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𝗛𝗘𝗥𝗠𝗔𝗡𝗡 𝗦𝗖𝗛𝗘𝗥𝗖𝗛𝗘𝗡 — 𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝟭𝟱 𝗚𝗥𝗘𝗔𝗧𝗘𝗦𝗧 𝗥𝗘𝗖𝗢𝗥𝗗𝗜𝗡𝗚𝗦 Hermann Scherchen was one of the most radical, intellectually adventurous and unpredictable conductors of the twentieth century. He cannot be classified simply as a specialist in modern…

𝗖𝗹𝗮𝗿𝗮 𝗦𝗰𝗵𝘂𝗺𝗮𝗻𝗻: 𝗣𝗶𝗮𝗻𝗼 𝗧𝗿𝗶𝗼 𝗢𝗽. 𝟭𝟳 (𝟭𝟴𝟰𝟲) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nzTcsluFxU4 After 𝗥𝗼𝗯𝗲𝗿𝘁’𝘀 𝗱𝗲𝗮𝘁𝗵, whom she outlived by 𝗳𝗼𝗿𝘁𝘆 𝘆𝗲𝗮𝗿𝘀, 𝗖𝗹𝗮𝗿𝗮 devoted much of her professional life to 𝗽𝘂𝗯𝗹𝗶𝘀𝗵𝗶𝗻𝗴 her husband’s music—through the meticulous firm of 𝗕𝗿𝗲𝗶𝘁𝗸𝗼𝗽𝗳…

𝗠𝗔𝗛𝗟𝗘𝗥 𝗝𝗢𝗦𝗘 𝗟𝗨𝗜𝗦 𝗣𝗘𝗥𝗘𝗭 𝗗𝗘 𝗔𝗥𝗧𝗘𝗔𝗚𝗔 𝗣𝗢𝗦𝗧 𝟯 𝗖𝗵𝗶𝗹𝗱𝗵𝗼𝗼𝗱 𝗕𝗲𝘁𝘄𝗲𝗲𝗻 𝗩𝗶𝗼𝗹𝗲𝗻𝗰𝗲 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗦𝗼𝗻𝗴 𝗧𝘄𝗼 𝗜𝗿𝗿𝗲𝗰𝗼𝗻𝗰𝗶𝗹𝗮𝗯𝗹𝗲 𝗪𝗼𝗿𝗹𝗱𝘀 The childhood of 𝗚𝘂𝘀𝘁𝗮𝘃 𝗠𝗮𝗵𝗹𝗲𝗿 unfolded inside a household divided between two profoundly different personalities. His father, 𝗕𝗲𝗿𝗻𝗵𝗮𝗿𝗱…

𝗝𝗢𝗦É 𝗟𝗨𝗜𝗦 𝗣É𝗥𝗘𝗭 𝗗𝗘 𝗔𝗥𝗧𝗘𝗔𝗚𝗔 — 𝗠𝗔𝗛𝗟𝗘𝗥 𝗔 𝗠𝗼𝗻𝘂𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗮𝗹 𝗣𝗼𝗿𝘁𝗿𝗮𝗶𝘁 𝗼𝗳 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗠𝗮𝗻, 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗖𝗼𝗺𝗽𝗼𝘀𝗲𝗿, 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗖𝗼𝗻𝗱𝘂𝗰𝘁𝗼𝗿 José Luis Pérez de Arteaga’s Mahler is far more than a conventional biography. It brings together…

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 𝟭𝟮 — 𝗟𝗶𝘀𝘇𝘁 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗟𝗮𝗱𝗶𝗲𝘀 The legend of 𝗙𝗿𝗮𝗻𝘇 𝗟𝗶𝘀𝘇𝘁 as a musical Don Juan is one of…

𝗦𝗖𝗛𝗨𝗠𝗔𝗡𝗡 — 𝗘𝗥𝗜𝗖 𝗙𝗥𝗘𝗗𝗘𝗥𝗜𝗖𝗞 𝗝𝗘𝗡𝗦𝗘𝗡 𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝗠𝗔𝗦𝗧𝗘𝗥 𝗠𝗨𝗦𝗜𝗖𝗜𝗔𝗡𝗦 — 𝗢𝗫𝗙𝗢𝗥𝗗 𝗨𝗡𝗜𝗩𝗘𝗥𝗦𝗜𝗧𝗬 𝗣𝗥𝗘𝗦𝗦 𝗖𝗛𝗔𝗣𝗧𝗘𝗥 𝟭𝟰 — 𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝗖𝗢𝗠𝗣𝗢𝗦𝗜𝗧𝗜𝗢𝗡𝗦, 𝟭𝟴𝟰𝟱–𝟱𝟰 𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝗟𝗔𝗧𝗘 𝗦𝗖𝗛𝗨𝗠𝗔𝗡𝗡 — 𝗡𝗢𝗧 𝗔 𝗥𝗨𝗜𝗡, 𝗕𝗨𝗧 𝗔 𝗗𝗜𝗙𝗙𝗘𝗥𝗘𝗡𝗧 𝗪𝗢𝗥𝗟𝗗 The music Robert Schumann composed…

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…

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…

𝗡𝗜𝗞𝗢𝗟𝗔𝗨𝗦 𝗛𝗔𝗥𝗡𝗢𝗡𝗖𝗢𝗨𝗥𝗧 — 𝗡𝗢𝗧𝗘𝗦 𝗔𝗥𝗘 𝗦𝗨𝗣𝗘𝗥𝗜𝗢𝗥 𝗧𝗢 𝗪𝗢𝗥𝗗𝗦 𝗧𝗮𝗹𝗸𝘀 𝗮𝗯𝗼𝘂𝘁 𝗥𝗼𝗺𝗮𝗻𝘁𝗶𝗰 𝗠𝘂𝘀𝗶𝗰 𝗟𝗶𝘃𝗲 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗥𝗲𝗮𝗱 𝗠𝘂𝘀𝗶𝗰! 𝗡𝗼𝘁𝗲𝘀 𝗔𝗿𝗲 𝗦𝘂𝗽𝗲𝗿𝗶𝗼𝗿 𝘁𝗼 𝗪𝗼𝗿𝗱𝘀 is both a meditation on nineteenth-century music and a passionate defence of interpretation…

# 𝗥𝗢𝗕𝗘𝗥𝗧 𝗦𝗖𝗛𝗨𝗠𝗔𝗡𝗡 𝗜𝗡 𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝗠𝗨𝗦𝗜𝗖 𝗢𝗙 𝗝𝗢𝗛𝗔𝗡𝗡𝗘𝗦 𝗕𝗥𝗔𝗛𝗠𝗦 — 𝗙𝗥𝗢𝗠 𝗬𝗢𝗨𝗧𝗛𝗙𝗨𝗟 𝗗𝗜𝗦𝗖𝗜𝗣𝗟𝗘 𝗧𝗢 𝗖𝗥𝗘𝗔𝗧𝗜𝗩𝗘 𝗛𝗘𝗜𝗥 The influence of **𝗥𝗼𝗯𝗲𝗿𝘁 𝗦𝗰𝗵𝘂𝗺𝗮𝗻𝗻** on **𝗝𝗼𝗵𝗮𝗻𝗻𝗲𝘀 𝗕𝗿𝗮𝗵𝗺𝘀** was profound, but it cannot be reduced to direct imitation.…

𝗣𝗼𝗿𝘁𝗿𝗮𝗶𝘁 𝗼𝗳 𝗪𝗼𝗹𝗳𝗴𝗮𝗻𝗴 𝗔𝗺𝗮𝗱𝗲𝘂𝘀 𝗠𝗼𝘇𝗮𝗿𝘁, 𝟭𝟳𝟳𝟯 — 𝗠𝗮𝗿𝘁𝗶𝗻 𝗞𝗻𝗼𝗹𝗹𝗲𝗿 This small ivory miniature, traditionally attributed to Martin Knoller, portrays Mozart at the age of seventeen. It is thought to date from 1773, when the…

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…

𝗠𝗢𝗭𝗔𝗥𝗧: 𝗔 𝗟𝗜𝗙𝗘 𝗠𝗔𝗬𝗡𝗔𝗥𝗗 𝗦𝗢𝗟𝗢𝗠𝗢𝗡 𝗘𝗡𝗗𝗜𝗡𝗚𝗦 𝗖𝗛𝗔𝗣𝗧𝗘𝗥 𝟯𝟮 𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝗣𝗢𝗪𝗘𝗥 𝗢𝗙 𝗠𝗨𝗦𝗜𝗖 ════════════════════════════ 𝗔𝗙𝗧𝗘𝗥 𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝗗𝗘𝗔𝗧𝗛: 𝗪𝗛𝗔𝗧 𝗥𝗘𝗠𝗔𝗜𝗡𝗦 After 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗙𝗶𝗻𝗮𝗹 𝗝𝗼𝘂𝗿𝗻𝗲𝘆, Solomon does not end his biography with the corpse, the grave, the…

𝗠𝗢𝗭𝗔𝗥𝗧: 𝗔 𝗟𝗜𝗙𝗘 𝗠𝗔𝗬𝗡𝗔𝗥𝗗 𝗦𝗢𝗟𝗢𝗠𝗢𝗡 𝗘𝗡𝗗𝗜𝗡𝗚𝗦 𝗖𝗛𝗔𝗣𝗧𝗘𝗥 𝟯𝟬 𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝗟𝗔𝗦𝗧 𝗬𝗘𝗔𝗥 ════════════════════════════ 𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝗬𝗘𝗔𝗥 𝗧𝗛𝗔𝗧 𝗥𝗘𝗙𝗨𝗦𝗘𝗦 𝗧𝗢 𝗕𝗘 𝗢𝗡𝗟𝗬 𝗧𝗥𝗔𝗚𝗜𝗖 After the darkness of 𝗔 “𝗖𝗼𝗻𝘀𝘁𝗮𝗻𝘁 𝗦𝗮𝗱𝗻𝗲𝘀𝘀”, one might expect Mozart’s final year to…

𝗦𝗘𝗥𝗚𝗜𝗨 𝗖𝗘𝗟𝗜𝗕𝗜𝗗𝗔𝗖𝗛𝗘 — 𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝟭𝟱 𝗚𝗥𝗘𝗔𝗧𝗘𝗦𝗧 𝗥𝗘𝗖𝗢𝗥𝗗𝗜𝗡𝗚𝗦 Sergiu Celibidache occupies a unique and paradoxical position in the history of recorded performance. Few major conductors distrusted recording technology more profoundly, yet few left behind such…

𝗚𝗘𝗢𝗥𝗚𝗘 𝗦𝗭𝗘𝗟𝗟 — 𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝟭𝟱 𝗚𝗥𝗘𝗔𝗧𝗘𝗦𝗧 𝗥𝗘𝗖𝗢𝗥𝗗𝗜𝗡𝗚𝗦 George Szell is often remembered as the supreme orchestral disciplinarian: a conductor of relentless rehearsal, exact ensemble, perfectly balanced textures and uncompromising technical standards. Under his direction,…

𝗕𝗘𝗥𝗟𝗜𝗢𝗭 — 𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝟭𝟱 𝗚𝗥𝗘𝗔𝗧𝗘𝗦𝗧 𝗥𝗘𝗖𝗢𝗥𝗗𝗜𝗡𝗚𝗦 𝗢𝗙 𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝗦𝗬𝗠𝗣𝗛𝗢𝗡𝗜𝗘 𝗙𝗔𝗡𝗧𝗔𝗦𝗧𝗜𝗤𝗨𝗘 Berlioz’s Symphonie fantastique requires far more than orchestral brilliance. A truly great interpretation must reconcile two apparently opposing qualities: the extravagant narrative of hallucination,…

𝗖𝗟𝗔𝗨𝗗𝗜𝗢 𝗔𝗕𝗕𝗔𝗗𝗢 — 𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝟭𝟱 𝗚𝗥𝗘𝗔𝗧𝗘𝗦𝗧 𝗥𝗘𝗖𝗢𝗥𝗗𝗜𝗡𝗚𝗦 Claudio Abbado’s finest recordings reveal a conductor whose authority rarely depended upon weight, domination or theatrical self-display. His interpretations were founded upon listening, transparency, rhythmic flexibility, instrumental…

𝗛𝗘𝗥𝗕𝗘𝗥𝗧 𝗩𝗢𝗡 𝗞𝗔𝗥𝗔𝗝𝗔𝗡 — 𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝟭𝟱 𝗚𝗥𝗘𝗔𝗧𝗘𝗦𝗧 𝗥𝗘𝗖𝗢𝗥𝗗𝗜𝗡𝗚𝗦 Herbert von Karajan left one of the largest recorded legacies of any conductor. He repeatedly returned to the same compositions, sometimes recording them three or four…

𝗥𝗼𝗯𝗲𝗿𝘁 𝗦𝗰𝗵𝘂𝗺𝗮𝗻𝗻 𝗜𝗻 𝗘𝘁𝗲𝗿𝗻𝗮𝗹 𝗥𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗿𝗶𝗲: 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗦𝘁𝗼𝗿𝘆 𝗢𝗳 𝗭𝘄𝗶𝗰𝗸𝗮𝘂’𝘀 𝗚𝗿𝗲𝗮𝘁 𝗠𝗼𝗻𝘂𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁 Standing in the Hauptmarkt of Zwickau, Saxony, the imposing bronze monument to Robert Schumann is more than a public statue. It represents the…

𝗗𝗼𝗺𝗲𝗻𝗶𝗰𝗼 𝗖𝗶𝗺𝗮𝗿𝗼𝘀𝗮’𝘀 𝗢𝗽𝗲𝗿𝗮𝘀 — 𝗔 𝗖𝗵𝗿𝗼𝗻𝗼𝗹𝗼𝗴𝗶𝗰𝗮𝗹 𝗚𝘂𝗶𝗱𝗲 Cimarosa composed more than sixty securely documented operas, although older catalogues sometimes claim over eighty by counting revisions, alternative titles, doubtful attributions and works written partly by…

𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝘀𝗼-𝗰𝗮𝗹𝗹𝗲𝗱 ‘𝗖𝗼𝗺𝗿𝗮𝗱𝗲𝘀𝗵𝗶𝗽 𝗘𝘃𝗲𝗻𝗶𝗻𝗴’ 𝗯𝗲𝘁𝘄𝗲𝗲𝗻 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗘𝗻𝗴𝗹𝗶𝘀𝗵 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗚𝗲𝗿𝗺𝗮𝗻 𝗽𝗵𝗶𝗹𝗵𝗮𝗿𝗺𝗼𝗻𝗶𝗰 𝗼𝗿𝗰𝗵𝗲𝘀𝘁𝗿𝗮𝘀, 𝗟𝗼𝗻𝗱𝗼𝗻, 𝟭𝟵𝟯𝟲 (𝗯/𝘄 𝗽𝗵𝗼𝘁𝗼) From left to right: 𝗖𝗮𝗿𝗹 𝗦𝗰𝗵𝘂𝗿𝗶𝗰𝗵𝘁 (1880–1967) was a German conductor; 𝗧𝗵𝗼𝗺𝗮𝘀 𝗕𝗲𝗲𝗰𝗵𝗮𝗺 (1879–1961) was a British conductor; 𝗪𝗶𝗹𝗵𝗲𝗹𝗺…

𝗠𝗢𝗭𝗔𝗥𝗧: 𝗔 𝗟𝗜𝗙𝗘 𝗠𝗔𝗬𝗡𝗔𝗥𝗗 𝗦𝗢𝗟𝗢𝗠𝗢𝗡 𝗘𝗡𝗗𝗜𝗡𝗚𝗦 𝗖𝗛𝗔𝗣𝗧𝗘𝗥 𝟮𝟱 𝗟𝗜𝗧𝗧𝗟𝗘 𝗟𝗘𝗢𝗣𝗢𝗟𝗗 ════════════════════════════ 𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝗢𝗟𝗗 𝗛𝗢𝗨𝗦𝗘 𝗔𝗡𝗗 𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝗡𝗘𝗪 𝗖𝗛𝗜𝗟𝗗 With 𝗟𝗜𝗧𝗧𝗟𝗘 𝗟𝗘𝗢𝗣𝗢𝗟𝗗, the biography enters its final large movement: 𝗘𝗡𝗗𝗜𝗡𝗚𝗦. The title sounds almost tender,…