Posts / Photos

𝗔𝗡𝗧𝗢𝗡𝗜𝗡 𝗗𝗩𝗢𝗥𝗔𝗞 𝗔𝗡𝗗 𝗛𝗜𝗦 𝗣𝗜𝗚𝗘𝗢𝗡𝗦: 𝗔 𝗠𝗢𝗡𝗢𝗚𝗥𝗔𝗣𝗛𝗜𝗖 𝗘𝗦𝗦𝗔𝗬 For many listeners, Antonin Dvorak remains above all the composer of the “New World” Symphony, the Cello Concerto, the Slavonic Dances, and Rusalka. Yet one of…

𝗔𝗡𝗧𝗢𝗡𝗜𝗡 𝗗𝗩𝗢𝗥𝗔𝗞: 𝟭𝟬 𝗘𝗦𝗦𝗘𝗡𝗧𝗜𝗔𝗟 𝗔𝗡𝗘𝗖𝗗𝗢𝗧𝗘𝗦 𝗔𝗡𝗗 𝗖𝗨𝗥𝗜𝗢𝗦𝗜𝗧𝗜𝗘𝗦 Antonin Dvorak is often presented as a genial national composer, a master of melody, and the author of some of the most beloved orchestral music ever written.…

𝗞𝗵𝗮𝗰𝗵𝗮𝘁𝘂𝗿𝗶𝗮𝗻: 𝗩𝗶𝗼𝗹𝗶𝗻 𝗖𝗼𝗻𝗰𝗲𝗿𝘁𝗼 𝗶𝗻 𝗗 𝗺𝗶𝗻𝗼𝗿 — 𝗩𝗶𝗼𝗹𝗶𝗻: 𝗗𝗮𝘃𝗶𝗱 𝗢𝗶𝘀𝘁𝗿𝗮𝗸𝗵 — 𝗠𝗼𝘀𝗰𝗼𝘄 𝗥𝗮𝗱𝗶𝗼 𝗦𝘆𝗺𝗽𝗵𝗼𝗻𝘆 𝗢𝗿𝗰𝗵𝗲𝘀𝘁𝗿𝗮 — 𝗖𝗼𝗻𝗱𝘂𝗰𝘁𝗼𝗿: 𝗔𝗿𝗮𝗺 𝗞𝗵𝗮𝘁𝗰𝗵𝗮𝘁𝘂𝗿𝗶𝗮𝗻 — 𝗥𝗲𝗰𝗼𝗿𝗱𝗲𝗱: 𝗔𝘂𝗴𝘂𝘀𝘁 𝟯, 𝟭𝟵𝟲𝟱. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PRjzGVcbv08 𝗞𝗛𝗔𝗖𝗛𝗔𝗧𝗨𝗥𝗜𝗔𝗡’𝗦 𝗩𝗜𝗢𝗟𝗜𝗡 𝗖𝗢𝗡𝗖𝗘𝗥𝗧𝗢 𝗜𝗡 𝗗 𝗠𝗜𝗡𝗢𝗥 𝗛𝗶𝘀𝘁𝗼𝗿𝘆, 𝗣𝗿𝗲𝗺𝗶𝗲𝗿𝗲, 𝗮𝗻𝗱…

# **𝗠𝗢𝗭𝗔𝗥𝗧 𝗜𝗡 𝗦𝗪𝗔𝗙𝗙𝗢𝗥𝗗’𝗦 𝗕𝗜𝗢𝗚𝗥𝗔𝗣𝗛𝗬 - Chapter 17 — Last Return, Last Departure ** **I. Vienna: Sociability, Dance, and the Theatre of Identity** The year **1783** opens with Mozart in a state of outward…

𝗟𝗶𝘀𝘇𝘁: 𝗣𝗶𝗮𝗻𝗼 𝗦𝗼𝗻𝗮𝘁𝗮 𝗶𝗻 𝗕 𝗺𝗶𝗻𝗼𝗿, 𝗦.𝟭𝟳𝟴 - 𝗔𝗹𝗳𝗿𝗲𝗱 𝗕𝗿𝗲𝗻𝗱𝗲𝗹 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZfsY7shQNos 𝗟𝗶𝘀𝘇𝘁: 𝗣𝗶𝗮𝗻𝗼 𝗦𝗼𝗻𝗮𝘁𝗮 𝗶𝗻 𝗕 𝗺𝗶𝗻𝗼𝗿, 𝗦.𝟭𝟳𝟴 — 𝗛𝗶𝘀𝘁𝗼𝗿𝘆 𝗼𝗳 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗖𝗼𝗺𝗽𝗼𝘀𝗶𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 Franz Liszt’s 𝗣𝗶𝗮𝗻𝗼 𝗦𝗼𝗻𝗮𝘁𝗮 𝗶𝗻 𝗕 𝗺𝗶𝗻𝗼𝗿, 𝗦.𝟭𝟳𝟴 stands as one…

𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗟𝗶𝗳𝗲 𝗼𝗳 𝗛𝗮𝗻𝗱𝗲𝗹 — 𝗖𝗛𝗔𝗣𝗧𝗘𝗥 𝟯 𝗟𝗔𝗪 𝗢𝗥 𝗠𝗨𝗦𝗜𝗖? 𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝗬𝗢𝗨𝗡𝗚 𝗛𝗔𝗡𝗗𝗘𝗟 𝗖𝗛𝗢𝗢𝗦𝗘𝗦 𝗛𝗜𝗦 𝗣𝗔𝗧𝗛 (𝟭𝟳𝟬𝟮–𝟭𝟳𝟬𝟯) By the beginning of the eighteenth century, the essential question in Handel’s life was no longer whether…

𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗟𝗶𝗳𝗲 𝗼𝗳 𝗛𝗮𝗻𝗱𝗲𝗹 — 𝗖𝗛𝗔𝗣𝗧𝗘𝗥 𝟮 𝗭𝗔𝗖𝗛𝗔𝗨 𝗔𝗡𝗗 𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝗠𝗔𝗞𝗜𝗡𝗚 𝗢𝗙 𝗔 𝗠𝗨𝗦𝗜𝗖𝗜𝗔𝗡 (𝟭𝟲𝟵𝟳–𝟭𝟳𝟬𝟮) If the first stage of Handel’s life was the awakening of a vocation, this second one was the period…

𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗟𝗶𝗳𝗲 𝗼𝗳 𝗛𝗮𝗻𝗱𝗲𝗹 — 𝗖𝗵𝗮𝗽𝘁𝗲𝗿 𝗡𝗼. 𝟭 𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝗖𝗛𝗜𝗟𝗗 𝗢𝗙 𝗛𝗔𝗟𝗟𝗘 (𝟭𝟲𝟴𝟱–𝟭𝟲𝟵𝟳) Handel’s life begins not in glamour, but in a world of 𝗱𝗶𝘀𝗰𝗶𝗽𝗹𝗶𝗻𝗲, 𝘀𝗲𝗿𝗶𝗼𝘂𝘀𝗻𝗲𝘀𝘀, 𝗿𝗲𝗹𝗶𝗴𝗶𝗼𝗻, 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝘀𝘁𝗿𝗼𝗻𝗴 𝗯𝗼𝘂𝗿𝗴𝗲𝗼𝗶𝘀 𝗼𝗿𝗱𝗲𝗿. He was born…

𝐕𝐥𝐚𝐝𝐢𝐦𝐢𝐫 𝐀𝐬𝐡𝐤𝐞𝐧𝐚𝐳𝐲: 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐌𝐮𝐬𝐢𝐜𝐢𝐚𝐧 𝐖𝐡𝐨 𝐔𝐧𝐢𝐭𝐞𝐝 𝐏𝐢𝐚𝐧𝐨 𝐅𝐢𝐫𝐞, 𝐑𝐮𝐬𝐬𝐢𝐚𝐧 𝐃𝐞𝐩𝐭𝐡, 𝐀𝐧𝐝 𝐇𝐮𝐦𝐚𝐧 𝐖𝐚𝐫𝐦𝐭𝐡 𝐈𝐧𝐭𝐨 𝐀 𝐋𝐢𝐟𝐞 𝐎𝐟 𝐌𝐮𝐬𝐢𝐜 There are musicians whose careers divide neatly into one identity, and there are others whose greatness…

𝐖𝐢𝐥𝐡𝐞𝐥𝐦 𝐊𝐞𝐦𝐩𝐟𝐟: 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐏𝐨𝐞𝐭 𝐎𝐟 𝐁𝐞𝐞𝐭𝐡𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐧 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐒𝐜𝐡𝐮𝐛𝐞𝐫𝐭 𝐖𝐡𝐨 𝐓𝐮𝐫𝐧𝐞𝐝 𝐋𝐲𝐫𝐢𝐜𝐢𝐬𝐦 𝐈𝐧𝐭𝐨 𝐋𝐞𝐠𝐞𝐧𝐝 There are pianists whose greatness is built on force, brilliance, or spectacle, and there are others whose authority comes from something…

𝐓𝐡𝐞𝐨𝐝𝐨𝐫 𝐋𝐞𝐬𝐜𝐡𝐞𝐭𝐢𝐳𝐤𝐲: 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐆𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐭 𝐌𝐚𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐖𝐡𝐨 𝐓𝐚𝐮𝐠𝐡𝐭 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐏𝐢𝐚𝐧𝐨 𝐓𝐨 𝐒𝐢𝐧𝐠, 𝐓𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐤, 𝐀𝐧𝐝 𝐂𝐨𝐧𝐪𝐮𝐞𝐫 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐖𝐨𝐫𝐥𝐝 There are pianists whose fame rests on their own performances, and there are others whose deepest greatness lies…

𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝗟𝗔𝗦𝗧 𝗗𝗔𝗬𝗦 𝗢𝗙 𝗙𝗥𝗔𝗡𝗭 𝗟𝗜𝗦𝗭𝗧 (𝗝𝗨𝗟𝗬 𝟭𝟴𝟴𝟲) 𝗜. 𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝗙𝗔𝗗𝗜𝗡𝗚 𝗢𝗙 𝗔 𝗧𝗜𝗧𝗔𝗡 In the summer of 1886, the once-brilliant light of Franz Liszt began to dim. He was 𝟳𝟰 𝘆𝗲𝗮𝗿𝘀 𝗼𝗹𝗱, frail,…

𝐄𝐮𝐠𝐞𝐧 𝐝’𝐀𝐥𝐛𝐞𝐫𝐭: 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐂𝐨𝐬𝐦𝐨𝐩𝐨𝐥𝐢𝐭𝐚𝐧 𝐓𝐢𝐭𝐚𝐧 𝐖𝐡𝐨 𝐓𝐮𝐫𝐧𝐞𝐝 𝐕𝐢𝐫𝐭𝐮𝐨𝐬𝐢𝐭𝐲 𝐈𝐧𝐭𝐨 𝐅𝐢𝐫𝐞 𝐀𝐧𝐝 𝐎𝐩𝐞𝐫𝐚 There are pianist-composers whose lives seem divided between the keyboard and the score, and then there are rarer figures whose whole existence…

𝐄𝐧𝐫𝐢𝐪𝐮𝐞 𝐆𝐫𝐚𝐧𝐚𝐝𝐨𝐬: 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐏𝐨𝐞𝐭 𝐎𝐟 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐏𝐢𝐚𝐧𝐨 𝐖𝐡𝐨 𝐓𝐮𝐫𝐧𝐞𝐝 𝐒𝐩𝐚𝐧𝐢𝐬𝐡 𝐄𝐥𝐞𝐠𝐚𝐧𝐜𝐞 𝐈𝐧𝐭𝐨 𝐌𝐮𝐬𝐢𝐜 𝐀𝐧𝐝 𝐃𝐢𝐞𝐝 𝐈𝐧 𝐓𝐫𝐚𝐠𝐞𝐝𝐲 There are composers whose music conquers by force, and others whose power lies in 𝐜𝐡𝐚𝐫𝐦, 𝐫𝐞𝐟𝐢𝐧𝐞𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭, 𝐦𝐞𝐥𝐚𝐧𝐜𝐡𝐨𝐥𝐲,…

**𝗠𝗢𝗭𝗔𝗥𝗧 𝗜𝗡 𝗦𝗪𝗔𝗙𝗙𝗢𝗥𝗗’𝗦 𝗕𝗜𝗢𝗚𝗥𝗔𝗣𝗛𝗬 - 𝗖𝗵𝗮𝗽𝘁𝗲𝗿 𝟭𝟲 — 𝗠𝗼𝗻𝘀𝘁𝗿𝗼𝘂𝘀 𝗠𝗮𝗻𝘆 𝗡𝗼𝘁𝗲𝘀: 𝗠𝗼𝘇𝗮𝗿𝘁, 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗔𝗯𝗱𝘂𝗰𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻, 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗙𝗶𝗿𝘀𝘁 𝗚𝗿𝗲𝗮𝘁 𝗩𝗶𝗲𝗻𝗻𝗲𝘀𝗲 𝗧𝗿𝗶𝘂𝗺𝗽𝗵** **𝗜. 𝗔 𝗡𝗲𝘄 𝗣𝗿𝗼𝗷𝗲𝗰𝘁, 𝗔 𝗡𝗲𝘄 𝗠𝗼𝘇𝗮𝗿𝘁** Swafford begins this chapter with a striking…

𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝗠𝗢𝗨𝗡𝗧𝗔𝗜𝗡 𝗢𝗙 𝗦𝗔𝗖𝗥𝗘𝗗 𝗗𝗥𝗔𝗠𝗔: 𝗕𝗔𝗖𝗛’𝗦 𝗦𝗧. 𝗠𝗔𝗧𝗧𝗛𝗘𝗪 𝗣𝗔𝗦𝗦𝗜𝗢𝗡 𝗔𝗡𝗗 𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝗕𝗜𝗥𝗧𝗛 𝗢𝗙 𝗔 𝗦𝗣𝗜𝗥𝗜𝗧𝗨𝗔𝗟 𝗨𝗡𝗜𝗩𝗘𝗥𝗦𝗘 𝗕𝗮𝗰𝗵 - 𝗠𝗮𝘁𝘁𝗵𝗮𝘂𝘀 𝗣𝗮𝘀𝘀𝗶𝗼𝗻 - 𝗔𝘂𝗱𝗶𝗼 𝗥𝗲𝗰𝗼𝗿𝗱𝗶𝗻𝗴𝘀 𝗶𝗻 𝗣𝗮𝘁𝗿𝗲𝗼𝗻: https://www.patreon.com/collection/2089323 𝗝𝗼𝗵𝗮𝗻𝗻 𝗦𝗲𝗯𝗮𝘀𝘁𝗶𝗮𝗻 𝗕𝗮𝗰𝗵’𝘀 𝗦𝘁. 𝗠𝗮𝘁𝘁𝗵𝗲𝘄 𝗣𝗮𝘀𝘀𝗶𝗼𝗻 — 𝗠𝗮𝘁𝘁𝗵ä𝘂𝘀-𝗣𝗮𝘀𝘀𝗶𝗼𝗻,…

𝗔𝗥𝗜𝗦𝗧𝗢𝗧𝗟𝗘: 𝟮𝟱 𝗤𝗨𝗢𝗧𝗔𝗧𝗜𝗢𝗡𝗦 𝗙𝗢𝗥 𝗔 𝗠𝗢𝗥𝗘 𝗛𝗔𝗣𝗣𝗬 𝗔𝗡𝗗 𝗦𝗘𝗥𝗘𝗡𝗘 𝗟𝗜𝗙𝗘 Aristotle, one of the greatest philosophers in history, shaped the entire course of Western thought. Philosopher, scientist, political thinker, and observer of human nature,…

𝗟𝗜𝗟𝗜 𝗕𝗢𝗨𝗟𝗔𝗡𝗚𝗘𝗥: 𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝗙𝗟𝗔𝗠𝗘 𝗧𝗛𝗔 𝗕𝗨𝗥𝗡𝗘𝗗 𝗧𝗢𝗢 𝗕𝗥𝗜𝗘𝗙𝗟𝗬 — 𝗔 𝗚𝗘𝗡𝗜𝗨𝗦 𝗢𝗙 𝗙𝗥𝗔𝗡𝗖𝗛 𝗠𝗨𝗦𝗜𝗖 𝗜𝗻𝘁𝗿𝗼𝗱𝘂𝗰𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 Among the most moving figures in the history of music, Lili Boulanger (1893–1918) stands as one of those rare…

𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗗𝘂𝗲𝗹 𝗼𝗳 𝗚𝗶𝗮𝗻𝘁𝘀: 𝗣𝗼𝗿𝗽𝗼𝗿𝗮 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗛𝗮𝗻𝗱𝗲𝗹 𝗶𝗻 𝗟𝗼𝗻𝗱𝗼𝗻 𝗟𝗼𝗻𝗱𝗼𝗻 𝗶𝗻 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝟭𝟳𝟯𝟬𝘀: 𝗔𝗻 𝗢𝗽𝗲𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗰 𝗕𝗮𝘁𝘁𝗹𝗲𝗴𝗿𝗼𝘂𝗻𝗱 𝗜. 𝗔 𝗖𝗶𝘁𝘆 𝗧𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗧𝘂𝗿𝗻𝗲𝗱 𝗢𝗽𝗲𝗿𝗮 𝗶𝗻𝘁𝗼 𝗪𝗮𝗿 London in the 1730s was not merely a great musical…

𝗖𝗹𝗮𝘂𝗱𝗶𝗼 𝗠𝗼𝗻𝘁𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗿𝗱𝗶: 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗖𝗼𝗺𝗽𝗼𝘀𝗲𝗿 𝗪𝗵𝗼 𝗖𝗵𝗮𝗻𝗴𝗲𝗱 𝗠𝘂𝘀𝗶𝗰 𝗙𝗼𝗿𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗿 𝗖𝗹𝗮𝘂𝗱𝗶𝗼 𝗠𝗼𝗻𝘁𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗿𝗱𝗶 (1567–1643) was one of the most decisive figures in the history of Western music, standing at the threshold between the Renaissance and the Baroque.…

𝗝𝗼𝗵𝗮𝗻𝗻 𝗣𝗮𝗰𝗵𝗲𝗹𝗯𝗲𝗹: 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗖𝗹𝗲𝗮𝗿 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗡𝗼𝗯𝗹𝗲 𝗩𝗼𝗶𝗰𝗲 𝗼𝗳 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗦𝗼𝘂𝘁𝗵 𝗚𝗲𝗿𝗺𝗮𝗻 𝗕𝗮𝗿𝗼𝗾𝘂𝗲 𝗝𝗼𝗵𝗮𝗻𝗻 𝗣𝗮𝗰𝗵𝗲𝗹𝗯𝗲𝗹 (1653–1706) was a leading German Baroque composer and 𝗼𝗻𝗲 𝗼𝗳 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗺𝗼𝘀𝘁 𝗶𝗺𝗽𝗼𝗿𝘁𝗮𝗻𝘁 𝗳𝗶𝗴𝘂𝗿𝗲𝘀 𝗼𝗳 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗦𝗼𝘂𝘁𝗵 𝗚𝗲𝗿𝗺𝗮𝗻 𝗼𝗿𝗴𝗮𝗻 𝘁𝗿𝗮𝗱𝗶𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻.…

𝗚𝗶𝗼𝘃𝗮𝗻𝗻𝗶 𝗕𝗮𝘁𝘁𝗶𝘀𝘁𝗮 𝗣𝗲𝗿𝗴𝗼𝗹𝗲𝘀𝗶: 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗕𝗿𝗶𝗹𝗹𝗶𝗮𝗻𝘁 𝗦𝗵𝗼𝗿𝘁-𝗟𝗶𝘃𝗲𝗱 𝗠𝗮𝘀𝘁𝗲𝗿 𝗪𝗵𝗼 𝗖𝗵𝗮𝗻𝗴𝗲𝗱 𝗘𝘂𝗿𝗼𝗽𝗲𝗮𝗻 𝗧𝗮𝘀𝘁𝗲 𝗚𝗶𝗼𝘃𝗮𝗻𝗻𝗶 𝗕𝗮𝘁𝘁𝗶𝘀𝘁𝗮 𝗣𝗲𝗿𝗴𝗼𝗹𝗲𝘀𝗶 (1710–1736) was one of the most brilliant and influential Italian composers of the early eighteenth century, and 𝗼𝗻𝗲 𝗼𝗳 𝘁𝗵𝗲…

𝗚𝗶𝘂𝘀𝗲𝗽𝗽𝗲 𝗧𝗼𝗿𝗲𝗹𝗹𝗶: 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗘𝗮𝗿𝗹𝘆 𝗠𝗮𝘀𝘁𝗲𝗿 𝗪𝗵𝗼 𝗦𝗵𝗮𝗽𝗲𝗱 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗕𝗮𝗿𝗼𝗾𝘂𝗲 𝗖𝗼𝗻𝗰𝗲𝗿𝘁𝗼 𝗚𝗶𝘂𝘀𝗲𝗽𝗽𝗲 𝗧𝗼𝗿𝗲𝗹𝗹𝗶 (1658–1709) was an Italian Baroque composer and violinist who played 𝗮 𝗰𝗿𝘂𝗰𝗶𝗮𝗹 𝗿𝗼𝗹𝗲 𝗶𝗻 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗱𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗹𝗼𝗽𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁 𝗼𝗳 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗰𝗼𝗻𝗰𝗲𝗿𝘁𝗼. Born in 𝗩𝗲𝗿𝗼𝗻𝗮…

𝗪𝗶𝗹𝗹𝗶𝗮𝗺 𝗕𝗼𝘆𝗰𝗲: 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗡𝗼𝗯𝗹𝗲 𝗘𝗻𝗴𝗹𝗶𝘀𝗵 𝗩𝗼𝗶𝗰𝗲 𝗕𝗲𝘁𝘄𝗲𝗲𝗻 𝗕𝗮𝗿𝗼𝗾𝘂𝗲 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗖𝗹𝗮𝘀𝘀𝗶𝗰𝗶𝘀𝗺 𝗪𝗶𝗹𝗹𝗶𝗮𝗺 𝗕𝗼𝘆𝗰𝗲 (1711–1779) was one of the most important English composers of the eighteenth century and 𝗮 𝗰𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗿𝗮𝗹 𝗳𝗶𝗴𝘂𝗿𝗲 𝗶𝗻 𝗘𝗻𝗴𝗹𝗮𝗻𝗱’𝘀 𝗺𝘂𝘀𝗶𝗰𝗮𝗹 𝗹𝗶𝗳𝗲 𝗮𝗳𝘁𝗲𝗿…