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𝐉𝐔𝐋𝐈𝐀𝐍 𝐅𝐎𝐍𝐓𝐀𝐍𝐀 𝐀𝐍𝐃 𝐅𝐑𝐘𝐃𝐄𝐑𝐘𝐊 𝐂𝐇𝐎𝐏𝐈𝐍 — 𝐅𝐑𝐈𝐄𝐍𝐃, 𝐂𝐎𝐍𝐅𝐈𝐃𝐀𝐍𝐓 𝐀𝐍𝐃 𝐆𝐔𝐀𝐑𝐃𝐈𝐀𝐍 𝐎𝐅 𝐇𝐈𝐒 𝐌𝐔𝐒𝐈𝐂 Julian Fontana (1810–1869) was one of Frédéric Chopin’s closest Polish friends, and his importance in Chopin’s life went far beyond ordinary…

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…

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 𝗥𝗔𝗩𝗘𝗟 — 𝗧𝗪𝗢 𝗣𝗜𝗔𝗡𝗢 𝗪𝗢𝗥𝗟𝗗𝗦 𝗧𝗛𝗔𝗧 𝗔𝗣𝗣𝗔𝗥𝗘𝗡𝗧𝗟𝗬 𝗡𝗘𝗩𝗘𝗥 𝗠𝗘𝗧 The relationship between 𝗦𝗲𝗿𝗴𝗲𝗶 𝗥𝗮𝗰𝗵𝗺𝗮𝗻𝗶𝗻𝗼𝗳𝗳 and 𝗠𝗮𝘂𝗿𝗶𝗰𝗲 𝗥𝗮𝘃𝗲𝗹 presents a striking historical paradox. They were almost exact contemporaries, internationally celebrated composers and pianists,…

𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝗠𝗘𝗘𝗧𝗜𝗡𝗚 𝗧𝗛𝗔𝗧 𝗡𝗘𝗩𝗘𝗥 𝗛𝗔𝗣𝗣𝗘𝗡𝗘𝗗: 𝗗𝗘𝗕𝗨𝗦𝗦𝗬, 𝗦𝗖𝗥𝗜𝗔𝗕𝗜𝗡, 𝗔𝗡𝗗 𝗧𝗛𝗘𝗜𝗥 𝗠𝗬𝗦𝗧𝗘𝗥𝗜𝗢𝗨𝗦 𝗣𝗔𝗥𝗔𝗟𝗟𝗘𝗟 𝗣𝗔𝗧𝗛𝗦 Few unrealised encounters in the history of modern music are as intriguing as the possible meeting between 𝗖𝗹𝗮𝘂𝗱𝗲 𝗗𝗲𝗯𝘂𝘀𝘀𝘆 and 𝗔𝗹𝗲𝘅𝗮𝗻𝗱𝗲𝗿 𝗦𝗰𝗿𝗶𝗮𝗯𝗶𝗻.…

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,…

𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝗟𝗜𝗙𝗘 𝗢𝗙 𝗛𝗘𝗖𝗧𝗢𝗥 𝗕𝗘𝗥𝗟𝗜𝗢𝗭 𝗔𝗦 𝗪𝗥𝗜𝗧𝗧𝗘𝗡 𝗕𝗬 𝗛𝗜𝗠𝗦𝗘𝗟𝗙 𝗣𝗢𝗦𝗧 𝟭𝟳 𝗖𝗵𝗮𝗶𝗻𝗲𝗱 𝘁𝗼 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗡𝗲𝘄𝘀𝗽𝗮𝗽𝗲𝗿: 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗖𝗿𝗶𝘁𝗶𝗰 𝗪𝗵𝗼 𝗟𝗼𝗻𝗴𝗲𝗱 𝘁𝗼 𝗖𝗼𝗺𝗽𝗼𝘀𝗲 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗠𝗮𝗿𝗿𝗶𝗮𝗴𝗲 𝗧𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗧𝘂𝗿𝗻𝗲𝗱 𝗔𝗿𝘁 𝗜𝗻𝘁𝗼 𝗮 𝗤𝘂𝗲𝘀𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗼𝗳 𝗦𝘂𝗿𝘃𝗶𝘃𝗮𝗹 — 𝗙𝗿𝗼𝗺 𝟭𝟴𝟯𝟯…

𝗠𝗔𝗛𝗟𝗘𝗥 𝗝𝗢𝗦𝗘 𝗟𝗨𝗜𝗦 𝗣𝗘𝗥𝗘𝗭 𝗗𝗘 𝗔𝗥𝗧𝗘𝗔𝗚𝗔 𝗣𝗢𝗦𝗧 𝟭𝟵 𝟭𝟵𝟬𝟳: 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗬𝗲𝗮𝗿 𝗘𝘃𝗲𝗿𝘆𝘁𝗵𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗖𝗼𝗹𝗹𝗮𝗽𝘀𝗲𝗱 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗗𝗲𝗮𝘁𝗵 𝗼𝗳 𝗠𝗮𝗿𝗶𝗮, 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗛𝗲𝗮𝗿𝘁 𝗗𝗶𝗮𝗴𝗻𝗼𝘀𝗶𝘀, 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗘𝗻𝗱 𝗼𝗳 𝗩𝗶𝗲𝗻𝗻𝗮, 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗕𝗲𝗴𝗶𝗻𝗻𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗼𝗳 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗔𝗺𝗲𝗿𝗶𝗰𝗮𝗻 𝗘𝘅𝗶𝗹𝗲 At the beginning…

𝗗𝗜𝗠𝗜𝗧𝗥𝗜 𝗠𝗜𝗧𝗥𝗢𝗣𝗢𝗨𝗟𝗢𝗦 — 𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝟭𝟱 𝗚𝗥𝗘𝗔𝗧𝗘𝗦𝗧 𝗥𝗘𝗖𝗢𝗥𝗗𝗜𝗡𝗚𝗦 Dimitri Mitropoulos was one of the most intense, selfless and visionary conductors of the twentieth century. He conducted without a baton, frequently without a score and with…

𝗘𝗨𝗚𝗘𝗡𝗘 𝗢𝗥𝗠𝗔𝗡𝗗𝗬 — 𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝟭𝟱 𝗚𝗥𝗘𝗔𝗧𝗘𝗦𝗧 𝗥𝗘𝗖𝗢𝗥𝗗𝗜𝗡𝗚𝗦 Eugene Ormandy remains inseparable from the Philadelphia Orchestra and the famously sumptuous sonority that became known throughout the world as the “Philadelphia Sound.” During his extraordinary tenure—first…

𝗖𝗛𝗔𝗥𝗟𝗘𝗦 𝗠𝗨𝗡𝗖𝗛 — 𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝟭𝟱 𝗚𝗥𝗘𝗔𝗧𝗘𝗦𝗧 𝗥𝗘𝗖𝗢𝗥𝗗𝗜𝗡𝗚𝗦 Charles Munch was one of the most spontaneous, incandescent and unmistakably French conductors of the twentieth century. His finest performances combine rhythmic freedom, nervous energy, luminous orchestral…

𝗟𝗘𝗢𝗣𝗢𝗟𝗗 𝗦𝗧𝗢𝗞𝗢𝗪𝗦𝗞𝗜 — 𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝟭𝟱 𝗚𝗥𝗘𝗔𝗧𝗘𝗦𝗧 𝗥𝗘𝗖𝗢𝗥𝗗𝗜𝗡𝗚𝗦 Leopold Stokowski was one of the most imaginative, controversial and influential conductors in recording history. His art was founded not only upon interpretation, but upon the very…

𝗥𝗢𝗕𝗘𝗥𝗧 𝗦𝗖𝗛𝗨𝗠𝗔𝗡𝗡’𝗦 𝗧𝗘𝗡 𝗧𝗥𝗨𝗘 𝗠𝗔𝗦𝗧𝗘𝗥𝗣𝗜𝗘𝗖𝗘𝗦 — 𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝗠𝗨𝗦𝗜𝗖𝗔𝗟 𝗗𝗜𝗔𝗥𝗬 𝗢𝗙 𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝗥𝗢𝗠𝗔𝗡𝗧𝗜𝗖 𝗦𝗢𝗨𝗟 Robert Schumann was perhaps the composer who most completely transformed private thought, literary imagination, emotional contradiction and unstable memory into music.…

𝗗𝗩𝗢𝗥𝗔𝗞’𝗦 𝗧𝗘𝗡 𝗧𝗥𝗨𝗘 𝗠𝗔𝗦𝗧𝗘𝗥𝗣𝗜𝗘𝗖𝗘𝗦 — 𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝗪𝗢𝗥𝗞𝗦 𝗧𝗛𝗔𝗧 𝗥𝗘𝗩𝗘𝗔𝗟 𝗛𝗜𝗦 𝗙𝗨𝗟𝗟 𝗚𝗘𝗡𝗜𝗨𝗦 Antonin Dvorak is sometimes reduced to three familiar emblems: the New World Symphony, the Cello Concerto and the Slavonic Dances. Yet his…

𝗝𝗢𝗛𝗔𝗡𝗡 𝗦𝗘𝗕𝗔𝗦𝗧𝗜𝗔𝗡 𝗕𝗔𝗖𝗛 — 𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝗟𝗘𝗔𝗥𝗡𝗘𝗗 𝗠𝗨𝗦𝗜𝗖𝗜𝗔𝗡 𝗖𝗛𝗥𝗜𝗦𝗧𝗢𝗣𝗛 𝗪𝗢𝗟𝗙𝗙 𝗖𝗛𝗔𝗣𝗧𝗘𝗥 𝟲 𝗘𝘅𝗽𝗮𝗻𝗱𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗠𝘂𝘀𝗶𝗰𝗮𝗹 𝗛𝗼𝗿𝗶𝘇𝗼𝗻𝘀 𝗖𝗼𝗻𝗰𝗲𝗿𝘁𝗺𝗮𝘀𝘁𝗲𝗿 𝗶𝗻 𝗪𝗲𝗶𝗺𝗮𝗿, 𝟭𝟳𝟭𝟰–𝟭𝟳𝟭𝟳 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗛𝗲𝗮𝘃𝗲𝗻’𝘀 𝗖𝗮𝘀𝘁𝗹𝗲: 𝗕𝗮𝗰𝗵 𝗮𝘀 𝗖𝗼𝗻𝗰𝗲𝗿𝘁𝗺𝗮𝘀𝘁𝗲𝗿, 𝗖𝗮𝗻𝘁𝗮𝘁𝗮 𝗖𝗼𝗺𝗽𝗼𝘀𝗲𝗿, 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗔𝗿𝗰𝗵𝗶𝘁𝗲𝗰𝘁 𝗼𝗳 𝗠𝘂𝘀𝗶𝗰𝗮𝗹 𝗧𝗵𝗼𝘂𝗴𝗵𝘁 In 𝟭𝟳𝟭𝟰, Johann…

𝗠𝗔𝗥𝗖 𝗠𝗜𝗡𝗞𝗢𝗪𝗦𝗞𝗜 — 𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝗙𝗜𝗘𝗥𝗬 𝗙𝗥𝗘𝗡𝗖𝗛 𝗖𝗢𝗡𝗗𝗨𝗖𝗧𝗢𝗥 𝗪𝗛𝗢 𝗧𝗨𝗥𝗡𝗘𝗗 𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝗕𝗔𝗥𝗢𝗤𝗨𝗘 𝗢𝗥𝗖𝗛𝗘𝗦𝗧𝗥𝗔 𝗜𝗡𝗧𝗢 𝗔 𝗧𝗛𝗘𝗔𝗧𝗥𝗘 𝗢𝗙 𝗦𝗢𝗨𝗡𝗗 𝗙𝗥𝗢𝗠 𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝗕𝗔𝗦𝗦𝗢𝗢𝗡 𝗧𝗢 𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝗣𝗢𝗗𝗜𝗨𝗠: 𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝗟𝗜𝗙𝗘, 𝗖𝗔𝗥𝗘𝗘𝗥, 𝗖𝗨𝗥𝗜𝗢𝗦𝗜𝗧𝗜𝗘𝗦, 𝗔𝗡𝗗 𝗔𝗥𝗧𝗜𝗦𝗧𝗜𝗖 𝗖𝗢𝗡𝗦𝗘𝗖𝗥𝗔𝗧𝗜𝗢𝗡 𝗢𝗙 𝗠𝗔𝗥𝗖 𝗠𝗜𝗡𝗞𝗢𝗪𝗦𝗞𝗜 𝗠𝗮𝗿𝗰…

𝗖𝗛𝗥𝗜𝗦𝗧𝗢𝗣𝗛 𝗪𝗢𝗟𝗙𝗙 — 𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝗦𝗖𝗛𝗢𝗟𝗔𝗥 𝗪𝗛𝗢 𝗧𝗔𝗨𝗚𝗛𝗧 𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝗠𝗢𝗗𝗘𝗥𝗡 𝗪𝗢𝗥𝗟𝗗 𝗛𝗢𝗪 𝗧𝗢 𝗥𝗘𝗔𝗗 𝗕𝗔𝗖𝗛 𝗔 𝗟𝗜𝗙𝗘 𝗗𝗘𝗩𝗢𝗧𝗘𝗗 𝗧𝗢 𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝗛𝗜𝗦𝗧𝗢𝗥𝗜𝗖𝗔𝗟 𝗧𝗥𝗨𝗧𝗛 𝗢𝗙 𝗠𝗨𝗦𝗜𝗖 Christoph Johannes Wolff, born on 𝗠𝗮𝘆 𝟮𝟰, 𝟭𝟵𝟰𝟬, in 𝗦𝗼𝗹𝗶𝗻𝗴𝗲𝗻, North…

𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝗡𝗘𝗪 𝗕𝗔𝗖𝗛 𝗥𝗘𝗔𝗗𝗘𝗥: 𝗔 𝗟𝗜𝗙𝗘 𝗢𝗙 𝗝𝗢𝗛𝗔𝗡𝗡 𝗦𝗘𝗕𝗔𝗦𝗧𝗜𝗔𝗡 𝗕𝗔𝗖𝗛 𝗜𝗡 𝗟𝗘𝗧𝗧𝗘𝗥𝗦 𝗔𝗡𝗗 𝗗𝗢𝗖𝗨𝗠𝗘𝗡𝗧𝗦 𝗛𝗮𝗻𝘀 𝗧. 𝗗𝗮𝘃𝗶𝗱 — 𝗔𝗿𝘁𝗵𝘂𝗿 𝗠𝗲𝗻𝗱𝗲𝗹 — 𝗖𝗵𝗿𝗶𝘀𝘁𝗼𝗽𝗵 𝗪𝗼𝗹𝗳𝗳 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗡𝗲𝘄 𝗕𝗮𝗰𝗵 𝗥𝗲𝗮𝗱𝗲𝗿 is not a conventional biography of Johann…

𝗚𝗘𝗢𝗥𝗚𝗘 𝗦𝗭𝗘𝗟𝗟 — 𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝗜𝗥𝗢𝗡 𝗔𝗥𝗖𝗛𝗜𝗧𝗘𝗖𝗧 𝗢𝗙 𝗢𝗥𝗖𝗛𝗘𝗦𝗧𝗥𝗔𝗟 𝗣𝗘𝗥𝗙𝗘𝗖𝗧𝗜𝗢𝗡 𝟮𝟬 𝗔𝗻𝗲𝗰𝗱𝗼𝘁𝗲𝘀, 𝗖𝘂𝗿𝗶𝗼𝘀𝗶𝘁𝗶𝗲𝘀, 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗥𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗮𝗹𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗠𝗼𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁𝘀 𝗳𝗿𝗼𝗺 𝗛𝗶𝘀 𝗟𝗶𝗳𝗲 George Szell, born 𝗚𝘆ö𝗿𝗴𝘆 𝗘𝗻𝗱𝗿𝗲 𝗦𝘇é𝗹𝗹 in Budapest on 𝟳 𝗝𝘂𝗻𝗲 𝟭𝟴𝟵𝟳 and deceased in Cleveland…

𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝗟𝗢𝗩𝗘 𝗔𝗙𝗙𝗔𝗜𝗥𝗦 𝗢𝗙 𝗚𝗥𝗘𝗔𝗧 𝗠𝗨𝗦𝗜𝗖𝗜𝗔𝗡𝗦 — 𝗥𝗨𝗣𝗘𝗥𝗧 𝗛𝗨𝗚𝗛𝗘𝗦 𝗘𝗗𝗜𝗧𝗜𝗢𝗡, 𝗥𝗘𝗖𝗘𝗣𝗧𝗜𝗢𝗡, 𝗖𝗥𝗜𝗧𝗜𝗖𝗔𝗟 𝗩𝗔𝗟𝗨𝗘, 𝗔𝗡𝗗 𝗟𝗜𝗠𝗜𝗧𝗦 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗟𝗼𝘃𝗲 𝗔𝗳𝗳𝗮𝗶𝗿𝘀 𝗼𝗳 𝗚𝗿𝗲𝗮𝘁 𝗠𝘂𝘀𝗶𝗰𝗶𝗮𝗻𝘀 was one of Rupert Hughes’s most characteristic music-biographical works: attractive, anecdotal, witty, morally…

𝗦𝗧𝗘𝗙𝗔𝗡 𝗦𝗔𝗡𝗗𝗘𝗥𝗟𝗜𝗡𝗚 — 𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝗧𝗛𝗜𝗥𝗗 𝗖𝗢𝗡𝗗𝗨𝗖𝗧𝗢𝗥 𝗢𝗙 𝗔 𝗥𝗘𝗠𝗔𝗥𝗞𝗔𝗕𝗟𝗘 𝗠𝗨𝗦𝗜𝗖𝗔𝗟 𝗗𝗬𝗡𝗔𝗦𝗧𝗬 𝗜. 𝗔 𝗡𝗔𝗠𝗘 𝗦𝗛𝗔𝗣𝗘𝗗 𝗕𝗬 𝗛𝗜𝗦𝗧𝗢𝗥𝗬 𝗦𝘁𝗲𝗳𝗮𝗻 𝗦𝗮𝗻𝗱𝗲𝗿𝗹𝗶𝗻𝗴 was born in 𝗘𝗮𝘀𝘁 𝗕𝗲𝗿𝗹𝗶𝗻 in 𝟭𝟵𝟲𝟰, into one of the most extraordinary conducting families…

𝗞𝗨𝗥𝗧 𝗦𝗔𝗡𝗗𝗘𝗥𝗟𝗜𝗡𝗚 — 𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝗖𝗢𝗡𝗗𝗨𝗖𝗧𝗢𝗥 𝗪𝗛𝗢 𝗦𝗨𝗥𝗩𝗜𝗩𝗘𝗗 𝗧𝗛𝗥𝗘𝗘 𝗪𝗢𝗥𝗟𝗗𝗦 Kurt Sanderling was not one of those conductors who built a career on glamour, theatrical poses, or the cult of personality. His greatness belonged to…

𝗚𝗨𝗦𝗧𝗔𝗩𝗢 𝗗𝗨𝗗𝗔𝗠𝗘𝗟 — 𝗔 𝗟𝗜𝗙𝗘 Gustavo Dudamel is one of the most visible conductors of the twenty-first century: a Venezuelan musician formed by 𝗘𝗹 𝗦𝗶𝘀𝘁𝗲𝗺𝗮, projected internationally while still very young, and later placed…

𝗚𝗨𝗦𝗧𝗔𝗩𝗢 𝗗𝗨𝗗𝗔𝗠𝗘𝗟: 𝗚𝗘𝗡𝗜𝗨𝗦, 𝗦𝗬𝗠𝗕𝗢𝗟, 𝗢𝗥 𝗣𝗥𝗢𝗗𝗨𝗖𝗧 𝗢𝗙 𝗠𝗔𝗥𝗞𝗘𝗧𝗜𝗡𝗚? Gustavo Dudamel is one of the few conductors of the 21st century whose name has crossed the narrow borders of the classical-music world. That fact alone…