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𝗠𝗔𝗛𝗟𝗘𝗥 𝗝𝗢𝗦𝗘 𝗟𝗨𝗜𝗦 𝗣𝗘𝗥𝗘𝗭 𝗗𝗘 𝗔𝗥𝗧𝗘𝗔𝗚𝗔 𝗣𝗢𝗦𝗧 𝟰 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗣𝗶𝗮𝗻𝗼 𝗶𝗻 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗔𝘁𝘁𝗶𝗰 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗔𝘄𝗮𝗸𝗲𝗻𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗼𝗳 𝗮 𝗠𝘂𝘀𝗶𝗰𝗮𝗹 𝗩𝗼𝗰𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 In the Mahler household, education was not regarded as a luxury. For 𝗕𝗲𝗿𝗻𝗵𝗮𝗿𝗱 𝗠𝗮𝗵𝗹𝗲𝗿, culture…

𝗝𝗢𝗦𝗘𝗙 𝗞𝗥𝗜𝗣𝗦 — 𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝟭𝟱 𝗚𝗥𝗘𝗔𝗧𝗘𝗦𝗧 𝗥𝗘𝗖𝗢𝗥𝗗𝗜𝗡𝗚𝗦 Josef Krips represented a conducting tradition founded not upon personal display, exaggerated rhetoric or orchestral weight, but upon balance, clarity, natural phrasing and absolute fidelity to musical…

𝗝𝗔𝗦𝗖𝗛𝗔 𝗛𝗢𝗥𝗘𝗡𝗦𝗧𝗘𝗜𝗡 — 𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝟭𝟱 𝗚𝗥𝗘𝗔𝗧𝗘𝗦𝗧 𝗥𝗘𝗖𝗢𝗥𝗗𝗜𝗡𝗚𝗦 Jascha Horenstein belonged to a generation of conductors for whom interpretation was founded upon structural understanding, stylistic responsibility and absolute concentration rather than theatrical personality. His performances…

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 — 𝗖𝗼𝗺𝗽𝗹𝗲𝘁𝗲 𝗖𝗵𝗿𝗼𝗻𝗼𝗹𝗼𝗴𝗶𝗰𝗮𝗹 𝗟𝗶𝘀𝘁 𝗼𝗳 𝗢𝗿𝗶𝗴𝗶𝗻𝗮𝗹 𝗖𝗼𝗺𝗽𝗼𝘀𝗶𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝘀 The chronology below includes Clara Schumann’s published works, surviving unpublished compositions, cadenzas, unfinished works, and documented lost works. Dates sometimes differ among catalogues; uncertain dates…

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…

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 𝗕𝗔𝗥𝗢𝗤𝗨𝗘 𝗞𝗘𝗬𝗕𝗢𝗔𝗥𝗗 𝗠𝗔𝗦𝗧𝗘𝗥𝗣𝗜𝗘𝗖𝗘𝗦 𝗢𝗙 𝗔𝗟𝗟 𝗧𝗜𝗠𝗘 Selecting the greatest Baroque keyboard masterpieces requires a broader definition of “keyboard” than the modern piano repertoire usually implies. These works were written for harpsichord,…

𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝟭𝟱 𝗚𝗥𝗘𝗔𝗧𝗘𝗦𝗧 𝗪𝗢𝗥𝗞𝗦 𝗔𝗡𝗗 𝗖𝗬𝗖𝗟𝗘𝗦 𝗙𝗢𝗥 𝗦𝗢𝗟𝗢 𝗣𝗜𝗔𝗡𝗢 𝗢𝗙 𝗔𝗟𝗟 𝗧𝗜𝗠𝗘 𝗔 𝗥𝗘𝗩𝗜𝗦𝗘𝗗 𝗔𝗡𝗗 𝗘𝗫𝗣𝗔𝗡𝗗𝗘𝗗 𝗦𝗘𝗟𝗘𝗖𝗧𝗜𝗢𝗡 Selecting the fifteen greatest achievements in solo piano literature cannot be reduced to choosing fifteen isolated compositions.…

𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝟭𝟱 𝗚𝗥𝗘𝗔𝗧𝗘𝗦𝗧 𝗖𝗛𝗔𝗠𝗕𝗘𝗥-𝗠𝗨𝗦𝗜𝗖 𝗥𝗘𝗖𝗢𝗥𝗗𝗜𝗡𝗚𝗦 𝗢𝗙 𝗔𝗟𝗟 𝗧𝗜𝗠𝗘 Any attempt to identify the fifteen greatest chamber-music recordings must begin by acknowledging that “greatest” cannot mean merely the most technically perfect. A genuinely historic chamber…

𝗪𝗢𝗟𝗙𝗚𝗔𝗡𝗚 𝗦𝗔𝗪𝗔𝗟𝗟𝗜𝗦𝗖𝗛 — 𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝟭𝟱 𝗚𝗥𝗘𝗔𝗧𝗘𝗦𝗧 𝗥𝗘𝗖𝗢𝗥𝗗𝗜𝗡𝗚𝗦 Wolfgang Sawallisch represented one of the last great manifestations of the traditional German Kapellmeister: a conductor whose authority was founded not upon personal exhibitionism, but upon complete…

𝗘𝗨𝗚𝗘𝗡 𝗝𝗢𝗖𝗛𝗨𝗠 — 𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝟭𝟱 𝗚𝗥𝗘𝗔𝗧𝗘𝗦𝗧 𝗥𝗘𝗖𝗢𝗥𝗗𝗜𝗡𝗚𝗦 Eugen Jochum is remembered above all as one of the supreme Bruckner conductors of the twentieth century, but that description captures only part of his achievement. His…

𝗙𝗥𝗜𝗧𝗭 𝗥𝗘𝗜𝗡𝗘𝗥 — 𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝟭𝟱 𝗚𝗥𝗘𝗔𝗧𝗘𝗦𝗧 𝗥𝗘𝗖𝗢𝗥𝗗𝗜𝗡𝗚𝗦 Fritz Reiner was one of the supreme orchestral disciplinarians of the twentieth century. His conducting combined extraordinary precision, rhythmic tension, transparent textures and an almost unequalled ability…

# 𝗡𝗜𝗞𝗢𝗟𝗔𝗨𝗦 𝗛𝗔𝗥𝗡𝗢𝗡𝗖𝗢𝗨𝗥𝗧 — 𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝗠𝗢𝗭𝗔𝗥𝗧 𝗗𝗜𝗔𝗟𝗢𝗚𝗨𝗘𝗦 ## 𝗖𝗢𝗟𝗟𝗘𝗖𝗧𝗘𝗗 𝗧𝗛𝗢𝗨𝗚𝗛𝗧𝗦 𝗢𝗡 𝗔 𝗚𝗥𝗘𝗔𝗧 𝗖𝗢𝗠𝗣𝗢𝗦𝗘𝗥 𝗘𝗱𝗶𝘁𝗲𝗱 𝗯𝘆 𝗝𝗼𝗵𝗮𝗻𝗻𝗮 𝗙ü𝗿𝘀𝘁𝗮𝘂𝗲𝗿 **𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗠𝗼𝘇𝗮𝗿𝘁 𝗗𝗶𝗮𝗹𝗼𝗴𝘂𝗲𝘀** is not a conventional biography of **𝗪𝗼𝗹𝗳𝗴𝗮𝗻𝗴 𝗔𝗺𝗮𝗱𝗲𝘂𝘀 𝗠𝗼𝘇𝗮𝗿𝘁**, nor is it a…

𝗡𝗜𝗞𝗢𝗟𝗔𝗨𝗦 𝗛𝗔𝗥𝗡𝗢𝗡𝗖𝗢𝗨𝗥𝗧 — 𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝟭𝟱 𝗚𝗥𝗘𝗔𝗧𝗘𝗦𝗧 𝗥𝗘𝗖𝗢𝗥𝗗𝗜𝗡𝗚𝗦 Nikolaus Harnoncourt did not merely change the way Baroque and Classical music was performed. He transformed the modern understanding of what interpretation itself could mean. For him,…

# 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.…

𝗕𝗘𝗥𝗡𝗔𝗥𝗗 𝗛𝗔𝗜𝗧𝗜𝗡𝗞 — 𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝟭𝟱 𝗚𝗥𝗘𝗔𝗧𝗘𝗦𝗧 𝗥𝗘𝗖𝗢𝗥𝗗𝗜𝗡𝗚𝗦 Bernard Haitink’s greatness was rarely proclaimed through theatrical gestures, violent tempo manipulation or the deliberate imposition of a conductor’s personality upon the score. His authority emerged gradually,…

𝗭𝗨𝗕𝗜𝗡 𝗠𝗘𝗛𝗧𝗔 — 𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝟭𝟱 𝗚𝗥𝗘𝗔𝗧𝗘𝗦𝗧 𝗥𝗘𝗖𝗢𝗥𝗗𝗜𝗡𝗚𝗦 Zubin Mehta’s extraordinary career connects several apparently different musical worlds: the Central European tradition he absorbed in Vienna, the orchestral brilliance of Los Angeles, the distinctive identity…

𝗥𝗜𝗖𝗖𝗔𝗥𝗗𝗢 𝗠𝗨𝗧𝗜 — 𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝟭𝟱 𝗚𝗥𝗘𝗔𝗧𝗘𝗦𝗧 𝗥𝗘𝗖𝗢𝗥𝗗𝗜𝗡𝗚𝗦 Riccardo Muti is one of the defining conductors of the modern Italian tradition: a musician of rhythmic authority, textual discipline, theatrical instinct and uncompromising respect for the…

𝗦𝗘𝗜𝗝𝗜 𝗢𝗭𝗔𝗪𝗔 — 𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝟭𝟱 𝗚𝗥𝗘𝗔𝗧𝗘𝗦𝗧 𝗥𝗘𝗖𝗢𝗥𝗗𝗜𝗡𝗚𝗦 Seiji Ozawa was one of the most internationally influential conductors of the post-war era. His art united rhythmic precision, luminous orchestral colour, exceptional transparency and an instinctive…

𝗟𝗢𝗥𝗜𝗡 𝗠𝗔𝗔𝗭𝗘𝗟 — 𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝟭𝟱 𝗚𝗥𝗘𝗔𝗧𝗘𝗦𝗧 𝗥𝗘𝗖𝗢𝗥𝗗𝗜𝗡𝗚𝗦 Lorin Maazel was one of the most technically formidable conductors of the twentieth and early twenty-first centuries. He possessed an exceptional ear, an almost photographic memory, absolute…

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…

𝗥𝗔𝗙𝗔𝗘𝗟 𝗞𝗨𝗕𝗘𝗟𝗜́𝗞 — 𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝟭𝟱 𝗚𝗥𝗘𝗔𝗧𝗘𝗦𝗧 𝗥𝗘𝗖𝗢𝗥𝗗𝗜𝗡𝗚𝗦 Rafael Kubelík was one of the twentieth century’s most humane, spontaneous and musically generous conductors. His interpretations rarely sought the immaculate finish of Karajan, the iron discipline…

𝗘𝗥𝗜𝗖𝗛 𝗞𝗟𝗘𝗜𝗕𝗘𝗥 — 𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝟭𝟱 𝗚𝗥𝗘𝗔𝗧𝗘𝗦𝗧 𝗥𝗘𝗖𝗢𝗥𝗗𝗜𝗡𝗚𝗦 Erich Kleiber was one of the great representatives of the Central European conducting tradition, yet he never belonged comfortably to any single school. His performances combined rhythmic…