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𝐂𝐇𝐎𝐏𝐈𝐍 𝐓𝐇𝐑𝐎𝐔𝐆𝐇 𝐇𝐈𝐒 𝐂𝐎𝐍𝐓𝐄𝐌𝐏𝐎𝐑𝐀𝐑𝐈𝐄𝐒 𝐅𝐑𝐈𝐄𝐍𝐃𝐒, 𝐋𝐎𝐕𝐄𝐑𝐒, 𝐀𝐍𝐃 𝐑𝐈𝐕𝐀𝐋𝐒 𝐁𝐘 𝐏𝐈𝐄𝐑𝐑𝐄 𝐇. 𝐀𝐙𝐎𝐔𝐑𝐘 𝐏𝐀𝐑𝐓 𝐈 — 𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐖𝐀𝐑𝐒𝐀𝐖 𝐘𝐄𝐀𝐑𝐒, 𝟏𝟖𝟏𝟎–𝟏𝟖𝟑𝟎 𝐂𝐇𝐀𝐏𝐓𝐄𝐑 𝟒 — 𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐅𝐈𝐑𝐒𝐓 “𝐋𝐎𝐕𝐄” 𝐊𝐎𝐍𝐒𝐓𝐀𝐍𝐂𝐉𝐀 𝐆Ł𝐀𝐃𝐊𝐎𝐖𝐒𝐊𝐀 In 𝐀𝐩𝐫𝐢𝐥 𝟏𝟖𝟐𝟗, when 𝐅𝐫𝐲𝐝𝐞𝐫𝐲𝐤 𝐂𝐡𝐨𝐩𝐢𝐧 was…

𝐒𝐄𝐑𝐆𝐈𝐔 𝐂𝐄𝐋𝐈𝐁𝐈𝐃𝐀𝐂𝐇𝐄 — 𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐂𝐎𝐍𝐃𝐔𝐂𝐓𝐎𝐑 𝐖𝐇𝐎 𝐑𝐄𝐅𝐔𝐒𝐄𝐃 𝐓𝐎 𝐓𝐔𝐑𝐍 𝐌𝐔𝐒𝐈𝐂 𝐈𝐍𝐓𝐎 𝐀 𝐏𝐄𝐑𝐌𝐀𝐍𝐄𝐍𝐓 𝐎𝐁𝐉𝐄𝐂𝐓 Sergiu Celibidache was one of the most original, demanding and controversial conductors of the twentieth century. Although he possessed the…

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…

𝐖𝐈𝐋𝐇𝐄𝐋𝐌 𝐅𝐔𝐑𝐓𝐖Ä𝐍𝐆𝐋𝐄𝐑 — 𝐖𝐇𝐘 𝐄𝐕𝐄𝐑𝐘 𝐏𝐄𝐑𝐅𝐎𝐑𝐌𝐀𝐍𝐂𝐄 𝐇𝐀𝐃 𝐓𝐎 𝐁𝐄 𝐔𝐍𝐈𝐐𝐔𝐄 Wilhelm Furtwängler did not believe that a musical masterpiece could be reproduced like a finished object. For him, a score was not a set…

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…

𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝗟𝗜𝗙𝗘 𝗢𝗙 𝗛𝗘𝗖𝗧𝗢𝗥 𝗕𝗘𝗥𝗟𝗜𝗢𝗭 𝗔𝗦 𝗪𝗥𝗜𝗧𝗧𝗘𝗡 𝗕𝗬 𝗛𝗜𝗠𝗦𝗘𝗟𝗙 𝗣𝗢𝗦𝗧 𝟭𝟮 𝗥𝗼𝗺𝗲, 𝗕𝗲𝘁𝗿𝗮𝘆𝗮𝗹, 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗠𝗮𝗱 𝗝𝗼𝘂𝗿𝗻𝗲𝘆 𝗛𝗼𝗺𝗲 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗣𝗿𝗶𝘇𝗲 𝗧𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗧𝗼𝗼𝗸 𝗛𝗶𝗺 𝗔𝘄𝗮𝘆 𝗙𝗿𝗼𝗺 𝗛𝗮𝗽𝗽𝗶𝗻𝗲𝘀𝘀 — 𝗟𝗮𝘁𝗲 𝟭𝟴𝟯𝟬–𝗘𝗮𝗿𝗹𝘆 𝟭𝟴𝟯𝟭 After five years of…

𝗙𝗿𝗮𝗻𝘇 𝗟𝗶𝘀𝘇𝘁 𝗕𝘆 𝗝𝗮𝗺𝗲𝘀 𝗛𝘂𝗻𝗲𝗸𝗲𝗿 𝗖𝗵𝗮𝗽𝘁𝗲𝗿 𝗩𝗜 — 𝗠𝗶𝗿𝗿𝗼𝗿𝗲𝗱 𝗯𝘆 𝗛𝗶𝘀 𝗖𝗼𝗻𝘁𝗲𝗺𝗽𝗼𝗿𝗮𝗿𝗶𝗲𝘀 𝗣𝗼𝘀𝘁 𝟮𝟵 — 𝗕𝘂𝘀𝗼𝗻𝗶, 𝗦𝗺𝗲𝘁𝗮𝗻𝗮, 𝗥𝗶𝗺𝘀𝗸𝘆-𝗞𝗼𝗿𝘀𝗮𝗸𝗼𝗳𝗳: 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗟𝗶𝘀𝘇𝘁𝗶𝗮𝗻 𝗔𝗳𝘁𝗲𝗿𝗹𝗶𝗳𝗲 The afterlife of 𝗙𝗿𝗮𝗻𝘇 𝗟𝗶𝘀𝘇𝘁 did not begin after his death in 𝟭𝟴𝟴𝟲.…

𝗙𝗿𝗮𝗻𝘇 𝗟𝗶𝘀𝘇𝘁 𝗕𝘆 𝗝𝗮𝗺𝗲𝘀 𝗛𝘂𝗻𝗲𝗸𝗲𝗿 𝗖𝗵𝗮𝗽𝘁𝗲𝗿 𝗩 — 𝗔𝘀 𝗖𝗼𝗺𝗽𝗼𝘀𝗲𝗿 𝗣𝗼𝘀𝘁 𝟮𝟳 — 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗦𝗮𝗰𝗿𝗲𝗱 𝗪𝗼𝗿𝗸𝘀: 𝗠𝗮𝘀𝘀𝗲𝘀, 𝗣𝘀𝗮𝗹𝗺𝘀, 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗖𝗵𝘂𝗿𝗰𝗵 𝗠𝘂𝘀𝗶𝗰 The sacred music of 𝗙𝗿𝗮𝗻𝘇 𝗟𝗶𝘀𝘇𝘁 is one of the most misunderstood regions…

𝗖𝗵𝗮𝗽𝘁𝗲𝗿 𝗩 — 𝗔𝘀 𝗖𝗼𝗺𝗽𝗼𝘀𝗲𝗿 𝗣𝗼𝘀𝘁 𝟮𝟱 — 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗦𝘆𝗺𝗽𝗵𝗼𝗻𝗶𝗰 𝗣𝗼𝗲𝗺, 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗙𝗮𝘂𝘀𝘁 𝗦𝘆𝗺𝗽𝗵𝗼𝗻𝘆, 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗗𝗮𝗻𝘁𝗲 𝗦𝘆𝗺𝗽𝗵𝗼𝗻𝘆 The question of 𝗙𝗿𝗮𝗻𝘇 𝗟𝗶𝘀𝘇𝘁 𝗮𝘀 𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗽𝗼𝘀𝗲𝗿 cannot be answered only from the piano. The piano…

𝗠𝗔𝗛𝗟𝗘𝗥 𝗝𝗢𝗦𝗘 𝗟𝗨𝗜𝗦 𝗣𝗘𝗥𝗘𝗭 𝗗𝗘 𝗔𝗥𝗧𝗘𝗔𝗚𝗔 𝗣𝗢𝗦𝗧 𝟭𝟭 𝗙𝗿𝗼𝗺 𝗣𝗿𝗮𝗴𝘂𝗲 𝘁𝗼 𝗟𝗲𝗶𝗽𝘇𝗶𝗴 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗬𝗼𝘂𝗻𝗴 𝗖𝗼𝗻𝗱𝘂𝗰𝘁𝗼𝗿 𝗪𝗵𝗼 𝗖𝗼𝘂𝗹𝗱 𝗡𝗼 𝗟𝗼𝗻𝗴𝗲𝗿 𝗕𝗲 𝗜𝗴𝗻𝗼𝗿𝗲𝗱 By the middle of the 𝟭𝟴𝟴𝟬𝘀, 𝗚𝘂𝘀𝘁𝗮𝘃 𝗠𝗮𝗵𝗹𝗲𝗿 had ceased to be merely…

𝗙𝗿𝗮𝗻𝘇 𝗟𝗶𝘀𝘇𝘁 𝗕𝘆 𝗝𝗮𝗺𝗲𝘀 𝗛𝘂𝗻𝗲𝗸𝗲𝗿 𝗖𝗵𝗮𝗽𝘁𝗲𝗿 𝗩 — 𝗔𝘀 𝗖𝗼𝗺𝗽𝗼𝘀𝗲𝗿 𝗣𝗼𝘀𝘁 𝟮𝟬 — 𝗟𝗶𝘀𝘇𝘁 𝗮𝘀 𝗖𝗼𝗺𝗽𝗼𝘀𝗲𝗿: 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗚𝗿𝗲𝗮𝘁 𝗤𝘂𝗲𝘀𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 The central question surrounding 𝗙𝗿𝗮𝗻𝘇 𝗟𝗶𝘀𝘇𝘁 as a composer has always been difficult, almost uncomfortable:…

𝗙𝗿𝗮𝗻𝘇 𝗟𝗶𝘀𝘇𝘁 𝗕𝘆 𝗝𝗮𝗺𝗲𝘀 𝗛𝘂𝗻𝗲𝗸𝗲𝗿 𝗖𝗵𝗮𝗽𝘁𝗲𝗿 𝗜𝗜 — 𝗔𝘀𝗽𝗲𝗰𝘁𝘀 𝗼𝗳 𝗛𝗶𝘀 𝗔𝗿𝘁 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗖𝗵𝗮𝗿𝗮𝗰𝘁𝗲𝗿 𝗣𝗼𝘀𝘁 𝟭𝟰 — 𝗟𝗶𝘀𝘇𝘁 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗖𝗵𝗼𝗽𝗶𝗻 The relationship between 𝗙𝗿𝗮𝗻𝘇 𝗟𝗶𝘀𝘇𝘁 and 𝗙𝗿é𝗱é𝗿𝗶𝗰 𝗖𝗵𝗼𝗽𝗶𝗻 was one of the most fascinating…

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…

𝗦𝗖𝗛𝗨𝗠𝗔𝗡𝗡 — 𝗘𝗥𝗜𝗖 𝗙𝗥𝗘𝗗𝗘𝗥𝗜𝗖𝗞 𝗝𝗘𝗡𝗦𝗘𝗡 𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝗠𝗔𝗦𝗧𝗘𝗥 𝗠𝗨𝗦𝗜𝗖𝗜𝗔𝗡𝗦 — 𝗢𝗫𝗙𝗢𝗥𝗗 𝗨𝗡𝗜𝗩𝗘𝗥𝗦𝗜𝗧𝗬 𝗣𝗥𝗘𝗦𝗦 𝗖𝗛𝗔𝗣𝗧𝗘𝗥 𝟭𝟱 — 𝗘𝗡𝗗𝗘𝗡𝗜𝗖𝗛 𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝗙𝗜𝗡𝗔𝗟 𝗥𝗢𝗢𝗠 The word 𝗘𝗻𝗱𝗲𝗻𝗶𝗰𝗵 has become almost inseparable from Robert Schumann’s name. It is more than…

𝗙𝗿𝗮𝗻𝘇 𝗟𝗶𝘀𝘇𝘁 𝗕𝘆 𝗝𝗮𝗺𝗲𝘀 𝗛𝘂𝗻𝗲𝗸𝗲𝗿 𝗖𝗵𝗮𝗽𝘁𝗲𝗿 𝗜𝗜 — 𝗔𝘀𝗽𝗲𝗰𝘁𝘀 𝗼𝗳 𝗛𝗶𝘀 𝗔𝗿𝘁 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗖𝗵𝗮𝗿𝗮𝗰𝘁𝗲𝗿 𝗣𝗼𝘀𝘁 𝟭𝟰 — 𝗟𝗶𝘀𝘇𝘁𝗼𝗺𝗮𝗻𝗶𝗮: 𝗕𝗲𝗳𝗼𝗿𝗲 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗣𝗼𝗽 𝗦𝘁𝗮𝗿 Before the modern pop idol, before the cinema star, before mass media…

𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝟭𝟱 𝗚𝗥𝗘𝗔𝗧𝗘𝗦𝗧 𝗩𝗜𝗢𝗟𝗜𝗡 𝗦𝗢𝗡𝗔𝗧𝗔𝗦 𝗔𝗡𝗗 𝗖𝗬𝗖𝗟𝗘𝗦 𝗢𝗙 𝗔𝗟𝗟 𝗧𝗜𝗠𝗘 Selecting the greatest violin sonatas requires more than identifying the most famous or technically demanding pieces. The essential criterion is the quality of the…

𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝟭𝟱 𝗚𝗥𝗘𝗔𝗧𝗘𝗦𝗧 𝗪𝗢𝗥𝗞𝗦 𝗔𝗡𝗗 𝗖𝗬𝗖𝗟𝗘𝗦 𝗙𝗢𝗥 𝗦𝗢𝗟𝗢 𝗣𝗜𝗔𝗡𝗢 𝗢𝗙 𝗔𝗟𝗟 𝗧𝗜𝗠𝗘 𝗔 𝗥𝗘𝗩𝗜𝗦𝗘𝗗 𝗔𝗡𝗗 𝗘𝗫𝗣𝗔𝗡𝗗𝗘𝗗 𝗦𝗘𝗟𝗘𝗖𝗧𝗜𝗢𝗡 Selecting the fifteen greatest achievements in solo piano literature cannot be reduced to choosing fifteen isolated compositions.…

𝗦𝗜𝗥 𝗖𝗢𝗟𝗜𝗡 𝗗𝗔𝗩𝗜𝗦 — 𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝟭𝟱 𝗚𝗥𝗘𝗔𝗧𝗘𝗦𝗧 𝗥𝗘𝗖𝗢𝗥𝗗𝗜𝗡𝗚𝗦 Sir Colin Davis was one of the most cultivated, humane and intellectually independent conductors of the second half of the twentieth century. He never cultivated the…

𝗙𝗿𝗮𝗻𝘇 𝗟𝗶𝘀𝘇𝘁 𝗕𝘆 𝗝𝗮𝗺𝗲𝘀 𝗛𝘂𝗻𝗲𝗸𝗲𝗿 𝗖𝗵𝗮𝗽𝘁𝗲𝗿 𝗜 — 𝗟𝗶𝘀𝘇𝘁: 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗥𝗲𝗮𝗹 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗟𝗲𝗴𝗲𝗻𝗱𝗮𝗿𝘆 𝗣𝗼𝘀𝘁 𝟭𝟮 — 𝗙𝗶𝗻𝗮𝗹 𝗬𝗲𝗮𝗿𝘀 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗗𝗲𝗮𝘁𝗵 𝗮𝘁 𝗕𝗮𝘆𝗿𝗲𝘂𝘁𝗵 The final years of 𝗙𝗿𝗮𝗻𝘇 𝗟𝗶𝘀𝘇𝘁 form one of the most moving…

𝗘𝗨𝗚𝗘𝗡 𝗝𝗢𝗖𝗛𝗨𝗠 — 𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝟭𝟱 𝗚𝗥𝗘𝗔𝗧𝗘𝗦𝗧 𝗥𝗘𝗖𝗢𝗥𝗗𝗜𝗡𝗚𝗦 Eugen Jochum is remembered above all as one of the supreme Bruckner conductors of the twentieth century, but that description captures only part of his achievement. His…

# 𝗡𝗜𝗞𝗢𝗟𝗔𝗨𝗦 𝗛𝗔𝗥𝗡𝗢𝗡𝗖𝗢𝗨𝗥𝗧 — 𝗢𝗡 𝗠𝗨𝗦𝗜𝗖 ## 𝗠𝗼𝘇𝗮𝗿𝘁 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗠𝗼𝗻𝗸𝗲𝘆’𝘀 𝗧𝗼𝗼𝗹𝘀 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗚𝗿𝗲𝗮𝘁 𝗠𝗮𝘀𝘁𝗲𝗿’𝘀 𝗧𝗵𝗼𝘂𝗴𝗵𝘁𝘀 𝗼𝗻 𝗛𝗲𝗮𝗿𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗨𝗻𝗱𝗲𝗿𝘀𝘁𝗮𝗻𝗱𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗠𝘂𝘀𝗶𝗰 𝗘𝗱𝗶𝘁𝗲𝗱 𝗯𝘆 𝗔𝗹𝗶𝗰𝗲 𝗛𝗮𝗿𝗻𝗼𝗻𝗰𝗼𝘂𝗿𝘁 **𝗢𝗻 𝗠𝘂𝘀𝗶𝗰** brings together the central ideas that made…

𝗡𝗜𝗞𝗢𝗟𝗔𝗨𝗦 𝗛𝗔𝗥𝗡𝗢𝗡𝗖𝗢𝗨𝗥𝗧 — 𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝟭𝟱 𝗚𝗥𝗘𝗔𝗧𝗘𝗦𝗧 𝗥𝗘𝗖𝗢𝗥𝗗𝗜𝗡𝗚𝗦 Nikolaus Harnoncourt did not merely change the way Baroque and Classical music was performed. He transformed the modern understanding of what interpretation itself could mean. For him,…

𝗕𝗘𝗥𝗡𝗔𝗥𝗗 𝗛𝗔𝗜𝗧𝗜𝗡𝗞 — 𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝟭𝟱 𝗚𝗥𝗘𝗔𝗧𝗘𝗦𝗧 𝗥𝗘𝗖𝗢𝗥𝗗𝗜𝗡𝗚𝗦 Bernard Haitink’s greatness was rarely proclaimed through theatrical gestures, violent tempo manipulation or the deliberate imposition of a conductor’s personality upon the score. His authority emerged gradually,…