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𝐒𝐂𝐇𝐔𝐁𝐄𝐑𝐓 𝐍𝐄𝐕𝐄𝐑 𝐇𝐄𝐋𝐃 𝐀 𝐏𝐄𝐑𝐌𝐀𝐍𝐄𝐍𝐓 𝐂𝐎𝐔𝐑𝐓 𝐎𝐑 𝐂𝐇𝐔𝐑𝐂𝐇 𝐏𝐎𝐒𝐓 Franz Schubert (1797–1828) lived a life unlike that of most great composers of his time. While Haydn served the Esterházy family, Mozart worked for the…

𝐀𝐀𝐑𝐎𝐍 𝐂𝐎𝐏𝐋𝐀𝐍𝐃 — 𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐅𝐀𝐓𝐇𝐄𝐑 𝐎𝐅 𝐀𝐌𝐄𝐑𝐈𝐂𝐀𝐍 𝐂𝐋𝐀𝐒𝐒𝐈𝐂𝐀𝐋 𝐌𝐔𝐒𝐈𝐂 𝐀𝐚𝐫𝐨𝐧 𝐂𝐨𝐩𝐥𝐚𝐧𝐝 (𝟏𝟗𝟎𝟎–𝟏𝟗𝟗𝟎) is widely regarded as 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐩𝐨𝐬𝐞𝐫 𝐰𝐡𝐨 𝐠𝐚𝐯𝐞 𝐀𝐦𝐞𝐫𝐢𝐜𝐚𝐧 𝐜𝐥𝐚𝐬𝐬𝐢𝐜𝐚𝐥 𝐦𝐮𝐬𝐢𝐜 𝐢𝐭𝐬 𝐮𝐧𝐦𝐢𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐤𝐚𝐛𝐥𝐞 𝐧𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐚𝐥 𝐯𝐨𝐢𝐜𝐞. More than any other twentieth-century composer, he…

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𝐀𝐑𝐂𝐀𝐍𝐆𝐄𝐋𝐎 𝐂𝐎𝐑𝐄𝐋𝐋𝐈 𝐖𝐑𝐎𝐓𝐄 𝐅𝐄𝐖 𝐖𝐎𝐑𝐊𝐒... 𝐁𝐔𝐓 𝐂𝐇𝐀𝐍𝐆𝐄𝐃 𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐇𝐈𝐒𝐓𝐎𝐑𝐘 𝐎𝐅 𝐌𝐔𝐒𝐈𝐂 𝐅𝐎𝐑𝐄𝐕𝐄𝐑 One of the greatest violinists of all time proved that quality matters far more than quantity. When 𝐀𝐫𝐜𝐚𝐧𝐠𝐞𝐥𝐨 𝐂𝐨𝐫𝐞𝐥𝐥𝐢 (𝟏𝟔𝟓𝟑–𝟏𝟕𝟏𝟑) died, his…

𝐁𝐄𝐍𝐉𝐀𝐌𝐈𝐍 𝐁𝐑𝐈𝐓𝐓𝐄𝐍 𝐑𝐄𝐒𝐓𝐎𝐑𝐄𝐃 𝐄𝐍𝐆𝐋𝐈𝐒𝐇 𝐎𝐏𝐄𝐑𝐀... 𝐀𝐍𝐃 𝐂𝐇𝐀𝐍𝐆𝐄𝐃 𝐈𝐓 𝐅𝐎𝐑𝐄𝐕𝐄𝐑 𝐁𝐄𝐍𝐉𝐀𝐌𝐈𝐍 𝐁𝐑𝐈𝐓𝐓𝐄𝐍 𝐑𝐄𝐒𝐓𝐎𝐑𝐄𝐃 𝐄𝐍𝐆𝐋𝐈𝐒𝐇 𝐎𝐏𝐄𝐑𝐀... 𝐀𝐍𝐃 𝐂𝐇𝐀𝐍𝐆𝐄𝐃 𝐈𝐓 𝐅𝐎𝐑𝐄𝐕𝐄𝐑 One of the greatest composers of the twentieth century transformed British music through genius, courage, and…

𝐉𝐎𝐇𝐍 𝐈𝐑𝐄𝐋𝐀𝐍𝐃 𝐅𝐎𝐔𝐍𝐃 𝐈𝐍𝐒𝐏𝐈𝐑𝐀𝐓𝐈𝐎𝐍 𝐈𝐍 𝐀𝐍𝐂𝐈𝐄𝐍𝐓 𝐋𝐀𝐍𝐃𝐒𝐂𝐀𝐏𝐄𝐒... 𝐀𝐍𝐃 𝐂𝐑𝐄𝐀𝐓𝐄𝐃 𝐒𝐎𝐌𝐄 𝐎𝐅 𝐁𝐑𝐈𝐓𝐀𝐈𝐍'𝐒 𝐌𝐎𝐒𝐓 𝐏𝐎𝐄𝐓𝐈𝐂 𝐌𝐔𝐒𝐈𝐂 One of Britain's most original composers believed that places could possess a mysterious spiritual power. When 𝐉𝐨𝐡𝐧 𝐈𝐫𝐞𝐥𝐚𝐧𝐝 (𝟏𝟖𝟕𝟗–𝟏𝟗𝟔𝟐)…

𝟭𝟬 𝗙𝗮𝘀𝗰𝗶𝗻𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗙𝗮𝗰𝘁𝘀 𝗔𝗻𝗱 𝗟𝗲𝘀𝘀𝗲𝗿-𝗞𝗻𝗼𝘄𝗻 𝗦𝘁𝗼𝗿𝗶𝗲𝘀 𝗔𝗯𝗼𝘂𝘁 𝗪𝗶𝗹𝗹𝗶𝗮𝗺 𝗔𝗹𝘄𝘆𝗻 𝟭. 𝗛𝗲 𝗪𝗮𝘀 𝗔 𝗖𝗵𝗶𝗹𝗱 𝗣𝗿𝗼𝗱𝗶𝗴𝘆 Alwyn entered the Royal Academy of Music at the age of 15 as a gifted flute student. He quickly…

𝟭𝟬 𝗙𝗮𝘀𝗰𝗶𝗻𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗙𝗮𝗰𝘁𝘀 𝗔𝗻𝗱 𝗟𝗲𝘀𝘀𝗲𝗿-𝗞𝗻𝗼𝘄𝗻 𝗦𝘁𝗼𝗿𝗶𝗲𝘀 𝗔𝗯𝗼𝘂𝘁 𝗘𝗱𝘄𝗮𝗿𝗱 𝗘𝗹𝗴𝗮𝗿 𝟭. 𝗛𝗲 𝗪𝗮𝘀 𝗟𝗮𝗿𝗴𝗲𝗹𝘆 𝗦𝗲𝗹𝗳-𝗧𝗮𝘂𝗴𝗵𝘁 Unlike many great composers, Elgar never attended a conservatory. He educated himself by studying scores in his father's music shop,…

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…

𝐉𝐎𝐀𝐂𝐇𝐈𝐌 𝐑𝐀𝐅𝐅 𝐖𝐀𝐒 𝐎𝐍𝐂𝐄 𝐌𝐎𝐑𝐄 𝐅𝐀𝐌𝐎𝐔𝐒 𝐓𝐇𝐀𝐍 𝐁𝐑𝐀𝐇𝐌𝐒... 𝐓𝐇𝐄𝐍 𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐖𝐎𝐑𝐋𝐃 𝐅𝐎𝐑𝐆𝐎𝐓 𝐇𝐈𝐌 One of the nineteenth century's most admired composers almost disappeared from concert halls. When 𝐉𝐨𝐚𝐜𝐡𝐢𝐦 𝐑𝐚𝐟𝐟 (𝟏𝟖𝟐𝟐–𝟏𝟖𝟖𝟐) was at the height…

When 𝐇𝐞𝐧𝐫𝐲 𝐏𝐮𝐫𝐜𝐞𝐥𝐥 (𝟏𝟔𝟓𝟗–𝟏𝟔𝟗𝟓) died at the age of 𝟑𝟔, England lost 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐠𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐬𝐭 𝐦𝐮𝐬𝐢𝐜𝐚𝐥 𝐠𝐞𝐧𝐢𝐮𝐬 𝐢𝐭 𝐡𝐚𝐝 𝐩𝐫𝐨𝐝𝐮𝐜𝐞𝐝 𝐬𝐢𝐧𝐜𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐑𝐞𝐧𝐚𝐢𝐬𝐬𝐚𝐧𝐜𝐞. Despite his short life, Purcell composed 𝐦𝐨𝐫𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐧 𝟖𝟎𝟎 𝐰𝐨𝐫𝐤𝐬, including operas,…

𝗪𝗛𝗔𝗧 𝗗𝗜𝗗 𝗚𝗨𝗦𝗧𝗔𝗩 𝗠𝗔𝗛𝗟𝗘𝗥 𝗧𝗛𝗜𝗡𝗞 𝗢𝗙 𝗔𝗡𝗧𝗢𝗡 𝗕𝗥𝗨𝗖𝗞𝗡𝗘𝗥? 𝗔𝗹𝗺𝗮 𝗠𝗮𝗵𝗹𝗲𝗿'𝘀 𝗠𝗼𝘃𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗧𝗲𝘀𝘁𝗶𝗺𝗼𝗻𝘆 𝗼𝗳 𝗔𝗱𝗺𝗶𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻, 𝗙𝗮𝗶𝘁𝗵, 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗦𝗽𝗶𝗿𝗶𝘁𝘂𝗮𝗹 𝗞𝗶𝗻𝘀𝗵𝗶𝗽 Among the many relationships that shaped 𝗚𝘂𝘀𝘁𝗮𝘃 𝗠𝗮𝗵𝗹𝗲𝗿's artistic life, none was more profound than his…

𝗜𝗦𝗔𝗔𝗖 𝗦𝗧𝗘𝗥𝗡 𝗔𝗧 𝗖𝗔𝗥𝗡𝗘𝗚𝗜𝗘 𝗛𝗔𝗟𝗟, 𝟭𝟵𝟲𝟬 — 𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝗩𝗜𝗢𝗟𝗜𝗡𝗜𝗦𝗧 𝗪𝗛𝗢 𝗦𝗔𝗩𝗘𝗗 𝗔 𝗠𝗨𝗦𝗜𝗖𝗔𝗟 𝗧𝗘𝗠𝗣𝗟𝗘 The 𝗡𝗲𝘄 𝗬𝗼𝗿𝗸 𝗣𝗵𝗶𝗹𝗵𝗮𝗿𝗺𝗼𝗻𝗶𝗰 Gala Opening Night concert of 27 September 1960 was much more than the opening of another…

𝗥𝗔𝗖𝗛𝗠𝗔𝗡𝗜𝗡𝗢𝗙𝗙 𝗔𝗡𝗗 𝗦𝗧𝗥𝗔𝗩𝗜𝗡𝗦𝗞𝗬 — 𝗧𝗪𝗢 𝗥𝗨𝗦𝗦𝗜𝗔𝗦, 𝗢𝗡𝗘 𝗝𝗔𝗥 𝗢𝗙 𝗛𝗢𝗡𝗘𝗬 Few encounters in twentieth-century music could have been more symbolically charged than those between 𝗦𝗲𝗿𝗴𝗲𝗶 𝗥𝗮𝗰𝗵𝗺𝗮𝗻𝗶𝗻𝗼𝗳𝗳 and 𝗜𝗴𝗼𝗿 𝗦𝘁𝗿𝗮𝘃𝗶𝗻𝘀𝗸𝘆. Both were Russian exiles, internationally…

𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝗟𝗜𝗙𝗘 𝗢𝗙 𝗛𝗘𝗖𝗧𝗢𝗥 𝗕𝗘𝗥𝗟𝗜𝗢𝗭 𝗔𝗦 𝗪𝗥𝗜𝗧𝗧𝗘𝗡 𝗕𝗬 𝗛𝗜𝗠𝗦𝗘𝗟𝗙 𝗣𝗢𝗦𝗧 𝟮𝟬 𝗘𝘀𝘁𝗲𝗹𝗹𝗲 𝗢𝗻𝗰𝗲 𝗠𝗼𝗿𝗲: 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗔𝗳𝘁𝗲𝗿𝗴𝗹𝗼𝘄 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗙𝗶𝗻𝗮𝗹 𝗦𝗶𝗹𝗲𝗻𝗰𝗲 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗖𝗵𝗮𝗶𝗿 𝗧𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗪𝗮𝘀 𝗘𝗺𝗽𝘁𝘆 — 𝟭𝟴𝟰𝟴 When 𝗛𝗲𝗰𝘁𝗼𝗿 𝗕𝗲𝗿𝗹𝗶𝗼𝘇 returned to France from…

𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝗟𝗜𝗙𝗘 𝗢𝗙 𝗛𝗘𝗖𝗧𝗢𝗥 𝗕𝗘𝗥𝗟𝗜𝗢𝗭 𝗔𝗦 𝗪𝗥𝗜𝗧𝗧𝗘𝗡 𝗕𝗬 𝗛𝗜𝗠𝗦𝗘𝗟𝗙 𝗣𝗢𝗦𝗧 𝟭𝟵 𝗙𝗮𝘂𝘀𝘁, 𝗙𝗮𝗶𝗹𝘂𝗿𝗲, 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗧𝗿𝗼𝗷𝗮𝗻𝘀 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗕𝗼𝗼𝗸 𝗧𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗛𝗮𝗱 𝗡𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗿 𝗟𝗲𝗳𝘁 𝗛𝗶𝗺 Long before 𝗟𝗮 𝗗𝗮𝗺𝗻𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗱𝗲 𝗙𝗮𝘂𝘀𝘁 existed in its mature form,…

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 𝟭𝟮 𝗕𝘂𝗱𝗮𝗽𝗲𝘀𝘁: 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗙𝗶𝗿𝘀𝘁 𝗚𝗿𝗲𝗮𝘁 𝗕𝗮𝘁𝘁𝗹𝗲 𝗔 𝗬𝗼𝘂𝗻𝗴 𝗢𝘂𝘁𝘀𝗶𝗱𝗲𝗿 𝗧𝗮𝗸𝗲𝘀 𝗖𝗼𝗺𝗺𝗮𝗻𝗱 — 𝟭𝟴𝟴𝟴 When 𝗚𝘂𝘀𝘁𝗮𝘃 𝗠𝗮𝗵𝗹𝗲𝗿 accepted the direction of the 𝗛𝘂𝗻𝗴𝗮𝗿𝗶𝗮𝗻 𝗥𝗼𝘆𝗮𝗹 𝗢𝗽𝗲𝗿𝗮 𝗶𝗻 𝗕𝘂𝗱𝗮𝗽𝗲𝘀𝘁 in…

𝗙𝗿𝗮𝗻𝘇 𝗟𝗶𝘀𝘇𝘁 𝗕𝘆 𝗝𝗮𝗺𝗲𝘀 𝗛𝘂𝗻𝗲𝗸𝗲𝗿 𝗖𝗵𝗮𝗽𝘁𝗲𝗿 𝗩𝗜 — 𝗠𝗶𝗿𝗿𝗼𝗿𝗲𝗱 𝗯𝘆 𝗛𝗶𝘀 𝗖𝗼𝗻𝘁𝗲𝗺𝗽𝗼𝗿𝗮𝗿𝗶𝗲𝘀 𝗣𝗼𝘀𝘁 𝟮𝟮 — 𝗦𝗰𝗵𝘂𝗺𝗮𝗻𝗻 𝗼𝗻 𝗟𝗶𝘀𝘇𝘁 Among the witnesses who tried to understand 𝗙𝗿𝗮𝗻𝘇 𝗟𝗶𝘀𝘇𝘁, 𝗥𝗼𝗯𝗲𝗿𝘁 𝗦𝗰𝗵𝘂𝗺𝗮𝗻𝗻 occupies a privileged place. He…

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…

𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝗟𝗜𝗙𝗘 𝗢𝗙 𝗛𝗘𝗖𝗧𝗢𝗥 𝗕𝗘𝗥𝗟𝗜𝗢𝗭 𝗔𝗦 𝗪𝗥𝗜𝗧𝗧𝗘𝗡 𝗕𝗬 𝗛𝗜𝗠𝗦𝗘𝗟𝗙 𝗣𝗢𝗦𝗧 𝟲 𝗖𝗵𝗲𝗿𝘂𝗯𝗶𝗻𝗶, 𝗟𝗲𝘀𝘂𝗲𝘂𝗿, 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗥𝗲𝗯𝗲𝗹 𝗮𝘁 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗖𝗼𝗻𝘀𝗲𝗿𝘃𝗮𝘁𝗼𝗶𝗿𝗲 𝗕𝗲𝗳𝗼𝗿𝗲 𝗟𝗲𝘀𝘂𝗲𝘂𝗿: 𝗜𝗺𝗮𝗴𝗶𝗻𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗪𝗶𝘁𝗵𝗼𝘂𝘁 𝗧𝗲𝗰𝗵𝗻𝗶𝗾𝘂𝗲 — 𝟭𝟴𝟮𝟯 Once 𝗛𝗲𝗰𝘁𝗼𝗿 𝗕𝗲𝗿𝗹𝗶𝗼𝘇 had decided that he would…

𝗙𝗿𝗮𝗻𝘇 𝗟𝗶𝘀𝘇𝘁 𝗕𝘆 𝗝𝗮𝗺𝗲𝘀 𝗛𝘂𝗻𝗲𝗸𝗲𝗿 𝗖𝗵𝗮𝗽𝘁𝗲𝗿 𝗜𝗩 — 𝗔𝘁 𝗥𝗼𝗺𝗲, 𝗪𝗲𝗶𝗺𝗮𝗿, 𝗕𝘂𝗱𝗮𝗽𝗲𝘀𝘁 𝗣𝗼𝘀𝘁 𝟭𝟴 — 𝗪𝗲𝗶𝗺𝗮𝗿: 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗧𝗲𝗮𝗰𝗵𝗲𝗿 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗦𝗰𝗵𝗼𝗼𝗹 After 𝗥𝗼𝗺𝗲, with its cloisters, sacred manuscripts, Catholic ceremonies, and inward religious light,…

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,…