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘄𝗶𝘁𝗵 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗠𝗮𝘀𝘁𝗲𝗿** is neither a conventional biography of **𝗟𝘂𝗱𝘄𝗶𝗴 𝘃𝗮𝗻 𝗕𝗲𝗲𝘁𝗵𝗼𝘃𝗲𝗻** nor a technical handbook devoted exclusively to piano…

𝗭𝗨𝗕𝗜𝗡 𝗠𝗘𝗛𝗧𝗔 — 𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝟭𝟱 𝗚𝗥𝗘𝗔𝗧𝗘𝗦𝗧 𝗥𝗘𝗖𝗢𝗥𝗗𝗜𝗡𝗚𝗦 Zubin Mehta’s extraordinary career connects several apparently different musical worlds: the Central European tradition he absorbed in Vienna, the orchestral brilliance of Los Angeles, the distinctive identity…

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…

𝗝𝗢𝗛𝗔𝗡𝗡𝗘𝗦 𝗕𝗥𝗔𝗛𝗠𝗦’𝗦 𝗧𝗘𝗡 𝗧𝗥𝗨𝗘 𝗠𝗔𝗦𝗧𝗘𝗥𝗣𝗜𝗘𝗖𝗘𝗦 — 𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝗚𝗘𝗡𝗜𝗨𝗦 𝗪𝗛𝗢 𝗧𝗨𝗥𝗡𝗘𝗗 𝗠𝗘𝗠𝗢𝗥𝗬 𝗜𝗡𝗧𝗢 𝗙𝗢𝗥𝗠 Johannes Brahms is often portrayed as the great conservative of nineteenth-century music: the guardian of Classical form, the heir of Bach,…

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…

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…

𝗦𝗖𝗛𝗨𝗠𝗔𝗡𝗡 — 𝗘𝗥𝗜𝗖 𝗙𝗥𝗘𝗗𝗘𝗥𝗜𝗖𝗞 𝗝𝗘𝗡𝗦𝗘𝗡 𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝗠𝗔𝗦𝗧𝗘𝗥 𝗠𝗨𝗦𝗜𝗖𝗜𝗔𝗡𝗦 — 𝗢𝗫𝗙𝗢𝗥𝗗 𝗨𝗡𝗜𝗩𝗘𝗥𝗦𝗜𝗧𝗬 𝗣𝗥𝗘𝗦𝗦 𝗖𝗛𝗔𝗣𝗧𝗘𝗥 𝟭𝟭 — 𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝗬𝗘𝗔𝗥𝗦 𝗜𝗡 𝗗𝗥𝗘𝗦𝗗𝗘𝗡 𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝗖𝗜𝗧𝗬 𝗧𝗛𝗔𝗧 𝗪𝗔𝗦 𝗡𝗢𝗧 𝗔 𝗛𝗢𝗠𝗘 When Robert and Clara Schumann left Leipzig for…

𝗕𝗘𝗘𝗧𝗛𝗢𝗩𝗘𝗡’𝗦 𝗧𝗪𝗘𝗟𝗩𝗘 𝗧𝗥𝗨𝗘 𝗠𝗔𝗦𝗧𝗘𝗥𝗣𝗜𝗘𝗖𝗘𝗦: 𝗪𝗛𝗘𝗥𝗘 𝗠𝗨𝗦𝗜𝗖 𝗕𝗘𝗖𝗔𝗠𝗘𝗦 𝗗𝗘𝗦𝗧𝗜𝗡𝗬 To choose Beethoven’s twelve “true” masterpieces is not simply to choose his most famous works. Fame is not enough. Beethoven wrote works so central to Western…

𝗝𝗢𝗦𝗘𝗣𝗛 𝗠𝗔𝗥𝗧𝗜𝗡 𝗞𝗥𝗔𝗨𝗦: 𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝗦𝗪𝗘𝗗𝗜𝗦𝗛 𝗠𝗢𝗭𝗔𝗥𝗧 𝗔𝗡𝗗 𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝗗𝗔𝗥𝗞 𝗙𝗜𝗥𝗘 𝗢𝗙 𝗖𝗟𝗔𝗦𝗦𝗜𝗖𝗜𝗦𝗠 𝗝𝗼𝘀𝗲𝗽𝗵 𝗠𝗮𝗿𝘁𝗶𝗻 𝗞𝗿𝗮𝘂𝘀 𝗕𝗼𝗿𝗻: 𝟮𝟬 𝗝𝘂𝗻𝗲 𝟭𝟳𝟱𝟲, 𝗠𝗶𝗹𝘁𝗲𝗻𝗯𝗲𝗿𝗴 𝗮𝗺 𝗠𝗮𝗶𝗻, 𝗚𝗲𝗿𝗺𝗮𝗻𝘆 𝗗𝗶𝗲𝗱: 𝟭𝟱 𝗗𝗲𝗰𝗲𝗺𝗯𝗲𝗿 𝟭𝟳𝟵𝟮, 𝗦𝘁𝗼𝗰𝗸𝗵𝗼𝗹𝗺, 𝗦𝘄𝗲𝗱𝗲𝗻 𝗝𝗼𝘀𝗲𝗽𝗵 𝗠𝗮𝗿𝘁𝗶𝗻 𝗞𝗿𝗮𝘂𝘀 is one…

𝗟𝗘𝗢𝗣𝗢𝗟𝗗 𝗞𝗢𝗭̌𝗘𝗟𝗨𝗖𝗛: 𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝗕𝗢𝗛𝗘𝗠𝗜𝗔𝗡 𝗣𝗜𝗔𝗡𝗜𝗦𝗧 𝗪𝗛𝗢 𝗛𝗘𝗟𝗣𝗘𝗗 𝗠𝗔𝗞𝗘 𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝗙𝗢𝗥𝗧𝗘𝗣𝗜𝗔𝗡𝗢 𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝗩𝗢𝗜𝗖𝗘 𝗢𝗙 𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝗖𝗟𝗔𝗦𝗦𝗜𝗖𝗔𝗟 𝗔𝗚𝗘 𝗟𝗲𝗼𝗽𝗼𝗹𝗱 𝗞𝗼𝘇̌𝗲𝗹𝘂𝗰𝗵 𝗢𝗿𝗶𝗴𝗶𝗻𝗮𝗹 𝗖𝘇𝗲𝗰𝗵 𝗻𝗮𝗺𝗲: 𝗝𝗮𝗻 𝗔𝗻𝘁𝗼𝗻𝗶́𝗻 𝗞𝗼𝘇̌𝗲𝗹𝘂𝗵 𝗕𝗼𝗿𝗻: 𝟮𝟲 𝗝𝘂𝗻𝗲 𝟭𝟳𝟰𝟳, 𝗩𝗲𝗹𝘃𝗮𝗿𝘆, 𝗕𝗼𝗵𝗲𝗺𝗶𝗮 𝗗𝗶𝗲𝗱: 𝟳 𝗠𝗮𝘆 𝟭𝟴𝟭𝟴,…

𝗝𝗢𝗛𝗔𝗡𝗡 𝗕𝗔𝗣𝗧𝗜𝗦𝗧 𝗩𝗔𝗡𝗛𝗔𝗟: 𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝗕𝗢𝗛𝗘𝗠𝗜𝗔𝗡 𝗦𝗬𝗠𝗣𝗛𝗢𝗡𝗜𝗦𝗧 𝗪𝗛𝗢 𝗕𝗥𝗢𝗨𝗚𝗛𝗧 𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝗩𝗜𝗘𝗡𝗡𝗘𝗦𝗘 𝗦𝗧𝗬𝗟𝗘 𝗧𝗢 𝗘𝗨𝗥𝗢𝗣𝗘 𝗝𝗼𝗵𝗮𝗻𝗻 𝗕𝗮𝗽𝘁𝗶𝘀𝘁 𝗩𝗮𝗻𝗵𝗮𝗹 𝗔𝗹𝘀𝗼 𝗸𝗻𝗼𝘄𝗻 𝗮𝘀: 𝗝𝗮𝗻 𝗞𝗿̌𝘁𝗶𝘁𝗲𝗹 𝗩𝗮𝗻̌𝗵𝗮𝗹 𝗕𝗼𝗿𝗻: 𝟭𝟮 𝗠𝗮𝘆 𝟭𝟳𝟯𝟵, 𝗡𝗲𝗰𝗵𝗮𝗻𝗶𝗰𝗲, 𝗕𝗼𝗵𝗲𝗺𝗶𝗮 𝗗𝗶𝗲𝗱: 𝟮𝟬 𝗔𝘂𝗴𝘂𝘀𝘁 𝟭𝟴𝟭𝟯, 𝗩𝗶𝗲𝗻𝗻𝗮, 𝗔𝘂𝘀𝘁𝗿𝗶𝗮…

𝗛𝗔𝗬𝗗𝗡, 𝗕𝗬 𝗝. 𝗖𝗨𝗧𝗛𝗕𝗘𝗥𝗧 𝗛𝗔𝗗𝗗𝗘𝗡 - 𝗖𝗛𝗔𝗣𝗧𝗘𝗥 𝟮𝟬 𝗛𝗔𝗬𝗗𝗡 𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝗠𝗔𝗡, 𝗛𝗔𝗬𝗗𝗡 𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝗖𝗢𝗠𝗣𝗢𝗦𝗘𝗥 𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝗙𝗔𝗧𝗛𝗘𝗥 𝗢𝗙 𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝗦𝗬𝗠𝗣𝗛𝗢𝗡𝗬 𝗔𝗡𝗗 𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝗦𝗢𝗡𝗔𝗧𝗔 𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝗙𝗜𝗡𝗔𝗟 𝗣𝗢𝗥𝗧𝗥𝗔𝗜𝗧 At the end of 𝗝𝗼𝘀𝗲𝗽𝗵 𝗛𝗮𝘆𝗱𝗻’s story, after Rohrau,…

𝗠𝗢𝗭𝗔𝗥𝗧: 𝗔 𝗟𝗜𝗙𝗘 𝗠𝗔𝗬𝗡𝗔𝗥𝗗 𝗦𝗢𝗟𝗢𝗠𝗢𝗡 𝗦𝗔𝗟𝗭𝗕𝗨𝗥𝗚 𝗖𝗛𝗔𝗣𝗧𝗘𝗥 𝟭𝟮 𝗧𝗥𝗢𝗨𝗕𝗟𝗘 𝗜𝗡 𝗣𝗔𝗥𝗔𝗗𝗜𝗦𝗘 ════════════════════════════ 𝗜. 𝗪𝗛𝗘𝗡 𝗣𝗔𝗥𝗔𝗗𝗜𝗦𝗘 𝗜𝗦 𝗡𝗢 𝗟𝗢𝗡𝗚𝗘𝗥 𝗦𝗔𝗙𝗘 After the death of 𝗔𝗻𝗻𝗮 𝗠𝗮𝗿𝗶𝗮 𝗠𝗼𝘇𝗮𝗿𝘁 in Paris, the biography enters a new region.…

𝗙𝗥𝗔𝗡𝗭 𝗝𝗢𝗦𝗘𝗣𝗛 𝗛𝗔𝗬𝗗𝗡 — 𝗪𝗔𝗦 𝗛𝗘 𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝗚𝗥𝗘𝗔𝗧𝗘𝗦𝗧 𝗜𝗡𝗡𝗢𝗩𝗔𝗧𝗢𝗥 𝗜𝗡 𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝗛𝗜𝗦𝗧𝗢𝗥𝗬 𝗢𝗙 𝗠𝗨𝗦𝗜𝗖? To call 𝗙𝗿𝗮𝗻𝘇 𝗝𝗼𝘀𝗲𝗽𝗵 𝗛𝗮𝘆𝗱𝗻 the greatest innovator in the history of music is a bold claim, and it must…

𝗙𝗟𝗢𝗥𝗘𝗡𝗖𝗘 𝗠𝗔𝗬 — 𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝗟𝗜𝗙𝗘 𝗢𝗙 𝗝𝗢𝗛𝗔𝗡𝗡𝗘𝗦 𝗕𝗥𝗔𝗛𝗠𝗦 𝗩𝗢𝗟𝗨𝗠𝗘 𝗜𝗜 — 𝗙𝗜𝗡𝗔𝗟 𝗖𝗔𝗧𝗔𝗟𝗢𝗚𝗨𝗘 𝗣𝗢𝗦𝗧 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗪𝗼𝗿𝗸𝘀 𝗔𝘀 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗙𝗶𝗻𝗮𝗹 𝗕𝗶𝗼𝗴𝗿𝗮𝗽𝗵𝘆 𝗢𝗳 𝗕𝗿𝗮𝗵𝗺𝘀 After the death of 𝗝𝗼𝗵𝗮𝗻𝗻𝗲𝘀 𝗕𝗿𝗮𝗵𝗺𝘀, Florence May’s biography changes its nature.…

𝗙𝗿𝗮𝗻𝗰𝗼 𝗖𝗼𝗿𝗲𝗹𝗹𝗶 — 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗣𝗿𝗶𝗻𝗰𝗲 𝗢𝗳 𝗧𝗲𝗻𝗼𝗿𝘀, 𝗔 𝗩𝗼𝗶𝗰𝗲 𝗢𝗳 𝗙𝗶𝗿𝗲, 𝗕𝗲𝗮𝘂𝘁𝘆, 𝗔𝗻𝗱 𝗛𝗲𝗿𝗼𝗶𝗰 𝗚𝗹𝗮𝗺𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗙𝗿𝗮𝗻𝗰𝗼 𝗖𝗼𝗿𝗲𝗹𝗹𝗶 was one of the most spectacular Italian tenors of the twentieth century, a singer whose name still…

𝗔 𝗩𝗶𝗲𝗻𝗻𝗲𝘀𝗲 𝗠𝘆𝘀𝘁𝗲𝗿𝘆 𝗶𝗻 𝗦𝗶𝘅 𝗤𝘂𝗮𝗿𝘁𝗲𝘁𝘀 𝗣𝗿𝗲𝘀𝘂𝗺𝗲𝗱 𝗕𝗲𝗲𝘁𝗵𝗼𝘃𝗲𝗻: 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗦𝗶𝘅 𝗦𝘁𝗿𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗤𝘂𝗮𝗿𝘁𝗲𝘁𝘀, 𝗔𝗻𝗵. 𝟮 𝗤𝘂𝗮𝗿𝘁𝗲𝘁𝘁𝗼 𝗔𝗹𝗹𝗮 𝗠𝗮𝗻𝗶𝗲𝗿𝗮 𝗜𝘁𝗮𝗹𝗶𝗮𝗻𝗮 — 𝗔𝗿𝗰𝗮𝗻𝗮, 𝗔𝟱𝟵𝟭 There is something deeply fascinating about music that survives without a secure name.…

𝗙𝗟𝗢𝗥𝗘𝗡𝗖𝗘 𝗠𝗔𝗬 — 𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝗟𝗜𝗙𝗘 𝗢𝗙 𝗝𝗢𝗛𝗔𝗡𝗡𝗘𝗦 𝗕𝗥𝗔𝗛𝗠𝗦 𝗩𝗢𝗟𝗨𝗠𝗘 𝗜𝗜 — 𝗖𝗛𝗔𝗣𝗧𝗘𝗥 𝟲 𝗛𝗼𝗹𝗹𝗮𝗻𝗱, 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗧𝗵𝗶𝗿𝗱 𝗦𝘁𝗿𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗤𝘂𝗮𝗿𝘁𝗲𝘁, 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗙𝗶𝗿𝘀𝘁 𝗦𝘆𝗺𝗽𝗵𝗼𝗻𝘆, 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗥𝗲𝘃𝗶𝘃𝗮𝗹 𝗢𝗳 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗢𝗽𝗲𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗰 𝗗𝗿𝗲𝗮𝗺, 𝗔𝗻𝗱 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗦𝗲𝗰𝗼𝗻𝗱 𝗦𝘆𝗺𝗽𝗵𝗼𝗻𝘆 𝟭𝟴𝟳𝟲–𝟭𝟴𝟳𝟴 Chapter 6…