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# **Mozart: A Phobia for a Musical Instrument** One of the most curious—and revealing—anecdotes about **Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart** concerns his **aversion to the flute**, an instrument he openly disliked, and at times almost mocked.…

# **Astrid Varnay: Anecdotes and Curiosities from a Life of Extremes** ## **1. The Sieglinde Debut Nobody Thought Possible (1941)** When Varnay was called at the last moment to sing **Sieglinde** at the Metropolitan…

# **Astrid Varnay (1918–2006): A Voice Born into Destiny** **Astrid Varnay** was not merely a great Wagnerian soprano; she was **a phenomenon shaped by fate, circumstance, and fearless intelligence**. Few singers in operatic history…

# **Bruno Walter: The Private Life Behind the Podium** **Bruno Walter** is often remembered as one of the great humanist conductors of the 20th century—warm, lyrical, and morally grounded. That humanism was not an…

# **Bruno Walter’s Relationships with Other Musicians and Orchestras** **Gustav Mahler: Master, Mentor, and Moral Reference** The most decisive relationship in **Bruno Walter’s** artistic life was undoubtedly with **Gustav Mahler**, whom he met in…

# **Mozart Beyond Music: The Art of Living as Creative Fuel ** Mozart’s life outside music was far richer and more human than the legend of the isolated prodigy suggests. He did not retreat…

# **Mozart and Salieri: The Real Relationship** Few myths in music history have proven as persistent—or as misleading—as the idea of a murderous rivalry between **Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart** and **Antonio Salieri**. Popular culture, from…

# **Laughter While Composing Tragedy: Mozart and *****Don Giovanni*** One of the most disconcerting—and revealing—features of Mozart’s personality, as reported by contemporaries, is the apparent contradiction between **the gravity of his artistic creations and…

# **Mozart and the Problem of Patronage** Mozart’s relationship with patronage represents one of the most **radical ethical and professional positions taken by any major composer of the 18th century**. In an era when…

# **Handel - Siroe, Re di Persia - Opera - 1728 - Laurence Cummings ** [https://www.patreon.com/posts/handel-siroe-re-145976459?utm_medium=clipboard_copy&utm_source=copyLink&utm_campaign=postshare_creator&utm_content=join_link](https://www.patreon.com/posts/handel-siroe-re-145976459?utm_medium=clipboard_copy&utm_source=copyLink&utm_campaign=postshare_creator&utm_content=join_link) **George Frideric Handel — *****Siroe, Re di Persia*** **Genre:** Opera seria **Librettist:** Pietro Metastasio **First performance:** 17 February…

# **Pinchas Zukerman — A Life in 20 Chapters** **Chapter 1 — Origins in Tel Aviv (1948–1957)** Pinchas Zukerman was born in Tel Aviv in 1948 into a family where music was not an…

# **Different Worlds, Equal Genius: *****Alcina***** and *****Figaro*****, *****Giulio Cesare***** and *****Don Giovanni***** as Twin Summits of Operatic Art** Despite belonging to different traditions, musical languages, and historical moments, **Handel’s *****Alcina***** and Mozart’s *****Le…

# **Karl Böhm in Dresden - Brahms / Schumann ** [https://www.patreon.com/posts/karl-bohm-in-145886410?utm_medium=clipboard_copy&utm_source=copyLink&utm_campaign=postshare_creator&utm_content=join_link](https://www.patreon.com/posts/karl-bohm-in-145886410?utm_medium=clipboard_copy&utm_source=copyLink&utm_campaign=postshare_creator&utm_content=join_link) **Johannes Brahms — Symphony No. 4 in E minor, Op. 98** Sächsische Staatskapelle Dresden **Franz Schubert — 3 Marches Militaires, D.733: No. 1…

# **Handel - Brockes-Passion - 1716 - Laurence Cummings ** [https://www.patreon.com/posts/handel-brockes-145844286?utm_medium=clipboard_copy&utm_source=copyLink&utm_campaign=postshare_creator&utm_content=join_link](https://www.patreon.com/posts/handel-brockes-145844286?utm_medium=clipboard_copy&utm_source=copyLink&utm_campaign=postshare_creator&utm_content=join_link) Handel’s *Brockes-Passion* is one of the most remarkable Passion settings of the early 18th century, not least because it is based on a…

# **Handel - Lotario - Opera - 1729 **- **Laurence Cummings ** [https://www.patreon.com/posts/handel-lotario-145844033?utm_medium=clipboard_copy&utm_source=copyLink&utm_campaign=postshare_creator&utm_content=join_link](https://www.patreon.com/posts/handel-lotario-145844033?utm_medium=clipboard_copy&utm_source=copyLink&utm_campaign=postshare_creator&utm_content=join_link) *Lotario* was composed in **1729–1730** and occupies a pivotal position in **Handel’s London operatic career**. It was written immediately after the…

# **Handel - Arminio - Laurence Cummings ** [https://www.patreon.com/posts/handel-arminio-145843802?utm_medium=clipboard_copy&utm_source=copyLink&utm_campaign=postshare_creator&utm_content=join_link](https://www.patreon.com/posts/handel-arminio-145843802?utm_medium=clipboard_copy&utm_source=copyLink&utm_campaign=postshare_creator&utm_content=join_link) *Arminio* was composed in **1736–1737**, during one of the most difficult and unstable phases of **Handel’s London career**. Italian opera was rapidly losing its dominant…

# **Handel - Rodrigo - Opera - 1707 - Laurence Cummings ** [[https://www.patreon.com/posts/handel-rodrigo-145843409?utm_medium=clipboard_copy&utm_source=copyLink&utm_campaign=postshare_creator&utm_content=join_link](https://www.patreon.com/posts/handel-rodrigo-145843409?utm_medium=clipboard_copy&utm_source=copyLink&utm_campaign=postshare_creator&utm_content=join_link)](https://www.patreon.com/posts/handel-rodrigo-145843409?utm_medium=clipboard_copy&utm_source=copyLink&utm_campaign=postshare_creator&utm_content=join_link) *Rodrigo* holds a unique place in Handel’s output as **his first fully Italian opera** and the work that effectively launched his…

# **Handel - Joshua - Oratorio - 1747 - Laurence Cummings ** [[https://www.patreon.com/posts/handel-joshua-145842781?utm_medium=clipboard_copy&utm_source=copyLink&utm_campaign=postshare_creator&utm_content=join_link](https://www.patreon.com/posts/handel-joshua-145842781?utm_medium=clipboard_copy&utm_source=copyLink&utm_campaign=postshare_creator&utm_content=join_link)](https://www.patreon.com/posts/handel-joshua-145842781?utm_medium=clipboard_copy&utm_source=copyLink&utm_campaign=postshare_creator&utm_content=join_link) *Joshua* was composed by **George Frideric Handel** in **July 1747**, immediately after the triumph of *Judas Maccabaeus*. The two oratorios are…

# **Beverly Sills — A Life ** ## **Chapter 1 — Brooklyn Beginnings (1929–1933)** Beverly Sills was born Belle Miriam Silverman on May 25, 1929, in Brooklyn, New York, to immigrant parents of Russian-Jewish…

# **Handel - Alcina - Opera - 1735 - Les Musiciens du Louvre - Marc Minkowski ** [[https://www.patreon.com/posts/handel-alcina-du-145741714?utm_medium=clipboard_copy&utm_source=copyLink&utm_campaign=postshare_creator&utm_content=join_link](https://www.patreon.com/posts/handel-alcina-du-145741714?utm_medium=clipboard_copy&utm_source=copyLink&utm_campaign=postshare_creator&utm_content=join_link)](https://www.patreon.com/posts/handel-alcina-du-145741714?utm_medium=clipboard_copy&utm_source=copyLink&utm_campaign=postshare_creator&utm_content=join_link) **Magdalena Kožená**, mezzo-soprano **Erin Morley**, soprano **Alois Mühlbacher**, countertenor **Anna Bonitatibus**, mezzo-soprano **Elizabeth DeShong**, mezzo-soprano **Valerio…

# **Bach, Mozart, and the Idea of Musical Genius: A Comparative Study** The word *genius* in music often conjures two names before all others: **Johann Sebastian Bach** and **Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart**. They represent two…

# **Mozart vs. Gluck — Work-by-Work Comparison** What follows is not a “who is better” exercise, but a close look at how two radically different operatic minds approach **myth, morality, character, time, and musical…

# **Hector Berlioz on Mozart — Opinions, Quotes, and Sources** Few 19th-century composers revered Mozart with the same mixture of awe, affection, and artistic gratitude as **Hector Berlioz**. Although Berlioz was temperamentally distant from…

# **ANECDOTES ABOUT LEONTYNE PRICE AND HER RELATIONSHIPS WITH CONDUCTORS & COLLEAGUES** ## **1. Karajan and the First Encounter: “The Most Beautiful Voice in the World”** When Herbert von Karajan first heard Leontyne Price…