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# **André Cluytens — A Life in 20 Chapters** A conductor of **quiet authority, intellectual balance, and human decency**, André Cluytens occupies a singular place in twentieth-century musical history. Neither a revolutionary nor a…

# **WHY MOZART WAS THE ABSOLUTE GENIUS IN THE HISTORY OF MUSIC** ## **1. An unrepeatable combination of natural gifts: intuition, ear, and total memory** Many composers were prodigies, but **none combined such a…

𝐂𝐇𝐎𝐏𝐈𝐍 𝐓𝐇𝐑𝐎𝐔𝐆𝐇 𝐇𝐈𝐒 𝐂𝐎𝐍𝐓𝐄𝐌𝐏𝐎𝐑𝐀𝐑𝐈𝐄𝐒 𝐅𝐑𝐈𝐄𝐍𝐃𝐒, 𝐋𝐎𝐕𝐄𝐑𝐒, 𝐀𝐍𝐃 𝐑𝐈𝐕𝐀𝐋𝐒 𝐁𝐘 𝐏𝐈𝐄𝐑𝐑𝐄 𝐇. 𝐀𝐙𝐎𝐔𝐑𝐘 𝐏𝐀𝐑𝐓 𝐈𝐈 — 𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐏𝐀𝐑𝐈𝐒 𝐘𝐄𝐀𝐑𝐒, 𝟏𝟖𝟑𝟏–𝟏𝟖𝟒𝟗 𝐂𝐇𝐀𝐏𝐓𝐄𝐑 𝟗 — 𝐀𝐍 𝐀𝐑𝐓𝐈𝐒𝐓𝐈𝐂 𝐃𝐄𝐕𝐎𝐓𝐄𝐄 𝐏𝐀𝐔𝐋𝐈𝐍𝐄 𝐕𝐈𝐀𝐑𝐃𝐎𝐓 Among the many women who entered 𝐅𝐫𝐲𝐝𝐞𝐫𝐲𝐤…

𝐀𝐑𝐂𝐀𝐍𝐆𝐄𝐋𝐎 𝐂𝐎𝐑𝐄𝐋𝐋𝐈 𝐀𝐒 𝐀 𝐓𝐄𝐀𝐂𝐇𝐄𝐑 𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐌𝐀𝐍 𝐖𝐇𝐎 𝐓𝐀𝐔𝐆𝐇𝐓 𝐄𝐔𝐑𝐎𝐏𝐄 𝐇𝐎𝐖 𝐓𝐎 𝐏𝐋𝐀𝐘 𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐕𝐈𝐎𝐋𝐈𝐍 Arcangelo Corelli occupies an unusual position in the history of musical pedagogy. He left no violin method, no systematic…

𝐂𝐇𝐎𝐏𝐈𝐍 𝐓𝐇𝐑𝐎𝐔𝐆𝐇 𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐄𝐘𝐄𝐒 𝐎𝐅 𝐇𝐈𝐒 𝐂𝐎𝐍𝐓𝐄𝐌𝐏𝐎𝐑𝐀𝐑𝐈𝐄𝐒 𝐁𝐈𝐁𝐋𝐈𝐎𝐆𝐑𝐀𝐏𝐇𝐈𝐂𝐀𝐋 𝐈𝐍𝐅𝐎𝐑𝐌𝐀𝐓𝐈𝐎𝐍 Original title: 𝐂𝐡𝐨𝐩𝐢𝐧 𝐓𝐡𝐫𝐨𝐮𝐠𝐡 𝐇𝐢𝐬 𝐂𝐨𝐧𝐭𝐞𝐦𝐩𝐨𝐫𝐚𝐫𝐢𝐞𝐬: 𝐅𝐫𝐢𝐞𝐧𝐝𝐬, 𝐋𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐬, 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐑𝐢𝐯𝐚𝐥𝐬 Author: 𝐏𝐢𝐞𝐫𝐫𝐞 𝐇. 𝐀𝐳𝐨𝐮𝐫𝐲 First published: 𝐈𝐧 𝟏𝟗𝟗𝟗 Publisher: 𝐆𝐫𝐞𝐞𝐧𝐰𝐨𝐨𝐝 𝐏𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐬, Westport, Connecticut, and London…

𝐋𝐄𝐎𝐍𝐀𝐑𝐃 𝐁𝐄𝐑𝐍𝐒𝐓𝐄𝐈𝐍 — 𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐌𝐀𝐍 𝐖𝐇𝐎 𝐂𝐎𝐔𝐋𝐃 𝐄𝐗𝐏𝐋𝐀𝐈𝐍 𝐌𝐔𝐒𝐈𝐂 𝐋𝐈𝐊𝐄 𝐍𝐎 𝐎𝐍𝐄 𝐄𝐋𝐒𝐄 Leonard Bernstein possessed a gift that was almost as remarkable as his ability to conduct and compose: he could explain how…

𝗪𝗛𝗘𝗡 𝗧𝗪𝗢 𝗠𝗨𝗦𝗜𝗖𝗔𝗟 𝗪𝗢𝗥𝗟𝗗𝗦 𝗔𝗟𝗠𝗢𝗦𝗧 𝗠𝗘𝗧: 𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝗨𝗡𝗦𝗢𝗟𝗩𝗘𝗗 𝗘𝗡𝗖𝗢𝗨𝗡𝗧𝗘𝗥𝗦 𝗢𝗙 𝗗𝗘𝗕𝗨𝗦𝗦𝗬 𝗔𝗡𝗗 𝗥𝗔𝗖𝗛𝗠𝗔𝗡𝗜𝗡𝗢𝗙𝗙 The possibility that 𝗖𝗹𝗮𝘂𝗱𝗲 𝗗𝗲𝗯𝘂𝘀𝘀𝘆 and 𝗦𝗲𝗿𝗴𝗲𝗶 𝗥𝗮𝗰𝗵𝗺𝗮𝗻𝗶𝗻𝗼𝗳𝗳, two of the most powerful and apparently contrasting musical personalities of their age,…

𝗦𝗖𝗥𝗜𝗔𝗕𝗜𝗡 𝗔𝗡𝗗 𝗥𝗔𝗖𝗛𝗠𝗔𝗡𝗜𝗡𝗢𝗙𝗙: 𝗧𝗪𝗢 𝗥𝗨𝗦𝗦𝗜𝗔𝗡 𝗚𝗘𝗡𝗜𝗨𝗦𝗘𝗦 𝗪𝗛𝗢𝗦𝗘 𝗣𝗔𝗧𝗛𝗦 𝗖𝗥𝗢𝗦𝗦𝗘𝗗 The relationship between Alexander Scriabin and Sergei Rachmaninoff has often been simplified into a picturesque opposition: the mystical revolutionary against the last great Romantic, the…

𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝗟𝗜𝗙𝗘 𝗢𝗙 𝗛𝗘𝗖𝗧𝗢𝗥 𝗕𝗘𝗥𝗟𝗜𝗢𝗭 𝗔𝗦 𝗪𝗥𝗜𝗧𝗧𝗘𝗡 𝗕𝗬 𝗛𝗜𝗠𝗦𝗘𝗟𝗙 𝗣𝗢𝗦𝗧 𝟭𝟲 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗠𝘂𝘀𝗶𝗰 𝗼𝗳 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗟𝗮𝘀𝘁 𝗝𝘂𝗱𝗴𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗖𝗼𝗺𝗺𝗶𝘀𝘀𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗧𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗪𝗮𝘀 𝗡𝗲𝗮𝗿𝗹𝘆 𝗕𝘂𝗿𝗶𝗲𝗱 𝗕𝗲𝗳𝗼𝗿𝗲 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗠𝘂𝘀𝗶𝗰 𝗘𝘅𝗶𝘀𝘁𝗲𝗱 — 𝟭𝟴𝟯𝟳 By 𝟭𝟴𝟯𝟳, 𝗛𝗲𝗰𝘁𝗼𝗿 𝗕𝗲𝗿𝗹𝗶𝗼𝘇 had…

𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝗟𝗜𝗙𝗘 𝗢𝗙 𝗛𝗘𝗖𝗧𝗢𝗥 𝗕𝗘𝗥𝗟𝗜𝗢𝗭 𝗔𝗦 𝗪𝗥𝗜𝗧𝗧𝗘𝗡 𝗕𝗬 𝗛𝗜𝗠𝗦𝗘𝗟𝗙 𝗣𝗢𝗦𝗧 𝟭𝟬 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗕𝗮𝘁𝘁𝗹𝗲 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗣𝗿𝗶𝘅 𝗱𝗲 𝗥𝗼𝗺𝗲 𝗔 𝗣𝗿𝗶𝘇𝗲 𝗛𝗲 𝗗𝗲𝘀𝗽𝗶𝘀𝗲𝗱 𝗕𝘂𝘁 𝗖𝗼𝘂𝗹𝗱 𝗡𝗼𝘁 𝗔𝗳𝗳𝗼𝗿𝗱 𝘁𝗼 𝗜𝗴𝗻𝗼𝗿𝗲 — 𝟭𝟴𝟮𝟲 For 𝗛𝗲𝗰𝘁𝗼𝗿 𝗕𝗲𝗿𝗹𝗶𝗼𝘇, the…

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…

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…

𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝗟𝗜𝗙𝗘 𝗢𝗙 𝗛𝗘𝗖𝗧𝗢𝗥 𝗕𝗘𝗥𝗟𝗜𝗢𝗭 𝗔𝗦 𝗪𝗥𝗜𝗧𝗧𝗘𝗡 𝗕𝗬 𝗛𝗜𝗠𝗦𝗘𝗟𝗙 𝗣𝗢𝗦𝗧 𝟯 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗙𝗶𝗿𝘀𝘁 𝗦𝗼𝘂𝗻𝗱𝘀 𝗼𝗳 𝗚𝗲𝗻𝗶𝘂𝘀 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗙𝗹𝗮𝗴𝗲𝗼𝗹𝗲𝘁 𝗶𝗻 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗗𝗿𝗮𝘄𝗲𝗿 — 𝗖𝗶𝗿𝗰𝗮 𝟭𝟴𝟭𝟱–𝟭𝟴𝟭𝟲 In the memory of 𝗛𝗲𝗰𝘁𝗼𝗿 𝗕𝗲𝗿𝗹𝗶𝗼𝘇, love and music seemed…

# 𝗡𝗜𝗞𝗢𝗟𝗔𝗨𝗦 𝗛𝗔𝗥𝗡𝗢𝗡𝗖𝗢𝗨𝗥𝗧 — 𝗪𝗘 𝗔𝗥𝗘 𝗔 𝗙𝗘𝗟𝗟𝗢𝗪𝗦𝗛𝗜𝗣 𝗢𝗙 𝗘𝗫𝗣𝗟𝗢𝗥𝗘𝗥𝗦 ## 𝗡𝗼𝘁𝗲𝘀 𝗼𝗻 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗜𝗻𝗰𝗲𝗽𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗼𝗳 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗖𝗼𝗻𝗰𝗲𝗻𝘁𝘂𝘀 𝗠𝘂𝘀𝗶𝗰𝘂𝘀 𝗘𝗱𝗶𝘁𝗲𝗱 𝗯𝘆 𝗔𝗹𝗶𝗰𝗲 𝗛𝗮𝗿𝗻𝗼𝗻𝗰𝗼𝘂𝗿𝘁 **𝗪𝗲 𝗔𝗿𝗲 𝗮 𝗙𝗲𝗹𝗹𝗼𝘄𝘀𝗵𝗶𝗽 𝗼𝗳 𝗘𝘅𝗽𝗹𝗼𝗿𝗲𝗿𝘀** recounts the beginnings of a…

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…

𝗛𝗘𝗖𝗧𝗢𝗥 𝗕𝗘𝗥𝗟𝗜𝗢𝗭’𝗦 𝗧𝗘𝗡 𝗧𝗥𝗨𝗘 𝗠𝗔𝗦𝗧𝗘𝗥𝗣𝗜𝗘𝗖𝗘𝗦 Hector Berlioz occupies a unique place in nineteenth-century music. He was neither a conventional symphonist in the Beethovenian tradition nor principally a composer of absolute music. His greatest creations…

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…

𝗙𝗿𝗮𝗻𝘇 𝗟𝗶𝘀𝘇𝘁 𝗕𝘆 𝗝𝗮𝗺𝗲𝘀 𝗛𝘂𝗻𝗲𝗸𝗲𝗿 𝗖𝗵𝗮𝗽𝘁𝗲𝗿 𝗜 — 𝗟𝗶𝘀𝘇𝘁: 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗥𝗲𝗮𝗹 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗟𝗲𝗴𝗲𝗻𝗱𝗮𝗿𝘆 𝗣𝗼𝘀𝘁 𝟬𝟴 — 𝗠𝗮𝗿𝗶𝗲 𝗱’𝗔𝗴𝗼𝘂𝗹𝘁 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗥𝗼𝗺𝗮𝗻𝘁𝗶𝗰 𝗦𝗰𝗮𝗻𝗱𝗮𝗹 The relationship between 𝗙𝗿𝗮𝗻𝘇 𝗟𝗶𝘀𝘇𝘁 and 𝗖𝗼𝘂𝗻𝘁𝗲𝘀𝘀 𝗠𝗮𝗿𝗶𝗲 𝗱’𝗔𝗴𝗼𝘂𝗹𝘁 belongs to the…

𝗙𝗿𝗮𝗻𝘇 𝗟𝗶𝘀𝘇𝘁 𝗕𝘆 𝗝𝗮𝗺𝗲𝘀 𝗛𝘂𝗻𝗲𝗸𝗲𝗿 𝗖𝗵𝗮𝗽𝘁𝗲𝗿 𝗜 — 𝗟𝗶𝘀𝘇𝘁: 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗥𝗲𝗮𝗹 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗟𝗲𝗴𝗲𝗻𝗱𝗮𝗿𝘆 𝗣𝗼𝘀𝘁 𝟬𝟯 — 𝗟𝗶𝘀𝘇𝘁 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗪𝗮𝗴𝗻𝗲𝗿: 𝗚𝗲𝗻𝗶𝘂𝘀, 𝗚𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗶𝘁𝘂𝗱𝗲, 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗦𝗵𝗮𝗱𝗼𝘄 The relationship between 𝗙𝗿𝗮𝗻𝘇 𝗟𝗶𝘀𝘇𝘁 and 𝗥𝗶𝗰𝗵𝗮𝗿𝗱 𝗪𝗮𝗴𝗻𝗲𝗿 is one of…

𝗠𝗢𝗭𝗔𝗥𝗧: 𝗔 𝗟𝗜𝗙𝗘 𝗠𝗔𝗬𝗡𝗔𝗥𝗗 𝗦𝗢𝗟𝗢𝗠𝗢𝗡 𝗩𝗜𝗘𝗡𝗡𝗔 𝗖𝗛𝗔𝗣𝗧𝗘𝗥 𝟮𝟭 𝗙𝗥𝗘𝗘𝗠𝗔𝗦𝗢𝗡𝗥𝗬 ════════════════════════════ 𝗜. 𝗔𝗡𝗢𝗧𝗛𝗘𝗥 𝗨𝗡𝗜𝗩𝗘𝗥𝗦𝗘 After the portrait of Mozart as man, composer, performer, social being, elegant Viennese, player, worker, and vulnerable body, the biography enters…

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,…

𝗦𝗖𝗛𝗨𝗠𝗔𝗡𝗡 — 𝗘𝗥𝗜𝗖 𝗙𝗥𝗘𝗗𝗘𝗥𝗜𝗖𝗞 𝗝𝗘𝗡𝗦𝗘𝗡 𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝗠𝗔𝗦𝗧𝗘𝗥 𝗠𝗨𝗦𝗜𝗖𝗜𝗔𝗡𝗦 — 𝗢𝗫𝗙𝗢𝗥𝗗 𝗨𝗡𝗜𝗩𝗘𝗥𝗦𝗜𝗧𝗬 𝗣𝗥𝗘𝗦𝗦 𝗖𝗛𝗔𝗣𝗧𝗘𝗥 𝟭 — 𝗖𝗛𝗜𝗟𝗗𝗛𝗢𝗢𝗗 𝗔𝗡𝗗 𝗬𝗢𝗨𝗧𝗛 𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝗦𝗧𝗥𝗔𝗡𝗚𝗘 𝗕𝗢𝗬 𝗢𝗙 𝗭𝗪𝗜𝗖𝗞𝗔𝗨 Robert Schumann’s childhood begins not with the image of a passive…

𝗔𝗡𝗧𝗢𝗡 𝗥𝗘𝗜𝗖𝗛𝗔: 𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝗙𝗥𝗜𝗘𝗡𝗗 𝗢𝗙 𝗕𝗘𝗘𝗧𝗛𝗢𝗩𝗘𝗡 𝗪𝗛𝗢 𝗕𝗘𝗖𝗔𝗠𝗘 𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝗔𝗥𝗖𝗛𝗜𝗧𝗘𝗖𝗧 𝗢𝗙 𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝗪𝗜𝗡𝗗 𝗤𝗨𝗜𝗡𝗧𝗘𝗧 𝗔𝗻𝘁𝗼𝗻 𝗥𝗲𝗶𝗰𝗵𝗮 𝗕𝗼𝗿𝗻: 𝟮𝟲 𝗙𝗲𝗯𝗿𝘂𝗮𝗿𝘆 𝟭𝟳𝟳𝟬, 𝗣𝗿𝗮𝗴𝘂𝗲, 𝗕𝗼𝗵𝗲𝗺𝗶𝗮 𝗗𝗶𝗲𝗱: 𝟮𝟴 𝗠𝗮𝘆 𝟭𝟴𝟯𝟲, 𝗣𝗮𝗿𝗶𝘀, 𝗙𝗿𝗮𝗻𝗰𝗲 𝗔𝗻𝘁𝗼𝗻 𝗥𝗲𝗶𝗰𝗵𝗮 was one of the…